Lightly Cured Hamachi With Hibiscus Aguachile: A Recipe from Bastion in Nashville

Chef Josh Habiger shares this recipe from his restaurant, Bastion. In ALIVE’s feature story, the Nashville chef discusses how he upholds the ancient tradition of cooking as care.

Ingredients
1 whole yellowtail/hamachi
Zest of 3 oranges
2 cups dried hibiscus tea
4 dried aji amarillo chiles
½ cup sugar
Kosher salt
1 head of fennel
1 lemon, juiced
Nice finishing olive oil
1 asian pear
Fresh hibiscus roselle
Fennel fronds for garnishing

Instructions
For the fish: Break down the fish into four separate loins. Place the loins onto a large tray and cover them in orange zest and salt. Allow the loins to cure for 30 minutes and then rinse the seasoning off. Slice into thin, sashimi-like pieces.

For the aguachile: Mix together four cups water, four whole aji amarillo chiles, two cups of dry hibiscus tea, one half cup of sugar and one teaspoon of kosher salt. Allow this to sit in the refrigerator overnight. Strain the next day before serving. Adjust seasoning to taste, if necessary.

To finish: Slice the fennel thinly with a mandolin and dress it to taste with lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Cut the Asian pear into small pieces. Place fish slices into a bowl. Pour a tablespoon or two of the hibiscus concoction into the bowl over the fish and drizzle with a bit of the olive oil. Garnish with slices of the Asian pear, the fennel, slices of the hibiscus roselle and fennel fronds. Serve very cold.

Recipe courtesy of Josh Habiger of Bastion in Nashville, Tennessee. Featured image courtesy of Attilio D’Agostino. This story originally appeared in ALIVE Volume 18, Issue 3. The digital version is available now. You can also purchase a print copy through February 2020 at these locations.