Ireland's favourite fish recipes: Seven delicious fish suppers for Good Friday

From fish tacos and curry to the classic fish and chip — we have a host of recipes to make it a very Good Friday indeed

Ireland's favourite fish recipes include fish pie, seafood chowder and fish tacos.

With only two days to go until Easter Sunday, we can almost taste the endless amount of chocolate. But before we get stuck into the sweet treats, Good Friday has its own culinary traditions.

A classic fish and chip from the local takeaway is the go-to Good Friday dinner for many households but with plenty of tasty recipes to choose from, the possibilities are endless when it comes to cooking up a seafood feast.

According to HelloFresh Ireland, fish pie is the most searched for recipe among Irish people ahead of Good Friday with 4,400 average monthly searches. This is followed by seafood chowder with 1,00 searches and fish tacos with 720.

Other recipe searches include fish cakes, prawn linguine, fish curry and finally — fish and chips.

If you fancy trying any of these dishes this Good Friday, we have a host of straightforward recipes just waiting to be tried and tested.

Fish pie

recipe by:Darina Allen

The ultimate comfort supper, this rich and creamy medley fish pie with herbs and buttery, fluffy mashed potato is the perfect midweek meal

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 40 mins

Cooking Time

 30 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 10 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 medium onion, sliced

• 100-150g butter

• 50g flour

• ½ bottle unoaked dry white wine

• 550ml cream

• 250g salmon, filleted, skinned, fine-boned and chopped

• 250g cod, filleted, skinned, fine-boned and chopped

• 250g crab meat, fresh or frozen

• 3 large floury potatoes, such as roosters, peeled and chopped

• salt 

• black pepper

• 50g dill, chopped

• 50g parsley, chopped

• 1 egg yolk

Method

1. Start by sweating the onion in half the butter in a pan. When the onion is translucent, slowly add the flour to make a roux.

2. Over a very low heat, stir in the white wine and 500ml of the cream.

3. Add the fish and crab meat and cook for 12-15 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 180C.

5. Cook the potatoes in plenty of boiling, salted water until soft. Drain and place back over a low heat covered with a dry, clean cloth for a few minutes. This will help to dry them out a little. Mash the potato with the remaining cream and butter, to taste. Season well with the salt and pepper and set aside.

6. Add the dill and parsley to the pan with the fish and crab meat, and season with salt and pepper.

7. Turn the seafood mix into a large, ovenproof dish and cover with the mash.

8. Brush the top of the potato with the egg yolk.

9. Bake for seven to 10 minutes, or until the potato is golden brown on top.

10. Note: to make the night before, just work through the recipe right up to the point where you assemble the pie, then cover and put in the refrigerator overnight.

11. All you have to do the next day is bake the pie for 15-20 minutes at 180°C.

Fish chowder

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

Lighter than the more traditional Irish fish chowder, our version combines white fish, smoked fish and salmon in a simple, creamy sauce

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 25 mins

Total Time

 35 mins

Course

 Starter

Ingredients

• 8 new potatoes, scrubbed and coined

• 1 fennel bulb, sliced into small pieces

• 150g hake or cod

• 150g salmon

• 150g smoked haddock

• 2 tbsp chopped dill

• 60ml dry white wine

• 150g crème fraîche

• sea salt

• black pepper 

• olive oil

• lemon wedges to serve

Method

1. Heat olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan or casserole dish. Add the potato slices and stir around the pot for around 3 minutes.

2. Add the fennel and season everything with sea salt and black pepper. Keep stirring for another 2 minutes

3. Add the wine. Bring to the boil and simmer away until almost evaporated.

4. Add 500ml of water to the pot and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for around 10 minutes until potatoes are tender.

5. Stir in the crème fraîche along with the fish and put the lid on the pot.

6. Reduce heat and leave to simmer very gently for another 5 minutes.

7. When it is ready, stir in the dill and serve in deep bowls with crusty bread and wedges of lime.

Fish Tacos

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

This recipe only takes about thirty minutes from start to finish, and you will fry the fish at the very end.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• Tacos

• 100g plain flour

• ¼ tsp sea salt

• ½ tsp garlic salt

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• ½ tsp baking powder

• 150ml ice cold lager

• 300g boned and skinless cod fillets

• 12 small tortillas

• 1 litre sunflower

• 200g sour cream

• 2 tbsp chipotle chilli sauce

• Mexican Slaw

• ¼ head white cabbage

• ½ red pepper

• Juice of a lime

• Small handful chopped coriander

• A pinch of flaky sea salt

• Salsa

• 175g tomatoes

• ½ red onion

• 1 green chilli

• ½ corn of a cob

• A handful chopped coriander

• Juice of a lime

• A little flaky sea salt

Method

1. To begin, make the batter for the fish. Combine the flour, salt, garlic salt, cumin and paprika in a mixing bowl. Use a whisk to combine them thoroughly and then pour in the ice-cold beer while you whisk away until you get a smooth batter. Pop that into the fridge while you make the slaw and salsa.

