Recipe: Maggie Beer’s Crispy Skin Salmon with Pea Puree | Tips from Aussie Farmers Direct: 10 good reasons to eat seafood this Easter

Gastrology bloggers sampled the new range of seafood courtesy of Aussie Farmers Direct.

This Easter, Aussie Farmers Direct is working to put the ‘good’ back into Good Friday by partnering with Maggie Beer to release a collection of Easter seafood recipes as part of a move to encourage Australians to include more seafood in their diet this year. We thought we would share our favourite recipe with you...

Recipe: Maggie Beer’s Crispy Skin Salmon with Pea Puree

Ingredients

Aussie Farmers Direct Salmon fillets ($13.79 for two 180g fillets)

1 tbspn unsalted butter

4 thick salmon steaks, skin on

To taste salt flakes

1 tbspn Extra Virgin Olive Oil

4 wedges lemon

Frozen pea salsa

1 1/2 cup frozen peas

15g unsalted butter

2 tspn Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 golden shallots peeled and chopped

3/4 cup Chicken Stock

1 sprig chervil

1 tbspn lemon juice

To taste salt flakes

Method

For The Frozen Pea Salsa:

Spread peas on a tray to thaw for 10 minutes.
Place a large frying pan over medium heat, add the butter and melt with the Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Add the chopped shallots and sauté until soft.
In another small sauce pan, bring the Chicken Stock to the boil.
Add the peas to the shallots along with chervil and lemon juice.
Pour the hot Chicken Stock over the peas and quickly bring up to the boil again, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
Pour the pea mixture into a blender or mouli and process until fine. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

For The Salmon:

Heat a large frying pan over a moderate heat with half the butter.
Season the salmon on the skin side with sea salt.
Once the pan is hot, add a dash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and place the salmon steaks skin side down in the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes or until the skin is crisp. Putting the salmon aside, quickly wipe out the pan with a paper towel.
Return salmon to pan, add the remaining butter and return to heat.
Once melted, turn the steaks over with tongs and almost immediately take the pan off the heat and allow to sit in the hot pan. The centre of the fish should be a little rare.
To serve, pile a layer of salsa on to a plate and place the fish on top. Squeeze a wedge of lemon over each piece of salmon, sprinkle the herbs on top and dress with a drizzle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Aussie Farmers Direct brings back Fish on Fridays

Aussie Farmers Direct is working to put more 'good' back into Good Friday by offering Australians ten good reasons to eat seafood on Good Friday...or any Friday! Traditionally, seafood was consumed on Good Friday in place of other meat. Though over the years this seems to have fallen by the wayside. Fish and other seafood are highly beneficial to our health, so perhaps it’s time to revisit the tradition and bring back fish on Fridays.

Essentially, here's why we should bring back fish on Friday:

Low in unhealthy saturated fat and high in protein
High in Omega-3 fatty acids which are great for heart health
Prevents inflammation and reduces the risk of conditions like arthritis
Assists in proper foetal growth and development during pregnancy
Associated with positive brain health
High in iron and vitamin B12
It's easy to prepare and cost effective
And most importantly, it's deliciously versatile!

Aussie Farmers Direct has launched a new range of Australian seafood including Natural Calamari, a Half Side of Huon Salmon, Honey Soy Flathead Fillets, crumbed White Fish and Lemon Myrtle Blue Grenadier Fillets, which will soon join Aussie Farmers Direct’s existing range of Aussie prawns, salmon and barramundi.

This Easter, Aussie Farmers Direct will be delivering a range of freshly caught seafood including: