Sunday, 27. September 2009, 20:52:31
Mmmmmmh! This may have been the best meal I ever cooked. Restaurant
quality, and I am not ashamed to say that I licked the plate clean at the end,
something I couldn't have done in a restaurant...
The pictures show that I had potatoes with the fish. Spuds and fish mix well, but
I think rice would work even better, given the Thai inspired taste.
Swordfish Parcelsserves 2
2 large swordfish steaks (or similar firm, intense fish like tuna or shark)
1/2 leek
12 cherry tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 inch ginger
1 red chilli
about 12 Tbsp coconut milk
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
fresh coriander
2 inches cinnamon stick
some fresh basil
Baking paper/parchment (tin foil, if you don't have that)
Preheat the oven to 200°
Cut the leek in 2 inch segments, and cut these lengthwise in matchstick thin
strips. Cut the ginger in thin strips, too, and thinly slice the garlic. Remove the
seeds from the chilli and slice, too. I had a medium hot, finger long one; if you
use the thin Thai ones, you may want to use 2. If you don't like spicy food,
replace by red bell pepper.
Finely chop the coriander and mix with coconut milk, vinegar, and a pinch of
salt. Break the cinnamon in two, trying to keep large segments.
Cut two pieces of baking paper from the roll, each about 15-20 inches. Put a
fish steak in the middle of the paper, and half the leek strips next to it. Cover
the fish with half each of the ginger, garlic and chilli, add cinnamon shreds (you
need to remove them before eating, so they should be easily visible), and
arrange 6 tomatoes on top. fold over the paper from the long sides, and twist
one end, as if wrapping a giant sweet.
Spoon half of the coconut milk over the fish and leeks, and close the parcel by
twisting the paper on the other end. A look at the picture is probably more
helpful than the description. Repeat for the second portion.
Place the parcels on a baking tray and put it in the oven for 20 minutes. This
is why it should be swordfish: white fish, cod, salmon, they all would be
overcooked in that time and lose consistency and flavour, but the other
ingredients need that time.
Now is a good time to start cooking the rice, or whatever side order you prefer.
Serve in the parcels to show off, but then carefully push the fish onto the plate
and remove the paper. The coconut has become creamy enough to act as a
kind of glue for the ingredients, as you can see everything stayed nicely in the
original arrangement.
The basil is served whole, for decoration, but immediately after the photo I
plucked it into little bits and sprinkled the dish with it, adding extra fragrance
and colour. Enjoy. Enjoy very much.