Fish cookery

Mike Bradstock has run a very popular fish cookery course at Cashmere Community College for the past eight years. The following recipes are from his course notes.

Fish smoking

Rinse and dry first.
Split fish as though to take a fillet off but leave the two parts attached, and sprinkle all cut surfaces liberally with salt/sugar mixture. Leave to ‘sweat’ for preferably an hour or more.
Rinse quickly but thoroughly in fresh water, wipe down well, pat as dry as possible then hang to dry for at least an hour, preferably overnight, before smoking.Salting mixture: 800 g salt
200 g brown sugar
Mix well and store in airtight jar. You can add spices, eg. cinnamon, allspice, if you wish.To begin with, use roughly a cup to a kg of fish, but the amount to suit your taste will become best judged by practice.
Don't freeze smoked fish: freeze fresh fish, then thaw it and smoke just before eating.
Smoking is a good way to use frozen fish.

Groper steaks baked with a herb crust and mustard sauce

Easy, unusual, and delicious.(To serve 4) preparation: 8 min cooking time: 12 min4 groper steaks (about 750 g)
2 C stock (I use either homemade fish stock or Maggi Pati Belacan,
an Indonesian prawn stock from Asian grocery shops)
1 C white wine
2 t prepared mustard (eg. Coleman's Mild American)
50 ml creamCrust:
150 g breadcrumbs
80 g cheese, grated -- cheddar OK, or parmesan for stronger flavour
75 g butter, melted
3 T chopped parsley
1 T chopped thyme
1/2 t black pepper, crushed
Preheat oven to 150 C.
Mix crust ingredients well, preferably in a blender. Use a little water if necessary to produce a mixture that sticks together when pressed. Spread over one side of the fish, pressing firmly so it forms a continuous, even layer.
Place the stock and wine in a pan and heat to the boil. Carefully place fish in and put in the oven for 8-10 minutes.
Pour off the liquid into a saucepan and boil to reduce.
Meanwhile, grill the fish just long enough to brown the crust – watch it all the time.
Take liquid off the heat, add cream and stir in mustard. Reheat briefly but do not boil.
Serve the fish surrounded by a lake of the sauce, on heated plates. A tossed green salad makes a good accompaniment.

Filleting a fish and making fish stock with the leftovers

1 or 2 fish heads and frames -- gills and all guts removed, at least 750 g
bouquet garni -- sprigs of parsley, thyme, 1 small bay leaf
1 slice orange peel
1 carrot, sliced into strips
1 small onion, cut into chunks
1 stick celery, chopped (leaves or old stalks will do fine)
pepper & salt to taste
3-4 cups cold water
Rinse fish to remove all blood and dark material. Remove the eyes if you can be bothered. Put all ingredients in a large pot, uncovered, then simmer gently for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally to break into pieces. Do not boil. Strain through a sieve and discard all solid material. Allow to stand for 10 minutes then skim off any oil.
The resulting volume of stock can be diluted to 1 litre when making soup, but should otherwise be kept as concentrated as possible.
It is further improved by the addition of up to 1 cup of the liquid that forms when mussels have been steamed, but taste as you go because this is very salty, and ensure you don't add too much.

