KFA KITCHEN - SOY MARINATED BONITO FILLETS

Recently a couple of mates gathered to celebrate one of their birthdays by going on a fishing charter. As far as I can tell they were all chasing Kingfish but unfortunately they were playing hard to get. Only two Kings for the entire 6 hours were taken (Luckily one by the birthday boy Ado) but numerous other desirable species were landed. Some great Bonito hit the decks and were filleted perfectly, and here is where I fit in to the equation (Got to love good mates and the benefits).

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KFA KITCHEN - SEAFOOD SOUP (INSPIRED)

I don’t tend to divulge in the art of cooking very often due to my partner Claries wonderful culinary skills. Sometimes I get inspired to oil a pan but it usually takes some sort of exciting ingredient or someone elses passion to get my pot on. Lately it’s been a bit of both, accompanied by some serious cravings. When it starts to cool down in Canberra I get a hankering for some hearty meals, heavy soups and heavy servings. I watched a couple prepare a fish stew on a TV show recently an immediately wanted to prepare my own.

I searched the internet and found various recipes but decided to omit cream and start searching for a more structured soup that involved seafood. The result was a trip to a website that showed a video of Chef Guy Grossi cooking up a stew styled soup, followed by a recipe that could easily be altered. This recipe is not my own, perhaps only slightly hybrid but worth sharing none the less. Please note the recipe has a serving size of four but depending on your own take could serve just yourself.

Ingredients:

Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1 onion, chopped 2 sticks celery, chopped 1 tbs fresh basil, chopped 1 tbs dill, chopped 2 tbs fresh coriander, washed and chopped 4 tbs tomato paste 1 cup white wine 4 tbs olive oil 2 litres fish stock 8 fresh prawns, cleaned with heads and tails intact 2 Blue Swimmer Crabs 12 fresh scallops 1 fresh tube calamari, sliced thickly 8 fresh mussels 1/2 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped

1. Heat a pan on a moderate heat. Add olive oil and sweat off garlic and chopped onion with the chopped carrot, celery, salt, pepper and herbs. Add the tomato paste and cook out well until the tomato paste has darkened a little. Next, add the white wine and reduce by half. Add fish stock and simmer for 20 minutes. In a large deep frying pan or pot, add crab, prawns, mussels, scallops and finally calamari.


2. Gently stir crab and other shellfish through the soup and season with salt and pepper. Allow soup to simmer until the crab has cooked through. Add chopped parsley before serving and serve with a slice of bruschetta in a large bowl.

KFA Kitchen tips:

• Omit fish or add an oiler species like Mackerel. In our dish we used Crab, cut in half and washed thoroughly. Add more delicate seafood last when cooking. Ingredients like Chilli would work extremely well, so would Potatoes like Desiree or Pontiacs. Alternative Species: Freshwater Species

KFA KITCHEN - SNAPPER W/ LIME AND GINGER

I recently returned home from a trip to the Sth Coast NSW with some smallish snapper around 45cm. Having not prepared a lot of snapper for the table, I wanted to keep it fairly simple and not spoil the fish.

I found a recipe that is fairly easy to prepare and most of the ingredients can be found in the kitchen at any given time. The verdict from the tasting crew was quite favourable so please enjoy.


1 whole red snapper (approx 1.5kg), cleaned and scaled

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

3 spring onions, chopped

1 tomato, seeded and diced

1 lime

4 tbsp soy sauce

1 lemon

Pinch of sea salt

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
   
   Make three slashes across each side of the fish using a sharp knife and then place the fish in a shallow baking dish or roasting pan.
   
   Cover each side of the fish with fresh ginger, then spring onions and tomatoes. Season with sea salt, then slice half of the lime and place the slices on top of the fish. Drizzle with the soy sauce, and squeeze the other half of the lime over the fish.
   
   Cut the lemon in half and set in the pan and then cover the whole dish with aluminum foil.
   
   
2. Bake the fish until the flesh can be flaked with a fork, about 20 minutes.
   
   Squeeze the baked lemon halves over the fish before serving.
   
