Pacific Marinated Snapper
This wonderful recipe I collected from a dear Māori friend during my time in New Zealand, who shared with me not only his love for his wonderful country but the national love for fresh fish.
This recipe is basically a CEVICHE of snapper, which at is core means it consists of raw seafood marinated in strong citrus juice. The variety of seafood, type of citrus, length of marination, and garnishes (often herbs, vegetables, and chiles) vary considerably based on where the ceviche comes from; a Mexican ceviche may have little in common with a Peruvian ceviche, and so on. This recipe is very much from New Zealand, as the base sauce is predominantly coconut, due to New Zealand’s historical tie to the Polynesian travelers who settled in New Zealand many moons ago.
Naturally I have tweaked this recipe and brought in the addition of Arabic flatbread.
Please read the notes before you start as it is hugely important to use only high quality FRESH fish for this delicious, healthy meal.
Ingredients
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1kg fresh snapper fillet- skin and bones removed
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4 large lemons- juice only
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Chilled Coconut Sauce
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400ml tin coconut milk
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1 clove of garlic- crushed
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1 red pepper- diced
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1 large mild red Thai chilli- deseeded and finely sliced
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Freshly ground black pepper
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Sea salt
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Garnish
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Fresh coriander leaves- roughly chopped
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Extra freshly ground black pepper
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Toasted flat bread
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Extra lemon wedges
Instructions
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Prepare Snapper:
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01 Clean, remove skin and bones. Slice thinly. Place fish in a bowl with lemon juice, cover, refrigerate and marinate for a minimum of 2 hours.
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Prepare coconut sauce:
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02 Mix all ingredients in a bowl and keep to one side.
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Assemble to chill:
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03 After snapper has chilled in the lemon juice for a couple of hours, now add to the same bowl all coconut sauce ingredients. Gently mix well and cover, place back in the fridge and allow further chilling for at least 1- 2 hours. Can leave overnight.
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Garnish:
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04 Serve cold with roughly chopped coriander leaves, black pepper, flat bread and extra fresh lemon.
Notes
JULES tips: It is important to make sure you use very fresh fish for this recipe, plenty of fresh lemon juice and marinate for a minimum of 2 hours (as the lemon juice chemically reacts and starts cooking the flesh during the marinating process). Once this process has been done it is then ok to add all the other ingredients.
