Fishy delights, from Jamie Oliver's gravadlax and Sophie Dahl's crab linguine to Rick Stein's Vietnamese smoked fish and mango salad and Giorgio Locatelli's spaghetti al crudo

Jamie Oliver: Gravadlax

I've been making gravadlax since I was 10, long before I knew it was Swedish. The word comes from the Scandinavian word for grave, because historically they wrapped salmon fillets in beech bark and buried them with bricks on top to help push the salt into the fish and cure it. This beautiful, delicate dish sums up everything I love about Swedish food: it's elegant, clean and fresh, and not only does it look incredible, it's also a doddle to make. Of course you can buy it ready-made, but there's something so exciting about doing your own. Serves 10 as a starter.

1 side salmon fillet (around 700g), skin on and pin-boned
160g rock salt
50g demerara sugar
40g fresh horseradish, peeled and finely grated (or jarred grated horseradish)
300g raw beetroots, peeled and coarsely grated
50ml plain schnapps or vodka
1 large bunch fresh dill, with flowers if possible, flowers reserved, leaves finely chopped
1 lemon
For the creamy sauce
200ml soured cream
1–2 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard
1 good pinch sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Zest and juice of ½ lemon
1 small handful fresh dill, leaves finely chopped

Place the salmon skin side down in a large tray and spoon the salt evenly all over the fish – this will draw out the moisture and make it dense and firm enough to carve. Scatter over the sugar to give some sweetness, then spread the horseradish and beets all over, so the flesh is covered. Gently pat it down with your hands (you may want to wear rubber gloves to prevent your hands getting stained). Drizzle over the schnapps, then sprinkle over all the chopped dill and a few dill flowers, if you have them. Finely grate over the lemon zest, then cover the tray tightly with clingfilm. Pop a weight on top to pack everything down (a couple of bottles of mineral water or another tray filled with a few cans should do the trick), then refrigerate for 48 hours.

After two days, unwrap the fish and, holding the fillet in place with one hand, pour away the juices from the tray. Use your hands to push away all the toppings (this can be really messy, so again you may want to wear gloves). Wipe everything off the fish, then pat dry with kitchen paper.

Place the fish on a board skin side down and, starting at the tail end, carefully separate the skin from the fillet. With a really long, sharp knife, and with long rocking motions, angle the knife down slightly towards the skin and carve along the length of the fillet to remove the skin. Trim off any brown bits of fish, then flip it back over. (For more guidance, go to jamieoliver.com/how-to.) Slicing as thinly as you can, cut as much fish as you need from the fillet and arrange on a board or plate. Wrap the rest of the fillet in clingfilm and put it back in the fridge, where it will stay happily for two weeks.

Before serving, mix together the sauce ingredients, have a taste, add a bit more dill or lemon juice if you think it needs it, and serve the sauce in a bowl alongside the gravadlax.

To drink: Grand Enclos de Château Cérons 2006 (£14.99, Marks & Spencer, 53 stores only; 13% abv) is rich, slightly toasty and has dill-like notes. Also, with 70% semillon, it's not too acidic, so the salmon won't "cook" in your mouth as you taste the two together.

Thomasina Miers: Barbecued monkfish with hot sauce

A wonderfully simple and delicious recipe for a barbecue. Be warned, though: the salsa is not for the faint-hearted. I'd serve this with refried beans, which are a wonderful foil for the hot sauce. Habañeros are just like scotch bonnet chillies, and have a wonderfully fruity flavour beneath that intense heat. Serves six.

500g monkfish tail
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
Juice of ½ lime
5 fresh bay leaves, torn into small pieces
For the sauce
2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and chopped
3 medium carrots, peeled and finely diced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1-2 scotch bonnet chillies, stems removed
Juice of 2 limes
2 tbsp white-wine vinegar (or good-quality cider vinegar)

Cut the monkfish tail lengthways down the middle and cut each half into three equal-sized pieces. It is a very dense fish, so will be much easier to cook in steaks. Put the fish in a shallow bowl, season well, drizzle with the oil and lime juice, and scatter over the bay leaves. Coat the fish pieces well and leave in the fridge to marinate for at least an hour. Take out of the fridge 15 minutes before you want to cook, so the fish comes up to room temperature.

