Red Mullet Carpaccio
Marinated raw fish is one way of enjoying fresh fish for the more adventurous. As far as I can remember, I had been eating marinated raw kingfish in the Philippines that is locally called "kilawing tanigue", always accompanied by a bottle of ice cold beer. Its acidic agent is vinegar instead of lemon.
Carpaccio is a way to prepare thinly sliced raw meat or fish in Italy, usually seasoned with extra virgin olive oil, shaved parmesan cheese & lemon. For a dash of history, it was invented in 1950 by Giuseppe Cipriani, founder of the Venetian Harry's Bar for Countess Amalia Nani Mocenigo upon learning that her doctor ordered that she abstain from eating cooked meat. He named it after the Venetian painter Vittore Carpaccio because the red & white colors of the dish were reminiscent of his paintings.
Red mullet is one of my preferred fish because it's very tasty. Well, generally small fishes are usually much tastier than their bigger counterpart. Usually, I eat it fried dusted with flour, salt & pepper but since I had a kilo, I thought of trying out other ways to enjoy it. I prepared three diverse dishes. One of them is this carpaccio which was inspired by Jamie Oliver's red mullet sashimi. I used parsley instead of basil leaves because I find them hard to find being an annual plant. Just the same, it came out well. I liked the idea of using lime as opposed to the more common lemon. The difference was that lime is very subtle and more fragrant that when partnered with pomegranate creates a harmonious mixture in the palate. Ginger takes away the unpleasant fishy taste, which is actually commonly used in the Philippines. Just remember to prepare raw fish dishes only if you are 100% certain that the fish are fresh.
Red Mullet Carpaccio (Carpaccio di Triglie)
Ingredients:
Serves 2
- 4 small red mullet, deboned & descaled
- 1-1/2 - 2 limes
- 1/4 pomegranate
- salt & pepper
- 1 teaspoon minced parsley
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1 teaspoon ginger, peeled & minced
- Slice the fish to bite sizes.
- Sprinkle salt & pepper.
- Squeeze the juice of 1 lime. The acid of the juice of the lime will "cook" the fish. Leave it for about an hour.
- Transfer the fish to a serving plate. Discard old lime juice.
- Sprinkle salt & pepper again.
- Squeeze the juice of the remaining lime.
- Add the lime zest, grated ginger & pomegranate seeds.
- Scatter minced parsley leaves. Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.