   

KFA Kitchen tips:

• A nice accompaniment with this meal is a crisp Riesling, or for the beer lovers, a Kronenburg or Stella

KFA KITCHEN - MARINATED CRISPY OZ SALMON

Not long ago we received an email from a viewer asking us about recipes for Australian Salmon. While I passed on the email to KFA member 'Squidder' I constantly looked for a recipe online to try. It took awhile but I finally found something that should be fairly viable to cook near were you caught it (Be that holidays, beach side frontage, home). Its based on an Italian style marinated recipe but invloves a crisp finish.

Obviously variations may suit to taste but after following this to the letter after a beach fish I was pleasantly suprised how nice Australian Salmon can taste. Often regarded as cat and basic pet food only I hope to tempt you enough to try it, after all the species is prolific enough to be caught all year round in most of NSW.

Marinated Australian Salmon Fried in a Crisp Coating:

¼ cup lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 teaspoon grated ginger

12 Australian Salmon steaks, cut to size

¾ cup plain flour

1 teaspoon sweet paprika

2 eggs, lightly beaten with 2 tablespoons of water

1 cup fresh fine breadcrumbs (see notes)

1. Combine lemon juice, garlic and ginger and use to marinate fish for 20-30 minutes. Then drain fish well and pat dry with paper towel.


2. Place flour, paprika, salt and pepper in a large freezer bag, add the fish and shake well to coat. Place fish in a colander and shake well to remove excess flour. Dip into egg mixture, then roll in breadcrumbs. Heat oil in a frying pan and shallow-fry the fish for a minute or 2 each side, until crisp and golden.

KFA Kitchen tips:

• To make fresh breadcrumbs, pulse day-old bread in a food processor until finely crumbed. It’s a great way to use up stale bread and you can keep them in the freezer to use whenever breadcrumbs are required.span>
• Alternative Species: Mullet, Eel, Tailor, Sardines.

THE KFA KITCHEN - ATLANTIC SALMON KEBABS

Atlantic Salmon is often considered one of the finer fish you can buy from the supermarket. Fresh fillets or steaks are often easier to buy prepared for cooking than to catch for the table bit areas are available to tangle and secure world class dining (Sometimes right at your door). A native of European and North American rivers draining into the northern Atlantic Ocean, the Atlantic salmon has been introduced into Lake Jindabyne and Khancoban Pondage. No wild populations occur since most of the natural life cycle is spent at sea. The Atlantic salmon is considered a great sport fish and is keenly sought by anglers and farmed heavily in the southern state of Tasmania.

Char-Grilled Atlantic Salmon Kebabs & Vegetables with Lime Mayonnaise :

750g thick sashimi-grade Atlantic Salmon fillet, skin off (see notes)

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

8 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for at least 1 hour

⅓ cup whole-egg mayonnaise (see tips)

1 tablespoon lime juice

3 zucchini, trimmed and sliced lengthways into 5mm-thick strips

3 Japanese eggplants, trimmed, sliced lengthways into 5mm-thick strips

1 red capsicum, seeded and cut into thick slices2 small red onions, quartered

1. Cut fish into large even cubes, place in a bowl and toss with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Thread the cubes onto the skewers, cover and refrigerate until ready to cook. Combine mayonnaise and lime juice; you may not need all of the juice, but it should taste lightly tangy. Set aside. Heat a barbecue or char-grill plate. Brush the zucchini, eggplants, capsicum and onions with remaining olive oil, salt and pepper, and cook for 2-4 minutes each side, until well coloured.


2. Remove and set aside.Cook the skewers for 30-60 seconds on each side, until the flesh is opaque almost all the way to the centre. Don’t cook them all the way through, as they’ll continue to cook after they are removed from the heat. Arrange the vegetables in the centre of each plate with the skewers on top. Drizzle with some of the lime mayonnaise and pass the rest separately.

KFA Kitchen tips:

• Sashimi-grade fish is normally sold trimmed, if it is not, trim off any skin and dark muscle and check for bones before cutting it. If you don’t want to make your own mayonnaise, use one made from whole eggs such as S&W or Thommy. Japanese or Lebanese eggplants are long thin purple eggplants, sometimes also called slipper, or baby, eggplants.
• Alternative Species: Albacore, Bonito, Mackerel, Marlin, Swordfish, Tuna.

