Soused Snapper Recipe

Name: Soused Snapper
Prep time: 1 d
Cook time: 1 min
Total time: 1 d 1 min
Ingredients: 1½ kilograms snapper fillets, skinned and boned.; Juice of 5 lemons.; 1 cup sweet chilli sauce.; 1 red onion.; 2 peppers, varying colours.; 12 cocktail tomatoes.; 1 400-gram can coconut cream

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Kevin Leech
Prep:1 day Cook:1 minute Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

1½ kilograms snapper fillets, skinned and boned.
Juice of 5 lemons.
1 cup sweet chilli sauce.
1 red onion.
2 peppers, varying colours.
12 cocktail tomatoes.
1 400-gram can coconut cream

Directions:

Dice fillets into 2cm square pieces.
Place in a large bowl with finely-chopped onion; cover with lemon juice.
Refrigerate for 12-24 hours, turning occasionally.
An hour before serving, drain off the juices.
Add chilli sauce to taste, along with coconut cream.
Dice peppers and halve tomatoes and add to fish.
Add ground pepper and sea salt, to taste.
Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
Garnish with parsley.

Snapper Recipes

Soused Snapper

Barbecue Baked Snapper

Snapper Bites

Snapper Pasta

Snapper with Crunchy Camembert Topping

Simple Simon Raw Snapper

Nuked Snapper

Orange Tinnie Snapper

Snapper in Sherry Sauce

Lemon Snapper

Fish Balls

Tandoori Snapper on the Barbecue

Spicy Snapper on the Barbecue

Whole Sesame Snapper

Nut-Crusted Snapper

Snapper

From a culinary perspective, snapper is probably one of the most versatile species we have in our waters.
It is relatively easy to catch, readily available throughout the North Island and the top half of the South Island, and can be prepared in many ways. It’s as delicious as raw fish as it is smoked and good for almost everything in between.
Snapper has played an important part in our history. Known as ‘tamure’ to the Maori and ‘bream’ to the early European explorers and settlers, the humble snapper was a regular part of their diet, either eaten fresh, or else salted, dried or smoked.

Lemon Crumbed Blue Moki Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Pete Lamb
Prep:15 minutes Cook:10 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

Blue moki fillets, boned and skinned.
Sea salt and cracked pepper.
Juice of 6 lemons.
2 eggs, beaten.
Flour.
Pre-made breadcrumb mixture.

Directions:

Cut moki into bite-sized pieces.
Place in a bowl, covering fish with lemon juice.
Leave for 3-4 hours.
Drain fish and flour.
Coat with egg and cover with breadcrumbs.
Place in fridge or freezer for a short while to ‘set’ coating.
Heat oil in deep frying pan or wok and cook fish, 5-6 pieces at a time.
Crumb mixture can be substituted with Fog Dog Cajun beer batter.
If battering fish, egg step is not necessary.

Blue Moki Recipes

Lambos Moki Gumbo

Lemon Crumbed Blue Moki

Moki Pie

Blue Moki
If you are a member of the Wellington land-based fishing fraternity, blue moki is probably the species held in highest esteem. Blue moki fishing spots are highly regarded and Wellington Surfcasting and Angling Club members guard theirs as though their lives depended on it.
Moki belongs to the Latrididae family and are cousins to the trumpeter. Many of the characteristics are the same. The body is deep and compressed, the flesh firm and the mouth firm with thick lips and small teeth, not unlike a porae.

Notoriously good fighters, moki feed in a number of habitats and they like shellfish, crustaceans and small baitfish; they have even been known to browse on some seaweeds. Most WSAC members claim crayfish is the number-one bait for blue moki, which live to around 30 years and can grow to some 90cm in length. Mussel and tuatuas are other good baits.
Moki tend to feed at night around the shoreline, especially where there are lumps of foul ground to give them cover among sandy territory. Maori prize them highly as eating fish and have a special season for them in autumn, when they are caught in good numbers in deeper water off the eastern Bay of Plenty coast.
From a culinary perspective, the flesh holds together well, making it a popular table fish. It is best eaten as fillets, which are removed in the same way you would deal with a snapper or similar shaped fish. Moki can be poached, smoked, steamed, baked and fried.

Cod and Oysters Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Elly Smith
Prep:15 minutes Cook:20 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

500 grams of cod fillets.
½ dozen Bluff oysters in juice.
4 tablespoons oyster sauce.
½ cup cream.
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.
1 teaspoon cornflour.
6 olives, diced.
Milk.
Parsley.

Directions:

Cube cod into approximately 2cm pieces.
Poach in oyster juice, mixed with a little water until just cooked.
Reserve juice.
Remove fish to a hot serving dish and place in warming drawer.
Add cream to juice in pan.
Add Worcestershire sauce, season with salt and pepper and warm.
Mix cornflour to create a roux and add a little milk.
Simmer to create a smooth, thick sauce.
Dice oysters and add, cooking for two minutes.
Garnished with chopped olives and sprigs of parsley.

Blue Cod Recipes

Sugar-Coated Blue Cod

Blue Cod with Almonds

Whole Sesame Cod

Blue Cod
Blue cod is to Mainlanders what snapper is to their North Island counterparts.
It is probably the number-one species on their hit lists and this unfortunately has created sustainability issues in the top half of the South Island. Here there are much debated ‘no-take’ and ‘limited-take’ zones in place, along with strict size limits.
Commercially, cod are targeted in ‘pots’ while recreationally, line fishing is the predominant method. If there is a ‘dumb’ fish, it is cod. They have none of the guile or reticence of snapper and will eat just about anything, even bare hooks or ones ‘baited’ with a little bit of shiny cigarette paper. Cod can even be caught on hooks baited with cod.

