After winning an impressive hat trick this awards season as the 2022 ‘Sparkling Wine of the Year’, we decided to get our Cuvée Clive all dressed up for a celebratory meal. Chef Darren Badenhorst from Le Coin Français has created this flavourful pairing recipe, which features our Cuvée Clive 2017.

Cured and Smoked Fish

600g fresh sea bass or firm white local fish 200ml rock salt 
100ml granulated sugar 
Zest of 1 lemon 
15ml toasted caraway seeds 
Chopped dill 
50g wood chips 
1 square of foil

Method

1.    Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Coat filleted fresh white fish and leave to cure for 2 hours in the fridge.

2.    Rinse off in cold running water and coat in finely chopped dill. Set aside for 1 hour to rest before slicing the fish at an angle in thin sashimi style slices. Set aside for plating.

3.    Place 50g wood chips in a foil pocket and prick holes on-top, heat over a flame until smoking. (Can be done over gas stove or braai). Place fish in a tray lined with the heated foil pocket in one corner of the tray. Cover with foil and allow to cold smoke in the fridge whilst prepping the other ingredients.

Salsa 

100g cubed cucumber, peeled 
150g cubed green apple, peeled 
50ml lemon juice 
Zest of 1 lemon 
30 ml chopped dill 
15 ml chopped parsley 
1 pinch of medium masala spice 
4 langoustine/large prawn tails 
50g salted butter-melted 
1 fresh corn on the cob-sliced off raw Season to taste 

Method

1.    Clean the langoustine tails and coat in melted butter, BBQ sear the outside, set aside slightly raw. Chop into small cubes.

2.    Combine all ingredients into a salsa and set aside for plating.

Garnish

Fennel 
Dill 
Smoked Chilli 
Toasted coriander seeds 
Yeast, toasted in a dry pan Lemon, zested 
Sorghum, popped like popped corn Kewpie mayonnaise 

Method

1. Use the ingredients as garnish as required once fish has been placed.

Sauce 

250ml buttermilk 
200ml Grape seed oil 
100g dill 
2 cloves of garlic 
30ml smoked paprika 

Method

1.    Whisk and lightly season the buttermilk then set aside.

2.    Blend 100ml oil with the dill then set to rest in the fridge and strain through a fine cloth to make dill oil.

3.    Roast off the garlic, blend with 100ml oil and paprika then set in the fridge and strain through a fine cloth to make smokey garlic oil.

Plating Tips

1.    In a plating ring place salsa in and pack tightly, next carefully fan out the thinly sliced cured fish to create a rose effect.

2.    Pipe small dots of kewpie mayonnaise on top then use garnish, as per image, on top of the cured fish.

3.    Pour the buttermilk carefully around the outside of the plated dish then drop small dots of the oil in and pull gently with the back of a spoon to combine and marble.

4.    Season with Maldon salt to finish and enjoy.

5.    Best paired with Cuvee Clive 2017.