I am in desperate need of a bit of fantasy right now. What with everything going on in the world, not least the inauguration of President Trump yesterday, I’ve never felt more like running away to a tropical island where harmony prevails. It’s not going to happen, I know, so I guess I’ll just have to stick to the next best tropical thing: coconut. If food can transport, coconut is the perfect vehicle in which I can float away and dream of better views.
Crisp sea bream with tamarind dal and coconut sambal
Use fresh tamarind pulp, if you can: ready-made pastes are more widely available, but they don’t have the plummy tartness you get from making your own. Serves four.
5cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
20g coriander stalks, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 large plum tomatoes, quartered
1 large shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
2 red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
½ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp ground cumin
345ml groundnut oil
40 fresh curry leaves (ie, from 4-5 sprigs; if you can’t find fresh, leave them out)
1 tsp black mustard seeds
Salt
4 sea bream, scaled, gutted and skin scored at 2cm intervals on both sides
50g tamarind pulp soaked in 250ml boiling water
250ml coconut milk
2 tsp light muscovado sugar
100g urid dal
60g rice flour, for dusting
1 lime, quartered
For the sambal
40 fresh curry leaves (ie, from 4-5 sprigs; if you can’t find fresh, leave them out)
1 tbsp groundnut oil
Coarsely grated flesh of ½ coconut
1 small shallot, peeled and coarsely grated
15g coriander, coarsely chopped
2 tsp lime juice
Put the first nine ingredients in a food processor. Heat two tablespoons of the oil in a small frying pan on a high flame. Add the curry leaves, if using, and fry for a minute or two, until crisp and aromatic. Add the mustard seeds, fry for a few seconds, then tip the contents of the pan into the food processor. Add half a teaspoon of salt and blitz for one to two minutes, until you have a rough paste (scrape down the sides of the bowl as you work the mixture).
Put the fish in a medium bowl, add about a quarter of the paste mix and a quarter-teaspoon of salt, and rub into the fish: you want to get the paste right into the flesh, through the score marks. Put in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes.
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a medium saute pan on a medium-high flame. Once hot, fry the remaining paste for five minutes, stirring from time to time, until aromatic and thick.
Meanwhile, mix the tamarind in its soaking water, to release the seeds, then strain into the saute pan. Add the coconut milk, sugar, dal and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt, and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium, and simmer for 20-25 minutes, until the sauce is thick and the lentils are cooked but still have a bite (if they aren’t quite ready, add a touch of water and cook for a few more minutes). Keep warm.
For the sambal, heat the curry leaves, if using, and oil in a small frying pan for two to three minutes, until the leaves are crisp and aromatic, then pour into a small bowl and mix with the coconut, shallot, coriander, lime juice and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt. If you don’t have curry leaves, instead mix the oil with the rest of the ingredients without heating it.
Heat the remaining 300ml oil in a large saute pan on a medium flame. Dust the fish with the rice flour, so it’s well coated on both sides. Once the oil is hot, turn the heat to medium-low and carefully lower in two of the fish. Fry for seven to eight minutes, turning halfway, until cooked through and dark golden brown on both sides, then transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper and sprinkle each fish with a pinch of salt. Repeat with the other two fish.
Serve one fish per portion, with some of the tamarind dal spooned all over it. Top with the sambal and serve with a wedge of lime.
Spiced plantain with coconut, apple and ginger salad
Make sure the plantain is really ripe: soft, covered in black spots and with a deep yellow skin. This fruit is widely available these days, be it from a large supermarket or a West Indian food store. Serves four, as a starter or two as a side dish alongside grilled chicken or fish.
2 very ripe plantains, peeled, cut in half lengthways and then again widthways
4 tbsp light olive oil
2½ tsp soft light brown sugar
½ tsp finely grated fresh ginger
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
¾ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp ground nutmeg
The flesh of roughly ½ coconut, cut 3mm thick (ideally, use a mandoline)
Finely grated zest of 1 lime, plus 2 tbsp lime juice and 1 lime, quartered, to serve
1 sharp, sweet apple, cored, then cut skin and all into julienne strips
1 green chilli, deseeded and julienned
Salt
15g unsalted butter
10g coriander leaves
10g mint leaves
Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Put the plantain in a bowl with three tablespoons of oil, two teaspoons of sugar, half the ginger, half a teaspoon each of the cinnamon and cumin, and all the cayenne and nutmeg. Mix to coat, then set aside to marinate for at least an hour.
Meanwhile, prepare the salad: in a medium bowl, mix the coconut, lime zest, lime juice, apple and chilli with the remaining grated ginger, ground cumin and cinnamon, and oil with a pinch of salt.
Melt the butter in a nonstick, ovenproof 30cm pan on a high heat. (If you don’t have one that big, fry the plantain in two batches.) Once the butter is hot, lift the plantain from its marinade and into the pan, reserving the oil and spices in the bowl (you’ll use these later in the salsa). Reduce the heat to medium-high and fry for three minutes, turning the plantain every so often, until it’s crisp and golden brown all over. Transfer to the oven and roast for three minutes more.
Put the coriander, mint and salsa in the bowl in which you marinated the plantain, and toss in the oil and spice marinade. Divide the plantain and salsa between four plates, and serve with a wedge of lime.
Coconut pudding with brazil nuts and lime syrup
This is similar in texture to panna cotta or set yoghurt. The flavours arevery delicate, and the smooth texture works beautifully with the crisp coconut and nuts. Serves six.
800ml coconut milk (ie, 2 cans)
50g caster sugar
1 vanilla pod, split in half and seeds scraped out
3 sticks lemongrass, bashed with arolling pin
8 fresh kaffir lime leaves
Flaky sea salt
1 6.5g sachet vege-gel
50g fresh coconut, roughly grated (ie,the flesh from just under ¼ coconut)
50g brazil nuts, sliced thinly, so they start to crumble
70g palm sugar (roughly grated, if from a block)
1 tbsp lime juice
Pour the coconut milk into a medium saucepan with the caster sugar, vanilla pod and seeds, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and an eighth of ateaspoon of salt. Whisk over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the milk is steaming and aromatic, and the sugar dissolves. Take off the heat and set aside for 10minutes to infuse. Strain through a fine sieve, and squeeze as much liquid as possible from the aromatics before discarding them. Pour the milk back into the pan, return to amedium heat, add the vege-gel and whisk for three minutes. Pour into six 9-10cm-wide ramekins and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Meanwhile, toast the coconut andbrazil nuts in a frying pan on amedium high heat for two to three minutes, stirring frequently, until light golden brown. Add 25g of the palm sugar, cook for a minute, until melted, then tip out on to a sheet ofbaking paper and leave to cool.
Put the remaining palm sugar in asmall saucepan with a tablespoon and a half of water, and put on ahigh heat. Stir until the sugar has melted, then boil for about a minute, until thick and glossy. Take off the heat, stir in the lime juice andleave to cool.
To serve, spoon two teaspoons ofsyrup over each pudding and top with the coconut and brazil nuts.
