HAWAIIAN ALAEA SALT CURED WILD BALTIC SALMON WITH DILL AND LINGONBERRIES

Wild Baltic salmon is a well-known local delicacy in Latvia. We are very lucky because besides brightly colored farmed salmon from Norway we can still spin in our rivers or buy in the Fish Pavilion of the Central Market wild Baltic salmon. Actually, salmon as a color is quite often used in everyday Latvian and it resembles orangy pinkish tint of Baltic wild salmon flesh.

There are many different ways of preparing salmon, but the easiest and fastest method is to mild-cure it. Mild-curing is a century-old food tradition ideally suited to Latvia’s climate. Initially it was method to preserve raw fish, therefore the proportion of salt and sugar was important. Nowadays dry cure has become sweeter as in the fridge era there is no need to keep fish preserves for long periods of time. I found that Hawaiian alaea salt is not only a good preservative but also it's vulcanic clay particles complements the color and taste of the wild salmon. Seasoning can vary from classic dill to seaweed, juniper and fresh berries (lingonberries, elderberries, cloudberries). Addition of pink peppercorns just before serving is a modern twist to give it a nervous finish. For Latvians lingonberries are very traditional wild berries everyone can pick for free in the state owned forests. When ripe they are sour sweet with a bitter edge. Dill is by far the most popular herb in Latvia. It's used to season meats, fishes and veggies, it's also used to flovour all sorts of picles and finally as a garnish.

Instead of applying pressure by weighing fillets down, some modern cooks wrap them tightly in several layers of cling film. While this latter technique is probably more convenient, it may not give the best results. Fish meat must change its structure to firm and dense, as salt draws the moisture out. Dry cure dissolves in it creating a brine, where fully covered fish can be kept for months. We, Latvians eat mild-cured salmon on thinly sliced buttered toast (white bread) for breakfast or on festive occasions. A very similar curing technique is applied on salmon in Scandinavian countries to prepare world famous Gravadlax.

Hawaiian alaea sea salt

Wild Baltic salmon

2 salmon fillet, pin-boned but with skin on (approximately 600g)

60g Hawaiian alaea salt
30g Demerara sugar
2 handfuls of lingonberries (Vaccinium vitis idaea)
2-3 tbsp. dried dill (or 6tbsp. finely chopped fresh dill)
1 tsp. ground white pepper
pink peppercorns for serving

Clean the fillets with kitchen paper, but do not wash them and remove any bones. Mix the alaea salt, sugar and white pepper. Lay two fillets skin down, rub them with dill and work it into the topside of the fillets. Then add an even layer of lingonberries. Scatter over the dry cure mix so that the flesh is completely covered and press on vigorously. Flip over so the thick edge of one fillet fits on the top of the thin edge of the other. Put it in a tray that is just slightly wider, cover the fillets with a wooden board and place a weight on the top. Put the tray into the fridge for 48 hours. Before serving pat the fillets dry with kitchen paper and sprinkle with pink peppercorns. Lay the fillets skinside down and cut off thin slices with a sharp knife. Serve it cold on buttered toast or with a poached duck egg. Fillets fully covered by brine can be kept in fridge for at least 2 weeks.

APPLE DESSERT - OVEN BAKED APPLE HALVES WITH CINNAMON AND WHIPPED CREAM

 

I bake orchard fresh apples each autumn. My mum would start baking apples in early September when the first apples are ripe. Of all my autumn desserts this is the one that has best stood the test of time. Apple baking is a tradition that has been around for a long time. I choose a sharp apple variety like locally grown 'Antonovka' or you can use 'Bramley' or 'Egremont Russet' if you prefer sweeter taste.

6 sharp cooking apples
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
3 tsp dark muscovado or Demerara sugar (or maple syrup, or honey)
few glugs of calvados (optional)

Whipping cream to serve

Mix all the spices and sugar  together. Cut the apples in half and core them. Put the apple halves on the baking tray lined with baking paper, skin side down, and fill the holes with sugar and spice mix and drizzle over the calvados. Bake them in the pre-heated oven (180 degrees C) for 15-20 minutes depending on the apple size and variety. Bake the apples to a fluffy texture. Allow them to cool slightly. Meanwhile whip the cream to a stiff-peak stage. Divide the baked apples between four serving plates (and don't forget to mop up all the sticky juices) and top with a whipped cream.

