- Sea Bass with Spring
Onion and Ginger
- Cod, Mushroom and
Leek Pie
- Fishcakes (Cod or
Salmon)
- Baked Mullet Villa
Hanbury
- Skate with Brown
Butter (poached in court bouillon)
- Dover Sole
Fillets with Courgettes
- Pot Roasted Red
Gurnard
-
Fish Stew with a kick
- Posh Fish and Chips
Sea Bass with Spring Onion and Ginger (serves
4)
Ingredients
1 bass about 2 1/4 lb (1.3 kg)
1 lemon
For the marinade
1 tablespoon soya sauce
1 tablespoon cornflour
1 tablespoon dry sherry
1/4 teaspoon powdered ginger
salt
For the sauce
2 tablespoons chicken stock
2 tablespoons dry sherry
1 teaspoon sugar
salt
1/2 tablespoon finely grated ginger
2 leeks, white parts only, very finely sliced in roundels
any bland oil
4 spring onions cut in quarters lengthways
Wash and dry fish. Salt and bathe in lemon
juice for 10 mins each side.
Make some cuts on each side and turn in the marinade several times over a 10
minute period.
Fry the fresh ginger and leeks gently in some oil and put to one side.
For the sauce - Stir the chicken stock, the sherry, sugar and a pinch of salt
together.
Fry the fish gently for 3 mins on each side. Add the sauce, the leeks and the
spring onions.
Cover and continue cooking gently for a further 15 mins.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 lb (450 g) Cod
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 1/2 oz (65 g) butter
3 small leeks, thickly sliced
4 oz (100 g) firm button mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 tablespoons plain flour
1/4 pint (150 ml) fish stock or chicken stock (or water and 1/2 stock cube)
1/4 pint (150 ml) milk
a pinch of herbs
1 1/2 lb (675 g) potatoes, boiled and mashed with a little milk
1 1/2 oz (40 g) cheddar cheese, grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Season fish with salt and pepper and sprinkle
over the lemon juice.
Cook the fish in a pan of milk (just enough to cover it) until tender. Remove any skin and bones and flake
the fish.
Melt 1/2 oz (15 g) of the butter in a frying pan, add the sliced leek and cook
slowly until soft and tender.
Remove the leek, melt a further 1/2 oz butter in the pan and add the mushrooms;
toss over a high heat for 2 mins.
Melt the remaining butter in a saucepan, add the flour and mix well. Gradually
blend in the stock and milk, stirring continuously until the sauce comes to the
boil and is thick and smooth.
Add the herbs, season with salt and pepper and simmer for 3 mins.
Lightly fold in the leek, mushroom and fish and transfer to a shallow baking
dish.
Spread the potatoes over, scoring with the back of a fork, sprinkle with the
cheese and bake in the oven (190C/375F) for 30-35 mins until dish is heated
through and the topping is golden brown.
Serves 4
Ingredients
1 oz (25 g) butter
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 1/2 lb (675 g) potatoes, boiled
3 eggs
a pinch each of cayenne pepper and ground nutmeg
1-2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley
12 oz (350 g) flaked cooked cod or salmon
a little plain flour
3-4 oz dried breadcrumbs
oil for frying
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the onion
and cook over a low heat until the onion is soft.
Mash the potatoes until smooth and mix in the onion and juices from the
saucepan.
Whisk 2 eggs until smooth and beat into the potato mixture. Season with salt,
pepper, cayenne and nutmeg and mix in the parsley.
Gently stir in the fish and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
Using floured hands, shape the mixture into 8 flat, round, cakes.
Coat the cakes in the remaining egg, beaten and then in dried breadcrumbs. Chill
until required.
Heat 1/4 inch (5mm) oil in a frying pan until smoking. Add the fish cakes and
fry for about 5 mins each side, until golden brown.
Serves 6
Ingredients
3 x 1-1 1/2 lb (450-675 g) grey mullet, gutted and scaled
4 tablespoons olive or sunflower oil
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh sage leaves
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 inch (2.5 cm) piece fresh root ginger, finely grated
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 thin rashers streaky bacon, rinds removed
3 large tomatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Slash each fish with 3 diagonal cuts on each
side. Place the fish in a shallow baking dish and pour over the oil mixed with
the sage, garlic, ginger, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Leave in a cool place to
marinate, basting occasionally, for 1 hour.
Mince the bacon. Cover the tomatoes with boiling water for 30 seconds and then
remove the skins; remove the cores and chop roughly.
Press a little bacon into each slash, cover the fish with the tomatoes and spoon
over the marinade.
Bake in a pre-heated oven (190C/375F) for about 30 mins, until a sharp-pointed
knife plunged through to the backbone shows the flesh is just opaque throughout.
Arrange the fish on a heated serving dish. Transfer the tomatoes and the juices
from the baking dish to a small saucepan, bring to the boil and boil hard for 5 mins to reduce the sauce.
Pour sauce over the fish and serve at once.
