Category: Seafood

Patricia Wells’ Fresh Roasted Salmon with Olive Oil (Escalope de Saumon Frais Roti a l’Huile d’Olive)

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

What a simple, fabulous French dish. And so old school as well!

It is from Bistro Cooking by Patricia Wells, a book I am dying to cook more and more from.

Just read the ingredients, put a bottle of French white on ice and slice the bread. This is a late Sunday lunch and snooze wrapped up.

Ingredients

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 shallots, finely minced
4 medium tomatoes (peeled, cored, seeded and chopped)
½ c crème fraiche
4 salmon fillets, with skin attached
Salt
1 large bunch of fresh basil, minced

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 165c.
  2. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a skillet or solid saucepan. When the oil is hot, though not smoking, add the eschallots and sauté until soft, but not browned; around 2 – 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes and continue cooking until much of the liquid has cooked away; about 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and add the crème fraiche. Cook just long enough to heat the cream, and set aside.
  3. Brush the salmon and skin with the remaining oil. Heat an oven-proof pan over a medium-high heat. (The best way to achieve a crispy skin is to use a copper or metal bottomed pan, ensuring the fish is sufficiently oiled, and pressing the skin into the heat for 20 seconds.)
  4. Adding no oil, cook the salmon, skin down for 2 minutes. Season with salt. Turn the salmon over and cook for 2 more minutes, seasoning with salt again.
  5. Transfer the pan to the oven and bake for 5 minutes or until opaque.
  6. To serve, stir the basil into the sauce. Spoon several tablespoons of sauce in the middle of the plate and place the salmon on top of the sauce. A crack of pepper and serve with crusty bread.

Crudo of Kingfish with Campari dressing

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4 – 6

This is a really elegant dish. Light, subtle and incredibly presentable.

Nat and I prepared this a few weeks ago with some sashimi-grade kingfish from the markets and as a starter as part of a larger meal, it is a great way to kick-off.

Ingredients

1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced (beards reserved for decoration)
3 baby beetroot, thinly sliced
½ c white wine vinegar
¼ c sugar
2 oranges
1/3 c Campari
¼ c extra virgin olive oil
1 x 250gm sashimi grade kingfish fillet

Method

  1. To pickle the fennel and beetroot, place vinegar and sugar in a saucepan of a medium heat. Simmer for 1-2 minutes until the sugar has dissolved. Divide the liquid into two bowls and add the fennel to one bowl and the beetroot to the other. Allow to pickle for at least 20 minutes and up to a day.
  2. Peel 1 of the oranges and segment the flesh. Cut 2-3 segments into very small pieces. Juice the remaining orange.
  3. Mix the Campari, olive oil and 2 or 3 tbps orange juice in a bowl. Season and set aside.
  4. Slice the fish into 4mm slices. Arrange on a large platter and pour over the Campari dressing. Top with picked fennel and beetroot, the orange segments and the fennel beards.

Rick Stein’s Escalopes of Salmon with a Champagne and Chive sauce

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

Got you at Champagne right?

Classic Rick Stein at his best, Nat and I served this at a lunch with our parents and it was a homerun; ditto the meeting of parents.

Apart from the delicacy and taste of this recipe, best is that you can make most of the sauce in advance, giving plenty of opportunity to fend off the continual barrage of humiliating stories being gleefully shot across your bows by parents:

“I remember when Robert wrote off a car…”

“Ha, that’s nothing, I remember when Natalie wrote of a yacht…”

“Tiny compared to when Robert…”

Die.

