Seafood Recipes

A selection of seasonal fish recipes that we hope you will enjoy.  If there’s a particular recipe that you’d like to see featured let us know.

Foil Poached Salmon with Dill and Avocado Mayonnaise

Serves 10

Ingredients

3 ½ kg whole salmon (ask your fishmonger to clean and gut it)

1 small onion, very thinly sliced

4 bay leaves

20g pack dill

6 tbsp dry white wine

3 ripe avocados, preferably Hass

200ml mayonnaise

zest and juice 1 large lemon

½ cucumber, peeled, deseeded and diced

bunch watercress, lemon wedges, thick cucumber slices, fresh dill (optional)

 

Method

Heat oven to 150C/fan 130C/gas 2. Put the salmon on a large sheet of oiled extra-wide foil (this will stop it from sticking later). Put the onion, bay leaves and half the dill in the body cavity, spoon over the wine, season with salt and black pepper, then loosely bring the foil round the salmon and seal well to make a parcel. Lift onto a baking tray, then bake for 2 hrs. Take from the oven, then leave to cool for about 10 mins, still in its parcel.

Meanwhile, whizz the flesh from the avocados (with a hand blender or in a food processor) with the mayo, lemon juice, zest and seasoning. Tip into a bowl. Chop the remaining dill, stir in with the cucumber, then transfer to a serving bowl. Chill for up to 3 hrs.

Unwrap the salmon, then strip away the skin and fins. Personally, I don’t take the skin from the bottom of the fish if I am serving the salmon warm, as you risk breaking the fish up as you turn it over. It is more robust when it is cold, so in this case remove the skin from both sides. You can leave the head on or take off at this stage. Carefully lift onto a platter, then garnish with watercress, cucumber, lemon wedges and dill, if using.

Sea Bass with Creamed Crab & Chilli Spelt

 

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil

4 sea bass fillets, scaled and pin boned

small knob unsalted butter

CREAMED CRAB AND CHILLI SPELT

60g unsalted butter

2 echalion shallots, finely chopped

1 bay leaf

10g pack thyme (½  pack), leaves picked

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

200g pearled spelt (or arborio rice)

100g brown crab meat

800ml fresh chicken stock

2½  tbsp double cream

25g pack chives, finely chopped

100g white crab meat

 

Method

To make the crab and chilli spelt, heat the butter in a saucepan, add the shallots and cook gently until soft but not browned – about 10 minutes. Add the bay leaf, thyme leaves, chilli and garlic; cook for 2 minutes more. Add the spelt (or rice) and cook for another 2 minutes, then stir in the brown crab meat. Meanwhile, heat the chicken stock in a small saucepan.

 

Add the warm stock to the spelt a ladle at a time, stirring continuously, adding more stock once it has been absorbed. Cook until the spelt is just tender – about 15-20 minutes; set aside while you cook the fish.

Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Pat the sea bass fillets dry on kitchen paper and season. Place the fillets skin-side down in the pan (if they curl up a little, press firmly and they will relax back down). Cook for about 4-5 minutes, until almost cooked through. Add the butter, take the pan off the heat and turn the fish over – the residual heat will cook the fish through while you finish the spelt.

 

Put the spelt back on the heat to warm through, then stir in the cream, chives and white crab meat. It should have a loose texture that settles once stirred, like risotto; add a splash more stock (or water) if it seems too dry. Season, divide between plates or shallow bowls and top with the sea bass. Sprinkle over herbs and serve with bread to soak up the sauce.