Serves 6
Ingredients
4 lb (2k g) skate wings, skinned
For the court bouillon
2 pints (1 litre) Muscadet (or dry white wine)
2 carrots, sliced
1 large onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tomato, peeled
1 leek, (white part only)
5 pints (3 litres water)
Salt and pepper
For the brown butter
7 oz (200 g) butter
2 1/2 oz (65 g) capers
3 fl oz (75 ml) vinegar
Place all the court bouillon ingredients into a
pan, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 mins. Add the skate and poach for 15
mins.
Melt the butter in a pan and remove it as soon as it browns slightly. Add the
capers, 2 fl oz (50 ml) of the court bouillon and the vinegar. Reduce for a
couple of minutes, then pour over the skate. Serve immediately.
Serves 2-4 (depending on size of fillets)
Ingredients
50 g (2 oz) unsalted butter
350 g (12 oz) small courgettes, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
1 large tomato, skinned, seeded and chopped
4 Dover Sole fillets
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon chopped basil
1 tablespoon fresh breadcrumbs
Melt half the butter in a pan and saute the
courgettes for approx 3 mins. Salt and pepper as required.
Add the tomato and cook for a further 3 mins.
Place the sole fillets in an ovenproof dish, dot with the remaining butter,
season to taste. Pour over the lemon juice and sprinkle with basil.
Evenly cover the fish with the tomato and courgette mixture. Sprinkle with
breadcrumbs and cook in a pre-heated oven (200C/400F) for 10-15mins, until the
fish is cooked and the breadcrumbs golden.
Back to Top
Like poultry and
meat, whole fish work well in a one-pot casserole brimming with winter veg. If
the vegetables are sweated for a while first, they can finish cooking in the
time it takes a couple of nice whole fish to cook through, and lend their
delicious juices to the dish.
Ingredients
A large knob of unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium leeks, white part only, cut into 2cm thick slices
300g
celeriac, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
2 onions,
thickly sliced
2 large
potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
2 large
carrots, cut into 2cm chunks
1 large
(about 1.5kg) or 2 medium (about 750g) or 4 small (about 400g) gurnard (or
other whole fish), descaled and gutted
A glass of
white wine
2 bay
leaves
Salt and
freshly ground black pepper
1.
Put the butter and olive oil in a large flameproof casserole over a medium-low
heat.
2.
Add all the vegetables, season well and toss them in the fat, then sweat gently
for about 10 minutes, until they begin to soften. Don’t let them colour.
3.
Season the gurnard with salt and pepper, then add it to the pan, pushing it down
so it is snuggled in among the aromatic vegetables.
4.
Sprinkle over the wine and a glass of water, tuck in the bay leaves and cover
the dish. Bring to a gentle simmer on the hob.
5.
Now transfer the casserole to an oven preheated to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 and bake for
30–40 minutes, depending on the size of fish. To check that the fish is ready,
insert the tip of a knife at the thickest part to pull the flesh away from the
bone. It should be opaque all the way through.
6.
If you have one or two larger fish, take the flesh off the bones in big chunks.
Otherwise, simply serve one fish per person, with plenty of the vegetables and
juices alongside.
Back to Top
Fish
Stew with a Kick - Cod and Shellfish (Serves 4)
Ingredients
1kg
mussels, cleaned
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 fennel bulb, sliced, green shoots reserved
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bird-eye red chilli, sliced
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes in tomato juice
150ml white wine
250g small potatoes
175g squid, cleaned and sliced
300g cod, sliced into 2.5cm chunks
8 scallops
180g packet raw tiger prawns
2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1. Place
the washed mussels in a large pan and cover, discarding any that have damaged
shells or are not closed. Cook them over a high heat for 5-6 mins with a little
water until the steam opens up their shells. Discard any that do not open.
Strain the juices and set aside. When the mussels are cool enough to handle
remove about three quarters of them from their shells and set aside with the
remainder in their shells.
2. Heat
the olive oil in a large pan and add the onion and fennel. Fry for 5-6 mins
until softened. Next add the garlic and chilli and fry for a further 2-3 mins.
Stir in the tomatoes, white wine and mussel juices. Bring to the boil.
3. Add
the potatoes and cook covered for 10-12 mins until they are just tender. Add all
the fish and gently stir through the sauce. Cook uncovered for 3-4 mins. Season
to taste.
4. When
the stew is ready to serve, spoon into shallow bowls and sprinkle with the
reserved fennel fronds and parsley. Serve with some fresh crusty bread to mop
up the juices.
I often
cook this without the prawns, sqid or scallops, which do make it quite an
expensive dish and it's still very tasty.
Back to Top
Posh Fish and Chips – Serves 2
Ingredients
2 bass fillets
Chopped herbs (parsley, basil, thyme)
500g maris piper potatoes
Olive oil
1 clove finely
chopped garlic
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 knobs butter
200g mushrooms (preferably wild)
Juice of 1 lemon
Cut the potatoes into 1 cm thick slices. Coat
with a splash of oil and salt and pepper. Lay onto an ovenproof dish and bake in
a medium/high oven for 20-25 minutes, turning once. Remove from the oven. Mix
the herbs with some of the butter and push into slits in the bass. Heat the rest
of the butter with a little olive oil and fry the mushrooms, add the garlic,
juice of lemon and seasoning. Pour the mushrooms over the potatoes and lay the
fish on top. Place back into the oven for 12-15 minutes.
