Fabulous fish recipes from Shetland Food and Drink

Course: Lunch or Dinner

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup crab, cooked and mashed with a fork
• 6 tatties, peeled, chunked, boiled and mashed
• 1 tbsp "Chingarliger" (grated chilli, ginger and garlic) fried for 2 mins
• 1/2 diced onion and 1/2 diced red pepper fried till soft
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 egg beaten
• Bunch chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper

Instructions:

1. Mix together with hands, roll into 4 balls and squish. Fry on both sides for 4 mins each side.
2. Meanwhile make Spearmint Salsa using 12 cherry tomatoes quartered, 1/2 red onion diced, 1 tbsp lime juice, 1/2 cucumber diced, handful fresh chopped Indian spearmint and coriander, salt and pepp, and a slice of lemon.
3. Assemble by putting pattie on a plate, adding decipod legs made out of red pepper and eyes made with a blob of mayo and two capers. Enjoy!

Vaila - Taste of Shetland

Course: Lunch or Dinner
Servings: 4
Time: 20-30 mins

Ingredients:

• 1kg mussels
• 4 tbsp groundnut oil
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 3-4 garlic cloves
• 1-2 green chillies, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• A pinch of chilli powder
• A pinch of sea salt (optional)
• 1x450g can coconut milk
• 1 tsp brown or black mustard seeds
• A few fresh or dry curry leaves
• 1 x 2cm stick cinnamon
• A pinch of turmeric
• A few washed and chopped coriander leaves, for garnish
• 1 tbsp peeled and grated root ginger

Instructions:

1. Remove the beards, then wash the mussels thoroughly in cold water. Refresh the water and repeat until it is clear. Discard any mussels that are broken or stay open when tapped. After cleaning set them aside.

2. Heat 3 tbsp of the oil on a medium heat and add the onions. Fry them until lightly browned. Tip in the garlic and continue sautéing for a couple of minutes. Add the green chillies and cook for another minute. Add the turmeric, ground coriander, curry powder, chill powder and salt. If using, and mix well.

3. Tip in the coconut milk and stir to combine. Add 125ml or half a cup of water. Put the mussels into the pan and turn up the heat to boil. Then simmer for 2-3 minutes.

4. Meanwhile heat a small frying pan and add the remaining 1 tbsp of oil. To check that the oil is hot enough, add a few mustard seeds. If they start to crackle, add the remainder. Then tip in the cinnamon stick, curry leaves and the pinch of turmeric. Carefully, add the crackling spice mixture to the pan of mussels and combine. Sprinkle over the coriander leaves and the ginger and serve with plain basmati rice.

Manju Malhi - Taste of Shetland

Course: Lunch or Dinner
Servings: 9
Cook Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

For the choux pastry:

• 70g Voe Plain Flour
• 125mls Shetland Farm Dairies Whole Milk
• 50g Shetland Farm Dairies Butter
• 2 Medium Local Eggs
• Pinch of Shetland Salt, ground

For the filling:

• 125g Shetland Ricotta (Recipe here)
• 3tbsp Shetland Creme Fraiche (Recipe here)
• 2tsp Creamed Horseradish
• 2tbsp Chopped Dill
• Lemon Juice & Zest to taste
• 125g Handmade Fish Company Smoked Salmon (some chopped finely, some in slices to decorate)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to Gas Mark 6, 200C, Fan 180C and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper - I chose to draw guidelines on the reverse of mine to help me know where to pipe later!
2. Mix flour and salt in a bowl. Heat milk and butter in a pan over medium heat, until boiling. Once boiling, turn off heat, add flour and salt. Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until it forms a smooth dough that comes away from the sides of the pan. Set aside until it is cool enough to touch.
3. Add beaten eggs, one at a time and beat until the mixture is shiny and smooth.
4. Spoon the mixture into a piping bag with a 1cm wide nozzle and pipe 12 x 8cm lines on your baking sheet. Allow room between them so they can expand.
5. Bake for 20 minutes or until golden and puffed up. Remove from oven then split down the middle with a sharp knife before allowing to cool.
6. To make the filling combine all the ingredients and play around with seasoning and lemon juice until a pleasant, smooth, tasty filling is achieved. (Remember this will be piped, so keep salmon pieces really small.)
7. Using a piping bag with a 1cm nozzle, pipe the filling into the eclairs, then top with sliced smoked salmon and any leftover dill to serve.

Any leftover filling is delicious on Skibhoull oatcakes!

Becky at Taste of Shetland

Course: main
Servings: 4-6
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp Shetland butter
• 1 carrot finely diced
• 1 stick celery finely diced
• 1 small onion finely chopped
• 1 leek finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic chopped
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1 small red pepper finely diced
• Small piece of root ginger finely chopped
• Small piece of red chilli finely chopped
• 1 tsp dried tarragon
• Handful of chopped fresh parsley or dill
• 1 glass dry white wine
• 1.5 pints good fish stock
• Splash of fish sauce
• 500 grams mixed fish (I used a mix of ling, catfish, hake, salmon and smoked haddock)
• Handful of fresh mussels
• Juice of half a lemon
• Salt / pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil and butter
2. Add the carrot, celery, onion, leek, garlic and fennel seeds. Cook slowly until vegetables have softened.
3. Add the remaining base ingredients and cook for around 10 - 15 minutes.
4. Season well.
5. Gently add the fish to the sauce along with the lemon juice.
6. Cover and cook gently for a further 10 minutes, adding the mussels for a few minutes at the end.
7. Once the mussels have opened, check the seasoning again before ladling into warmed bowls.
8. Garnish with fresh dill and serve with warm Shetland bannocks and Shetland butter

This is a great recipe to use cheaper varieties of fish. You could reduce the amount of fish you use by substituting it with e.g. diced potatoes and/or chickpeas. You could also add garden peas, topping up with more fish stock as required.