Curried Cod Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Kathy Dunstan
Prep:15 minutes Cook:30 minutes Difficulty:2

Ingrediants:

4 tablespoons butter.
¼ cup plain flour.
2 heaped teaspoons curry powder (medium).
4 tablespoons fruit chutney.
1 cup rice, just cooked.
300-gram tin pineapple pieces (in syrup).
2 hard-boiled eggs, shelled.
2 tablespoons lemon juice.
Milk.
Sea salt and ground pepper to taste.

Directions:

Heat fish in a small amount of milk.
Remove skin and any bones, flake, retaining stock.
In a saucepan melt butter, stir in flour and curry powder and blend well.
Add in pineapple and juice, along with chutney, stock and more milk.
Create two cups of ‘sauce’.
Slice eggs and add, along with fish, rice, seasoning and lemon juice.
Simmer for 5-10 minutes maximum on a very low heat.
Serve on toasted pita bread with a green salad.
Red cod can be substituted for any smoked fish, especially warehou.

Red Cod Recipes

Red Cod Pie

Smoked Red Cod Soufflé

Curried Cod

Red Cod
Red Cod While many North Islanders pour scorn on red cod as an eating fish, further south it is regarded with a little more respect.
At times the waters around the beaches and river mouths ‘run red’ with cod, and rather than curse them – they are not renowned for their ‘sporting attributes’ – anglers in the know catch them for the table.
Red cod fillets require a little aging and are not at their best eaten immediately after filleting. Like ling, red cod is a densely-textured flesh and is best left to thoroughly chill. Leaving well-drained fillets in the refrigerator for a couple of days will do them no harm.
Red cod is good for fish pies and smoked, but you are unlikely to find it in most people’s list of ‘top 10 fish to eat’. It is used quite a bit in the South Island for fish and chips.

Classic Crayfish Mornay Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Kings Fishmarket
Prep:20 minutes Cook:20 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

500 grams boned and skinned moki fillets
1 cup milk
½ cup water
1 onion, sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 eggs
½ cup flour
Sea salt and pepper
Curry powder
Sugar
5 medium potatoes
1 cup grated cheese

Directions:

Place moki fillets in a saucepan and cover with milk and water.
Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and gently poach until cooked.
Strain and reserve liquid.
Place fish in an ovenproof dish.
Hard-boil the eggs and then shell.
Coat with a dusting of curry powder and sugar.
Chop and sprinkle over fish.
Heat oil in a saucepan and sauté onions until soft.
Layer over fillets.
In same saucepan heat butter and stir in flour.
Gradually add reserved liquid to make a sauce.
Stir until thickened and lump free, pour over fish.
Cook and mash potatoes with a knob of butter.
Add cheese and mix with fork.
Spread evenly over fish.

Snapper Recipes

Soused Snapper

Barbecue Baked Snapper

Snapper Bites

Snapper Pasta

Snapper with Crunchy Camembert Topping

Simple Simon Raw Snapper

Nuked Snapper

Orange Tinnie Snapper

Snapper in Sherry Sauce

Lemon Snapper

Fish Balls

Tandoori Snapper on the Barbecue

Spicy Snapper on the Barbecue

Whole Sesame Snapper

Nut-Crusted Snapper

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Grant Dixon
Prep:1 hour Cook:20 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

1 800 gram fresh crayfish.
2 lemons.
6 parsley stalks.
1 teaspoon cracked pepper.
½ small cup of salt.
40 grams butter.
200ml mornay sauce.
Approximately ½ egg yolk.
2 tablespoons of cream.
1 curly lettuce.
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan.

Directions:

Add half a lemon, parsley, pepper and salt to a pot of boiling water.
Place crayfish in the boiling water, cover and return to the boil.
Simmer for 20 minutes, set aside to cool and rest the meat.
Make the mornay sauce as per recipe in this section.
Turn the crayfish upside down and carefully cut in half lengthways.
Remove tail meat and clean out mustard and intestines.
Cut tail meat into 1-2cm cubes.
Heat butter in a large frying pan until it starts to froth.
Add the meat, season, turning quickly, only cooking for 1 minute.
Add the mornay sauce and bring to boil, take off the heat.
Combine the egg yolk and cream, whisk and add to the sauce.
Lay crayfish shell on an oven tray, cut side up.
Place a little sauce on the bottom of the cavity.
Arrange meat along the length of the crayfish shell.
Cover with more sauce and sprinkle with the Parmesan.
Place under an oven grill on medium to high until top starts to brown.

Crayfish Recipes

Crayfish Medallions with Macadamia Sauce

Crayfish and Corn Fritters

Crayfish Crumble

Chargrilled Crayfish with Spicy BBQ Sauce

Crayfish Sandwich with Curry Mayonnaise

Cheats’ Crayfish Thermidor

Classic Crayfish Mornay

Mornay Sauce

Crayfish with Avocado Salad

Barbecued Crayfish and Piquant Seafood Sauce

Crayfish Mornay

Dorothys Crayfish Thermidor

Mexican Marinated Crayfish

Oriental Crayfish with Onion and Ginger

Simple Barbecued Crayfish Tails

Crayfish

If there is a species that has been put on a pedestal as the pinnacle of Kiwi kaimoana, it is the spiny red rock lobster – crayfish. Over the years it has earned millions in overseas exchange and has made many of the commercial fishers, lucky enough to hold quota, rich men. Its dollar value sees the species, along with paua, at the head of the poachers’ hit list. In some regions it is estimated the ‘black market’ take is almost as high as the legitimate commercial harvest, both far surpassing the recreational catch. Despite the pressure on the fishery, crayfish still remains available to Joe Public provided they are prepared to put in the effort diving or potting for them. To many people a highlight of their holiday programme is to catch a few ‘bugs’ for the table.
The beauty of crayfish is that it can be prepared in so many different ways; its rich flesh requires little enhancement.
Like all seafood, crayfish benefit from taking a little care from the time they are caught to when they are served up. Once caught, the crayfish should be placed in a cool, damp spot. They will live for several days out of the water if kept cold and wet.

