Ingredients
- 1kg boneless fish fillets, skin on or off as preferred (if using Murray cod remove skin as it is very tough)
- salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- flour for dipping
- extra virgin olive oil
- juice of 2 limes
- grated zest of 1 lime
- Pickle mixture
- 2 red onions, sliced paper-thin
- 2 hot chillies, slit, seeded and cut into julienne shreds
- 2 tbsp whole allspice, coarsely cracked in a mortar
- 1 cup good wine vinegar or cider vinegar
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1/2 tsp white peppercorns, coarsely cracked
- 1 choko or 1 Lebanese cucumber, peeled, sliced and cut into strips (remove seeds if using a cucumber)
- 1 sweet red pepper, seeded and cut into strips
Method
Lightly season fish.
Dip fillets into seasoned flour. Shake off excess. Heat oil in a non-stick pan and sear the fish, skin side down. Turn after 1 minute. Cook the fish until cooked through and then remove to a deep dish that holds all the fish without too much extra space. Sprinkle with the lime juice.
To make the pickle
Place the onion, chilli, allspice, vinegar, salt and pepper in a non-reactive pan and bring to the boil. Drop in the red pepper strips and the choko or cucumber strips. Simmer together for 2 minutes.
Pour the hot pickle over the fish. Spread the vegetable strips evenly over the surface of the fish and scatter over the lime zest. Refrigerate and allow to marinate for several hours.
Break into chunks to serve and arrange with salad leaves, avocado, almonds or any garnish you like.
