Photo by Lisa Devlin, cakefordinner.co.uk ....80....
RECIPE .......................................... Three fish tapas These three little dishes - by John R, head chef at Señor Buddha - fuse the strong, contrasting flavours of East Asian and Spanish cuisine. Serves four. Bloody oyster shot Ingredients: 200ml tomato juice, 1tsp wasabi paste, 1tsp mirin, ½tsp soy sauce, juice of two limes, 1tsp caster sugar, celery salt, eight oysters, one lime to garnish. Recipe: Blend the first six ingredients together with a pinch of salt and pepper. Chill in the fridge for at least an hour. To serve, rim four shot glasses in celery salt and place two oysters in the bottom of each glass, then pour over the blended mixture. Garnish each with a wedge of lime. Chilli, ginger & gin-cured salmon Ingredients: 200g salmon, soy and chilli jam. For the curing mixture: 500g salt, 500g sugar, five fresh chillies (finely chopped), 100g ginger (finely chopped), five kaffir lime leaves (chopped), 100ml <strong>Brighton</strong> Gin. Recipe: Combine all of the ingredients for the curing mixture and cover the salmon. Leave for 24 hours to cure. Remove the salmon from the mixture and rinse well with water. The salmon will keep for three days once cured, so if you’re making this in advance, cover the salmon in olive oil and wrap it in clingfilm. Thinly slice the salmon and arrange it on the plate (see photo). Serve with the soy chilli jam. Cod & crab cakes with papaya salad For the fish cakes: 200g cod fillet, 200g crab meat (use tinned if you can’t find fresh), one red chilli, one thumb of ginger (grated), two cloves of garlic (crushed), one lemongrass stalk (bruised), three spring onions, half a bunch of coriander. For the papaya salad: one unripe papaya (peeled and shredded), two fennel bulbs (outer part removed, thinly sliced), two or three chillies (thinly sliced), six spring onions (sliced at an angle), one clove of garlic (sliced), 3tsp chopped peanuts. For the dressing: 1½tbsp fish sauce, 1½tbsp palm sugar, 1½tbsp lime juice. Recipe: First make the fish cakes by blending the ingredients in a food processor, adding a pinch of salt and pepper. The mixture should be wet, but firm enough to hold its shape (if it’s too wet, add flour or breadcrumbs; if too dry, add more cod). Shape the mixture into eight cakes and leave in the fridge for an hour to firm up. To make the papaya salad, toss all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Mix the dressing ingredients together and pour over the salad. Leave for an hour before serving to allow the flavours to combine. Heat some seasoned oil in a pan and cook the fish cakes over a medium heat for three or four minutes on each side, or until both sides are golden and they are cooked through. Serve with a handful of the papaya salad and garnish with micro coriander. As told to Rebecca Cunningham ....81....