Sharing a meal with friends is one of our favourite pastimes, now we’ve taken it a step further with our new Saturday night Quick’n’Delicious classes, combining a cooking class with a social Saturday night out. Kick off with seafood canapés and wine before whipping up three quick and delicious seafood dishes, then relax over dinner with another glass of wine. And to make it more like a dinner party - book a bench of six people for this class and only pay for five.

The cult of the celebrity chef continues to grow, and we know you want a chance to really pick their brains. We’ve also been listening to your requests for smaller classes and a range of wines with your meal. So we’ve introduced special dinner party classes hosted by leading chefs with a wine expert matching a different wine to each course. These classes have a more intimate format, with just 20 guests cooking in pairs under the chef’s guidance to prepare a three-course menu (including dessert), then sitting down at one long table with the chef and sommelier to enjoy the meal and discuss the food and wine. Damien Pignolet hosts a French dinner party on 11 May with wine by Paul Boothby of Fine Wine Partners and Alessandro Pavoni hosts an Italian dinner party on 19 June with wine by Giorgio De Maria of wine bar 121BC.

Meanwhile, I’m delighted to announce our biggest line up ever of guest chefs, a who’s who of the Australian food scene, including Ross Lusted (The Bridge Room, see chef profile); Chris Manfield (Universal, see book review); Brent Savage (Bentley Restaurant & Bar); Giovanni Pilu (Pilu at Freshwater); Justin North (Bécasse); Richard Ptacnik (Otto); Dan Hong (Ms.G’s); Dietmar Sawyere (Berowra Waters Inn); Stefano Manfredi & Gabriele Taddeucci (Osteria Balla); Stephen Hodges (Fishface); Ajoy Joshi (Nilgiri’s); Matthew Kemp (Montpellier Public House); David Thompson (nahm London & Bangkok); Warren Turnbull (Restaurant Assiette & District Dining); Matt Moran (Aria); Frank Camorra (MoVida) and Phil Wood (Rockpool).

Of course there’s also a great range of our basic seafood classes including Thai, Chilli Crab, Salt & Pepper, Moroccan, BBQ, Paella and more. And our gift certificates are the go-to Mother’s Day gift for the Mum who has everything.

Looking forward to sharing some fresh Aussie seafood with you soon,



Roberta Muir,
Manager Sydney Seafood School & FISHLine

The highlight of this time of the year is Easter, the second biggest time for seafood (after Christmas). SFM retailers will be extending their trading hours on Good Friday (6 April), opening from 5am to 5pm, so you’ll have plenty of time to stock up on all your seafood supplies, as well as fruit and veg, deli items, freshly baked bread, wine and spirits. Last year SFM welcomed 55,000 visitors to the site on Good Friday, with around 400 tonnes of fresh seafood being sold over the Easter period, so come along and join in the holiday spirit. And remember, seafood is healthier than chocolate, so if your new year’s resolution was to start a health kick you’ve come to the right place.

Mother’s Day (Sunday 13 May) is the other celebration on the calendar this program and you can treat Mum to a delicious seafood lunch at one of our restaurants or cafés or stock up on a feast of seafood goodies to prepare at home. If you’re looking for some inspiration, visit the FISHline pages for over 100 quick and easy seafood recipes. Stuck for gift ideas for the Mum who has everything? What about a gift certificate to a cooking class at Sydney Seafood School – it’s an especially thoughtful gift if you tell Mum that you’ll come along and attend a class with her!

As we head into the cooler months, many popular species, including prawns, oysters and tuna, are in peak supply – so now’s the time to enjoy these favourites while they’re abundant and prices are at their best. If you’d like to keep updated with our weekly specials, join us on Facebook.

We’re pleased to be introducing several new site improvements this year to make your visit to Sydney Fish Market more enjoyable. Look out for our new Customer Service Ambassadors in the car park and around the retail arcade and also new umbrellas on the boardwalk. Whether you’re lunching by the water or shopping for dinner, we’ll continue to deliver Australia’s freshest seafood alongside a great shopping experience.

The Trevally (Carangidae) family of fish contains over 150 species spread across 30 diverse groups. Found in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans, they include trevallys, jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, darts and scads.

They vary greatly in size, but most have a torpedo-shaped body with a narrow tail base and deeply-forked tail fin and are fast-swimming predators that hunt above reefs and in the open sea.

The most important commercial trevally in Australia is Yellowtail Kingfish (Seriola lalandi) named for its distinctive yellow tailfins. It’s harvested from the wild, mainly off NSW (November-March) and Queensland (April-August), with some off south-western Western Australia; but the majority is farmed in Spencer Gulf, South Australia, and usually marketed under its Japanese name ‘hiramasa’. It’s a highly-regarded, oily, pinky-white fleshed fish that’s popular raw but also lends itself to a wide variety of cooking styles.

