This year we don’t need any reminding that the true magic of the festive season is to be found in people – the family & friends with whom we’ll share it. We’ll be keeping things super simple: staying away from screens, reading those books bought ages ago and not yet started, and plenty of relaxed cooking. This summery (and easy) dish share by Pesto Princess, will definitely be on the festive menu.
You’ll need
For the curry
800 g kingklip
2 Tbsp oil for frying
¼ cup flour, for dusting
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 kg mussels*
1 x Pesto Princess Cape Malay Curry Sauce
100 g mange tout
100 g baby corn
100 g peas
For the sambal
1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped
¼ red onion, thinly sliced
Chilli, to taste (optional)
¼ cup coconut flakes, toasted
20 g fresh coriander, rinsed and finely chopped
To serve
Coconut jasmine rice (find our recipe here)
Fresh coriander and spring onions, thinly sliced
* If you’re lucky enough to pick your own mussels (with a permit), be sure to clean them thoroughly before cooking. You may already have your own technique for this (there are lots of different ‘tricks’) but here’s our version: give them a scrub first in clean water; steam them open and set aside to cool. If they’re particularly wild mussels with quite a lot of grit and ‘beards’, rinse out any grit and pull off the beards. This is a good moment to snap off the empty half-shell. If you’re buying mussels that have already been cleaned, you can skip this step.
How to
1. Cut the kingklip into bite-sized morsels and set aside while heating the oil in a frying pan.
2. Combine the flour with salt and pepper and use to dust the kingklip. In batches, fry the kingklip until golden and set aside.
3. To steam the mussels, pour 1 cup of water into a large pot. Bring to the boil, add the mussels and cover. Reduce the heat to moderate and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mussels open wide.
4. Heat the Pesto Princess Cape Malay Curry Sauce in a large pot over medium to high heat until gently simmering. Add the veggies (mange tout, baby corn and peas) and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until just tender. Place the cooked kingklip and mussels into the warmed sauce and give it a gentle stir.
5. Make your sambal by combining all of the ingredient. Serve with the Festive Seafood Curry along with coconut jasmine rice, fresh coriander and spring onions.
Photography, Recipes and Styling by Michelle Parkin.