In this recipe I'm using fresh Saigon cinnamon from Cinnamon Hill.

OVEN BAKED BALTIC SALMON WITH DILL, RED PEPPERCORNS AND LINGONBERRIES

Salmon fishing in Latvia was originally confined to the capture of ascending spawners in the so called salmon rivers e.g. those natal rivers where salmons return to spawn. We have many salmon rivers therefore no wonder that salmon formed a part of Latvian diet for many centuries. Damming (expansion of hydroelectric power plants) and polllution have caused a serious decline in salmon stock in the past decades. As a result of human intervention, nowadays natural salmon stock has increased and we are enjoying flavour packed wild salmon dishes again.

This is a light and very simple recipe that provides a clean tasting and succulent meat. Dill layer protects it from drying out and lingonberries add an acidic touch. However, my secret ingredient in this recipe is Hawaiian alaea salt. Its pinkish brown clay particles underlines natural taste of the salmon and adds some earthy notes to it. 

Hawaiian alaea salt

Ready for the oven

... and out of the oven

4 wild Baltic salmon fillets (skin on and pinboned)
2 hanfuls of dill
2 handfuls of lingonberries
1 teaspoon pink peppercorns in brine
1 teaspoon (dried) pink peppercorns
Hawaiian alaea salt
a glug of olive oil
a glug of white wine

Crush in the mortar and pestle (dried) pink peppercorns together with a few pinches of alaea salt. Pinch the skin side of each fillet and lightly score a few times, 5 cm apart (shallow incisions). Turn them skin side down and sprinkle over a handful of chopped dill and lingonberries, brined pink peppercorns, and few pinches of salt and crushed pink peppercorns. Gently pat it down with your hands. Place the fillets on the baking tray lined with parchment, skin side down, and drizzle over a glug of both, olive oil and white wine. Grill (bake) in the medium hot oven (180-200 degrees C) for around 17 minutes. Serve it with potato puree.

BUCKWHEAT SEMOLINA PORRIDGE WITH BLUEBERRIES

Buckwheat (griķi in Latvian) is not a grass (true grain) and therfore it is gluten free. It has pyramid shaped seeds coated with slate grey husks. Buckwheat's reputation for robust toasty aroma and strong earthy, vegetal, and slightly sourish taste - an acquired taste for some is true only if they have gone through thermal dehulling. This process is dominant in the big processing plants instead in a small farms mechanical (impact or abrasion) dehulling is used. The latter does not change the color, aroma and flavor of the groats. The color is light green in freshly harvested seed, but gradually changes to beige during storage. Thence comes term green buckwheat (zaļie griķi in Latvian) attributed to mechanically dehulled buckwheat. Dehulled green buckwheat intact groats still retain their sprouting ability. Green buckwheat groats are further processed into semolina and flour. Green buckwheat has a mild aroma and a light nutty taste.

Buckwheat semolina

500 ml whole milk
50 g green buckwheat semolina
2 egg yolks
1 tsp (Demerara) brown sugar
generous pinch of sea salt

blueberries and cocunut palm sugar for decoration

In a medium sauspan bring the milk to boil, lower the heat to minimum and add the semolina in a thin stream constantly stirring to avoid lumps forming in the porridge. Simmer, stirring very regularly, for about 10 minutes until it thickens. Whisk in egg yolks. If you prefer your porridge runny serve it immediately, if you prefer it more thick cover with a lid and leave it to sit for 5 to 7 minutes.

Serve it with blueberries and palm sugar.

SORREL SOUP WITH POACHED EGG

Sorrel soup is a springtime classic in Latvia. Sorrel is a harbinger of spring, amongst the first greens to harvest after a tiresome winter. Most of broad leaf sorrel (Rumex acetosa) I have seen thrives almost abandoned, nearly wild along the other weeds. Its French relative buckler leaf sorrel (Rumex scutatus) is too mild for a soup. No wonder the sorrel in local markets is sold by weight and it is cheap. Traditionally sorrel soup is made from smoked pork stock adding sorrel leaves, potatoes, pearl barley and garnished with a hard boiled egg and a dash of sour cream. I prefer oxtail stock which develops a strong flavour but does not overpower the soup with a smokiness. I like the sorrel tartness to dominate the soup. Its lemony tang delicately cuts the soft set white and runny yolk of poached egg. You can also add some other early spring greens - wild garlic (ramps), nettle or chicken weed to the soup.