Paella

Paella is the seafood version of risotto, a sort of rice stew cooked so that the liquid is absorbed to flavour the rice. Traditional risotto ingredients include lamb, rabbit, and eggplant that has first been briefly fried in olive oil.
This version is my favourite fish dish for entertaining. Served with a salad, it makes a complete main course. It is also very convenient because you can prepare everything beforehand then the actual cooking is quite simple and easy. Another big advantage when entertaining is that, unlike many other seafood dishes, this is more ‘forgiving’ as to cooking time.
100 g butter
50 ml / 3T olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 capsicum, sliced
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 T parsley, chopped
1/2 t saffron (or 2 t turmeric if you’re a cheapskate)
1/2 cup pine nuts or sliced almonds
2 T dried currants
300-600 g chicken meat, skinned and de-fatted, cut in cubes
1 1/2 c (about 250 g) white rice
3 ripe tomatoes
1 stock cube (any kind) in 300 ml water
(or use real chicken or fish stock, for a better flavour)
A selection of 400-600 g of the following:
squid -- strips, rings (not breaded)
shrimps -- frozen, just thawed, rinsed and well drained
prawns -- fresh or thawed, rinsed and patted dry
fish -- boneless, cut in cubes. Choose firm fish like
tarakihi and gurnard rather than red cod or hoki.
(If you want to use scallops, cockles/clams or mussels, see later)
100 ml dry white wine
4-6 lemonsPut butter and oil in your largest frying pan (which must have a tight-fitting lid). Heat and add the onion, capsicum, garlic, parsley, saffron, nuts and currants. Stir until well mixed. (About 3 minutes)
Add the chicken and continue mixing and cooking till the meat is whitening, well mixed and coated. (About 5 minutes)
Add the rice and mix in well, stirring all the time to coat everything. (2-3 minutes)
Chop tomatoes and place on top.
Add the stock and wine, mix in and put the lid on.
When it comes to the boil, allow to cook for 5 minutes then turn down very low, add the seafood and mix in well. Now is a good time to make the tossed salad.
Allow to cook for 25 more minutes then taste rice to ensure it's cooked. Switch off (if rice isn’t quite cooked, let it sit for 10 minutes or so longer with the heat off.)
You can serve this dish now or leave it for as long as it stays hot (easily half an hour).
If you want to include scallops, clams or mussels, prepare and add them just before serving
• Panfry the scallops in butter for 2-3 minutes then add.
• Bring the mussels or cockles to the boil in a pot with a lid, using very little water. Allow to steam on high heat until they open (2-3 minutes) then remove, shake off excess liquid and stand shells upright in a circle atop the paella.To serve: Pour the juice of at least 3 lemons evenly over the top. Cut remaining lemons in quarters and provide at least one or two pieces to each guest. Extra olive oil or butter may be mixed in if you like a richer taste.The lemon is essential-- Do not omit it!!

Paella variations: This recipe can also be cooked in the oven at about 150 C. If cooking it in a heavy container it may need longer, especially if in a glass or pottery vessel.
If you don’t have a container with a tight-fitting lid, foil works fine.

Ceviche (marinated fish)

400 g fish fillets -- cut into thin strips
2 C lime or lemon juice
1/4 c finely sliced capsicum
1/4 c finely sliced onion
1 c coconut cream.Mix together everything except the coconut cream and stand for 2-12 hours (long enough to whiten the fish right through). Drain well. Mix with coconut cream and serve as an appetiser.

Grilled fish

Recommended grilling fish: flounder, sole, tarakihi, blue cod, warehou, trumpeter, snapper, salmon, trout, kahawai, blue moki, jack mackerel, gurnard, small groper, gemfish, orange roughy.
Whole fish, steaks or fillets can be used in any of these recipes.
A whole fish may need to be split or cut into before grilling, depending on how big it is.
Choose any of the following methods:

• Simple and quick grilled fish: salt, pepper, olive oil or butter, rosemary or thyme, oranges or lemons. Method: brush both sides of fish with oil or melted butter, dust with salt & pepper, sprinkle herbs and rind, then grill, basting several times. Serve with lemon wedges.

• Fish au gratin: salt, pepper, butter, breadcrumbs, parsley, flour, cheese, milk. Method: brush fish with melted butter, sprinkle with salt & pepper and put under the grill. Meanwhile melt butter and add flour and pepper to make a roux, cook briefly, stir in milk, grated cheese and parsley. Pour over (or around) cooked fish, sprinkle with breadcrumbs and brown in the oven before serving. (Variation: add 1 dozen mussels or 150 g scallops or 1 dozen oysters to the sauce.)

• Cajun style grilled fish: salt, pepper, cayenne, garlic, thyme, flour, oil, 1 tin (or 4 fresh) tomatoes, 1/2 C chopped parsley, 1 C mixed sliced celery, capsicum, red onion. Method: rub fish with oil, salt and pepper. Dust with flour then grill, taking care not to scorch the flour. Saute vegetables in a little oil with tomatoes, parsley, garlic and cayenne and pour over the top when serving.

