Lunch – meatloaf and mashed potatoes Gravad Lax Demonstration
I was hungry for the fresh eggs I had purchased at Pro’s market on the 14th, so I cut up the leftover steak from November 15th’s dinner and threw it and some of the left over mushrooms into a bowl with the left over rice and pork stir fry from November 13th and added the about one cup of mung bean sprouts and tossed in two egg whites and one whole egg and stirred. Then I heated about one tablespoon of peanut oil and a dash or two of sesame oil to a non-stick pan and when it was hot laid the egg and leftover mixture in the pan. The mixture was too dry so I added another egg white to the top of it to cover the entire surface of the mixture. After it browned one side I flipped the omelet and cooked the other side to golden brown while I heated water for green tea. A wonderful breakfast, although not as much flavor as the other day when there was lots of ginger in the mix.
I had been invited to make Gravad Lax at the Center for Ageless Living at When I arrived at Ann Sesler, executive Chef at the Green House Bistro and Bakery offered me a plate of the daily special, which she described as a “Killer Meatloaf”. Of course, that was irresistible. The meatloaf was unusually tender and was covered with a tomato sauce and garnished with a crispy piece of panetta and was topped with a large mound of mashed potatoes. I drank a glass of Beaujolais and was ready to cook Gravad Lax.
The Gravad Lax demo went well. About a dozen folks showed up and I did a little intro about Swedish food and gravid lax and curing meats with salt and then constructed a gravad lax using about two pounds of For those who are not Swedish speakers, gravad is the Swedish word for this method of salt and sugar curing and lax is the Swedish word for salmon.
After I constructed the Gravad lax, I then showed the group the prepared Gravad Lax that I had made from the dill ($1.79) and King Salmon we purchased at Ta lin on Saturday ($5.95 per pound). One question asked was, “How long do you cure?” I answered, “Anywhere from 24 to 48 hours” “Suzette, answered that if you want to keep the salmon for a long period of time, you may want to cure it longer.” The King salmon had been curing for two and one-half days when it took it out of its curing medium at
The question was asked, “What determines the density of the gravid lax?” My answer was, “I do not know for sure, but, based upon my experience of preparing it for about twenty years, the density is directly related to the thickness and fat content of the fish. For example, the King Salmon is thicker and has more fat than the farm raised Atlantic salmon, so it will be softer and thicker than the farm raised salmon.
I then cleaned the curing brine and spices off one of the two pieces of the cured King Salmon and sliced about five slices that I then cut into fourths, so it fit on the pieces of French bread that had been supplied from the Bistro. We then all dipped the bread and or salmon into the dressing and tasted the salmon and dressing combination on bread.
I told the group that my experience of a Gravad Lax dinner is Sweden
I do not know how fresh salmon becomes so exotic, special and elegant when it is cured into Gravad Lax, but I love that aspect of the dish. I recommend King Salmon if you want the full experience, anything less will lack the luscious soft oily flavor that allows the aquavit to slide down the throat so effortlessly, even when inevitably chased by a sip of beer. My favorite Aquavit is Aalborg ’s Jubilaeums, a 90-proof variety flavored with coriander and dill.
De Småke Got (It is good tasting)
Bon Apètit
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