Author: Neville Merritt (Page 13 of 44)

So easy, and so totally delicious. Impresses the mates (and quick too).

You will need (for 4):

• 4 cod steaks – best cuts are thick slices from a large fillet
• 2 thick slices of old bread (going a bit hard but not mouldy)
• Two tablespoons of mayonnaise
• 1 lemon
• Salt and pepper

Heat your oven to 190deg C. Lay the cod steaks on an ovenproof dish (I use a very small tin roasting tray). In a blender or food processor, zap your bead into crumbs (crusts too). Grate all the zest of the lemon and add that too. Add a pinch of salt and a good grinding of pepper. Zap again to mix. Now spread the fish with mayo, and pour the crumb mix over the fish. Press gently to get it to stick to the mayo. Now put it in the oven for 15 minutes for thin steaks, 20 minutes for thick, and check after halfway through to make sure it doesn’t burn or overcook. I like this served very plain with boiled new potatoes and green beans or peas, with some real butter to melt on and lemon juice too if you like more tang. If the fish is good and fresh, it doesn’t get any better than this.

This recipe is similar to the Mackerel Blackened Fish recipe but for white fish fillets, and uses fresh herbs for a slightly different taste. This recipe comes from Jamie Oliver, and the photo above uses bass tail fillets. Blackened Fish is a Cajun style of cooking where fish fillets are smeared in spices then fried briefly in a searingly hot frying pan. This makes the outside crispy and the inside stays succulent.

Takes 10 minutes, serves 2. You need:

• 2 fish fillets, skinned and boned
• Seasoning rub:
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • Two garlic cloves
  • Half a teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • Half a teaspoon salt
  • Half teaspoon black pepper
  • Half tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• Two tablespoons olive oil
• Juice from half a lemon
• Glug of rape seed oil (rape seed oil doesn’t get as hot as vegetable oil so is good for frying)

Put all the seasoning mix into a pestle and mortar and grind to a paste. Use a rotating move, not an up-and-down pound. Coat the fillets in the the spice mix on both sides. Heat the rape seed oil in a pan until smoking hot. Put the fish in the frying pan, then after a minute or so, turn over and fry the other side. If the side you turned up is brown and crispy looking, a minute was fine. If not, give it a bit longer. Turn over and repeat.

That’s all! Serve with whatever you like. We had new potatoes rolled in olive oil, and a home made coleslaw. You could have rice ‘n beans; sweetcorn; fries; potato wedges….

A very simple dish, popular with all generations of the family and reasonably healthy too. Cheaper than chips if catch your own. You can make this with whiting, large pout, pollack, dab, plaice or cod. The mashy peas recipe means you don’t have to do spuds as well but if you feel like a feast go for chips too.

For four people you will need:

For the fish:

• 4 large or 8 small fillets of white fish, pin-boned and skinned
• vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 4 slices of old white bread

For the mashy peas:

• 4 small potatoes (egg-sized)
• 500g frozen peas
• small head of broccoli (optional)
• knob of butter
• splash of milk (yes, very scientific)
• salt and pepper

The mashy peas take longer so get these chaps going first. Peel the potatoes, chopped into sugar cube sized lumps and put in boiling salted water, After five minutes boiling gently, add the peas, and if you fancy, add the florets from the broccoli. I have tried with and without, both are good. After another 10 minutes, drain the water off, add a knob of butter and a splash of milk, Mash it all up with a potato masher, adding a bit more milk if it is too stiff. If you over-do the wet stuff you can rescue it by stirring over a gentle heat and letting the excess steam off (unless you have been really stupid). Season if it needs it with more salt and white pepper. You could add a dash of mint sauce if you like it minty. Keep warm while you do the fish.

Zap the bread in a blender or food processor to make an impressive pile of crumbs. Beat the eggs. Take a frying pan and put a generous glug of oil in the base, covering it to a couple of millimetres depth. Heat it to medium temperature. Lay out your assembly line, starting with a plate of fillets, a plate with your egg in, a plate of crumbs and then your pan. Working like a good ‘un, dip each fillet in the egg covering both sides, ditto the bread crumbs, it is OK to pat more crumbs on, then lay the fillet in the oil. Repeat the sequence until you run out of room. You could either use two pans or do this in two batches. If it all fits in one pan you have been mean with the fish! By the time you have put the last fillet in the pan you will need to turn the first fillet which should have browned nicely, then every few seconds turn the next one, and so on. Total cooking time for average fillets is 3-4 minutes.

