Salmon tartare with king fish, breakfast radish and sorrell.

Salmon tartare with king fish, breakfast radish and sorrell. Photo: Marina Oliphant

Our seafood supplier at MoVida will sometimes surprise us with a box of amazing scallops or sardines fresh off the boat. When your seafood is that fresh, you don't want to do too much to it. I love to cure it, a process that captures the natural flavours of seafood without the need to cook it.

There are different curing methods - salt curing, curing with citrus juices and vinegar solutions - and they can be used for a range of seafoods, all with excellent results.

Salmon tartare is a fantastic summer dish that uses the acid in lime juice to balance the richness of salmon. You will need the freshest salmon you can get. Freshness is very important when preparing and eating uncooked fish.

The kingfish cure can also be used with other fish, including salmon. If you add a tablespoon of chopped dill to the curing mix and give the cure some more time, you could have a side of salmon gravlax in a day and a half.

Barcelona-born Frank Camorra is chef and co-owner of MoVida Sydney and Melbourne's MoVida Bar de Tapas.

SALMON TARTARE

200g salmon fillet, skinned, bloodline on back removed
1 tbsp capers, rinsed, patted dry, finely chopped
1 small shallot, very finely chopped
1 tbsp parsley, very finely chopped
1 tbsp chives, finely chopped
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tbsp almond oil
1/2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

Cut the salmon into tiny dice, about 1/2 cm. Place in a bowl with remaining ingredients and some black pepper. Mix and taste. Add more lime juice if more tang is needed. Cover and chill. Serve on grilled sourdough, rubbed with garlic and topped with smashed avocado.

Serves 4

 

KINGFISH WITH BREAKFAST RADISH AND SORRELL

200g table salt
300g raw sugar
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, zested
1 orange zested
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 side king fish, skinned, split lengthways, blood line removed from centre of back (you should end up with two long white fillets)
16 French breakfast radishes, sliced in half lengthways*
16 sorrell leaves
Extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 lemon

Combine salt, sugar, pepper, zests and coriander in a small bowl. Place fish into a long ceramic dish and rub salt mix into both sides. Wrap each fillet separately in cling film and refrigerate for 2 hours, turning after 1 hour. Remove plastic and wipe off salt mix using damp paper towel. Finely slice fish on an angle. Arrange on a serving platter and top with radishes and sorrel leaves. Dress with olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon. Rough-chopped avocado, lime and mint are an alternative to the radishes and sorrel.

Serves 8

* French breakfast radishes are elongated, with white tips. They tend to be milder than other types.