• Grilled whole fish a la Fischmeister: salt, pepper, garlic, butter, 4 lemons, 4 onions. Method: grill fish with butter, salt and pepper. Fry onions until well browned and spread over fish. Crush garlic and cook briefly in the butter before pouring over fish and onions. Lastly squeeze lemon juice all over. Serve with French bread for dipping in the sauce.

• Mexican-style grilled fish: salt, chillies, garlic, oil. Method: Preheat oven on ‘bake’ while you split the fish and drizzle with oil. Sprinkle with garlic and chopped chillies. Bake for a few minutes then turn to ‘grill’ to finish. Baste garlic to prevent scorching. Serve with bread to dip in the juices. (An excellent way to cook whole flounder).

Fried fish

Recommended frying fish: flounder, sole, tarakihi, snapper, blue cod, warehou, trumpeter, trout, kahawai, blue moki, gurnard, groper, butterfish, orange roughy, lemon fish.
Start with one or two fillets. Or a small to medium fish can be fried whole, especially flounder, tarakihi and other fish that are not too thick. If frying a whole fish it should be scaled first – check when you buy.
Choose any of the following recipes:

• Simple and quick fried fish: salt, pepper, butter, olive oil, flour. Method: put salt, pepper and flour in plastic bag. Shake each piece of fish in this. Fry in mixture of butter and oil. Serve with plenty of lemon wedges. (Note: the flour is not essential)

• Crumbed fish: salt, pepper, flour, breadcrumbs, butter, olive oil. Method: season and flour fish as above, then dip in beaten egg, coat with crumbs as demonstrated, and fry very gently in butter and oil. (For best-quality breadcrumbs grate a dried French bread stick coarsely with a cheese grater.) A very good way to cook kahawai, an under-rated fish.

• Battered fish: salt, pepper, flour, 1 can beer, appropriate amount of oil (to shallow fry) or fresh Chefade (to deep fry). Method: Mix batter by sifting flour into beer and mixing to a syrupy texture. Drink remaining beer. Season and flour fish as above while heating oil or Chefade. Check temperature (as demonstrated). Fry and drain on paper towels or finish under grill (as demonstrated) to reduce oiliness. The beer is to improve the texture of the batter, rather than flavour it. If possible make batter several hours beforehand.

Mussel recipes

To steam mussels: wash mussels in a colander; put straight into a pot (without any extra water) and cook on a high heat until they "sweat" and start to open. Toss them around to cook evenly. When most of them are open they're cooked -- about 3-5 min. after the pot beings to steam vigorously.
Mussels that don't open are perfectly OK -- insert a dull knife at the end opposite the hinge and cut towards you to sever the muscle.
Pull mussels out of shells and drain. Pull off the biggest, round muscle (if it didn't stay behind in the shell) as it's tough. Pull off the hairy part.

Hints:
Save the liquid that forms when you steam mussels, and use it to improve fish stock.
If serving mussels in the shell, brush shells with oil to give them a shine.
The tough parts are good for stock. (Actually taste very good too but terrible for getting stuck in the teeth.)
When serving mussels to guests, it's a good idea to leave a dental floss dispenser conspicuous in the bathroom.

• Marinated mussels: place about 2 dozen cooked cooled mussels in a pottle or jar with 3/4 C cider vinegar, 2 t sugar or 1 T honey, and 3-6 whole allspice. Taste the mixture and adjust the sweet/sour ratio as desired. Ready to eat at once but will improve overnight in the fridge. These keep well for a couple of weeks if you can resist them that long.

• Fried mussels: roll well-drained cooked mussels in plain flour and pepper. Fry in a mixture of butter and olive oil, turning several times, then drain on paper towels and serve. Although technically this recipe overcooks them it doesn't ruin them. Serving suggestion: "Fisherman's Basket": fried mussels, breaded fish pieces, scallops, prawns and chips. Try kumara and parsnip chips as well as potato.

• mussels au naturel: (i.e. raw): Cut fresh small mussels open, remove meat to a small dish and cut off beards. Season with freshly squeezed lime or lemon juice, or with wasabi and Japanese soy sauce. Do not waste the muscle which holds the shells together: it is tender and tastes like scallop. Small good-quality mussels are really worth trying this way. Larger, older mussels are more likely to be bitter.

