barramundi w/cucumber spaghetti


Jill Says  •  The first time I tasted Barramundi I thought I didn’t like it because it wasn’t fresh. This is a perfect example of why you must always buy fresh fish because the next time I tried Barramundi (when Jewels made it for me) I fell completely in love. This white fish has a firm texture, a thick skin and a mild, but flavorful taste. The texture is somewhere between halibut and whitefish. What more could you ask for in a fish?

The texture of delicious beluga lentils and the cool cucumber spaghetti make this a perfectly balanced meal.

serves 4
the fish
1 pound barramundi fish, cut into 4 pieces, with skin side scored.
½ cup Jewels’ Fantastic Fish Marinade (page 00) or zest of one lemon or lime, a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper

the lentils2 cups cooked Lentils People Eat (page 00)
1 shallot, very finely diced
a few glugs of extra virgin olive oil
sea salt
the cucumber spaghetti
8 persian or 2 english cucumbers, peeled in stripes 
a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper

  1. Prepare Jewel’s Fantastic Fish Marinade.
  2. Score the skin side of the filet in order to marinate both sides of the fish – but, more importantly, so that the fish does not buckle as it cooks; this can happen during cooking as the skin shrinks. You will need a sharp knife to cut through the skin, but not the fish. If your knife is not extremely sharp, ask your fishmonger to do this for you.
  3. Pour the marinade over the fish to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 5 minutes to an hour.
  4. Adjust a mandoline to the julienne setting (any time you use a mandoline, be very, very careful because it is so easy to cut yourself). Julienne the cucumber and put in the fridge. (To see photo steps for using a mandoline, see Veggie Spaghetti, page 00).
  5. Toss lentils with olive oil and shallots, and season with the sea salt. If you made them ahead of time, you can warm them in a non-stick pan for a few minutes before serving.
  6. Set a dry pan over a medium high flame until hot (about a minute). There is oil in the marinade so you won’t need extra oil in the pan. Once the pan is hot, sear the fish, skin-side first, for about 4 minutes on each side. Remember to always cook the skin side first on high heat with a little olive oil so that it is nice and crispy.
  7. Season the cucumber spaghetti with olive oil, salt and pepper. Spoon some lentils onto individual plates and place cooked fish over the lentils. Top the fish with cucumber.