SKEWERED HAMACHI, MINTED PEA SHOTS

How’s this for a treat? A morsel of flavorful sushi with a chilled shot of minty green pea soup as a chaser. The sushi is hamachi, the Japanese name for young yellowtail—a species of the tunalike fish known as amberjack, named (and valued) for its golden flesh. If your fish market doesn’t stock hamachi, use fresh sushi-grade tuna as a substitute.

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided

1 small shallot, finely diced

1 cup vegetable stock

1 cup fresh English peas

12 mint leaves, divided

3- to 3½-ounce hamachi fillet, cut into six cubes

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Juice of half a lemon

1. Put six shot glasses in the freezer to chill.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the shallot and sauté until soft and translucent.

3. Add the stock and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the peas and simmer for 1 minute longer. Set the mixture aside to cool for about 10 minutes.

4. Transfer the pea mixture to a food processor or blender, add 4 mint leaves, and blend to a fine cream. Immediately pour the mixture into a bowl set in a larger bowl of ice water, then place in the freezer for about 30 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, chop the remaining mint leaves. Season the hamachi cubes with salt and pepper to taste. Beat the lemon juice into the remaining oil and toss the hamachi and mint in the mixture.

6. Thread each hamachi cube onto a small skewer and chill in the refrigerator for about 5 minutes. To serve, fill the frosted shot glasses with the pea soup and place a hamachi skewer atop each. Makes 6.