Roasted Snapper with with leeks and olives

My son made this recipe and loved it!  This is made with snapper, but you could make it with any white fleshed fish fillets, or even a cutlet like blue eye.  Use the BEST olive oil you can afford as it will make a difference to the dish.  Also, sourdough is preferable, but you could use any bread.  Do not cook the leeks at too high a temperature.   Simple and delicious.

Brodetto - a seafood feast for Christmas

I took one of Silvia Colloca's recipes and adapted it to our family, so thank you to Silvia.  She is a wonderful Italian cook who lives in Australia.  This dish looks and tastes spectacular, and you can adapt it for more people. This is for 4 people.

 

What I love about the dish is that it is lighter than similar dishes like paella, and it is very relaxing to chat over mussels at Christmas and the cook does not get stressed.

 

You can make this over one day - but who wants all that work at Christmas!  Instead most of the work is done a day ahead and by the fishmonger, all I had to do on the day was heat up some sauce, chop some parsley, add a few bits and cook the mussels - all in all it took about 10 minutes.  Use a large flat bottom pot to cook the sauce in, one that goes to the table. 

 

Buy pot ready seafood and its a breeze, by that I mean mussels and pippies that have been prepared, with no bits hanging off them, and pre filleted snapper as well as prawns that have been peeled and deveined. You can vary the seafood, buy what is good and fresh and what you enjoy (calamari would be good).  I also think some saffron would be a nice addition if you are so inclined.  Do not overcook the seafood, a few minutes is all they need.

 

Vietnamese fish cakes

I have several recipes for these fishcakes, and they all involve fish and red curry paste.  Then the fish cakes turn out too strong for me, with no taste of the fish.  When I saw a Bill's recipe with no curry paste, I tried it out, found it a little too simple and modified it as below.  These cakes taste more of fish than curry and so they do not assault the senses!

 

If you cannot get snake beans, just use normal beans. If you like the fish cakes a lot more spicy, add a chopped chilli to the fish mix.  Serve with a simple Vietnamese salad of lettuce, mint, coriander, sliced mango, bean sprouts and a dressing of lime, olive oil seasoned with a dash of soy, fish sauce and sugar.  As for the fish - I use the cheapest white fish fillets at the market, the only thing to avoid is very oily fish.  You can make really little fish cakes and serve them as starters for a party with the dipping sauce.

 

I made a batch of these and froze them, then vacuum  sealed them and froze them - turned out great, just defrost and fry.

 

The recipe makes enough for 4, with a few left over for lunch the next day.

 

Allan's Yamba Seafood Chowder

A good friend of my husband, Allan, obtained this recipe from a restaurant in Yamba, NSW.  He was able to obtain the ingredients list, but not the actual quantities, so after quite a bit of experimentation he has perfected the recipe.  It is a lovely, smooth, creamy and turmeric broth stacked with lots of seafood - a delight to eat.  Allan added half a crayfish tail to our dinner recently, and it was delicious and very filling.

 

I am sure you could vary the seafood to your taste, so go ahead and experiment!  You could also vary the taste according to the curry powder you use, and the addition of ginger and chilli if you like it hot.

 

This recipe serves 4 as a main course, so it would probably serve 6 for an entrée at a swish dinner party.  When it says simmer it means SIMMER not boil!!  Boil seafood and it will be tough and horrible.  In fact, you do not boil anything in this recipe, even the mussels should be steamed rather than boiled to death!