The Last of the Hunters
In the 1960s, there was a series of adverts for fish, which used the slogan, “Fish! The only food you go out and hunt!”
On the South Quay in Great Yarmouth today, was the Lydia Eva, the last of the steam drifters, that used to dominate herring fishing in the North Sea.
She is now a museum and uniquely a ship that contains a museum, that actually works and goes to sea!
A First Risotto
I like risotto, but I’d never made it until last night.
The problem started because, I only had limited fresh food in the fridge and I needed to conjure together something from a pack of smoked haddock, asparagus, sprouts, tomatoes and spring onions. I found this recipe for spring onion and smoked fish risotto on the BBC Good Food site.
The ingredients I used were.
- 500g smoked haddock, cod or trout
- chicken stock, fresh, cube or concentrate, made up to 1.5 litres
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- unsalted butter
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 450g risotto rice
- 1 bunch spring onions, finely sliced diagonally (green included)
- 150g mature cheddar, grated
These quantities make enough for six, but as I’m only one, I made half and froze the other two packs. Will they be OK? Only time will tell.
I should say that the Waitrose risotto rice was a month past its sell-by date and I had to cut the mould off the chess. But then if you are a non-driver in the middle of nowhere, you have to be thankful for small mercies.
The method was as follows.
- Put the fish in a large frying pan. Pour over enough chicken stock to cover, bring to a simmer and cook for 4 minutes. Allow the fish to cool a little in the stock, then skin and flake it. Add any leftover chicken stock to the poaching liquid and keep hot. (If you’re using trout, just skin and flake it and heat the stock).
- To make the risotto, cook the onions in a little butter then add the garlic and risotto rice, stirring well to coat in the butter. Add the hot stock a ladle at a time, stirring each time to bring the starch out of the rice and give the risotto a creamy effect. When the rice is almost cooked, stir in the fish and spring onions. Stir in an extra knob of butter and the cheddar and serve.
The rice took 20-25 minutes to cook, but it was worth it. It wasn’t very difficult to get right either and it used just one frying pan. The latter is always welcomed.
The out-of-date food had no effect either.
Whether the frozen risottos are any good, I do not know.
Baked Haddock
I needed a new recipe for some haddock and a friend messaged me this one.
My version used the following ingredients.
- Two haddock filets. These were line caught from Waitrose.
- The juice of two limes.
- One chopped medium-sized onion.
- Four quartered tomatoes.
- Some fresh parsley from my herb garden.
The method couldn’t have been simpler.
- Place the fish in a shallow dish.
- Combine the lime juice, onion, tomatoes and parsley and pour over the fish.
- Bake in the bottom of the top oven in the AGA for 20 minutes.
The dish looked like this before I cooked it.
Baked Haddock Before Cooking
After cooking, the tomatoes had created a sauce.
Baked Haddock After Cooking
It worked and the fish was very tender. I did get a bit too much sauce and next time I cook it, I think I’ll used a second onion and also add a crushed clove of garlic.
But it was very quick and simple. And no saucepan to wash up.
Jamie Oliver’s Fish Pie
I like this recipe as except for the potato saucepan, there isn’t too much washing up and most of the preparation is done in the dish you cook it in. It’s also very gluten-free without any dodgy ingredient at all.
Here’s what Jamie says about it.
This is a fantastically simple fish pie which doesn’t involve poaching the fish or making a tedious white sauce. Loads of good, fragrant veg are added quickly by grating them in. You can use whatever fish you like, making this as luxurious as you want it to be. If you like your fish pie to be creamy, feel free to add a few tablespoons of crème fraîche to the fish.
For four people and a typical deep dish you’ll get in somewhere like Debenhams, you’ll need the following.
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1kg potatoes
- 1 carrot
- 2 sticks of celery
- 150g good Cheddar cheese
- 1 lemon
- ½ a fresh red chilli
- 4 sprigs of fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 300g salmon fillets, skin off and bones removed
- 300g undyed smoked haddock fillets, skin off and bones removed
- 125g king prawns, raw, peeled
- Olive oil
- Optional: a good handful of spinach, chopped
- Optional: a couple of ripe tomatoes, quartered
Note that Waitrose will take the skin of the fish. I suspect other places and of course real fishmongers will too.
