Sashimi and ceviche-style dishes are an easy alternative to cooking your summer catch.
Sashimi and ceviche-style dishes are an easy alternative to cooking your summer catch.
Like many cooks, I’ve always bought the freshest fish I could but, over the past two years, I have noticed a trend among leading chefs to age their fish. The first cook to bring this to my attention was Makoto Tokuyama, chef/owner of the muchlauded Cocoro, a Japanese restaurant in Ponsonby, Auckland. Makoto-san is a master of fish preparation and cookery, buying whole fish and ageing it from a few days to a fortnight for sashimi and special dishes.
Last year, on a trip to the Gold Coast, I ate at The Fish House at Burleigh Heads, which has a purposebuilt refrigerated ageing room for whole fish that is visible from the dining room. A waiter brought two whole red snapper to the table to show the difference the ageing process makes. One was freshly delivered and destined for ageing, while the other was similar sized and had been aged for seven or more days. The aged fish had firmed considerably yet still smelt fresh, and the waiter said the flavour would be much richer than the fresh snapper. My mother would agree with this, as she has always been adamant that fresh fish is flavourless.
One of my cookbooks of the year was The Whole Fish Cookbook, by Josh Niland, who takes a comprehensive look at this modern approach to fish preparation. The Australian chef and owner of restaurant Saint Peter and retail shop Fish Butchery in Paddington, Sydney, is an advocate of ageing and also using every part of the fish, including offal, bones and scales. I will be rereading the book over the summer and expect fish cookery at the bach to venture in new directions, resulting in exciting and unpredictable meals, including following his method of ageing some of the catch. And the key tips from Niland? Never wash fish with tap water when filleting or preparing it – he says it destroys the texture – and look for fish that are shiny, have bright eyes and do not have a strong smell.
This week’s recipes are for serving fresh fish without cooking. Chill the fish so it is cold before working with it. Turn the fillets over a couple of times to determine the firmness and the most suitable way to slice it. The uppermost side, where the skin has been removed, is probably better and I find the best place to start slicing is at the thicker end of the fillet. Taking a very sharp knife, slice through on a slight angle, without sawing back and forth, to get clean slices.
SASHIMI-STYLE FISH WITH SOY AND TOMATOES
250g fresh fish fillets (snapper, tarakihi, tuna,
kingfish, kahawai or gurnard)
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp citrus olive oil
2 tsp sesame oil juice of 1 lemon handful of cherry tomatoes 1 tsp sea salt flakes freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp microgreens (or finely chopped
herbs)
Chill the fish fillets, then cut thin slices with a sharp knife. Lay the slices almost overlapping on a large, chilled serving plate.
Mix the soy sauce, olive oil, sesame oil and lemon juice together. Using a pastry brush, generously coat the sliced fish with the dressing.
Cut the tomatoes in half and arrange them around the plate. Sprinkle salt and pepper over the fish and the tomatoes, then garnish with a light scattering of microgreens.
For best results, serve at once.
Or, if preparing ahead, cover the plate tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 hours.
Eat directly from the plate with chopsticks.
Serves 4-6.
Wine match: riesling.
CEVICHE-STYLE FISH WITH AVOCADO AND FENNEL
250g firm, fresh fish fillets (john dory, hāpuku, crayfish, trevally, kahawai, gurnard)
2 tsp sea salt flakes, plus extra to
garnish
200ml verjuice (a light aromatic
condiment made from unripe grapes) 1 small fennel bulb
1 small avocado
2 tbsp preserved pink ginger (available
in the Asian section of grocery stores) fennel flowers freshly ground black pepper
Cut the fish into strips about 2cm x 4cm. Toss in a serving bowl with the salt and cover with verjuice. Leave to marinate for 60 minutes.
Finely slice the fennel with a sharp knife or mandolin. Peel the avocado and cut into small chunks. Shape the ginger into curls with your fingers.
To serve, add the fennel, avocado and ginger to the serving bowl, turning it gently so they are distributed throughout the dish and absorbs some of the verjuice.
Sprinkle some fennel flower heads over the dish to garnish. To finish, scatter over a little extra sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper.
Serve with crusty bread as a starter or snack with drinks.
Serves 4-6.
Wine match: gewürztraminer.