Citrus-cured white fish with pickled radishes
- Published: 14 Jun 23
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
Lightly curing fish not only seasons it but firms it up a little, giving a great texture, while adding coriander seeds and citrus zest to the cure imparts plenty of zesty flavour. This is a simple dish to prepare, but gives you ample opportunity to put your plating skills through their paces for your next gathering.
Feed a larger group with our beetroot-cured salmon fillet.
Ingredients
- 1 grapefruit
- 1 lemon
- 1 lime
- ½ tsp coriander seeds
- 70g sea salt flakes
- 20g caster sugar
- 2 small whiting fillets, skin on (around 150g each)
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp elderflower cordial
- 3 radishes, finely sliced
- 20g dill, plus extra sprigs to garnish
- 60ml vegetable oil
- 50g mayonnaise
Method
- Zest the citrus fruit into a bowl, then grind the coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar and add them to the bowl along with the salt and sugar. Mix well, then pour half the mixture onto a tray with high sides. Lay the fish fillets on top, skin-side down, then pour over the rest of the cure and pat down so it covers the fillets evenly. Leave to cure in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the garnishes. Put the vinegar, elderflower cordial and 1 tbsp water in a pan, bring to the boil, then add the sliced radishes, remove from the heat and leave to quick-pickle as they cool.
- Roughly chop the dill, then put in a small blender or mini-chopper with the oil and whizz for 1 minute. Strain through a fine sieve set over a bowl, then transfer to a small squeezy bottle if you have one (if you don’t, a spoon is fine). The chopped dill left in the sieve can now be mixed through the mayonnaise with a pinch of salt.
- After 30 minutes, wash the cure off the fish, then pat dry with kitchen paper. Using a sharp knife, finely slice the whiting away from you at an angle, leaving the skin behind. Divide the sliced fish between plates, then dress with the drained pickled radishes, dots of mayonnaise, dill oil and dill sprigs.
- Recipe from July 2023 Issue
Nutrition
- Calories
- 563kcals
- Fat
- 49g (3.6g saturated)
- Protein
- 29g
- Carbohydrates
- 1.4g (1.4g sugars)
- Fibre
- 1.7g
- Salt
- 2.5g
delicious. tips
Whiting is a delicious, sustainable fish, but other white fish will work well too. The key is to make sure it’s as fresh as possible.
Though lightly cured, the fish is still raw, so it’s important to use very fresh fish (it needs to have been frozen beforehand) in this recipe.
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