Most people prefer to deal with the catch as soon as practical. The first step is to kill the crayfish humanely by drowning it in a bin of cold fresh water. Placing a live crayfish directly into boiling water will result in the legs falling off more easily.
If you intend ‘cooking’ the crayfish immediately by boiling it, there are some simple steps to take to bring the best out of your catch. It is important to bring the water to a rolling boil before placing the crayfish in it. Do not overload the pot as it takes too long to bring it back on the boil; keeping the lid on the pot helps with this. Time the crayfish once the water starts to boil. The ‘just legal’ crayfish should be boiled for no longer than six minutes, and up to 12 minutes for ‘monster’ four-kilo-plus crayfish.
Once time is up take the crayfish out of the pot and place in a tub of cold water to halt the cooking process, then remove and leave to drain. A good way to do this is to hook the curled-up tails on the rim of a bucket.
Once cooled and the flesh set, the tail can be twisted free of the body and sliced lengthwise with a sharp, sturdy knife to split it. The alimentary canal will be exposed and this should be removed. Similarly the body can be sliced lengthwise in two, exposing the ‘engine room’. The yellow ‘mustard’ can be removed and used to give flavour to any sauce.
To many people, sucking the sweet morsels out of the legs and body is every bit as good as the tail meat. Use a nutcracker or a purposebuilt lobster claw cracking tool to crack the shell.

Moroccan Elephant Fish Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Petra Moorby
Prep:45 minutes Cook:10 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

600 grams elephant fish fillets.
2 tablespoons chopped coriander.
Zest and juice of 1 lemon.
1 teaspoon minced chilli.
2 teaspoons ground cumin.
2 teaspoons crushed garlic.
1 tablespoon fish sauce.
Freshly-ground black pepper.
Plain white flour.
1 tablespoon olive oil.

Directions:

Mix the olive oil with the coriander, lemon juice and zest.
Add chilli, cumin, garlic, fish sauce and ground black pepper.
Rub over the fish and allow to stand for at least 30 minutes.
Place a cup or two of flour in a plastic bag.
Add a couple of fillets at a time to the bag and give them a good dusting.
Lightly spray or brush a non-stick pan with oil.

Elephant fish Recipes

Elephant Fish Fish Cakes

Baked Elephant Fish with Mustard Sauce

Elephant Fish and Tomato Gratin

Moroccan Elephant Fish

Jumbo in a Basket

Asian Elephant Fish Broth

Elephant Fish
While it might not win any beauty pageants, the elephant fish is recognised in southern parts of New Zealand as a good eating specimen.

It features a large, fleshy, cartilaginous trunk that protrudes from the snout – and together with large winglike pectoral fins – combines to give the fish a rather grotesque deformed appearance rather like Quasimodo. The snout has a useful purpose, being used to root out crabs and shellfish from muddy or sandy bottoms. When handling the fish you need to be aware of the large, sharp folding spine that forms part of the dorsal fin.
Elephant fish are closely related to sharks, having a backbone of gristle rather than a skeleton. It is not surprising that the flesh tastes a bit like lemon fish (rig or dogfish) and is popular for fish and chips, as the firm flesh holds together well and you get two boneless fillets when you prepare it for the table. It is sold in the fish shops as silverfish and silver trumpeter.
Elephant fish is caught commercially by trawlers, but between October and late summer it comes within reach of surfcasters and boaties fishing inshore, sheltered waters such as Wellington Harbour.

Citrus Flounder Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Gillian Maire
Prep:5 minutes Cook:14 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

1 tablespoon of olive oil.
4 flounder or sole fillets.
Juice and zest of 1 orange.
Juice of 1 lemon.
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives.
½ teaspoon salt.
A pinch of white pepper.

Directions:

Heat oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat.
Place fish in the pan and sprinkle with orange and lemon juices.
Cook for 5-7 minutes, until fish flakes easily when tested with fork.
Sprinkle with orange zest, chives, salt and pepper.

Flounder Recipes

Pan-fried Flounder

Crab-stuffed Flounder

Mums Mooloo Flounder

Flounder and Mushrooms

Stuffed Flounder

Citrus Flounder

Gran Reids Baked Flounder with Scallop Stuffing

Flounder in Ginger Cream

Nuked Flounder

Flounder
The name ‘flatfish’ covers a number of species in general terms, including yellow-bellied flounder, dabs and soles. Call them what you like; they are all good eating fish, with the yellow-bellied flounder being the culinary pick of the bunch.
These species can be found all over New Zealand in a variety of environments on the open mud and sandy bottoms; way out wide to the surf line inshore, as well as the sandbanks and mudflats of our harbours. They are trawled, netted and speared, the last done mostly on still nights in the shallows.

Divers gathering scallops and oysters regularly come across flounder and soles hunkering down on the ocean floor where they attempt to hide by covering themselves in silt and sand. It is only their oval outline that gives them away and when disturbed they have an amazing turn of speed over a short distance.
Fly casting and light-tackle anglers with a great deal of patience have turned catching flounder into something of an art form, using small crab-imitation flies or vegetables such as peas and corn to catch dinner. They report the flounder give a good account of themselves on the light gear.
As table fare, flounder are high up there in the top 10 of the most popular eating fish. They have a delicate flavour, not unlike john dory, and can be prepared simply by taking out the gut and cooking whole. Freshly caught flounder fried in clarified butter or a lemon-infused olive oil, with a little salt and pepper, takes a great deal of beating. Cooked flounder roe, which is not removed in the gutting process, is something of a delicacy.
There is a bit of a learning curve with successfully negotiating a flounder fillet. Cooked properly, the flesh can be easily picked off one side before flipping the whole fish over and demolishing the other side, steering clear of the small bones on the outer extremities of the backbone.
Larger flounder can be filleted using a sharp, flexible knife. Make the first cut from the back of the head on the diagonal past the gills and pectoral fin. Keeping the blade tight against the backbone, work down towards and over the spine, progressing back toward the tail, as you would for most other fish such as snapper. Leave the skin on as this crisps-up well and holds a great deal of flavour.

