🐟 Gravlax

Name: Gravlax
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Sweden · Scandinavia
Ingredients: 1 kg very fresh salmon fillet, skin on, in two halves; 60 g coarse salt; 60 g sugar; 1 tsp crushed white peppercorns; 1 large bunch fresh dill, chopped; Mustard sauce to serve

Origin: Sweden · Scandinavia

124kcal

per serving · 80 g

155kcal

per 100 g

16 gProtein20 g / 100 g

6 gFat8 g / 100 g

1 gCarbs1 g / 100 g

Gravlax is raw salmon cured for two to three days under a blanket of salt, sugar and fresh dill. The cure firms the flesh and turns it silky and translucent, with a clean, gently sweet and herby taste. It is sliced paper-thin and served cold as a starter, almost always with a sweet mustard and dill sauce called hovmästarsås.

Diets

✓

No pork

✓

Gluten-freeno wheat, barley or rye in a typical recipe

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

✓

Keto-friendly1 g carbs per 100 g

✓

High protein20 g protein per 100 g — 52% of the calories

Not vegetarianbecause of: salmon

Not veganbecause of: salmon

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Fish ⚠ Mustard

What it is made of

salmondillsugarsaltmustard sauce

Recipe

8 servings15 min

Ingredients

1 kg very fresh salmon fillet, skin on, in two halves
60 g coarse salt
60 g sugar
1 tsp crushed white peppercorns
1 large bunch fresh dill, chopped
Mustard sauce to serve

Method

Mix the salt, sugar and pepper.
Lay one fillet skin-side down in a dish, cover with the salt mix and most of the dill, then place the second fillet on top, flesh to flesh.
Wrap tightly, put a light weight on top and refrigerate for 48–72 hours, turning the parcel every 12 hours and spooning the brine back over.
Scrape off the cure, pat dry and coat with the remaining dill.
Slice very thinly on the diagonal, away from the skin, and serve cold with mustard sauce.

How to make it lighter

A 80 g starter portion is a light, protein-rich plate; the sauce is where the extra calories hide, so serve it on the side.
Use 1–2 tsp of mustard sauce per serving rather than a generous pour.
Pair gravlax with cucumber, lettuce or dill-dressed vegetables instead of heavier sides.

History

The name means 'grave salmon': medieval Nordic fishermen are said to have buried salted salmon in the sand above the tide line to let it ferment. Over the centuries the burying gave way to a quick cure with salt, sugar and dill. Today gravlax is a fixture of Swedish, Norwegian and Finnish festive tables, especially at Christmas and Midsummer.

Count it in one photo

Point your camera at the table — Me Nutrition recognises Gravlax and every other dish, with calories and macros for each. Ate only half? Slide it.

Download on the App Store

Similar dishes

Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →