Gravlax

Method

1. Pat the washed fillet dry and lay it skin side down in a flat, steep-sided dish big enough to hold it without bending.
2. Sprinkle it generously with salt (about 2 tablespoons for a small fillet), then the sugar and a few twists of pepper. Go easy on the pepper.
3. Cover it completely with dill fronds and sprinkle with the aquavit.
4. Lay plastic wrap on top and weigh it down with a heavy dish. Refrigerate.
5. Every day, spoon the juices from the bottom of the dish over the salmon and replace the wrap and weight. After two days, taste an edge, and keep curing until you like it, usually 3 or 4 days.
6. Lift the salmon out, scrape off the dill and extra pepper and wrap it in fresh plastic.
7. To serve, slice it thinly across the grain at an angle, away from the skin, with your sharpest knife. Grind a little pepper over it.
8. Salt the onion slices in a colander for an hour, rinse and pat dry, and serve them with the capers, rye bread and mustard sauce.