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the best seafood recipes
We’ve featured a lot of dishes derived from the sea over the years – here are some exceptional ones you must try at home

From the earliest age of human civilisation, seafood has been an important food source: it can easily be hunted and gathered, even by those lacking power or speed. Basket-like traps have long been widely used to hunt fish in rivers and lakes. Sometimes, fish were speared just as one would hunt a small animal. Ancient Egyptian civilisation used the symbol of fish for counting large numbers; they ate fish both dried and fresh. It is looked over often, but the rise of ancient Greek and Roman civilisation was in no small part due to the abundant fish of the Mediterranean Sea. Shellfish was a staple food in many locations and in the Jomon period of Japan; the amount of shellfish consumed and thrown away from that time is used to measure how many people lived in a certain area.

Closer home, and thankfully in our time, Muscat’s restaurants offer a range of seafood that spans continents, sea creatures and budgets. You could go from the absolute luxury of caviar at the Iranian restaurant Shiraz to the more earthy tones of mahi kebab at the Iranian Kebab House. Sometimes, though, our favourite dishes are made in assuming kitchens, right at home.

Try this collection, compiled from issues of Oman Today over the recent past. They could provide meals, but we’d rather they serve as inspiration – the entreé leading to a dish created by you.

Method
Boil the potatoes in salty water, peel and cut into big sticks. Cook the French beans in water. Boil the egg for ten minutes, peel off the shell and cut into four pieces. Cut the cherry tomato in two pieces. Spray the zaatar spice on the tuna loin and cook each side for two minutes in a hot pan. Place the lettuce leaves on plates, add the spring onions and put four slices of tuna on each plate. Put the potatoes, egg, cherry tomatoes and French beans in front. Mix the vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper and sprinkle over the dish.

Method
Put the tuna, wrapped in clingfilm, in the freezer for a few hours to make it firm. Unwrap and place on a chopping board. Cut across into very thin slices using a very sharp, long-bladed knife. Place a few slices on each plate and pour the dill dressing over the top. If you want to add parmesan shavings do so at the end.

Method
Heat oil in a frying pan, add onions and fry until brown. Add sliced leeks and fry for two minutes. Add wine and fry for a minute, then add hammour with salt, add cream and cook for five minutes. Put in serving bowl and top with mashed potatoes. Place under the grill until brown.

Method
Half an hour before serving, marinate prawns with rosemary, sage, crashed garlic, oil and lemon juice. Blend oil with minced thyme, lemon juice and salt. Grill the prawn skewer, season mixed salad with dressing. Arrange prawns on a bed of mixed salad and garnish with fresh lemon.

Mix the salad and dressing (oil, salt, pepper and lemon juice). Grill the beef medium rare and cut it into slices. Arrange the beef on a bed of seasoned salad. Sprinkle with minced rosemary and oil.