Passionate hunter/gatherer Peter Langlands is all about making the most of the natural food sources on offer around us. He shares some of his favourite feeds that can be almost completely harvested from our shores.

For me, staying active over the winter is important and if I can put something on the table then it’s an added bonus. Going out recreational fishing, harvesting or foraging often allows me to put healthy foods on the table that are not readily available in shops (such as paua). The lower population in the South Island means that often there is still a good bounty of seafoods available in many areas.

Flounder 

Flounder are one of my winter mainstays. They are often inshore, especially earlier in the winter with June being a prime month. Many areas allow for inshore set-netting over the winter such as in the large bays on Banks Peninsula. Set netting is certainly the most efficient way of catching flounder, especially when the water is turbid. In areas with clearer water, spear fishing is a good option. On a calm night, flounder are abundant throughout the South Island in muddy harbours and estuaries, with yellow belly flounder being the main catch. On sweeping open ocean beaches, drag-netting is a good option too. Investing in a wetsuit will allow you to get out on the coldest of winter nights (and then there is no need to go to the gym).

Flounder are very easy to clean and cook. Simply cut the head and scoop out the guts. There is no need to scale flounder. Diagonally score the flounder and put them in an oven tray with a seasoning of cracked pepper and a little salt and cook in butter for about 15 minutes at 200 degrees. Keep all the juices in the tray and pour them over the vegetables that are served with the flounder for extra flavour. For me, the flounder is the number one winter sea fish and are readily accessible in shallow water throughout the season.

Gurnard

Gurnard are a top fish to target in the winter and the fisheries in the Marlborough Sounds and Golden Bay have really bounced back in recent years. Using flasher rigs with a soft bait bounced from a slowly drifting boat is an effective way to catch them. Pilchard is my preferred choice of bait.

Gurnard are a delicious fish to cook whole on the bone in the oven with a selection of soft herbs. If you are going to fillet them then do so just before cooking as I find the flavour quickly gets lost. Always wash sea fish in salt water to avoid the flavour being leeched out. Gurnard, like flounder, are a fast growing and tasty fish that is well worth targeting, especially for small boat anglers fishing the top half of the South Island.

Paua

Paua are a favourite winter food. I often go for paua on the extra low tides that occur for about 3-4 days each month. Check the tide heights and target this period. The North Canterbury and Otago coastline are favourite spots to get paua on the low tide. Port Underwood is also worth a look. Paua often occur in clusters so when you find one there will usually be more nearby. Large legal sized paua are also likely to be clustered together. Sometimes a shallow snorkel may be required.

When preparing to eat, I like to remove the fleshy foot of the paua and tenderize it with a wine bottle. When the paua is tender, I place it in a mix of flour and pepper (no salt as paua are naturally quite salty) and cook the paua whole in butter for a few minutes each side in the frying pan, keeping the paua just raw in the centre. I then slice the paua width ways. I believe that cooking paua this way allows more of the paua’s flavour to be maintained. I also keep the paua guts and roe and fry them up in butter too. The guts are very healthy and consist of partially digested seaweed – they taste like a seaweed flavoured vegemite.

Yelloweye Mullet

Large yelloweye mullet is also a favourite. They thrive in our waters and are still found in reasonable numbers in estuaries and shallow coastal waters over winter. The larger ones are great smoked, like a NZ version of the kipper, and are often taken when set-netting for flounders. If the larger mullet has roe, cook that up too as mullet roe is very tasty.

The smaller ones are best cooked by gutting them, rolling them flat with a bottle, removing their back bone and rib bones, and then coating them in flour and frying with some freshly foraged herbs such as wild fennel or Italian parsley.

Yelloweye mullet can also easily be caught in a throw net when the shoals can be sighted in shallow water. Using berley will help attract them and is a good investment when targeting them in winter. If line fishing, use sabiki jigs with size 12 hooks. Small hooks, light line and berley are the keys to catching mullet.

Rainbow Trout

Rainbow trout are also a good option as many of the South Island’s larger lakes are open through the winter months. The condition of rainbow trout often peaks in the winter and a deep, silver fish is well worth keeping (darker and often skinnier fish are better released). Lakes Benmore and Coleridge are favourites of mine for catching a well-conditioned rainbow trout in the winter months in a wild environment.

I like to fillet the better-conditioned fish, cut them raw into slices and then marinate for a few hours in good quality olive oil with a little salt and a few herbs (such as fennel or dill). It can then be served as a Crudo, an Italian type of sashimi. The trout’s soft flesh is suited to this simple yet tasty dish. In the winter, however, it is hard to beat putting a trout in the hot smoker. I find the smell of manuka so comforting on a cold winter’s night!

Groper

Finally, the pinnacle culinary experience over the winter is undoubtedly a groper steak. I love groper (hapuku in the north) as they are so tasty due to their very high oil content. Fish often come in a little shallower over the winter, especially along the Kaikoura Coast.

I like to steak my groper as I believe there is much flavour in the skin, the fat layer under the skin and in the bones. As with paua, I like to make sure that the groper is a little raw in the centre. Often there will be residual heat once you take the steak out of the baking pan. Aim to have the steak a little undercooked so it will come out just right.

Green-Lipped Mussel

Finally, if all else fails, the trusty green-lipped mussel never disappoints. They are often in prime condition in the winter and are so easy to cook. Simply steam them in a saucepan with a little beer and parsley just to the point when the shell opens – the “drunken mussel” will not disappoint!

Winter is a great time to savour the catch and spend a little more time in the kitchen learning new ways to prepare seafood. For me, it can be very comforting to take the time out to round off the day by cooking the catch fresh in a simple way.