Cream of mussel soup

The liquor produced when cooking mussels is always worth saving to make this wonderful smooth creamy soup. The trick is to get just the right ratio of mussel liquor and milk so your soup is neither too salty nor too faintly flavoured.
50 g butter
1/2 medium onion, very finely chopped
2 T flour
approx 750 ml fish stock
pepper
the liquor from cooking 50-60 cultivated mussels, strained This should be about 2 c.
milk
2 T chopped parsley
50 ml cream
Melt the butter and fry the onion till clear. Stir in the flour, mix well and cook for 3 minutes over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and add half of the fish stock, stirring vigorously as it begins to thicken. Season with pepper. Return to the heat and stir as it thickens further, adding the mussel liquor bit by bit each time it starts to bubble. When all the mussel liquor is added taste the soup and add milk if necessary to get the flavour right. Add the parsley and simmer (do not boil) for 10 minutes. Stir in the cream and serve.
Variations: add blanched cauliflower florets to get a mussel and cauliflower soup. Add mussel meat for more a more substantial soup.

Cajun-style blackened fish

Prepare two bowls as follows:
1: 2 T sugar, 1 t salt. Mix well.
2: 4 rashers bacon, chopped then fried until almost crisp; 4 T finely chopped parsley (or coriander leaf). Mix well.
Melt 125 g butter in a small jug and add 4 cloves chopped garlic.
Have a heavy frying pan on the element ready to go.
Have the bourbon (or NZ whisky) bottle alongside.
Have an inch-thick fish steak per person. (Trout is the classic fish for this recipe but any firm-fleshed fish is OK)Start cooking just 12 minutes before you are ready to eat.
Get the frying pan really hot. Quickly and evenly sprinkle on the salt/sugar mixture and as it smokes pour in most of the contents of the jug. Quickly lay the fish steaks in this as everything hisses, bubbles and caramelises. Cover with a splatter screen and cook for 3-4 minutes. Pour on the rest of the butter and turn fish. Cook for 3-4 minutes more -- test as demonstrated. Turn off the heat. Remove fish to a plate, sprinkle the bacon/parsley mixture on top and drizzle a capful or two of booze evenly over the whole thing. Serve with rice.
Note: The booze really is essential. Steaks are best for this recipe – fillets not so suitable. Groper, warehou and moki are good.
Sashimi• The fish must be very fresh or have been kept well chilled from the moment it was caught. Frozen fish is unsuitable.
• If catching your own, select a medium or small fish and gut it as soon as you catch it, rinse in seawater, then chill or ice well.
• Select the very best. Smell it and be sure it's really fresh. Skinny fish are no good. A good sign is plumpness and white fat in the gut cavity.
• The best commonly available fish for sashimi are snapper, trumpeter and sashimi-grade tuna.
• The quality of tuna varies greatly, and there are many cuts and grades. The meat must look firm, not soft. Bluefin and yellowfin tuna are best.
• Unsuitable species include dogfish, shark, eels, kahawai, small or bony fishes, and soft fish like red cod, hake, or hoki.
• The best part of the fish is usually the belly meat. This is often discarded when filleting a whole fish, so by careful trimming you may be able to make up a dish of good sashimi from offcuts when filleting.
• Don't wash the cut fish; or if you must, use seawater and blot dry straight away.
The meat should be cut thinly, preferably across the grain, and laid on a wide plate in overlapping sheets. Do this shortly before you serve it, and keep it cool.
Alongside in tiny dishes have the following seasonings for dipping:
• Wasabi (Japanese green horseradish sauce) -- available ready-mixed in tubes or as powder in tins.
• Japanese soy sauce (eg. Kikkoman)
• Grated lemon rind and lemon juice
• Grated ginger
• Pickled daikon and ginger
I prefer an even simpler approach: to mix wasabi in a tiny dish with some soy then dip bits of the fish into it.
Use chopsticks if you want to be authentic, and drink plenty of hot sake (rice wine) with it.

Fish balls or cakes

A good recipe for gurnard, but also suitable for most fish.
250 g fish fillets
1 c breadcrumbs
1 c chopped parsley
3 cloves garlic (optional)
couple of shakes of tabasco sauce OR 1 t horseradish sauce (optional)
1/2 t each salt & pepper
Puree all ingredients in a food processor (or mince or chop them finely). Roll into balls or flatten into cakes and fry in a little olive oil until golden. As balls, these make good finger food, and as balls or cakes they go well with salsa, chips, rice, salad or vegetables.

