Salmon Fillets Poached in White Wine and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1 cup white wine
- 1 cup water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 onion, quartered
- ½ tsp thyme
- ½ tsp white peppercorns
- 8 sprigs parsley
- ¼ tsp red pepper flakes
- 8 oz tomato puree
- ¼ tsp saffron
- 1 lemon, thinly sliced
- 4 salmon fillets
Method
Place water, white wine, bay leaves and onion into a large heavy skillet. Tie thyme, peppercorns and parsley in a layer of cheesecloth. Drop into wine mixture. Bring mixture to a simmer over a medium heat. Add the fish fillets. Cover skillet and continue to simmer for 8 10 minutes or until fish is firm and flakes easily with a fork. Do not over cook. Remove fish to a serving platter, using a slotted spoon. Remove cheesecloth bag, bay leaves and onion and discard. Add tomato puree and red pepper flakes to liquid in skillet. Bring to boil, stirring to mix well; boil until liquid is reduced by half. Add the saffron and 3 thin slices of lemon; boil for 1 minute longer. Spoon sauce over fish fillets and garnish with remaining slices of lemon. Serve immediately.Grilled Fish Fillets
Ingredients
- 4 tilapia fillets (6 to 8 ounces each)
- 1 lemon parsley, fresh chopped or dried
- paprika
- salt & pepper to taste
- olive oil
Method:
Place fish, skin side up on a plate. Drizzle with a little olive oil and rub all over. Turn to the other side. Sprinkle juice from half of the lemon over the fillets. Sprinkle with parsley, paprika, salt and pepper. Drizzle with a little more olive oil. Place skin side down on a hot grill and cook until the fish is easily flaked. Serve immediately with wedges of lemon.Suggestion:
Use a grate with smaller holes, designed to be used on the grill, to place on top of the regular grill rack. Fish tends to stick fairly easily when grilled; therefore the smaller holes will prevent pieces falling through the rack.Crab and Chilli Risotto
Ingredients
- 1.5 ltr hot seafood, fish or vegetable stock
- 100g unsalted butter
- 3 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
- 400g risotto rice
- 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 150ml dry white wine
- 250g fresh white crabmeat (or frozen & thawed)
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4-8 meaty crab claws, cooked and cracked
- 4 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
Method
Put the stock into a saucepan and keep at a gentle simmer. Melt half the butter in a large, heavy saucepan then add the shallots and celery. Cook gently for 5-7 minutes until soft, golden and translucent and heated through. Pour in the wine and boil hard until it has reduced and almost disappeared. This will remove the raw taste of the alcohol.
Begin adding the stock a ladle at a time, stirring gently until the rice has almost absorbed each ladle-full. The risotto should be kept at a bare simmer throughout cooking, so dont let the rice dry out add more stock as necessary. Continue until the rice is tender and creamy, but the grains still firm. (This should take 15-20 minutes depending on the type of rice used).
Five minutes before the rice is ready, stir in half the crabmeat. When the rice is cooked, taste and season well, then stir in the remaining butter. Remove the bay leaf. Fold in the remaining crabmeat, being careful not to break up any lumps. Cover and rest for a couple of minutes so the risotto can relax, then serve immediately. Serve topped with the crab claws and lots of chopped parsley.
Crab and Chilli Risotto
Ingredients
- 1.5 ltr hot seafood, fish or vegetable stock
- 100g unsalted butter
- 3 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
- 400g risotto rice
- 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
- 1 bay leaf
- 150ml dry white wine
- 250g fresh white crabmeat (or frozen & thawed)
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 4-8 meaty crab claws, cooked and cracked
- 4 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
Method
Put the stock into a saucepan and keep at a gentle simmer. Melt half the butter in a large, heavy saucepan then add the shallots and celery. Cook gently for 5-7 minutes until soft, golden and translucent and heated through. Pour in the wine and boil hard until it has reduced and almost disappeared. This will remove the raw taste of the alcohol.
Begin adding the stock a ladle at a time, stirring gently until the rice has almost absorbed each ladle-full. The risotto should be kept at a bare simmer throughout cooking, so dont let the rice dry out add more stock as necessary. Continue until the rice is tender and creamy, but the grains still firm. (This should take 15-20 minutes depending on the type of rice used).
