Makes: 6

Gin Mare Cured Sea Bass with Pickled Cucumber, Black Olives, Chilli & a Scallop Beignet in Tonic Batter

Gin Mare Cured Sea Bass with Pickled Cucumber, Black Olives, Chilli & a Scallop Beignet in Tonic Batter

Ingredients:

  • 1 large sea bass fillet, scaled and pinned
  • 80g sea salt
  • 25g caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp black peppercorns, crushed
  • 1 lemon zest of
  • 1 orange zest of
  • ¼ bunch mint, chiffonade
  • 70ml gin mare
  1. Mix together the sugar, salt, lemon zest, orange zest, peppercorns and mint then mix in the gin, completely cover all sides of the sea bass with the cure.
  2. Place the fillet in a tray or plate with the cure with another plate on top to press slightly and place in the fridge.
  3. Leave to cure for 24 hours in the fridge. Wash off well under cold running water and pat dry.

For The Dressing:

  • 100ml of the marinade (passed)
  • 1 orange juice of
  • 2 lemon juice of
  • 250ml virgin rapeseed oil
  1. Mix all ingredients together.

To Garnish:

  • 6 medium scallops, cleaned
  • 75g plain flour
  • 50g corn flour
  • 125ml tonic
  • 1 red chilli, de-seeded and sliced fine
  • 10g coriander cress
  • 6 black olives, sliced
  • ¼ cucumber sliced
  • 40g sea salt
  • 100ml white wine vinegar
  • 50g sugar
  • 1tsp mustard seeds
  1. First mix the sliced cucumber with the sea salt and leave for 20 minutes, in the meantime bring to the boil the vinegar, sugar and mustard seeds until the sugar has dissolved, allow to cool.
  2. Wash off the cucumber under plenty of cold running water and pat dry on a clean towel, place in a bowl and pour over the boiled vinegar sugar mixture and put to one side.
  3. Next make the tempura batter, in a bowl mix the plain flour, corn flour, baking powder and tonic together to achieve a very light batter.

To serve:

  1. Slice the sea bass thinly leaving the skin behind, lay out on a cold plate and smother with the dressing.
  2. Place the scallops in the batter and then deep-fry @190c for 1-2 minutes, remove and drain on kitchen paper then place on top of the sliced sea bass plates.
  3. Finish by sprinkling over the pickled cucumber, chilli, olives and coriander cress and serve immediately.

Cooking with Gin Mare at Rocksalt Folkestone Recipes by Mark Sergeant

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