THE KFA KITCHEN - BAKED WHOLE SNAPPER

Winter around the southern coastal areas of NSW provide many fishermen the chance to dine and feast on fat Snapper intent on securing a feed themselves. The pan sized models provide good sport on light gear while the larger beasts can feed upteen amounts of people (From children to adults). A few years ago I came up with a simple recipe to showcase a baked fish, while it works well on fish like Bream, it really proves its worth infusing its flavours with whole Snapper.

Baked Snapper with Lemon and cracked Pepper :

1 Snapper ( 1kg upwards, Fresh is best )
1 lemon ( Thinly sliced, skin on )
1 Onion ( Sliced finely )
3 Garlic cloves ( Sliced finely )
2 Tomatoes ( Diced or sliced )
1 Flat leaf parsley ( 6 tbsp, roughly chopped )
1 Basil ( 6 tbsp, roughly chopped )
1 Sage ( 3 tbsp, roughly chopped )
1 Oregano ( 3 tbsp, roughly chopped )

1. Preheat oven to 190 degrees, and prepare baking tray ( Deep dish ) by placing Snapper into tray and oiling with a good quality virgin olive oil. Score snapper ( Cut 4 slices down the body from head to tail, lightly into the skin of the fish ), rub oil into the cuts and crack generous amounts of pepper into and all over the body, follow this with a few pinches of sea salt and place tray to the side.


2. Place all Stuffing / Filling ingredients into a bowl, mix with a tbsp of oil and again crack some pepper and mix. Stuff fish heavily with filling and use a skewer to stitch the Snapper closed ( Alternatively a tooth pick, or leave open! ), take sliced lemon and place on top of the fish gently inserting each slice into the score, aligning neatly along the body.


3. Bake fish until cooked ( No more than 1/2 hr, checking along the way ) and serve with some baked potatoes with lashings of Chives & Sour cream, plate up and enjoy.

KFA Kitchen tips :

• Dont over bake, check only once and turn if desired.


• Substitutes well with Bream, Black Bream and other white fleshed species.


• Cover with foil if you wish, beware any juices will not evaporate and add to the finished product.


• Could be barbequed or even smoked using webber techniques.

THE KFA KITCHEN - THAI FISH CAKES

The weather for Snapper bashing looked a little ordinary this weekend, big swells and high wind. We took the opportunity to practice a few traditional forms of fishing instead, the art of rock and beach. While the Drummer off the rocks were replaced by Sweep (Unfortunately), the Salmon came out to play as we hit the beach surf at Pedro Point. The larger specimens were returned to the water while most of the smaller 40cm models were kept for mincing and freezing, ultimately ending up on the Kayak Fishing Adventure Kitchen menu.

Thai Fish Cakes (Makes 16) :

500g Australian Salmon (Filleted, skinned and boned)
2 tbsp red curry paste
2 fresh Kaffir lime leaves (Torn)
2 green onions (Chopped coarsely)
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp finely chopped coriander
3 snake beans (30g, chopped finely)
2 fresh small red thai chillies (Chopped finely)
Peanut oil (For deep frying)

1. Cut fish into small pieces. Bleand and process fish with curry paste, lime leaves, onion, sauce and juice until mixture forms a smooth paste. Combine fish mixture in medium bowl with coriander, beans and chilli.


2. Roll heaped teaspoon of the mixture into ball, then flatten into cake shape; repeat with remaining mixture.


3. Just before serving, heat oil in wok or large saucepan; deep fry fish cakes, in batches, until browned lightly and cooked through. Drain on absorbent paper; serve with fresh coriander leaves and lime wedges, if desired.

KFA Kitchen tips :

• Nice with cucumber dipping sauce, shredded carrot on the side.


• Substitute Salmon with any firm white flesh (Flathead, Redfin etc).


• Dip fingers in cold water before shaping cakes, prevents sticking.


• Try turning only once during cooking, dont crowd them in the pan.


• Remaining mixture can be shaped ahead and kept overnight.


• Can be char-grilled or barbequed, use cooking oil spray directly.