This year, the salmon is carved in a new way. Chef Risto Mikkola tells how.
Believe it or not, salmon engraved on a Christmas tree is really delicious. Roni Lehti
Graavikala is an important part of the Christmas table for many Finns. So does the chef Risto to Mikkola.
– I love herring and the whole fish table at Christmas. Graavilohi is incredibly important to me. I want the salmon to be carved and cut in a certain way, says Mikkola.
Mikkola is so particular about his gray salmon that he always wants to do it himself. Mikkola is used to a certain kind of sugar and salt balance, where salt must also be inside the salmon, not just on the surface.
Graavilohi is therefore one of the most important dishes on Mikkola’s Christmas table – but last year the salmon got a new direction.
Now follows a story from real life.
The Mikkolas always decorate their Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. At the same time, we listen to Christmas carols and enjoy steaming mulled wine.
It happened last year that the domestic spruce bought from a Christmas tree dealer was too tall. A half-meter piece had to be sawed off from the spruce so that it would fit inside.
That same evening, Mikkola still had to prepare Christmas dishes. He looked at the sawed-off piece of spruce and especially its needles and began to wonder if the needles would be of any use.
– I usually make gravy salmon for Christmas with half sugar and half salt and a little lemon peel and dill shavings. It occurred to me that it would be nice if I could offer Christmas tree-engraved salmon, says Mikkola, and reveals that he himself doubted his own idea:
– I wonder if this is a bit too daring, if the whole salmon will go to waste.
But Mikkola has used pine cones in dishes before, so he knows they taste good. He decided that nothing but good could come.
Use a blender to help you mix the pine cone paste. The ratio of salt and sugar is easy to remember, because there is the same amount of both. Roni Lehti
Mikkola put sugar and salt in the blender, and added the rinsed pine cones. He carved a salmon fillet with needle paste for about a day.
– When I cut a slice of salmon the night before, I was a little nervous about how good it would be. I was nervous for nothing.
According to Mikkola, the sharpness and freshness of spruce needles were better than lemon. The havus gave depth to the taste of the salmon.
Mikkola decided to make pesto from the remaining havus, which is suitable as a sauce for salmon. Mikkola didn’t start picking the needles, because that would probably have affected their color and taste.
The salmon engraved on the Christmas tree was so popular last year that it is on the Mikkoloi’s Christmas table this year as well.
– My parents are with us for Christmas, so it is a great pleasure to be able to offer them this salmon as well.
Conifer pesto finishes the gray salmon. Roni Lehti
Salmon engraved on a Christmas tree
500 g skinless salmon fillet
100 g of salt
100 g of sugar
40 g of spruce needles
1. Put salt, sugar and pine cones in a blender. Mix to a smooth mass.
2. Apply conifer paste to all surfaces of the salmon. Put the salmon in a container and let it season overnight. Remove the conifer paste from the surface of the salmon and slice the salmon.
Christmas tree pesto
1 pot of parsley leaves
50 g of almond chips
30 g grated parmesan
0.5 dl olive oil
0.5 dl spruce needles
a pinch of salt
1. Put all the ingredients in a blender and mix into a smooth pesto.
Grain mustard potatoes
600 g peeled potatoes
salt
75 g of butter
2 tablespoons grain mustard
1. Boil the potatoes in salted water until cooked, pour off the cooking water, add butter and mustard.
2. Mix gently and serve with the salmon.
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2022, New Zealand (€33.98)
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc is known around the world as the heirloom of Marlborough’s white wines. The fresh, pure currant taste of the wine carries into an intense and long aftertaste, making it an elegant pair for the delicacies of the Christmas fish table. This multidimensional white wine is a pleasure in itself.