Bagels and lox. A glorious combination, and I think most would agree. After being faced with the need to eliminate gluten, bagels are pretty high up on the list of things I miss. Most gluten-free bagels I’ve tried are pretty much bread with a hole in the middle. Fills the void, but doesn’t fill it well.

The online market of my CSA carries some products from local gluten-free bakeries, which is pretty awesome. This includes bagels from Sweet Note Bakery, a Philadelphia company that specializes exclusively in perfecting the gluten-free, New York style bagel. They are also soy-free, dairy-free, vegan, and non-gmo, garnering some serious respect. Even better, they are the best tasting gluten-free bagels I’ve had, with a chewy texture that’s amazingly close to the real thing.

The best thing to put on these bagels? Salmon, of course. Gravlax is cured salmon, like lox, but without the smoke. I brought home a big filet of wild-caught salmon from the Italian Market with just this purpose in mind. It’s an easy recipe that I like making just because it’s SO cool to be able to cure your own fish. Like ceviche or other raw applications, I suggest starting with the freshest, highest quality fish you can find (though sushi-grade is not necessary).

Homemade Gravlax (Cured Salmon)

Makes 4 servings (this recipe can be scaled up depending on the size of the salmon filet)

Ingredients
• 1.5 lb filet of salmon, skin on
• 1/4 cup salt
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 tbsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 bunch fresh dill, chopped, or 2 tbsp of dried dill

Equipment
• 9 x 12 glass or ceramic dish
• plastic wrap

1. Prepare salmon by trimming if necessary and making sure all pin bones are removed.
2. In a small bowl, mix salt, sugar, pepper, and dill. Spread half the mixture in the bottom of the dish.
3. Place salmon skin side down on top of the curing mixture in the dish. Sprinkle remaining mixture evenly over the top of the salmon and gently rub in.
4. Cover the dish with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge for 3 days, turning over the salmon each day. (The curing mixture should have turned to liquid.)
5. At the end of the third day, gently rinse the curing mixture off the salmon. Thinly slice, removing from the skin. Serve with lemon, capers, maybe some creme fraiche or cream cheese, and bagels, of course.