Infinity Blue Barramundi Masterclass: Alejandro Saravia
Follow acclaimed chef Alejandro Saravia in partnership with the Good Food & Wine Show as he breaks down how versatile and easy Infinity Blue Barramundi is to prepare in your own home.
Watch as Alejandro demonstrates recipes such as cerviche and fish stew in for short, easy to follow masterclasses.
With fresh Australian Infinity Blue Barramundi and a little know how, Alejandro shows that anyone can cook like a master chef.
Chef Alejandro Saravia is widely credited with introducing Peruvian cuisine to Australia’s food culture. In addition to running his critically acclaimed restaurants (Pastuso, UMA and Farmer’s Daughters), Peruvian-born Alejandro is a consultant chef, sought-after media spokesperson, and all-round advocate for Latin American cuisine and culture.
Watch Alejandro’s masterclasses here.
Recipe
Method:
For Bonito Dashi:
- Bring 700 ML of water to a simmer, add 300ml of room temperature water to hot water.
- Add in the Bonito Flakes, when the bonito flakes start to move around inside the water, turn off the stove and strain gently. cool down and store in the fridge.
For the Nikei dressing:
- In a pot, add all the ingredients and bring it to simmer in order to infuse all the ingredients together, set aside to cool.
- Cut the fillet of Infinity Blue Barramundi in sashimi-thin strips using a very sharp knife.
- Place the fish strips on the serving plate; sprinkle a little fine salt and cover with cling film.
- Place the plate in the fridge for a few minutes to let the fish set.
- Dressed the fish strips with the nikei dressing and garnish with thin slices of heirloom carrots and carrot tops or other herbs to your taste.
Ingredients:
2 fillets Infinity Blue Barramundi
180 ml Soy sauce
360 ml Rice wine vinegar
5cm X 20 cm Kombu seaweed
15g Sugar
500 ml Apple cider vinegar
1 red chilli
1 lt Bonito dashi
1 lt Water (for bonito dashi)
6g Dried Bonito Flakes (for bonito dashi)
Recipe
Method:
1. Place the capsicum directly on the flame of your gas stove and turn the flame to high.
2. Once the side facing the flame is black and blistered, turn the pepper around to face another side to the flame.
3. Continue turning like this until all sides are black.
4. Remove the capsicum from the flame and place in a bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Let it cool down for a few minutes before peeling the capsicums.
5. Once cool to the touch, remove the pepper from the bowl and peel off all the blackened skin, remove and discard the skin.
6. Place the whole oranges directly on the flame of your gas stove and turn the flame to high.
7. Once the side facing the flame is black, turn the oranges around to face another side to the flame.
8. Continue turning like this until all sides are black. Cool down the oranges before squeezing the juice.
9. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl.
10. Blend the ingredients into a smooth paste.
11. Clean and cut the Infinity Blue Barramundi in steak-cut (bone-in) or troncon.
12. Place the sauce in a pan and heat gently until it starts to simmer for 1 minute.
13. Add the fish and cook gently for 3 minutes or until the fish is cooked through,
14. Sprinkle on fresh chilli and coriander, and serve with rice.
Ingredients:
1 whole Infinity Blue Barramundi, cut into 4 pieces
250ml Burnt orange juice
1lt Fish stock
350g Roasted red capsicum
2 Red chillis
500ml Gluten free soy sauce
75g Ginger, peeled and chopped
Interview
Chef Alejandro Saravia, Chef owner Pastuso, Uma and Farmer’s Daughters
Chef spotlight: Alejandro Saravia, Inst: @chefalejandrosaravia
Director – Executive chef UMA, Pastuso Restaurant, and Farmer’s Daughters
We sat down with Alejandro Saravio, the owner of Pastuso, a Peruvian inspired restaurant in Melbourne’s famous AC/DC lane. Famed for making Peruvian cuisine famous in Melbourne, he has many other projects on the go including CHE, Farmer’s Daughters and young chef mentoring. He is the official food and beverage ambassador for Gippsland Victoria, which ties in perfectly with his passion for all things local.
What is it about local produce that works so well for you at Pastuso?
There is a lot of local produce for Victoria to be proud of! Consistency of product, using the best that Victorian nature can provide, I keep finding hidden gems all over the state.
Tell us your favourite thing about Infinity Blue Barramundi
Being sourced locally, it’s so fresh that I use it for Ceviche, and it’s the oil content is so amazing that its only Barramundi I’ve tried that you can clearly see marbelling, its just amazing.
What dishes would Infinity Blue Barramundi be best suited for?
The first time I worked with Infinity Blue Barramundi, I baked it partially covered with rock salt and with olive oil drizzled over it. The result was a tender fish with a delicate fresh flavour. Since then, I have served it smoked, cured and raw. The natural fat content help with the flavour and keeping the firm flesh while working with it raw or cured.
Why is sustainability important to you?
For me, sustainability in the farming industry is important because we want to keep a good balance between what Mother Nature has created and what man is artificially creating. Keeping a holistic sustainable approach will help deliver the optimum environment to naturally develop fish in a perfect habitat, without damaging the surroundings.
If you haven’t been to Pastuso we could not recommend it more highly, set in a quintessential Melbourne location, represents every that’s exciting in the modern Australian food scene.