Fish carpaccio with 2 pestos and grilled vegs

Colder waters, in this part of the world, mean lots of yellow tail; it's a great fish, totally sustainable and I substitute it as much as I can to marlin, swordfish, mahi and tuna.

  Sierra mackerel and trigger fish are also very viable options, with two totally opposite textures and flavours...very interesting, both.

Start planning your prep:

1) in a baking pan place 2 parts of seeded red bell peppers, 2 parts of tomatoes, 1 part of onion and 1/2 measure of garlic. Froth with olive oil and bake until well done.

2) In the meantime prepare the olive and parsley pesto by blending 3 parts of good black olives, 1 part of flat leaf ( Italian ) parsley, garlic to taste..a lot, in my case, a few capers, evoo ,S&P

3) In a dry skillet toast some nuts,almonds or pumpkin seed and reserve; in the same skillet toast a couple slices of country bread and reserve; lastly toast a couple of guajillo chiles, until they puff, add a generous splash of water, shut the flame and let rest/soak.

4) Grill your choice of vegetables (eggplant, zucchini, peppers, green onions,...) and toss them in a bowl with some balsamic vinegar, chopped garlic, parsley and S&P.Reserve.

When the peppers, onion, tomatoes and garlic are ready place them in a blender along with the seeded guajillo pepper, a good pinch of Spanish paprika ( hot or sweet is up to you...), a splash of sherry or balsamic vinegar, one slice of bread and the nuts.
Start pulsing and add some of the soaking water to help the blender. Once you achieve a nice smooth paste, start adding olive oil till the whole thing turns pretty fluid. Taste for S&P and adjust.

Now you're ready to slice the fish, quite thin but not paper thin and assemble the plate.

Start with the 2 pestos , then the grilled vegs and, lastly, the fish.

I like to add a crunchy element to mine, in the form of baked hot and spicy tortillas strips or , if working with a rectangular or wide plate, extremely thin baguette toasts ( freeze the baguette for 30 min, slice it lenghtwise with a very sharp knife or a slicer, rub with oil and bake..)

As wine pairing goes, well, this is a tricky one  ; )  and I don't really feel like pointing you in any particular direction, even though I would go on a limb and say : "heavier, full bodied and buttery white...".

Enjoy!