Recipe: Africola's Kingfish Nayeh

Africola hosted our Shaw + Smith member dinner late last year, in Adelaide's east end, and one of the stand-out dishes on the night was their kingfish entree, fresh and flavoursome, and a beautiful match with our 2018 Lenswood Vineyard Chardonnay. 

This Raw Fish recipe is shared from Africola's new book, Slow food, Fast words, Cult chef:

"Duncan Welgemoed's food is exciting some of the most exacting palates. He cooks African-inspired vegetables, grilled and smoked meats, flatbreads, pickles, ferments, vegan-inspired desserts and serves cocktails and natural wine. The food and the experience he recreates links directly back to his South African birthplace, Johannesburg. The food is all about using sustainably sourced, low-impact-on-the-earth ingredients (carefully sourced meats, fish, vegetables, grains, pulses, seaweed, algae, shellfish) to create dishes that have big, powerful flavours, are punchy, bold, butch and that 'open another box in your palate and in your mind'."

This is an excellent dish to prepare when it’s sweltering hot and you don't really feel like eating, let alone cooking anything. 

RAW FISH by Africola

INGREDIENTS

85 g (3 oz) white fish fillet (such as snapper, kingfish or cobia), trimmed, bloodline removed
Good pinch of sea salt
3 tbsp lime juice
3 red Asian shallots, sliced
2 lemongrass, trimmed and finely sliced
1 handful each of mint and holy basil leaves, torn (not chopped)
5 bird's eye chillies, halved, seeded and sliced
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp coconut cream

METHOD

Slice the fillet in half lengthways down the centre, then slice it finely crossways – one serving should be about eight slices.

Combine the salt and lime juice in a bowl, add the fish, and mix well to marinate. Allow to stand for 3–4 minutes to cure.

Combine with the remaining ingredients and finish with the coconut cream. It should taste sour, salty and spicy. Adjust little by little as necessary, and serve.