Gin-cured ocean trout with bush tomato emulsion and pickled cucumbers

The discovery of the beautiful and unique West Winds gin from Margaret River is perfect for this dish. Gin is the big craze right now and the creaminess of the salmon will compliment this perfectly. Peter Kuruvita's Coastal Kitchen

• serves

  8

• prep

  45 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

Gin-cured trout

• 1 kg side ocean trout, skinned and trimmed
• 100 ml gin
• 25 g chopped dill
• 25 g lemon zest
• 50 g sugar
• 50 g fine table salt
• Pinch of ground cinnamon myrtle

Bush tomato emulsion

• 7 g whole dried bush tomatoes
• 100 ml white wine
• 30 g cucumber flesh trimmings
• 15 g cucumber peelings
• 60 g red Asian shallots, finely chopped
• 250 ml (1 cup) fish stock
• 2 tsp ground bush tomato
• 2 g salt
• 1.5 g xanthan gum

Pickled cucumber rings

• 1 telegraph cucumber 
• Drizzle of lemon juice
• Pinch of salt

Pickled cucumber ribbons

• 1 telegraph cucumber
• 100 ml water
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 10 g banana shallot, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, sliced
• ½ sprig thyme
• 2 g salt 
• Salad of dandelion leaves, popcorn shoots, sea parsley and mizuna, to serve

Marinating time: 45-60 min

Instructions

For the gin-cured trout, place the trout on a tray. Combine the remaining ingredients in a bowl. Coat both sides of the trout in the marinade, ensuring the mixture is evenly distributed. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 45-60 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the bush tomato emulsion, place the bush tomatoes, wine, cucumber trimmings and half the shallots in a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until reduced by half. Remove from the heat, then add the fish stock, remaining shallots, ground bush tomato and a pinch of salt. Transfer the mixture to a blender with the xanthan gum and process until smooth. Strain through a fine sieve.

For the pickled cucumber rings, peel the cucumber and reserve the trimmings. Cut the cucumber into 1½ -2 cm rounds. Using a pastry cutter, stamp out the seeds from each slice of cucumber and reserve the trimmings. Place the cucumber rings on a heat-proof tray. Using a kitchen blowtorch, char the cucumber until the edges are lightly blackened. Season the charred rounds with a little salt and lemon juice, then set aside until ready to serve.

For the pickled cucumber ribbons, using a vegetable peeler, peel the cucumber lengthwise into ribbons, stopping when you come to the core. Place the cucumber ribbons and all the remaining ingredients in a bowl and set aside to pickle lightly.

To serve, remove the fish from the refrigerator and wipe off the excess marinade. Do not wash under water. Thickly slice the fish against the grain and arrange 3 pieces of fish on each plate. Add the pickled cucumber rings and a small mound of pickled cucumber ribbons, then spoon some bush tomato emulsion around the fish and scatter over the salad leaves.

Peter Kuruvita's Coastal Kitchen airs 8pm, Thursdays on SBS and then you can catch-up on SBS On Demand. Visit the program page for recipes, videos and more.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.