One of the simplest and most impressive cured dishes and certainly the king of cured fish. Speaking of king, if you can find wild Pacific salmon (usually spring through fall), especially king or sockeye, use it; if not, farm-raised salmon is quite good when treated this way. In fact, farm-raised salmon is a pretty good option—because it is harvested and shipped to stores daily it’s usually perfectly fresh, a requisite for all salmon you’d consider using for gravlax. Generally, gravlax is ready within 24 hours, but it’s better after a little longer than that, and you can hold it for another couple of days before serving if you like; it will become increasingly dry and strong flavored, not a bad thing. In any case, treat finished gravlax as a fresh food and use it within a few days.

　　

Ingredients

makes 16 or more servings

　　1 cup salt

　　2 cups sugar

　　1 bunch of dill, stems and all, chopped

　　2 bay leaves, crumbled

　　1/2 cup minced shallot

　　1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

　　Grated zest of 2 lemons

　　One 2- to 3-pound salmon fillet, pin bones removed with tweezers or pliers

　　

Step 1

Mix together all the ingredients except the salmon. Place the salmon, skin side down, on a large sheet of plastic wrap. Cover the flesh side of the salmon with the salt mixture, being sure to coat it completely (there will be lots of salt mix; just pile it on).

　　

Step 2

Wrap the fish well in plastic. Refrigerate for at least 24 hours and preferably 36.

　　

Step 3

Unwrap the salmon and rinse off the cure. Dry, then slice on the bias. Serve plain, with lemon wedges, or with Mustard Dill Sauce (page 608), thinned with a little sour cream.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.