Ligurian Seafood Platter

• 500g monkfish fillets, cut into 3cm chunks
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup white wine
• ½ tsp salt
• 4 peppercorns
• 3 squid tubes (300-350g), cleaned and skinned, sliced into ½cm rings
• 16 large Australian banana prawns
• 2 dozen scallops (optional)
• ½ cup lemon juice
• salt and ground black pepper
• 500g cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 bunch basil leaves

Ligurian Basil and Caper Dressing 

• 2 fat garlic cloves
• 1 packed cup basil leaves
• 1 packed cup parsley leaves
• ¼ cup finely grated parmesan
• 1 tbsp capers
• finely grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup olive oil
• a pinch of salt

Place fish in a pot with water, wine, salt and peppercorns. Heat on high and remove from heat as soon as it comes to the boil. Leave fish uncovered in cooking liquid for at least 30 minutes to cool.

Bring another pot of water to the boil, add squid rings, bring back to the boil then scoop out of the pot and cool at once under cold water; drain well. If not using immediately, cover and chill. Do the same with the prawns, plunging them into boiling water and removing them as soon as they turn pink. Cool under cold water as for squid. If using scallops, place in a bowl, pour over boiling water and leave to cool.

To assemble platter, drain all seafood and place in a bowl (reserving a few prawns for garnish). Add lemon juice, season with salt and pepper and toss gently to combine. Carefully mix through cherry tomatoes and basil leaves then pile onto a platter. Top with reserved prawns and drizzle over ¼ cup Lugurian Basil and Caper Dressing. Serve the rest of the dressing in a small bowl.

Ligurian Basil and Caper Dressing

Combine garlic cloves, basil, parsley, parmesan, capers, lemon zest, olive oil and salt in a food processor and whizz until smooth. Store in a jar in the fridge for up to a week.