Suggestions for fish/seafood tartare/cevice/sashi.

[Thesorus]

I have to do a couple of amuses-bouche for christmas eve, I will do a platter of fish thingies.

for now, on the drawing board are :

tuna sashimi with blood orange sauce.

salmon tartate with truffle oil

ceviche of Scallops ( lime, EVOO, coriander )

I know that it always depend on the fish available at the fish store, but can I have a couple of suggestions or sauces or marinades for this ?

maybe some simple blinies with caviar ( well, as close to real caviar as my wallet can affort )

I can also make gravlax ( that I have to start making ahead of time) and I have access to some nice smokes fish ( salmon, ... ) but they can be over-powering the other fishes.

Thanks a lot.

[Carolyn Tillie]

How about a halibut crudo with yuzu, grapefruit, and olive oil?

Or a yellowtail crudo with fennel, Meyer lemon, and pickled shallot?

Oysters on the half-shell with mignonette?

For those guests who are afraid of raw, you might consider some smoked albacore, the gravlax (you mentioned), and a shrimp cocktail?

[budrichard]

Be sure your truffle oil is from real truffles. I don't use it anymore because of reports of an artificial ester being used.

Your scallops need to be 'dry pack' other wise they have been soaked in a chemical solution to prolong lifetime and add water. This leaves a chemical taste.

Is your salmon tartar from fresh salmon or cold cured? Fresh salmon needs to be frozen and then treated with an acid to kill any parasites. If purchased from a Japanese store selling sashimi quality fish, it will be treated for you.

If you are making amuses with raw or lightly treated fish, your health will be better and the taste will be better with sashimi quality fish.-Dick

[Domestic Goddess]

Would you consider a Filipino recipe for cerviche? It entails a lot of marinating in white vinegar and dressing up with slices of ginger, onions and chilis. This recipe is great for flying fish, large anchovies and tuna.

[Thesorus]

I'm open to any suggestions.

I think that I will also do blinis with some sort of caviar.

the only small restriction is that if I have to use some alcool for some recipes I have to be able to substitute that with something that is not, my niece is 15 year from being legally allowed to drink alcool.

the only variable in my setup is that I'm not certain what kind of white fish I have access to next week-end, I have to go there thursday to have a chat with my fish monger about that.

about the quality of the fish and shellfish, we have good stores here, and they will tell me if the fish is good enough or not for what I want to do.

thousand Thanks gang.

( edited to add a few elements )

Edited December 19, 2006 by Thesorus (log)

[budrichard]

My expereince with fish mongers has been all over the place, that is why i was so specific about sashimi quality. Just because I guy sells fish dosen't mean he knows what he is talking about. In Chicago many places that are retail outlets for wholesale dealers are in fact selling fish that retaurants pass over and I wouldn't purchase.

The final judge is yourself. -Dick