Gravlax Blini Bites

By The Canadian Living Test Kitchen

2 people added this to their Recipe Box

This recipe makes 50 pieces servings

Nutritional Info
Per piece: about	-
cal	7171 cal
pro	5 g5g pro
total fat	3 g3g total fat
sat. fat	1 g1g sat. fat
carb	6 g6g carb
fibre	00 fibre
chol	18 mg18mg chol
sodium	594 mg594mg sodium
% RDI:	-
calcium	11 calcium
iron	22 iron
vit A	22 vit A
vit C	22 vit C
folate	55 folate

Gravlax, or cured salmon, is a Scandinavian specialty available in fancy food stores and restaurants. Here, you'll see how easy it is to cure your own for a fraction of the price. Serve with a piquant sauce on bite-size buckwheat pancakes called blini and accompany with a glass of frozen aquavit or vodka.

Ingredients

1 tbsp peppercorns 1 1tbsp tbsppeppercorns
1/3 cup granulated sugar 1/3 1/3cup cupgranulated sugar
1/4 cup pickling salt 1/4 1/4cup cuppickling salt or kosher salt
1 12 lb 2 lbcentre-cut salmon fillet, skin on
1/3 cup chopped fresh dill 1/3 1/3cup cupchopped fresh dill
2 tbsp brandy 2 2tbsp tbspbrandy or aquavit
1 bunch small Dill sprigs 1 1bunch bunchsmall Dill sprigDill sprigs
Mustard Sauce:
3 tbsp Dijon mustard 3 3tbsp tbspDijon mustard
2 tbsp liquid honey 2 2tbsp tbspliquid honey
1 tbsp chopped fresh dill 1 1tbsp tbspchopped fresh dill
Buckwheat Blini:
1-1/2 tsp granulated sugar 1-1/2 1-1/2tsp tspgranulated sugar
1/4 cup warm water 1/4 1/4cup cupwarm water
1-1/2 tsp active dry yeast 1-1/2 1-1/2tsp tspactive dry yeast
1 egg 1 1eggeggs
1-1/2 cups lukewarm milk 1-1/2 1-1/2cups cupslukewarm milk
1 cup all-purpose flour 1 1cup cupall-purpose flour
3/4 cup buckwheat flour 3/4 3/4cup cupbuckwheat flour
1/2 tsp salt 1/2 1/2tsp tspsalt
1/4 cup butter , melted1/4 1/4cup cupbutter, melted

Preparation

1 Five days before serving, coarsely crush peppercorns with bottom of heavy pan. Mix peppercorns, sugar and salt ; spread over both sides of salmon. Spread one-third of the chopped dill in centre of large piece of plastic wrap; top with fish, skin side down.

2 Drizzle with brandy; spread remaining chopped dill over top. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap; place on small rimmed baking sheet. Place small cutting board on fish; weigh down with two full 28-oz (796 mL) cans. Refrigerate for 5 days, turning fish daily.

3 Mustard Sauce: In small bowl, stir together mustard, honey and dill. (Make-ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days.)

4 Buckwheat Blini: In measure, dissolve 1/2 tsp (2 mL) of the sugar in warm water. Sprinkle in yeast; let stand until frothy, 10 minutes. In bowl, beat egg, milk and remaining sugar. Add all-purpose and buckwheat flours and salt ; beat for 1 minute. Beat in yeast mixture and half of the butter. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 hour.

5 Heat non-stick skillet over medium heat; brush lightly with some of the remaining butter. Without stirring, spoon batter into pan by scant 2 tablespoonfuls (25 mL) to make 2 1/4-inch (5.5 cm) blini. Cook until bubbles form on top that do not fill in, about 1 minute. Turn and cook until bottom is golden, about 30 seconds.

6 Unwrap fish; using paper towel, brush off most of the dill. (Make-ahead: Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 5 days.) Slice thinly on 45-degree angle; cut each slice in half and place on blini. Drizzle with mustard sauce; garnish with dill sprig.

Source : Canadian Living Magazine: April 2002