Gemfish in Chermoula Marinade Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Henry Scott
Prep:12 minutes Cook:4 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

500 grams gemfish fillets, cut into 5cm pieces
¾ cup cream
60 grams butter
4 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
1 tablespoon fresh dill, snipped

Directions:

Boil potatoes in a saucepan for 5 minutes, or until just tender.
Drain and set aside.
Heat the cream and butter in a large saucepan until butter melts.
Add fish to pan, simmer for 2-3 minutes, or until fish changes colour.
Add the potatoes, salt and pepper and cook for a further 4-5 minutes.
Sprinkle with the dill.
Serve on heated plates.

Gemfish Recipes

Gemfish in Chermoula Marinade

Murphy’s Gemfish

Oriental Gemfish

Gemfish
Gemfish When you are fishing in deep water for more desirable species such as hapuku and bass, those tentative bites you sometimes feel are quite often gemfish. Having hauled these fish out of the depths, you might be quite disappointed, but gemfish can make for a tasty meal if prepared properly.

Often wrongly identified as hake, gemfish are good eating if looked after and treated with the same respect you would hapuku and the like. They have an oily flesh that makes them particularly good as fodder for the smoker. Some say smoked gemfish is as good as it gets.
It is also a good species for cooking in a number of conventional ways and can be fried, steamed, baked and barbecued. Gemfish’s strong flavour and firm texture makes it ideal for Asian and Mediterranean-style dishes as it can withstand strong, bold flavours.
It is filleted the same way you would a kingfish or a trumpeter. The stomach cavity contains an off-putting yellow, bile-like liquid, which it pays to keep away from the flesh.

Quick Seafood Medley Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Janet Thorne
Prep:15 minutes Cook:10 minutes Difficulty:2

Ingrediants:

500 grams gurnard fillets, cubed to 3cm.
12 scallops, halved.
150 grams cooked and peeled prawns.
1 small bunch bok choy.
1 cup steamed rice.
1 clove garlic, crushed.
1 small red onion, chopped.
½ -¾ cup dry white wine.
1 medium red capsicum, chopped finely.
1 cup frozen peas.
1 fresh chilli, chopped finely.
1 tsp olive oil.

Directions:

Heat oil in pan and sauté onion and garlic for 2 minutes.
Add chilli, tomato and wine, simmer for 5 minutes.
Stir in capsicum, rice, peas, fish, scallops and prawns.
Cover and cook for 5 minutes until fish is soft, flakey and scallops white.
Stir through bok choy until wilted and mix well with all ingredients.

Gurnard Recipes

Gorilla Gurnard

Spiced Gurnard

Malaysian Fish Curry

Pepper and Tomato Gurnard

Quick Seafood Medley

Grilled Gurnard

Coconut Poached Gurnard

Easy Barbecue Carrots

Gurnard Tortillas

Balinese Bass Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Simon Mullens
Prep:4 hours Cook:10 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

4 large fillets of bass.
300ml cream.
½ onion.
1 cup fresh chives, chopped.
1 cup fresh coriander, chopped.
2 teaspoons lemon zest.
½ cup tomatoes, diced.
50ml white wine.
Pinch cayenne pepper.
Salt and pepper, to taste.
Rice bran oil.
Hoisin sauce.

Directions:

Fry the fish and remove from pan.
Deglaze pan with wine, pour in cream and reduce by half.
Stir in remaining ingredients until warmed through.
Be careful not to overheat.
Serve fish topped off with Hoisin sauce, to taste.

Hapuku Bass and Bluenose Recipes

Fruity Hapuku Marinade

Cheesy Bluenose Casserole

Drunken Bass

Balinese Bass

Hapuku Stew

Bluenose Parcels and Mango Salsa

Hapuku Chowder

Baked Hapuku and Pernod

Turmeric Bluenose

Barbecued Hapuku Steaks

Bluenose Fillets with Smokey Tomatoes

Curried Groper

Panko Crusted Bluenose

Sweet and Sour Hapuku

Cajun Hapuku with Watermelon

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Grant Dixon
Prep:30 minutes Cook:10 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

8 john dory fillets.
8 chopped shallots.
30 grams butter.
1 cup white wine.
¾ cup water.
½ rind lemon, sliced in fine strips.
1 teaspoon arrowroot.
3 tablespoons cream.
Salt and pepper.

Directions:

Heat oven to 180°C.
Butter an ovenproof baking dish.
Sprinkle shallots over bottom of dish.
Lay fish out in baking dish.
Season and dot with knobs of butter.
Pour in white wine and water.
Top with lemon rind and remaining shallots.
Cover with foil and cook for 12 minutes.
Remove fish to a serving plate and cover with foil to keep warm.
Strain contents of oven dish into a saucepan.
Boil and stir, reducing by half.
Mix arrowroot with a tablespoon of water.
Add to sauce, heat, stir and thicken.
Add cream and seasoning.
Heat through and spoon over fish fillets.

John Dory Recipes

Poisson et Fruits de Mer

John Dory with Lemon Butter Sauce

John Dory with Broccoli

John Dory in White Wine Sauce

John Dory with Grapes

John Dory with White Wine

John Dory Vermouth

Italian John Dory

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Jade Chalmers
Prep:10 minutes Cook:10 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

4 fresh kahawai fillets.
50 grams butter.
2 teaspoons chicken soup mix.
4 teaspoons soy sauce.
1 lemon.
4 silverbeet leaves, washed.

Directions:

Lay out four good-sized sheets of tinfoil; place a silverbeet leaf on each.
Place a kahawai fillet on each leaf.
Season each fillet with soup mix and soy sauce.
Quarter the lemon and the butter and place on each fillet.
Wrap up the parcels.
Cook on a hot barbecue plate for 3 minutes on each side.
Unwrap the sensational steamy delight.
Serve on rice.

