5 seafood recipes fresh from Alaska

Scrap smoked salmon with lemon and dill or soggy cod and greasy chips, here's how to eat fresh fish Alaskan style...

Food & Drink

1. Marinated wild Alaska black cod, bok choi and soba noodle salad

Ingredients:

1.2kg wild Alaska black cod
200ml mirin
200ml sake
120g white miso paste
90g sugar
20ml sunflower oil

For the garnish(es):

Bok choi cabbages
100g whole soba noodles
100g cherry tomatoes
2 banana shallots
1 red pepper
30ml soy sauce
10ml peanut oil

To prepare:

1. Bring the mirin, sake and sugar to a boil in a saucepan for two minutes. Once the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat down and add the miso, stir well till incorporated and then allow to cool. Marinate the wild Alaska black cod fillets in this mix for at least 24 hours.

2. Pre-heat an oven to 200'C. Wipe the marinade off the wild Alaska black cod, don't wash it just wipe any excess off. Heat a frying pan till hot, add the oil, cook the fish skin side down till the skin crisps and turns golden. Take off the heat and carefully turn over, transfer to the oven and cook for five minutes then turn over and cook for a further five minutes. While it cooks baste or brush with any excess marinade.

3. For the garnish: cut the bottom off the bok choi and wash, peel and finely dice the shallot, dice the cherry tomatoes and pepper. Cook the soba noodles in boiling water for three minutes then refresh under cold water. Mix the soy and oil through the noodles. Mix together the diced vegetables and noodles. Blanch the bok choi in the noodle water for one minute, place the bok choi in lines onto a plate, top with the noodle salad and then the wild Alaska black cod.

Chef's tip: Try using the marinade on prawns and cook them on a BBQ.

2. Wild Alaska black cod with a lime, ginger and maple glaze

Ingredients:

For the marinade:

1.2kg wild Alaska black cod
3 limes
200ml maple syrup
60g fresh ginger
30ml soy sauce

For the rest of the recipe:

2 raw, red beetroots
3 desiree potatoes
2 pinches maldon salt
2 turns freshly ground black pepper
100ml sunflower oil

To prepare:

1. For the marinade: zest and juice the limes, peel and grate the ginger, mix these together with the maple syrup and soy sauce, coat the fish fillets in it and leave in the fridge for an hour.

2. For the rest of the recipe: peel and grate the beetroot and potatoes. Put them into a bowl. Boil a kettle of water and pour over the beetroot and potatoes, leave for a couple of minutes to soften the vegetables. Drain the water off and dry the mix well. Season with the salt and pepper and form into balls about the size of tennis balls, flatten them to a thickness of 1cm.

3. Heat two large frying pans on a medium heat and split the oil between them, when the oil is hot add the rosti and cook for four minutes on each side, they should be crispy and golden.

4. Add the marinated fish to the other pan and cook skin side down for four minutes or until the skin goes crispy. Turn over and cook for a further minute, if the fillets are thick you may need to cook for a little longer.

5. Serve on top of the rosti and spoon some of the cooking juices over the top.

Chef's tip: You can use wild Alaska Pacific cod in place of the black cod.

3. Wild Alaska sockeye and king salmon brochettes with wild rice and a blueberry vinaigrette

Ingredients:

300g wild Alaska king salmon
300g wild Alaskan sockeye salmon

For the stock:

1 leek
1 stick of celery
1 garlic bulb
4 sprigs fresh thyme
Handful of fresh tarragon
500ml dry white wine
150ml water

For the vinaigrette:

100g blueberries
1 tsp Dijon mustard
200ml white wine vinegar
5 tbsp olive oil
3 pinches maldon salt
3 turns freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove

For the garnish(es):

75g wild rice
200ml water
6 pinches maldon salt

To prepare:

1. Cut the Alaska salmon into 2cm cubes. Keep the king salmon separate from the sockeye. Feed the Alaska salmon onto skewers.

2. For the stock: finely slice the leeks and celery. Cut the head of garlic in half. Add these vegetables to the white wine and water. Add the herbs and bring to the boil. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Pass the stock through a fine sieve and discard the vegetables and herbs.

3. Cook the rice in simmering salted water until tender. Drain and then dress with a little olive oil.

4. For the vinaigrette: Peel and finely dice the garlic clove. Place the blueberries in a food blender and add the mustard, vinegar, olive oil, garlic and seasoning. Pulse until you have a smooth dressing. Taste the dressing and adjust the seasoning or acidity if necessary.

5. To serve: poach the salmon brochettes in the simmering stock for two to three minutes. Remove from the stock and season with a little Maldon Sea Salt. Serve on a bed of wild Canadian rice and finish with a little dressing.

Chef's tip: The wild rice in this recipe is ideal to be mixed through white long grain rice for added texture and colour.

4. Wild Alaska smoked salmon, salmon caviar, apple, cranberry and maple syrup

Ingredients:

6 slices of wild Alaska smoked salmon
1 Braeburn apple
30g wild Alaska salmon roe
50g cranberries
25g caster sugar

To prepare:

1. For the dressing: simmer the cranberries in the sugar and water until the cranberries are soft and have begun to breakdown. Add a splash more water if needed. Leave in the saucepan to finish cooking as they cool.

2. Cut the apples into very fine matchsticks and then place in cold water with a squeeze of lemon to stop them discolouring.

3. To serve: smear a little of the cranberry compote on the inside of a piece of Alaska smoked salmon. Add a few matchsticks of apple, roll and secure with a cocktail stick. Finish with the Alaska salmon roe and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Chef's tip: Vary the flavours of this canape by replacing the cranberry compote and maple syrup with a piquant horseradish cream.

5. Tartare of wild Alaska sockeye salmon served on an olive oil crostini with rocket and sauce vierge

Ingredients:

600g wild Alaska sockeye salmon
30g capers
Handful of flat leaf parsley
1 lemon
30g pickled gherkin
1 red chilli
3 pinches maldon salt
3 turns freshly ground black pepper

For the garnish(es):

75g French baguette
2 tbsp olive oil

For the sauce:

200g cherry tomatoes
1/2 banana shallot
2 garlic cloves
3 pinches maldon salt
Handful of fresh basil leaves
5 tbsp olive oil

To serve:

Generous handful of rocket leaves

To prepare:

1. Remove the skin and the pin bones from the wild Alaska salmon fillets and then cut into small cubes. Finely chop the capers and gherkins. Peel and finely dice the banana shallot. Pick and chop the parsley leaves. Finely dice the red chilli. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and leave to refrigerate. Season with salt and pepper before serving.

2. For the crostini: preheat the oven to 200'C. Slice the bread into thin slices and drizzle the olive oil on top. Cook for four to five minutes until golden brown.

3. For the sauce: bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Place some ice cubes in a bowl and cover with cold water. Remove the stems from the cherry tomatoes and immerse in the boiling water for 10-15 seconds. Remove from the boiling water and submerge in the iced water. Remove the tomatoes in half and place in a bowl, season with salt and allow the salt to extract the juices from the tomatoes for 30 minutes.

4. Peel and finely dice the shallot and garlic. Pick the leaves from the basil and carefully cut the leaves. Add the diced shallot and garlic to the tomatoes and add the olive oil. Fold through the basil and keep the sauce at room temperature and allow the flavours to develop.

5. To serve: spoon the wild Alaska salmon tartare onto the crostini. Top with a few sprigs of rocket and finish with the sauce.

These recipes have been supplied by Travel Alaska (the state's official tourist board) and Alaska Seafood.