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a pan, sweat the onion and carrots for 10 minutes, then add the garlic. Season well with salt and a touch of pepper, and cook until the onion turns translucent. Add 500ml of water, bring to a boil and simmer until the carrots are soft. Add the remaining ingredients and purée in a blender until smooth. Taste for seasoning. (Once made, the sauce will keep in a sterilised jar in the fridge for weeks, if not months.)

Light the barbecue at least an hour before you want to eat, and when the flames have died down and you can hold your hand a hand's length above the coals for not more than five seconds, you are ready to cook. (Alternatively, grill the fish on a griddle pan indoors instead.)

Cook for three to five minutes a side, depending on its thickness, basting with a little of the habañero sauce while you're cooking. Serve with more sauce on the side, refried beans and a lovely green salad.

To drink: Here you need the salty, sweet-sour, lime-sharp taste of a proper margarita. Don't use martini glasses, though; keep it casual. Salt the rims of small tumblers and fill with ice. Shake two parts tequila, one part freshly squeezed lime juice and one part Cointreau in a cocktail shaker with ice, strain into the glasses and add a chunk of lime.

Thomasina Miers is chef/patron of Wahaca in London. Her most recent book is Mexican Food Made Simple (Hodder & Stoughton, £20).

Maria Elia: Watermelon and seafood curry

I have an obsession with watermelon, and to me this is the ultimate summer dish – refreshing, light, colourful and with an abundance of flavour. I've suggested squid and crab, but prawns and scallops work, too. The dish can be easily "vegetarianised" by omitting the fish sauce and seafood, and adding pan-fried paneer and cooked black beans instead – I particularly like the way the beans look like watermelon seeds. Serves six.

For the curry base
3kg watermelon (a seedless variety works best), peeled and deseeded
4 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 onion, finely chopped
60g ginger, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped
2 stalks lemongrass, finely chopped
2 tsp turmeric
4 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 pinch cayenne pepper
Fish sauce, to taste
Freshly squeezed lime juice, to taste (around 3 limes)
For the seafood
10 squid tubes
150g white crab meat
For the coconut rice
350g basmati rice
350ml coconut milk
350ml water
Pinch of salt
1 bunch coriander, picked and finely chopped, to garnish
3 limes, cut in half, to serve

In a blender or food processor, liquidise 2.5kg of the watermelon; cut the rest into 1cm cubes.

Heat half the oil in a large frying pan and, when hot, gently cook the onion, ginger and garlic until soft. Add the chillies, lemongrass and spices, cook for a minute, until fragrant, then add the liquidised watermelon. Bring to a boil, then simmer until reduced by half – around 20 minutes. Once reduced, add fish sauce (I use about two tablespoons) and lime juice to taste.

Heat the remaining oil in a large frying pan. Season the squid and fry in batches over a high heat for three minutes, then set aside.

Wash the rice in cold water until the water runs clear, then put in a large saucepan along with the coconut milk, water and salt. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat, leave covered for five minutes, then "fluff" up with a fork.

Once the curry has reduced sufficiently, add the squid, crab, most of the coriander and the watermelon cubes, and heat through. Add fish sauce (two tablespoons, say) and lime juice to taste. Serve garnished with lime halves and chopped coriander, along with the coconut rice.

To drink: Pair cool watermelon and spicy seafood with the Chilean Cono Sur Viognier 2009 (around £6.99, Majestic, Morrisons, Oddbins and Waitrose; 13.5% abv).

Maria Elia is the author of The Modern Vegetarian (Kyle Cathie, £16.99).