2. Finely shred the cabbage. Deseed and very finely slice the red pepper. Pop both of those into a bowl, add a pinch of flaky sea salt, about half a teaspoon is plenty, the chopped coriander and lime juice. Toss everything well to combine and set aside for now.

3. On to the salsa next. Cut the kernels away from a sweet, fresh cob of corn and blanch for two minutes in boiling salted water. Drain and rinse under a cold tap. You only need half of the corn for the salsa but keep the rest to use in a salad or other dish. Deseed and finely chop the chilli. Peel and finely chop the onion. Wash and chop the tomatoes. At this time of year, I use baby plum tomatoes as they have the best flavour. Cut them into quarters and add them to a bowl along with the corn, red onion and the chopped coriander. Add the lime juice, and some flaky sea salt. Taste and add more lime juice and salt if needed.

4. Combine the sour cream and chipotle sauce in a bowl, adding more chipotle sauce if you want a bit more heat.

5. Slice the cod fillets lengthways into strips about 2cm thick. Heat the sunflower oil to 180 Celsius in a saucepan. Dip the fish in the batter. Lightly shake off any excess and fry the cod for about two minutes in batches. Remove the fish from the oil and drain it on kitchen paper, making sure to get the oil back up to 180 Celsius before adding the next batch.

6. While the fish is frying warm the tortillas in a dry pan over a high heat. Give each one just half a minute on each side. Keep the tortillas warm by wrapping them in a clean tea towel.

7. When you have given the fish its first fry, heat the oil back up again and pop all the fish back in at once for one more minute to make it super crispy. Then remove it from the pan, drain on clean kitchen paper and season lightly.

8. Seve all the elements in the middle of the table and let everyone build their tacos as they go. Start with a warm tortilla, adding some of the slaw first, then some of the crispy fish. Sprinkle over some salsa and finish the taco with the chipotle sour cream, some fresh coriander leaves, and a few thin slices of green chilli. Tacos are meant to be eaten with your hands, so tuck in and get messy!

Salmon fish cakes and spicy dip

recipe by:Clodagh McKenna

With a delightfully crispy exterior and tender interior, these fish cakes are easy make and compliment perfectly the creamy, spicy dip

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• For the salmon fishcakes:

• 400g floury potatoes, boiled and mashed

• 400g skinless salmon fillet, poached and flaked

• 2 spring onions, finely chopped

• 2 tsp capers

• 1 tbsp finely chopped dill

• grated zest and juice of ½ lemon

• 50g butter

• sea salt

• black pepper

• For the spicy dip:

• 100ml crème fraîche

• 1 tbsp peeled and grated Fresh horseradish root (jarred horseradish will do too)

• grated zest and juice of ½ lemon

• 2 tsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley

• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, plus a bunch of watercress (optional), to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Place all the ingredients for the fishcakes except the butter in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper. Mix until all the ingredients are well combined.

3. Divide the fishcake mixture into four balls and shape each into a patty.

4. Place a frying pan over a medium heat and add the butter. Once the butter has melted, add the fishcakes and brown on both sides. Transfer the fishcakes to a baking tray and bake for 10 minutes.

5. While the fishcakes are baking, mix all the ingredients for the horseradish cream together in a small bowl, and season with salt and pepper.

6. To serve, place each fishcake on a warmed plate with a spoonful of the horseradish cream and a wedge of lemon, plus a handful of watercress, if you wish.

Linguine with King Prawn, Tomato and Chilli

recipe by:Colm O'Gorman

An Italian-inspired dish making use of king prawns

Servings

2

Preparation Time

 20 mins

Cooking Time

 45 mins

Total Time

 1 hours 5 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Italian

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

• 1 small onion

• 2 cloves garlic

• 2cm fresh ginger

• 1 red chilli

• 250g fresh plum tomatoes

• 250-300g dried linguine

• 200g raw king prawns

• Handful of fresh parsley

• Small handful of fresh basil

• Flaky sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to season

• A splash of lemon juice

Method

1. Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel and grate the garlic and the ginger. Wash, deseed and finely chop the red chilli and wash and cut the tomatoes into 1cm pieces.

2. Get a large pan of water on to boil and add a generous amount of salt, a heaped teaspoon full is perfect.

3. Heat a heavy based pan over a high heat and add the olive oil. Reduce the heat to medium and add the chopped onion. Sautee them until they are soft, about two minutes will do it. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli and cook those for another one to two minutes, just until the garlic and ginger lose their raw smell. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir well to combine. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid. Cook for ten minutes, checking occasionally and giving the sauce a stir.

