Grilled Seafood Recipe – Queen Victoria Market x The Delightful Cook
Coming from a large Italian family there are certain traditions that we have followed for many years and with Easter just around the corner, we celebrate this special time with family by traditionally eating seafood on Good Friday. Fresh seafood is amazing, and there is only one place I know in Melbourne that has the most amazing selection, Queen Victoria Market.
Queen Vic Market is home to some of the freshest and best locally caught seafood as well as an abundance of in-season fruit and veggies to accompany the perfect seafood feast! Did you know that Queen Vic Market has the largest concentration of fruit, vegetable and organic traders in Victoria? Plus, 10 fishmongers, 27 butchers and poulterers and 27 delis, specialty food shops and stalls.
Queen Vic Market is the ideal place to shop for seasonal produce this Easter.
This is a simple and easy grilled seafood platter, filled with beautiful fresh prawns; calamari; baby squid; lobster tails; and scallops. Accompanied with my homemade romesco sauce, lemon aioli and garlic butter, this delicious platter will be an absolute showstopper, and all made with the best fresh produce from Queen Vic Market. Full recipe is up on the website @thedelightfulcook @vicmarket.
#queenvictoriamarket #vicmarket #thedelightfulcook
Ingredients
300g Baby Squid
300g Calamari Rings
200g King Prawns
200g Tiger Prawns
2 Lobster Tails, sliced in half
12 Scallops, shells reserved for presentation
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to season
2 lemons, sliced into quarters for serving
Preparing your homemade Garlic Butter
1 cup of unsalted butter, softened
1 tbsp garlic, minced
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
½ tsp ground paprika
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Step 1: Combine soften butter, cheese, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper into a bowl and mix with a fork to combine well. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Step 2: Pour garlic butter into parchment paper and roll into a cylinder, rolling the ends to secure in place. Place into the refrigerator to set until serving.
Step 3: To serve, slice into rounds and place over warm grilled seafood.
Preparing your homemade Romesco Sauce
3 red peppers/capsicums
1 head of garlic, sliced in half
300g sliced raw almonds
1 tsp smoked paprika
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Step 1: Preheat oven to 180c/350f. Place red peppers/capsicums and two halves of garlic into a baking dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until charcoal and soften. Once soft, remove the skins, stem and seeds and discards. Slice into strips and add to a food processor.
Step 2: Squeeze out roasted garlic into the food processor and discard the skins. Add sliced almonds, paprika, olive oil, salt and pepper and blitz until just combined. You want the mixture to be mixed well with a slight crunch.
Step 3: Serve alongside warm grilled seafood.
Preparing your homemade Lemon Aioli
½ cup mayonnaise
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tbsp lemon juice
Zest of one lemon
Salt and pepper to taste
Method
Step 1: In a small serving bowl, add mayonnaise, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper. Mix until combined and adjust seasoning accordingly.
Step 2: Serve alongside warm grilled seafood.
Cooking the seafood - Method
Step 1: Clean your baby squid and cut your lobster tail (if you are unsure how to do this, then the friendly fishmongers at Queen Vic Market can help you!). Different types of seafood cooks at different times, so best to cook them one at a time to ensure everything is cooked well.
Step 2: Add a generous amount of olive oil to the seafood and season accordingly with salt and pepper.
Step 3: On a BBQ or a grill pan over high heat, cook the seafood in batches according to the below timings:
- Baby Squid: 4 to 5 minutes, until the ends curl and are cooked through
- Calamari Rings: 2 to 3 minutes, until opaque
- King Prawns: 2 to 3 minutes on each side
- Tiger Prawns: 2 to 3 minutes on each side
- Lobster Tails: 6 to 8 minutes, until cooked through
- Scallops: 1 ½ minutes on each side, until opaque in the centre
Step 4: To create your grilled seafood platter, arrange the delicious sauces and butter on a platter. Arrange grilled Baby Squid, Calamari Rings, King Prawns, Tiger Prawns, Lobster Tails, Scallops placed back into their shells around the condiments.
Step 5: Serve grilled seafood platter with freshly cut lemon slices.
Buon Appetito!