Richard Fox looks at easy ideas
for using seafood on your menu
When I try to recall one of those "best-ever" meal experiences, the setting is generally warm, coastal and abroad and the establishment is usually Spartan on the fixtures and fittings front. The whole scene is rustic, and more often than not, there's nothing between me and the moon.
This scenario is not unique, surprising, or of any use to most UK pub chefs. Perhaps more interesting is that the food, on every occasion, was fish - and I'm talking whole fish and nothing but the fish.
From squid to squat lobster, sardine to sea bass, and snapper to sea bream, those great meals rarely featured anything but a fat, whole, un-tampered-with ocean dweller. The memory that resonates most strongly is of an off-the-beaten-track, nameless Greek taverna with no menu. Whatever was hauled off the tiny fishing boat during the day became the food. In my case, small whole snapper went straight from boat to frying pan to plate, without so much as the addition of a wedge of lemon. The taste was not of this world.
On provenance-based values alone, fresh fish makes absolute sense, given that most fish and shellfish is about as natural and wild as you can get. And that means natural flavour, requiring only the simplest and most perfunctory of cooking to lock in flavour, rather than adding and enhancing to compensate for shortfalls on the flavour front. Over-garnishing and over-cooking are the two greatest crimes against fish from a culinary perspective, and really ought to carry some form of corporal punishment. Ironically,
avoiding such crimes is easier and more cost-effective than perpetrating them.
Who needs lemon - let alone timbale or tagliatelli - when there's easy access to quality local produce? Maybe the fish can't go from sea to stomach in the time it takes to order drinks, but using a quality local supplier ensures you can achieve next-best scenario.
Most filleted fish will have cooked in the time it takes to plate up non-fish main courses, so there's an added bonus of predicted timings based on completion of starters. Simply cook the fish when the order is called away. Whole baked fish is just as easy, cooking itself from raw to perfection in the time it takes to get the first course out of the way.
A favourite - and simple - way of cooking and serving whole fish, such as snapper or black bream, is to bake it on top of a layer of pre-cooked vegetables and potato. Mise-en-place is a case of roasting thinly sliced fennel, onion, courgette, leek and potato with plenty of seasoning and a good slug of olive oil. This is one of the occasions when I do use dried herbs, in the form of a liberal sprinkling of oregano. As soon as the veg has colour and tenderness, it can be set aside for service. When the order is called, simply spread a layer of veg in a single-serving dish such as an oval sur-le-plat, put the seasoned fish on top, add a slug of white wine and a squeeze of lemon juice and bake for 15 to 25 minutes, depending on the size of the fish. The fish juices, wine and lemon combine to fabulous effect, with no need for time-consuming stocks and sauces. And the whole shebang comes straight out of the oven already plated-up. How simple can kitchen life get?
One of the tastiest dishes you'll ever make, skate, requires ultra-short cooking time and no pre-prepared sauces or garnishes. Just pan-fry seasoned skate wings for a few minutes on both sides until they start to colour, then remove from the pan and keep warm while you finish. Put the frying-pan back on the heat and add butter; allow to sizzle and turn dark brown, then add a squeeze of lemon juice, chopped fresh parsley and a handful of whole or chopped capers. Pour over the fish and serve immediately: there's no mis-en-place, and it takes less than seven minutes.
So to get into serious summer cooking, throw away half your dry stores, stocks and sauces, and get in touch with your fishy side for a lighter, fresher, stress-free service.