Spring seafood recipes from Milk Made

Simple lemon butter sauce for seafood

Living on an island, I have grown to be pretty fussy about the seafood I eat. I rarely eat fish or shellfish that I have not caught myself and, when I cook fish, it is usually very simply pan-fried or barbecued. To me, the only thing that can make fresh fish taste better is a simple lemon butter sauce. Use this for anything from poached salmon to grilled crayfish.

250g unsalted cultured butter

2 garlic cloves, very finely chopped

1 tbsp plain flour

3 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 tsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Melt half of the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about 2-3 minutes (do not let the garlic brown or it will taste bitter).

2. Add the remaining butter and the flour and reduce the heat to low. Stir with a whisk to melt the butter and combine the flour, then stir in the lemon juice, pepper and parsley. Cook for a couple of minutes to thicken the sauce.

3. Remove from the heat and set aside for a few minutes. Whisk just before serving to emulsify the sauce.

Makes about 125ml

Cured ocean trout, grapefruit and goat's curd

This is a great combination of colours, flavours and textures.

1 kg ocean trout fillet (or Atlantic salmon)

200g raw sugar

200g salt

1 large beetroot, grated

30g dill, chopped, plus extra to garnish

zest of 1 lemon

1 grapefruit

150g fresh goat's cheese

100g salmon roe

extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

1. Lay the fish fillet skin side down on a chopping board. Run your fingers along the length of it, feeling for bones and removing any you find with fish tweezers.

2. Combine the sugar, salt, beetroot, dill and lemon zest in a bowl. Lay the fish in a shallow baking dish and cover both sides with the sugar and salt mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the fridge for 4-8 hours to cure.

3. Rinse the curing mixture from the fish and pat dry. Using a very sharp filleting knife, cut the fish into very thin slices – cutting almost parallel with the chopping board – but do not slice through the skin. Set the slices of cured fish to one side and discard the skin.

4. With a small, sharp knife, slice away the peel and pith of the grapefruit, exposing the flesh. Use your knife to cut out the flesh in between the segments. Set these to one side.

5. On a serving platter, randomly arrange the slices of ocean trout. Add the grapefruit segments along with pieces of the goat's cheese, followed by the salmon roe. Garnish with a few sprigs of dill, finish with a drizzle of olive oil and serve.

Serves 8 as a starter

This is an edited extract from MILK.MADE. by Nick Haddow, published by Hardie Grant Books, RRP $55, and available in stores nationally.