Lifestyle | 31 Aug 2017 | By Sun International
Deconstructed Pickled Fish Recipe from Chef Jocelyn
Known for her ability to give classic South Africa dishes a unique twist, Executive Chef at The Table Bay hotel Jocelyn Myers-Adams shares her recipe for Deconstructed Pickled Fish.
Pickled fish is a classic South African preserve, with interesting stories about its origin. In short, the practice of pickling fresh fish in white wine with flavoursome curry spices has been around since the slave days of the Cape Colony.
Chef Jocelyn, in true style, has taken her classic Cape Malay Pickled Fish Recipe (link to Cape Malay Pickled Fish article) and given it a gourmet twist. When she attended the Ocean Reef Club gala dinner in Florida recently, she created this Deconstructed Pickled Fish recipe as a representation of South African cuisine.
“I wanted the flavours and textures of pickled fish,” she says, “but dressed up in a ‘black tie’ form.”
Her dressed-up deconstructed pickle fish recipe includes fish carpaccio, pickled fish gel, as well as fennel and cucumber gel, and is served on a panko meringue with fresh tomato sambal and pickled cucumber.
Here’s how you can make it at home:
Chef Jocelyn’s Deconstructed Pickled Fish (Serves 4)
For the Carpaccio
600g yellowtail or other SASSI line fish
20g fennel fronds, chopped finely
30ml lemon extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
Method:
Debone and remove blood lines from fish fillets.
Sprinkle fennel fronds on the outside of the fish.
Roll the fish into cling wrap to form a cylinder and tie the ends.
Freeze and slice thin rounds for the plate.
For the Pickled Fish Gel
1 onion, sliced into rings
2 garlic cloves, slivered
3cm piece of ginger, grated
1T yellow mustard
1T black mustard
1T fennel seeds
1T cumin seeds
3 cloves
3 bruised cardamom pods
3 allspice berries
2 lemon leaves
Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated
1 dried chilli
1t turmeric
1t garam masala
2T castor sugar
100ml apple cider vinegar
sea salt
8g xanthan gum
Method:
Sauté the ginger and garlic and cook until soft.
Add seeds, cloves, cardamom and allspice, and cook until they start to pop.
Add lemon leaves, zest, chilli, turmeric and garam masala and cook until fragrant.
Add sugar and cook until dissolved.
Add vinegar and cook until you reach a syrupy consistency. Play with the vinegar-sugar ratio to get the balance right and season.
Remove lemon leaf and any large pods/seeds/leaves and place in blender and blend until smooth.
Add xanthan gum while blending until glossy, smooth and thick.
For the Fennel and Cucumber Gel
1 head fennel
¼ cucumber
3g xanthan gum
sea salt to taste
Method:
Juice the fennel and cucumber.
Put the cucumber and fennel juice in a blender and add 3g xanthan gum while blending (or enough to create a glossy gel).
Season to taste.
Put gel into a squeeze bottle or piping bag.
For the Panko Meringue
100g egg white
3g xanthan gum
40ml water
3g salt
50g panko
Method:
Preheat oven to 130 degrees Celsius.
Whip egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Dissolve xantham gum in water and whip into the egg whites.
Fold in the panko and salt.
Pipe 1cm diameter meringues onto silicon paper on baking tray.
For the Tomato Sambal
60g red onion, brunoise (finely chopped into cubes)
200g tomato, seeds removed, brunoise
25g fresh coriander, chopped
5ml apple cider vinegar
1T extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste
Method:
Dice the tomato and onion into small blocks and mix.
Add remaining ingredients and stir, then add salt.
For the Pickled Cucumber
¼ cucumber
½ cup lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
1T fennel seed, toasted
1T sea salt
Method:
Shave cucumber and cut into 1cm x 4cm pieces and pickle in liquid. Once soft, roll in to little ‘ringlets’ that stand up.
Plate up like a pro
On a slicer, slice the frozen fish carpaccio to a thickness of 3mm.
Line the slices onto the plate as shown in the picture.
Brush the fish with lemon and extra virgin olive oil, and sprinkle with sea salt.
Place the meringues on the plate.
Dot with little peaks of pickled fish gel and fennel-cucumber gel.
Spoon small mounds of tomato sambal onto the fish.
Garnish with coriander flowers and fresh coriander seeds.
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