Ching-He Huang: Taiwan-inspired 'teriyaki' squid with a citrussy salad

Serves four.

For the squid
12 whole baby squid (each around 10cm long), cleaned
6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
6 tbsp light soy sauce
6 tbsp mijiu rice wine, mirin, vodka or sake
6 tbsp soft brown sugar
Ground chilli powder, cayenne pepper or hot smoked paprika
White sesame seeds, toasted until brown
For the citrussy salad
150g mixed salad leaves
12 ripe green seedless grapes, sliced in half
12 pink grapefruit segments
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and sliced
1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced
Mustard cress leaves
For the dressing
2 tbsp groundnut oil
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp orange juice
1 pinch ground white pepper

Cut the head and tentacles off the squid, slice off the tentacles and put to one side. Discard the heads. Slice through one side of the body of each squid from top to bottom and open out. Put the garlic, soy sauce, rice wine and sugar into a bowl. Add the squid and turn to coat, then leave to marinate for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, soak six bamboo skewers in cold water for 20 minutes and start on the salad. Put all the ingredients for the dressing into a bowl and mix well. Divide the salad ingredients equally between four serving bowls, cover and chill in the fridge until ready to serve.

Skewer each squid right through from base to top, then place the tentacles on the top of each skewer. Retain the marinade. Heat a griddle pan over a high heat. Place the squid skewer on the griddle and cook for a minute on one side. Brush with the reserved marinade, flip over and cook for another minute, brushing with reserved marinade to baste. Cook until the squid has turned opaque, the flesh is slightly firm to the touch and the marinade coating has turned sticky. Dust with chilli powder, cayenne pepper or smoked paprika, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and serve immediately with the salad, over which you drizzle the dressing at the last minute.

To drink: From the vertiginous slopes of the Mosel, the medium sweet Dr Wagner Riesling 2009 Mosel (£7.99, Waitrose; 10% abv) has a delicious lift of white blossom and Cox's apples.

Ching-He Huang's latest book is Chinese Food In Minutes (HarperCollins, £18.99).

Sophie Dahl: Linguine with tomatoes, lemon, chilli and crab

Stolen, stolen, stolen – this recipe (and variations thereof) has graced summer menus all over the place, the best and first at the brilliant River Cafe in London. But oh, it's good, and so moreish, and seems to epitomise summer in every bite. If there is one good summer pasta dish to have in your repertoire, this should be it. Serves two.

75g cherry tomatoes
Sea salt
1 clove garlic, peeled
½ red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
Juice and zest of 1 lemon
170g cooked crab meat (white and brown)
180g wholemeal/wholewheat or spelt linguine
Fresh chopped parsley

Cut the tomatoes in half and sprinkle with a little sea salt. Using a pestle and mortar, crush the garlic and chilli to a pulp. Mix in the oil, lemon juice and zest. Add the crab to the mix if your mortar is big enough; if not, transfer everything to a slightly bigger bowl.

Cook the pasta in salted, boiling water until al dente, drain, transfer to a serving bowl, pour over the crab mixture and tomatoes, mix, sprinkle with parsley, and eat.

To drink: Albariño and crab are a match made in heaven – try Taste the Difference Albariño 2009 (£6.99, Sainsbury's; 12.5% abv).

Extracted from Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights, by Sophie Dahl (HarperCollins, £20).

Sam & Sam Clark: Tuna with rosemary manteca, and peas and lentils

The idea here is similar to putting garlic and parsley butter on a piece of fish, but in Spain they use manteca (lard) or jamón fat instead. It's worth asking in a deli if they have any spare fat from a prosciutto or jamón, as there is often wastage when the ham is trimmed. You need pure, ivory-white fat, because the yellower fat from the outside of the leg can taste a little rancid. Alternatively use lardo (from most Italian delis). You could substitute any firm white fish for the tuna, such as turbot, monkfish or halibut. We serve this with peas and lentils, a pleasing textural combination in a fresh, lively, herby dressing. It's a particularly versatile side dish. Serves four.

