Fish Preparation & Cooking Workshop – Recipes

Find a Fishmonger where the fish can be seen whole.  This enables clear identification of freshness. Try to shop local and build trust with your fishmonger.

Fish should not smell... the aroma should be of a slight saltiness. Gills bright and pink or deep purple not dull and dark. It is fine to have a slight slime on the skin .

Eyes should be clear and easily seen not deep and sunken. This can show the fish is old or has been frozen.  Frozen is fine if sold as frozen.

Look at the fishmonger’s shop… is it clean? Are the fish on ice? How much stock is left at the end of the day …These are easy indicators of freshness and quality.

Always ask your fishmonger to scale and gut the fish. It should never be a problem for the fishmonger to prepare and fillet your fish and even explain how to cook it store etc.

Types of Fish

Fish are grouped into 2 families:

Round Fish - fish with one eye on each side of its head, such as; Red Mullet, Mackerel, Sea Bass; Trout, Bream

Flat Fish - fish with eyes on top of its head, such as; Brixham Flounder, Lemon Sole, Plaice, Cornish Sole, Dover Sole

Round fish has 2 fillets (unlike flat fish, which has 4)

Cut off the head and tail.

Get rid of any sharp fins with kitchen scissors.

Hold the fish firmly on a chopping board and run the knife along the backbone from head to tail

Keeping as close to the bone as possible, remove the fillet with

Turn the fish and repeat

If you wish to skin the fillets as well: place the fillet, skin-side down, on the chopping board and slide the knife on the skin while pulling the skin.

Cooking round fish fillets (such as seabass or mackerel):

Place a large non-stick pan over medium heat and get it thoroughly hot.

Place a non-stick pan over medium heat and wait for a couple of minutes until thoroughly hot (please note that we’re not putting any oil in the pan).

Cooking thicker round fish fillets (such as hake or salmon)

Preheat the oven to 185C.

Place a large non-stick pan with an oven-proof handle over medium heat and get it thoroughly hot.

Place a non-stick pan over medium heat and wait for a couple of minutes until thoroughly hot (please note that we’re not putting any oil in the pan).

Score the skin side of the fish and rub it with oil.

Sprinkle the pan with a pinch of salt and heat the salt until smoking hot, turn the temperature to medium-low and place the fish fillet in the pan skin-side down. Add a splash of oil if needed.

Cook for five minutes, place the pan in the oven and cook until the fish is done (this depends on the size of the fillet but should be around five minutes). You will know that the fish is ready when the meat starts to be flaky.

Remove from the pan, flip the fish (it is skin side up now) and add a knob of butter and squeeze of lemon juice.

Make sure that the lemon doesn’t hit the crispy skin as that would make it soggy.

Score the skin side of the fish and rub it with oil.

Sprinkle the pan with a pinch of salt and heat the salt until smoking hot, turn the temperature to medium-low. Press the fish, skin side down into the pan, it will try to curl, don’t let it. You can release it after 20 seconds. Let it cook together until the meat side of the fish looks almost cooked (and has changed its colour). Flip the fish, finish with a knob of butter and squeeze of lemon.

Make sure that the lemon doesn’t hit the crispy skin as that would make it soggy.

Flat fish has 4 fillets (unlike round fish, which have 2).

Always trim the sharp fins with kitchen scissors, some flatfish have extremely sharp fins and tails.

Make an incision with the point of the knife below the head and cut down towards the backbone, then continue cutting down the length of the fish and through the tail

Make a cut below the head diagonally from the backbone to separate the fillet

Separate the flesh from the bones by inserting the point of a knife into the cut below the head and sliding the knife along the bone with a long, gentle stroking motion

Lift the fillet from the middle as you continue the stroking motion, cutting away from you to remove the first fillet – you should be able to hear and feel the knife moving against the bones

Turn the fish around and repeat on the other side of the backbone to remove the second fillet, cutting a diagonal line below the head then inserting the point of the knife from the tail end and gently following along the line of the bones to remove the fillet

Turn the fish over and repeat this process on the other side, cutting along the backbone and under the head

Use stroking motions along each side of the backbone to remove the third and fourth fillets

Trim the edges to neaten the fillets – these can now be skinned and cooked as required.

Cooking flat fish fillets

Scatter a bit of flour on a large plate.

Season with salt and pepper.

Pop the fish fillets on a chopping board and season all over with salt and pepper.

Squeeze over a little lemon juice and finely grate over some zest.

Dip the fish fillets in the flour, turning to lightly coat both sides of the fillets.

Shake off any excess flour.

Put a large pan on high heat and warm it till it's smoking hot.

Add a splash of oil to the pan – enough to create a thin film on the bottom of the pan.

Add the fish fillets, skin-side-down, and fry for 1-2 mins till the skin is crisp underneath.

Carefully turn over and fry for a further 1 min.

If your frying pan is too small to cook all the fish fillets together, cook them in batches, adding extra oil as needed and making sure to keep the pan hot.

Serve the fish straight away with your choice of sides.

Start preparing the tiger’s milk dressing/curing liquid first. Place chopped ginger, crushed garlic, coriander stalks, and lime juice in a suitable bowl and leave to infuse for 15minutes.

Pass the juice through a seive and whisk all the other ingredients into it.

Set aside for now.

Soak the thinly sliced red onion in iced water for 10 minutes, then drain on a kitchen towel and place in the fridge. This will keep the onion really crispy while reducing its strength.

Cut the fish into 2cm cubes. Place into a mixing bowl and sprinkle with sea salt. Leave for 2 minutes. The salt will help to open the pores of the fish and it will absorb the tiger’s milk better.

Add the coriander leaves, chilli, sweet potatoes and sliced onions. Mix gently.

Garnish with pomegranate seeds.

Put the salmon fillet skin-side down on to a large sheet of cling film.

Mix the dill with the salt, sugar and crushed peppercorns and spread it over the salmon.

Tightly wrap in 2 or 3 layers of cling film and lift on to a large, shallow tray. Rest a slightly smaller tray or chopping board on top of the fish and weigh it down. Refrigerate for 2 days, turning the fish every 12 hours so that the briny mixture, which has developed inside the parcel, bastes the outside of the fish.

Remove the fish from the briny mixture and slice it as you would smoked salmon.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Cut 2 large squares of parchment paper.

Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper.

In a bowl, gently toss the fennel, tomatoes, beans, carrot, onion, garlic, parsley, olive oil, and salt together.

Form a pile of the vegetable mixture in the middle of each of sheet.

Season the fish and place on top of each mound.

Add a slice of lemon and a coiple of cubes of butter to each piece of fish.

Fold the parchment in half, over top of the fish and veg, and fold the edges over 2-3 times to seal.

Bake packets for 15 minutes.

Transfer parchment packets with a spatula onto plates and open with a knife – be careful of the steam.

Serve with crusty bread and butter. Finish with a squeeze of lemon.