Dunedin foodies Judith Cullen and Greg Piner succumbed to their craving for fresh seafood last week, taking advantage of home delivery services. Here they share their favourite recipes.
Judith Cullen
Judith Cullen
I really have a positive feeling that although lockdown has tragically been detrimental to so many hospitality businesses, it has also given so many people the confidence to "have a go" in the kitchen.
In another life, I was a home economics teacher and I look back thinking then most children passed through my room at some stage and left high school with some cooking skills
For those who do not get that opportunity to learn about food or cooking methods it’s tough. It is all about skills and confidence and once you have mastered those two you get satisfaction, enjoyment and best of all the ability to share with friends and family around a table.
I also agree with one of my favourite celebrity food heroes Anthony Bourdain who said "I think food, culture, people and landscape are all absolutely inseparable".
I think lockdown has incorporated all of these and hopefully we can hold on to this new found respect.
We also have so many talented people working incredibly long hours and tirelessly, not only to maintain their own businesses, but to provide a deliverable service for everyone under level 3 whether they are in the city or in the countryside like us.
I needed my fix of seafood — something we usually eat 2-3 times a week. Dunedin’s Harbour Fish are meeting the demand for fresh fish, chilled and ready to cook.
Over the past few days I have had fun cooking traditional fish and chips, pan-fried whole flounder and, with a little more work, crepes filled with smoked seafood.
Panko crumbed sole fillets with crispy sumac oven wedges and lemon mayonnaise-tartare sauce
Crispy sumac oven wedges
potatoes
1-2 tsp sumac
To taste
sea salt
ground black pepper
olive oil
Method
Par boil the potatoes (enough for you and your family). Drain. Allow to cool enough that you can handle them.
Cut into wedges and place in a largish baking dish — make sure the potatoes are not crowded or on top of each other.
Mix through the sumac, sea salt , ground black pepper and olive oil. Bake at 200degC until crisp and crunchy.
Lemon mayonnaise-tartare sauce
2 egg yolks
grapeseed oil
zest and juice of a small lemon
salt and pepper
6 small gherkins, chopped finely
2 tsp capers, chopped finely
2 Tbsp parsley, chopped finely
Method
Whizz the egg yolks in a food processor. As it is running, drizzle in the oil — very, very slowly — until the mixture is thick . Add lemon juice, seasoning. Remove from the bowl and stir through chopped gherkins, capers and parsley.
Panko crumbed sole fillets
Once your potatoes are cooked and salad made, you can start cooking the fish. It will only take a couple of minutes and they need to be served hot and crispy.
4 sole fillet (1-2 per person)
½ cup flour,
1 egg, whisked ,
1 cup panko crumbs
Method
In three flattish bowls place flour, egg and panko crumbs. Dip the sole fillets in each individually — first flour, then eggs, then panko crumbs. Place in a single layer on a plate.
Heat enough oil to cover the bottom of your pan. Gently add the fish to the hot oil until golden on one side — use two forks to turn over and brown on remaining side. Place on paper towel while you cook remaining fillets.
Whole pan-fried flounder with rosti with grilled feta and cherry tomatoes
Dust the flounders in seasoned flour.
Pan fry each side gently in a shallow frying pan with 3-4 tablespoons olive oil and a knob of butter. Transfer to a plate — keep warm and repeat with remaining flounders.
Rosti with grilled feta and cherry tomatoes
500g potatoes, peeled, parboiled and cooled
100g feta cheese, diced
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and ground black pepper
Method
Grate cooled potatoes into a bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a small frying pan with 2-3 tablespoons olive oil and a knob of butter. Pile the grated potatoes into the frying pan and press down with a spatula. Cook on a high heat until the bottom of the rosti is golden. Place a plate on top of the frying pan — tip over and the rosti will drop out. Slide back into your frying pan and brown the underside. Scatter with feta cheese and halved cherry tomatoes. Season. Place under a hot grill until starting to brown.
Smoked seafood crepes
This crepe base is so versatile and you may just like sugar and lemon juice. We always enjoy stuffed crepes as they can be made in advance and reheated and filled with anything from vegetables, mince ragu, chicken and of course my favourite is seafood.
Crepes
1 cup flour
1 egg
1 cup milk
Method
Combine all the ingredients in a food processor or whisk in a bowl. Blend until the thickness of cream (it may require more milk). Rest for 30 minutes.
Heat a small heavy based frying pan. Ladle in batter, tipping to cover the base and sides (it should be as thin as possible). Cook until set. Flip over and repeat. Stack on a plate .
Seafood version
500g smoked fish (I used warehou)
250g smoked mussels
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp flour
1 cup white wine
1 cup cream/milk
1 cup fish stock
Method
Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper in a saucepan. Saute onion slices in olive oil and butter. Add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in white wine and cream, followed by the stock.
Add half smoked fish to the sauce. Lay six pancakes on a board. Place remainder of smoked fish and 3 mussels evenly down the middle on each pancake.
Spoon over the sauce, reserving half a cup.
Roll up and place filled crepes into a baking dish, side by side. Add half a cup of cream/milk to the remaining sauce.
Pour over the top of the filled crepes.
I topped my crepes with blanched spinach, tomato slices and grated parmesan cheese. Bake at 200degC for 15-20 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown.
Greg Piner
Greg Piner
I’m seeing a lot more people cooking at home now, with amazing social media stories as whole families get involved in putting a meal on the table.
Some local companies over this time have set up delivery services so you can get your fix of fresh seafood or meat to your door.
The excitement of someone coming up the driveway is a semi-emotional experience at the moment and my whole family is glued to the window seeing what treats are arriving.
I used the local crew at Harbour Fish to deliver to our front door a box of fresh blue cod, some mussels and crayfish.
Grilled mussel half shell with red onion, cheddar crumble, miso mayo
Here is a recipe that is sure to please. It’s very easy and the crust can also be a great addition to a lasagna or a roast chicken.
1 box ½ shell mussels
1 red onion, diced
150g panko breadcrumbs
1 stalk fresh rosemary
150g cheddar
100ml oil
salt, cracked pepper
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Miso mayo
100g mayonnaise (I use Best Foods)
1 tsp miso paste
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Method
Heat oven to 185degC fan bake or bake.
Finely dice red onion and rosemary.
Place breadcrumbs into a bowl and add the onion, rosemary, mustard and oil.
Grate cheese (on the finest cutter) and lightly fold it into the mixture.
Add cracked black pepper.
Once mixed, place into half mussels with a even coating.
Bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown.
Miso mayo
Place all ingredients into bowl and mix to combine.
Once mussels are cooked, add a teaspoon of the mixture to top.
Karitane crayfish with tomato chilli butter
1 packet flat leaf parsley
3 tomatoes
1 chili
250g butter, softened
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp mustard
1 nori sheet
1 lemon
Method
Heat oven to 180degC, set on fan grill or bake.
Place fresh crayfish into freezer for about 10 minutes to slow them down (if fresh/alive).
Remove and spike between eyes.
Then cut in half, remove vein from tail.
Place butter in mixer and whip until the it becomes white.
Finely cut chili, and garlic.
Add the zest and juice of the lemon to butter mix.
Remove tomato seeds and dice remaining flesh.
Finely cut flat leaf parsley.
Add above ingredients and fold into butter mix with mustard and freshly cracked pepper.
Spoon over crayfish from head to tail.
Place in oven for about 10 to 15 minutes, until crayfish meat is firm to touch.
Finely slice nori sheet.
Remove crayfish from oven and plate, garnish with nori and season with cracked pepper.