Kahawai Recipes

Smoked Kahawai and Banana Fritters

Curried Kahawai

Infused Kahawai Parcels

Smoked Kahawai Chowder

Baked Kahawai

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Grant Dixon
Prep:20 minutes Cook:10 minutes Difficulty:2

Ingrediants:

4 kingfish steaks or fillet pieces.
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil.
½ cup of soy sauce.
½ cup sweet chilli sauce.
2 teaspoons minced or grated fresh ginger.
1 clove garlic, grated or 1 teaspoon minced garlic.
½ cup of fresh coriander, finely chopped.
Ground salt and pepper.

Directions:

Mix soy and sweet chilli sauce, ginger and coriander in a bowl.
Lie kingfish steaks in a marinating dish.
Cover thoroughly with marinade and sit for 15-20 minutes.
Drain off most of the marinade.
Cook quickly on a hotplate or pan for approximately 2-3 minutes a side.
Turn once only, allowing the surface to caramelise.
Mix remaining marinade with a little white wine in a pot.
Reduce over medium heat until mixture thickens.
Serve over steaks.
For a stronger flavour, fish sauce can replace sweet chilli sauce.

Kingfish Recipes

Sweet Chilli Kingfish

Kingfish Kebabs

Marinated Kingfish Steaks

Parsley and Parmesan-Encrusted Kingfish

Savoury Kingfish Spread

Grilled Kingfish Nuggets

Hoisin-Glazed Yellowtail

Kingfish Croquettes

Creamed Kingfish Steaks

Kingfish and Mustard Sauce

Kingfish in Tinfoil

Pan-fried Kingfish

Honey Orange Kingfish Fillets

Honey & Soy Kingfish Cutlets

Spicy Marinated Kingfish

Lemon Honey Kingfish

Kingfish Fishballs

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Peter Richards
Prep:20 minutes Cook:20 minutes Difficulty:2

Ingrediants:

1 trout, gilled and gutted.
2 cups macadamia nuts, chopped finely in blender.
2 cups pitted prunes, chopped finely.
2 tablespoons Madeira sherry.
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs.
1 medium-sized lemon, zested then squeezed.
1 tablespoon chopped Italian parsley.
1 teaspoon dill, chopped.
1 teaspoon olive oil.
Sea salt and ground pepper.

Directions:

Mix prunes, sherry and breadcrumbs together.
Mix in parsley and dill, along with seasoning.
Rub zest over fish and in gut, then force mixture firmly into gut cavity.
Secure by sewing with butcher’s string or with toothpicks.
Bake uncovered in oven dish at 200°C, 15 minutes per 500 grams trout.
Prior to serving drizzle with lemon juice and garnish with dill.
Standard prunes can be substituted with lemon/orange-flavoured ones.

Trout Recipes

Smoked Trout and Bacon

Trout with Field Mushrooms

Smoked Trout Omelette

Trout and Seafood Trimmings

Gran Reids Macadamia Trout

Smoked Trout Fishcakes

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Bill Hohepa
Prep:5 minutes Cook:15 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

8 maomao fillets, skinned and boned.
¼ cup brandy or rum.
1 cup cream.
Salt and pepper.
Plain flour.

Directions:

Salt both sides of each fillet, then lightly flour the fillets.
Heat a heavy frying pan until almost smoking hot. .
Place each fillet into the pan and lightly brown each side. .
Pour the brandy or rum into the pan and flame the fillets. .
When the flames die down, turn the heat to low and add the cream.
Simmer for about 12 minutes.
The brandy and the cream should combine.
Reduce to create a thick sauce. .
Serve the fish over a bed of rice.
Use the brandy ‘caramel’ in the pan as a topping for the fish. .

Mao Mao Recipes

Maomao in Lime Sauce

Billy Ho’s Flamed Maomao

Microwaved Maomao

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Grant Dixon
Prep:10 minutes Cook:10 minutes Difficulty:2

Ingrediants:

Smoked marlin.
6 eggs.
60 grams double cream.
2 tablespoons mayonnaise.
1 tablespoon freshly-chopped chives.
60 grams butter.
Pinch curry powder.
Sea salt and black pepper.
4 plain English muffins.

Directions:

Combine eggs, cream, curry powder, mayonnaise, chives in a bowl.
Melt butter in a saucepan over a low heat.
Add mixture until it sets, but retains its creamy texture.
Split muffins and lightly toast.
Finely break up marlin with a fork.
Spread evenly over the toasted muffins.
Top with egg mixture, garnish with parsley and serve.
Great for breakfasts or a light lunch.

Marlin Recipes

Smoked Marlin with Orzo Pasta and Herbs

Savoury Marlin Dip

Broadbill with Yoghurt Sauce

Marlin on a Muffin

Smoked Marlin with Spinach and Hollandaise

Smoked Marlin Dip

Baked Mullet Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Shannon Miles
Prep:15 minutes Cook:30 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

1 fresh grey mullet, cleaned and scaled.
25 grams butter.
Two onions, thinly sliced.
225 grams tomatoes, peeled, seeded and sliced.
100ml dry white wine.
Salt and pepper.
1 teaspoon dried tarragon.

Directions:

Use the butter to grease a shallow ovenproof baking dish.
Also butter a sheet of greaseproof paper.
Set the oven at 190°C.
Spread onion rings over the base of the dish.
Top with the sliced tomatoes.
Lay the fish on top of the vegetables and pour the wine over.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper and tarragon.
Arrange the lemon slices on top of the fish.
Cover loosely with the buttered greaseproof paper.
Bake for 30 minutes.

