Ouzo-Cured Salmon

Ouzo-haters, don't turn away!

I made this salmon, recipe originally found here at Kalofagas, for a Meet Up (Eat Up!) at WBUR in conjunction with their Public Radio Kitchen project. The Public Radio Kitchen provides a great aggregation of Boston-area food and restaurant blogs. The Eat Up was the first opportunity (for large a number us) to meet in person. I offered to bring along a large spread of food for the attendees. A few other folks brought treats as well, and in occurrence similar to the miracle of the loaves and fishes, we all got plenty to eat! Some pictures from the event are here.

Here's the full menu of what I provided for the event:

• Ouzo-Cured Salmon with Carrot Tzatziki
  
• Lentil Salad with Roasted Kohlrabi and Caramelized Onions
• Roasted Beets with Skordalia (Potato-Garlic Sauce)
• Butternut Squash Baklava (savory, not sweet)
• Rosemary Foccacia
• Citrus Salad with Pickled Shallots, Kalamata Olives and Arugula (Sunday's cover shot)

I thought I'd share some of the recipes with you, starting with the salmon. The hardest parts of this dish are finding really high quality salmon (let your fish guy or gal know that you'll be curing it and that you need great quality product) and slicing it thinly enough (sharpen that knife!) when you're ready to serve it. This recipe can scale (no pun intended) up or down, depending on the size of the fillet you're using. The ouzo flavor isn't prominent, it just provides a nice herbal note to the salmon.

Ouzo-Cured Salmon
For appetizer servings, plan on 2 or 3 ounces of salmon per person.

• Salmon

For every pound of salmon you use:

• 3 tablespoons ouzo (or vodka - if using vodka and you still want an anise flavor, add 1 tablespoon aniseseed to the cure mixture)
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 teaspoons coarse-ground black pepper
• zest of one orange
• zest of one lemon
• 1 teaspoon Aleppo pepper flakes
  

Put the salmon, skin-size down, on a large sheet of plastic wrap in a container large enough hold the salmon in one flat layer (The salmon will exude more liquid - make sure the dish you're using has sides high enough to contain any drips: rimmed baking sheet, roasting pan, large Tupperware container, etc.).

Drizzle the salmon with the ouzo. Mix together the remaining ingredients and rub on the flesh. Wrap the plastic around the fillet tightly, trying to keep the liquid inside the plastic. Cover the fish with a cookie sheet, plate or some other flat item (you want to weight the fillet down, so make sure it's entirely covered. Weight down the sheet with a heavy item (a can, bag of flour, cast iron skillet, etc.) . Place the salmon in the refrigerator for one to three days (the flavor gets stronger the longer it cures).

Unwrap the salmon and pat it dry. Using a very sharp knife, slice very thin slices across the fillet. Garnish with citrus (I used kumquats and some dill fronds). Serve with carrot tzatziki.

Carrot Tzatziki

This is a play on the more traditional cucumber tzatziki. To make a cucumber version, substitute 1 cup of shredded, drained cucumber (about half an English cucumber - the one that's wrapped in plastic in the supermarket). This recipe is adapted from The Greek Vegetarian by Diane Kochilas.

• 2 cups thick Greek-style yogurt (Fage is a good brand. Trader Joe's sells one too)
• 2 medium carrots, shredded
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced
• 1/4 cup chopped dill
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• salt and pepper to taste
  

Mix all the ingredients together. Adjust salt to taste. If you need more tartness, add a little more lemon. As the tzatziki sits, the garlic flavor will become more pronounced. For best results, make this the day you intend to serve it.