Hiramasa king fish, cucumber, wild rice, saffron

For the King Fish

1. Place the fish portions into separate vacuum bags with a small amount of olive oil. There are only two pieces as the fish will be carved in half to expose the centre, resulting in 4 portions
2. Seal the bags with a pressure high enough so that the bags are tight, about 18 seconds
3. Reserve the fish refrigerated until the time of cooking. It is important that the fish is cooked as close to the time of vacuum sealing as possible so as to avoid the development of harmful
4. bacteria

For the Cucumber

1. Once peeled and cut to size, lightly salt the cucumber at a ratio of 20g salt per 1kg of cucumber and let stand for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes rinse the excess salt off the cucumber pieces with water and place them into a vacuum bag with gazpacho water. The ratio of cucumber to gazpacho is 2 to 1 (100g cucumber/50ml gazpacho water)
2. Seal the cucumber on maximum pressure and leave to marinate for 6 hours. The cucumber will become denser in texture and take on the flavour of the gazpacho

For the Gazpacho Water

1. Chop all the vegetables into even size pieces and place them into a bowl with the salt and water. Cover the bowl with film and let the contents stand for 4-5 hours
2. Once the time has passed purée the gazpacho with a hand blender and place the resulting mixture to pass slowly through a paper coffee filter. The liquid should run clear and have the
3. appearance and texture of water
4. Check the seasoning and reserve the liquid in a sealed container or a vacuum sealed bag until needed

For the wild rice, fish skin and black sesame mix

1. Warm the oil. It must reach 220°C to puff the rice. Once at the desired temperature add the rice and wait for it to puff. Once puffed strain off the oil immediately and place the rice onto
2. absorbent paper. When the excess oil has been removed place the puffed rice into a dehydrator
3. Place the reserved king fish skin into a dehydrator for around 6 hours to remove most of the moisture and then using scissors cut it into thin strips. Again warm the oil to 220°C and, like the rice, quickly fry the skin. It will also puff slightly
4. Strain the oil before the skin burns and dry the pieces of fried skin on absorbent paper
5. Combine the rice, the fish skin and the sesame at a ratio of 1:1:1 and check the seasoning. Reserve the mix in a sealed container

For the roasted fish stock

1. Using scissors remove the fin, tail and wings from the fish. Rub olive oil over the mackerel and place them on a flat roasting tray. Roast the mackerel in a pre-heated oven at 160°C until they have an even golden appearance. Once the desired colour is achieved transfer the fish to a stock pot taking care not to break them
2. Add the water; if it does not cover the fish add a little more so that the fish is covered. Simmer the stock for around 2-3 hours until the liquid is deep golden colour and has a rich roasted
3. fish flavour
4. Strain the liquid through a fine strainer, cool immediately and store vacuum sealed until needed

For the saffron broth

1. Place saffron into a small piece of foil and fold the sides so that the saffron is sealed. Place the saffron in an oven for 3 minutes at 160°C. This will roast the saffron slightly giving it a deeper flavour After 3 minutes remove the saffron from the foil and grind it to a powder using a mortar and pestle. Warm the stock and combine it with the saffron
2. Check the seasoning. Place the saffron broth in a thermomix and on the lowest setting so that it is moving without making bubbles or any foam on the surface add the Xantham gum. Allow to work for about 10 minutes until the gum has activated and the broth is thickened
3. Pass the thickened broth through a fine chinois and portion it into test tubes at 15ml per portion

To serve

1. Place the portioned broth to warm in a water bath
2. Remove the king fish portions from the fridge and let come to room temperature, around 5 minutes Once at room temp place the king fish into a water bath set at 60°C for 10 minutes
3. While the fish is cooking rub the cucumber with olive oil and seal it on one side in a hot pan giving it a roasted appearance. Remove the cucumber, warm it through under a salamander and when hot cover the sealed side with the wild rice mix
4. Place the cucumber on the left side of a shallow bowl with the rice covered side facing up
5. Remove the kingfish from vacuum, season it with fine salt and carve it in half. On the cut side season it with mineral salt and place it next to the cucumber
6. Pour the saffron broth between the cucumber and fish so that it covers the base of the plate