Nori Crusted Wild Salmon On An Escabeche Of Pickled Vegetables

Ingredients

Serves 4

4 x 170grams Salmon portions, skin off
1 x dozen Bluff oysters (keep oyster sea water for sauce)
1 x dozen Green Lip mussels (keep juices reserved for sauce)
For garnish, ice plant, beach spinach, chervil
Escabeche of Vegetables
1 fennel bulb, julienned
1 red capsicum, julienned
1 yellow capsicum, julienned
1 courgette, julienned
1 onion, julienned
200ml sherry vinegar
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Method

Slice vegetables and set aside. Heat olive oil in a saucepan to a moderate heat, add the vegetables and cook for 3 minutes without colour, deglaze with sherry vinegar and cook for 2 minutes, season with salt and pepper.
Nori Crumb:
- 3 sheets unseasoned nori
- 20 grams white sesame seeds
In food processor add both nori and sesame seeds. Blend until fine scraping sides occasionally. Season according to taste. Place on a plate and press salmon skin side down into nori crumb. Set aside.
Champagne sauce:
- 300ml champagne or quality sparkling wine
- 2 shallots, finely diced
- 50ml oyster seawater, strained
- 50 ml mussel juices, strained
- 200ml cream
- 50ml clarified butter
Sweat shallots in clarified butter until soft without colour, deglaze with champagne and reduce by ½. Add the strained oyster juice and cream and reduce to sauce consistency, check seasoning. Keep warm.

Plating Up

Set oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Heat a non stick frying pan to a moderate heat, add olive oil, once hot carefully add seasoned salmon fillets, nori side down, lightly pressing down to ensure the nori is getting crispy. Once crispy, place in the oven for 5 minutes (time depends on how you like your salmon cooked). 5 minutes will yield a medium piece of salmon.
Whilst salmon is cooking gently heat the escabeche of vegetables and in a separate pan heat the champagne sauce. When the salmon is almost cooked gently place the oysters and mussels into the champagne sauce just to warm through, once warm remove from the sauce. Use the stick blender to blend the sauce.
To plate dish, add the warmed escabeche of vegetables in the middle, place cooked salmon on top, arrange oysters around dish, froth up the champagne sauce with the stick blender and spoon over oysters and salmon, garnish with sea herbs. Eat and enjoy.

Chef James Draper

Sous chef of Louis Champagne Bar in Christchurch. Check in on James on Twitter here.

Wine Match

Peter Yealands Riesling 2018

This is a style of wine that is hard not to love at every sip – an off-dry style that’s lush and packed with zesty, citrus flavours like lemons and limes with just a touch of sweetness.

Louis Champagne Bar

Bringing new levels of elegance to Christchurch, Louis Champagne Bar is a classy place to wine and dine. Oysters served 12 different ways are available, shareable meat boards, hand-cut duck fat potatoes are also available. Larger dishes including yellow fin tuna with avocado puree, pan roasted whole sole and premium beef fillet with spring vegetables are typical dishes. Serving the best wines, sparkling wines and champagnes from around the country and the world, you’re sure to find a tipple that will tickle your fancy.