Gravlax Amuse. On paper plates lol.

I had a dinner party last month, with some plated dishes and some dishes in a sort of buffet. Most of the dishes were things I learned to make in restaurants I’ve worked at. Recently I was working in a Swedish restaurant, so I decided to feature a Swedish specialty, gravlax, or cured salmon, as part of my menu. I made it the amuse-bouche, and served it with espresso mustard sauce and avocado puree, two unusual and delicious condiments I also learned in the Swedish kitchen. I added half a fingerling potato to each plate, as well as a few cherry tomato halves. It was a very colorful little plate.

I used sockeye salmon for the gravlax, and one 1-pound fillet was enough for 9 little plates. Curing salmon is very easy – just mix 2 parts sugar and 1 part salt, add some cracked white peppercorns and dill for flavor, and cover the salmon with this mixture. After two or three days, the salmon will be cured. The salt draws water out of the fish, giving it a firm texture that makes it easy to slice paper-thin. The salt and sugar also both preserve the fish, as they prevent bactaria from growing. Thus the cured salmon will stay good in the fridge for at least a week. That makes it an easy item for a dinner party, as it can be cured & sliced well in advance, then just taken out and plated.

Espresso mustard sauce – blend brewed espresso with red wine vinegar, smooth mustard (Swedish if you can find it, but Dijon works fine), and brown sugar. Slowly stream in canola oil. Sorry I don’t have amounts – I used to make 3 gallons of this sauce at a time at work, and had to scale down the recipe significantly for the party, and don’t have the amounts on hand now.

Avocado puree – scoop out the flesh of a couple avocados and puree in a food processor with some lime juice. Season with salt and black pepper. Make sure the avocados are ripe but not overripe – the puree should be a beautiful green color, not an ugly brownish-green.

As they say in Swedish, maan ska ju unna sig!