Simple Seafood Recipes for Your Christmas Feast

Christmas is almost here, and that means some iconic traditions, such as Santa Claus, in his red coat and black belt. It means Christmasy scenes on cards, and singing Jingle Bells with family and friends. It means lights, inside and out, and decorations galore. But the timing of Christmas in Australia means the creation of a few traditions of our own, and one of those is seafood. 

Australian Traditions

While turkey and ham are still staples at almost any holiday feast, the summer season and the close proximity to the ocean allow for fresh seafood on Christmas Day. From scallops and prawns to oysters and lobster, people are reaching for the fresh seafood and produce from their local markets. 

Just look at the annual Sydney Fish Market Christmas seafood marathon. It’s expected that more than 120 tonnes of prawns and 70,000 dozen oysters will be sold over 36 hours immediately prior to Christmas. They provide seafood to local patrons, vendors, and people driving from miles around to shop at their market. If that doesn’t say fresh seafood, nothing does. 

But once we have all that fresh seafood in our refrigerator, just what are we supposed to do with it? Cooking seafood can seem scary if you’ve never done it before or are relatively new at it. But it’s really quite simple. Seafood cooks fast, taking only a few minutes, really, on the heat. 

Here are a couple of recipes to get you started on – or to change up – your Christmas seafood tradition.