Asdis in NY and Icelandic Revisionist Cuisine

We were fortunate enough this week to have dear friend of Cafe Drake, Asdis Gunnarsdottir, all to ourselves one evening during her short visit to New York. Longtime and treasured friends Thordis and Hrafnhildur also joined us for drinks and appetizers. As the photos indicate above, and true to our word, Cafe Drake was not stingy with the sauce! In honor of these beloved Ladies of the North, presented below is our recipe for homemade gravlax. The following preparation has never failed us yet, and thin slices, atop corn cakes, blinis or rye toast will be certain to impress your guests (your non-Icelandic ones anyway).

ICELANDIC GRAVLAX

4 tblsp. fine salt / 1/2 tsp. ground pepper / 1 tsp. fennel / 3 tblsp. dill weed (fresh) / 2 medium-size filets of salmon

Mix all spices together. Apply an even layer of the mix on the fish. Wrap each fillet in plastic wrap and then in kitchen foil, skin down. Leave in the refrigerator for 4 days. Remove the gravlax from the packaging and gently scrape off the spice mix. Cut the fish into very thin diagonal slices, across the fillet, and serve on toast with mustard-dill sauce.

[You probably won't have leftovers, but if you should try the salmon chopped finely and stirred into mashed potatoes. Or toss thin slices with heavy cream, butter and warm fettucini for a rich and glorious pasta course.]