9 September 2022

Salad of red mullet with lime and ginger


Check 4 red mullet fillets for bones or stray scales. Pour 25 ml white wine vinegar and the juice of 1 lime into a stainless steel saucepan. Add 2 lime leaves, scrunching them slightly to release their fragrance as you go. 

Scrub 1/2 small carrot and slice it as finely as paper – you should almost be able to see through it – then peel 1/2 onion and slice that similarly. Drop them into the pan together with a small clove of garlic, peeled and squashed flat (you just want the merest whiff), 1/2 red chilli, a teaspoon of palm sugar (though you may need to add some more later) and a star anise, 1/2 tsp coriander seeds and 4 white peppercorns.

Bring the lot to the boil, add a good pinch of salt, 4 whole black peppercorns then pour in 40 ml olive oil and let the mixture simmer for a minute or two. You want the onion to have softened slightly. heat off, lid on, and leave to settle.

Warm a little olive oil in a non-stick pan. season the red mullet fillets with salt and black pepper and lay them in the hot olive oil. Let them colour on the skin side, then carefully turn them over and allow to colour on the other side. lift the fillets from the pan with a fish slice or palette knife and place on a shallow dish.

Grate 1 cm ginger into the marinade and stir in some chopped parsley (which I forgot). Taste it, adding a little more palm sugar if you think it needs it. The juices should have a little kick to them. Spoon over the fish and leave to cool.

Lift the red mullet on to plates and spoon over the vegetables.

(Here Nigel Slater's original recipe)

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