It’s Labor Day in Australia this Monday, Columbus Day in America the next. Whatever the reason for your upcoming day off, we can all agree that three-day weekends should include at least one leisurely brunch, preferably with a group of good friends.

But may I make a suggestion? This weekend, trade the coffee queue (Australia) or brunch line (America) for a morning meal with friends at home, and serve this salmon.

It is impossibly easy to make: just pile salt, sugar, and dill on a piece of salmon, chuck it in the fridge, and leave it there for a day or so.

 
Yet the fish is so rich, so different from your weekday egg/muesli/porridge that it feels special–appropriate for a holiday weekend brunch. And instead of being shooed out of a hipster café, you and your friends can linger over the meal, chatting away, nibbling on bread and sipping your coffee (or sparkling wine) for as long as you please.

The salmon and pickles must be made at least a day in advance. But that’s what makes this perfect for hosting brunch: the cooking is done by the time your friends arrive, so you’re spending time with them–not sequestered in the kitchen, flipping pancakes.

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Gravlax salmon with dill-mustard sauce and homemade pickles

Serves 4
Gravlax adapted from Mark Bittman, sauce from Bill’s Basics, pickles inspired by Cooking Light circa 2012-3, I think (for which I can’t find the link)

Ingredients

Salmon
12-ounce filet of wild salmon (not farmed– see notes following recipe)
1/2 cup (160g) salt
1 cup (215g) sugar
1/2 of a big bunch of dill, stems and all, chopped
Pickles
2 English cucumbers (mine weighed 1.6lbs/730g)
a few sprigs of dill
1-2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
a pinch each of peppercorns, mustard seeds, and dill seeds
1 cup water (236mL)
3/4 cup (177mL) white wine vinegar
scant 3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
Mustard-dill dressing
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons white-wine vinegar
1/3 cup (78ml) light-flavored oil (such as canola)
2 tablespoons chopped dill
Potatoes
8-10 waxy potatoes
To serve
good crusty bread, preferably something dark like rye, sliced

Instructions

Salmon
Place a large piece of plastic wrap (big enough to fit your salmon) on a big plate.

In a bowl, mix the salt, sugar and dill.

Place the salmon, skin side down, on the plastic wrap. Cover the flesh side of the salmon with the salt mixture. It will feel like a lot of salt/sugar, but don’t worry: this is what’s going to draw out the moisture, effectively “cooking” the fish.

Wrap the fish well with plastic wrap. If the temperature in your kitchen is around or below 70 degrees, and it’s not too inconvenient, let the salmon rest outside the refrigerator for a few hours, then refrigerate for 18 to 24 hours more. Otherwise, refrigerate immediately for about 36 hours. The salmon will release a lot of liquid during this time–this is good! That is the salmon curing. (Unsure if you’re doing it right? Scroll down for a photo.)

Remove the salmon from the fridge. Rinse with water and pat dry. (Isn’t the color of the fish crazy?) Slice across the grain with a very sharp knife and serve.

Pickles
Cut the cucumbers into spears and pack tightly into jars. (I used two 16-oz wide-mouth mason jars, but a big bowl also works if you don’t have any jars.) Divide fresh dill, garlic, peppercorns, mustard seeds, and dills seeds evenly among jars.

Boil water in a small pot over the stove. Add vinegar, salt, and sugar. Stir until the salt and sugar dissolve. Pour mixture over cucumbers, dividing evenly among jars. Put lids on jars (or cover bowl, if that’s what you’re using) and place in fridge for at least 24 hours.

Note: you must keep these pickles refrigerated–they are not shelf-stable. The upshot is that this recipe isn’t an exact science, so if you don’t have one of the spices, or you prefer a saltier or less sweet pickle, adjust accordingly.

Dressing
Whisk together the mustard, sugar, salt, and vinegar. Slowly whisk in the oil. Mix in the dill.

Potatoes
Boil potatoes until you can pierce them a fork–this is really going to depend on how big your potatoes are, but I usually start checking mine at the 10-minute mark. Drain, slice or halve, and serve.

Notes

Why wild salmon? The farmed stuff, aside from being dyed pink and usually terrible for the environment, just won’t taste the same here. But since you’re serving with bread, potatoes, and pickles, and since the salmon is quite rich, you need not buy a big piece. (Mine was 12 ounces and served four people.) If you want to stretch things out further, I could see serving with a plate of soft-boiled, poached, or scrambled eggs.

The salmon will keep in the fridge for an additional 2-3 days after curing. The pickles, dressing, and potatoes will keep for much longer.

Wonder if you’re doing the salmon-salt-plastic wrap-plate situation correctly? Here’s a picture of mine after curing for a day: