Combat the Heatwave With Loaded Socca Chips and Zippy Red Snapper Crudo

Writing these recipes often forces me out into the city to ingredient-gather, usually beginning with a Lime (bike) and often with a very loose idea in my head of what I want to eat, but without any real clear direction of where it’s going to go. I’ll let the particular bounty on offer across a few of my key pit stops around North London determine the direction. Choosing which shop to visit first is the first decision. 

Since London is in the middle of a heat wave right now, there was a blurry idea for a seafood crudo followed by a fruit fool, having just been inspired by the idea of geranium leaf infused cream served with sugared blackberries.

Seafood also meant a good excuse to go to Steve Hatt fishmongers on Essex Road. Always a pleasure, if not for the fish, for the conversation – it’s a true London treasure.

First stop however was La Fromagerie in Highbury barn, because yes, I am a bouji b*tch and I was hoping to find some white currants for the crudo and they usually sell niche fruit. No white currants sadly but some A1 yellow peaches and a ball of peak mozzarella, a combo which is set to be all the rage this summer. A packet of crisps also caught my eye, and since I’m never one not to try a new packet of crisps,  ‘Socca chips’ went into the basket. These French crisps are like posh nachos made with chickpea flour. Crudo pivots to loaded ceviche-esque nachos-cum fish tacos.

Off to Seasons and Blossoms for the seasonal loadings: nice looking sweet corn, actual limes, alive coriander, cucumber and a bottle of tajin. Tajin seasoning has become a recent favourite of mine since working in a predominantly Latinx staffed New York kitchen over the past three months. I found it adds the most perfect ‘cool original’ Dorito edge to a red gazpacho for example, and since we are in pseudo nacho territory at this point for this dish, I employ it as seasoning. 

Saving the best till last: Steve Hatt. The heat left me gasping for oysters so I buy a dozen (for a friend!), and take the wild red snapper.

A small pot of sour cream from the Waitrose on Holloway Road en route home and we are off and into the kitchen.

Note: I got jaded before I had time to get ingredients for the fool but peaches and cream a la mozzarella was subbed in since it was impromptu in the bag already. Await next week’s recipe for sweet fool arrangements!

Recipe for two 

2 filets of red snapper, fileted, de-skinned and cut into 1 cm cubes
1 packet of socca chips. (you can use corn nachos/cool original Doritos)
Half an avocado, cut into 1 cm cubes
1 tbsp Tajin
Half a cucumber peeled and massacred with a fork (see method below)
1 corn cob
1 tsp of finely chopped jalapeno
150g sour cream
1 lime 
Half a bunch of coriander, picked and refreshed in ice
100 ml extra virgin olive oil 

Put the prepared snapper into a small metal mixing bowl, add the juice of half a lime and 50 mls of the olive oil, the finely chopped jalapeno and a generous pinch of Maldon salt, use a spoon to mix and leave to sit. 

Take the peeled cucumber and using a fork, remove the watery, seedy centre and scrape the entire of the outside of the cucumber from head to toe, in the ‘smashed cucumber’ style – you’re looking to create ridges to texturise the vegetable. Then cut the cucumber in half lengthways, before chopping into smallish cubes.

Using a knife, shave off the corn kernels and place dry into a smoking hot pan until the corn chars and releases a popcorn aroma. Season with Maldon and let cool slightly. 

Assemble your dish by selecting an eye-catching bowl and opening your ‘crisps’. Placing a few chips on the base now tumble the various preparations on top. I begin with the dressed snapper, avocado cubes, corn, cucumber and then using a spoon drizzle generously with lime-sour cream and dustings of Tajin. Try to tumble strategically so that each crisp acts as a cup for the various toppings. Continue in layers,  stacking as high as you like, until you run out of ingredients. (Feel free to multiply all ingredients if preparing for more than two.) Finish with a final drizzle of the olive oil lime liquor left over from the dressing of the snapper, and garnish with coriander leaves and extra sprinklings of Tajin.

Put on the table, eat as soon as you can with your hands and, alongside an ice cold lager. 

Hannah Hammond is a London-based chef who has worked at the River Cafe and Leo’s in London, and Le Servan in Paris. All photography by Hannah Hammond.