With the nation dining out less and spending more time cooking at home, searches for mealtime inspiration are on the rise. In fact, Google searches for seafood recipes in particular have rocketed by 61% since the start of the UK lockdown, showing people are keen to try some new fish dishes.
As part of its Sea For Yourself campaign, Seafish, the public body that supports the UK seafood industry, is urging people to get behind the industry by trying British-caught fish such as mussels, crab, mackerel, hake and lemon sole.
As well as being a fantastic source of healthy nutrients, protein and vitamins, fish is delicious and simple to prepare.
Many people are nervous when it comes to cooking seafood, but fish and shellfish lend themselves to a wide variety of quick and easy cooking methods.
Seafish has some fantastic hints and tips to help:
• Pan frying: This is a great method for any whole pan-ready fish, fillets and fish portions.
• Grilling: Better suited to whole fish and flaky fillets. This method works best for oil-rich fish such as mackerel and herring.
• Barbecuing: Meaty fish is perfect for marinating in citrus, salt, pepper and olive oil and then barbecuing.
• Steaming: The healthiest way to cook fish is by steaming it. Simply place portions or whole fish in a steamer over 2–3cm of boiling water. Whole fish can be stuffed with herbs or surrounded by aromatic flavours. Mussels are also best steamed.
• Baking and roasting: Since fish is easy to overcook, oven cooking should be used carefully. Foil wrapping fillets is best for cooking at home. Portions and whole fish can be wrapped in foil with a little liquid to create the steam, which cooks the fish.
Renowned Glasgow chef and restaurateur Brian Maule, of Chardon d'Or in West Regent Street, has put these tantalising fish dishes together.
Grilled Mackerel, with cherry tomatoes, cucumber, grilled chorizo and aged balsamic vinegar – Serves 4
You will need:
4 mackerel fillets* 1 cucumber
20/24 cherry tomatoes 2/3 Banana Shallots
12 slices chorizo
Balsamic vinegar
Virgin olive oil
*When buying the mackerel fillets, make sure you ask the fishmonger to make sure the fish is scaled and pin-boned (unless you like doing it – it’s a messy job)
Method:
• Peel & slice the cucumber thinly
• Cut cherry tomatoes in half
• Chop the shallots finely
• Cut the sliced chorizo in half
• Score the mackerel skin slightly
• Season the fish on both sides
• Put your grill on
• Get a baking tray and put a little olive oil and place the fish skin side up onto the hot oil.
• Place under the grill for 2 – 3 minutes until the skin is crispy and the fish is cooked.
• In the same baking tray, place the chorizo under the grill for 20 -30 only for heat.
• Take the baking tray and put to one side.
• Get a small frying pan and add a little oil on the heat, once hot add the cherry tomatoes for a minute – moving around the pan, then add the cucumber, then add the chopped shallots last minute a mix gently for about a minute.
Plating up:
• Put the frying pan mix onto the middle of the plate, place the fish on top, chorizo around the fish, drizzle old aged balsamic vinegar around the fish, then lightly drizzle the olive oil around too.
Pan-Fried Plaice with Spinach, tips of asparagus, caper butter sauce
SERVES 4
16 fillets of plaice – 4 fillets per portion 1 pkt spinach
20 – 24 tips of asparagus 40g unsalted butter
olive oil
Caper Butter Sauce
2-3 shallots 1 tbsp. capers
small bunch of curly/ flat leaf parsley 100g unsalted butter
2 tbsp double cream 1 cup white wine sauce
Method
• Pick and wash the spinach leaves
• Remove the stalks from parsley and chop, put to one side
• Pit a pan of boiling salted water on the hob to cook your asparagus
• Trim the asparagus, taking the woody part off and making sure they’re the same size.
• Cook in the boiling salted water until cooked – normally 6-8 minute depending on how thick they are.
• Drain, then put into a bowl of iced salted water to cool, once cooled drain immediately
Caper butter sauce
• Slice 2-3 shallots thinly – depending on size
• Fry off in butter (about 50g) enough that there's no colour.
• Cover the shallots with white wine.
• Bring to the boil, keeping an eye, reduce down until dry.
• Add the double cream, enough to cover the shallots again, bring to the boil
• Then add butter slowly (100g – 150g) whisk in until melted.
• Add in the shallots and capers, cook on low for a couple minutes
• Taste your sauce and season to your liking
• Put the sauce to one side
• Put on a pan of salted water and bring to the boil
• Heat a frying pan, once hot, add a little butter, melt, then add spinach and a little water to make steam to cook the spinach, take of the heat once cooked and drain.
• Grab another frying pan, heat up, add a little olive oil.
• Season the fish on both sides, then put the fish into the hot pan, get a nice even colour on both sides, then take out, put onto a plate and put to one side.
• Re-heat the asparagus in a pan of salted water, only for a couple minutes, then drain quickly
Plating the dish
• Put the spinach on the bottom of the plate
• Then the 4 pieces of plaice on top of the spinach,
• The asparagus tips on top of the fish
• Drizzle the sauce over and around
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