Salmon Tartare with Bloody Mary Sorbet

This is adapted from a Jason Atherton recipe (of Restaurant Maze - London) which originally called for tuna. I couldn't get my hands on tuns to save my life on Sunday, so I went with another flavorful, oily fish instead: salmon.

Kind of a cool contrast between room temperature fish and cold sorbet, but with a little chile heat running through it providing some 'warmth'. Overall, pretty nifty and easy to throw together. Serves 2.

TARTARE:
300 g sashimi-grade salmon
¼ red chile, deseeded and finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 mint leaves, fine chiffonade
chile oil, to drizzle

BLOODY MARY SORBET:
1 shallot, peeled and chopped
¼ cucumber, peeled, deseeded and chopped
1 small red pepper, deseeded and chopped
8 ripe tomatoes
few drops of Tabasco
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons tomato puree
2 tablespoons liquid glucose
20 ml vodka
handful of small mint leaves
TO SERVE:
2 tablespoons toasted pine nuts

First, make the Bloody Mary sorbet. Put the shallot, cucumber and red pepper into a blender or food processor. Halve two of the tomatoes, scoop out the seeds, then chop the flesh. Add to the blender and whiz to a smooth puree. Push through a fine sieve into a bowl and discard the pulp.

Quarter the remaining tomatoes, scoop out and discard the seeds, then tip the tomatoes into the blender. Measure 200ml of the puree and pour into the blender. (Use any leftover for another dish, or to make a Bloody Mary to drink!) Add the Tabasco, lemon juice, tomato puree, liquid glucose, vodka and seasoning to the blender and whiz until smooth. Pass the mixture through a fine sieve into the bowl of an ice-cream machine. Churn until the mixture is almost firm, then transfer to a freezerproof container and freeze until firm.

Chop the tuna fillet into 1.5-2cm cubes and toss them in a bowl with the chopped chile, mint, some seasoning and a drizzle of chile oil. Arrange them in individual bowls. Top each tuna mound with pine nuts and a small mint leaf. Drizzle over a little more chile oil and sprinkle with another pinch of salt. Serve with neat scoops of Bloody Mary sorbet on the side.