ONE FROM BACK DOWN UNDER

Pacific Ocean Oysters w/ Vinaigrette dressing, Kingfish Tequila Cerviche and Whole BBQ Snapper

I wrote this one a while back when I was back in Sydney.

After walking from Clifton Gardens to Bradley's head and back it was time to go to the fish markets...

Super easy and can even turn the non oyster eaters out there. Simply mix the below and drizzle over. Add some tabasco if you're in the mood.

A dozen oysters. The nicest you can afford.
2 tablespoons Red Wine Vinaigrette
Half an Eschalot finely chopped
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

Kingfish Tostadas w/ Tequila

This tastes incredible, is fresh and somewhat healthy. I ate this with a margarita in hand and was at peace with the world.

700g of sashimi grade kingfish
1 ripe avocado
bunch of cilantro
4 limes
2 large sweet chillies
1 hot red chilli
1 shot of tequila
700ml of vegetable or canola oil
8 corn tortillas

Slice the kingfish into small cubes, and place in a bowl. Fine chop the large chillies, these add a tiny bit of spice, but mainly add texture and flavour. Then add the hot red chilli if your adventurous. Dice the avocado into similar size as the kingfish, then squeeze in the juice of 2 limes, add a shot of tequila, season with salt and pepper. Adjust your seasoning, lime and chilli to your precise liking then put back in the fridge. It must be served chilled.

Cut corn regular tortillas into squares. Heat oil, turn it down if it starts to smoke. Drop in a tortilla, and you should see it start sizzling away. Do in batches of four, turn once when getting crispy and brown, then set aside on paper absorbent towel.

Once you have your margaritas, simply place a heaped tablespoon of the kingfish mix on a tostado, add a cilantro leaf on top for garnish and a squeeze of lime.

Whole NZ Snapper on the BBQ

Bunch of Kaffir Lime Leaves
8 Thai Chillies
2 Limes
1.3 kg Snapper
Cilantro
Cilantro root
Palm Sugar
Fish Sauce
Galangal
Garlic
Shallots

Make sure that when you are buying the fish you get the fishmonger to scale and gut the fish. I am too much of a pansy to deal with that kind of stuff on a sunday.

Cut 5 deep incisions into the fish vertically, stuff these with as much coriander, kaffir lime, bruised thai chillies, garlic, and shallots as you can. Do the same to the inside of the fish. My fish humorously was bursting at the seems when I cooked it but it works better that way. Season with salt and pepper, then brush some olive oil and lime juice on the outside of the fish.

I used a fish grilling basket to do this on the bbq, and it was perfect. About 7 minutes a side flipped over once. You have to be quite attentive when cooking the fish as it cooks quite quickly so I would recommend sorting your sauce before you get cooking the fish. That is unless you have some kind of sous chef.

For the sauce, food process the remaining galangal, kaffir lime leaves, thai chillies, shallots, garlic, coriander root. Put a splash of olive oil in a fry pan on medium heat. Add your blended stuff and stir for a couple of mins. Add in a tablespoon of fish sauce, a tablespoon of soy, and a tablespoon of palm sugar. Try the sauce and adjust the sweet and sour with the fish sauce / palm sugar to your liking.

Drizzle the sauce over your fish and serve with fresh cilantro and lime.

BEC'S B'DAY BBQ!

BBQ Whole NZ Snapper with a Tahini and Pine Nut Sauce

In honour of my good friend Bec's b'day, I thought I would cook her something nice at her rooftop bbq in Surry Hills. I wanted to cook her a whole fish... something lebanese inspired.

This restaurant Al Mustafa in Glebe has an amazing whole Barramundi dish with Tahini and pine nuts. With that in mind, and an adaptation of a Martha Stewart recipe, I came up with this dish and it was really effin good.

Sea Salt
Pepper
1 Bunch of Rocket
1 Teaspoon of Paprika
3 Tablespons of Coriander Seeds
3 Tablespoons of Cumin Seeds
15 Dried Chilies
1 Bunch of Flat Leaf Parsley
A heap of roasted Pine Nuts
3 cups of Tahini Paste
1 x Cup of Natural Yoghurt
1 x Finely chopped Garlic Clove
4 Lemons
1 x 2.5KG Cleaned and gutted NZ Snapper

Use a mortar and pestle to make the Cumin and Coriander seeds into a fine powder. Dry roast with the paprika in a pan on a low heat until fragrant. After washing the fish in the sink and drying, coat the fish  lightly in olive oil, cover in the spices and season well with salt and pepper . Score the fish deeply on both sides with 5 vertical cuts.

Time to get hands on. Stuff a dried chilli in each score on the side of the fish, then some parsley, then a lemon wedge. Should fit in tightly. Then put the rest of the chillis, flat leaf parsley, and a few slices of lemon into the cavity of the fish.

Now your ready to put into your fish casket, and place on a bbq. I cooked it on a low heat for 15 minutes on each side. Whilst this is going on, make the sauce. Pour the tahini paste into a bowl, add the garlic, the cup of yohgurt, half a cup of olive oil, some salt and pepper, a few squeezes of lemon and then mix well. (This is my attempt to give you measurements and be specific, but I had beers when making this, so I can't really remember it all properly)

Once the fish has been on, test it and see how it is tasting. Should be soft and delicious. Then place the fish on top a bed of rocket, and parsley. Pour the tahini sauce on top of the fish, put the pine nuts on top of it all then squeeze lemon and olive oil over it.