Whether you’ve got fresh fish, shellfish or sardines, these seafood recipes will make dinnertime feel like a special occasion.
These seafood plating are designed with sharing in mind. If you’re looking to cater to a big table, put these in the centre and surround them with other salads or homemade
Spaghetti with seafood and chilli
Serves 4
Add an extra chilli if you like this dish hot. You can use any seafood; a good option is a couple of handfuls of prawns from the freezer to accompany some fresh fish.
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large chilli, diced
1 small fennel bulb, sliced thinly
2 Tbsp butter
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Lemon zest, to taste
300g spaghetti, cooked
100g rocket leaves
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 lemon halved, to squeeze
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan. Add the garlic, chilli, and fennel and cook for 5 or 6 minutes to soften. Remove from the pan.
- Add the butter to the same pan. Cook the seafood until just cooked. Depending on the fish and shellfish you are using, do this in batches. Add the lemon zest, hot-cooked spaghetti, rocket, and vegetables to the pan. Season with salt and pepper, and add a good squeeze of lemon juice
- Serve hot in bowls.
Kūmara-topped fennel and fish pie
Serves 4
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2 medium-sized kūmara, peeled
20g butter
Freshly ground pepper
1 Tbsp oil
½ cup breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp chopped parsley
Filling
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp oil
2 spring onions, chopped
1 small bulb fennel, thinly sliced
1 small carrot, chopped small
¼ cup flour
1 ½ cups milk
¼ cup chopped dill
300g fresh hoki
100g smoked hoki
Salt and pepper, to taste
- For the topping, boil the kūmara in salted water for 15 minutes until very soft. Remove, drain and mash with the butter, adding a little pepper to taste.
- Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the breadcrumbs, cooking until crispy. Remove from the heat and stir through the parsley.
- For the filling melt the butter and oil in a pot. Add the onion, fennel and carrot, cooking slowly, covered, until softened (around 10 minutes). Stir through the flour, cooking for 2 minutes. Add the milk, slowly bringing to a simmer until the sauce has thickened. Stir through the fish and dill. Pour the mixture into an ovenproof dish. Top with the kūmara and sprinkle over the breadcrumbs.
- Preheat an oven to 180C. Cook for 40 minutes until golden and bubbling.
Caramelised onion and sardine tart
Makes 1
Puff pastry in the freezer is a great go-to. I have cut it into a rectangle, but it can be cut into any shape, big or small, and filled with deliciousness. One large onion cooked slowly in two tablespoons of oil in a frying pan for 20 minutes will caramelise nicely for this tart. For the sardines I used Baltic smoked sardines, which come in a tin and are available from most supermarkets.
2 sheets of puff pastry
1 cup caramelised onions
100g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 Tbsp dill leaves
50g smoked sardines
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp water
Dill sprigs, to garnish
- Preheat the oven to 200C.
- Cut the pastry to make a 12cm x 30cm rectangle. Cut strips from the remaining pastry 1cm thick and press gently into the edges to create a border.
- Spread the onion over the pastry and dot around the tomatoes, dill and sardines. Sprinkle with parsley. Brush the edges with egg wash.
- Bake for 25 minutes until puffed and golden. Slice while warm. Serve with extra dill sprigs.
