Sebiche, Ajo Blanco & Cucumber

Recipes and food styling Jo Pearson / Photography Tony Nyberg

	CUCUMBER
	1 large telegraph cucumber
	sea salt
	vegetable oil
	flat-leafed parsley
	AJO BLANCO
	80g blanched almonds
	100ml almond milk
	100g cucumber seeds (from the cucumber preparation above)
	1 small fresh bayleaf
	5g garlic cloves
	70g brown onion
	5g sea salt
	12ml fish sauce
	a pinch chilli flakes
	5g anchovy paste or fillets
	100ml lemon juice
	TO ASSEMBLE
	500g fresh white fish, cleaned, sliced into 5mm-thick pieces (kingfish, trevally and gurnard are all suitable)
	1 lemon
	harissa paste

1.	CUCUMBER
2.	The day before serving, peel the cucumber, reserving the skins for the cucumber skin oil.
3.	Cut the cucumber into approximately 6cm lengths then cut 2mm slices lengthways avoiding the seeds (use the seeds for the ajo blanco).
4.	On the day of serving, weigh the cucumber and add 2% of its weight of sea salt.
5.	Toss well and leave to soften in the fridge.
6.	To make the cucumber skin oil, combine the cucumber skins with an equal amount of flat-leafed parsley and weigh the mixture.
7.	Put into a small blender jug (or a Nutribullet) and add the same weight of vegetable oil.
8.	Blend until smooth, pour into a cloth-lined sieve over a bowl and allow the oil to drip through.
9.	Store the oil refrigerated until required.
10.	AJO BLANCO
11.	Soak the almonds in water in the fridge for 24 hours.
12.	Combine all ingredients in a blender and blitz until smooth. Store overnight in the fridge.
13.	Pass the ajo blanco through a fine sieve, pressing through the solids. Store in the fridge.
14.	TO ASSEMBLE
15.	Place the sliced fish in a mixing bowl, squeeze over the lemon juice and season with sea salt.
16.	Lay out the fish in chilled bowls, dab each slice with harissa paste.
17.	Spoon pools of the ajo blanco among the arranged fish.
18.	Drain the cucumber from its liquid and lay over the fish in a crosshatch pattern.
19.	Brush the cucumber with cucumber skin oil.