Ingredients
Method
1.Warm blood orange juice in a pan and whisk in agar agar. Boil for 2 minutes then pour into a shallow tray and refrigerate until set into a firm jelly.
2.Break it up and blend in a processor or blender to a smooth purée then season and set aside at room temperature (refrigerate if making ahead).
3.Poach prawns in some simmering seasoned water until just firm. Drain, chill and slice into nice pieces.
4.Preheat oven to 160°C. Trim off any blood line (strip of red meat running down centre) from hapuku and set aside so it can come up to room temperature before cooking.
5.Blanch tomatoes in a large pot of boiling water and peel (use the same pot of boiling water for peas and pea purée).
6.Deseed tomatoes and cut into squares smaller than the prawns (if you don’t feel like blanching them, just make sure to remove the seeds).
7.Blanch 160g baby peas in boiling water and refresh with ice-cold water. Set aside.
8.To make pea purée, warm the cream and thyme in a small pot until almost boiling.
9.Add a pinch of sugar to the pot of boiling water and cook 250g frozen peas for 4 minutes. Drain and place the peas in a food processor, add the cream (remove thyme) and blend on high until you have a smooth green purée.
10.Place in a bowl over an ice bath to preserve the colour if not using immediately.
11.In a heavy ovenproof pan add oil and heat until it begins to smoke. Season the hapuku and sear on one side until golden brown (do not turn). Place pan in the oven and cook fish for about 4-5 minutes until opaque and firm.
12.Remove pan from oven and add butter. Let butter foam and turn nut brown, add lemon juice and spoon mixture over fish to baste it. Remove fish from pan, pour cooking juices over top and rest for 5 minutes.
13.Mix prawns, tomato and orange together with a little of the cooking juices from the hapuku. Place a piece of hapuku in centre of plate and spoon prawn mix on top.
14.Dress cold peas with a little olive oil and scatter around. Add a spoonful of pea purée and dots of blood-orange purée.
15.Garnish with nasturtiums and chopped dehydrated olives (if using). Drizzle over some more cooking juices, if desired, and serve immediately.
If you can’t find a blood orange, try a fresh pomegranate or, failing that, a mix of lemon and orange. – Mikey
Note
