Fresh From the Sea [Paperback]

Fresh From The Sea, written by television's celebrated Clodagh McKenna, brings together mouthwatering recipes, breathtaking photography, and stories of the people and places that make Ireland's seafood one of a kind. Fresh From The Sea's recipes range in difficulty making it perfect for beginner cooks, advanced cooks, and all those in between. The chapters are separated by type of seafood, marinades, and sides, and each contains helpful hints pertaining to the recipes within it. The photography, by Alberto Peroli, highlights the beauty of the Irish seaside and its people, and shows the freshness of the delectable ingredients and prepared dishes alongside their respective recipes.

Author of Fresh From The Sea, Clodagh McKenna, trained as a chef at Ballymaloe Cookery School, she has her own weekly column for the Irish Examiner and a monthly column for RSVP Magazine and she is also the editor of the Slow Food Ireland Guide to Producers. Clodagh has appeared as a cook and promoter of local produce on RTE's, Out of The Blue; Rick Stein's Food Heroes, (BBC2); TV3's Ireland AM Show; RTE's The Late Late Show, Saturday Cooks (ITV), Saturday Kitchen (BBC1), The Today Show (NBC in USA), RTE's The Afternoon Show and is a regular chef presenter for UKTV's Market Kitchen and BBC's Food Poker. McKenna also has another book, The Irish Farmers' Market Cookbook and she has filmed a TV series, Fresh from the Farmers Markets, to accompany the book. The TV series debuted on RTE 1 in 2007. Part two of the series was broadcast over the summer of 2008 and was also picked up by media outlets throughout Europe & New Zealand. McKenna's devotion to fresh and locally produced food as well as her fabulous recipes has made her an inspiration to anyone who enjoys cooking and eating magnificent food.

This writer's personal favorite recipes from Fresh from the Sea:

(Excerpt from page 69 of Fresh from the Sea.)
Crunchy Crusted Brill

Serves 4

Parmesan and buttered pine nuts capping a delicious fresh piece of brill is a mouthful of heaven. You can use hazelnuts or almonds instead of the pine nuts, and a sprinkle of finely chopped semi sun-dried tomatoes on top would also be glorious.

* 150g grated Parmesan or Desmond cheese
* 80g pine nuts
* 4 slices of stale bread, made into crumbs
* 70g butter, melted
* 4 large fillets of brill
* Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1 Preheat the oven to 180° C

2 Begin by making the crunchy topping. Place the Parmesan, pine nuts, bread-crumbs and melted butter into a blender or food processor and pulse for just 1 minute. You want the mixture to maintain its crunchiness, so it can't be too fine.

3 Place the filleys on a roasting tray and season each side with salt and pepper. Spoon the crunchy topping over the fillets and place in a preheated oven for 15 minutes, or less if the fillets are thin.

4 Serve with French beans or a green salad.

(Excerpt from page 23 of Fresh from the Sea.)
Good Old-fashioned Potted Shrimps

Serves 2

* 500g butter
* 500g shrimps
* 1tsp cayenne pepper
* sea salt
* homemade bread, to serve

1 First, make clarified butter by gently melting 500g butter in a saucepan. Once the butter has melted, let it sit for a bit to separate. Skim off the foam that rises to the top and gently pour the butter off the milk solids, which have settled to the bottom.

2 Cook the shrimps by placing them in a large saucepan of salted boiling water. Reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer the shrimps for 3-5 minutes, depending on their size. The shrimps will turn pink once cooked. Drain.

3 To shell the shrimps, twist the head to remove it and pull the legs off. Hold the tail, then lift the shell upwards and away from the body. Place all the shelled shrimps in a clean Kilner jar. In a bowl, stir the cayenne into the clarified butter and pour over the shrimps, making sure the shrimps are completely covered with butter. Leave to set in the fridge for about 1 hour. Serve with homemade bread.

(Excerpt from page 127 of Fresh from the Sea.)
Grilled Salmon with a Lime, Yoghurt and Honey Sauce

Serves 4

When wild salmon is in season, there's no other fish that can compare to its incredible flavour. When its not in season, I suggest you use trout for this recipe. The lime, yoghurt and honey sauce also goes very well with grilled tuna. Perfect for cooking at the beach or on a barbecue.

* 4 salmon fillets
* Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
* Juice of 1 lime
* Olive oil
* Boiled baby potatoes, to serve
* FOR THE LIME, YOGHURT AND HONEY SAUCE:
* 200g Greek yoghurt
* Juice and zest of 1 lime
* 1 tsp honey

1 Season the salmon with salt and pepper and pour the lime juice over all the fillets.

2 Place a griddle or frying pan over a medium heat and once warm, add a dollop of olive oil. Wait for about 30 seconds, then add the salmon fillets then cook for 4 minutes. Turn the fillets over and cook for a further 4 minutes.

3 While the salmon is cooking, make the sauce by simply mixing all the ingredients in a bowl.

4 Serve each fillet with a good dollop of the yoghurt sauce and some boiled baby potatoes.