First make a rich, slow cooked oxtail stock enriched with onion, garlic, carrot, parsley root, celery root or stalk, parsnip, fennel, different peppercorns, sage, thyme, dill and parsley stalks, bay leaves, juniper berries, orange peel and  mace.

1,5 l oxtail stock
300 g broad leaf sorrel (two hefty bunches)
150 g pearl (hulless) barley
2-3 waxy potatoes
eggs for poaching
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Rinse and soak the pearl barley for a few hours to overnight before cooking. Peel and cut potatoes into cubes. Cut the sorrel leaves into chiffonade (thin slices or shreds) having removed any thick stems. Bring the stock to the boil, add soaked pearl barley, reduce the heat and simmer until it's nearly ready (al dente), add potatoes and continue simmering till they are nearly cooked. Stir in the sorrel leaves. Correct seasoning. When the sorrel is mostly wilted (it takes a few seconds!), poach the eggs in the soup. Serve immediately.

NETTLE BREAD WITH TEFF FLAKES

This is variation on a basic bread recipe. Nettle leaf powder pairs very well with nutty and earthy flavour of teff flakes. Nettle can be found wild in many parts of the world. In Latvia nettles are among the earliest green plants of the spring to forage. Fresh nettle leaves can be easily brewed into a tea or turned into a pesto. Late spring is the perfect time to harvest nettles and dry them. The benefits of nettles have been documented for centuries. They are a source of nutrients, contain a number of essential minerals, like iron, calcium, potassium and magnesium. If you can not find a nettle leaf powder, you may try to find a nettle leaf tea at local pharmacy or health food shop and crash or grind the dry leaves into a powder yourself.

400 g strong white bread flour

100 g teff flakes

5 g fast-action yeast

375 ml tepid water

2 heaped tbsp nettle leaf powder

1 tbsp wheat gluten (for a bit more lift)

1tsp sea salt
a glug of olive oil

Mix the flour, flakes, gluten, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Make a well in the centre, then add the oil and water, and mix well. If the dough seems a little stiff, add 1-2 tbsp water, mix well then tip onto a lightly floured work surface and knead. Once the dough is satin-smooth, place it in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a tea towel. Leave to rise for 2 hours or until doubled in size or place in the fridge overnight. Line a baking tray with baking parchment. In a small bowl mix nettle leaf powder with 3 tbsp of water until smooth paste forms.

Tip the risen dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and flatten it down to gently push out the air, spoon the nettle paste on top of dough and fold the dough several times and then gently mould the dough into a ball. Place it covered by a tea towel on the baking parchment to prove for a further hour until doubled in size. 

Meanwhile heat an oven to 220C (fan 200C). Sprinkle the loaf with teff flakes and make 2 cm deep slashes across the top of the loaf with a sharp knife. Bake for around half an hour until golden brown and the loaf sounds hollow when tapped underneath. Cool it on a wire rack completely before slicing.

Teff flakes are available at Tobia Teff .

TOMATO AND CUCUMBER SALAD WITH SOUR CREAM DRESSING

This is the most typical summer salad and it accompanies most meals in summer. It consists of pieces of tomato, cucumbers and sometimes finelly chopped onions, and is spiced with a handful of chopped dill and scallions or chives. And sour cream dressing gives a deliciously tangy edge to it.

4 medium or small cucumbers

3 meaty tomatoes

150 ml sour cream (20-30% fat content)

5 scallions or around 15 chives

bunch of dill

sea salt flakes

freshly ground black pepper

Cut tomatoes into chunks, cut cucumbers in half, lenghtwise, each half cut in half, lenghtwise again, then slice them thinly crosswise. Mixed the vegetables and chopped dill and scalions together in the bowl. Season with salt and pepper, add sour cream and stir it through the salad. Serve with chunks of freshly baked baguette for mopping pale (tomato juices + sour cream) sauces at the end.