Simple Seafood Recipes Worth Cooking This Week

I'm going to show you how to get the perfect crispy salmon. This is a really simple dinner, if you're short on time mid-week, it's bursting with superfood goodness and it looks pretty fancy too. Now this recipe is all about the synergy of very simple ingredients coming together in one pan, creating absolute perfection. We're going to start off with some salmon and some asparagus. Now, greens wise, I'm using asparagus, but you could use tender stem broccoli here, anything that's firm or florets of normal broccoli will do as well. But with the salmon, I want to show you how to cook it out the very best you can. So heat on the pan, and while that comes up to temperature, let's season this up. So I have two little darns or two little fillets. We're just going to season that with a little bit of salt and pepper. And by doing this on a flat surface like this, we can now use our hands to kind of mop up any of the excess seasoning that's on the plate, so nothing goes to waste. A little drop of oil in the pan. So while it's coming up to temperature, skin side down. And we're going to let that fat on the skin render out so that it becomes really rich and crispy. And it's a good way of being able to tell if your salmon is cooked through. You'll be able to actually see it turn from a lovely orange to a more pinky colour. So, while they cook away, let's get rid of this and give the hands a quick wash. The key ingredients here, we've got our salmon cooking off, we've got our green, which is our asparagus, I've got some tomatoes, which are going to create our sauce, I've got some basil for lots of flavour, and a touch of garlic, and then finally, for a bit of freshness, I've got some lemon. So all very simple ingredients, they're all stuff that you can get your hands on. And as a fish supper goes, this one is going to bring serious flavour and simplicity. So, let's prep up our asparagus. With just one of these spears, you can check where these need to be cut. The ends are quite woody and fibrous, so just kind of running your fingers across here, you'll be able to see where they naturally break. Then line up the rest of them and cut across. These we can get rid of. And the rest of the asparagus is going to go into the pan, in alongside the salmon as it cooks out. Okay, next up, tomatoes. You can add them in whole, but what I like is when you slice them in half, it kind of exposes them a little bit, so when they hit the heat, the juices come out, they start the sauce being created. I particularly like the fact that as I'm cutting this, I can see that the salmon is just about there. It's turning from that rich orange to a really nice pink, and it's a good sign that I know it's time to flip. So, let's just finish off these tomatoes and let's get flipping. Get those tomatoes in on top of the fish and asparagus. For another layer of flavour, grab some garlic, finely slice and add it to the pan. We are in a very good place right now. The salmon is pretty much cooked through and it's going to continue to become nice and tender with the steam that's coming from the sauce we've created with the tomatoes. A little bit of water will just help things along, and you'll start to see any of those kind of caught bits of tomatoes creating this really rich and luxurious sauce. So, just help it along and you've got a fish supper that looks like no other. This is where we need to be. Salmon is cooked, asparagus looking nice and tender, our tomatoes have reduced down, turn off the heat, and now it's time for some aromatics. I'm just going to grab up some basil leaves. I'm going to garnish with some fresh ones, but I do like the idea of just tearing them in amongst those tomatoes so that they kind of reduce down in the heat as we serve up. So just fold them in amongst the tomatoes and the fragrance is just so gorgeous. So, let's serve this up. Some nice asparagus, that beautiful salmon on top, and then that rich, sweet tomato sauce. Literally a handful of ingredients. Sprinkle of sea salt, a little bit of black pepper. Don't forget your seasoning right at the last minute. It makes such a difference to anyone who's going to sit down and eat this. Basil to garnish, and if you want it, a little hit of lemon zest. And just for some freshness, a little squeeze of that juice. Simple ingredients, fresh flavours. This is superfood in minutes. And it deserves a little taste. So worthwhile, crisping up that salmon skin because it really adds so much more flavour to the whole dish. I know I go on about it every time I taste a dish on this show, but that is just simplicity on a plate. So good. Look at the colours on that plate. A gorgeous looking dish with