KAHAWAI WITH SMOKEDTOMATO DRESSING
SERVES 4 / PREPARATION 30 MINUTES / COOKING 25 MINUTES
If you have a covered wood or charcoal barbecue, the tomatoes for this recipe can be smoked directly on the barbecue. Raise the tomatoes a little away from the heat source to prevent them from overcooking.
250g vine tomatoes, halved pinch of sugar extra virgin olive oil
1 cup woodchips for smoking
2 teaspoons merlot/cabernet vinegar
or red wine vinegar
1 punnet mixed cherry tomatoes,
halved or quartered
500g skinless kahawai fillets,
cut into 2mm slices fresh basil to garnish nasturtium leaves to garnish (optional)
Preheat the oven to 140℃.
To make the dressing, put the vine tomatoes on a small tray, sprinkle with sugar (super-sweet tomatoes won’t need it), season well with salt and pepper and drizzle with a splash of olive oil. Warm through in the oven for 15 minutes. Set aside.
To make a smoker, line an oven roasting pan with foil and make a small mound of woodchips in the middle. Place a cooling rack on top of the pan Turn the stovetop element onto a medium heat to get the chips smouldering. Once smoking, turn to the lowest setting (if too hot, it will go up in flames!), place the tray of tomatoes onto the rack, making sure there is room around the outside for the smoke to come up. Cover the entire tray and rack with foil, sealed well to entrap the smoke. Smoke for 10 minutes.
Cool, then peel the tomatoes keeping the flesh and seeds. Push the flesh through a coarse sieve to break up or just use a fork. Season with a splash of vinegar, a good amount of salt and a generous lug of olive oil. Toss the mixed cherry tomatoes through the dressing. Arrange fish pieces on serving plate and season with a little salt. Serve with a generous dollop of dressing, garnish with fresh basil and just a couple of nasturtium leaves if using, as they are very pungent. Drizzle over some olive oil to finish it off.
The restaurant serves what is plentiful and available – so the menu morphs every day. “We don’t endeavour to source snapper just because that is what people are used to,” says restaurant manager Kim van Rijn.