Silver Trevally (Pseudocaranx dentex), the other commonly seen trevally, is a medium-priced fish caught off the southern half of Australia from Shark Bay (WA), to Rockhampton (Queensland) with peak supplies from November-May. The similar but smaller Skipjack Trevally (Pseudocaranx wrighti) is also marketed as silver trevally.

Yellowtail Scad (Trachurus novaezelandiae) is a tiny member of the trevally family, often only around 300g or smaller. It’s caught mainly off NSW, is low-priced and is good deep-fried, grilled or baked.

Other members of the Trevally family occasionally seen in retail shops or harvested recreationally in various parts of Australia include:

 

•	Darts (Trachinotus species) – five similar species are all marketed simply as Common Dart. They have distinctively large swallow-tailed tailfins and long streamlined top and bottom fins.
•	Jack Mackerel – two similar fish, Trachurus declivis and T.murphyi, are marketed under this name. These small fish are similar to yellowtail scad and, as the name suggests, have a long body shape similar to mackerel; their dark, dry, oily flesh isn’t generally well regarded.
•	Samsonfish (Seriola hippos) and the very similar Amberjack (Seriola dumerili) are both sold as Samsonfish. They are found right around the Australian coast (except Tasmania) and are popular for recreational fishing.
•	Queenfish (Scomberoides species) – the four members of this family look more like mackerels than other trevallys and are also popular with anglers.
•	Black Pomfret (Parastromateus niger) is quite distinctive among the trevallys. With it’s slightly flattened, diamond-shaped body, it resembles the unrelated pomfrets of South East Asia and is popular in Asian cooking.

Other Australian trevallys include: Bigeye (Caranx sexfasciatus), Black (C.lugubris), Bluefin (C.melampygus), Bluespotted (C.bucculentus), Giant (C.ignobilis), Diamond (Alectis indica), and Golden (Gnathanodon speciosus) Trevallys, and Turrum (Carangoides fulvoguttatus).

BUYING
Larger fish are sold whole (gilled and gutted), and in fillet form, with yellowtail kingfish also sold as steaks and cutlets; smaller fish, such as yellowtail scad, are usually only seen whole. In whole fish look for lustrous skin, firm flesh, and a pleasant, fresh sea smell. In cutlets, steaks and fillets, look for pinky-white, firm, lustrous, moist flesh without any brown markings or oozing water and with a pleasant fresh sea smell.

STORING
Make sure whole fish is scaled, gilled, gutted and cleaned thoroughly. Lay whole fish, fillets, steaks and cutlets in a single layer on a plate and cover with plastic wrap or place in an airtight container. Trevally is best eaten as fresh as possible, but can be refrigerated for up to 3 days or frozen for up to 3 months, below -18ºC. Its distinctive fishy flavour intensifies with time.

COOKING & SERVING
Trevallys are suitable for a wide range of cooking methods: deep-frying, pan-frying, baking, grilling, barbecuing, smoking, and pickling. They tend to be dry so marinating prior to cooking helps prevent the flesh drying out, as does wrapping in foil, banana leaves or vine leaves if baking or barbecuing. Most have oily, dry, medium-textured flesh with few bones that are easily removed. The skin is usually removed and many have a dark bloodline down the centre of fillets which can also be cut out. Strong Mediterranean or Asian flavours work well with the distinctive, slightly fishy flavour, which is more pronounced in the darker fleshed species such as jack mackerel.

YOU SAY TREVALLY, I SAY TREVALLA
Despite their similar sounding names, Trevallys are unrelated to Trevallas (Centrolophidae family) such as blue-eye trevalla and warehous.

Chermoula is a spicy North African marinade that marries well with oily fish. It contains lemon juice, which starts to ‘cook’ the fish if left on for too long. Sear the fish for more or less time depending on how rare you like it.

Serves 4 as an entrée

•	1 x 400g piece sashimi-grade yellowtail kingfish, trimmed
•	2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
•	Instant couscous, to serve
	Chermoula
•	1 bunch coriander
•	1 bunch flat-leaf parsley
•	6 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
•	Salt flakes, to taste
•	2 tablespoons ground cumin
•	2 tablespoons sweet paprika
•	½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
•	100ml lemon juice
•	250ml extra virgin olive oil
	Moroccan Salad
•	1 preserved lemon, rinsed, skin only finely sliced
•	15 green olives, pitted, coarsely chopped
•	½ cup roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley leaves
•	½ red onion, finely chopped
•	1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
•	2 teaspoons lemon juice
•	Salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Make the Chermoula: finely chop coriander and parsley leaves together in a food processor. Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Place fish on a large piece of plastic wrap and coat well with Chermoula, roll over and coat underside. Wrap tightly in the plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 45 minutes, then remove from fridge and set aside in a cool place for a further 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make Moroccan Salad: combine all ingredients, cover and set aside.