Baked whole fish

Recommended fish: warehou, tarakihi, trumpeter, snapper, moki.
Have the fish scaled when you buy. To scale fish: scrape all over with the back of a knife or a fish scaler, paying particular attention to the top and bottom edges between the fins and the tail, the underside between the gut area and the head, and where the body and the head meet. Preferably do this outside, well away from your house, and not wearing your best clothes! (It is best to buy a fish-scaler tool from a fishing tackle store.)
Turn oven on to 150º C.
Remove guts and gills, and scrape away the “blood” (actually kidney) from along the backbone with a knife or small stiff brush. Rinse well to remove slime etc. Pat fish dry inside and out with paper towels.
Lay fish on the bench and if it is more than about 5 cm thick make a series of diagonal cuts through the skin, about 5 cm apart. Then make a series of cuts at right angles to these, so the flesh is in diamond-shapes.
Rub all over with olive oil or melted butter, salt and pepper.
Next lay it on a large sheet of foil and cover with ONE of the following combinations:

1. Butter, thyme, lemon slices laid in a pattern; OR
2. Onion rings, tomato slices, capsicum slices of different colours laid in a pattern; garlic, white wine; OR
3. Breadcrumbs, grated cheese, parsley, salt and pepper mixed together then spread over the top; OR
4. Tinned jalapeno chillies, drained, cut in slices and laid in rows, and slivers of garlic.

Close over the foil loosely and bake in a casserole or roasting dish 15-45 minutes depending on size and thickness. As a general guide, a thin fish like a small tarakihi will need 15 minutes and a thick one like a 2-kg warehou, 30 minutes. To be sure, open the foil and prise open the thickest part of the fish just behind the head -- if the flesh doesn’t come away easily, and if it is pink beside the backbone, it needs longer.
When cooked, open foil, tip out liquid into a bowl, and place the fish on a serving plate with a fish slice and knife for serving. If the eye looks unattractive to you, cover with a slice of a stuffed olive or a round piece of capsicum. Dill or fennel leaves make a good garnish.
To make a sauce: melt 50 g butter in small saucepan, and with a wooden spoon mix in 2 T flour plus salt and pepper. Cook on medium heat until the mixture bubbles, then continue cooking and stirring constantly for 3 minutes until it starts to brown, taking care that the butter does not burn. Tip the liquid from the fish into this, all at once -- the sauce will rapidly thicken as it continues to cook, so keep stirring continuously. Remove from heat and gradually mix in fish stock or milk if necessary to get the right thickness, then heat further if necessary to get it hot again. Don’t boil!
This sauce can be poured over the fish, around it, or put in a jug alongside. It is best with options 1 and 3 above.
If you choose to pour the sauce over the fish, you can finish it off beautifully by sprinkling lots of breadcrumbs over it, dusting lines of paprika across, dotting it with butter and/or cheese, and then finishing it off with a quick blast under the grill, watching to ensure it doesn’t burn!
This is a kind of sauce velouté, one of a ‘family’ of sauces made using a roux (cooked flour & butter, pronounced “rue”) with liquid added and boiled so the starch grains burst and it thickens. The main other western-style sauces for fish are béchamel (roux + milk) and mornay (roux + milk + wine + cheese) To any of these you can add capers, mustard, horseradish or pickled green peppercorns. Experiment!


Mexican-style baked flounder

Flounder are cheap, delicious and under-rated. This recipe is simple, quick, and uses few ingredients.
Buy one flounder per person. Choose carefully -- look closely and pick out the ones that look thickest. Check that they are fresh (smell) and that they have been gutted (look for a cut on the pale underside). For easy serving, you can ask the fishmonger to cut off the heads and tails, and to cut each fish into two pieces. Or cook the fish whole. It is easier to cook in portions because you can fit them more easily in your pan.
Flounder (as above)
1 small tin jalapeno or serrano chillies, cut in slices (or use fresh or dried chillies)
12 large cloves garlic, peeled and cut into slices
salt
olive oil
Turn the oven to 180º C before you start.
Pour just enough olive oil into a roasting dish to cover the bottom -- spread it all over with your fingers. Put fish in and turn them over a couple of times so they are well coated. Arrange chilli slices on top of each portion -- the quantity depends on how hot you like it! Then sprinkle on the garlic and salt. Bake for 10-15 min depending on fish size. Serve with foccacia bread (dip it in the oil/fish juices) or with rice.