some serious flavour combos. Right up my street. Vietnamese turmeric and dill fish. This is an altogether different fish supper, and it's perfect if you don't have time to pop over to Asia for dinner. A visit to Hanoi in Vietnam is not complete without trying the classic dish, which is basically this turmeric marinated dish. It looks fantastic and full of flavour. And interestingly enough, it uses a combination of herbs which I wasn't expecting to try when I had it there. One in particular, which is dill. Dill is an ingredient that I much more associate with Scandinavian flavours and more simple dishes. But it works extremely well with fish here, with a little bit of spice and a little bit of turmeric. So we're going to slice up our fish, but first we need to talk about this marinade. For that, we have about two tablespoons of fish sauce. It's this intense, salty, umami hit. And this combined with a little sweetness from some sugar is going to give you a really different flavour. We've got this beautiful combination of saltiness, sweetness, and now we're going to bring in a little bit of spice. The real special ingredient in this marinade is about a teaspoon of turmeric. It's this intense, orange, golden colour that when it fries off in the pan is going to give you altogether different fish. That's it. We need a little bit of aromatics from some ginger. So about a thumb-sized piece of ginger going on in here. Just take off the skin. It's a really surprising dish when you have it for the first time because I kind of associate Asian food with fresh and vibrant flavours. So the use of something subtle like dill as a herb here and turmeric as a kind of deeper spice leaves you with a really interesting finish as this fries off in the pan. Okay. Ginger in. And now just whisk that up until the sugar is dissolved. The most sunny-looking marinade you'll ever come across. Now I'm not going to add any acidity in here because it has a tendency to cook out the fish, so this is exactly what we need. And now I have some cod fillets that I'm just going to slice into kind of bite-sized chunks. Cod works perfectly, or you could use haddock here. Just something that's going to hold its shape in the frying pan. Just straight in there. And I would suggest you don't get your hands in here because you will be left with beautiful orange paws for the rest of the week. So get in there with a spoon and just give it a good toss. Take your rice noodles and pop them into some boiling water for around two to three minutes until they're soft and silky. Then rinse under some cold water so they don't continue to cook. Right. We have our noodles. Good to go. Now let's talk about the fish. It's had a little time to marinate. Preferably give it a little bit more time, but this is a quick dinner, so it's ready to go. We're going to get the heat on the pan. To this, you need to add a generous bit of oil because you do want this to kind of fry and catch around the edges. So a tablespoon or so. Bring that up to temperature, and then it's frying time. You want to get this nice and golden on all sides. Now we're starting to see this take shape. This is a completely different fish dinner than what I grew up with, and it looks fantastic in the pan, but we're going to add some freshness. I have a little bit of spice and some aromatics. We've got some chilies, and I have a little bit of spring onions. Keep your eye on the fish, though. It does cook very quickly, so as soon as you start seeing it take shape and getting a nice bit of color, it's time to turn it. Take your time with this. Whitefish has a tendency to break up in the pan, so you want to keep them in as much of a whole shape as possible, so really gentle at this point. This literally takes about two minutes or so on either side, just until it gets really nice and crispy. We're in a good place right now. We've turned the fish. I've got lovely char marks, so it's time to bring this together. I'm going to turn off the heat. I've got my noodles, I've got my fish. Now it's time to bring the heat. Really important, you taste your chilies. They vary so much in heat levels. This one has a nice build of heat as you have it on the tongue. Actually, I only need about one here. This is gorgeous. I'm going to put half straight in along the fish while it finishes frying off. I'm going to keep the rest for garnish, and then some spring onions. Nice, fine slice on the diagonal. Look at that. Nice slivers of spring onion. This is why it's worth using your knife skills, just to get nice, thin little cuts on these. I'm going to add that in alongside the oil, and things are starting to happen in this pan. You've got charred fish. You've got chilies. You've