1. Blanch the halibut for 20 seconds in boiling water, then place in iced water to stop the cooking process. Pat dry and refrigerate.Photos by Jeffrey E Biteng / The National

2. Pour the cranberry juice into a small pan, bring to the boil and reduce by half. Mix with the ponzu sauce and store in the fridge.

3. Discard the pulp and seeds of the tomato, cut the flesh into small dice and slice the remainder into thin strips.

4. Using a sharp knife, cut the chilled halibut into 16 thin slices.

5. Arrange four slices of halibut on each plate in a plus sign, then twist the plate and fill in the gaps with the remaining slices.

6. Scatter the chives, spring onions and chopped tomatoes over the fish. Place the tomato slices in the centre of each plate and dot the coriander leaves and micro herbs around the fish.

The finished dish of halibut carpaccio with cranberry ponzu sauce.

Cooking with Okku

Halibut carpaccio with cranberry ponzu

Ingredients
Serves 2 as a starter
180g piece very fresh halibut fillet (salmon, tuna or sea bass could also be used)
50ml organic cranberry juice
125ml ponzu sauce (available ready made)
small handful coriander leaves
4-6 chives
3 small spring onions
1 tomato
selection of micro herbs, eg purple shiso cress (optional)
15g yuzu pepper paste (available ready made)
garlic oil

Bring a pan of salted water to a rapid boil. Blanch the halibut fillet for 20 seconds, remove from the pan and immediately place in a bowl of iced water to stop the cooking process. This helps to kill any harmful bacteria on the surface and brings out impurities. Dry the fish with kitchen paper and place in the fridge to chill. Put the serving plates in the fridge too.

Pour the cranberry juice into a small pan, bring to the boil and reduce by half. Mix with 75ml of the ponzu sauce and store in the fridge.

Finely chop half the chives. Cut the remaining chives into pieces approximately 3cm long. Remove the outer leaves from the spring onion and cut the green part only into long, thin slices on the diagonal (the white part has a stronger flavour and could overpower the other ingredients). Carefully remove the pulp and seeds of the tomato and discard skin. Cut half the tomato into small dice and slice the remainder into thin strips (julienne). Pick the micro herbs (if using).

Remove the fish and serving plates from the fridge and using your sharpest knife, cut the fillet into 16 thin slices. Arrange four slices of fish on each of the plates to form a “plus” sign (see picture). Turn each plate slightly and place the remaining slices of fish in the gaps, to create another plus.

Using chopsticks or a teaspoon place a small amount of yuzu pepper paste on the end of each slice of fish. Scatter the chives, sliced spring onions and chopped tomatoes over the fish. Place the tomato strips in the centre of each plate and dot the coriander leaves and micro herbs (if using) around the fish. Pour over the remaining ponzu sauce and drizzle over a few drops of garlic (or olive) oil. Dot a small amount of the cranberry ponzu sauce that you made earlier on each piece of fish – this will add colour and a hint of tartness to the dish. Serve.