Pescatarians, especially those who enjoy shellfish, can compose a wonderful celebratory feast for Christmas. Smoked salmon, scallops, crab, and if you are pushing the boat out then lobster too, are all sufficiently luxurious to make an impact as a starter, or a main course seafood platter on December 25th.
Salmon en croute, made with organic Irish salmon, is a popular choice. Google will take you to recipes for this classic dish by kitchen luminaries including Jamie Oliver, Mary Berry, Delia Smith and Gordon Ramsay.
Oliver has an interesting version in which the salmon sits on lemony, garlicky spinach on top of the pastry. A mixture of red pesto and eggs is poured over the top once the base has had a chance to cook a bit and avoid a soggy bottom. Mary Berry also does a version with red pesto and eggs, so that combination must be a thing. Delia Smith has a more traditional version, using a quick flaky pastry.
Salmon is a Christmas favourite, so here are a few more recipes from the Irish Times archive using this versatile fish, along with very simple turbot, seabass and lobster recipes that will make your Christmas dinner go swimmingly, without a turkey on the table.
Top recipes of 2023: The dishes you savoured most from our food writers this year
The 2 Johnnies Christmas Party at 3Arena: It’s easy to sneer at the triteness and crudeness, but are 13,000 happy fans wrong?
Sober Christmas is hard, but at least I won’t wake up in a spinning room I don’t recognise
Daughter Number Four has been sucked into the slimosphere. We naively enabled it
Recipe: Paul Flynn’s baked salmon, warm red cabbage, fennel and crème fraiche
Recipe: Smoked salmon terrines with avocado and crab
Recipe: Hazelnut and citrus salmon
Recipe: Graham Neville’s baked turbot with peas and Pernod
