Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Red Mullet’

Fennel, Pernod and Red Mullet Parcels

We cooked this the night that further restrictions were placed on Ireland. We were a bit unsure how it would all work and if we would still be able to get fresh produce in the local shops or if we’d be stuck with supermarkets. Yesterday we heard that we’d be home for another few weeks but thankfully we can still get fresh fish and almost anything else we need (except plain flour!) from our local shops. We served this with some steamed waxy potatoes.

Wine Suggestion: Light, white and minerally. Our choice is the Allo by Quinta Soalheiro from northern Portugal made from Alvarinho for texture and body, and Loureiro for the fruity, aromtic white flowers. All at 11.5% abv.

Fennel, Pernod and red mullet parcels – serves 4

  • 2 fennel bulbs, sliced thinly
  • 2 tbsp chopped herb fennel leaves
  • 180ml dry white wine
  • 2 tbsp Pernod
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 4 fillets of red mullet or sea bass

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.

You need large 4 pieces of double thickness  tin foil – probably bigger than you think. Divide the sliced fennel between the sheets – keep the edges turned up so you don’t lose anything. Divide the rest of the ingredients between the parcels and lay the fish fillets on the top with the fennel leaves sprinkled over. Season everything well with salt and pepper.

Fold the foil up around the ingredients to make parcels, twisting the edges together to seal, make sure you leave some air inside.

Place the parcels on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the fish flakes easily. Remove the fish and ingredients from the parcels and arrange on warm plates. Pour the juices from the parcels over the top.

(Original recipe from Herbs by Judith Hann, Nourish, 2017.)

Advertisement

Read Full Post »

Spaghetti with Roasted Red Mullet

It feels a bit weird posting recipes like this but at the same time we think its important to remember that there are no food shortages. The fish shops are open and fishermen continue to fish and while this continues, we’re going to make the most of it.

Wine Suggestion: a good rule of thumb when matching wines is to look at the source of the food and see what is being grown nearby. Today, an Italian seafood pasta drags us to the Poggio ai Ginepri Vermentino, grown on the Tuscan coast; both floral and salty in equal amounts with a good dollop of tasty fruit in the middle.

Spaghetti with roasted red mullet – serves 2

  • 4 small fillets of red mullet – ask the fish shop to fillet them for you and make sure you check them over for tiny bones
  • a handful of black olives, pitted
  • a dried chilli or half a tsp of dried chilli flakes
  • 200g cherry tomatoes
  • your best extra virgin olive oil
  • some fresh thyme, leaves stripped
  • 200g spaghetti

Preheat your oven to 200C/400F.

Prick the cherry tomatoes with a fork, then toss with a little olive oil, season and spread over a baking tray. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

Put the fillets of red mullet in a single layer in a shallow baking dish, sprinkle with thyme and the dried chilli, then season. Drizzle with oil and roast in the oven for 5 minutes.

Cook the spaghetti in loads of salty water until al dente. Drain and return to the pan.

Add the olives and tomatoes to the pasta with 1 tbsp of olive oil and season. Add the red mullet and toss gently, then serve.

(Original recipe from Italian Two Easy: Simple Recipes form the London River Cafe by Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers, Clarkson Potter, 2006)

 

Read Full Post »

Our local fish counter (in Caviston’s, Glasthule) had Red Mullet today, which we never see, so I urgently called Jules to find a recipe. She found this in 2 minutes flat and we went with it as there wasn’t too many ingredients. The salsa tastes absolutely amazing. Now that the evenings are longer we’ve been dying to use the barbecue more so we’re very pleased with ourselves for a Monday night (especially as we’d planned to have  salad!) Very full and satisfied now.

Barbecue red mullet with a hot salsa (to serve 4)

For the fish:

  • 4 red mullet, scaled, cleaned and gutted
  • small bunch of fresh oregano, leaves picked

For the salsa:

  • a handful of black olives, stoned and roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
  • 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
  • a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 6 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • a small bunch of flatleaf parsley, leaves picked and torn

Get your barbecue hot.

Slash the fish all over on both sides, about 1 cm deep, to help it cook through.

Roughly chop some oregano on a big board and spread it out. Sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and black pepper.

Roll the fish over the board and rub all the flavourings into the slashes you made.

Barbecue the fish for about 4 minutes on each side until you have crispy skin and soft cooked flesh inside.

Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and add the chopped olives. Warm them through for a minute or two and add the garlic, chilli and rosemary sprigs. Fry gently until the garlic is soft.

Remove and discard the rosemary and toss in the chopped tomatoes. Squeeze in the lemon juice and add the parsley.

Taste for seasoning (you probably won’t need salt as the olives will be salty) and warm through.

(Original recipe from Jamie Oliver)

Wine suggestion: We had a glass of Gruner Veltliner from Marlborough in New Zealand. Very unusual as this grape’s home turf is Austria. Quite peachy with bit of typical white pepper spice. If you fancy something different you can buy it in Mitchell and Son for about €15.95. A refreshing change from Sauvignon Blanc.

 

 

Read Full Post »