got heat. You've got spring onion action. Now, we need a little bit of herbs. I've got some dill and some coriander. Dill is the unexpected flavor here. It somehow, amongst all that spice, shines through and gives you an altogether different dish. Right, let's build a plate. Serve it up on a bed of rice noodles and garnish with some more thinly sliced chili, some spring onion, and some crushed peanuts for an extra layer of salty texture. Now, this is the sort of dish I want to come home to. Flavor, color, freshness. Let's try some. Hands down, my favorite type of flavor. Just booming with spice, booming with saltiness. Really proud of this one. For today's five-minute meal challenge, it's a fish supper. This is chili, lemon, and garlic mackerel in a beautiful bean stew. I've got five minutes on the clock, so let's get cooking. Right, first job we need to do is get the pan on nice and hot. To the pan, we're going to add a little bit of oil and let that come up to temperature. Next, it's to plate all our ingredients. I've got some lemon, I've got some garlic, and I need to grab some stuff from the fridge. I've got some mackerel, I have some chili, and a little bit of stock as well. I think that's it. Very simple, full of flavor, very easy to make. Now, we've got some butter beans here as well. I've drained and rinsed these. Cheat a little bit, but it's all right. Pan is coming up to temperature. Let's prep up our garlic and our lemon and our chili. So, about two cloves of garlic here. Just take off the ends and then give it a smack with the back of the knife. This will ensure that you get your skin off nice and quickly. The garlic skin, of course, not you. Okay, take them off, and then we're going to give them a fine chop with our chili as well. So, nice little thin slivers of garlic here are going to add lots of flavor. With four minutes on the clock, I want to get my pan on, our fish in the pan. So, unwrap this, and we're going to add a little bit of salt and pepper to our fish. A little sprinkle just as this goes into the pan will make all the difference. And a little bit of salt as well. Tamp that around where you've got lots of seasoning and get that straight in, skin side down, and that's the sizzle you're after. If you've not got sizzle on your fish, you're not going to get crispy skin. So, get straight in there and get these cooked off. Right, let's get rid of this and give the hands a quick wash. I want to make sure that we have all that cooking starting while I crack on with the rest of the ingredients. So, as I said, garlic is going to be sliced nice and thinly, so get straight in there and all you're looking for is a nice fine chop here. Same with the chili as well, and the flavor you're going to get from that fresh garlic and the chili is going to bring this dish to life. So, a little bit of chili, and I think a fish like mackerel just really can stand up to these spicy flavors. So, a whole chili in here with the seeds in, it's that combination of the oily flesh that really makes a difference here, and it's full of gorgeous flavor. So, garlic, chili, lots of flavor. Get that straight into the pan and let it fry off in amongst all those gorgeous fish fillets. So, that's looking good. A little sprinkle of some lemon zest will make a big difference in here, a little bit of freshness, and we're going to finish it off with a squeeze of that lemon as well. So, straight in there, all the way over the top. Now, this is looking good, so I'm going to prep up some parsley because this is a really lovely ingredient to add a bit of freshness with. We're going to give that a very nice, fine slice, and this is going to go into our stew for a little bit of aromatics and a little bit of freshness. I've got 2 minutes and 37 seconds on the clock, so I'm going to try and get in there and give our pan a little mix through. We've got lovely freshness and aromatics from our parsley. This is looking good. So, just give those mackerel fillets a little swirl in the pan, and you want to get that garlic and the chili all cooking off as well. So, let's grab up a fish slice, concentrate, and see how we're looking. This is looking absolutely gorgeous. So, flip them over, nice little crispy edges to our skin, and that chili is definitely on fire as well, which is always a good thing. It means you know you're cooking in the kitchen. We're going to add in our butter beans, and we're going to add in a little bit. That is one hot chili. We're going to add in our stock, or try and add in our stock. The little bit of steam that you're going to get from the stock in here is going to help tenderise that fish, so as this cooks out, you're going to get really gorgeous flavour. Now, in