Ingredients
- 1 medium sized salmon side, cleaned and pin-boned (this is a fishmonger job)
- 360g sea salt
- 100g caster sugar
- 1 lemon, zest
- 1 handful dill
- For the topping:
- 1 lemon, zest
- 1 handful dill, chopped
- For the cucumber pickle:
- 1 cucumber
- 150ml white wine vinegar
- 80g caster sugar
- Pinch of sea salt
- 3 or 4 sprigs of dill
- For the bagels:
- 4 bagels
- 120g cream cheese
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tbsp capers
- Place the salmon skin side down on a large tray. Place the salt, sugar, lemon zest and the dill in a food processer and blend to a dry, green paste.
- Rub the paste all over the salmon flesh and leave covered. Lay a tea towel on top and place in the fridge for eight hours, or overnight, to cure the fish
- The next day, run the salmon under cold water to wash off excess salt and pat dry. Place on a board, brush lightly with olive oil, and then garnish with chopped dill, lemon zest and pepper. If you’re using this as a Christmas day starter, just slice at this point and serve.
- To make the cucumber pickle, heat the white wine vinegar, sugar and salt in a pot on a low heat until the sugar dissolves. Allow to cool. Thinly slice the cucumber and place in a bowl. Cover with the vinegar mix and add some dill sprigs. Store in a jar; this will keep for weeks
- Now to assemble the bagel. Toast the bagel and cover the base with some cream cheese. Then place an even layer of the thinly sliced red onion, followed by some slices of the salmon, some dill leaves, some capers, and some pickled cucumbers.
- The cured salmon will keep in the fridge for up to five days.
