Juniper & Dill Gravlax with Hovmästarsås and Rye Crisps

⏱ 4350 min · Serves 8

Cure your own salmon and you'll never buy smoked again. Three days of patience turn a fillet into silky, jewel-bright gravlax, sharpened with juniper and aquavit, sliced thin over shatteringly crisp rye and a sweet-sharp mustard-dill sauce. A true Nordic show-stopper that's mostly waiting.

Per serving: 465 kcal · 29.0g protein · 22.0g carbs · 29.0g fat

Ingredients

• 1 kg very fresh salmon fillet, skin on, pin-boned (centre cut, 2 equal pieces if possible)
• 90 g caster sugar
• 110 g coarse sea salt
• 2 tsp white peppercorns, coarsely crushed
• 1 tbsp juniper berries, crushed
• Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 2 large bunches dill (about 80 g), roughly chopped, stalks and all
• 3 tbsp aquavit or vodka
• For the mustard-dill sauce (hovmästarsås):
• 3 tbsp Swedish sweet mustard (or 2 tbsp Dijon + 1 tbsp honey)
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp egg yolk (optional, for emulsion)
• 150 ml neutral oil (rapeseed)
• 4 tbsp dill, very finely chopped
• Salt and white pepper
• For the rye crisps:
• 150 g dark rye flour
• 50 g plain flour
• 1 tsp fine salt
• 1 tsp caraway seeds, lightly crushed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp honey
• 120 ml warm water
• Flaky salt, to finish
• To serve: lemon wedges, extra dill fronds, capers (optional)

Method

1. Mix the sugar, salt, crushed white pepper, juniper and lemon zest in a bowl. Pat the salmon dry.
2. Lay a large sheet of cling film in a deep dish. Scatter a third of the cure and a third of the dill on it. Sit one salmon piece skin-side down on top, rub with the aquavit, then pack over half the remaining cure and dill.
3. Sandwich with the second piece of salmon, flesh-to-flesh, and cover with the last of the cure and dill. If using one long fillet, fold it over on itself.
4. Wrap tightly in cling film, sit in the dish, place a board on top and weigh down with tins (about 1.5 kg). Refrigerate 48-72 hours, turning the parcel and basting with the brine that collects every 12 hours.
5. Unwrap, scrape off the cure and dill (don't rinse unless very salty — a quick rinse and thorough pat dry is fine), and dry well. Wrap in fresh cling film and chill until slicing.
6. For the sauce: whisk both mustards, sugar, vinegar and egg yolk if using. Trickle in the oil in a thin stream, whisking hard, until thick and glossy. Stir in the dill, season, and chill at least 30 minutes.
7. For the crisps: heat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Mix flours, salt and caraway, then work in the oil, honey and water to a firm dough. Knead 2 minutes, rest 15.
8. Roll the dough as thin as you possibly can between two sheets of baking paper — you should almost see through it. Peel off the top sheet, sprinkle with flaky salt, and cut into shards.
9. Bake 12-15 minutes until dry, dark and snapping crisp. Cool on a rack; they crisp further as they cool.
10. Slice the gravlax on a shallow angle into wide, paper-thin slices, leaving the skin behind. Arrange overlapping on a chilled platter, spoon over some sauce, scatter dill fronds and capers, and serve with lemon and a pile of rye crisps.