This dish is inspired by Salt fish. As used in making Bajan Fishcakes. But I used Sea Bass. I cured it with some Himalayan salt which I picked up from Morrisons.
As for the red cabbage element, this was inspired by the coleslaw of Oistins fishmarket in Barbados. This slaw has been on the menu for a while at the Greyhound. It's made by thinly slicing the cabbage and marinading it with white wine vinegar, Extra virgin Olive oil, fennel seeds, salt and sugar.
As the cabbage pickles, I save the juices and then marinade the cured Sea Bass in this for a few hours.
Once the Bass was cured, I decided that I wanted to crisp up the skin. The current trend is to scorch/ blowtorch the fillet. I would have done this too, but I left my blowtorch at work. I'm sure the result would have been better. I am still going to try this version too. I feel that the result would be more consistent on a larger scale too. But I can't really complain about a fillet of fish cooked in loads of butter! |
The other flavour I wanted to bring to this dish in particular, was Turmeric. Another significant flavour of Bajan cookery. Also a personal favourite. I noticed some Samphire in the supermarket earlier and thought i'd try cooking it with a little chilli and the aforementioned turmeric. To be honest, I thought the flavour was lost in ther natural saltiness of the Samphire. I really need a second opinion on this. One downside to working from home I suppose. Sometimes you just need a second set of professional taste buds. |
Feedback is always welcomed. See an area for improvement? Have you been inspired be travels?
Thanks for your time.