4. While the sauce is simmering, cook the linguine. Add the dried pasta to the pan, I generally use about 125g of dried pasta per person but adjust the amount to suit your own requirements. The linguine will take about twelve minutes to cook. You want it to retain some bite, so do not overcook it. I always check mine after ten minutes as the time it requires will vary depending upon the pasta that I use.

5. At the ten minutes stage, check the sauce. The tomatoes will have broken down by now and the sauce will be quite thick, more like a paste than a sauce. Take half a cup of the starchy water from the pasta pot and add that to the sauce, stirring it in well. The salty, starchy water will add flavour but also help bind the pasta and sauce together; and it also helps give a lovely texture to the sauce.

6. When the pasta is ready, drain it into a colander before returning it to the pan. Reserve a little more of the pasta water in case you need to thin the sauce a little more at the end. Add a generous splash of good quality extra virgin olive oil to the cooked pasta at this stage, this will add lots of flavour and prevent it from sticking while you finish the sauce.

7. Turn the heat under the sauce up to medium and add the prawns. Chop the fresh parsley and basil and add those at the same time. Stir to coat the prawns well in the sauce and cook for three minutes, stirring regularly to turn them over and ensure that they cook evenly. Take care not to overcook the prawns or they will lose all their lovely juicy, delicate flavour. They really do just need minutes in the sauce.

8. Tase and add salt and fresh ground black pepper as needed. You will need less salt than you might imagine as there will have been some in the pasta water that you added earlier, but a good grind of fresh black pepper is essential. Add a splash of lemon juice to finish.

9. Serve the pasta on warm plates or pasta bowls and add the sauce and prawns on top. Finish with a little more chopped parsley or basil and serve immediately. If you fancy sides, some garlic and herb bread and a fresh green salad would be perfect.

Fish curry with cherry tomatoes

recipe by:Currabinny Cooks

Cherry tomatoes are the perfect addition to this curry

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 25 mins

Total Time

 30 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 red chilli, deseeded, finely sliced

• 1 thumb of ginger, peeled and cut into thin matchsticks

• 2 fat cloves of garlic, thinly sliced

• 400g cherry tomatoes

• 1 tin of coconut milk

• 4 skinless fillets of Irish hake, cut into chunks

• vegetable oil

• 1 tsp ground coriander

• ½ tsp ground turmeric

• 4 cardamom pods, crushed in a pestle and mortar

• a handful of basil leaves

• sea salt

Method

1. Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in a large frying pan or casserole. Add the chilli, ginger and garlic, cooking while stirring often for around 2 minutes so that the garlic has softened and become fragrant.

2. Add the spices and cook everything while stirring for another minute. Add the tomatoes next and cook for around 10-15 minutes until most of them have burst, releasing their juices into the pan. Next, add the coconut milk and season with a good pinch of sea salt.

3. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the hake fillets to the curry.

4. Cover the pan and leave to cook until the fish has just about cooked through — this should take around 7 minutes.

5. Tear or bruise the basil and scatter it over the curry before serving, either on its own or with rice.

Fish & Chips Tray Bake

recipe by:Caitriona Redmond 

A healthier version of the chip shop classic

Servings

5

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 45 mins

Total Time

 55 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 7 medium potatoes, peeled

• 4 tbsp sunflower oil

• 2 cloves garlic

• 2 green peppers

• 1 large handful of fresh green herbs of your choice (I used chives and parsley)

• 300g white fish chunks (a packet of fish mix is absolutely fine)

• 200g fresh tomatoes to serve

Method

1. Preheat a fan oven to 180°C. Line a large baking tray with tin foil (to save on the washing up).

2. Chop the potatoes into small cubes about 2cm in diameter. There's no need to be too precise, this just helps the spuds to cook quicker and get crunchy on the outside. Dry off the potato cubes with a bit of kitchen paper or a clean tea towel before pouring 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil on the baking tray and tossing cubed potatoes in the oil until they are completely covered. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, turn the potato cubes over halfway through cooking.

3. I use a mini-chopper for the next part, but if you have a knife you'll need to finely chop the garlic, peppers and green herbs together. If you have a mini-chopper, lash the lot into the jug and blend with the sunflower oil. Ensure that your fish has no skin left on it and then toss the fish chunks in the green paste you've made in the chopper.

4. Remove the roasted potato cubes from the oven and sprinkle the fish chunks evenly on top. Return to the oven for 15 minutes.

5. Serve with some fresh chopped tomatoes and a herb salad if you like, although tomato relish would go just as well.