amongst this, because this is our bean stew, we're going to add in a little spinach. Now, this looks like a lot of spinach, but I promise you this will wilt down in 1 minute and 37 seconds. So, get that in, and now it's time to give it a little bit of love. Give it a little bit of shake. Start folding that spinach in there. Remember, your fish is almost cooked at this point. It cooks super quick, and that's why fish is one of my favourite ingredients for a quick supper. So, get that spinach in there. I actually think this needs a touch more stock, so I'm just going to add a little splash of water as we go here, just to make sure that we get a nice wilt on that spinach. And that is pretty much it. The hard work is done at this point, so we're just literally teasing that spinach in there. You're creating a little bit of flavour altogether. I actually think this could do with a nice squeeze of lemon juice. I've got 1 minute on the clock, so I've got to keep moving along. I'm just going to add a little squeeze of lemon juice for some freshness. But really, the hard work is done at this point. So, give the hands a little wipe. We're going to talk about plating this. So, what you want to do is grab up that bean stew. That spinach has nicely wilted down at this point, and I'm going to add in a little bit of the parsley as well, just at this last moment, so that we get some of that aromatic running through. So, give it a little stir through, being very careful not to break up any of the fish. And just take off any of that lovely bean stew off the top, and you can see that reveal of that really beautiful mackerel skin. So, at this point, I'm going to stop talking, and let's plate up. Okay. We've got 20 seconds on the clock, so I'm going to turn off the heat, grab up that bean stew. Really simple, just store-covered ingredients. Stuff that you can get your hands on really quickly. I can hardly pull the bleeding words together, but we're nearly there. We've got 8 seconds. Oh, my goodness. Okay, all the bean is up there, and that, my friends, is a gorgeous little fish supper. Very simple to make. Great flavour. We're out of time. That is a fish supper that you'll want to dive into. So much so, I'm going to do exactly that. Let's give it a go. One of the best ways you can treat mackerel. Simple and elegant flavours. Try it. Next up, a great date night dish, because it looks kind of fancy, and it's really quick and easy to remember. You're going to want to try my scallops with green peas and asparagus. Delicate and tasty. Now, the real beauty of this recipe comes down to its simplicity. It's a handful of ingredients. They're kind of fancy, but they're worthwhile having to hand. Asparagus, scallops, and I have my staple store cupboard ingredient, frozen peas. These I keep bags of because they make great soup, but they also make a fantastic base for these scallops. So, we're going to get our pan on nice and hot. I've got a big pot of boiling water, and I just want to add a little bit of salt to it just so that peas cook out and will be seasoned all in one go. Right, let's talk about our asparagus and our scallops. I've got my pan on nice and hot. Add a little touch of oil, and we're going to grab up our asparagus and just chop off the ends. Get those asparagus into the pan, and we're going to season it up with some salt and pepper. While they're frying off, peas into the boiling water. Now, I love the fact that with just a few humble ingredients brought together, you get something that looks sophisticated and elegant, and a little bit chef-y. Now, a good little tip when you're frying off thick veggies like this, and you need to ensure that they're going to be nice and tender to the bite, is literally no more than about a tablespoon or two straight in the pan, and that steam and all that action is going to cook them out, and you won't be left with any liquid. It's just going to reduce right down, but it's the liquid that's going to help cook out those asparagus perfectly, so you have something that's got a bite to it but is nice and tender. So, asparagus looking good. We've got peas coming up to temperature. Let's talk about our scallops. Now, I feel like this is an ingredient that a lot of people get nervous about, but it cooks so quickly, and you get left with these little morsels of sweet, tasty flesh. So, season up with a little bit of salt and a little bit of pepper. A little butter is going to help things along in a big way in terms of flavour here, so a generous knob of butter will go a long way. Get that straight in the pan and let that melt down, and the great thing about this is that not only are your scallops going to cook in that butter, but your asparagus