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Maria Shebets

Fish & Seafood

Sardines escabeche with tomatoes

I love sardines! First of all, they are simply delicious, aren’t way? It is true, this small fish requires a bit more work then the seabass but it is full of flavor! There are so many ways to serve it from simply grilled to pasta sauce, homemade canned sardines, pickled, escabeche. 

Secondly, this fish is packed with nutrients that are essential for your health: protein,calcium, iron and potassium, significant amount of vitamin B12. In addition to this, sardines are loaded with omega-3 fats. At the same time they are low in mercury.

Last but not least – it is sustainable fish, recommended by Quick Fish Guide.

Enjoy this goodness!

sardines

sardines escabeche

 

 

Serves 4

  • 4 large sardines
  • 3 shallots
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 large plum tomatoes
  • 150 ml sunflower oil
  • 50 g semolina flour
  • 2tsp sweet paprika
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Wide strip of unwaxed lemon zest
  • Wide strip of unwaxed orange zest
  • 150 ml dry white wine
  • 50 ml cider vinegar
  • Salt
  • Freshly ground pepper

Method:

  1. First thing first you need to debone sardines. You can simply fillet or butterfly fish and using fish tweezer remove as many bones as you can.
  2. To butterfly sardines, descale and gut them if necessary, remove the dorsal fin and wash very well under a cold running water.
  3. Place the fish skin side up so opened belly will be against the working surface.
  4. To release the backbone run your thumb along it from tail to head.
  5. Turn the fish over and using kitchen scissors snip the backbone right behind the head and at the tail.
  6. Very carefully pull the backbone from the head towards the tail.
  7. Remove other small bones with fish tweezers. Wash the fish and pat it dry.

For escabeche

  1. Peel and very finely slice the shallots and garlic.
  2. Cut tomatoes in a quarters, remove the seeds and then dice it.
  3. Heat the sunflower oil in a deep frying pan over a medium heat.
  4. Season semolina with salt and pepper and transfer it on the shallow dish. Take a pat dried fish and coat it in flour, shaking away any excess. Cook for 2 minutes on 1 side, flip it over and cook for 1 more minute. Lift it carefully and transfer to a shallow dish (nonmetallic) big enough to hold the fish in one layer.
  5. Sauté the onions in the same dish until soft but not browned, add garlic and cook for couple of minutes. Add the paprika, bay leaf and citrus zest and cook for a minute. Add tomatoes.
  6. Add wine and vinegar, let it simmer for 5-7 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Remove from the heat and let cool slightly, then pour it over the fish and leave at the room temperature for about an hour. Cover with a cling film and put in the fridge for at least 12 hours.

Fish & Seafood

Poached mackerel salad

poached mackrel salad

This is not going to be a recipe as such, but a quick idea for lunch. I think I’ve already said before how much I like the type of food prepared in advance, so when I’m in a hurry I can just throw everything together on a plate and, as a result, have a decent healthy meal ready! I usually buy a big batch of mackerel and prepare escabeche, which could be easily kept in the fridge for three days and taste even better on the second day! This time I’ve decided to poach the fish in a simple court bouillon and serve it later on a toast or in a salad. Poached fish does not last as long as the marinated one but if you are going to eat it on the next day, it’s absolutely alright.

Few words about my beloved mackerel, which is also recommended by fish4tomorrow’s Quickfish guide, which surely needs to be used more often. Mackerel is a great source of Phosphorus, Protein, Vitamin D, Niacin, Vitamin B12 and Selenium. It is also a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids and simply tasty fish!

Poached mackerel salad

Serve 2-4 depending on the appetite

Ingredients

For court – bouillon:

  • 500 ml vegetable or fish stock (homemade is better)
  • 2 small celery sticks, sliced
  • 2 small carrots, peeled and sliced
  • 1 onion, peeled and sliced
  • 250 ml dry white wine
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Good pinch of fennel seeds
  • 2 big mackerels, filleted and pin boned

For the salad:

  • A few handfuls of greens
  • 2 soft-boiled eggs
  • For dressing
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp cider vinegar
  • ½ teaspoon Dijon mustard
  • Salt and pepper

For the dressing:

  • Mix oil, vinegar and mustard until emulsified and season with salt and pepper.

Instructions

Court-bouillon:

  1. Put all the ingredients together for the court – bouillon, bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse.
  2. Then strain it into a big pan, which will fit 4 fillets in one layer (I use a big frying pan). Bring to the simmer, take off the heat, put the fish in (fillets should be submerged completely), cover with a lid and leave it to cook in residual heat.
  3. Then cool transfer to the fridge.

Salad:

  1. To serve the salad, drain the fillets very well and flake them. Arrange some greens on each plate, flaked fish and half of the egg. Drizzle everything with the dressing, grab some brad and you have a lunch!

Fish & Seafood

Fish al cartoccio

fish al cartoccio

I am glad to share this featured recipe of fish al cartoccio by Adrian Hili with you, my lovely readers. I strongly encourage you to give it a try as it takes neither time, nor efforts for preparation, at the same time fills the fish with succulent aromatic Mediterranean flavours. Enjoy!

Wild Maltese Seabass fillet baked in a “bag”

Serves 2

Ingredients

ingredients

  • 2 wild seabass fillets around 250g (scaled and deboned)
  • salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 table spoons olive oil
  • 1 glass dry white wine (Neptunus Vermentino)

 

flavours

  • 1 handful of stoned Maltese black olives
  • 1 clove Maltese garlic peeled and finely chopped
  • teaspoon dry chilli flakes
  • handful of soft fresh aromatic herbs (marjoram, basil or oregano work best or a combination of them)
  • 2 tablespoons of Maltese extra virgin olive oil
  • 10 cherry tomatoes halved
  • 1/2 lemon
  • Salt flakes & freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

First make a marinade for the tomatoes by combining the olives, garlic, chilli, herbs and Extra virgin olive oil in a bowl. Add the tomatoes and rest for 1/2 and hour before seasoning and lemon juice.

