Pickled Whitebait With Cucumber & Cider Vinegar

Step 1: Gently mix whitebait with salt and sugar and place in a clean non-reactive container, cover and leave in a cool dark place out of the fridge for 2 hours and then very carefully, rinse of the salt and drain well and transfer to a fresh clean non-reactive container and cover with the vinegar and then again, cover/wrap and leave in a cool dark place for a further 2 hours, drain off the vinegar, gently mix in the herbs and lemon zest, place in a clean sealable container, cover with the olive oil (this should keep for a week or so in the fridge).

Step 2: To make the salad, cut cucumbers lengthways and scoop our the seeds and lightly sprinkle with salt and let sit for 20 minutes and while sitting shave the shallot thinly.

Step 3: Rinse of the cucumber and cut in to small pieces not bigger that the whitebait.

Step 4: Mix equal parts of whitebait to the cucumber on hand with a couple tablespoons of the marinating oil and the reserved lemon juice and then layout on a plate or shallow bowl and sprinkle the shaved shallots and few drops of cider vinegar and serve with sourdough bread and fresh butter if desired.