Ora King Salmon Lox with Bagels, Zhoug Labne, and Pickled Onions

Ingredients:

Bagel
Sliced Tomato
Capers

For the lox:
1lb Ora King Salmon, skin on and bones removed
1/2c kosher salt
1/2c demerara sugar
1 T La Boite Shabazi spice

For the zhoug labne:
1 bunch parsley, leaves only
1 bunch cilantro, leaves and small stems
4 jalapeno, stems removed
2 garlic cloves, germ removed and chopped
1 T coriander seed, ground
1/2 t cardamom, ground
1/4t cumin seed, ground
3-4 T lemon juice
1/2-3/4c grapeseed or avocado oil
1 pint labne (if you want to make your own just add 1T salt to 1 quart of greek yogurt and let it hang in cheesecloth over your sink for 8-12 hours)

For the pickled red onions:
2 red onions, sliced thinly
1/2c + 1T kosher salt
1.5c water
1c white or rice vinegar
1/2c sugar

Process

Lox:
Mix the salt, sugar, and shabazi spice together in a bowl and set aside. Lay out two pieces of plastic wrap, roughly 18” each, and overlap to form a cross. Sprinkle a third of the salt mixture on to the middle of the plastic wrap. Prick a series of small holes into the skin of the salmon with a cake tester and then place the salmon, skin side down onto the salt. Sprinkle the remainder of the salt mixture on top of the salmon and wrap tightly. Place wrapped salmon onto a perforated pan with a drip pan under to catch the liquid that will exude (a baking dish will work fine if you do not have a perforated pan.) Weigh the salmon down with something heavy (a couple of tomato cans work well here.) Place in refrigerator and turn every 24 hours for 3 days. After three days, carefully wipe away and remaining salt mixture. Slice very thinly.

Zhoug:
Place all ingredients except for oil into a blender. When the mixture is a thick puree, slowly add in oil. Season with salt. Fold into labne.

Pickled Red Onions:
Mix the sliced onions with 1/2c salt and let stand for 1 hour. This will release some of the liquid in the onion, removing the bitter quality. After 1 hour, rinse with cold water. Meanwhile, bring the water, vinegar, sugar, and the remainder of the salt to a boil. Let it cool slightly. Pour over onions and let them stand until they reach room temperature. They will last in the refrigerator for a month.

Smear the zhoug labne onto a toasted bagel. Add sliced tomato, lox, pickled onions, and capers.