Recipe by Gaetano Trovato: Amberjack, melon, and celery
Ingredients for 8 people
For the frozen amberjack slabs
- About 600 g of amberjack tartare
Method
Clean and fillet the amberjack. Dry the fish fillets very well.
Finely chop the fish with a knife to obtain raw fish tartare.
Pack 420 g of amberjack tartare in each vacuum bag (8 portions per bag, 50 g of fish per portion).
Quickly freeze each bag so that it remains a well-flattened and hard slab with a uniform height.
Cut the slab into the required portions and let it come to temperature on the plate.
For the dried caper powder
Method
Desalt the capers under plenty of running water, then place them on a baking sheet with parchment paper and leave them in a well-ventilated area for at least two days.
Once dry, blend them until you get a powder.
For the celery sauce
- 25 g of parsley leaves
- 25 g of celery leaves
- 100 g of celery
Method
Blanch 25 g of parsley leaves and 25 g of celery leaves in salted water with baking soda for a few minutes. Cool with ice to maintain the color.
Blanch 100 g of celery (central part) cut into pieces for several minutes.
Finally, combine the three elements and thicken with an immersion blender, adding a little olive oil. Adjust with salt.
For the crispy celery
Method
Peel the central part of the celery with a vegetable peeler and cut into very fine julienne strips with a knife.
Store the julienne strips in ice water.
For the melon cubes and melon sauce
- 1 melon
- Oil
Method
Clean and empty a melon. Cut each slice into cubes of about 0.5 cm. Store in the refrigerator.
Blend the scraps from cutting the melon, adding a little extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of xanthan gum (a cold thickener) until you get a sauce of the right density.
For the lime gel
- 3-4 limes
- 25 g of honey
- 1.8 g of agar agar
Method
Squeeze some of the limes to get 200 g of juice. Add 25 g of wildflower honey to the juice.
Bring the juice to a boil and then add 1.8 g of agar agar.
Continue boiling, whisking, for at least 2 minutes. Pour the liquid into a baking tray and let it cool.
Once cool, blend the mixture in a Vitamix.
Other elements to complete the dish
- Herring caviar
- Celery leaves
- Sprouts/salad greens
- Sliced radishes
- Maldon salt
Plate Composition
Assemble the plate as shown in the photo.