is going to take on the flavour, that nutty brown butter flavour, while this cooks out. So, just move those asparagus to the side of the pan. They're in a really good place right now, and we're going to take those scallops and really delicately just lay them in with the roe. Scallops in hot butter are absolute magic. Give the hands a quick wash, and this is where you have to kind of really be patient in the kitchen and keep your eye on the scallops, keep an eye on what's happening, because our peas right now are cooked all the way through, so grab up a slotted spoon. So, I'm going to use half this pea mix. It's about a bag of peas, and you're going to use about half the mix in a little food processor like this, and we're going to blitz them up until we have a nice, smooth puree, but I am going to keep back one or two of these cooked ones so that we can garnish, and you get that little kind of pop of sweet bite that is so wonderful about peas. And as I'm transferring these out into this food processor, I'm taking a little bit of the water that they've cooked in, because that's going to help give us that really kind of smooth, creamy puree consistency. So, this should do it. I have some mint leaves. Mint and peas, absolute flavor friends. Get them in there. A few sprigs of that are going to go a long way. Give it a quick season with some salt and pepper, and a very generous drizzle of some extra virgin olive oil. Now, my scallops need turning, so I'm going to pop over to there, and then we'll get blitzed on the peas. Okay, back to the peas. We've got a nice drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Go the extra mile and get extra virgin olive oil. There's a peppery bite that's going to work extremely well with the sweetness of the peas. Lid on, and let's blitz. Okay, we're in business. I'm going to plate up. Look at that. Rich, green, luscious pea magic. And all from a frozen pack of peas. You'd never guess it. And we're going to get a little fancy, so a nice little swirl here. Those gorgeous peas that we saved back really gives a little pop of colour and a little bit of bite. And now it's time to build. Asparagus. Beautiful scallops. Don't forget about the mint, and lastly, a little bit of parmesan cheese just takes this to the next level. Now, this is a date night dish that's fancy, easy to remember, and totally tasty. Now, this is the sort of recipe I get really excited about. It's the sort of recipe that you can pull together in about 15 minutes, you can have people in the kitchen alongside you as you cook, and you get left with zing, you get left with spice, and sweet, tender prawns. Now, this is one I want you to try this week because of its simplicity. We're going to start off with some garlic cloves, so I've got about three garlic cloves going in here. With the garlic, just a nice, fine slice. Now, with recipes like this, it is simple, but it is all about big flavour, and the flavour we're getting in this gorgeous recipe comes from my secret ingredient, and a great Superfood in Minutes ingredient, which is some chipotle paste, which you can get in most supermarkets now, and it is this smoky, heady, gorgeous, really deep-flavoured paste that is going to make all the difference to a stew like this, and you can see just the darkness of it, that is going to inject serious flavour into this. So, this gets fried off with a little bit of garlic, with some oil, in a nice hot pan. When the garlic and paste have fused and are really fragrant, pop in a can of chopped tomatoes and a can of mixed beans. Season with sea salt and black pepper, and give it all a good mix through. This is the magic of this recipe. I mean, it's all this action in the pan, it's taken just a few minutes, and you have this seriously smoky, sweet tomato stew. This needs to cook for about ten minutes or so, just until you get a nice, thickened sauce, and while it's cooking away, let's crack on with a lovely avocado salsa. Two avocados, one lime, and a little bit of red onion will make the most gorgeous, fresh-flavoured salsa that's going to be really great alongside this. So, let's get slicing. This isn't guacamole, it's not exactly salsa, it's somewhere in the middle, it's a bit of a fresh-maker for this kind of rich, dark, smoky stew. And all I want to do is slice this into nice, thick chunks, so that you get really fresh bites alongside that richness you're going to have in this stew. And remember, we're going to add prawns in here, so there's lovely sweetness, there's all these flavours going on together. It just works beautifully. As I'm slicing away, keep an eye on that stew, because if it does catch a little bit, you want to add a touch more water, but it should