For the peas and lentils
170g small brown lentils
1 garlic clove, sliced
1 bay leaf
600ml water
Salt and freshly groundblack pepper
250g shelled peas or petits pois, fresh or frozen
1 tbsp roughly chopped fresh mint
1 tbsp very finely shredded fresh sage
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp sweet red-wine vinegar or good-quality red-wine vinegar with a pinch of sugar
For the fish
100g manteca, jamón fat or lardo, finely chopped
1 small garlic clove
½ heaped tbsp fresh rosemary

4 tuna steaks, about 200g each
2 tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, cut into quarters

First make the side dish. Put the lentils, garlic and bay in a medium saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15–20 minutes, until the lentils are just tender (top up the water should it fall below the level of the lentils). They should be cooked but firm; it is important they retain their shape. Remove from the heat, season with salt and set aside.

Half-fill another saucepan with salted water and bring to a boil. Add the peas; simmer for two minutes for fresh peas, 30 seconds for frozen ones, until tender. Drain and transfer to a large bowl. Drain the warm lentils, reserving a little of their liquid. Add the lentils and their reserved liquid to the peas, along with the mint, sage, olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar. Season, stir well and check seasoning. Serve warm.

Now for the fish. Put the chopped fat in a small saucepan and place over a very low heat to melt – this should take five to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain into a bowl, discarding the solids. Let it cool slightly, then place in the fridge to set for an hour or so. Once set, chop the garlic and rosemary together until very fine and stir into the fat. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat a griddle pan or barbecue to a high heat (or medium-high if you're using a fish other than tuna). Season the fish and brush with oil. Lay the fish on the griddle or barbecue (if not using tuna and your fish has the skin on, place the fillets skin side down first). Sear for about a minute on each side – serve tuna medium-rare (pink) in the middle, or rarer if you prefer. (White fish will take rather longer, several minutes on each side, because it should be cooked through.) Remove from the heat and transfer to four warmed plates. Dab the manteca over the fish, spreading it out with the back of a spoon, and serve with the lentils and peas, and lemon wedges.

To drink: The bright freshness of a modern-style rioja such as the bargain Ramon Bilbao Single Vineyard Rioja 2007 (£6.99, down from £8.99 when you buy two or more, Majestic; 13.5% abv) is delicious with lentils and meaty fish.

Samantha and Samuel Clark are chefs/patrons of Moro in London. Their most recent book is Moro East (Ebury Press, £25).

Atul Kochar: Malvan prawn fry

Malvan is a small town in Maharashtra, in the Konkan region of India. The Konkanis' spice combinations are unique, with red chilli leading the flavour all the time. You won't need all the spice paste for this dish, but it's not really worth making it in smaller quantities – it keeps well in the fridge in a sealed tub for a couple of weeks. Serves four.

For the masala (spice paste)
1 tbsp sunflower oil
2 medium onions, thinly sliced and deep fried
5 cloves, toasted
8-10 peppercorns, toasted
2-inch cinnamon stick, toasted
½ tsp caraway seeds, toasted
2 small dried red chillies, toasted
75g desiccated coconut, toasted
For the prawns
12-16 medium prawns, shelled and deveined
Salt, to taste
2 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp Malvani masala (see above)
¼ tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp red chilli powder
2 tbsp ginger and garlic paste
4 tbsp rice flour
4 tbsp semolina
Sunflower oil, to shallow fry

First make the spice mix by blending all the ingredients into a paste.

Wash the prawns under running cold water and pat dry with kitchen towel. Marinate the prawns in salt and lemon juice, and set aside for 15 minutes.

Mix together the masala, turmeric, chilli and ginger and garlic paste, apply the resulting paste to the prawns and refrigerate for 30-40 minutes. Mix the rice flour and semolina on a plate and set aside.

