A luxe take on fresh simplicity
Fresh, sustainable seafood, treated simply is Al Brown’s calling card.
The New Zealand chef and restauranteur knows how to be indulgent though, and in this recipe the oyster cream, apple syrup and lemon oil create a visual treat that celebrates the kingfish cubes.
Our only advice? Buy at a second dozen oysters and enjoy them natural alongside bites of beautifully dressed kingfish.
“Recipes are like culinary love letters, keep passing them on,” Al says. “There’s something lovely about connection through food, and recipes do that.”
Read more about Al’s culinary journey here or find a farm gate here.
Raw Kingfish with Oyster Cream & Apple & Lemon Oil
Ingredients
To Serve
- 500g chilled Kingfish, cut into 2-3cm cubes
- 1 Granny Smith apple, cut into matchsticks
- ¼ cup Chervil leaves (or substitute with parsley, tarragon or dil are good substitutes)
- 2 tbsp Fennel seeds, toasted and ground
- 3 tsp tart apple syrup (or substitute with apple jelly thinned with lemon juice)
- 1 dash Lemon infused olive oil
- 1 Lemon
Oyster Cream
- 12 fresh oysters (retain the liquor)
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 cup shallot, thinly sliced
- ⅓ cup sweet sherry
- 2 cups cream
Method:
- Sweat shallots: Place a saucepan on a medium-low heat. Add canola oil and shallots and sweat for 10 minutes without allowing them to colour.
- Pour in the sherry and reduce until almost evaporated, then follow with the juice from the oyster liquor and the cream. Reduce slowly on a gentle simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and drop oysters into cream, allowing them to plump for 1 minute.
- Pour into a blender and blitz for 2 minutes until velvety smooth. Strain through a fine sieve into a bowl and season to taste. Oyster cream will be thick, but pourable. Refrigerate until required.
- Using a sharp knife cut your kingfish fillet into cubes. Aim for 6–8 bite sized pieces per person.
To plate
On cold plates, start with a light pour of tart apple syrup, lemon oil and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Place 6 to 8 coin sized blobs of oyster cream. Top each of those with a piece of kingfish. Arrange a couple of sticks of apple on each cube of fish, and some chervil leaves. Sprinkle a little ground fennel seed over the fish, and season with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Recipe first shared on the New Zealand Herald.
Proudly supported by Julian, Liz and the team at Narooma Better Home Living
It’s always a full house in the Narooma Betta Home Living Cooking Demonstrations at Narooma Oyster Festival. In 2024, we were delighted to feature NSW seafood in every dish, supported with grant funding from the Eat More NSW Seafood Program.
Chefs love to visit Narooma to share their favourite oyster and seafood recipes and explore the oyster farms, the audience love receiving our recipe hand outs and learning new things to try at home. If they’re lucky, get a taste of some incredible dishes too.
It’s all included in Saturday General Admission Ticket, with dates for the next festival set for May 2-3, 2025.