reduce down to this thick and unctuous stew. So, with our avocados, just rock through them. Really nice, thick chunks of that gorgeous green. Straight into a bowl. And I have to say, I'm slightly impressed by the fact that this is a gorgeously green avocado. They're always quite rare to get your hands on, but if you do, you get... Oh my god, there's a second one! I've never had two perfect avocados like this. Take out that stone, and you can see just how gorgeously green that is. This rarely happens, so I'm going to celebrate the fact that we have this really beautiful green, the really nice red, it's just going to come together. Straight into our bowl, and to this, we want to add in a good squeeze of lime juice. It's going to give you zinginess, it's going to give you a little tang. It also helps to prevent your avocado from going brown, so do make sure you add this. If you're preparing your avocados, always squeeze it with a little bit of acidity. That could be lemon juice, or it could be a little bit of vinegar, but lime juice and avocados, they are flavour friends, and in my books, they've got to go together. Now, lime juice and avocados would be fine as they are, but we want to add a little bit of an onion bite, so I've got one red onion, just going to slice it in half, and then finely chop it. Add the chopped onion to the avocado, sprinkle with a bit of sea salt and black pepper, and then mix in some olive oil and a couple of sprigs of coriander. I mean, that is just super fresh, and the brilliant thing about having all that freshness going on in here, and all that flavour and the zing, it's going to contrast so beautifully with the smokiness and the richness of that tomato sauce, which at this point is looking quite good. I've added a touch more water just as we were going, and it's now ready for our prawns. Now, the beauty of using shellfish like this is that it cooks off really, really quickly. This is going to take two or three minutes. They're just going to pop in, and the heat of that sauce is going to cook them through. And all we're going to do is shuffle these prawns in and around that sauce, and get them absorbing all those great Mexican flavours. People always get nervous when it comes to cooking meat, but shellfish is one of the easiest things you can cook, because you can literally see them cooking in front of your eyes. It takes two or three minutes, they'll turn from opaque into this beautiful tender pink, and you're in business. Right, these are cooked, off of the heat, and now it's time to serve up. So grab up some of that beautiful stew. You've got all the gorgeous prawns in there. And now, it's time for the fresh maker. Take up that salsa, and just place a nice big dollop. Little fresh garnish of some coriander, just over the top. Pinch of salt, and while we have it, a little glug of oil. It's taste test time. I'm going to give it a little squeeze of lime, just over the top. And while it's still hot, grab up some of those prawns. You saw how simple that is. Anyone could give this a go. A few store cupboard saviours, those tins of tomatoes, the chipotle paste, and those sweet prawns, and fresh acidic bite from that gorgeous avocado salsa. This is one to try this week. Give it a go. Look at those colours. Just pop it on the table, and let the food do the talking. Scandi inspired supper brings great flavours to the table. It's oily salmon, teamed up with creamy dill, which is a match made in heaven. Get the potatoes into a pan, and add enough water to just almost cover the spuds. Then season with sea salt and black pepper. Add the butter, and cover. While that simmers away, finely chop a red onion, and add it to a bowl, with the juice of half a lemon, and some seasoning. Let that start to pickle, and shave some cucumber strips, adding those to the bowl too. Uncover the potatoes, and while the last bit of water evaporates, slice the radishes thinly. To make the dressing for this dish, add a tablespoon of creamy horseradish to some creme fraiche, along with a dash of oil and lemon juice. Bring it all together with some freshly chopped dill, and mix. Season to taste, and set aside while you finish off those potatoes. With the back of a wooden spoon, crush the potatoes until the skin splits, and then sprinkle over some more dill. Let the potatoes brown a bit in the pan, for another few minutes. Then transfer them to a bowl, along with the marinated onion and cucumber. Toss in the radishes, and combine everything with a large spoon. Now add the hot smoked salmon, and serve it straight to the table with some of that gorgeous dressing. A warm, fragrant fish dish, oozing with scandy flavour combos, and ready in a flash. Give it a go tonight!