Tag: Seafood

Categories
MAIN COURSE

Seafood pie with a golden potato crust


Served with a fennel, carrot and apple salsa and an apple juice and maple syrup dressing or pickled beetroot.

Serves 4

FISH PIE

This dish is even more tasty the next day, just reheat it in a very hot oven for 8 minutes.  If there is any leftover pie, be adventurous and convert it into a soup by liquidizing it and adding more fish- or chicken stock and cream.

The seafood:
300 g/10.5 oz three different types of firm white fish, cut into bite-size pieces
100 g/3.5 oz prawns, shelled, shells reserved for the stock
100 g/3.5 oz king crab legs, shelled, shells reserved for the stock
juice of ½ lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper

The stock:
25 g/0.8 oz butter
2 garlic cloves, crushed
reserved prawn and crab shells
1 cup fish stock

The onion and mushroom mix:
6 cippolini onions, quartered (if cippolini onions are not available, use
shallots)
10 small button mushrooms
juice of 1 lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoons Noili Prat
dash of Tabasco (pepper sauce)

The potatoes:
300 g/10.5 oz potatoes, peeled and sliced with a mandolin to 2 mm thick slices
25 g/0.8 oz clarified butter
salt and freshly ground black pepper

The white sauce:
1 medium sized onion, studded with 10 whole cloves
¾ cup milk
¾ cup full cream
25 g butter
20 g flour
2 tablespoons spring onions, chopped
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped

  • Preheat the oven to 200°C/392°F.
  • For the stock, in a saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter and add the garlic. Fry for about 1 minute, taking care not to burn the garlic.
  • Add the reserved prawn and crab shells and cook gently whilst stirring – for about 5 minutes.
  • Add the fish stock and bring to the boil. Boil for 5 minutes then turn off the heat and let the stock infuse for about half an hour. Strain and discard the solids.

  • For the onion and mushroom mix, bring the strained stock back to a boil, add the onions, mushrooms and lemon juice and season to taste.
  • When the mushrooms are tender, remove from the heat and add the Noily Prat and Tabasco. Put aside to cool.

  • For the white sauce, bring the milk and cream to the boil in a saucepan and add the onion studded with cloves. Pour it in a bowl and leave to infuse.
  • In the same saucepan, melt the butter then stir in the flour and over low heat cook whilst stirring for about 5 minutes.
  • Strain the infused milk, discard the onion and cloves, and slowly pour the hot milk into the butter and flour mixture, whisking constantly until it reaches the desired consistency.
  • Add seasoning to taste and cook for a further 5 minutes. Strain the sauce, then add the chopped spring onions and parsley and put to one side.
  • Dot the surface with flakes of butter to prevent a skin from forming.
The onion can be reused (without the cloves) to make a sauce for another dish or for soup.
  • For the potatoes, blanch the potato slices in salted boiling water for about 5 minutes. Drain, plunge in iced water and set aside.

Assemble the dish:

  • Season the fish, prawns and crab meat and gently mix with the onion/mushroom mixture and the white sauce.
  • Spoon into a buttered ovenproof dish and smooth out with a spatula.
  • Carefully place the blanched potato slices like scales over the top and brush with the clarified butter.
  • Bake for 25-30 minutes in the preheated oven. If the potatoes are not golden brown at the end of the cooking time, turn on the grill and brown them directly.
  • When the dish is cooked, remove from the oven and let it rest for 15-20 minutes in a warm place before serving.
  • Serve with the Salad of fennel, apple and carrot salad (recipe follows).
Beetroot is also delicious with Seafood pie.  See Pickled beetroot salad with onions.

For the salad:
3 small heads of fennel, jullienned
2 Granny Smith apples, cored and jullienned
2 carrots, jullienned
½ red onion, finely diced
½ cup toasted slithered almonds, and 2 cups mixed baby salad leaves. 

