Preparing for Easter..... Pickled Fish is ready.

And so Easter is upon us again......how time flies by.  I have only recently finished packing away my Christmas decorations!

A real Cape Tradition is Pickled Fish. It is one of the oldest and best known dishes from the Cape. Pickling is a great way to preserve food and add flavour at the same time. Centuries ago Malay fishermen lived off their catch and devised this method of preserving the fish with vinegar and spices. This method and tradition came with them to the Cape.
The inspiration and  recipe came from Jenny Morris.....Thanks Jenny!    

Best prepared three days before serving to allow the flavours to develop.

Select 2 kg firm white fish fillets such as Snoek or Kabeljou.

 

Cut  fillets into slices and season well.

Sprinkle with a little cake flour.

Shallow fry the fish in oil and drain on kitchen paper towels when done.

Prepare the sauce with the following ingredients and cook for 10 minutes.

 

 Curry Sauce ingredients:

750 ml White Vinegar
250 ml Water
250 g White Sugar
30 g Curry Powder
5 g Salt
15 g Black Peppercorns
4 Onions, peeled and sliced
6 Lemon leaves
15 g Crushed Fresh Ginger
250 g Sultanas
2 Bay leaves
15 g Turmeric
15 g Cake Flour

Combine Vinegar, water, sugar, salt, peppercorns and spices.
Bring to the boil.
Add onions, lemon leaves, ginger and bay leaves.
Simmer gently for 10 minutes, remembering that the onion should remain crunchy in texture.
Mix cake flour to a paste with a little water and add to sauce to thicken slightly.
Stir in Sultanas.
Layer fish and sauce, cool and refrigerate for 3 days before serving.

If you can resist the temptation, store for 3 days before serving...... but with the wonderful spicy aroma's wafting around the house it will be difficult!

And then, I have to be creative and match this wonderful colour of the Pickled Fish with a gem stone or two and some flowers......

What could be more fitting than Cirine? The wonderful deep honey, yellow colour of this gem perfectly matches the curry sauce with the yellow turmeric spice.

 

My favourite Amber, or Bernstein is the other most suitable organic gem to match with the Pickled Fish.

And finally, a splash of golden, warm yellow of the Nasturtinum would be my choice of flower to match the Pickled Fish.

More Easter inspiration in my next blog.