Heat a frying pan. Wipe excess Chermoula off fish. Add olive oil to pan and sear fish all over for a minute or so each side until well coloured. Remove pan from heat, cover and leave to rest for a few minutes.

Cut into thick slices and serve with couscous and Moroccan Salad.

Wine suggestion: The fruit forward spiciness of Knappstein’s Three 2010 (a blend of Gewürztraminer, Riesling and Pinot Gris) complements this spicy dish perfectly. www.knappstein.com.au

Escabeche is great made with any oily fish; sardines, mackerel, mullet, Australian herring, bonito and tuna are all delicious prepared this way – as are mussels. Here we use Australian salmon, a wild-caught white-fleshed fish unrelated to the farmed pink-fleshed Atlantic and Pacific salmons. Escabeche can be eaten at room temperature as soon as the marinade has cooled, but is best refrigerated until cold. It can be kept covered in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Serves 4 as an entrée

•	400g Australian salmon fillets, skin-off
•	Plain flour, for dusting
•	Salt flakes & freshly ground black pepper, to taste
•	150ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
•	1 red onion, finely sliced
•	1 clove garlic, chopped
•	1 bay leaf
•	1 sprig thyme
•	½ cup sherry vinegar
•	½ cup dry white wine
•	½ cup water
•	1 teaspoon black peppercorns
•	2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
•	Crusty bread, for serving

Cut central bloodline and any bones out of fillets, and slice fish into large bite-sized pieces.

Add salt and pepper to flour and dust fish well in seasoned flour, shaking off excess.

Heat a frying pan, add 50ml of the oil and, when hot, add fish and cook for a couple of minutes each side, until well coloured and cooked through. Remove and drain on paper towel.

Heat remaining oil in a frying pan, add onion and 1 teaspoon of salt and cook for a few minutes, until translucent.

Add garlic, bay and thyme, and cook for about 5 minutes until onion is soft but not coloured.
Add vinegar, wine, water and peppercorns and bring to the boil, simmer for 20 minutes, covered. Remove from heat and stir in half the parsley.

Place a layer of fish in a non-reactive dish, pour over some of the marinade, add another layer of fish and more marinade and continue until all fish and marinade are used. Cover and refrigerate until cold.

Remove fish from the marinade and arrange on a plate with the onions. Spoon some of the marinade over the top, add a drizzle of olive oil, sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve with plenty of crusty bread.

Wine suggestion: This dish needs a substantial white wine and the big Margaret River flavours of McHenry Hohnen’s Vintner’s 3 Amigos, a blend of Marsanne, Chardonnay and Rousanne, work a treat. www.mchv.com.au

Those who’ve been eating in Sydney for more than 10 years will remember Ross Lusted as the best chef we ever lost … and will be excitedly celebrating his return.

Ross first came to notice as executive chef of Rockpool from 1995 – 1998 when it was Australia’s leading temple of Mod Oz cuisine. He was lured to Park Hyatt Sydney (where he met his future wife, Sunny) to convert the old Number 7 into the beautiful harbourkitchen&bar. In 2000 Ross and Sunny headed to Asia, the beginning of a jet-setting life managing and opening Aman resorts around the world including Bali, Montenegro, Sri Lanka and North America. But they kept firm ties to home, always with an eye to eventually settling back here. Ross explains: “Sunny and I travelled back to Sydney at least once a year during our decade away, and on each visit I would drive past a beautiful heritage-listed, art deco building on the corner of Bridge and Young Streets and dream of having a restaurant there.”

In May last year, they took over the Bridge Street site, opening The Bridge Room in late August 2011. This long narrow oasis on a busy city corner has large windows bringing in plenty of light, with cream walls and shades of grey and brown creating a calm, relaxing atmosphere. Unclad tables are set with smart grey felt placemats complimented by custom-made ceramics designed by Ross.

While the kitchen isn’t open in the modern sense, Ross can be seen grinning at the open pass where he roasts meat and fish on a Japanese robata grill to send out dishes such as yellowtail kingfish in a Nonya sauce, bright with the flavours of lemongrass, kaffir lime and Thai basil and topped with puffed rice for textural crunch. Prawns seem such a safe mainstay on most restaurant menus – but in Ross’ hands they’re anything but predictable. Split, grilled over charcoal and served simply with mandarin peel butter and a scattering of soft herbs they’re a revelation; more basic still is a lunchtime special of sweet little banana prawns cooked in a cast iron frying pan with butter and picada (a Spanish sauce of deep-fried herbs, pine nuts, hazelnuts and garlic) topped with deep-fried basil leaves. The excellent Sonoma sourdough comes in very handy here for mopping up the delicious sauce.

