14 To Try: Seafood Recipes for Easter Friday

For many, Good Friday is when the Easter-related eating gets properly underway, with chocolate eggs and hot cross buns playing a starring role. But for others, it’s a day of avoiding meat in favour of fish. We’ve gathered a slate of recipes in which seafood is the star to help kick off your long weekend in pious style.

From a fish pie to baked snapper and spaghetti with mussels, here are some of Broadsheet ’s favourite seafood recipes for Good Friday from top chefs including Adam Liaw, Scott Pickett and O Tama Carey.

The Rover’s potato gratin-topped fish pie

Want a gluttonous start to your long weekend? Kick it off with this decadent fish pie from Sydney’s The Rover. It’s heaving with fish, laced with bechamel and topped with a parmesan-crusted potato gratin for extra indulgence.

Añada’s arroz negra (squid-ink paella)

The arroz negra is Melbourne’s Añada ’s signature dish. This squid-ink paella , from the south of Spain, is made with white-flesh fish bones to add extra flavour. Serve with a green salad and a bottle of good white wine.

Adam Liaw’s tomato and prawn risotto with chilli butter

If your long weekend is too crammed with plans to commit to a recipe project, try Adam Liaw’s prawn-studded risotto instead. It’ll take just under an hour. The chilli butter on top takes it from very good to excellent.

Estelle’s rainbow trout en papillote

“En papillote is a French method of cookery that means ‘to cook in a parcel’,” says Scott Pickett, head chef of Melbourne’s Estelle. “For this recipe I’ve used baking paper, but you can also use tin foil if need be. The fish steams in the bag, keeping it moist and juicy, capturing all the flavours inside. It’s a classic recipe with a little Aussie twist.”

Luke Nguyen’s king prawns

Luke Nguyen’s ultra-easy king prawn recipe brings a Southeast Asian touch to Good Friday, with a bright chilli sambal that’s heavy with galangal, chilli and shrimp paste. The dish’s impressive good looks belie its simplicity – it’s a top-tier Good Friday lunch centrepiece.

Olio’s salt-baked snapper with salmoriglio

The salt-baked fish is a favourite at Sydney’s Olio. The method of salt baking is more than 800 years old and involves the fish being encased in salt so it bakes at a sustained temperature, which keeps the moisture in. Cracking it open is all part of the fun, so do it when you serve it at the dinner table.

Tony Tan’s Cantonese lobster

Looking for a real show stopper for your Good Friday lunch? Knock up Tony Tan’s luxurious lobster dish , which is inspired by an item at a three-Michelin-starred Hong Kong restaurant. He calls the unification of luxe lobster and humble onions a “revelation”.

Builders Arms Hotel’s fish pie

This aromatic dish has been on the menu at Melbourne’s the Builders Arms Hotel since 2012. It calls for a medley of ocean trout, green prawns and rockling fillet, combined with fresh herbs and lemon zest.

O Tama Carey’s spice-rubbed Murray cod

The spice mix used for this beautiful fish dish serves two purposes: first, to build texture, and second, to amp up the flavour of the earthy, fatty fish. The result is a gorgeous seafood dish that makes an impressive meal for Good Friday and other occasions in the future, too.

Sotto Sopra’s spaghetti with mussels

Dream of Italy with this classic seafood spaghetti dish. This recipe comes from Mattio Rossi, head chef at the sadly closed Sydney eatery Sotto Sopra. There might be a few more steps than you’d expect from a simple spaghetti dish, but it’s worth it (plus it’s the long weekend, so you have the time).

Francois Poulard’s pan-fried snapper

Low touch shouldn’t mean low stakes. Take Francois Poulard’s snapper. The fish cooks in just a few minutes on the stove – but it’s presented on a colourful medley of chickpeas, kale and butternut pumpkin, and bolstered with a tangy sumac dressing.

Fish pie by Tetsuya’s

Okay, this is another fish pie , but the recipe comes courtesy of one of Australia’s great eateries so let’s roll with it. Tetsuya’s confit ocean trout dish was the restaurant’s standard-bearer for close to three decades, and the offcuts of the fish were used to make staff meals, including fish pies. The secret to a great pie, says the now-closed restaurant’s former head chef Josh Raine, is all in the sauce. “You’ve got to cook it for a long time and season it well. I pre-cook my fish, and then use the milk that I’ve poached the fish in to make the white sauce. It intensifies the flavour dramatically.”

Shane Delia’s baked salmon with tarator, burnt butter and pomegranate tabouli

For some Good Friday lunch theatre, opt for this magnificent baked salmon. It’s presented on a large platter covered with a vibrant melange of ruby pomegranate seeds, tabouli, tahini sauce and coffee-infused burnt butter. Despite all that, it’ll be on the table in under an hour.

Ester’s roasted prawns

You’ll find this fine eatery in the backstreets of Sydney’s Chippendale, expertly led by Mat Lindsay. There’s not much to these umami-rich prawns , but they’ll impress everyone. Lindsay cooks them in the woodfired oven (but you can do them on the barbeque), and then serves them with brown butter and tamari. “People love umami and this is pretty much super umami,” he says.

Additional reporting from Che-Marie Trigg.