Splendid seafood recipes from the Ice House Hotel in Mayo
Head chef Anthony Holland shares some seasonal seafood dishes for you to try this week
Located in Ballina, overlooking the river Moy, the Ice House Hotel is home to 54° 9° restaurant, which highlights great seafood and delicious drinks. Here, chef Anthony Holland shares three of his favourite seafood dishes for you to try. For more info, see icehousehotel.ie.
All recipes serve four.
Baked salmon with Asian-style noodles and dipping sauce
Ingredients
4x200g portions of salmon, skin left on
Salt and pepper
Oil, for cooking
Sesame oil, for cooking
4 nests of egg noodles
1 red onion, peeled and sliced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
25g ginger, peeled and grated
3 chillies, finely chopped
10g lemongrass paste
1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced julienne-style
¼ head Chinese cabbage, thinly sliced
2 peppers, thinly sliced
2 limes, zest and juice
15g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
For the dipping sauce
50ml dark soy sauce
100ml sweet chilli sauce
30ml honey
15ml sesame oil
10g sesame seeds
To serve
Lime wedges
Fresh coriander
Toasted sesame seeds
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170C.
2. First, make the dipping sauce. Add all the ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together to combine, then reserve. Soak the noodles in hot water.
3. Next, heat an oven-safe frying pan over a medium-high heat. Season the salmon, then add a touch of oil to the pan. Add the salmon, skin-side down, and leave to cook until the skin is a nice light brown colour, turn the fish over and place the whole pan into the oven for 8-10 minutes.
4. In the meantime, make the stir fry. Place a large wok over a high heat and add a little oil and sesame oil. Add the onion, garlic, chilli and ginger with the lemongrass paste. Stir for about a minute, then add the carrot, cabbage and peppers, tossing frequently.
5. Strain the noodles, then add them into the wok with half of the dipping sauce, the juice and zest of the limes, and the coriander. Toss everything together then divide between four serving bowls.
6. Remove the salmon from the oven and place on top of the stir fry. Scatter over some fresh coriander and sesame seeds, then finish with lime wedges to serve.
Pan fried hake and seared scallops served with tomato and basil gnocchi and mango salsa
Ingredients
Oil, for cooking
4x200g portions of hake, skin on
Salt and pepper
12 scallops
Few knobs of butter, for cooking
1 bag gnocchi
15g dill, chopped
15g parsley, chopped
50g grated Parmesan
1 lemon, zest and juice
For the mango salsa
½ mango, flesh only
¼ cucumber, deseeded
2 tomatoes, deseeded
½ red pepper
1 chilli, deseeded
15g coriander, chopped
2 limes, zest and juice
10ml olive oil
For the tomato and basil sauce
2 red onions, peeled
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 medium carrot, peeled
½ red pepper
½ leek
10 tomatoes
Oil, for cooking
4-5 thyme sprigs
10ml vinegar
20g sugar
100g tomato purée
50g basil, chopped
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 170C.
2. First, make the mango salsa. Finely dice all the ingredients and mix together with the lime and olive oil. Reserve until needed.
3. Next, make the tomato and basil sauce. Roughly chop all the vegetables and add them all (apart from the tomatoes) to a pot over a medium heat with a touch of oil and sweat off for about 4-5 minutes.
4. Add the thyme and tomatoes, followed by the vinegar and sugar. Let this cook out for another 5 minutes then cover with water. Add the tomato purée and leave to simmer for another 20 minutes.
5. To finish the sauce, stir in the basil. Take the sauce off the heat and blitz with a hand blender. Strain, season with salt and pepper, and reserve until needed.
6. To cook the fish, place a frying pan over a medium heat and add a little oil. Season the hake, then place in the pan skin-side down. Once the skin is a light brown, flip the fish, place onto an oven-safe tray and pop it into the oven for 6-7 minutes.
7. Wipe the pan clean and increase the heat. Season the scallops and place them in the pan. After a minute, add a few knobs of butter and then turn the scallops. Cook for a few minutes, then take them out of the pan.
8. While the scallops are cooking, cook the gnocchi according to the package instructions and gently warm the tomato sauce. When cooked, strain the gnocchi and add to the sauce with the Parmesan, lemon and herbs.
9. To serve, place the gnocchi and sauce onto shallow plates, then top with the hake and scallops. Finish with the salsa.
The Ice House seafood chowder
Ingredients
70g butter
70g flour
1 white onion, peeled and finely chopped
½ leek, thinly sliced
2 celery sticks, finely chopped
3 garlic cloved, peeled and finely chopped
3-4 thyme sprigs
1.25l fish stock
2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
2 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 lemon, zest and juice
20g parsley
20g dill
480ml cream
300g best quality seafood, such as hake, salmon, trout, diced
75g mussels, shells removed
100g prawns, shells removed
Soda bread, to serve
Method
1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over a medium heat then add in onion, leeks, celery and garlic. Strip the leaves from the thyme sprigs and add. Cook until the onions are translucent, about five minutes or so.
2. Stir in the flour and cook for a minute, then slowly pour in about a quarter of the fish stock, whisking continuously. Continue to slowly pour in the rest of the stock while whisking, until you have a smooth, thick sauce.
3. Next, add the carrots and potatoes, and allow to cook. When they are about three-quarters of the way cooked, add in the fish, mussels, and prawns. Try not to over-stir at this stage so the fish does not break up.
4. Let the mix simmer for 7-8 minutes, then add in the cream and chopped herbs. Finish with the lemon zest and juice, then divide between bowls and serve with some nice soda bread.
Photography by Dena Shearer; compiled by Jordan Mooney