CHEFS' RECIPES
Coorong mullet escabeche

Coorong mullet escabeche

This dish is served as part of a tasting plate called ‘Mediterranean-inspired delicacies from the sea’ that also includes octopus salad and tuna crudo. They would also make great entrées; just double them.

Serves 6

Cooking Time Prep time 20 mins, cook 30 mins (plus cooling)



25 ml   olive oil
1   garlic clove, thinly sliced
100 gm   (about 1 bunch) Dutch carrots, thinly sliced diagonally
1   celery stalk, peeled, thinly sliced diagonally
¼   small fennel bulb, peeled, shaved on a mandolin
½   red birds-eye chilli, thinly sliced
75 ml   cabernet sauvignon vinegar
2½ tsp   caster sugar
1¼ tbsp   sweet smoked paprika
Pinch   of saffron threads
Finely grated rind and juice   of 1½ navel oranges (165ml juice)
75 ml   dry white wine
250 ml   (1 cup) fish or chicken stock
1½   small Spanish onions, thinly sliced
50 gm   pitted black manzanillo olives
75 gm   podded broad beans (about 300gm unpodded), blanched and peeled
1½ tbsp   extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for brushing
½ cup   (loosely packed) basil leaves
3   coorong or red mullet fillets (about 80gm each), pin-boned, halved


1 Heat olive oil in a wide saucepan over low heat, add garlic and stir until aromatic (1-2 minutes), then add carrot, celery, fennel and chilli and stir occasionally until soft (5-7 minutes). Add vinegar, sugar, paprika and saffron, stir to combine and season to taste with sea salt. Add rind, juice, wine and stock, bring to the boil over medium heat, then simmer over low heat until vegetables are very tender (10-15 minutes). Add onion, olives and broad beans, remove from heat and set aside to cool. Drain (reserve 125ml liquid), then combine vegetables with extra-virgin olive oil, basil and reserved liquid.
2 Preheat a grill to high. Lightly season mullet, brush skin side with olive oil and place skin-side down on an oil-greased baking tray. Grill until just cooked through (2-3 minutes) and serve immediately with vegetable mixture.


RECIPE Paul Wilson, Half Moon PHOTOGRAPHY Sharyn Cairns STYLING Lisa Featherby


Missed an edition of Gourmet Traveller?
Access our back issues from as far back as June 2010 at the tap of your finger, catch up on our latest issue or subscribe now by downloading the Gourmet Traveller iPad app today.

Visit the iTunes store


Search by cuisine, name, ingredients...