Pickled Fish (Gluten Free, Sugar Free)

 

 

 

Easter always holds very special memories for me!  Growing up in a family with my maternal grandmother steeped in Catholicism and its' traditions, cooking over the festive seasons was and remains a culinary excursion we tackle with great enthusiasm, ensuring our meals are prepared with love and pride.  Easter is  no different and forms part of my proud and rich heritage of being part of a multi-cultural family. 

In South Africa, I understand,  there is religious history to pickled fish, a traditional meal cooked before the Easter celebrations.  Good Friday is noted as being a day of Sabbath among Christians, a day where no work is done and this includes cooking.  The pickled fish preparation therefore takes place a few days before Good Friday, to ensure that the fish reaches pickled perfection for the good Friday or Easter Sunday meal, especially for those abstaining from meat during the Lent fast which culminates in celebrating Easter.  This is the explanation I gleaned from my 77 year old mother, who recalls this from her mother and has passed this on to me - adding to my treasure of knowledge passed on through the generations.  She went on to explain that there is also reference to fish in the scriptures about the resurrection of Jesus - but her knowledge of the Bible is limited and she could not provide me with the exact reference. 

My mom makes a mean pickled fish!!!  I recall her preparation days before Easter, the home filled with the aroma's of brown vinegar and onions slow cooked! I can smell it as I type this lol!  This past week  I put her mind into overdrive extracting the recipe from her.  We went into raptures about her Cape Town nursing training days, living in Rylands Estate and sharing her memories of the special family that she lived with during her 5 years in the great Cape.  She enthusiastically provided me with her savory recipe that we are accustomed to eating, as well as a Cape Malay version, filled with sweetness, where either sugar or apricot jam is used in creating the sauce that covers the fried fish.

This recipe took definite thought and planning!  In making this sweet version, I decided to put my culinary skills to the test in creating a sugar free version, including an alternative to the apricot jam.  I deliberately ignored sugar as an ingredient as I was interested in creating a sugar-free recipe for folk following a sugar-free lifestyle as well as avoided the option of coating the fish in flour and using any artificial flavoring or ingredients.  I also decided not to use vinegar in this version and am pretty excited about the alternative and the result.  This said though, Apple Cider Vinegar or Grape vinegar without caramel, corn flour or guar gum may be used if you prefer.  Traditionally, brown spirit  (of which caramel is an ingredient) is used.

My mom used only fresh, un-filleted Cape salmon in her pickled fish.  I decided to go with filleted, fresh Norwegian Salmon.  Hake, Kingklip or yellowtail may also be used in this recipe. 

Ingredients
 
1kg kingklip, Cape or Norwegian Salmon, Hake or Yellowtail fish (filleted, skin intact)
2-3 medium to large onions sliced or ringed
2 red chillies finely chopped
1-2 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp fresh lemon juice
masala or spices of choice to marinate the fish ( I used chilli, coriander, cumin and turmeric powders)
8 black pepper corns
4 cloves
4 all spice berries
2-3 bay leaves
2 tsp turmeric powder
3-5 cloves of fresh garlic
2 pieces fresh ginger root finely chopped
125g desiccated coconut
2 tblsp apricot and date paste* or 2 tbslp date paste
375ml chicken stock (preservative and sugar free)
2-4 tblsp olive oil (half to fry the fish and half for the sauce)
2 tsp turmeric
salt to taste

Optional
1-2 tablespoon arrowroot powder or tapioca flour, mixed in cold water, to thicken the sauce

*To make the Apricot and Date paste

• Soak the apricots and dates with enough water to cover for about 8 hours, preferably overnight.

• Remove the fruit from the water and set the water aside.
• Puree the fruit in a blender or food processor.
• Add a few tablespoons of the soaking water to the puree and continue to blend.

• Blend until a creamy paste forms.
• Add more of the soaking water if required.
• Store in an airtight contain in the refrigerator.  You may freeze this paste for up to 3  months.
• Date paste without the apricots is made using this method.

Here's How

Fish Preparation

• Firm up the fish by sprinkling Himalayan or Sea salt on both sides of the fillet and allowing it to stand in a glass bowl for about half an hour
• Rinse the salt off thoroughly
• Pat dry with kitchen paper towel
• Cut the fish into serving sized  portions, leaving the skin attached.
• If preferred, add lemon juice and spices and allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours

 

• Add olive oil to the pan and fry the fish until lightly browned and tender.  You may fry the fish without spice if you prefer or lightly spice with freshly ground black pepper and salt.

• Transfer the fried fish to a casserole dish and keep aside

Sauce Preparation

• Boil the stock in a pot, thereafter pour it over the desiccated coconut in a bowl and allow to stand for 30 minutes

• Strain through a wire strainer and reserve the liquid
• Roughly chop the garlic and ginger, or you may use the garlic and ginger paste
• Peel and slice the onions, preferably into rings
• Heat the oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion, ginger, garlic and chillies until soft - about 5-8 minutes

• Add the apricot-date paste, the liquid from the coconut, the turmeric powder, the all spice berries, the cloves, the peppercorns, bay leaves and salt to taste and simmer over low heat for about 20-30 minutes.

• There should be no need to add the arrow root powder or tapioca flour to thicken as the sauce reduces well simmering on low heat.
• Pour the sauce mixture over the fish in the casserole dish, you may opt to have single layers or use a smaller casserole dish and do more layers, ending with a sauce layer.

•  Cover with cling-wrap when cooled, then store in the refrigerator.
• Chilled pickled fish will keep for up to two weeks in the refrigerator, provided that it is kept airtight.
• Served cold, this traditional Easter dish improves as the sauce melds with the fish.  This is a dish that is not only enjoyed over Easter, but may be prepared in the hot summer months if you prefer a cold meal.

Notes:

1. The cloves and black peppercorns along with the chilli add heat to this dish and may be halved or omitted, depending on preference.
2. The yellow colour of the sauce is created by the addition of the turmeric.  you may add a touch of coriander powder and chilli powder to change the colouring if you prefer. This addition produces a darker hue.
3. The desiccated coconut and stock combined with the date and apricot paste, produces an amazing sweet-sour sauce that will rival the vinegar and sugar or vinegar and apricot jam combination!