Butter the brown bread, lay the smoked eel on top and add a spoonful of the creamed celeriac.
I throw in the rice so I don’t have to worry about providing side dishes, but if you don’t like rice, just omit it and serve the dish with piping hot boiled potatoes.
Serves 4
800g (1lb 10 oz) white fish (e.g. ling, pollock, etc., including bones and heads), filleted and cut into small chunks
1.7 litres (3 pints) water
2 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 carrot, sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 onion, finely chopped
2.5cm (1in) fresh root ginger, peeled and crushed
250ml (9 fl oz) white wine
400g (14 oz) passata (sieved tomatoes)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp paprika
10 black olives, stoned and chopped
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
225g (8 oz) rice
juice of 1 lime
salt and freshly ground black pepper
bunch of fresh basil, torn
First, make the fish stock. Place the fish bones and heads in a large saucepan and cover with the water. Throw in the peppercorns, bay leaf, sliced carrot and onion. Bring to the boil and leave to simmer, uncovered, for 30–40 minutes. Strain well.
Place a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat, pour in the olive oil, and then add the garlic, chopped onion and ginger. Cover and sweat for 2 minutes. Remove the lid and add the white wine, passata, turmeric, paprika, olives, cherry tomatoes, 150ml (5fl oz) of the fish stock and the rice. Leave to cook for 10 minutes. Add the fish and cook for a further 5 minutes until cooked through.
Squeeze in the lime juice, season with salt and pepper and stir in the fresh basil leaves. Serve in bowls with some white chunky bread on the side to soak up all the delicious juices!
Tip: Making fresh fish stock makes a huge difference to the overall taste of the stew and it uses up all the bones that would ordinarily be thrown out. It is preferable to use white fish, rather than oily varieties, which can be pungent and gelatinous. If you don’t have the time to make fish stock ask at your local good food store which is the best brand of fish stock to buy.
Pan-fried Black Sole with Wild Garlic Butter
Wild garlic is in season in spring. The leaves are delicious to cook with and the edible flowers are fantastic for decorating the plate.
Serves 2
4 fillets of black sole
wild garlic flowers
salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the wild garlic butter:
110g (4oz) butter, softened
1 small bunch of wild garlic leaves, chopped
First, make the garlic butter. Ensure that the butter has been kept out of the fridge at room temperature for about 2 hours – it should be nice and soft. Place the butter and wild garlic leaves in a bowl and cream together with the back of a spoon.
Heat a frying pan and melt one-third of the garlic butter. Add the sole fillets and cook for about 4 minutes until golden. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the sole fillets for 4 minutes on the other side. Remove to warm serving plates.
Add the remaining wild garlic butter to the pan and when it has melted drizzle over the fillets. Garnish with the wild garlic flowers and enjoy!
Goujons of Plaice with Sweet Chilli Sauce
I have used plaice in this recipe as the delicate fish makes a delicious contrast to the crispy crunch of the batter. However, you can use virtually any fish.
Serves 2
500g (1lb 2 oz) plaice, filleted
150g (5oz) plain flour
2 tbsp sesame seeds
salt and freshly ground black pepper
sunflower oil, for frying
600ml (1 pint) fresh milk
1 lemon, quartered
For the sweet chilli sauce:
1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tsp honey
Cut the fillets of plaice into strips. Tip the flour and sesame seeds into a large bowl, season with salt and pepper and mix well.
Pour the oil into a deep frying pan (the oil should be about 5cm [2in] deep) and place over a high heat. When the oil begins to smoke, reduce the heat to medium. Dip the pieces of fish into the milk and then into the flour mixture. Drop them into the hot oil and fry until crisp and golden then turn and repeat.
Mix together the ingredients for the sweet chilli sauce and serve with the crisply fried plaice fillets and a wedge of lemon.
I make these fish cakes nice and thin, like biscuits, because it makes them lighter and the taste more intense – and they look beautiful.
Serves 4
200g (7 oz) fish (e.g. perch, ling, or haddock)
600ml (1 pint) milk
2 black peppercorns
200g (7 oz) mashed potato
250ml (9 fl oz) olive oil, for frying
1 red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped
2 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
juice of ½ lemon
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 egg yolk
flour, for coating
fresh coriander leaves, to garnish
tzatziki, to serve (see page 71)
Poach the fish by placing it in a saucepan and covering with milk. Add the black peppercorns and cook gently over a medium heat for about 15 minutes. Cooking times will vary according to the fish, so break some up with a spoon to check that it is cooked right through.
Drain and place the fish in a large bowl with the mashed potato. Pull up your sleeves, wash your hands and mix the fish and potato together with your hands.
Place a frying pan over a medium heat and pour in a drop of olive oil. Add the red pepper and spring onions and cook until soft.
Stir