A fish and chipper would serve peas, chips and fish next to each other on a plate. A posh restaurant would charge five times as much, would lay the fish on the mashy peas and serve the chips alongside in a miniature tin bucket. Seen it done – both were good.

Mashy peas idea from Jamie Oliver, fish recipe from my Mum.

Takes 15 minutes, serves 2. You need:

• Two fillets of Bass (I like to use portion-sized slices of a thick fillet from a 3-4lb fish)
• Glug of olive oil
• Splash of white wine
• Sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed with the flat of a knife blade
• Lemon juice
• Half a red chilli, seeds removed, chopped

Heat the oil in a heavy pan, then fry the fillets skin side down until crisp and brown, turn over and repeat. Then reduce the heat, add wine, chilli, garlic and thyme. Cover with a lid and simmer for 7-8 minutes. Keep an eye on it and splash a bit more wine in if it looks like drying out. Add a squeeze of lemon juice to the juices, sprinkle with sea salt and serve. Goes well with green beans and new potatoes. (Thank you Mitchell Tonks in Fresh: Great Simple Seafood )

This works for bass, bream, mullet, salmon or even thick steaks of turbot. You will need (for 4):

• 4 thick fillets, I prefer half-side sized portions of a 3lb bass
• handful of cherry tomatoes
• 1 lemon, cut into quarters
• bunch of asparagus
• 4 slices of smoked streaky bacon, halved
• olive oil
• a few leaves of fresh basil
• half a red chilli chopped (optional)
• handful of raw prawns
• salt and pepper

Lay the fish fillets skin-side up on a metal dish (I use a roasting tray). Arrange the asparagus, tomatoes and lemon around the fish. Put the bacon randomly on top. Sprinkle with torn basil leaves, salt and pepper, and chilli if you are using it, then drizzle with the olive oil. Set your grill on full whack and put the tray under it, about 10-15 cms away from the heat. Keep an eye on it for 10 minutes, if it is looking too charred move it down a bit. After 10 minutes put the prawns in the dish, and grill for a further 10 minutes. That’s all you have to do!

Serve with new potatoes, and pour over the sauce from the pan. A glass of white wine washes this down very nicely.

(Adapted from a Jamie Oliver recipe)

If you like Asian food and want a change from plain-cooked fish, try this. Ready in minutes. You will need (for 4):

• White fish (fillets, off-cuts) e.g. cod, pollack, pouting, dogfish, bream, bass: about 675 g/1.5lb
• 2 tomatoes
• 1 medium onion, sliced
• 1 tbs lemon juice
• 0.5 tsp salt
• 1 tsp garlic puree
• 1 tsp dried or minced chillies
• 1.5 tsp garam masala
• 2 tbs fresh coriander leaves
• 2 tbs cornflour
• Oil for shallow frying

Chop the fish into bite-sized chunks. Dry and chill.

Take everything else except the oil and cornflour, and whizz to a pulp with a blender – a hand blender is ideal. Put it into a bowl and mix in the cornflour.

Put your oil in a pan to a depth of 2cm and heat until a cube of bread turns brown in 30 seconds.

Mix the fish into the sauce until well coated. Take individual pieces of fish and drop into the hot oil one at a time, do this in batches so you don’t over-crowd the pan and cool the oil. When the fish lumps turn brown (1-2 minutes max) use a slotted spoon and scoop them out. Put them on kitchen paper to drain and keep warm while you do the rest – probably 4-6 batches in total.

Serve with rice or paratha bread, plenty of chutney (apricot or mango is good), and a raita. Not forgetting the cold beer of course.

Or bass, or cod, or…anything fish-shaped. These quantities serve 4, adjust according to your catch size and level of greed. There is no science, just use the quantities that look right for the fish you have.