Fish for Dinner: Delicious Seafood Recipes to Cook at Home

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Turkey might be traditional and more and more of us are choosing goose, venison or even beef for Christmas dinner, but don’t forget about fish. If you’re catering for pescatarians or just fancy feeling a little less bloated after the big meal, fish is an often overlooked option that can have everyone oohing and aahing as if it were a giant bird or cut of meat – and our collection of Christmas fish recipes is the perfect place to get inspired. Hailing from Maidstone, Kent, Outlaw says he grew up not liking fish. “As a kid I’d eat fish fingers or fish and chips, barely – I’d have to be convinced,” he laughs. After all, people change. “This is why I’m a good person to talk about fish with.” Put the wine, vinegar and sugar in a pan, add a pinch of salt and bring to a gentle simmer. Put the shallots in a bowl, immerse in the hot liquor and leave to cool. Cover and marinate for at least 12 hours. (They’ll keep for three months in an airtight jar in the fridge.) A very good buy at the moment, that everyone thinks is expensive, is lobster,” says the two-Michelin star chef, who is famed for fish cookery.

Nathan Outlaw’s fish recipes for autumn | Food | The Guardian Nathan Outlaw’s fish recipes for autumn | Food | The Guardian

For the salad cream, whisk the egg yolks, mustard, sugar and lemon juice for a minute. Whisk in the oil in a thin stream, then whisk in the cream, season with salt, cover and refrigerate. There was a time when I couldn’t do it, [but] I do believe everyone can do it. People worry about making a mistake and ruining the fish, but you can’t really ruin it. [If] you don’t get close enough to the bone and leave a bit of meat on the carcass, just go in with a spoon and use that for fishcakes or fish pies. You’re never going to waste anything. The best thing you can do is have a go.”For the filling, heat the oil in a frying pan and, when hot, add the onions, cumin and coriander and season with salt and pepper. Cook over a medium heat for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes, then add the saffron, white wine and raisins. Cook everything down for roughly 20 minutes until the liquid has reduced to almost nothing and the onions are well stewed. Taste the onions at this point and season if required. Transfer the onion mix to a tray and spread out to cool. Once cool, portion into 12 little piles. Lots of people don’t think of fish as a seasonal ingredient, like fruit and vegetables, but Outlaw says “it’s a huge seasonal thing”. Put the potatoes in a pan, add water to cover, a big pinch of salt and the saffron. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, until soft, then drain and leave to dry. No one cooks fish like Nathan, one of the most talented chefs in the UK. This book brings all his talent to the home cook.’ Angela Hartnett

Nathan Outlaw: Lobster is actually quite affordable right now Nathan Outlaw: Lobster is actually quite affordable right now

The 45-year-old recommends tail meat for lobster dumplings, or using the meat for an alternative take on sesame prawn toast. Heat your oven to 180ºC Fan (400ºF), Gas Mark 6 and bake the potatoes for 1 hour until cooked. Scoop out the cooked potato and mash or put through a potato ricer. You should have about 300g (10½oz) mashed potato.Nathan says: “love hake. The chunky flesh is soft when cooked and it’s perfect for getting people into eating fish. However, it needs a little help to get it really tasty – more seasoning than just salt and pepper.” The main thing people are worried about is it being difficult [to fillet fish at home] and smelling of fish – but if you buy good fish it’s not smelly, it smells of the sea which is quite a nice smell.” Gently warm the oil in a pan. Blitz the fish to a puree, then, with the motor running, slowly add the warm oil and reserved milk. Once mixed, add the parsley and potatoes, and blitz for 30 seconds. Add most of the lemon juice and a good grind of pepper, then scrape into a bowl. Season to taste, and add more lemon juice if need be. Cut the fish into 4cm chunks. In a bowl, mix the zest, coriander, cayenne, cumin and a good pinch of salt. Toss in the monkfish pieces and marinate for 30 minutes. One major mistake many home cooks make is overcooking the fish. “I’d say 80-85% can be eaten raw, for a start, so you never need to worry about [undercooking] with any species that you have at home. Even if it’s slightly undercooked, nothing’s going to happen,” says Outlaw. “It does seem the case that people err on the side of caution and overcook – and then unfortunately what happens is you probably have an experience that’s not great and it’s dry.