750gm salmon fillet
2 tbsp sunflower oil
Salt

Champagne and chive sauce

30g unsalted butter
1 French shallot, finely chopped
100ml champagne + 1tbsp
600ml fish stock
½ tsp caster sugar
50ml double cream
2 tsp chopped chives

Method

  1. Cut the salmon fillet into 12 escalopes; slices length ways, around half a centimeter thick. Brush each one with oil, season with a little salt and lay on a slightly oiled tray.
  2. Melt 10gm of the butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Add 1 finely chopped shallot and cook gently without colouring, until soft. Add 100ml of champagne and boil for 2 minutes. Add the fish stock and the sugar and boil rapidly until reduced by three-quarters. Add the double cream, bring back to the boil and then simmer until it has reached a good sauce consistency.
  3. Keep warm (whilst defending your reputation).
  4. Whisk together another 50ml double cream with 1 tbsp champagne and the chives until it forms soft peaks.
  5. When you are ready to serve, pre-heat the grill to high and bring the sauce back to the boil, whisk in 20gm butter, then the whipped cream mixture.
  6. Grill (or pan fry) the salmon for 30 seconds per side until just firm.
  7. Overlap the escalopes in a center of each warmed plate and pour the sauce around. Sprinkle with a few chopped chives and serve immediately while the sauce is still foaming.

Fish (or Prawn) Polkiri Thiyal

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

I had this very skillfully cooked for me last night by master curry chef Rob Ashes… and it was as fantastic as it was unique.

Recently returned from Sri Lanka and with a pretty seriously traditional looking cookbook in hand, this recipe is Sinhalese cuisine which I suspected meant ‘tasty tasty’ but instead effectively means the cuisine you eat if you are not Tamil.

I’m not sure what Rob did for the rampe (pandanus leaf) except to leave it out; according to Google, it should be available from Indian food stores or flip a coin and either leave it out or try anything from coriander to lime leaf to rose water.

Enjoy this curry which Rob adapted and I have further adapted. It is definitely a keeper!

Ingredients

500gm firm white fish, 3cm cubes (or prawns, shelled)
1 onion, chopped
Punnet of cherry tomatoes, halved
2 green chillis, thinly sliced
Cinnamon stick
1 tsp turmeric
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp butter
3cm rampe (pandanus leaf)
1 tsp lime juice
½ c coconut milk
10 curry leaves
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
A few grinds of pepper
Salt to taste

Method

  1. Heat the butter in a large pan and saute the onions, curry leaves, cinnamon and rampe.
  2. Mix in the garlic, ginger, turmeric and salt. Add 2 tablespoons of water and then place the fish (or prawns) in the pan. Coat with the mixture, add the coconut milk and bring to the boil.
  3. Turn the heat down and cook for 5 minutes remembering that you want the sauce to be thick. Add the pepper, green chillis, tomatoes and lime. Cook for another five minutes and serve.

Prawn Saganaki

.Reading time 2 minutes.
0
The original… as supplied to me.

Serves: 4

This is a signature Ashes family recipe and it is right on the money. It tastes amazing, it’s warm and it’s filling.

Whether you use saganaki cheese or feta comes down to whether your name is Rob Ashes or Debbie Ashes. When I asked Rob about using saganaki, he said ‘nah, shit doesn’t melt’.

Deb feels the opposite and generally sneaks saganaki into the dish mid-oven. So perhaps this is a compromise and you should use a bit of both.

The other point to make is that if you can find packets of uncooked garlic prawns (the John West variety), get these and eliminate the garlic from the dish.

Otherwise, enjoy what is a fabulous dish and one I have thankfully enjoyed many times at the Ashes dinner table.

Ingredients

1kg medium prawns, shelled
3 ripe tomatoes, diced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic
250gm feta cheese, sliced
250gm saganaki (or feta), sliced
2 tsp sugar
1 bay leaf
½ c olives
Good handful of coriander, chopped
Slices of sourdough
Salt and pepper

Method

  1. In a saucepan, saute the onions win the olive oil. Add the diced tomato, garlic (if using), bay leaf, sugar, olives and salt and pepper and enough water to keep moist and cook on a medium-low heat for at least 30 minutes.
  2. Heat the oven to 180c.
  3. Add the prawns and cook for a few minutes.
  4. Remote the saucepan from the heat and transfer the mixture to a casserole. Sprinkle the coriander over and then spread thin slices of the feta cheese on top. Top with sourdough bread and top with saganaki slices (or feta).
  5. Cook in the oven until the saganaki cheese has melted (or should have melted). 10 to 15 minutes.

