SERVE WITH LAST SUMMER
SERVES 1 / PREPARATION 5 MINUTES
If Saison Vermouth is unavailable, buy a similar white vermouth such as Vermouth Routin Blanc. Feel free to infuse vermouth with any seasonal fruit or herb you wish.
2 fresh strawberries 30ml Saison ‘Fallen Quince’
Vermouth
60ml East Imperial soda water
(or similar soda water) 90ml 2021 Organised Chaos
Pinot Noir Pet Nat
Start off by slicing the strawberries. Add vermouth and soda water to a wine glass filled with 4-6 large ice cubes. Top off with the pet nat and stir through the sliced strawberries.
PAKSIW SERVES 3-6 / PREPARATION 40 MINUTES PLUS COOLING & PICKLING TIME / COOKING 10 MINUTES
1kg fresh mussels
50ml rice bran oil
1 knob ginger, peeled and chopped 1 shallot, chopped
2 tomatoes, diced and deseeded 3 bird’s eye chillies, sliced
2 bay leaves, dry or fresh
2 spring onions, chopped 250ml coconut vinegar
Put the mussels into a large bowl of cold water. If any mussels remain open when tapped, discard them. Drain well and pull away any beards (you can also do this after cooking the mussels). Heat a heavy-based frying pan until you can see smoke rise slowly. Pour in the oil, then immediately add the ginger, shallot and tomatoes. When they are almost cooked, add the chillies, bay leaves and spring onions. Cook for about 2 minutes. With the heat still high, add the mussels, cover, leave for a minute or two then shake the pan so they cook evenly. Pour in the coconut vinegar, shake, cover and cook for 2-3 minutes. As soon as the mussels start to open, remove them and transfer to a bowl to cool a little. Season the cooking liquid with salt, strain it into a container and let it fully cool down. Remove the mussels from their shells and put into the container with the strained cooking liquid. Put it in the fridge and let it chill completely. This can be done a day ahead.
SWEET PICKLED FENNEL
500ml fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon annatto seeds
1 bulb fennel, sliced (reserve 1 stalk for
the green garlic sauce)
Put half the orange juice into the jug of a high-speed blender with the turmeric and annatto seeds and blend at medium speed. Put into a small pot and bring to a slight simmer – this activates the annatto seeds which will give them more colour and a subtle earthy sweetness. Strain the juice, add the rest of the orange juice and let it cool slightly. Add the fennel, cover the container and leave it in the fridge until needed. This is best done the day before so that the fennel absorbs the flavour and crisps up even more.
GREEN GARLIC SAUCE
100g Chinese garlic chives, chopped 25g curly parsley, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 fennel stalk, chopped
1 star anise
¼ cup ice
Put the Chinese chives, parsley, garlic, fennel stalk and star anise into the jug of a high-speed blender. Slowly bring up to full speed. Gradually add the ice to cool down the blender and help to blend the sauce smoothly. Add more ice or water to adjust the consistency – you want to have a thick sauce that coats the back of a spoon. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve if needed. Keep in the fridge to stay cool. This is best made on the day to keep that fresh green garlic colour and flavour.
To serve, remove the mussels from the liquid and put onto a plate lined with a paper towel. Lightly season with salt. Depending on how many mussels you are serving, remove the same amount of sliced fennel from the liquid and put onto a plate lined with a paper towel. Transfer the mussels to a serving plate, ideally a plain white or earth-toned plate. Spoon enough green garlic sauce over the mussels to cover them fully. Put a fennel slice on top of each mussel.
This is meant to be eaten by itself but would work served with some taquitos or knäckebröd. All the elements of this dish should last for at least 2-3 days in the fridge.