Calcutta ‘scorched & spicy’ seabass
Hispi cabbage, whipped curd
Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 fillets of seabass or red mullet, each 20mm thick, approx. 200g each, cleaned and skin scored, three even cuts
Spices: 5g fresh root turmeric, 30g fresh root ginger, both peeled, 2 green finger chillies, 2tblsp poppy seeds, 1 tblsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp sea salt
2 tblsp mustard oil or rapeseed is fine
Juice of 1½ lemons and zest of ½
1 Hispi cabbage, sliced into 4 wedges through the poles, root trimmed
2 tsp cumin seeds whole
200g cottage cheese, full fat
1 fat finger chilli, deseeded, finely diced
Method:
Turn your grill to medium hot.
Blitz the spices in a food processor with the salt, oil, juice of 1 lemon and 3 tblsp water. Coat the fillets in the spicy marinade, line a grill pan with foil, give it a rub of oil, place the fillets on skin side up, pop onto a medium rack of the grill and cook for 5 to 7 minutes until the fish is just done. Set aside.
Steam the cabbage wedges, having popped the cumin seeds in the simmering water, until just cooked. Set aside, keep warm.
In a small bowl using a hand blender or in a small food processor, blitz the cottage cheese with the remaining lemon juice and zest of ½ of lemon to a smooth, whipped consistency, about 5mins of blitzing. Set aside.
To Serve:
Place a cabbage wedge, a fillet of sea bass on a warmed plate, then a dollop of whipped curd to the side.