ANNABEL LANGBEIN

Fish for compliments

Hop on a plane to Los Angeles, Chile or even Japan and the entire journey, bar a few scattered islands, charts a course over the Pacific Ocean. The ocean’s vastness is hard to conceive. Containing 50 per cent of the world’s free water, the Pacific borders more than 40 different countries. The prevalence of earthquakes and volcanoes around the Pacific Rim (more than 75 per cent of the world’s active and dormant volcanoes and about 80 per cent of the world’s biggest earthquakes occur here) accounts for this giant arc being named the Ring of Fire.

Right at the bottom of the Pacific are the glorious islands of eruptions, earthquakes and great natural beauty that we call home. Our coastline runs through fiords and bays and coves to a length of more than 14,000km — making it one of the longest coastlines in the world.

It’s perhaps not unsurprising that the sea runs in our blood. The earliest New Zealanders were seafaring people and until the 1940s the only way to get to and from New Zealand was by sea. (Jean Batten made the first solo flight from England to New Zealand in 1936.) At every turn, the glorious Pacific Ocean awaits us and we don’t need any excuse to play there.

The tiny settlement of Mahia sits on the East Coast, south of Gisborne. Here, at my husband’s family’s tiny ramshackle bach, we have enjoyed many a Waitangi Weekend over the years. The rhythm of this weekend is all about engaging in some form of fishing — wiggling our toes in the sand for pipi at low tide, setting flounder nets in the estuary, diving for paua or crays, surf casting off the beach for kahawai, snapper, elephant fish, red cod and the odd unwelcome shark.

As the clock rolls around to bring us another national day, we have good cause to celebrate our place in the mighty Pacific Ocean. Our seas remain some of the richest marine environments, containing more than 1250 fish species and more than 3660 species of shellfish. There are 123 fish species commercially fished in New Zealand but most of us know and enjoy only a handful.

Waitangi Day is the perfect opportunity to honour the ocean and take the pressure off these favourite species by stepping out of our comfort zones to enjoy some of the lesser-known, delicious fish that abound in our waters. Whatever the catch of the day, an amazing meal awaits.

CELEBRATION SEAFOOD PLATTER WITH CAPER AND BASIL DRESSING Ready in 45 mins Serves 8

500g monkfish fillets, cut into 3cm chunks 1 cup water

1 cup white wine

½ tsp salt

4 peppercorns

3 squid tubes, cleaned, skinned and sliced into ½cm rings

Extra seafood of your choice, such as banana prawns, mussels, clams or scallops (optional) ½ cup lemon juice

Salt and ground black pepper, to taste 500g cherry tomatoes, halved

1 bunch basil leaves Caper and basil dressing

2 fat cloves garlic

1 packed cup each basil and parsley leaves ¼ cup finely grated parmesan

1 Tbsp capers

Zest of 1 lemon, finely grated

1 cup olive oil

A pinch of salt

To make the dressing, combine all ingredients in a food processor and whizz until smooth. Place fish in a pot with water, wine, salt and peppercorns. Bring to a boil over a high heat then remove from heat as soon as it comes to the boil. Leave fish to cool uncovered in cooking liquid for at least 30 minutes. Bring another pot of water to a boil, add squid rings, bring back to a boil, then scoop squid out of the pot and cool at once in cold water; drain

well. If not using immediately, cover and chill. If using prawns, plunge them into the boiling water and remove them as soon as they turn pink. Cool in cold water, as for squid. If using mussels or clams, steam open in a little water or wine. If using scallops, place in a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to cool. To assemble platter, drain all seafood and place in a bowl (reserving a few prawns or mussels for garnish, if using). Add lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and toss gently to combine. Carefully mix through cherry tomatoes and basil leaves then pile on to a platter. Top with reserved prawns or mussels, if using, and drizzle with ¼ cup caper and basil dressing. Serve the rest of the dressing in a small bowl.

Annabel says: You can use whatever fresh seafood you can lay your hands on for this lavish platter. The dressing brings everything together wonderfully. You can prepare the seafood and dressing in advance then assemble when ready to serve.