(Dime a dozen) Sri Lankan Fish Curry

.Reading time 1 minute.

Serves: 4

A simple and really tasty Sri Lankan fish curry I pulled from the Internet and whipped up for Sunday dinner for Nat and me.

They really are a dime a dozen these curries, though I’m typing this one up because it is about as down the line and traditional as they come… well, in my experience of cooking Sri Lankan fish curries!

This would be best served with some saffron rice, some steamed green vegetables and of course, cold beer!

Ingredients

30ml (2 tbsp) groundnut oil
2 small onions, finely sliced
1 tbsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
20 fresh curry leaves
2 long green chillies, chopped
2½ cm (1in) root ginger, grated
2 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp ground turmeric
300ml fish stock
150ml light coconut milk
4 fillets firm white fish, skinless, 140g each
2 tomatoes, chopped

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a pan, add the onions and cook until lightly golden. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and curry leaves, and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chillies, ginger, garlic and turmeric and cook for a further 2 minutes.
  2. Add the stock and coconut milk, bring to the boil and simmer. Gently place the fish into the curry sauce and cook for 5 minutes, turning the fish once. When you’re ready to serve, stir through the tomatoes.
  3. Remove the lid from the rice and gently fluff it up with a fork. Serve the curry alongside the rice and your favourite steamed green vegetables.

Salmon with mustardy celeriac mash

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 2

All I can say here is don’t judge a recipe by it’s cover.

Because what this recipe seemingly lacks in ingredients it quite commensurately makes up for in flavour and of course, ease of preparation.

Celeriac might be a bit hard to find – as hard as finding a Harris Farm – though that really is the hardest thing about it all. And at about 300 calories each for the celeriac and maybe another 200 for the salmon, it is a healthy dinner to boot.

This dish really surprised us. Very pleasantly so.

Ingredients

2 salmon fillets
700gm celeriac, peeled to remove all the skin and cubed
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tsp lemon juice
100g baby spinach leaves
Pinch of sugar
Extra virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly cracked pepper

Method

  1. Brush the salmon lightly with olive oil and season. Set aside ready to grill.
  2. Boil the celeriac until tender; about 12 to 15 minutes and drain, reserving 1 tbsp of the water.
  3. Whisk together the mustard and lemon juice, sugar, 1 tbsp olive oil and season.
  4. Heat the grill or a pan and cooked the salmon on both sides for a few minutes and cooked to your liking.
  5. Return the celeriac to the pan and mash; alternatively, use a food processor or a ricer. Heat the celeriac over a low heat, adding the spinach until it is wilted. Stir through 1 tbsp mustard mixture and reserved water and season.
  6. Spoon the mash onto two plates, place a salmon fillet on top and splash with the remaining mustard mixture.

Tandoori Salmon with Fragrant Rice

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves: 4

If you’re ever short of time, money and find yourself surrounded by 6 hungry people, the fastest ‘gourmet dish’ you can prepare is a tandoori chicken, or lamb. Put yoghurt and tandoori paste into a plastic bag with the meat (chicken strips, lamb cutlets etc), shake it all around and then BBQ.

People will think you’re a genius.

This particular dish is great not only because it’s  just as simple, and not only because it is tandoori salmon but because of the rice. It is worth every effort.

