Fish with Good Intentions.

 Fishy...

Squidy. 

Seafood is on the verge of being abused and battered (pun intended) with Easter only weeks away. So I thought I’d whip up a couple of easy-peasy seafood recipes that have some subtle quirky flavour combinations. These are my fishy recipes with good intentions. 

Fish of the day? When buying fish try to avoid sticking to the recipe. What I mean is if the recipe calls for barramundi and its $47 dollars per kilo, probably because its been caught 2000km away, try something different. Fish can be easily interchanged, and there are only too many varieties and species to choose from. Maybe a grunter fillet? Or a mixed reef fillet? You don’t need to break the bank and the end result will only be tastier because you’ve bought something fresher and local.

Nuts are great textures for food in general, but with fish the nuttiness seems to take fishiness to a whole new level. You can use whatever nut you fancy but I chose flaked almonds, I love the golden colour they turn in the oven! I matched my almond encrusted fish with a sour but rich orange and garlic beurre blanc (butter sauce) a punch of chili, a salty hit from some kalamata olives and earthy undertones from green kale. Making a healthy meal that gets Ten's for flavour, texture and eye-appeal in my book.

Squid and calamari tubes- yes they are different things, would have to be one of the most inexpensive seafood you can get these days. Fresh or frozen these white winged beauties are a versatile specie of the cephalopod family, and make for tasty bite-size morsels perfect for entertaining.

There are many recipes that café’s and restaurants are guilty to overdosing on and one of them would have to be salt and pepper squid. I always aim to be a little different when it comes to my recipes so I’ve created my own seasoning that will knock the socks of mere salt and pepper, with a big whack of sour sumac and robust rosemary!

Almond Encrusted Fish with Orange Beurre Blanc.

2 Fillets of White fish portioned

Flaked almonds

Olive oil

1 orange

125g butter

1 garlic clove finely grated.

50 g sliced kalamata olives

1 tsp red chili finely diced

5 De-Stemmed leaves of kale

Coat your fish in olive oil, then pat with almonds to form a crust. Place on lined baking tray and put in a 180 degree oven for 10 minutes, or until cooked.

Meanwhile on a low temp melt 100g of your butter with the garlic. Add the juice of 1 orange and the remaining 25g of butter in small cold chunks. Stir

When the fish is ready add the chili and olives to the sauce followed by the kale. Put a lid on the pot and bring the temp up. Cook for 2-3 minutes or until the kale is wilted.

To serve place the kale on the bottom followed by the baked fish and some of the remaining sauce.

Sumac and Rosemary Squid/Calamari.

4 tubes of Squid/calamari

1 cup plain flour

2 Tbs sumac

2 sprigs rosemary

Good quality mayonnaise (Home-made is always best, but its ok to cheat sometimes)

Salt

Pepper.

Vegetable oil.

1 lime

Open out your squid by cutting down one of the sides of the arrow. Butterfly it out onto the board and clean it with the back of your knife to remove any scum.

Gently score the inside of the squid with your knife on an angle then cut into strips.

Meanwhile fill a saucepan or deep-fryer two-thirds full with oil and heat to 170°C (or until a cube of bread turns golden in 15 seconds). Fry off your rosemary for 20 seconds then set aside on paper-towel.

To make the seasoning in a medium sized bowl (which will be used to toss the squid in) crumble the rosemary and mix with the sumac, salt and pepper .

Toss your raw squid in some plane flour then in batches fry it off  and when golden remove and toss in the sumac and rosemary seasoning. Serve hot with a wedge of lime and some mayonnaise for dipping. For extra flavour sprinkle some of the seasoning over the mayonnaise for an extra punch.