Ingredients (Serves 3 as appetizer)

• 300 g very fresh Pacific rockfish fillet (bones and skin removed) or any firm white fish fillet
• Grated zest of half an organic lime
• 1/4 cup / 60 ml fresh lemon juice
• 3 heirloom tomatoes
• 1 sweet red pepper, roasted, peeled and seeded
• Half of a small melon (8 ounces / 225 g before cleaning)
• 2 tablespoons / 30 ml coconut milk
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• A few small leaves of fresh basil

Instructions

Note #1: Different recipes add different ingredients to the salad: I avoid raw alliums because I think they clash with the rockfish’s mild flavor. And I roast the pepper to get a more balanced texture and more interesting flavor in the finished dish.

Note #2: Some recipes use coconut cream, others coconut milk. I could not find the cream, so I used the milk.

Cut the fish into 3/8-1/2 inch / 1-1.25 cm cubes.

Transfer the fish to a ceramic or glass bowl, sprinkle lime zest on it, pour lemon juice and toss well. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for 8 hours or overnight, tossing it occasionally with a wooden spoon.

When ready to serve, prepare the salad ingredients: slice the tomatoes, chop the sweet pepper and cube the melon (after removing rind ad seeds). For a decorative touch, make 6 melon balls with the appropriate tool and set aside.

Pour off any marinade from the bowl, if any. Add the coconut milk, sea salt and pepper and toss well. Arrange 1/3 of the salad ingredients on each plate, then add 1/3 of the marinated fish. If you prefer, you can add the salad ingredients to the fish and toss before plating.

Decorate the plates with the melon balls, if you made them, and the basil leaves.

Go to the full post on kokoda: marinated raw fish salad / kokoda: insalata di pesce crudo marinato