Cook Islands Recipes

Pickled fish salad

500g Fresh white fish or tuna (boned and skinned fillet)
Lemons or lime
Salt and pepper
Salsa of fresh cucumber, spring onion (scallion), garlic, capsicum, radish, celery
Finely dice and toss together.
Watercress or lettuce leaves
Fresh dill
Coconut cream

Cut fish into even sized cubes, toss in salt and cover with water in a bowl. Cover bowl lightly and allow to stand in brine for a couple of hours. Prepare salsa and set aside in chiller in bowl. Squeeze lemon or lime into jug and put aside. When ready to serve, take up the fish in brine with perforated spoon, press out excess fluid and place in different bowl.

Add one tablespoon of salsa mix with the fish and pour lemon juice over just to coat fish and stir, leave for half a minute. Pour off excess lemon juice and pour coconut cream into fish mixture. Place lettuce leaf at base of serving dish, spoon fish mixture onto watercress or lettuce and serve with wedge of lemon and cooked root vegetable selection. This method creates a succulent and finely flavoured raw fish. Too long in the lemon or lime may toughen the fish. Serve with cooked root vegetable and pawpaw salad

The same mixture of fish and salsa may have other white shellfish such as crabmeat, lobster, shrimp, cooked and diced octopus added in quantities you prefer. A creamy mayonnaise or dressing with a mustard pickle tossed in will give the dish a different taste and texture. A fresh garden salad is a good dish to serve with it. Our traditional way of eating requires a 'hard' vegetable to offset the smooth texture of this succulent dish. A 'hard vegetable is any of the root vegetables and boiled green bananas and breadfruit.