SEAFOOD is on just about everyone’s shopping list this week, with Easter just days away.
Roberta Muir, Moree on a Plate’s celebrity presenter at this year’s food and wine festival, wants to share some of her seafood recipes with Moree Online News readers – and she knows what she’s talking about.
Roberta ran Australia’s largest recreational cooking school – Sydney Seafood School – at Sydney Fish Market for more than 20 years.
“I love seafood and I’ve learnt a bit about preparing it from my chef friends over the years,” she smiled.
Roberta’s favourites include crustacean, fish and whole fish recipes, as well as preserved and smoked seafood recipes.
“Australia has a greater variety of fresh and saltwater seafood than just about any nation on earth, so it’s worth trying new fish varieties and recipes,” she said.
To check out all of Roberta’s seafood recipes go to Be Inspired by Seafood.
Print-friendly, PDF versions of all recipes are available as well.
Roberta also explains how to prepare seafood for Easter on her website, with tips how to boil prawns and pin-bone fish, to cleaning crabs and stripping squid.
All Aussie love a barbecue and BBQ Prawns with Smoky Garlic Butter is perfect Easter fare.
“I love this method of grilling prawns in their shells without turning them onto the flesh side,” Roberta said.
“The shell protects the delicate meat from overcooking and keeps them deliciously juicy. They look impressive, too,” she smiled.
BBQ Prawns with Smoky Garlic Butter
Ingredients
Six large, green prawns and salt flakes to taste.
Smoky Garlic and Parsley Butter
50g butter, softened;
Two teaspoons finely chopped, flat-leaf parsley;
One clove garlic, crushed; and
Half-a-teaspoon smoked paprika.
Method
Make the smoky garlic and parsley butter by beating all ingredients together until well combined;
Spoon butter horizontally down the centre of a long strip of baking paper, fold the paper over and use a ruler to press against the side, pushing the butter into a log;
Roll butter up in the paper, twisting the ends to secure them, and refrigerate until needed;
Cut off and discard the prawn heads, place prawns on a chopping board on their backs and split down the underside almost all the way through without cutting through the shell. Remove the digestive tracts;
Turn them over and press firmly along the shell to flatten them out;
Cover and set aside for about 30 minutes so they come to room temperature;
Preheat a char-grill pan or heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat;
Also pre-heat an overhead grill to high;
Arrange prawns in the pan, shell side down, in a single layer; and
Sprinkle with salt and cook for 3–5 minutes, depending on size, until flesh is just opaque.
Meanwhile, slice garlic and parsley butter into discs and set aside.
Transfer prawns to a platter and top with garlic and parsley butter.
Place under the overhead grill for 15–20 seconds, just until the butter starts to melt.
Serve with finger bowls and big serviettes as the prawns are best eaten with your hands.
Print-friendly PDF version available here: BBQ Prawns with Smoky Garlic Butter.
To watch tips about grilling prawns, go to Be Inspired How To Grill Prawns.
Baked Rainbow Trout
Smoked or fresh, whole or filleted, freshwater rainbow trout are among the most versatile and easy fish to cook.
“With their colourful skin, baked rainbow trout make a gorgeous centrepiece for any table,” Roberta said.
Ingredients
Two x 350g rainbow trout, gilled, gutted and scaled;
One small lemon;
Two cloves garlic, crushed;
One-two sprigs rosemary, finely chopped (about 1 teaspoon);
One-and-a-half tablespoons extra virgin olive oil;
One teaspoon salt flakes, crushed;
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste; and
Sauce of your choice, for serving, or try Matt Moran’s Rough Mint Sauce
Method
Remove fish from the fridge about one hour before cooking to let it come to room temperature;
Use paper towel to wipe the skin dry and wipe out the belly cavity;
Using a sharp knife, cut 4 slashes through to the bone on just one side of each fish, angled towards the head;
Preheat oven to 180°C;
Grate the zest of half the lemon into a bowl. Add the juice of half the lemon and set the other half aside;
Stir in garlic, rosemary, oil, salt and pepper;
Place fish in an oiled baking dish, scored side up;
Drizzle the oil mixture all over them, getting as much into the slashes as possible;
Place in the oven for about 20 minutes, until the flesh inside the scoring at the thickest part of the fish is just opaque all the way to the bone;
Remove from oven, cover with a clean dry cloth and set aside in a warm place for five minutes or so;
Place baked rainbow trout on a platter, drizzle with the pan juices and a little of whatever sauce you’re using; and
Sprinkle with salt and serve more sauce and remaining lemon half on the side.
Print-friendly PDF version available here: Be Inspired Baked Rainbow Trout.
Moree on a Plate Food and Wine Festival
When: Saturday, May 10, 2025
Where: Moree racecourse
Time: 10am until 4pm
Cost: Gold coin donation
Website: https://www.moreeonaplate.com.au/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MoreeOnAPlate
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/moree_on_a_plate/?hl=en
Contact: moreeonaplate@outlook.com
To read more about Roberta, go to: Roberta Muir named Moree on a Plate celebrity presenter
To read more about Moree on a Plate, go to: Moree prepares to plate up at Moree on a Plate