For the dressing:

  • Bring ¼ cup apple juice, 1 tablespoon maple syrup and 1 teaspoonl balsamic vinegar to a boil in a saucepan and reduce down to about half.
  • Remove from the heat and add the salt and pepper. Leave to cool, then whisk in 1 cup avocado oil.
  • Just before serving, gently mix all the salad ingredients and drizzle the dressing.
  • Serve immediately with the Fish pie.
Categories
MAIN COURSE

Seafood soup served with garlic mayonnaise and crusty bread


Mussels are a delicious added ingredient, but as I am allergic to these mollusks (and so are many people), I cook them separately by adding the raw mussels to some garlic fried in butter and white wine, then I add them to the individual plates of the other guests.
BLOCK HORIZONTAL LINE
Serves 4

SEAFOOD SOUP

The stock:
⅓ cup/80 ml olive oil
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 rasher of bacon, finely chopped
1 leek, roughly chopped
2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon/15 ml fennel seeds
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon/15 ml orange zest
8 ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped
1 tablespoon/15 ml tomato paste
1 medium-hot red chilli, seeded and chopped
1 teaspoon/5 ml saffron strands
1 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
4 cups/1 liter fish stock
15 g/½ oz butter
2 tablespoons/30 ml olive oil
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
reserved shells of prawns and crab
¼ cup/60 ml white wine
1 teaspoon/5 ml oregano, chopped
1 teaspoon/5 ml  Pernod

Pernod can be quite overpowering. Add a little at a time then taste and add more if you desire.

3 ripe tomatoes, skinned, seeded and diced chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper

The seafood:
500 g/1 lb firm white fish
8 large prawns, shelled and de-veined, reserve shells for stock
8 calamari tubes and heads, tubes cut into rings
1 leg King crab, flesh removed and shells reserved for stock

The aïoli (garlic mayonnaise):
2 egg yolks
½ teaspoon salt
2 cloves garlic (more if you wish)
2 teaspoons/10 ml lemon juice
1 cup groundnut oil

This mayonnaise recipe contains raw eggs and is not suitable for pregnant women, the elderly or very young children.

The garnish:
2 tablespoons/30 ml fresh coriander, finely chopped
2 tablespoons/30 ml dill, finely chopped
crusty white bread

In a large saucepan, heat the oil and saute the onions, bacon, leeks, celery, fennel seeds and garlic until soft.  Add the orange zest, tomatoes, tomato paste, chili, saffron, thyme, bay leaves and stock and bring to the boil.  Boil for 10 minutes, then remove from the heat and set aside.

In a frying pan, heat the butter and olive oil and saute the garlic, shells of the prawns and crab until golden and aromatic.  Deglaze the pan with the wine and reduce until half the wine has evaporated.  Add all the contents to the tomato mixture, strain thoroughly and discard the solids.  Add the liquid to the stock.

In a frying pan, heat the olive oil and add the fish.  Stir fry for about 1 minute, then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Reheat the pan (add some more oil if necessary) and add the prawns, stir fry for about 1 minute then remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Repeat with the calamari rings and pieces of crab but cook this for only 30 seconds.  Remove with a slotted spoon and reserve with the rest of the seafood. 

If you find that some bits are beginning to stick to the bottom of the pan, deglaze the pan with a little boiling water and empty the contents of the pan into the unstrained stock (just make sure that there are no burnt bits). Heat some more oil and fry the rest of the seafood. Repeat the process if necessary.

Deglaze the pan with one cup of the reserved stock then add to the rest of the stock.  Bring it all to a gentle simmer and stir in the oregano, Pernod, tomato, chilli and the cooked seafood.  Remove from the heat and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

In a food processor, blend together the egg yolks, salt, garlic and lemon juice. Add the oil in a thin steady stream while the machine keeps running.  Continue until all the oil is incorporated.

To serve:
Serve the soup in deep bowls with the fresh coriander and dill scattered over.  Serve the crusty bread and small bowls filled with the aïoli on the side.

Categories
MAIN COURSE

Cured and seared spicy salmon


Serve with creamy mashed potatoes, butternut batons and a Green peppercorn vinaigrette

Serves 4

Once you have rubbed the spices into the salmon, the salmon can be frozen for up to 3 months.  Defrost in the refrigerator when needed.