You will need 2 pieces of kitchen foil approximately 40cm long. Place the half of the marinade in the center of the right hand half with one seasoned seabass fillet on top.  Fold over the left hand half and seal the two sides by folding over tightly to gently hug the fish.  Add a tablespoon of olive oil and half the wine and seal the remaining side.  Repeat for the other fillet.

Bake in the oven at 250C for 10 mins.  Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 4 minutes without opening.

Notes

At the restaurant they open the bag and plate the contents with some wilted Maltese spinach or roasted potatoes to soak up the juices, however at home it’s nice to open the bag at the table and savour the amazing aromas being released from the bag!

 

I served the fish with wilted spinach which is so easy to make:

  • Take a pack of a local spinach (usually it is 1 kg). Remove any large stems and chop the leaves coarsely. Wash spinach very well, changing the water few times. Drain well.
  • Add a tablespoon of olive oil in a large sauté pan and place over a moderate heat. Add garlic and cook for a minute or so. Add a spinach and cover the pan. Turn the spinach few times to make sure it will cook evenly. Season with salt and pepper.

Fish & Seafood

Marinated wild seabass with bottarga

marinated wild seabass

Summer laziness has almost  reached its highest point. Well…at least in my case. Too lazy to turn the oven on, too lazy to cook but never too lazy to eat!

Here is one of the simplest dishes you can prepare without any serious efforts but the result will really be more than satisfying. Perhaps, the hardest thing you could find in this recipe would be scarping out the seeds from the tomatoes!

I like to prepare this ceviche style dish in the morning and when it is time for lunch all I need to do is to season it and toast some bread.

Marinated wild seabass with bottarga

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 1 wild seabass (filleted, skin off)
  • 2 big tomatoes
  • 2-3 tender celery sticks
  • Fresh basil
  • Juice of 1 big lemon
  • Salt
  • Freshly ground black pepper
  • Olive oil
  • Bottarga (tuna or grey mullet)
  • Toasted bread

Instructions

  • Check the fish fillets for any small bones, wash them briefly and pat dry very well. Cut the fish in chunks.
  • Wash and dry tomatoes, cut them in quarters and remove the seeds. If you are not as lazy as I was you can also remove the skin. In order to do that, make a cross cut in the bottom of tomatoes and place them in the boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Then plunge them in cold water. When cool enough, drain them and pull the skin off. Dice tomatoes.
  • Wash, dry and finely slice the celery sticks.
  • Wash, dry and chop some basil.
  • Now mix everything together and pour the lemon juice over. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with some olive oil. Mix thoroughly, cover with plastic wrap and put in the fridge for at least one hour.
  • Remove from the fridge, adjust the seasoning, if needed. Drizzle with some extra olive oil, grate bottarga over your dish and sprinkle with more basil. Serve with some toasted bread.
  • Voila! Enjoy!

Fish & Seafood

Red snapper curry with brown basmati rice

red snapper curry with brown basmati

Red snapper curry with brown basmati rice

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • Red snapper fillets (skin off), about 600 gr
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 150 gr of brown basmati rice
  • 2 tbsp of coconut oil
  • 2 shallots, finely sliced
  • A piece of fresh ginger root (about 3 cm), grated
  • 1 tsp of ground turmeric powder
  • A few pods of cardamom
  • 1 tsp of ground coriander
  • 1 tsp of chilli flakes
  • 400 ml can of coconut milk (not light)
  • A bunch of fresh coriander, chopped

Instructions

  1. Cut fish fillets into 8 big pieces and drizzle with some lime juice over, leave to marinate while cooking shallots.
  2. Cook brown basmati following the package instructions
  3. Heat the coconut oil in a pan over a medium heat. When hot add the shallots and sweat until soft.
  4. Add ginger, turmeric, cardamom, coriander and chilli flakes, stir well and cook for 1-2 minutes.
  5. Prior to opening the can of coconut milk, shake it very well. Add the milk to the pan and stir well.
  6. Season with salt and bring to a gentle simmer.
  7. Put marinated fish in the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes, till it turns opaque.
  8. Add the remaining lime juice (perhaps not all of it) and fresh coriander.
  9. Check the seasoning and serve hot with rice.

Fish & Seafood

Gurbell escabeche

 

gurbell escabeche

Gurbell escabeche

Serves 6, as a starter

Ingredients

  • Gurbell fillets (skin off), about 600 gr
  • 100 ml olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
  • 3 shallots, finely sliced
  • 2 medium red chilli, seeds removed and finely sliced
  • Juice of 2 lemons
  • Juice of 2 limes
  • 1 tbsp soft brown sugar
  • 1 small bunch of fresh chervil, chopped

Instructions

  1. Cut each fillet into 6 pieces and rub with some olive oil. Season with salt.
  2. Heat a non-stick frying pan over high heat. When very hot sear the fish pieces for 5 seconds on each side and transfer to a deep dish.
  3. Reduce the heat to medium, wait a little bit and add the olive oil.
  4. Add garlic, shallots and chilli and cook until shallots are soft.
  5. Add sugar, lemon and lime juices and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add chervil and pour the mixture over the fish.
  6. Refrigerate for a few hours.

 

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