Tea-smoked leatherjacket with avocado and frisse lettuce salad

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Cooking difficulty: Medium

Serves: 4

Preparation: 25 mins

Cooking: 5 mins

Tips for seasoning

The seafood can be lightly seasoned with herbs, salt and pepper, sprinkled with lemon juice or white wine and dotted with butter or basted with oil. Low-salt soy sauce and coriander can also be used.
Tips for seafood batter

A chilled batter may produce a crisper coating. A light tempura batter and beer batter are particularly suited to seafood.
Tips for serving seafood cold

If the seafood is to be served cold, it should be covered to retain moisture and flavour and then placed in a chiller for an hour or even overnight.
Tips for poaching

Save the poaching liquid for use in accompanying sauces or for soups or stocks.
Tips for shallow frying

If flour is the only coating used, apply it immediately prior to cooking.

Prevent sticking by ensuring that the oil is hot before adding the seafood. But make sure the oil is not so hot that it smokes (unless preparing a Cajun-style "blackened" fish).

Ingredients

3 filleted leatherjackets, skin removed and cut into 4 x 1.5 cm strips

3 tablespoons mixed tea leaves (e.g. Earl Grey, Ceylon, jasmine)

1 ripe avocado

8 frisse lettuce leaves

2 teaspoons seeded mustard

150 ml extra virgin olive oil

50 ml white wine vinegar

salt and pepper to taste

Place tea leaves in a heavy-based pan or wok with a small rack inside.

Place over a high heat and lay leatherjacket fillets on rack.

Cover tightly with lid and smoke for 5 minutes.

Remove and allow to cool.

Divide avocado into quarters and slice each into 4.

Place 2 of the slices on centre of plate, top with a frisse leaf and 2 strips of the leatherjacket.

Repeat process, finish with a frisse leaf and dress with 50 ml of the dressing.