Beetroot Cured Salmon

This is our celebration food. We make this Beetroot Cured Salmon every Christmas, most birthdays and special occasions. It is the most beautiful dish, the beetroot staining the pinky orange of salmon with ruby red. It looks spectacular, tastes delicious and curing your own salmon is not hard work at all, you just need a bit of time for the curing process. We served it at our wedding earlier this year in Dublin as part of a Salmon Labneh Board, using the Beetroot Cured Salmon in place of the smoked salmon as per my original recipe.

Cured Salmon is known as Gravlax or Gravadlax and is a Nordic dish consisting of salmon that is cured using a mix of salt, sugar and dill. Garnished with more fresh dill, it is usually served as a starter. My Beetroot Cured Salmon is based on a Jamie Oliver recipe, simplified slightly over time and I now know it off by heart, most of the time eyeballing the quantities and the result is scrumptious each time.

You need the best piece of salmon you can get and at least two days to let it cure. The cure consists of beetroot, citrus zest, rock salt, sugar and gin. Cover the salmon, wrap it snugly and let it sit in the fridge for 2 days. Then you rinse off the beetroot cure, slice the salmon thinly and serve with fresh dill and lemon wedges. For those who like a bit of bite, have some horseradish available when you are serving it.

I hope you enjoy this recipe for Beetroot Cured Salmon. Once you’ve made the recipe, please share it with me by tagging and following @heinstirred on Instagram. It is always a treat to see the recipes made and enjoyed.

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If you are looking for another fabulous show stopper starter this festive season, have a look at my recipe for Baked Brie with Fried Dates, Dukkah and Aleppo Pepper. It is a crowd pleaser every single time.

Beetroot Cured Salmon

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Ingredients

  

• 2 large fresh beetroots peeled and quartered
• zest of 1 lemon
• 2 juniper berries bashed (optional)
• 6 tablespoons rock salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 50 ml gin
• 1 x 800g side of salmon

Instructions

 

• Blitz the beetroot, lemon zest and juniper berries (if used) in a food processor until a fairly smooth consistency
• Transfer the beetroot to a bowl and stir in the rock salt, sugar and gin and give it a good mix
• Place a piece of clingfilm in a large baking tray and lay the side of salmon, skin side down
• Spoon the beetroot cure on top and spread it all over the salmon, making sure it is well covered
• Wrap the salmon tightly with cling film and place it in the fridge for 48 hours
• Take the salmon out of the fridge, carefully unwrap and scrape the beetroot off the fish with the back of a spoon and rinse with a bit of water to remove all the cure.
• Slice the salmon in fine strips and place onto a plate
• Serve with fresh dill, lemon wedges, crackers or brown bread