Fresh fish properly prepared & presented is like no other food,some say an aphrodisiac, others say brain food ...to me, a little piece of heaven ...
Dublin Lawyer
prep & method Serves 2 1125g (2½lb) Fresh Lobster 150ml (¼ pint) Cream 4 tbsp Irish Whiskey 3 tbsp Butter Salt and Black Pepper Cut the lobster in two down the centre. Remove all the meat, including the claws, retain the shell for serving. Cut the meat into chunks. Heat the butter until foaming and quickly sauté the lobster chunks in it, until just cooked but not coloured. Warm the whiskey slightly, pour over the lobster and set fire to it. Add the cream, mix with the pan juices, and taste for seasoning. Put back into the half shells and serve hot. Irish Crab Butter 110g (4oz) Butter 225g (8oz) Cream Cheese 60ml (2floz) Mayonnaise 140g (5oz) Crab Meat 30ml (1floz) Lemon Juice 1 Medium Onion, finely chopped ½ Clove Garlic, crushed ½ tsp Worcestershire Sauce Tabasco Freshly Ground Black Pepper Soften the butter and cream cheese, fold together with the mayonnaise. Add lemon juice, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco and pepper to taste. Add in crab and onion. Chill for at least two hours. Serve as a dip with raw fresh vegetables or savoury biscuits. Cream of
Dublin Bay Prawn Soup
~ creamy langoustinos ~
prep & method
Serving size 4 Ingredients 50g (2 oz.) butter 50g (2 oz.) onions, peeled and chopped 50g (2 oz.) carrots, peeled and chopped 8 Dublin Bay prawns, pre-cooked, unpeeled 1 sprig thyme 1 bay leaf 2 sprigs parsley Freshly milled black pepper 1 pinch Cayenne pepper 3 T cognac 4/5 C dry white wine 6 C fish stock 15g butter beaten into 1 T of flour 2 T Kikkoman Soy Sauce 2/5 C fresh cream Parsley for garnish Cooking directions In a large sauce pan, melt butter. Lightly brown the onion and carrot; add unpeeled prawns, thyme, bay leaf, parsley, black and Cayenne peppers. Heat well, add cognac and wine, cover and simmer for another 5 minutes. Remove prawns from pan, peel and place heads aside for garnish. Return peeled prawns to pan, cover with stock and mix in butter and flour. Cook slowly for 10 minutes. Pour soup into blender; liquidize and strain. Place over low heat. Season with soy sauce; mix in cream, remove from heat. Pour into small soup bowls and garnish with prawn heads and a little parsley. Serve immediately!
Mussels Au Gratin
prep & method
Ingredients ½ cup water 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 tspn pepper 4 lb mussels 3 tbsp olive oil ¼ cup finely chopped onion ½ cup finely chopped parsley 2 tbsp lemon juice l cup cracker crumbs ½ cup grated parmesan cheese lemon wedges for garnish 1. In large pot, combine water, half of garlic and pepper. Bring to boil, add mussels and steam on medium until they open, about 5 minutes. 2. With slotted spoon, transfer mussels from broth on to 2 rimmed baking sheets. Break off and discard top halves of shells and any unopened shells. 3. Heat olive oil in medium skillet. Sauté remaining garlic and onion until soft. 4. Add parsley and lemon juice. Combine with cracker crumbs and Parmesan cheese and sprinkle over mussels. 5. Bake at 400ºF. about 5 minutes or until crumbs are lightly brown. Serve warm with lemon wedges
Skewered Mussels and Bacon
prep & method
(Serves 4) Ingredients: 48 mussels 24 slices of lean bacon (rib end) 50g butter 1/4 teaspoon dried dill. 1 medium onion 3-4 tomatoes 1 clove garlic 1 sprig oregano 2 tablespoons olive oil. 4 wooden skewers. Method; Steam mussels in a large saucepan until open. Strain mussels and retain cooking juices. Remove mussels from both shells, combine butter and dill. Place half teaspoon of butter mixture in each mussel and wrap two mussels in one bacon slice, 12 mussels to one skewer. Chop onions very finely. Blanch, peel and seed tomatoes, then cut into small clices. Braise onions in olive oil in shallow saucepan, add tomatoes, clove of garlic and oregano, add juices retained from mussels and over a low heat simmer for 20-30 minutes until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove garlic and sprig of oregano. Before serving, either grill or pan-fry mussel skewer over moderate heat on both sides, approximately 2-3 minutes on each side. Serve on bed of rice and coat with fresh tomato sauce.
