Tag Archives: Great Barrier Reef

Spicy Crayfish Risotto

I made this risotto while we were anchored in Darwin Harbour awaiting our visa and paperwork to set sail for Indonesia. The crayfish was caught on our way to Darwin as we cruised the Great Barrier Reef.

SPICY CRAYFISH RISOTTO made with a crayfish caught on the Great Barrier Reef

I have never made a risotto before, so I googled to get some ideas. In the end I combined some of my favourite flavours to make the risotto I had envisioned. Yay!

Ingredients for my crayfish risotto, chorizo, garlic, chilli, mushroom

This is what I did… I melted butter in a large pan and sautéed finely chopped onion and garlic, diced chorizo and sliced chilli until the onion had softened.

SPICY CRAYFISH RISOTTO

Next I added the rice and cooked it for approximately four minutes “toasting it”. This step apparently determines the final texture of the risotto. It heats the outside of the rice quickly thus preventing it from breaking and seals in the starch.

I then added a cup of white wine. On medium heat I cooked it until all the liqud was nearly absorbed. I then began the task of adding 1/4 of a cup of hot fish stock at a time, waiting for each to be absorbed before adding more, all the while stirring. When the rice was nearly done (a taste test will tell you) I added sliced mushroom, heaps of tarragon and the lobster.

SPICY CRAYFISH RISOTTO made with tarragon, chorizo, mushroom, chilli, garlic and crayfish
Spicy Crayfish Risotto

Was so good!

Mackerel Cutlets with Tomato, Olive and Caper Salsa

Mackerel Cutlets with Tomato, Olive and Caper Salsa

This meal was made with a fresh catch while we were anchored at Hope Island, on the Great Barrier Reef. It was  a few days out of Cairns  and we still had some fresh vegetables from our shopping trip that we needed to use. The green beans were on their last days so, as it often happens on a boat, what we decided to cook for dinner was determined by the veg we had and what needed to be eaten first.

Dwayne caught, cleaned and cut the spanish mackerel into cutlets. He then  barbequed the cutlets while I made a salsa.

Mackerel Cutlets with Tomato, Olive and Caper Salsa made with this fish caught in QLD

For the salsa I diced tomato, kalamata olives, red onion, anchovy, chilli, capers and added a little olive oil.

Mackerel Cutlets with Tomato, Olive and Caper Salsa

The beans, which were begging to be cooked, were blanched in boiling water for a minute or two and set aside. I sautéed a little garlic in butter and tossed the beans and some chopped pistachio nuts through it.

Mackerel Cutlets with Tomato, Olive and Caper Salsa

We enjoyed a delicious meal of BBQ mackerel topped with the salsa and served with the beans on the side. We love mackerel… don’t think we’ll ever get sick of it!

 

Crayfish Salad with Thai-Style Dressing

While anchored in Darwin Harbour, with supermarkets nearby, I decided to do a romantic dinner for Dwayne. For an entree, I made crayfish salad using a crayfish we caught in the Great Barrier Reef. It is very simple but looks great!

CRAYFISH SALAD WITH THAI-STYLE DRESSING

This is what I did…

I made a salad dressing by mixing

3 Tbs of coconut cream
2 Tbs lime juice
1 Tbs soy sauce
2 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp brown sugar

I refrigerated until I was ready to use it.

I prepared a small packet of vermicelli noodles by soaking them in boiling water. I drained them well and mixed some of the salad dressing through them. I refrigerated the noodles until I was ready to make my salad stacks.

I shredded carrot, lettuce and snow peas, then chopped some coriander and sliced some tomato.

CRAYFISH SALAD WITH THAI-STYLE DRESSING

I stacked the vegetables firmly into a mould, beginning with the noodles and topping it off with the tomato and coriander.

CRAYFISH SALAD WITH THAI-STYLE DRESSING

I removed the stack mould.

CRAYFISH SALAD WITH THAI-STYLE DRESSING

I then topped the salad with crayfish and salad dressing. Voila! Simple, colourful and delicious.

CRAYFISH SALAD WITH THAI-STYLE DRESSING
Crayfish Salad with Thai Style Dressing

If you like this recipe share with family and friends or pin using the image below, thank you!

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Grilled Garlic Cream Oysters with Camembert

I made these oysters for Dwayne after collecting a few oysters on an island in the Great Barrier Reef. Once again as mentioned in a previous blog I use odd shells that I have collected to grill the oysters in as it is not easy to get oysters on the half-shell when collecting them off the rocks!

Oysters grilled with cream and camembert cheese.

For these oysters I sauté a little finely diced garlic, then add some white wine and simmered to reduce. I remove the pan from the heat and add some cream.

Delicious creamy oysters grilled

I place an oyster in each shell and pour a little of the garlic cream sauce over, then I top each with a slice of camembert cheese.

Cook them under the grill until the cheese melts and starts to brown.

Grilled cheesy oysters

Another one of Dwayne’s favourites….

 

Oysters Kilpatrick

With oysters we collected on Forbes Island I made oysters Kilpatrick. You will notice that the oysters are not grilled in the oyster shell. When collecting oysters off the rocks we take them out of the shell, so I have collected a few odd shells to enable me to do my favourite grilled oyster recipes.

Oysters Kilpatrick with bacon

For my Kilpatrick oysters I fried up some diced bacon in a small saucepan to crisp it a bit. I remove it from the heat and then add Worcestershire sauce and a bit of tomato sauce.

Oysters Kilpatrick, bacon

I place an oyster into each shell, add some of the sauce and the bacon, then grill it for a couple of minutes.

Dwayne diving in to the Oysters Kilpatrick

Delicious!