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Food

Raw Fish Salad Recipe

Everything in this salad is raw, so no cooking is required.
Raw Fish Salad Recipe

"Use whatever greens and citrus you fancy that are available. This is versatile."

Servings: 2

Ingredients

for the fish:
4 ¼ ounces sushi-grade white fish, such as halibut or fluke (from the thicker end of the fish)
enough kombu to cover the fish

for the dressing:
2 teaspoons miso
1 teaspoon tahini
4 teaspoons cider vinegar
4 teaspoons sesame seed oil

for the salad:
1 medium kohlrabi, thinly sliced
1 small bulb fennel with fronds (if possible) thinly sliced, fronds picked
3-4 sorrel leaves, roughly chopped
small handful pea tendrils

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to finish:
1 each Meyer lemon, zested and juiced
drizzle good olive oil
8 garlic flowers
12 wood sorrel leaves
ground sesame (or whole sesame seeds if you don't have a grinder)

Directions

1. Place the kombu over the fish, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate. Leave for 24 hours, flip and refrigerate for a further 24 hours. This will season the fish lightly and extract a touch of moisture making the fish firm and easier to slice. Remove the kombu after 48 hours and keep in the fridge until required if you're not using it straight away.

2. About 20 minutes before you want to serve the salad, take the fish out of the fridge and slice 1/2-3/4 cm on the grain for the flesh. Stretch a layer of plastic wrap over your kitchen surface (about 2 feet long) so you have a rectangle. You are going to use this plastic wrap to transfer the fish to the plate, so if you're using a ridiculously large plate, more plastic wrap will be required. Leave a couple of inches of excess to fold around the plate. You will also need to fold the plastic wrap over the fish, so make sure you pull out enough. With the folding element in mind, place the fish side by side in the middle of the lower part of the plastic wrap. Fold the upper part over the fish.

3. Take a rolling pin and gently "pound" the fish. You want to encourage the divides in the fish to meld together. Please don't beat the hell out of the fish.

4. When you're fish is looking perfect, unfold the plastic wrap. Place the plate you want to serve on over the fish, imagining where you'd like the fish to be located on the plate (somewhere in the middle, just of center how ever the mood takes you). Here's the trick: You can cut off the excess plastic wrap. As I mentioned before, you will need to leave enough to fold round the rim of the plate.

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5. Once you've folded the plastic wrap, round the rim of the plate to turn it over. Pat the fish onto the plate and slowly peel the plastic wrap off.

6. Now make the dressing. Combine everything in a bowl and whisk. This dressing is a split dressing, so don't worry about emulsifying.

7. Slice the kohlrabi and the fennel super thin. Mix into dressing.

8. Zest the Meyer lemon over the fish with just a squeeze of juice. (You don't want to drench the fish in lemon juice, just a touch will do). Drizzle the olive oil all over the fish.

9. Toss the chopped sorrel and pea tendrils lightly in the bowl with the kohlrabi and fennel, and place on the plate with the fish. Decorate with the garlic flowers, wood sorrel, and ground sesame over the top. Eat.

From How-To: Make Raw Fish Salad