When I first read the words ‘smoked eel wrapped in cucumber
jelly sheets’, I knew I was out of my comfort zone. Na’ama had already bought
the ingredients so there was no going back, and after the event, I am glad I
didn’t read it properly until it was too late!
Na’ama had been inspired by the Ledbury and had found the
recipe online. For some reason the post has now been deleted but luckily I had
printed it off. The version below is adapted for 8 servings, and with our own
recipe for Jerusalem artichoke purée and shiso vinegar since the original didn’t
specify.
The shiso vinegar needs to be made 3 or more days ahead. The
vinaigrette made from the shiso vinegar also looks like a lot but you need that
much in order to submerge the mackerel fillets completely. The vinaigrette can
also be made a day or two before hand.
For the Shiso
Vinaigrette:
100ml soy sauce
100ml mirin
375ml rice vinegar
1 bunch of shiso leaves, coarsely chopped
500 ml rapeseed oil
1 bulb of garlic
First, mix the vinegar and shiso leaves together and leave to infuse for 3-5 days. Strain and set aside.
One the day, gently heat the soy sauce, mirin and shiso
vinegar in a medium sized saucepan over a low heat.
Cut the bulb of garlic in half and add it to the warm
infusion. Remove the infusion from the heat and set aside for 2 hours to
infuse. Pass the infusion through a fine sieve, add the rapeseed oil and whisk
vigorously to emulsify.
For the
Cucumber Jelly Sheets
1 litre cucumber juice
12g agar agar powder
I made the cucumber juice with about 8 cucumbers and a
juicer. You could otherwise blend the cucumber and strain it.
Mix the cucumber juice with the agar agar and heat the
emulsion in a medium pan to bring to the boil. As soon as it begins to boil,
remove from the heat and pour into a plastic or metal tray to about 1mm
thickness.
Let the sheets set. Do not move or cover with clingfilm
since any movement at this stage will prevent the sheets from setting. Set
aside to use in the smoked Eel and cucumber rolls
For the Smoked
Eel and Cucumber Rolls
240g smoked eel
4 tablespoons of crispy fried shallots (deep fried sliced
shallots)
2 tablespoons of crème fraiche
4 tablespoons chopped chives
4 tablespoons freshly grated horseradish (otherwise 2
tablespoons of jarred horseradish should work)
2 tablespoons of milk
Salt and pepper
Cucumber jelly sheets (see above)
In a medium bowl, mix the crème fraiche and milk. Fold in
the chives, horseradish, crispy fried shallots, and season to taste.
Remove the skin and any remaining bones from the eel and
flake. Fold into the crème fraiche mixture.
Cut he transparent cucumber sheets into 8 even sized
squares (you will see from the picture ours were too thick to be malleable!),
spoon 50g of the smoked eel mix onto the edge of each square and gently roll
them up into cigar shapes
For the
Jerusalem Artichoke Purée:
400g Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and chopped
Water, to cover
75g butter
50ml double cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Place the Jerusalem artichokes into a saucepan, cover with
water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes, or
until tender, then drain. Cool.
Place the Jerusalem artichokes into a food processor with
the butter and cream, and blend to make a smooth purée.
Just before you want to serve the fish, place the purée
into a saucepan, season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper
and heat gently to warm through.
For the Flame-grilled
Mackerel:
8 fresh mackerel fillets
4 tablespoons of plain flour
Salt and pepper
Shiso vinaigrette
Remove the pin bones and scales from the mackerel, and wash
the mackerel under cold running water and drain the fillets on kitchen towel,
ensuring they are as dry as possible
Mix the flour, salt and pepper and coat the mackerel
fillets with the mix
Heat a non-stick frying pan with sunflower oil, place the
mackerel fillets (4 at a time) skin side down into the hot oil, increase the
heat and gently cook the mackerel until the skin becomes crispy.
Remove the mackerel from the pan and place the fillets (skin
side down) onto a wire rack and gently cook it over the open flame until the
skin starts to blister. Do not move the fisllet around as it will break but
move the wire rack to ensure the skin blisters all over. The top of the mackerel
can still be a little raw at this stage.
Place the mackerel in a small tray and baste with the shiso
vinaigrette until the mackerel starts to become translucent. Set aside to
infuse while dressing the plate
Additional
Garnishes and Assembling Each Plate:
For each person, you will need:
1 smoked eel and cucumber roll
1 flame grilled mackerel fillet in shiso vinaigrette
1 tablespoon of Jerusalem artichoke purée
1 tablespoon of small diced cucumber (we went without
these)
1 tablespoon of crispy fried shallots
¼ teaspoon of ground nori seaweed
1 tablespoon of cut cress
Start each plate by arranging the mixed cress in a ring
with the crispy shallots, ground nori and diced cucumber. Spoon the Jerusalem
artichoke purée on one side of the plate, add more diced cucumber and place the
mackerel fillet on top of the purée. Place the smoked eel and cucumber roll on
the opposite side of the mackerel. Finish the dish with a drizzle of the shiso
vinaigrette
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| Our jelly was too thick but otherwise, a successful first attempt! |
