No need to shy away from this party-pleasing finger food

As graduation, engagement and other parties pick up steam this spring, we asked Snapper Grabbers Seafood Market for a favorite finger food. 

Chef Tim Hughes, who has about 18 years of cooking experience, shared a recipe for cured Hawaiian Hebi Crostini.

“I chose this dish because of its elegant yet simplistic nature,” Hughes said. “The uniqueness of the preparation with a fish as sweet as Hebi makes for a summer finger food that is light, tasty and works well for any occasion.”

He said one thing he loves about working at Snapper Grabbers is teaching customers how to prepare seafood they may normally shy away from.

Recipe:

► 8 ounces of Sashimi grade Hebi (or Marlin)

► 2 cups coarse sea salt

► 1 cup sugar

► 3/4 cup ground mustard

► 1/4 cup white pepper

► 1 sprig fresh tarragon

► 1 bunch fresh dill

► 1 bunch of fresh dill (finely chopped)

► 1 English cucumber (finely diced)

► 2 red chilies (deseeded, pithed and minced)

► 1 shallot (finely diced)

► 1 loaf of pumpernickel bread sliced into crostinis 

► 8 ounces cream fraiche

FOR THE Cured Hebi:

1. Combine salt, sugar, mustard, white pepper, tarragon and dill into a food processor and blend until incorporated. 

2. Cover a cookie sheet in plastic wrap and place about 1/3 of the seasoning mixture down the middle of the cookie sheet. You'll need just enough for the fish to lie on. Place fish on seasoning. 

3. Pack the remaining salt mixture onto the top of the fish making sure that the fish is completely covered. Wrap the fish as tightly as possible in plastic wrap and then with aluminum, once again wrapping as tightly as possible. Refrigerate for 24 hours. 

4. Remove the fish from the refrigerator, rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Slice the cured fish into pieces large enough to cover the prepared crostini.

5. Slice pumpernickel bread in half and butter lightly. 

6. Toast bread in the oven or in a skillet until nice and brown.

7. Place the slices of fish on the prepared crostini and top with a small scoop of the cream fraiche mixture.

FOR THE Cucumber-Dill Cream Fraiche:

1. Mix finely chopped dill, cucumber, red chilies and shallots together in a small bowl and fold into cream fraiche.