Beetroot Gravadlax Recipe

Are you hoping to wow your family and friends this Christmas with delicious, flavoursome food? This Beetroot Gravadlax Recipe can be served with our homemade soda bread and horseradish créme fraîche for a sophisticated combination of flavours.

The lemon, vodka, and salt are used to cure the fish, meaning there’s no need to wait around whilst your salmon is baking. The presentation will be guaranteed to wow your guests, as the vibrant appearance of the beetroot and fish make it ideal for the festive season and beyond.

The Recipe

Top Tip: Prepare the salmon and beetroot gravadlax 48hours before you want to serve this dish.

Cooking Time: 30 minutes for the soda bread.

Vegetarian Friendly: No

Vegan Friendly: No

Ingredients

Beetroot Gravadlax

• 200 g raw beetroot
• 50g fresh horseradish or jarred horseradish sauce
• 1/2 lemon
• 100 g flaked sea salt
• 50 g demerara sugar
• 40 ml vodka
• 700g side of salmon, skin on, scaled and pin-boned
• 15g bunch of fresh dill
• lemon wedges, for squeezing over

Soda Bread (Makes 1 small loaf)

• 250g plain white flour
• 250g plain wholemeal flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 400ml buttermilk

Horseradish crème fraîche

• 100 ml crème fraîche
• 30 g fresh horseradish
• 1/2 lemon

Method

Preparation (48 hours before serving):

1. In preparation for serving this delicious dish, scrub the beetroots and horseradish, then coarsely grate them into a bowl.
2. Finely grate in the lemon zest, add the salt, sugar and vodka and mix well.
3. Place the salmon in a tray and cover with the beetroot mix, pushing everything down to ensure all of the flesh is in contact with it, then cover tightly with cling film.
4. Place a weight on top to help pack everything down, chill in the fridge for 36 hours or until the salmon is cured and firm to the touch. There’s no need to cook the salmon as the dressing will preserve the fish.
5. Carefully unwrap the fish and remove the curing mixture. Rinse under a tap to wash away any excess, draining all the juices, then pat dry with kitchen paper.
6. Pick and finely chop the dill, then scatter it over the salmon for garnish and flavour.
7. Tightly wrap in cling film again, then weigh it down and put back in the fridge.
8. You can now leave the gravlax until you are ready to serve. The bread and crème fraîche can be prepared on the day of the dinner, or in advance depending on preference.

For the Soda Bread:

1. Heat the oven to 200°C/Gas6, andline a baking tray with baking parchment.
2. Put the flours, salt and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl and mix well.
3. Make a well in the centre and pour in half the buttermilk.
4. Using your fingers, mix the flour into the buttermilk. Continue to add the buttermilk until all the flour has been absorbed and you have a sticky dough. (You may not need all the buttermilk – it depends on the flour you use).
5. Tip the dough out on to a lightly floured surface, shape it into a ball and flatten it slightly with the palm of your hand.
6. Put the dough on the baking tray. Mark into quarters with a large, sharp knife, cutting deeply through the loaf, almost but not quite through to the base. Dust the top with flour.
7. Bake for 30 minutes or until the loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when tapped on the base—there’s nothing like the smell of fresh bread.

For the horseradish crème fraîche:

1. Put the crème fraîche in a bowl and finely grate in the horseradish and lemon zest.
2. Mix well and season to taste with lemon juice and salt.
3. To serve, use a long sharp knife to slice the salmon thinly at an angle, then dish it up with the warm soda bread, horseradish cream and your choice of quality salted butter.
4. Enjoy your masterpiece from the comfort of your kitchen!

“Salmon is a great way to start a meal and good for showing off to friends and family. This recipe will help achieve just that this Christmas, it can be individually plated or better still, sliced and put in the middle of the table for everyone to share. Load the salmon onto the bread and serve with a generous dollop of the horseradish crème fraiche – delicious!”

Recipe By:  Ian Page, Head Chef of major events.