While the menu offers a generous array of seafood, there’s plenty to delight carnivores as well, with a dish of raw wagyu shoulder, smoked enoki mushrooms, horseradish and soft pickled chilli already heading towards ‘signature dish’ status. It’s hard to find a chef today who doesn’t describe his food as ‘produce driven’, but Ross is blessed with the Fink family (owners of Quay and Otto) as partners, and so shares in the produce grown on small Blue Mountains’ farms specifically for these restaurants. When they’re available he loves to serve a dessert of frais du bois (tiny, full-of-flavour, wild strawberries). But he only gets about 6 punnets a week, delivered by the farmer himself – and when they’re finished they’re off the menu for another week.

Ross is happy to be back home in Sydney rattling the pans in his own restaurant – and those who remember his cooking, along with a whole new generation who are discovering it for the first time, say ‘Welcome Home!’

44 Bridge St, Sydney, 9247 7000
Lunch 12-3pm Tue- Fri; Dinner 6-10pm Tue-Sat
www.thebridgeroom.com.au

See Ross at Sydney Seafood School on 12 March. www.sydneyfishmarket.com.au or call 9004 1111 to book.

Serves 4

•	4 southern calamari, cleaned
•	1 large piece pickled mustard greens, soaked overnight in water
•	8 shiitake, blanched, finely sliced
•	2 tomatoes, peeled, seeded, finely sliced
•	1 knob young ginger, julienned
•	1 long red chilli, julienned
•	1 salted plum, washed, finely sliced
•	10g rock sugar, crushed
•	8 slices silken tofu
•	20ml rice wine
•	50ml light soy sauce
•	Chinese parsley, to serve
•	Picked bean sprouts, to serve
•	Finely sliced green onions, to serve
•	Steamed jasmine rice, to serve

Slice the calamari tube into 5mm thick rings and halve the tentacles.

Slice the larger stems of the mustard greens finely.

Combine stems and leaves of mustard greens, shiitake, tomato, ginger, chilli, salted plum and rock sugar.

Place calamari and tofu on a plate, top with the vegetable mixture and sprinkle over the rice wine. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes to marinate.

Place in a steamer basket over a wok of boiling water and cook for about 4 minutes, until the calamari is just opaque.

Remove from the steamer, sprinkle over the soy sauce, add Chinese parsley, bean sprouts and green onions and serve with steamed rice.

Wine suggestion: The dark flavours of this dish need a wine that cuts through without overwhelming. Thorne-Clarke’s 2010 Sandpiper Pinot Gris from the Barossa Valley does exactly that. www.thornclarkewines.com

A variation on French rillettes, terrines, pâté and confit, potting is an old English technique for preserving meat or seafood by storing it under a layer of fat.

The food was traditionally cooked thoroughly to eliminate excess moisture, then packed into a ceramic pot. Meats with a lot of natural fat could be sealed under a layer of their own fat, while seafood was generally covered with a layer of clarified butter.

Food historian Alan Davidson explains that potting derived from medieval raised pies, the crusts of which were made from coarse flour and weren’t meant to be eaten but provided an airtight container in which to store and transport food. Food baked in a thick crust was sterile and so lasted quite a long time. The point where it started to decay however, was the top where the filling shrank away from the pastry lid as it cooked, allowing it to come into contact with air via the holes cut to allow steam to escape. This problem was overcome by pouring melted butter into the holes after the pie was cooked, thus sealing the top. It was a short step from this to doing away with the pie crust and packing a filling inside a reusable ceramic crock sealed with clarified butter.

Food was sometimes pounded into a paste with the fat or butter then potted, other times it was cut into chunks or, in the case of small prawns, peeled but left whole. Modern storage and preservation methods did away with the need for potting, but certain variations, such as potted prawns and some fish pastes have survived because people enjoy their flavour.

•	Oily fish are generally poached or pan-fried then made into a paste with butter and potted. Try anchovies, mackerel, mullet, sardines or salmon.
•	Shellfish, such as prawns and crabmeat, are better left with some texture and cooked in butter.
•	Potted foods make great spreads or dips and are perfect picnic food as they’re easy to transport.
•	Potting isn’t recommended as a preserving method today, so don’t store potted food for any longer than you would normally store meat or fish.

Sydney Fish Market retailers are open every day except Christmas Day