Heat the oil in a pan to shallow fry, dust the prawns in the rice flour and semolina mixture, and fry in batches until golden brown all over. Drain on kitchen towel and keep warm. Serve hot with a spicy tomato chutney or a mint and coriander chutney.

To drink: Harviestoun Bitter & Twisted (around £1.95, Sainsbury's, Waitrose; 4.2% abv) has a hoppy sharpness and a lemon tang.

Atul Kochar is chef/patron of Benares and Colony in London. His latest book is Fish, Indian Style (Absolute Press, £14.99).

Mitch Tonks: Seafood salad with wild fennel

One of my favourite summer dishes, especially with a chilled bottle of rosé. This was on our menu all last summer, and the time is now right to start making it again. It's very easy but, as with all seafood dishes, you need very fresh seafood. I like to use a light olive oil in this – my preference is Ravida, because it's very grassy and light. Serves four.

2 garlic cloves, peeled
Olive oil
Splash white wine
300g live mussels
300g live clams
1 cuttlefish, cleaned and cut into 2.5cm strips
1 small squid, cleaned and cut into rings
150g monkfish fillet, cut into thin slices
300g small shell-on cooked prawns (these have a far better flavour than ready-peeled ones)
75g peeled brown shrimps
Sea salt
Juice 1 lemon
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
1 tbsp finely chopped wild fennel herb
1 big handful rocket

Place a garlic clove in a saucepan with a splash of olive oil and heat until the garlic just starts to colour – this will flavour the oil. Add the wine, mussels and clams, cover and cook until the shells have all opened (throw away any that haven't). Strain the contents of the pan into a bowl, so you don't lose any of those lovely juices, and set aside the mussels and clams to cool.

Strain the juice through a cloth or very fine sieve, to get rid of any grit, and return to the pan. Add the cuttlefish and cook gently for 40 minutes, until tender. Remove with a slotted spoon and leave to cool.

Add the squid and monkfish to the pan, poach for five to six minutes, then remove. Take the mussels and clams from their shells and put in a bowl with the other seafood. Sprinkle with salt, the juice of a half a lemon and the herbs, add the oil and fishy juices from the pan, and mix. Adjust the seasoning to taste, adding more lemon if needed, and serve on a bed of rocket with lemon wedges alongside. And don't forget that rosé.

To drink: A pale, aniseedy rosé is needed alongside the fennel here. Try the Corsican Domaine Saparale Vin de Corse Sartene 2009 (£12.50, Yapp Brothers; 13%), a blend of nielluccio, sciacarello and vermentino. Easy to drink and the quintessence of summer.

Mitch Tonks is chef/patron of The Seahorse in Dartmouth, Devon, and Rockfish Grill in Bristol. His latest book is Fish: The Complete Fish And Seafood Companion (Pavilion Books, £25).

Rick Stein: Spicy green mango salad with smoked fish and a sweet-and-sour dressing

Aka njham svay trey heu. This salad was prepared for me by our Cambodian guide Sophal's aunt using dried fish that she flaked with her fingers into the shredded green mango, lime juice and fish sauce mixture, with other textures being given by crunchy roasted peanuts and a little red chilli. Serves two as a main course or four as a starter.

4 smoked mackerel fillets (about 275g)
Vegetable oil, for deep-frying
1 green mango, weighing about 450g
1 large carrot (about 75g)
30g shallots, very thinly sliced
1 red bird's eye chilli, finely chopped
25g roasted peanuts, roughly chopped
2 tsp palm sugar
1 tbsp fish sauce
About 1 tbsp lime juice (depends on the tartness of the mango)
15g Thai sweet basil, chopped

Skin the mackerel fillets and break the flesh into small flakes. Pour 2cm oil into a pan and heat to 190C. Sprinkle the fish flakes into the oil and deep fry for a minute, until crispy. It will all stick together at this point, but don't worry. Lift out on to a tray lined with lots of kitchen paper and leave to cool, then break up into small pieces again.

