Herring and Mackerel Sashimi with RAW Beet and Mooli Salad  

To ease the diner into the novelty of serving herring as a sashimi I combined this with mackerel, an already very popular dish amongst my sushi entourage. The method of curing the herring is same methodology as the mackerel (tutorial link), except I would ask the fishmonger to butterfly fillet the herring for me instead of attempting this myself. The challenges of herring are that they are full of bones which are difficult to see with the naked eye and getting a trained hand at doing this laborious part of the filleting is highly recommended. Both herring and mackerel must be day fresh.

 It is interesting to have the 2 champion omega3 fish on the same dish: the mackerel is dense and smooth, whereas the herring is lighter and delicate to eat (and indeed very different to the traditional pickled herring). Time permitting, I do recommend curing the fish 12-24 hours in advance of consuming as it gives a better result when pulling of the fin layer of top skin from the fillet.

 Serves 4

 Make Time: 1 hour

 Allergens: herring (fish), mackerel (fish), soy sauce (soy)

1 stick of medium size mooli
1 cucumber
1 medium size raw red beetroot  
4 medium size fresh herring, butterfly filleted and pin boned
2 whole fresh mackerel, gutted  
Sea salt
200 ml sushi vinegar
1 small piece konbu
20 ml soy sauce

Dipping sauce:

60nl soy sauce
20 ml mirin
½ red onion finely chopped
1 cloves of garlic finely chopped

First prepare the mackerel into fillets as per the tutorial, when arriving at the point of curing the mackerel in salt do the same to the herring fillet and from then on the process is the same for the 2 fish step by step. Whilst the fish is curing in salt prepare the salad and dressing.   

This recipe contains to different versions of mooli salad made on a Japanese Mandolin. Peel mooli and cut into 3 pieces, keep one piece aside and then grate the other 2 pieces on the medium blade of the mandolin into long julienne. Cut cucumber into 2 pieces and repeat on the mandolin turning the piece to only use green skin and firm flesh, then add mooli and cucumber to a bowl of icy water ensuring it is fully submerged. In another bowl of icy water, remove julienne blade, adjust mandolin and grate mooli in thin discs. Peel beetroot, grate into fine discs and also add to ice water.   

For the dressing finely (extra finely) chop garlic and red onion, add to a small mixing bowl with soy and mirin, leave on the side.

Set up curing liquid for the fish, first add sushi vinegar to a large rectangular dish, then rinse konbu under cold tap and cut into 3 pieces and submerge in liquid. Drizzle soy sauce into liquid. Remove fish from salt cure, rinse thoroughly under the cold tap and add fillets side by side to the curing liquid skin side facing up. Leave to marinate for 20 minutes.    

Remove fish from marinate and rest on a tray lined with kitchen towel and let rest on kitchen towel for minimum 20 minutes and even up to 8 hours in the fridge.

To assemble: rinse the 2 mooli in cold running water and drain in 2 colanders. Add grated mooli and cucumber to 4 serving plates. Peel the outer layer of skin of both mackerel and herring and cut into small sashimi slices on a 45degree ankle. Arrange on top of the plate, add disks of mooli and beetroot and drizzle with soy dressing.