Scandinavian fish mould

This is the closest thing to fish paté and excellent hot or cold.
1 kg white fish (any cheap fish is OK)
1 t salt
50 g butter
2 /2 T flour
1 t cracked pepper
other herbs to taste -- eg. thyme or dill
milk
Chop the fish finely or use a blender, but don’t reduce it absolutely to paste -- leave some texture. Mix in other ingredients, lastly adding enough milk to get about the consistency of porridge. Pour into a well-greased mould and place, covered with a lid or foil, in a saucepan of boiling water. Simmer or gently boil for 45 min. Unmould and serve. Excellent with hollandaise or caper sauce.

Barbecued fish

Choose smallish whole fish (tarakihi, snapper, kahawai), or pieces of fillet with the skin on. Split as though for smoking, or use a barbecue fish holder and slash the flesh as described in the baked fish recipe above.
Place in a large bowl and pour over the following marinade:
1 thumb-sized piece of root ginger, finely chopped
8 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
50 ml sherry or dry white wine
3 T olive oil
1 T soy sauce
1 t sesame oil (optional)
Spread the marinade evenly over the fish. You do not need to soak the fish in this marinade for a long time: start cooking right away if you wish.
Brush the grill with oil and cook the fish, cut-side-down first, for just a minute or two. Then turn them, very carefully, and cook the skin side.
You can also barbecue the fish in foil, in which case you may as well use fillets, and make a separate foil package for each serving.

Barbecued mussels

Use mussels in the shell. Place them straight on to the grill and turn them repeatedly, using tongs, until they open -- about 4 min. Then leave them lying on their sides to cook 2-3 minutes longer. This way you save some of the liquid in the half-shell -- encourage people to sip it out of the shell.
Mussels done this way can be further cooked until they almost start to char, and will still be delicious.
This method works best on a gas rather than charcoal barbecue, as the mussels drip a lot. Salt from the mussels will rust your barbecue, so spray it with detergent afterwards, then hose it down thoroughly.

Fish with pasta

500 g fish fillets, cut in cubes -- tarakihi, groper, warehou, gurnard or other firm white flesh, with the skin on if possible.
2 T cornflour
salt and pepper
1 t dried thyme, well crumbled
2 T butter
4 cloves garlic
1 onion, finely chopped
4 tomatoes, blanched and skinned (if you can be bothered), then chopped
1/2 C white wine
1 T capers, drained (optional)
1 T chopped parsley
Make the sauce first by frying the onion and garlic in 1 T butter, then add the tomatoes and wine. Add parsley and capers and simmer on very low heat, covered.
Next put pasta on to cook according to instructions: it will take about as long as the fish.
Put fish pieces, cornflour, salt and pepper and thyme in a plastic bag and shake well to coat all over. Remove fish and fry gently in 1 T of the butter, rolling them around so they cook evenly and golden, about 6 minutes.
Drain pasta well and put on heated plates. Spoon a portion of sauce into the middle of each. Place fish pieces on top.