This is the method.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C/400°F/gas 6 and bring a large pan of salted water to the boil
- Peel the potatoes and cut into 2cm chunks
- Once the water is boiling, add your potatoes and cook for around 12 minutes, until soft (you can stick your knife into them to check)
- Meanwhile, get yourself a deep baking tray or earthenware dish and stand a box grater in it
- Peel the carrot
- Grate the celery, carrot and Cheddar on the coarse side of the grater
- Use the fine side of the grater to grate the zest from the lemon
- Finely grate or chop your chilli
- Finely chop the parsley leaves and stalks and add these to the tray
- Cut the salmon and smoked haddock into bite-size chunks and add to the tray with the prawns
- Squeeze over the juice from the zested lemon (no pips please!), drizzle with olive oil and add a good pinch of salt and pepper
- If you want to add any spinach or tomatoes, do it now
- Mix everything together really well
- By now your potatoes should be cooked, so drain them in a colander and return them to the pan
- Drizzle with a couple of good lugs of olive oil and add a pinch of salt and pepper
- Mash until nice and smooth, then spread evenly over the top of the fish and grated veg
- Place in the preheated oven for around 40 minutes, or until cooked through, crispy and golden on top
Serve piping hot with tomato ketchup, baked beans, steamed veg or a lovely green salad.
I would just point this recipe to Jamie’s site, but I like to print out the recipes as I have a bad memory. And it doesn’t print from his site on my machine.
A First for The Times
It was perhaps a first for The Times today in that the picture on the front page was a fish. Not any fish but a much loved carp called Benson from Peterborough.
Haddock with Crushed Peas
This is a very simple recipe, that I got from The Times some months ago.
You’ll need these ingredients for two people.
- 300g frozen petits pois or fresh peas
- 2 haddock, cod or other firm white fish fillets
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 lemon
- 2 sprays cherry tomatoes on the vine
- Best olive oil to serve
And this is how you do it.
- Put kettle on to boil. Use some of the water to cook peas and put the rest in the steamer pan. If you have no steamer, you could cook the fish in a hot oven for 10 mins, seasoned with a squeeze of lemon.
- Failing that, fry it dusted with flour in hot oil. If steaming, smear fillets with olive oil, place in steamer tray, cover and cook for 8 mins. Meanwhile, place tomato sprays in a frying pan/roasting tin and cook under hot grill for about 5 mins until they begin to pop but before they disintegrate.
- I spike each one with a pointed knife to stop them bursting. When peas are ready, drain and return to pan with 1 tbsp olive oil and a squeeze of lemon.
- Crush with a potato masher, tip on to warmed plates and top with the fish. Drape a spray of tomato over the top and serve with a swirl of olive oil and a lemon wedge.
The only difference is that I bake the fish in a little oil in the oven of the AGA.
Fish and Tomato Gratin
Despite the moan last night, I did cook myself a nice supper. I got this recipe from then BBC web site and it is from the Sea Fish Authority. I actually used line caught haddock, from Waitrose, as this is the most sustainable way to buy fish.
I only cooked enough for probably two, so I halved these ingredients, which are for four.
- 450g/1lb haddock or whiting fillets, skinned
- 4 tomatoes, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
- 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 55g/2oz Cheddar cheese, grated
The method is as follows.
- Preheat oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. I use an AGA and put it on the bottom of the top oven.
- Lay the fish fillets in a greased ovenproof dish.
- Add the tomatoes, garlic and parsley and season well with salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle over the cheese and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden and bubbling.
It was simple and good.
Update – July 30, 2009 – I’ve actually started to cook this in a small dish just big enough for one piece of fish, two tomatoes, one clove of garlic and an appropriate amount of cheese.
The Anonymous Widower 