Grey Mullet Recipes

Buttered Smoked Mullet

Smoked Mullet Paté

Baked Mullet

Creamed Smoked Mullet

Smoked Mullet Chowder

Smoked Mullet Spread

Grey Mullet
While many people think that grey mullet is best used as bait, for snapper in particular, it tantalises human taste buds as smoked fish.
Mullet is popular smoked; the oily flesh that makes it ideal as a cut-bait also ensures it is a favourite among those who like their fish cured rather than cooked.

Split, gutted and gilled, mullet has a strong taste that is complimented by the smoking process. While smoked mullet roe is considered a delicacy, anglers value the gut, head and frames as bait or the basis of a good berley. Mullet is most common in the northern parts of New Zealand, where it is netted or beach-seined around our harbours and surf lines.
While most people consider it’s at its best as smoked fish, it can be prepared conventionally. The flesh is pinkish-grey and medium firm, with a high fat content.

Curried Octopus in Coconut Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from John Eichelsheim
Prep:5 minutes Cook:30 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

1 whole, fresh octopus.
1 can coconut cream.
Salt and black pepper, to taste.
1 small onion, chopped.
Curry powder/paste to taste.

Directions:

Clean the octopus, removing the ink sac from the head.
Rinse in cold running water, or seawater if available.
Place the whole octopus in a pot over medium heat.
The water in which it was rinsed will provide the cooking moisture.
Simmer until tender; remove from heat and discard cooking liquid.
Allow to cool sufficiently to cut the tentacles into bite-sized pieces.
Heat the coconut cream in a saucepan with the seasonings and onion.
Add the octopus pieces and reheat.
Serve with boiled taro, kumara, potato or rice.

Octopus Recipes

Stewed Octopus with Macaroni

Curried Octopus in Coconut

Italian Octopus

Octopus
Octopus Octopus is not an uncommon catch for recreational anglers.
Octopus is seldom kept, however, and even less often cooked and eaten. But octopus is delicious eating – in many people’s opinion at least as good as squid. If you intend to keep an octopus for the table, kill it quickly and humanely. One method is to ‘turn it inside-out’, which involves doing exactly what the description says, but this does take a little practice as it can be tricky.
Polynesian people bite an octopus between the eyes, which kills it. You can achieve the same result by pushing a knife into the animal’s brain between the eyes. A dead octopus, like all seafood, should be iced down immediately. It keeps well frozen whole.
There are many good recipes for octopus, which is particularly popular as food in the Mediterranean and the Pacific. The recipes that follow reflect this.

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from PJ Falls
Prep:10 minutes Cook:30 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

1 kilogram piper fillets.
1 small onion, diced.
1 tablespoon barbecue tomato sauce.
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce.
1 tablespoon soy sauce.
1½ cups fish stock.
½ cup rice bran oil.
Salt and pepper, to taste.

Directions:

Cut piper into 3-cm long pieces.
Heat the oil in a wok.
Add fish.
Stir lightly until brown.
Add onion, and stir until light brown.
Add the other ingredients and stir lightly; mix in fish stock.
Cover and simmer for 30-45 minutes.

Piper Recipes

Garth’s Piper

Piper Stir-fry

Great Balls of Piper

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Simon Jowett
Prep:10 minutes Cook:25 minutes Difficulty:2

Ingrediants:

250 grams filleted and boned porae.
1 garlic clove, chopped.
½ cm piece of ginger, grated.
¼ large red capsicum, diced.
Sweet chilli sauce.
50ml coconut cream.
Salt.
1 egg.
3 spring onions.
Coriander leaves.
Plain flour.
Olive oil and a knob of butter.
1 cucumber.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 220°C.
To a food processor add garlic, ginger and capsicum.
Then the 2 tablespoons of sweet chilli sauce.
Process.
Add fish, coconut cream and salt; process briefly.
Put mixture into a bowl.
Add chopped spring onion and coriander leaves.
Mix thoroughly.
Heat olive oil and a knob of butter in a frying pan until shimmering.
Form patties, flour lightly and cook on both sides until golden.
Cook for a further 2- 3 minutes in the oven.
Drain well on paper towels.
Serve on a bed of cucumber slices and sprinkle over the chilli sauce.

Porae Recipes

Pacific Seafood Soup

Thai Porae Patties

Gran Reid's Barbecue Porae Patties

Mako in Herb Butter Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Ray Steele
Prep:15 minutes Cook:15 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

1 kilogram mako steaks.
4 cloves garlic, peeled.
1 medium onion, chopped.
1 lemon, cut into wedges.
1 cup butter.
¼ teaspoon marjoram.
¼ teaspoon seafood seasoning.
Pinch of thyme.
Salt, to taste.
Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste.
Fresh Italian parsley, chopped.
Pinch ground oregano.

Directions:

Melt butter in saucepan over low heat.
Add whole garlic, onions, seasonings and herbs.
Remove from heat and allow to steep (one hour).
Place mako steaks in a baking dish and pour herb butter over fish.
Cook at 180°C for 15 minutes.
Serve garnished with parsley and with lemon wedges on the side.

Shark Recipes

Chilli Rig

Mako in Herb Butter

Marinated Mako

Dogfish with Lemon and Garlic

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Brad Kyle
Prep:15 minutes Cook:30 minutes Difficulty:2

Ingrediants:

2-3 kg salmon, gutted and gilled.
1 cup medium sherry.
1 cup milk.
Salt and pepper.
1 cup fresh white breadcrumbs.
Extra salt and pepper.
½ small onion, chopped.
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped.
1 pinch mixed herbs.
2 tablespoons melted butter.
2 tablespoons hot water.

Directions:

Clean, wash and dry salmon.
Place in a large ovenproof dish.
Pour the sherry over the salmon, cover and refrigerate overnight.
To create a stuffing combine:.
Breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, onion, parlsey, herbs, butter and water.
Fill the gut cavity with stuffing and secure by stitching or with skewers.
Add milk to the sherry and pour over the salmon.
Season and bake in a moderate oven 180°C for 20-30 minutes.
Serve hot or cold.