Peel the mango and carrot, and shred, ideally using a mandolin. Toss in a large bowl with the shallots, chilli, peanuts and fried fish pieces. Mix the sugar with the fish sauce and lime juice, add to the salad with the Thai basil, and toss again. Pile into the centre of two medium-sized plates (or four small plates, if serving as a starter) and serve straight away.

To drink: This delicious hot, sour, bright salad needs sweetness to calm the heat of the chilli; Trierer Deutschherrenberg Riesling Spätlese 2002/3 (£8.99, Majestic; 8% abv) is perfect and easy – and has a bit of bottle-age that works well with the smoked fish.

Rick Stein is chef/patron of The Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall. His latest book is Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey (BBC Books, £25).

Nathan Outlaw: Grilled plaice with mustard and tarragon sauce, asparagus and peas

My perfect British summer dish? Well, it has to be fish – and few fish dishes are more British than plaice and peas (with a few extra bits and pieces, admittedly). Serves four.

1.5kg plaice, filleted, skinned and cut into 100g portions (save the trimmings for making goujons, say; get the fishmonger to do the prep, if need be)
Salt
Oil
For the sauce
1 egg yolk
1 tsp cider vinegar
1 tsp English mustard
250ml olive oil
Salt, to taste
50ml double cream
100ml fish stock
1 baby gem lettuce, finely shredded
100g fresh peas, blanched, outer skins removed
100g Maris Piper potatoes, peeled, diced and cooked
2 gherkins, diced
2 tsp chopped tarragon
To serve
16 asparagus spears, peeled and blanched
50ml lemon oil (or olive oil)

First make the sauce. Put the egg, vinegar and mustard in a bowl, whisk for a minute, then slowly add the olive oil – don't overwhisk, otherwise the mix will split. Season with a little salt. Now you have a mustard mayonnaise. To finish the sauce, add the double cream to the mustard mayo and gently heat up the stock. Whisk the fish stock into the mayonnaise bit by bit, until it's of a consistency that just coats the back of a spoon. Set aside.

Preheat the grill. When hot, take a tray, season it with salt, add a little oil and lay the fish portions in the tray. Grill for around six minutes, then remove. Leave the fish on the try for two minutes – the fish will finish cooking in the residual heat from the tray – then serve.

While the fish is cooking, add the final touches to the sauce. First add the lettuce, peas and potatoes, heat through for a minute, stir in the gherkins and tarragon, and season. To serve, take four warm bowls, ladle sauce into the centre of each bowl, lay the fish on top and garnish each portion with four asparagus spears and a dribble of lemon oil.

To drink: It's a rare joy to find a white burgundy with the pedigree of Laboure-Roi Saint Romain 2008 (£8.99, down from £9.99 when you buy two or more, Majestic; 12.5% abv) for such a low price, and its distinctive smell is a good match for tarragon with fresh fish.

Nathan Outlaw is chef/patron of Restaurant Nathan Outlaw and Seafood & Grill, both in Rock, Cornwall.

Tom Parker Bowles: Ceviche of bream with Morecambe bay shrimps

Serves four.

1 medium-large sea bream (around 1kg), filleted, skinned and pin-boned (ask the fishmonger to do this, if need be)
Juice of 2 limes
1 handful fresh coriander leaves, chopped
2 medium tomatoes, skinned, seeded and diced
3 chopped jalapeño chillies (the proper ones, not those impotent Dutch monstrosities)
Sea salt
Black pepper
1 tbsp Morecambe Bay shrimps, peeled
Crisp tortilla, to serve

Slice the bream fillets into 0.5cm strips, then dice. Place in a large, shallow bowl or plate, then pour or scatter over the lime juice, coriander, tomatoes and chillies. Add a good pinch of sea salt and a good grinding of black pepper, and refrigerate for no more than 30 minutes. Remove from the fridge, stir in the shrimps and serve on a crisp tortilla.

