If fish could be said to have families, then pickled salmon would rank as gefilte fish’s forgotten sister. Everyone remembers gefilte. The old ground carp has been frozen and jarred even  served up in three layers like a petit four. Salmon does star on the foodie pantheon but  that’s  only when it’s grilled on cedar planks or soaked in Teriayki sauce .

 Pickled salmon deserves a revival. Not only is it  richly flavorful, it is low in calories, packed with Omega 3 and it even improves in flavor after two or three days in the fridge.

 Don’t let the “P” word put you off. Pickled salmon is a snap to make. No need for sterilized jars or wooden barrels.

Of course  fish is perfect for the Sabbath.   The gematriya, the numerical value for  dag, the  Hebrew word for fish is  seven and the Sabbath is the seventh day. A coincidence? I don’t think so. Our sages say that in the world to come Hashem will serve a banquet to the righteous–and what will be on the menu? Leviathan which is a fish. Since my fish monger doesn’t stock Leviathan, I’ll have to settle  on salmon and so will you. Still this is a sublime way to  enjoy it.

Pickled Salmon

10 slices of salmon (about two lbs or 1/2 kilo) sliced in half
1 and 1/4 cups of vinegar
2 cups of water
3 bay leaves
1 T pickling spice
1 T peppercorns (optional)
1 clove garlic(optional)
1/2 cup of sugar
1 t salt
1 onion whole
1 lemon quartered
1 onion sliced
In a four quart (medium sized) pot boil everything together except for the fish and the lemons. After you bring this mixture to a boil let it simer for 15 minutes. Then add the lemon slices and simmer for 15 minutes longer. Remove lemon slices. Squeeze out the lemon juice from the lemons into the liquid and add the fish. Cook on low flame for 25 minutes. Cool and refrigerate. Store in glass jar or plastic container. Don’t freeze but this will keep for a week in the fridge.
Refrigerate and eat. Yum