Salmon Recipes

Salmon and Asparagus Frittata

Spicy Salmon Balls

Salmon Dip

Salmon with Barbecue Sauce

Shikkered Salmon

Salmon Steaks with Cream

Stuffed Salmon Steaks

Stuffed Whole Salmon

Salmon and Macaroni Salad

Salmon and Mushroom Quiche

Salmon Puff Pie

Salmon Rissoles

Salmon Burgers

Gran Reid's Herb-Grilled Salmon

Thai Barbecue Salmon

Stingray Casserole Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Tricia Stubbings
Prep:15 minutes Cook:30 minutes Difficulty:2

Ingrediants:

500 grams stingray fillet cut into 2cm cubes.
1 cup sliced mushrooms.
3 celery stalks, diced.
4 tablespoons grated onion.
½ cup minced green pepper.
½ cup cracker crumbs.
6 tablespoons butter.
2 cup milk.
4 tablespoons flour.
Pinch of basil.
½ teaspoon salt.
¼ teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper.
1 pinch nutmeg.

Directions:

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan.
Add mushrooms, celery, onion, green pepper and basil.
Sauté for about 10 minutes or until celery is tender.
While mushrooms are sautéeing make sauce.
Melt 4 tablespoons of butter or margarine into a second saucepan.
Stirring constantly, gradually add the flour.
Add salt, pepper and nutmeg and slowly pour in milk.
Cook and stir for about 6 minutes until sauce is thick and smooth.
Add stingray to mushroom mixture and cook for about 5 minutes.
Combine stingray and mushrooms with white sauce and stir well.
Pour mixture into a casserole dish.
Cover with cracker crumbs and top with grated cheddar cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes at 180°C until casserole is golden brown.

Stingray Recipes

Barbecued Stingray

Herb-Crusted Stingray

Stingray Casserole

Kiwifruit Squid Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Grant Dixon
Prep:12 hours Cook:10minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

4 squid mantles.
2 kiwifruit, skinned.
3 cloves garlic, crushed.
2 chillis, deseeded and chopped.
2 tablespoons olive oil.

Directions:

Slice squid into rings.
Mash kiwifruit and combine with cloves, garlic and chillies.
Mix with squid rings.
Marinate in a lidded container overnight, turning occasionally.
Heat barbecue plate over a medium flame.
Add oil and squid, cooking quickly (3-4 minutes maximum).
Serve with fresh loose-leaf salad.

Squid Recipes

Crispy Almond Calamari

Stuffed Calamari Rings

Chilli Squid

Kiwifruit Squid

Simple Squid Rings with Tartare Sauce

Warm Calamari Salad

Popeye’s Tarakihi Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Barry Robson
Prep:20 minutes Cook:20 minutes Difficulty:2

Ingrediants:

2 tablespoons butter.
Spinach washed, stalked and chopped.
500 grams tarakihi fillets (or other white fish).
2 tablespoons butter, extra.
2 tablespoons plain flour.
1¼ cups milk.
½ cup grated tasty cheese.
1 teaspoon lemon juice.
2 tablespoons grated tasty cheese, extra.

Directions:

Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in large pan.
Add garlic, to taste, and shredded spinach.
Stir over heat or microwave until tender. .
Spread spinach into shallow ovenproof dish. .
Poach/microwave fish until just cooked, chop and spread over spinach. .
Melt extra butter in saucepan, add flour.
Stir over heat further minute or microwave on high 1 minute. .
Remove from heat, stir in milk and return to heat.
Stir until mixture thickens, or microwave on high for 3 minutes. .
Stir in cheese and add lemon juice and spread over fish. .
Sprinkle grated tasty cheese on top. .
Bake in moderate oven180°C for about 20 minutes.
Alternatively microwave for about 5 minutes, or until hot.

Tarakihi Recipes

Popeye’s Tarakihi

Spicy Tarakihi

Piquante Tarakihi

Tarakihi al la Citrus

Tarakihi Cru

Whole Tarakihi en Papillote

Stuffed Tarakihi

Tarakihi & Sour Cream

Gran Reid’s Microwaved Tarakihi

Gran Reid's Cajun and Lemon Tarakihi

Gran Reid's Tarakihi Capers

Warm Salad and Tarakihi

Gran Reid’s Steamed Fish

Gran Reid's Fish Chowder

Pan-Seared Tarakihi

Mark’s Trevally Kokoda Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Mark Kitteridge
Prep:24 hours Cook:1 minute Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

750 grams trevally fillets, skinned and boned.
¾ cup lime/lemon juice.
½ teaspoon salt.
¼ cup white vinegar.
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped.
¼ cup chives, finely chopped.
2 spring onions, finely chopped.
½ capsicum, chopped.
Telegraph cucumber (about 6cm), sliced.
12 cherry tomatoes, halved.
210-gram can coconut cream.
½ teaspoon sugar.
Ground black pepper, to taste.
Coriander or parsley to garnish.

Directions:

Slice trevally into 2-cm cubes.
Place in a lidded container with lemon/lime juice, white vinegar and salt.
Toss well and leave to marinate for a minimum of 3 hours.
Overnight is better.
Stir occasionally.
In a separate bowl add:.
Chilli, chives, spring onions, capsicum, cucumber, tomatoes,.
Coconut cream, black pepper and sugar. Mix well.
Drain fish in a colander under running cold water until run-off is clear.
Place fish in the coconut cream mixture.
Return to refrigerator for an hour.
Stir occasionally.
Garnish with sprigs of parsley or chopped coriander before serving.

