Beet Gravlax

Serve up this vibrant homemade beet gravlax at your Shabbos Nachamu kiddush or meal. Place it on a board with some accompaniments like olives, dill, cream cheese, crostinis/crackers to create a beautiful self-serve gravlax buffet.

Cure:

1 Tbsp allspice seeds

1 Tbsp coriander seeds

1 Tbsp juniper berries

1 Tbsp whole black peppercorns

2 cups sugar

1¾ cups coarse salt

1 Tbsp beet powder (or 1 grated beet)

Salmon:

1 center cut of salmon, skin removed (the width of 6–8 slices)

1 bunch fresh dill

Use a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder to coarsely grind the allspice, coriander, juniper berries, and peppercorns.

In a bowl, mix ground spices with sugar and salt. Divide cure mixture in half and set aside.

Wash salmon thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels. Spread half of cure mixture evenly over bottom of a lined baking pan and place salmon over it. Top with dill. (If using grated beet, spread it over salmon together with the dill.) Add remaining cure mixture, covering salmon completely.

Wrap pan tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12 hours.

Remove salmon from cure. Rinse thoroughly and pat dry with paper towels until fully dry. Discard any remaining cure mixture and rinse the dish.

Sprinkle beet powder over salmon. (If using grated beets, skip this step.)

Cover salmon with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator overnight. Slice thinly when serving.