Whether you've been out fishing, digging your toes into the sand at low tide, or gathering shellfish off the rocks, simple is always best for Aotearoa's freshest kaimoana.
Mussels in white wine sauce
For dinner in a dash, mussels are the answer.
Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
3
cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp salt
24 mussels, cleaned
⅓ cup white wine
¼ cup cream
1 handful fresh parsley, chopped
4 servings sourdough bread, grilled, or crunchy french bread
1. Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Add onion and garlic with salt and gently fry until soft.
2. Add mussels and stir constantly over medium heat until they start to open. Add white wine, cover and steam until mussels are just cooked.
3. Remove mussels to a warm oven. Add cream to cooking liquor and reduce to thicken.
4. Return mussels to sauce, add a large handful of chopped parsley and toss. Serve with grilled sourdough or crusty french bread.
Roast whole snapper with Asian spices
If you haul in a big fish to roast in the oven or on your barbecue, use a few pantry ingredients to flavour it. Make plenty of slits in the skin and rub the marinade well into them on both sides. Cooking will depend on the size of your fish.
Ingredients
1kg whole snapper
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, grated
1 red chilli, sliced thinly
2 tsp sesame oil
2 Tbsp fish sauce
1 cup fresh coriander, chopped
¼ cup tamarind paste
1 Tbsp brown sugar
2 heads bok choy
1 cup white wine
2 limes, to serve
Directions
1. With a sharp knife cut ½ cm slits diagonally through the skin 2cm apart on both sides of the snapper. Season with salt and pepper.
2. In a small bowl combine ginger, chilli, sesame oil, fish sauce, coriander, tamarind and brown sugar. Rub into both sides of the fish, then refrigerate until ready to cook.
3. Heat oven to 200C.
4. Place fish on baking paper in a roasting dish. Place bok choy around base and pour wine over. Put into the oven for 40 minutes or until skin peels away easily.
5. Serve with a good squeeze of lime and rice on the side.
- Recipes by Angela Casley
Summer scallops and pomegranate
This is a wonderful way to enjoy the sweet natural flavour of fresh scallops. Always use really fresh scallops when eating them raw. Pomegranates are readily available through summer and add a lovely texture and sweetness to this dish. To remove the seeds, cut fruit in half and holding cut side down, hit the skin with a wooden spoon firmly to knock them out.
Ingredients
3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
3 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp sugar
½ cup cauliflower, small cut "tips" only
300g scallops, fresh, roe removed, trimmed and cleaned
2 Tbsp chives, finely sliced
¼ cup pomegranate seeds
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp olive oil
Directions
1. Boil vinegar, water and sugar. Remove from heat, add cauliflower and allow to cool. Store in the fridge until needed.
2. Slice chilled scallops horizontally into halves or thirds depending on thickness and arrange on a platter (the roe may be served raw too if you enjoy its stronger flavour).
3. Decorate with pickled cauliflower, chives and pomegranate seeds. Season with salt, pepper, lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil. Serve immediately.
- Recipe by Geoff Scott
Win a Homeland food kit, valued at $100
During lockdown, Peter Gordon's Homeland repurposed its kitchen space and got to work on a range of delicious condiments, snacks and sauces. Today only, enter to win a gift pack from Homeland, valued at $100 and chock-full of treats – you'll find spicy cheese straws, southern dukkah, granola, glazed shortbreads, spiced nuts and seeds, and Chef Naga's "gun powder" - an addictive seasoning for sprinkling on everything.
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