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Food

A World of Salmon

July 23, 2012

Tender, versatile salmon is the centerpiece of traditional dishes all over the world. From Swedish cured salmon with a bright honey-mustard sauce to Japanese-style skewers, yogurt-marinated filets from India, and more, here are 15 of our favorite preparations from around the globe.

Gravadlax — Classic cured salmon is served with a bright mustard-honey sauce in this recipe adapted from Jake Tilson's In At The Deep End. Flavored with pepper, cloves, and dill, the fish requires at least 5 days to cure, so be sure to plan ahead. Use the best-quality salmon you can find.Todd Coleman

Salmon Yakitori — These salmon skewers are basted with a sweet sauce, then grilled over charcoal to caramelize the sauce and add a smoky flavor.Matt Chamberlain

Tandoori Salmon — These Indian-style salmon filets are marinated in a spice-infused yogurt sauce, then baked until perfectly crisp.Matt Chamberlain

INDIA This Bengali dish is adapted from At Home With Madhur Jaffrey. Serve with cooked white rice.Todd Coleman

FRANCE Patrick Fabre served us this modern French bistro creation at the Paris restaurant Aux Tonneaux des Halles.

NORWAY The rich flavor of Norwegian salmon is combined with a subtle sauce of saffron, butter, and fennel to create this elegant dish.Todd Coleman

RUSSIA Salmon has been a pillar of Russian cuisine for centuries. In lean times, all parts of the fish went into the soup, say Glenn R. Mack and Asele Surina in their book Food Culture in Russia and Central Asia. But in "more prosperous times [they] were strained out to make a clear broth".André Baranowski

JAPAN For thousands of years, Japanese cooks have used the fermented soybean paste called miso to preserve fish. Now that modern refrigeration is available, they turn to miso not for its preservative qualities but for the sweet and salty flavor it lends.André Baranowski

FRANCE Elegant and surprisingly easy to prepare, the salmon in this dish is immersed in a buttery, wine- and mussel-infused broth. (Nage is the French word for swim.)André Baranowski

ENGLAND Easy and delicious, this quick-to-make recipe is typical of Nigella Lawson's no-nonsense, breezy approach to food.Richard Bowditch

SOUTH PACIFIC This beautiful appetizer was created at the former Ritz-Carlton Mauna Lani in Hawaii, where it was inspired by a local island kitchen and dressed up to create a "Ritzy" version of lomi-lomi salmon for the hotel's upscale clientele.Melanie Acevedo

Smoked Salmon with Pickled Chanterelles — In the Ireland of old, fish and shellfish, especially the latter, were so inexpensive that they were often considered the food of the poor. In the 18th century, posted notices advertised you could get a beer for twopence and salmon and lobster for nothing. Get the recipe for Smoked Salmon with Pickled Chanterelles »Melanie Acevedo

This potato salad—flavored with crabmeat, salmon caviar, and garlic-laced mayonnaise—was created by Tom Hudgins when he lived in the Russian city of Vladivostok.James Oseland

Salmon with Cabbage and Cider Vinegar — Cabbage is prepared in almost every Irish home. In this dish it combines nicely with vinegar to offset salmon's richness. Get the recipe for Salmon with Cabbage and Cider Vinegar »Melanie Acevedo

UNITED STATES You don't need a smoker to lend a slightly spicy, faintly sweetish hint of the outdoors to fresh salmon. On board a friend's boat in Alaskan waters, we improvised this method with strips from cedar logs. Back home, we substituted shakes of untreated aromatic cedar (sold by the bundle at lumberyards and hardware stores).Christopher Hirsheimer

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