Irish Cod Cobbler Serves
prep & method
4 675g (1½ lb) Skinless Cod Fillets 450ml (¾ pint) Milk 110g (4oz) Cheddar Cheese 50g (2oz) Butter 50g (2oz) Flour Scones 225g (8oz) Flour 50g (2oz) Cheddar Cheese 50g (2oz) Butter 1 Egg 1 tsp Baking Powder Salt Pre-heat the oven to 230°C: 450°F: Gas 8 Place cod fillets in the bottom of a round oven dish. Make a cheese sauce with the butter and flour, milk and grated cheese, pour over fish. Then make scone dough Rub the butter into the flour adding the baking powder and pinch of salt. Add the grated cheese and the egg yolk into the mixture with enough milk to make a workable dough. Roll out to a thickness of ½ inch and cut into small rounds with a scone cutter. Place the scone rounds on top of the sauce just covering the surface Glaze with milk, sprinkle more grated cheese over Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the scones are golden brown.
Trout Wrapped in Bacon
prep & method
4 x 275g (10oz) Trout 8 Thin rashers streaky bacon Fresh parsley Pre-heat oven to 200 °C; 400 °F; Gas 6 Wind two rashers of rinded bacon in a spiral round each fish, use cocktail sticks to secure. Place them in a shallow ovenproof dish. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until tender. Serve garnished with chopped parsley.
Trout in Lemon Sauce Serves
4 4 Trout Fillets 4 tbsp Water 4 Lemon Slices Sauce 250ml (8 floz) Milk 90ml (3 floz) Fish or Vegetable Stock 40g (1½oz) Butter 25g (1oz) Plain Flour 1-2 tbsp Lemon Juice Pre-heat oven to 180°C: 350°F: Gas 4. Place the trout into an ovenproof dish, with a slice of lemon on top of each fish, add the water. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cooked. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Stir in the flour and cook gently for 2-3 minutes. Add the milk and stock, bring to the boil, stirring continuously, until thickened. Simmer gently for 4-5 minutes. Add the lemon juice. Place the fish on a serving dish, discarding the lemon slices. Coat with the sauce. Serve with salad or seasonal vegetables.
Trout in Herb and Cream Sauce
prep & method
Serves 4 4 Rainbow Trout, gutted 300ml (½ pint) Cream 75g (3oz) Butter Mixture of herbs (parsley, chives, basil, watercress, etc) Salt and Black Pepper Poach the fish in court-bouillon for 10-12 minutes. Lift out carefully, remove the skin. Keep warm. Boil the cream until it reduces by half. Whisk in knobs of butter gradually. Finally, add in finely chopped herbs. Pour the sauce into a serving dish and arrange the fish on top. Serve at once, garnished with lemon slices.
Fish Stew Serves
prep & method
4 450g (1lb) White Fish (Haddock, Cod, Colley, etc.) 2 medium Potatoes 2 Medium Carrots 450g (1lb) Tin Chopped Tomatoes 600ml (1 pint) Tomato Sauce 600ml (1 pint) Fish or Chicken 75ml (3 floz) Sherry or White Wine 50g (2oz) Parsley 1 Bay Leaf 1 tbsp Plain Flour 1 tsp Sugar 1 tbsp Fresh Basil Salt & Black Pepper Pre-heat the oven to 150°C: 300°F: Gas 2 Finely chop the potatoes and carrots. Combine potatoes, carrots, parsley, bay leaf, tapioca, sugar, basil, and seasoning in a large casserole dish. Simmer gently over a low heat for 10-15 minutes. Stir in un-drained tomatoes, stock, tomato sauce, and sherry or wine. Place the fish on top of the mixture. Cover and cook in the oven for 1 ½ - 2 hours. Remove bay leaf. Break fish into bite size chunks with a fork.
Fish Cakes
prep & method
350g (12oz) Mashed Potatoes 275g (10oz) Haddock or Salmon 600ml (1 pint) Milk 15g (½ oz) Butter 1 Onion 1 Egg 1 tbsp Capers 1 tbsp Fresh Parsley 50g (2oz) Flour Wholemeal Breadcrumbs Salt & Black Pepper Poach the fish in the milk for 5-7 minutes until tender. Remove the skin and any bones from the fish, then flake. Fry the finely chopped onion in butter until transparent. Combine the fish, mashed potato, onion, chopped parsley and capers, ensuring that the fish remains in flakes, season well. Shape into cakes and dip in beaten egg, then into well season flour, then back into the egg and coat with breadcrumbs. Grill gently for 5 minutes on each side until browned. Serve hot.