Port Lincoln Kingfish Tartare, Paperbark Potatoes, Sea Vegetables - Recipe by Chef Thomas Erkelenz

Ingredients

200g piece of kingfish, sinew removed and cleaned
1 Tbs brined capers or 6 caper springs
Small handful of samphire, karkalla or any edible coastal succulent
1/4 bunch of chives
1/4 bunch of chervil

Confit potato and potato chips:

2 large Desiree potatoes
2 tsp sweet smoked pimenton
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 clove of garlic
1/2 a lemon's worth of zest
150mL extra virgin olive oil
1 star anise

Paperbark smoked potato mayonnaise:

1 whole egg
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 small garlic clove, crushed
1/2 lemons worth of juice
300mL canola oil
100mL extra virgin olive oil
2 purple Congo potatoes- Desirees are fine too
1 x 15cm x 15cm piece of native paperbark (fresh eucalyptus leaves make a good substitute)

Tartar dressing:

1 large shallot
2 cloves of garlic
1 tomato
1 tsp smoked pimento
Pinch of saffron
150mL extra virgin olive oil
30mL sherry vinegar

Method

Light a charcoal BBQ, once the coals are hot place the native paperbark or eucalypt directly onto the coals and smoke the purple Congo potatoes until tender, remove from the heat, let cool slightly and peel whilst still warm. Pass the skinned potatoes through the Mouli and set aside.

While your potatoes are smoking, prepare the base of the mayonnaise. In a bowl, whisk the mustard, lemon juice, garlic and
egg together until completely homogenized. While whisking vigorously, begin to thread in the oils, very slowly, to begin with until an emulsion begins to form, the sauce visibly thickens, and your arm starts hurting.

Fold in the cooled smoked potatoes and season to taste. Go for smokey and rich, the rest of the elements provide the freshness and acidity required to balance the whole dish.

Slice one of the potatoes finely on the mandolin into cold water; give them a gentle massage to release some of the starch and let sit for 5 minutes. Drain after this and refill with fresh water, you can let these sit in the fridge overnight if you are feeling organized if not just give them at least 30 minutes in the water.

While you wait, combine the nutmeg, cinnamon and half of the smoked pimento, dried oregano and thyme with one cup of sea salt, mix together and set aside. Preheat your fryer to 150 C and drain your sliced potatoes, trying to remove as much moisture as possible. Fry in batches until golden brown, being careful not to let the slices stick together, drain onto a paper towel and season liberally with your seasoning mix.

These are best done fresh, but will keep in an airtight container for up to two days. While your fryer is going, fry your caper leaves (or berries) until crisp and addictively salty, drain onto a paper towel.

For the dressing, roughly chop up the shallot, garlic and tomato and place in a small saucepan, add the saffron, pimento and olive oil and place over a low heat, stirring occasionally until the vegetables have completely softened and broken down.

Purée the entire mixture on high for one minute; add the vinegar and season to taste. This benefits from sitting in the fridge overnight to really steep the flavours in and mellow out the garlic. Be sure to check that the acidity has not softened overnight, this
dressing needs to be bright and punchy.

For the confit potato, peel and dice the remaining potato into 2 cm x 2 cm cubes and place in a small saucepan with the remainder of the spices, garlic, lemon zest, star anise and olive oil.

Similar to how we have made the dressing place the potatoes over a low heat, stirring gently until they gently bubble and become tender. Season to taste, set aside, and cool.

To assemble, dice up the cleaned kingfish into 2 cm x 2 cm cubes and lightly season; let this sit for a couple of minutes in a bowl to let the salt get into the flesh. Quickly chop up the chives and chervil while you are waiting. When you are ready, drain the confit potato of its oil and add to the bowl; add the dressing to your liking, personally, I prefer to dress on the lighter side not completely to overtake
the fish.

For plating up, start with a dollop of smoked potato mayonnaise directly onto the plate, gently scoop up the kingfish mixture and place onto the mayo. Add a few extra touches of smoked potato on top, just for good measure. Start placing your coastal succulents and fried caper leaves on top to create a little ‘garden mound’.

Serve alongside your spiced chips.

Recipe provided by Bush DeVine Restaurant