La bourride

This wonderful Provençale dish has a rich creamy garlic sauce made by mixing aïoli (garlic mayonnaise) with the stock in which the fish was cooked. Sheer gastronomic ecstacy.Fry a finely sliced onion in a little olive oil until clear. Add 1/2 litre fish stock and 2 blue cod fillets (about 200 g each) and gently poach 15-20 minutes depending on thickness. Remove to a serving dish and keep warm.
Reduce stock to about a third by vigorously boiling in the pan. Stir in 2 T cream. Strain into a jug containing about 2/3 C aïoli. Mix quickly.
Pour sauce over the fish, sprinkle with parsley and serve at once with bread, new potatoes and green beans.
To make aïoli: pulverise about 6 cloves of garlic in a pestle and mortar. Mix thoroughly with 2 egg yolks and a large pinch of salt. Then take about 300 ml best quality olive oil. First add one drop at a time while mixing vigorously; when it starts to thicken add the oil a little faster until when it really starts to thicken you can add the oil in a steady slow stream. Most easily done with a blender, but best aioli is made by hand. When it becomes like soft butter it is ready. Finally add a squeeze of lemon juice and mix this in vigorously. Store covered with cling wrap in the fridge.
You can go on adding oil and mixing to make aïoli thicker and thicker until almost solid, but eventually it will curdle. The trick is to go as far as possible without letting this happen! If it does, then you can restore it by mixing the "failed" aïoli slowly into a new egg yolk in another container, mixing the same way as before. Variation: use olive oil that has been steeped in fresh basil for a day or two.
Reminder: ensure eggs are from a safe source for using raw.

Cajun Creole fish soup

A good ‘non-creamy’ fish soup with lots of extra flavouring added apart from the fish Not ‘too fishy' for most palates.
4 bacon rashers, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
1 medium capsicum, chopped (or better, half
each of 2 capsicums of different colours)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
400 g tomatoes, blanched, skinned & chopped (OR 1 can tomatoes)
2 T chopped parsley
1/2 t chopped thyme
1 bay leaf
1 pinch mace
1/2 L fish stock
500 g fish, skinned, trimmed and boned
salt and pepper
In a large saucepan brown the bacon then saute onion, capsicum and garlic. Add everything else except the fish and simmer gently for 30 minutes. Skim. Add fish and simmer a further 10 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove bay leaf. Add chili sauce if desired. With garlic bread this is a full meal.

My favourite seafood chowder

This is a creamy-style soup which can stand for a long time off the heat after it has been made. It can also be re-heated later, or frozen.
1/2 medium onion, very finely chopped
3 T flour
75 g butter
3 c milk
3 T chopped parsley
3 c fish stock (including some mussel liquor if possible)
2 medium potatoes, finely cubed (skin on)
2 medium carrots, finely cubed
1 stick celery, finely chopped
24 mussels, steamed, shelled and de-bearded
300 g white fish (eg. tarakihi or snapper), cubed
100 g frozen shrimps, thawed according to instructions
pepper
First fry the onion in a large saucepan, using a little of the butter, until well browned. Add the butter and flour and cook till it bubbles and turns golden. Take off the heat and add half the milk, stirring vigorously. Return to heat and add more milk, stirring as it heats and thickens.
When it has boiled for a minute add the fish stock and parsley. Now add the vegetables and bring back to the boil, then turn down low and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Then add the seafood and simmer a further 10 minutes. Season to taste and serve with garlic bread.
• More milk can also be used to extend this soup. Or you can enrich it with cream added at the end.
• You can use other vegetables eg. peas, leeks, capsicum, kumara.
• Other seafoods can be used, eg. oysters, cockles, scallops, tuatuas, smoked fish. Add a few minutes before serving.


More mussel recipes

Moules mariniere: clean mussels well (in the shell), then steam as above with 1/2 sliced onion, a chopped clove of garlic, bouquet garni, a squirt of white wine and a dash of oil. Tip shells and all in a large bowl and serve with garlic bread, fingerbowls and large cloth napkins.

Oriental style: As for moules mariniere but instead use garlic, grated root ginger and sesame oil. Splash with a little soy sauce before serving.

With pasta: fry a chopped small onion in a little olive oil. When clear add pepper and 2 C stock. Cook till well reduced, then add 1 C cream and continue cooking gently, stirring frequently, until well thickened. Add mussels cut in 2-3 pieces and allow to sit, covered, while you cook the pasta. Taste and adjust seasoning just before pouring it over the pasta. Sprinkle with finely chopped parsley and serve at once.

Mussel salad with balsamic vinegar dressing* : make "boats" out of lettuce leaves and put 2 mussels in each. Cut mussels in half first if they're big. Add strips of carrot, quartered tomatoes, (or whole cherry tomatoes), chopped celery, capers, a few stuffed olives -- whatever salad ingredients you like. Spoon into each "boat" a little dressing just before serving.

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