FOOD + DRINK
THOMAS WILLIAMS CONT .
Thomas ’ Blow Torched Mackerel , Spring Tomato Consommé , Peach , Radish and Tomato Salad
Serves : 2 Equipment :
• Chef ’ s blowtorch
• High speed blender / smoothie maker
• Metal oven tray
• Fine sieve
• Muslin cloth / several J-cloths
Ingredients :
• 1 mackerel , filleted and pin boned ( ask your fishmonger to help with this )
• 1 peach
• 2 red / pink radishes
• 50ml cider vinegar
• 50ml water
• 25g caster sugar ( for the pickled radish )
• 1 x juniper berries
• 1 x bay leaf
• Heritage tomatoes ( couple of different shapes and sizes )
• Carrot tops
• Bunch of fresh dill
• 1 / 4 banana shallot
• 1 very small clove garlic
• 6 plum tomatoes
• 1 / 2 punnet cherry tomatoes
• 4 basil leaves
• 1tsp caster sugar
• Small pinch of flaked sea salt
• 1 / 2 tsp sherry vinegar
• Tiny drizzle of good quality olive oil
Method :
To start the dish we first need to make our fresh tomato consommé as this takes a little time to make and infuse ( we make ours a day ahead to ensure the flavours have fully matured ).
1 . Take your banana shallot , garlic , plum and cherry tomatoes ( keep the heritage tomatoes for your salad garnish ) flaked sea salt , 1 tsp of caster sugar , basil leaves , 4 lengths of dill , and sherry vinegar and place in your high speed blender ( cut everything up roughly to enable it all to fit in the blender jug ) and process this on high for at least 5 minutes to fully puree everything .
2 . Next take your sieve and place this over an appropriately sized container to collect your consommé underneath . Lay 3 sheets of muslin cloth or at least 3 opened j-cloths into the sieve to pass your liquid through . Pour the full contents of the blender into the muslin lined sieve and allow to strain until all of the liquid has dripped through . ( Please do not squeeze the pulp left in the muslin cloth as this will make your consommé cloudy !) This whole process of straining will take at least 1-2 hours . Once fully strained taste and slightly adjust your seasoning if necessary with a tiny pinch of table salt .
Refrigerate this overnight to allow the flavours to mature and amalgamate fully .
3 . Next we need to create our pickled radish . Take your cider vinegar and water and place into a small saucepan with the 25g of caster sugar , bay leaf and juniper berry . Bring this to a rolling boil and allow to simmer for 3-4 minutes to infuse the flavours of the juniper and bay leaf . Remove from the heat and allow to cool fully .
While this is happening , very thinly slice , either with a knife or on a mandolin , the radishes making sure they have been washed and cleaned first . Place these into the pickle and leave overnight alongside the tomato consommé to infuse and pickle correctly .
4 . To assemble and finish our dish we need to remove our mackerel from the fridge and trim it up by removing the fatty belly part at the bottom of the fillet , flip the mackerel over and very carefully using a sharp knife make equal cuts into the skin but only cut the middle section to create a scoring effect ( do not cut all the way through or this will ruin the fish and it will be unusable .)
5 . Cut your beautiful heritage tomatoes into different shapes and sizes to create an interestingly shaped salad , ( squares , slices , halves ) place these into a bowl and very lightly season with a tiny pinch of cracked sea salt and a very tiny drizzle of olive oil .
6 . Slice the peach in half , carefully working around the stone , and twist the fruit to separate the halves , thinly slice the half without the stone and lay flat onto a metal baking tray . Place the mackerel on the same tray and sprinkle a very small amount of salt over the mackerel to season .
7 . Taking your chef ’ s blowtorch turn it on high and scorch the peach until it gains a lovely caramelisation , once your peach has been torched , turn your attention to the mackerel and starting from one end , blowtorch the skin side until again it has a lovely caramelisation ( the fish will curl at the edges very slightly and then relax again just at the point of it being cooked )
8 . Now to assemble your plate . Start by decanting your consommé into a small pouring vessel . Present your beautiful tomato , peach and pickled radish salad , garnishing it with carrot tops and a few sprigs of dill and very carefully lay your mackerel on the plate to accompany the rest of your dish .
Sit back , relax and enjoy a true taste of pure and clean summer eating .
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