Trevally Recipes

Mark’s Trevally Kokoda

Smoked Trevally Spread

Whole Tandoori Trevally

Fried Trevally Fillets

Smoked Trevally Pie

Trevally in a Mushroom and Cheese Sauce

Trevally Julienne

Trevally Marsala

Trevally
Like kahawai, trevally was for many years considered only good as bait. The flesh is relatively dark and quite oily, making it ideal for smoking. Filleted, the fish has a strong flavour that works well in pasta and other dishes where sauces might overpower the more delicate taste of other species. Trevally is also excellent grilled or barbecued as steaks, fillets or cooked whole. Where possible, leave the skin on – it helps keep the fish together and the fat under the skin keeps the flesh moist.
Trevally makes brilliant raw or marinated fish and is great in sushi or as sashimi. Trevally is best eaten fresh, as it does not freeze well.
Trevally can be caught seasonally around most of the New Zealand coast and quite often the schools of these fish can be seen gorging in krill on the surface. While this makes them relatively easy to find and catch for recreational fishers, unfortunately a commercial seine boat can hoover up whole schools in a single sweep.
Trevally are easy to fillet and are dealt with in the same way as you would a snapper. Removing the skin can be a little more difficult and requires a sharp knife run flat and firm between the skin and the flesh to remove in one piece. Because of its lack of ‘real’ scales, some people cook their trevally fillets with the skin on.

Trumpeter Poached in Coconut Milk Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Andre Filou
Prep:15 minutes Cook:40 minutes Difficulty:2

Ingrediants:

4 cups coconut milk.
2 tablespoons minced ginger.
2 chillies, deseeded and chopped.
1 tablespoon chopped coriander.
1 onion, finely chopped.
2 stems lemon grass, sliced.
1 tablespoon grated lime or lemon zest.
2 cups fish stock.
5 tablespoons fish stock.
5 tablespoons lime or lemon juice.
4x 250 gram trumpeter pieces, skin on.
Coriander leaves, to garnish.

Directions:

Bring the coconut milk to the boil in a saucepan.
Boil for 3 minutes.
Add the ginger, chilli, coriander roots, lemon grass, onion and zest.
Bring back to the boil.
Add the fish stock and fish sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.
Pass through a fine strainer and add the lime/lemon juice.
Heat the sauce in a frying pan.
When it comes to the boil add the fish.
Reduce the heat and simmer very gently for 10-15 minutes.
Transfer the fish to a platter.
Serve with some of the liquid and sprinkling of coriander.

Trumpeter Recipes

Trumpeter on a Stick

Trumpeter Poached in Coconut Milk

Poached Trumpeter in Fresh Tomato Sauce

Cajun Crumbed Trumpeter

Oven-baked Fish with Lime and Herbs

Trumpeter with Mussels and Pesto

Trumpeter
Trumpeter, a relative of the blue moki, is widely spread geographically.
While they are rarely caught north of the Bay of Plenty, they become more prolific the further south you travel.
Some of the best grounds can be found off the South Island’s eastern seaboard, from the Kaikoura Coast right down around the corner to Fiordland and including Foveaux Strait and Stewart Island. The larger specimens like deep water, preferably around structure, and tend to move offshore in the winter months. They are renowned for their fighting ability and take jigs as readily as they do cut baits. The latter, combined with flasher rigs, is a consistent performer.
Unfortunately for trumpeter, they are generally found in good-sized schools, making them an easy target for commercial fishers. They can be quite territorial, which means they are quickly cleaned out of a popular fishing spot.
The good news is that trumpeter is a great eating fish and it hangs out with other top-ten culinary contenders – blue cod, tarakihi and groper. It has a firm flesh which makes it ideal for a number of dishes, especially fish casseroles, as it holds together well.
There are no secrets to filleting trumpeter. It is done in the same way you would fillet a snapper or ‘pup’ groper. It is a fish that ‘ages’ well, gaining in flavour intensity by being refrigerated for a couple of days in a well-drained container.

Zambucca Tuna Nibbles Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Steve Haddock
Prep:10 minutes Cook:3 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

Tuna loin (albacore or yellowfin).
Soy sauce.
Virgin olive oil (try lemon-infused olive oil).
Salt and pepper to taste.
Lemon wedges.

Directions:

Cut tuna loin into approximately 5cm strips, going with grain.
Heat hotplate to medium-hot heat.
Mix soy sauce and olive oil in ratio of approximately 4:1.
Dip tuna strips into mixture (can marinate 15-20 minutes).
Place on hotplate until just cooked through.
Serve off the plate as nibbles with pre-dinner rum and cokes.
Add salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon to taste.

Tuna Recipes

Zambucca Tuna Nibbles

Rare Loin of Tuna

Grapefruit Marinade

Lemon Rosemary Tuna Steaks

Bachelor’s Albacore

Chilli Tuna on Toast

Blackened Warehou Recipe

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Pete Lamb
Prep:10 minutes Cook:10 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

4 warehou fillets (approximately 200 grams each).
100 grams butter, melted.
2 tablespoons cajun spices.
2 tablespoons oil.

Directions:

Generously brush fillets with melted butter.
Sprinkle cajun spices thickly over fillets.
In a hot pan or barbecue plate, heat oil and cook fillets for 2-3 minutes.
Fish is cooked when it flakes easily.
The fish should be ‘charred’ on each side.
Add extra butter if necessary to get desired effect.

Warehou Recipes

Blackened Warehou

Crispy Baked Warehou

Warehou
Warehou Warehou, often nicknamed ‘Hou’ by Wellington anglers who seem to have a colloquial name for every species in their waters, are widely distributed around the coastline of the South Island as well as the southern North Island.
They are a popular target species, for both recreational and commercial fishers, for their eating qualities. They have a firm flesh that is easy to fillet and skin.
Warehou inhabit the rocky shoreline and deepwater reefs down to around 120 metres. They tend to move in large shoals, making them quite vulnerable to commercial methods such as netting and trawling. Occasionally the fish will be found breaking the surface well out to sea and away from any obvious structure.
Recreational anglers catch them on bait or jigs. Black Magic Snapper Snatcher sabikis and the like also do the business.