Comfort
Pan-fried Australian barramundi with a crispy skin, finished with native lemon myrtle butter and coastal greens. A taste of the Coral Sea on your plate.
There's a stretch of coast just north of Noosa where the river meets the sea, and on any given morning you'll find local fishers pulling barramundi from waters so clear you can count the sand ripples beneath. This recipe was born from one of those mornings — a perfect fish, still glistening, cooked within the hour on a camp stove with nothing but butter, salt, and a handful of lemon myrtle leaves picked from the scrub behind the dunes.
Lemon myrtle is one of Australia's most extraordinary native ingredients. Its citrus fragrance is more intense than lemongrass, more complex than lime zest, and it pairs with barramundi like the ocean pairs with the shore — naturally, effortlessly, perfectly. If you can't source lemon myrtle, a combination of lemon zest and a single kaffir lime leaf will get you close, but it's worth seeking out the real thing.
This is the kind of cooking I love most: simple technique, exceptional ingredients, and the sound of waves in the background. You don't need the ocean to make it, but I promise it tastes better if you can hear it.
Pat the barramundi fillets thoroughly dry with paper towel — this is the secret to crispy skin. Score the skin lightly with a sharp knife in a crosshatch pattern. Season both sides generously with flaky sea salt, cracked pepper, and half the lemon myrtle.
Place a heavy-based frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and half the butter. When the butter foams and the foam starts to subside, your pan is ready. You want it hot but not smoking.
Lay the fillets skin-side down in the pan, pressing gently with a fish spatula for the first 30 seconds to prevent curling. Cook for 4–5 minutes without moving until the skin is deeply golden and crispy. You'll see the flesh turning opaque about two-thirds of the way up.
Carefully flip the fillets and cook for just 2 minutes on the flesh side. Add the remaining butter, sliced garlic, and capers to the pan. Tilt the pan and baste the fish with the foaming butter for 30 seconds. Remove the fish to warm plates.
In the same pan, add the remaining lemon myrtle and squeeze in the lemon halves. Let the butter turn nutty and golden, stirring the garlic and capers through. This takes about 1 minute. The kitchen should smell incredible.
Arrange the coastal greens on plates, place the barramundi skin-side up on top, and spoon over the lemon myrtle butter, garlic, and capers. Garnish with fresh dill fronds. Serve immediately with the charred lemon halves alongside.
Comments (2)
Made this last weekend with fresh barra from the markets. The lemon myrtle butter is absolutely divine — I'll never go back to plain lemon. Even my partner who's fussy about fish went back for seconds. Thank you for this gorgeous recipe!
Tip for anyone struggling with crispy skin: make sure you dry the fillets really well (I use paper towel twice) and don't move them once they hit the pan. Patience is everything. This recipe is now a weekly favourite in our house. Brilliant with a cold glass of semillon.
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