Five minutes before the rice is ready, stir in half the crabmeat. When the rice is cooked, taste and season well, then stir in the remaining butter. Remove the bay leaf. Fold in the remaining crabmeat, being careful not to break up any lumps. Cover and rest for a couple of minutes so the risotto can relax, then serve immediately. Serve topped with the crab claws and lots of chopped parsley.
Barbecued whole Sea bass, Sweet & Sour
Ingredients
- 2 large whole sea bass, gutted and head removed
- 250g cherry tomatoes
- 1 tsp coriander & cumin mix
- 10 tbsp cornflour
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
- 1 dsp white sugar
- 1 tbsp tomato ketchup
- 1 dsp ginger, finely shredded
- 1 red pepper, finely shredded
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tbsp light soy sauce
- 3 spring onions, shredded
Method
Make four deep incisions across each side of the fish, almost to the bone. Combine ground spices with the cornflour, and then coat each fish thoroughly. Place whole fish, dotted with butter, in a foil parcel leaving a gap at the top, barbecue slowly for about 20 minutes. Alternatively, pan-fry whole fish in a mixture of sesame and vegetable oil. If you pan-fry, start off on the Aga boiling plate for 1 minute each side, then transfer to top oven floor for about 6 minutes depending on the size of the fish. (Mackerel is brilliant if seabass is hard to find or too expensive). Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan; add the ginger, garlic, pepper and whole cherry tomatoes. Cook over a medium heat until the tomatoes begin to split, around 8 minutes. Add the ketchup, fish sauce, soy sauce and
Sugar then cook for a further 2 minutes until bubbling and tomatoes are breaking up, pour sauce over barbecued fish, garnish with coriander and spring onion.
You may need to add a little water if pan becomes too dry. Serve immediately.
Monkfish Provencale with Bacon
Ingredients
- 4 x 5oz / 150g monkfish tails, skinned
- 8 rashers smoked streaky bacon
- salt & freshly ground pepper
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- Tomato herb sauce:
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 14oz tin chopped tomatoes
- 2 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste
- 1 tsp fresh tarragon
- 1 tsp balsamic vinegar
- pinch caster sugar
Method:
First make the sauce. Heat the oil in a frying pan on boiling plate; add the garlic and onion and fry gently for 3-4 minutes, stirring from time to time. Cover and transfer to simmering oven for about 10 minutes until onion is soft. Return to boiling plate, add tomatoes, tomato paste, tarragon, vinegar, salt, pepper and sugar and bring back to boil. Turn into ovenproof serving dish large enough to hold the fish in one layer.
Meanwhile, cook snipped bacon in a pan on floor of roasting oven for about 10 minutes until crisp. Ensure all stiff white membrane has been removed from fish, season with salt & pepper. Heat oil in pan on boiling plate and quickly fry monkfish on all sides until golden brown, making sure that it is not quite cooked through completely. Lay the tails on the tomato herb sauce. Slide the fish-serving dish on the grid shelf on the floor of the roasting oven and cook uncovered for about 15 minutes until piping hot. Remove from oven, sprinkle with warm crispy bacon and chopped parsley and serve immediately.
Suggestion:
If you are using a conventional oven, make the sauce on the hob in the usual way. Cook the monkfish with the sauce in an ovenproof dish in a pre-heated oven 200C/400F or gas 6 for about 15-20 minutes until piping hot.
Light Hot Spicy Grouper
Ingredients
- 4 grouper or snapper fillets (8-10 oz each)
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp hot sauce
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tsp fresh grated ginger
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley
- vegetable cooking spray
Method
Place fish fillets in shallow dish; set aside.
Combine lemon juice with water, hot sauce, olive oil, ginger and salt then divide in half. Cover and refrigerate one portion. Pour remaining portion over fish, turning to coat then cover with aluminium foil. Refrigerate fillets for one hour, turning fish occasionally. Remove fish from marinade; discard marinade. Arrange fish in a single layer in a grill basket and spray with vegetable oil. Cook, covered with grill lid for 5 minutes each side or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork, basting with remaining marinade. Transfer fish to a serving plate and sprinkle with sesame seeds and parsley before serving.