To drink: The tingling, wild flower lightness of Domaine de Planterieu 2009 Vin de Pays des Côtes de Gascogne (£5.49, Waitrose; 10.5% abv) makes it a white to lift and play with the herbaceous fragrance of the tomatoes, coriander and lime. It also has a hint of residual sugar to counter the heat in the chilli.

Tom Parker Bowles is a food writer and journalist. His most recent book is Full English: A Journey Through The British And Their Food (Ebury, £12.99). 

Lisa Allen: Wild sea bass with shrimp toastie, tomato liquor and samphire

One of my absolute favourite summer recipes, using all local produce at the peak of its season. I'll always have happy memories of this because it helped me win the fish course on this year's Great British Menu. Serves four.

4 wild sea bass fillets, around 60g each
For the tomato liquor
1kg ripe tomatoes
60g white wine
6g salt
4g sugar
3g basil
5g garlic (sliced)
20g onion
250g tomato juice
For the shrimp toasties
50g butter
8g chopped chives
10g diced onion
2g mace
4g lemon juice
Salt
20g melted butter
40g shrimps
4 slices white bread
To garnish
40g blanched and shelled broad beans
50g samphire
A day ahead, make the liquor. Cut the tomatoes into four and put in a large pan. Add all the other liquor ingredients, place on a low heat and simmer for two and a half hours. Pass through a tammy cloth or muslin, and leave to drain over a bowl – do not squeeze, because this will make the liquid cloudy. Once drained, chill until needed.

To make the toasties, use an electric beater to beat the butter for five minutes until it turns white. Add the chives, onion, mace, lemon juice and a pinch of salt, and fold into the butter. Mix the shrimps into the butter.

Remove the crust from each slice of bread. Roll one piece of bread at a time through a pasta machine, going down to the thinnest setting (alternatively use a rolling pin, though this won't have quite the same effect). Cut the bread into pieces 10cm wide and 6cm long.

Divide the butter mix into four and place a quarter of it on the bottom and middle of one slice of bread. Brush the sides with melted butter, then fold the bread over the filling, fold in the sides and brush with melted butter. Fold the bread over again to form a neat parcel. Repeat with the remaining bread and filling. Just before serving, shallow fry the toasties for three minutes, until golden all over, transfer to kitchen paper and season with salt.

Season each side of the sea bass fillets with salt. In a hot, nonstick frying pan, add a generous amount of oil and lay in the fillets skin side down. Cook for three to four minutes, until the fish is just cooked, if not a little under-cooked. Transfer to kitchen paper.

To assemble the dish, put the broad beans and 40g samphire in a medium bowl, add a little oil and season with salt.

Spoon three dessertspoons of tomato liquor into the bottom of each serving bowl. Equally divide the broad bean and samphire mix between each, then top with a warm fish fillet. Put a hot toastie on top of the fish and garnish with the remaining samphire.

To drink: Pin-sharp and crisply green, Taste The Difference Pouilly Fumé 2009 (£9.99, Sainsbury's; 13.5% abv) really flies against the salty seawater taste of samphire.

Lisa Allen is head chef at Northcote Manor in Langho, Lancashire.

Giorgio Locatelli: Spaghetti al crudo

Or spaghetti with tomatoes, olives, capers and anchovies. Crudo means raw, and in this recipe the sauce is uncooked. Look for a spaghetti with a surface that is slightly rough, rather than very shiny, because you need everything to cling to the pasta. This is all about the quality of ingredients, notably the tomatoes and basil. The tomatoes we use are the big ones, Cuore di Bue, which are fleshy and juicy and don't have too many seeds. On a hot day in Italy, many people add a tin of tuna to the sauce. Serves four (or six as a starter).

