Summer is a time of sharing - sharing the bounty of the land, the joy of sunshine and the delights of nature. If there is a hunter-gatherer in your life, now is the best time to take advantage of their catch.
It’s a great way to make a little bit of fish go a long way, plus it’s a perfect "takeaway" experience at home without the price tag! A treat for everyone.
The magic of this burger is in the tartare - herbaceous, zingy, creamy and full of delicious pickle flavours. It carries the burger so well.
We love using trevally or super-fresh kahawai to make these. In Australia, kahawai is called the salmon of the sea - it’s wonderfully meaty and satisfying. Take out any black flesh that runs down the middle of the fish before preparing.
Our second summer recipe is for some yummy tuna tostadas with corn and chipotle. The hero of this dish is the corn. Pan-frying the corn results in such a fab flavour, the sugars lightly caramelise and the lime and spices take it to the next level. Here we’ve used tuna, but this is also divine with kingfish, kahawai or trevally. Make sure you use super-fresh, very cold fish.
You can also make this with smaller corn chips as a pass around starter if you are entertaining. Just make sure that the chips are not flavoured.
We hope you all had a joyful, delicious Christmas and are enjoying time with friends and family.
Crispy fish burgers with herb tartare
Simplicity at its finest. We like to balance this meal out and serve it with a big green salad. If you want to keep it lighter, skip the buns and make a bunnuce - use big leaves of lettuce as your bun and wrap your fish up in a crunchy parcel. Leftover tartare is excellent with chips.
Ready in 20 min
Serves 4
DF GF RSF
Ingredients
4 fresh boneless, skinless, white fish fillets such as trevally, kahawai or monkfish, cut into pieces
¼ cup plain or gluten-free flour
1 egg, whisked
2 cups breadcrumbs such as panko, or gluten-free equivalent
Flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp neutral oil
To serve
4 sesame burger buns, or gluten-free equivalent, warmed
Cos or romaine lettuce leaves, separated
Lemon cheeks
Herb tartare (makes about 1 cup)
½ cup good quality mayo
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp finely chopped cornichons
1 Tbsp drained capers, chopped
1 small shallot, finely diced
2 Tbsp finely chopped dill
2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley
Flaky sea salt and black pepper, to taste
Method
To make the herb tartare, mix all ingredients in a bowl. Check seasoning and adjust to taste. Set aside while you prepare the fish.
When ready to eat, place flour on one shallow plate, panko crumbs on another, and whisked eggs in a shallow bowl. Season everything with a little salt and pepper. Dip fish into flour and shake off excess, then dip into beaten and seasoned egg, then into the panko, pressing to coat both sides. Chill on a tray if not cooking at once.
Heat 1 Tbsp each of oil and butter in a heavy frypan over a medium-high heat. Add fish in a single layer (make sure you don’t overcrowd the pan) and cook until golden and cooked through (1-2 minutes each side). Add more oil and butter to the pan between batches as needed - you just need a thin film in the bottom of the pan so the fish crumb gets golden and crunchy and doesn’t burn.
Once the fish is cooked, transfer to a tray lined with paper towels to soak up any excess oil. Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with flaky salt and serve alongside lemon cheeks.
Serve family style, allowing everyone to build their own burgers. Transfer tartare to a bowl for serving and place lettuce leaves on a plate. Accompany with home-made chips and a big green salad.
Tuna tostadas with corn and chipotle
So simple and yet so perfect. We could eat these tuna tostadas everyday.
Ready in 30 min
Serves 4
DF GF RSF
Ingredients
400g sashimi-grade tuna or kingfish, finely diced
1 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
Flaky sea salt
12 corn tostadas
½ cup finely diced cucumber
½ cup finely diced just-ripe avocado
½ small red onion, very thinly sliced, to garnish
¼ cup coriander leaves, to garnish
½ red chilli, seeds and pith removed, finely diced, to garnish (optional)
Lime cheeks, to serve
Lime-spiced corn
2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 × 400g can corn, drained and rinsed
Finely grated zest of 1 lime
½ tsp chilli powder
½ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp paprika
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
Chipotle mayo
2 eggs
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp Dijon mustard
½ tsp salt
1¼ cups grapeseed oil, plus more if needed
2–3 Tbsp of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
Method
To make the mayo, place all the ingredients except the oil and chipotle peppers in a tall jug or jar. Place a handheld blender in the jar (this is key - the mayo won’t work in a food processor because it needs the speed of the handheld blender to make it emulsify), then add the oil. Whizz together, lifting the blender up and down to incorporate the oil. It will thicken to create a creamy mayonnaise. Add ¼ cup more oil if desired to create a thicker mayo or a little hot water to give a thinner consistency. Then blitz in the chipotle peppers. The mayo will keep for up to 2 weeks in a jar stored in the fridge.
For the corn, heat oil in a heavy pan over a medium heat. Add corn and cook until just starting to brown (5 minutes). Add lime zest and cook another couple of minutes until caramelised. Turn off the heat and mix in spices and lime juice. Set aside.
Finely dice the tuna and place in a bowl with olive oil and salt. Mix to combine and place in the fridge to keep cool while you prepare the other ingredients.
To assemble tostadas, spread each tostada with 1-2 tsp chipotle aioli. Top with corn, tuna, cucumber and avocado. Garnish with onion, coriander and chilli, if using. Serve immediately, accompanied by lime cheeks for last-minute squeezing.
Newsletter
For delicious dinner inspiration, sign up for Annabel and Rose Langbein’s weekly newsletter - What to Cook Tonight. Exciting new recipes, meal plans, and our tips and tricks to help make you a better, more resourceful cook. Delivered to your inbox every Sunday. Sign up at: https://langbeinnewsletter.substack.com/
