Stuffed Tarakihi

Name: Stuffed Tarakihi
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 38 min
Total time: 55 min
Ingredients: 1 cup of soft breadcrumbs.; 1 red onion, finely chopped.; 1 tablespoon butter.; Olive oil.; 2 rashers bacon, finely chopped.; 1 finely chopped capsicum.; ½ teaspoon of dry basil.; Salt and freshly-ground black pepper.; 2 tablespoons white wine.

SpotX Wild Foods Recipe from Paula Jackson
Prep:15 minutes Cook:38 minutes Difficulty:1

Ingrediants:

1 cup of soft breadcrumbs.
1 red onion, finely chopped.
1 tablespoon butter.
Olive oil.
2 rashers bacon, finely chopped.
1 finely chopped capsicum.
½ teaspoon of dry basil.
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
2 tablespoons white wine.

Directions:

Heat butter and olive oil in a pan until the butter has melted.
Add onion and cook slowly for 2-3 minutes.
Add bacon and cook for a further 5 minutes, do not brown.
Stir in the capsicum and cook for a minute or less.
Allow to cool and transfer to a large bowl.
Add breadcrumbs, seasoning and basil.
Mix with hands, adding wine as required.
Pack mixture into the gut cavity.
Wrap whole fish in tinfoil, with knobs of butter on the skin.
Bake in the oven at 180°C for 30 minutes.

Tarakihi Recipes

Popeye’s Tarakihi

Spicy Tarakihi

Piquante Tarakihi

Tarakihi al la Citrus

Tarakihi Cru

Whole Tarakihi en Papillote

Stuffed Tarakihi

Tarakihi & Sour Cream

Gran Reid’s Microwaved Tarakihi

Gran Reid's Cajun and Lemon Tarakihi

Gran Reid's Tarakihi Capers

Warm Salad and Tarakihi

Gran Reid’s Steamed Fish

Gran Reid's Fish Chowder

Pan-Seared Tarakihi

Tarakihi
Tarakihi is a common species found right around New Zealand. They are a popular eating fish, being readily available to recreational and commercial fishers alike.
Tarakihi are silver-grey in colour, with a distinctive black band running down their bodies from behind the head. When the Three Kings Islands opened up to sportfishing, those looking for their dinner between targeting marlin ‘discovered’ an XOS tarakihi, named ‘king’ tarakihi, which has similar great eating qualities and grows to 5-6kg in size. King tarakihi are also caught in the Eastern Bay of Plenty and elsewhere.
Tarakihi are not unlike snapper in that at various times of the year they can be found schooling out over the deep mud or alternatively over deeper reef structure. Known for their longevity, many adults are 10-20 years old, with some even reaching 50 years of age.
When on the bite, tarakihi are voracious feeders. Some anglers affectionately refer to them as ‘Tic Tics’, on account of their repeated peck-like bite. They are commonly caught on ledger rigs tied using small 1/0 re-curved hooks or on commercially-tied rigs such as the Black Magic ‘Tarakihi Terrors’.
Tarakihi has a firm flesh and is easily filleted in the same way you would a snapper. The inside of the gut cavity has a black lining instead of the pearlescent one found in many other species, but don’t let that put you off as the meat is light in appearance and sweet. Tarakihi is a species that lends itself to a variety of approaches from the person in charge of the galley.