Tune in tonight to see Neven Maguire exploring Cork in Neven's Seafood Trails

Plus, his recipe for Irish seafood laksa 

Neven Maguire presents Neven's Irish Seafood Trails on RTÉ One.

Neven Maguire is sampling all that Cork has to offer tonight on Neven's Irish Seafood Trails on RTÉ One at 8.30pm. The first stop on his tour is Goldie restaurant on Oliver Plunkett Street.

"It's wonderful to see a new Irish business opening up with a talented Irish chef," he says of Aishling Moore.  

Neven with Aishling Moore of Goldie Restaurant, Cork.

The ethos behind Goldie, says Moore, is that fish is ethically sourced and priced reasonably for their customers - they even have a 'kids eat for free' policy on the first Wednesday of every month. "We wanted to make fish more accessible for families and for kids. Lots of kids have their first taste of fish with us and that's very fulfilling for the team."

Neven is treated to a seafood taco, some mussels in a dashi broth and seaweed that Aishling and the team forage themselves.

Neven Maguire and Clare Condon at the Good Day Deli, Cork.

From there, it's on to Nano Nagle Place and Good Day Deli. Neven meets co-owner Kristin Makirere, who came to Ireland from New Zealand and opened the restaurant thanks in great part, he says, to the "vision of the Presentation sisters." He shows Neven how to make fish tacos with a dry slaw and pickled onions. It is, says Neven, "a taste of the South Pacific here in Cork."

Neven with Patrick McNamara of the Trawler Boyz food truck.

The next stop is Ballycotton, where Neven visits food truck Trawler Boyz. "Oh, you've a great set-up here," he says to Patrick McNamara, who comes from a fishing family. McNamara cooks up a chowder rich with white wine and garlic butter. "You see some chowders that are more like soup," he says, "but we like to make it nice and chunky." 

Each bowl of chowder is made to order and served with brown bread, made by Patrick's aunty. 

Neven Maguire with Kate Dempsey of the Kinsale Mead Company. 

It's time to warm up with a drink and Neven heads west to Kinsale, where he meets Kate Dempsey, the woman behind the Kinsale Mead Company, to find out about pairing seafood with mead. Mead is older than the wheel, and today Neven learns that it is a match made in heaven when paired with smoked salmon, sashimi or white fish.

Irish seafood laksa

recipe by:Neven Maguire

Seafood cooks super quickly and a laksa is a really quick and delicious midweek meal

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 15 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Malaysian

Ingredients

• 150g monkfish meat, cut into medallions

• 175g haddock, pin boned, skin on, cut into cubes

• 100g Squid, cut into rings

• 12-16 Dublin Bay prawns, peeled and deveined

• 1 x 400g tin coconut milk (Thai Gold brand)

• 2 tsp red curry paste (Thai Gold brand)

• 1 tsp tomato puree

• ½ ground turmeric

• 1 banana shallot, peeled and thinly sliced

• 500ml vegetable stock

• 2 garlic cloves, crushed

• 1 small piece root ginger, peeled and cut in pieces

• 1 small piece galangal, peeled and cut in pieces

• 2 tbsp nam pla (fish sauce)

• 1 birds eye chill, cut in half

• Juice of 1 lime

• 100g sugar snaps, top & tail removed

• 6-7 basil leaves, torn

• rice noodles, to serve (pre-cooked)

• bean sprouts, to serve

• roasted peanuts, to garnish

Method

1. In a large saucepan, place the coconut milk, curry paste, tomato puree and turmeric.

2. Add in the shallot and stock. Using a balloon whisk, mix together and heat on a medium heat to allow the coconut milk to infuse.

3. Add in the crushed garlic, root ginger, galangal and nam pla. Combine everything.

4. Add the birds eye chilli and lime juice and bring to a slow simmer.

5. Gently add in the monkfish medallions, haddock, squid and Dublin bay prawns. Add in the sugar snaps and cover with the lid.

6. Bring to the boil, reduce and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Finish with fresh basil leaves.

7. To serve, place rice noodles in the centre of the serving bowl followed by some bean sprouts

8. Ladle over the prepared laksa and finish with crushed roasted peanuts.