Catch of the day

Summer, seafood and relaxing short breaks all go together perfectly as Alison Plummer reports.

Involved in the production of a cookbook recently, I had reason to visit the Sydney Fish Markets every morning at the crack of dawn to buy the freshest seafood. I volunteered because I love going to the seafood markets, but I hadn’t bargained on that icy cold snap we had back in the winter and a couple of memorable mornings there was ice on the grass outside as well as under all those fish on display.

Whatever the weather, arriving at the same time as the fresh catch of the day is exciting and selecting the best produce is, as always, a satisfying thing to do. On this occasion, blue-eye cod fillets, not steaks, were the order from the chef, skin-on a must for the recipe presentation. Scallops? Easy, but was that roe on or roe off? A quick phone call sorts it out but what about the fresh sardines? Sorry, it just so happens there are none today – so I’m not sure how we will make that salad.

Chefs must find it hard to be disciplined as they must be so tempted by the incredible range of seafood on offer while being restrained by budgets – a small detail which somehow eluded me when I stopped by the deli at the markets. Such gorgeous things and I was simply bewitched by those lovely bright green Sicilian olives, just the thing to team with fresh-cured anchovies! But enough already, time to head back with my catch of the day for the chef and the photographer to inspect.

Summer and seafood go together of course – and weekends away can mean enjoying fresh cooked prawns and oysters bought from riverside oyster barn and a fresh catch of the day from fishing ports and seafood markets around our coastline.

Away from the sea we can still indulge in things like delicious yabbies or farmed alternatives such as Silver Perch, trout and salmon not to mention all those trout lying in wait in rivers and lakes all around Australia and New Zealand. In fact landing your own is pretty much the only way to eat trout in New Zealand as there is a strict licensing and permit system which makes fishing its lakes and deep rivers an even more enticing thought.

Experienced and wannabe fishermen and women can take to the water to fish at a number of Weekends For Two properties including Pinetrees on Lord Howe Island and the Bush Camp Faraway Bay where the The Kimberley Cooking School is the place to learn the secrets of skills such as shelling and shredding a mangrove crab.

Sounds challenging but once a year chef Chris Taylor presents willing hunter-gatherers with the chance to fish for their supper catching and preparing crabs, barramundi, snapper, coral trout and mackerel and gathering oysters from the Timor Sea and Ord River. There’s plenty of fun and sightseeing involved, too, of course.

On Lord Howe Island fishing trips see guests returning to Pinetrees Resort Hotel with prizes including tuna and kingfish caught in the deep waters surrounding this fabulous island. Fresh seafood is more or less a daily option on the Pinetrees menu in some delicious form or other while the weekly Pinetrees fish-fry is an island institution and a chance to feast on the freshest fish and chips and a handsome buffet selection.

In Victoria, close to the Murray River, Emeu Inn at Heathcote has a fantastic reputation as a food and wine destination with local yabbies and trout as well as the locally farmed Silver Perch often on the menu as well as other produce including bush tomatoes and wines from 65 or so Heathcote producers. Fishing and following gourmet trails are among the great things to do when staying here. Grand Mercure Hydro Majestic Hotel in the Blue Mountains is also known for its seafood.

Wherever you are planning to stay on your spring and summer weekends away you are sure to find daily specials at seafood cafes and restaurants and look for local and regional specialities to try.

If you are self-catering you have the perfect excuse to go shopping, if not fishing, for the freshest catch of the day. Fish co-ops should never be passed by as they offer delicious options such as sand whiting which I find simply irresistible. There’s nothing quite like its taste for me, fresh from a buttery BBQ plate enjoyed with a fresh salad, an indulgence most recently experienced on the banks of a wide river estuary.

Come to think of it, there was one even better experience – the time when Eddie Rourke personally made us garfish sandwiches on Lord Howe Island which was a real treat and, it seems, also a big sacrifice as he normally uses them as bait for larger catches such as kingfish! Thanks again, Eddie, I will always remember their delicate flavour.

Of course being involved in cookbooks means picking up all sorts of tips and tricks from chefs along the way and I have now developed a liking for scallops which I have never really enjoyed in the past. Maybe this time they were more appealing due to the amount of chilli involved. And definitely no more blue eye cod steaks for me, it’s fillets, skin-on, all the way from here on in!