Important: Start making this dish at least 24 hours before serving.

SALMON SPICY AND SEARED

The marinade:
2 teaspoons/10 ml salt
1 tablespoon/15 ml sugar
1 tablespoon/15 ml allspice, ground
1 teaspoon/5 ml paprika
1 teaspoon/5 ml garlic, minced
1 teaspoon/5 ml onion, minced
1 tablespoon/15 ml wholegrain mustard
2 tablespoons/30 ml chives, finely chopped
2 tablespoons/30 ml dill, finely chopped

Any leftover cooked salmon can be make into a salmon mousse. See
Spicy salmon mousse in filo pastry 

 

The mashed potatoes:
600 g/22 oz potatoes, peeled
¼ cup/60 ml créme fraîsche or butter
¼ cup/60 ml milk
salt and freshly ground white pepper

The vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons/30 ml olive oil
1 shallot, finely chopped
½ red sweet pepper, rib and seeds removed, peeled and finely diced
½ tomato, peeled, seeded and finely diced
¼ cup/60 ml fish stock, heated
2 tablespoons/30 ml red wine vinegar
a pinch of sugar
salt
1 tablespoon/15 ml pickled green peppercorns, drained

The creamed spinach:
500 g/18 oz young fresh spinach
¼ cup/60 ml cream
1 small clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons/30 ml shallot, finely chopped
1 teaspoon/5 ml Dijon mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper

The garnish:
sprigs of dill
bunch of fresh coriander
olive oil for drizzling

For the marinade:

  • Mix all the ingredients for the marinade thoroughly.
  • Make a few cuts into the skin of the salmon, then rub the marinade all over.
  • Roll the fish tightly in plastic film and put in a dish so that the fish fits snugly.
  • Cut out a piece of cardboard the size of the dish and place it on top.
  • Weigh it down with weights evenly distributed, and chill in the refrigerator overnight, but preferably for 48 hours.
  • When ready to cook, brush the herbs and spices off the salmon (do not rinse it off) and rub with the oil.
  • In a very hot heavy-based frying pan (a non-stick pan makes it easier), sear the fish skin side down, for about 3 minutes.
  • Gently turn it over and cook for a further 2 minutes.
  • Put aside in a warm place to rest for 10-15 minutes.

For the mashed potatoes:

  • Cut the peeled potatoes into even chunks and boil in salted water until tender (about 15 minutes).
  • Drain and return to the pan, and over gentle heat, reheat the potatoes until any excess moisture has evaporated.
  • Meanwhile heat the milk.
  • Push the potato chunks through a potato ricer and slowly add the warm milk to the potatoes, whilst whisking it with a fork.
  • For a super smooth mash, push it through a drum sieve.
  • Mix in the créme fraîsche or butter, salt and pepper to taste, then cover and set aside in a warm place.

For the sauce:

  • In a saucepan, heat half the oil and sauté the shallot until translucent.
  • Add the red pepper and tomato and cook until tender (about 2 minutes).
  • Add the fish stock and reduce by half.
  • Remove from the heat and put aside.
  • When the salmon is ready to be served, reheat the sauce gently, add the vinegar, and whisk in 1 tablespoon/15 ml of the olive oil.
  • Season with salt and stir in the green peppercorns.

For the spinach:

  • In a saucepan, bring some water to the boil then blanch the spinach for one minute. Drain and refresh in ice water.
  • In a small saucepan, bring the cream with the garlic to a boil, remove from the heat and let it infuse until ready to use.
  • Squeeze as much liquid as possible from the blanched spinach and chop roughly.
  • Strain the cream (discard the garlic) and reheat gently, then add the chopped spinach.
  • Add the minced shallot and mustard, salt and pepper and mix thoroughly.

To serve:

  • In the center of each serving plate, place a pastry cutter and spoon in the mashed potato.
  • Lift the cutter and place a portion of the salmon on top, crispy skin facing up.
  • Spoon some spinach neatly next to the fish and pour the vinaigrette around.  Scatter the herbs around, drizzle extra olive oil over if necessary and serve immediately.