There is nothing nicer than a piece of your favourite fish from your local fish monger, lightly pan-fried on the day you bought it, served with a wedge of lemon and a fresh salad.
Fish cooks fast and I think we all ignore this fact. I see it in my cookery school all the time. Everyone is so surprised by how quickly fish can go from raw to overdone, but I have a top tip for you: allow 10 minutes for every 2½cm thickness of fish to cook, so generally that would mean a fillet of sea bass would be done in 10 minutes and a darne of salmon, 20 minutes.
For great advice on what's in season, what’s local and what’s sustainable, I always recommend talking to your local fishmonger. Their advice is always invaluable and who knows? They may also give you a quick recipe while you are choosing your fish!
Happy cooking!
Catherine
www.ballyknocken.com
How to know when fish is cooked?
Try my 10 minutes per 2½ cm rule but also you can test with a fork. Choose the thickest part of the fish and place the fork at an angle and twist it gently. It should just flake off easily. Also, the fish when cooked will become opaque.
Fishy gadget!
This is one of those important pieces of equipment that when you’ve got it, you’ll say how did I do without it! A fish slice is the best, as it has a long smooth flat front so you can easily get at the fish pieces to transfer them to plates without damaging the fish or dropping it.
KitchenCraft Professional Fish Slice with Soft Grip Handle, €6.95 + postage, thekitchenwhisk.ie
Coconut fish curry with mango salsa
Fish doesn’t take long to cook, so carefully simmer the pieces when you place them in the sauce. This sauce can be frozen in batches
Serves 4
For the curry
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2cm ginger, grated
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 red chilli, sliced
- 1 lemongrass stalk, sliced into 3 and bruised
- 1 bay leaf
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- 1½ tsp medium curry powder
- ½ tsp brown sugar
- 300ml coconut milk
- 50ml water
- 400g hake, cut into 6cm pieces
- 200g prawns, de-veined and shells removed
- 1 lime
For the mango salsa
- 1 mango, peeled and diced small
- ½ red chilli, diced small
- 1 tbsp lime juice
To serve
- Coconut flakes, to serve
- Naan bread, to serve
- Coriander leaves, to garnish
- Heat a frying pan with a little oil, add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes until softened.
- Add the grated ginger, garlic, chilli and lemongrass, bay leaf and turmeric and cook for 1 minute.
- Stir in the curry powder and sugar and cook for 1 minute, stirring all the time. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Pour in the coconut milk and 4 tbsp water, simmer slowly for 7 minutes. Add in the fish pieces and cover with a lid, simmer on low for 6 minutes before adding the prawns, simmer these for 2 to 3 minutes until they are cooked (pink).
- Check that the fish is cooked. Juice the lime and add to taste. Check the seasoning.
- To make the salsa, dice the mango and red chilli, add about 1 tablespoon of lime juice and mix well. Serve with basmati rice, naan bread, coconut flakes and mango salsa.
Warm salmon rice salad
This salad is delicious served warm and it is also one of those recipes that can be bulked up with so many different ingredients, like sweetcorn, crispy chorizo pieces, radishes, rocket – the list just goes on!
Serves 4
- 3 x 120g salmon darnes
- ½ to 1tsp paprika
- 1 lemon, sliced
- Olive oil
For the salad
- 300g cooked brown rice
- 3 spring onions, finely chopped
- 1 red pepper, finely diced
- 20g spinach, shredded
- 10 small sprigs of dill or fennel fronds
- 8 pitted black olives, roughly chopped
For the orange dressing
- 2 oranges, juice and zest of one
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- Pinch of turmeric
- 70ml rapeseed oil
- 1 tsp honey
- 1 tbsp chopped chives
- Salt and freshly ground pepper
To serve
- Lemon slices, to serve
- A few sprigs of dill or fennel fronds, to garnish
- To cook the salmon, pre-heat the oven to 180°C fan/160°C/gas 4. Line a baking tray with parchment and place the salmon darnes on it.
- Brush with a little oil and sprinkle over some paprika. Place the lemon slices on top. Roast for 18 to 20 minutes or until fully cooked.
- Leave to cool before flaking into bite-size pieces. Keep the lemon slices and dice them small.
- To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients and whisk well. Place the cooked rice into a bowl, with spring onions, red pepper, spinach, sprigs of dill or fennel and mix well. Stir 3 tablespoons of the dressing into the salad.
- Add the flaked salmon and diced lemon. Add the chopped olives.
- To serve, spoon onto a large platter and garnish with dill sprigs or fennel fronds. Spoon over a little more salad dressing.
