Lax Pudding

I had some leftover gravad lax from my New Year dinner.  This does not happen very often but I am always delighted when it does because then I have the makings of a hearty Lax Pudding. This is a classic Swedish dish which I first had for lunch in the famous Östermalms Saluhall market in Stockholm.  Nestled in this beautiful indoor food market are a variety of restaurants which serve delicious seafood.  A huge square of this pudding, swimming in butter, gives you plenty of energy for an afternoon of shopping!  This homemade version manages to taste rich and light at the same time.  A salad of arugula and fennel,lightly tossed in some lemon and olive oil, is an untraditional but perfect companion.

This recipe, which I adapted from my favorite Swedish cooking book, assumes that you are making it from scratch, so you do a quick and dirty salting of the fish, which is much easier than it sounds.

Serves 4 to 5

1 ¾ pounds (800 grams) of salmon

Salt

2 onions

Butter for frying and to melt for garnish

1 ¾ pounds (800 grams) waxy potatoes

1 big bunch dill

4 eggs

1 ¼ cup (3 deciliters) milk

½ cup (1 deciliter) cream

Pepper to taste

First, you have to salt the salmon.  Slice the salmon thinly.  Sprinkle each slice with salt on both sides.  Store in the refrigerator for at least three hours.  Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in salted water until just done (15 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the potatoes).  Cool, peel and slice.

When you are ready to put together the pudding, dice the onion and fry in butter until until translucent and just starts to color.  Chop up the dill but save a few sprigs for a garnish.

Set the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).  Grease your dish with butter; either a cake tin with a detachable rim (if you want a elegant cake) or a baking dish.  If you use the spring form pan, make sure it does not leak by running some water in it and seeing if it drips out.  If it does leak, you can wrap the pan in tin-foil to avoid a big mess (don't ask how I know this).

Put in a thin layer of salmon.  Add a layer of potato.  Season lightly with peppar.  You do not need additional salt because the samlon is already heavily salted. Sprinkle on some of the onions and dill.  Continue to add layers of salmon and potato, seasoning, onion, and dill. Press the filling down a bit with your hands.  You should have 2 layers of salmon and 2 to 3 layers of potato.

Beat together the eggs, milk and cream and pour the mixture into the tin or baking dish.  Bake in the middle of the oven for about 40 minutes or until the pudding is lightly browned on the edges and the custard is set.  If you baked the pudding in a spring form pan, slide a thin knife around the edge before taking off the rim.

Serve hot with melted butter poured over the top.