A majority of people in Ireland will tuck in to turkey or ham on Christmas day but fish is making a comeback as a main alternative in Ireland.

Fish is particularly popular for Christmas dinner starters, one fishmonger has said.

On Lunchtime Live, Kish Fish managing director Tadhg O’Meara said smoked salmon, crab and prawn cocktails are making a “comeback” for starters.

“It's light and it can be served throughout the day,” he said.

“Some people might cook a whole fish if they're not big meat eaters.

“They might [cook a] turbot or brill or a piece of hake as an alternative [to turkey or ham].”

Mr O’Meara said a very popular alternative for a Christmas main is baking a “whole salmon”, but he would encourage people to incorporate the turkey and ham as well as fish if they are traditional.

Different options

Mr O’Meara dished out a few different tips and options for cooking fish as a starter or main dish.

One option he discussed was crab meat on Guinness brown bread.

“It’s a simple option,” he said.

The sauce he created is “just mayonnaise and lemon” to “bind the crab meat” and cut the sweetness of the brown bread.

“On one of [the examples] here, I have [the crab meat on] a little bit of lettuce [and] this is a healthy alternative,” Mr O’Meara said.

Another option is a prawn cocktail with a Marie Rose sauce.

“It's something that you could just pick up in your hand if you have a group of people in the house - it’s very good,” he said.

Properly preparing scallops

Mr O’Meara added that scallops are a great option for “something hot”.

“We normally do [scallops] with some black pudding, and we'd grill off some parma ham, get kind of nice shards of salty parma ham on it, and it's nice,” he said.

“Even just the scallop flavour actually speaks for itself.”

Mr O’Meara explained how to not overcook scallops, saying they only need about “a minute and a half” on each side.

“What I would do is just put them onto a hot pan and then a little bit of butter on top, and just let the butter caramelise on them,” he said.

“Don't even shake the pan, just leave them sizzle away for one or two minutes each side.

“Anything after that, you are overdoing them and even if they are slightly undercooked, they're still fine.”

"Confidence"

For a main course, Mr O’Meara suggested the option of a fish pie, which he suggested ordering, but you can also make yourself at home.

In terms of collection timings, Mr O’Meara said the 23rd or 24th of December are good days to order your Christmas fish.

He said pre-ordering fish is not as necessary as pre-ordering a turkey or ham.

Mr O’Meara also said that the biggest barrier for people who want to cook fish for Christmas time is that they don’t have the “confidence” to cook it at home.

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Fish for dinner. Image: Alamy