Ingredients

1 tbsp tandoori paste
¾ c (210g) thick Greek-style yoghurt
4 x 175g skinless salmon fillets
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Grated zest and juice of ½ lemon, plus wedges to serve
3 green cardamom pods, bruised
3 whole cloves, bruised
2 tbsp chopped coriander
1 ½ c (300g) Basmati rice

Method

  1. Combine the tandoori paste and ½ cup (140g) yoghurt in a bowl. Coat the salmon and set aside until ready to cook.
  2. Heat oil in a pan over medium-low heat. Add onion, garlic, zest and spices then stir for 3-5 minutes until softened. Add rice, stir once to coat in oil mixture the stir in 2 ¼ cups (560ml) water and a little salt. Bring to the boil, then cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 12 minutes until liquid absorbed.
  3. Remove from the heat and set aside, covered for 5 minutes until rice is tender. Stir in lemon juice and coriander.
  4. Meanwhile, pre-heat the grill to high. Place salmon on a foil-lined tray and cook under the grill for 6-8 minutes, turning once, until lightly charred and cooked through.
  5. Serve with rice, extra yoghurt and lemon.

Whole Fish with Roast Capsicum and Chilli Butter

.Reading time 2 minutes.

 Serves: 4

I typed this recipe up a few years back though haven’t made it since.

Next weekend, I will right that wrong.

Using whole ocean trout as your fish – truly the most beautiful fish in the world – and cooked in foil on the BBQ, when fish meets chilli butter and with perhaps some greens and potatoes on the side, something special happens.

Sure, it isn’t quite restaurant fare though it’s certainly bistro fare and it is a great recipe to dip your toe into the ‘cooking whole fish on the BBQ’ trick.

Of course, you could cook the fish in the oven by laying them down on baking paper, cutting two or three slashes into the thick flesh and baking, though I think the BBQ adds to it.

Ingredients

4 whole ocean trout
2 tbs olive oil, plus extra to brush
1 roasted red capsicum (or a jar of chargrilled capsicum, drained)
100gm unsalted butter
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon, plus 1tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander leaves
1 small red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped

Method

  1. Heat the BBQ to medium-hot. Brush the fish with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. By all means, stuff lemon and coriander and garlic and butter and whatever else your grandpa included into the cavity of the fish. Wrap in foil and cook for 10 – 12 minutes, turning once.
  2. Meanwhile, very finely chop the capsicum then place in a small saucepan with the olive oil, butter, lemon zest and juice, coriander, chilli and garlic. Season. Stir over a low heat until butter is melted and well combined. Keep warm.
  3. Serve the fish with the capsicum and chilli butter drizzled on-top.

Cha Ca (Ling Fillets marinated with dill and tumeric)

.Reading time 2 minutes.

Serves 6

According to Google translate, ‘kinh ngạc’ is amazing in Vietnamese and I do hope it is because this dish is a-mazing.

It’s got it all.

Healthy, hot, filling, so tasty.

Seriously, copy paste these ingredients and clear your schedule for tonight because this is going to make tonight – and every night you cook it – very special.

Mark Jensen of Red Lantern is a genius!

Ingredients

1kg ling fillets
8 spring onions (scallions)
4 garlic cloves
1 tbsp ground turmeric
2 tsp hot curry power
2 tbsp plain yoghurt
1/2 cup fish sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 bunch dill
125g rice vermicelli
1 cup fish stock
1 lemon
300g bean sprouts

Method

  1. Cut the fish into 4cm pieces, place in a bowl and set aside.
  2. Put the white heads of the spring onions (reserving the stalks) and garlic in a mortar and pound to a paste.
  3. Add the paste, turmeric, curry powder, yoghurt, fish sauce, sugar, 2 tablespoons of the oil and a third of the dill, roughly chopped) to the fish and mix well. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator for 1 hour.
  4. Cook the vermicelli in boiling water for 5 minutes, turn off the heat and let sit for a further 5 minutes. Strain, refresh under cold water a set aside. (This may contradict instructions on pack, though don’t worry!).
  5. Thinly, diagonally slice 4 or 5 of the green spring onion stalks.
  6. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat, add the remaining oil and fry the fillets for 30 seconds on one side.
  7. Turn the fillets over, add the fish stock and simmer for 3-5 minutes until the fish is cooked through.
  8. Remove the fish and squeeze over the juice from the lemon.
  9. Mix the bean sprouts, sliced spring onion, remaining dill and vermicelli together, place into bowls and spoon over the fish fillets and sauce.