richard It’s taken a while to write up this, the third of our festive gravali because to be honest I got a little over excited at the fishmonger’s (Paul, Todmorden Market) where I bought the salmon and ended up with 1.5kg of the stuff. Delicious as it was (and this beetroot version was the tastiest of the three) this was a lot of gravalax to get through and as a result we ate rather a lot over a short period of time. Subsequently the thought of it has made me a little queasy ever since. But don’t let that put you off, you don’t have to make it in such industrial quantaties.
Preparation time: 10 minutes plus 2 days to cure
Cooking time: none
Skill level: easy
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 2 fresh salmon fillets (skin on) – 400g
- 2 medium sized raw beetroots – grated
- course sea salt – 40g
- caster sugar – 40g
- fresh dill finely chopped – small bunch
- horseradish sauce – 75g
Place the salmon skin side down on a piece of clingfilm.
Mix together all the other ingredients and rub this mixture onto the fish.
Sandwich with the other fillet, skin side up.
Tightly wrap in the 3-4 layers of clingfilm.
Lay in a shallow dish (there will be some leakage), put a saucer/small tray/tin lid/etc. on top and weigh down with something heavyish (Bible/bowling ball/etc.)
Place in the fridge for 2-3 days, turning every 12 hours so the briny cure liquid thoroughly permeates the fish.
Unwrap, slice thinnish and enjoy with some horseradish sauce.
Gravalax will keep in the fridge for around 5 days.
Verdict: Although all three gravali were excellent, this beetroot option clearly stood out as the best. Sweet, beetrooty and bright pink.
Drink: Some sparkling, some red, some white and some dessert.
Entertainment: Listening to the ramblings of Mad Auntie T