2 tbsp capers (baby ones, if possible)
4 tbsp black olives, preferably Tagiasche, pitted
5 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
2 large tomatoes, or 3 smaller ones (the best quality you can find), finely chopped
2 tbsp tomato passata
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
400g spaghetti
1 bunch basil
5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

Put all the ingredients except the spaghetti, basil and half of the oil in a sauté pan and mix together, but don't heat. Taste and season.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil (use a little less salt than usual, because the anchovies will add salt later), drop in the pasta and use a fork to curl the pasta around the pan so that it gets submerged quickly. Cook for about a minute less than the time given on the packet (usually five to six minutes), until al dente.

While the pasta is cooking, put the sauté pan containing the ingredients for the sauce over the top of the pasta pan, so the steam just warms everything up a little and the flavours start to infuse.

When the pasta is cooked, drain, but reserve the cooking water. Add the pasta to the sauté pan and toss through, adding a little of the cooking water as necessary to loosen. Add the rest of the oil and toss through again. Tear the basil leaves, scatter over and toss through again. Serve straight away.

To drink: The clean, crisp lines of Torres Viña Sol 2009 (£5.97, Asda, £6.79, Tesco; 11.5% abv), with its refreshing garden herb finish, provide the perfect backdrop to the raw tomato sauce. A simple wine for a simple dish.

Giorgio Locatelli is chef/patron of Locanda Locatelli in London, and author of Made In Italy (Bloomsbury, £22.50).

Aktar Islam: Roasted Keralan sour fish

I first came across this dish a couple of years ago on one of my tours of India. I've adapted it a fair bit to suit me, but the key ingredients remain true to the spirit of the authentic deep-fried mackerel street (or beach) snack that I tasted in Cochin. You should be able to get the less familiar spices from an Indian supermarket or grocer.

For the kokum massala
15-20 curry leaves
½ tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp deghi mirch (Kashmiri chilli)
¼ tsp fennel seeds
¼ star anise
½ tsp salt, to taste
1 medium onion, chopped
75-100ml kokum juice – to make this, wash and soak kokum (fish tamarind) in warm water
For the tempering
75ml coconut oil
¼ tsp mustard seeds
5-6 curry leaves
Finely chopped coriander leaves
Salt and cracked pepper
For the fish
1 large sea bass, scaled and gutted
1 tsp garlic and ginger paste
Juice of ½ lime
Sprinkle of sea salt
Banana leaves, blanched quickly in boiling water
Finely chopped coriander leaves
For the salad
½ cucumber sliced
1 large red onion, finely sliced
1 handful finely chopped coriander
Drizzle of olive oil
Lemon juice, to taste
Sprinkle of cracked pepper
Sprinkle of chaat massala (this is a traditional Indian spice and herb mix used on fish and vegetables; you can get it from any Indian food shop)
Salt, to taste

Blitz all the ingredients for the kokum massala until smooth, then set aside. Now temper the marinade: heat the coconut oil in a small pan, add the mustard seeds and cook until they pop – only 30 seconds or so – then add the curry leaves followed by the massala. Cook out until the mix comes together and thickens. Set aside to cool, sprinkle in fresh coriander and taste for seasoning.

Cut incisions along the sides of the bass and rub garlic and ginger paste into these. Squeeze lime juice all over the fish and sprinkle with salt. Liberally coat the fish in the massala, wrap it up in banana leaves to make a parcel and tie with string.

Heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4, place the fish parcel on the top shelf and roast for 15-20 minutes, depending on the size of the fish. To check that the fish is cooked, pull on the dorsal fins – they will come away easily if it is done. Mix together all the ingredients for the salad and serve alongside the roasted fish with chopped coriander sprinkled on top.

To drink: White Rhône blends can seem unassuming when drunk alone, then come into their own with food: La Vieille Ferme 2009 Côtes du Luberon ( £6.39, Waitrose; 13% abv) is made from grenache blanc, bourboulenc and viognier, and sings with fish.

Aktar Islam is head chef at Lasan in Birmingham.

Thomasina Miers
Sophie Dahl
Rick Stein
Tom Parker Bowles
Giorgio Locatelli
Victoria Moore