Fish novice - where to start??

highly1111

Hi

We've just moved and are now around the corner from a really good fish monger (apparently people come from miles!) but myself and hubby are really bad when it comes to fish.

I like salmon, cod, scallops, monkfish and tuna but I've no idea how much I should be getting and how to cook it. My fish experience to date has been putting salmon in the oven with some butter and making monkfish goujons or wrapped in parma ham. that's about it except for Donegal catch and fish in restaurants - i'd like to be more adventurous and really try something different. My hubby's perception of fish is that he never finds it filling enough - he's a strapping 6 foot 5 and loves his big portions - and I don't know how much it would cost me fish wise to satisfy his appetite!! But I've heard that fish can be just as filling as meat and i'm sure that that's the case.

Anyone any ideas on where to start? The fishmonger is a very nice guy and I went in today - his prices are €30 per kilo for monkfish and €18 for cod and I think it's roughly the same for Tuna and Salmon (can't remember the exact prices for those though)

Thanks a million

Curry Addict

i usually ask for fish in grams. 200g is a normal portion for 1 person for a dinner. for your hubby maybe 300g

i recommend trying some black sole. season generously with salt and pepper and pan fry for 3 minutes each side. remove the edge bones with a knife and slide off the fillets from the center bone. the most delicious fish imho!

CJhaughey

Hake, Haddock and Whiting are all good fish to try as well.
Whiting has the mildest flavour of the three, Hake would be a meaty fish which should appeal.
500g of fillets would do two people easily, even with a big appetite.
There is a great seafood cookbook called Tide to Table which has lots of easy recipes and some more fancy ones as well.

the beer revolu

if you like, salmon, cod, monkfish, scallops and tuna then I reckon you'd like any fish.

Try some hake - a beautiful white fish. I like to cook it with the skin - I find it holds together better that way - wash it, dry it and cut it into two portions. If you have a problem with the skin, ask your fish monger to skin it for you.
Season both sides with salt and pepper and brush some oil on the skin. Heat up your grill as hot as it will go. Put it skin side down in a very hot non stick pan. Cook for a few minutes on a high heat (the skin will protect the flesh from becoming over cooked) then put a few little dabs of butter on top and put under your hot grill for another few minutes. Serve.

The fish is done when the inside is moist, not wet and the flesh is opaque, not translucent. Don't over cook your fish.

A lovely sauce/dressing with any fish:
Put the zest of a lemon and a good squeeze of juice into a bowl with some black pepper, a little salt, some fresh thyme leaves (or any fresh herb) and a big knob of butter. Microwave until the butter is melted and pour over the cooked fish.

It doesn't get any easier than that.
You can also lightly flour your fish and fry both sides.
I find that the fry then grill way minimises how much you have to move the fish around so less likely to break it up.

duploelabs

Curry Addict wrote: »

i usually ask for fish in grams. 200g is a normal portion for 1 person for a dinner. for your hubby maybe 300g

i recommend trying some black sole. season generously with salt and pepper and pan fry for 3 minutes each side. remove the edge bones with a knife and slide off the fillets from the center bone. the most delicious fish imho!

If I'm teaching anyone black sole is one of the last things I teach as delicious as it may be, if you balls it up you're out of pocket by a fair whack

Marcusm

Black sole or any other flat fish would likely put off a novice.

The fry/grill idea above us a good starting technique. Try mackerel as an alternative but use a baking sheet lightly oiled (just to avoid sticking) using a brush or a bit of kitchen paper. Place the fillets skin side up under a hot grill. When the skin starts to bubble/blister the fish should be cooked. Mackerel is cheap and less susceptible to overcooking than white fish such as cod/hake.

For a sizeable cod/hake rush, get a roasting tin and fill it with cubes/wedges of potato (pref skin on) plus some chorizo (either fresh sausage style a la Tesco Fibest for mild or good strong dried type). Cook for approx 30 mins (depends on thickness of potato chunks) then place cod portions on top for 10 mins (oven 180-200C). If cod is thin, consider shorter cooking time. You'll end up with a quick, easy, extremely tasty one pot dish with smoky meaty chorizo potatoes and succulent fleshy cod - a great contrast.

vicwatson

Fairly simple recipe for Hake (or indeed any other "thick" fish like Salmon, Cod etc)

You can use as much or as little Hake as you like for this recipe just adjust the amount of ingredients for the topping to get less if using less fish, the recipe I've given below is enough for 4 people -

Get your oven on - Fan Oven 180c or 190c for non fan

700g Hake (go for the thick part not the tail end and leave it as one piece)
Buttered baking tray
Salt
Pepper

Butter the tray, lay the fish skin side to butter, give it some sammy salt and percy pepper to taste

Topping:

1 slice of slightly stale bread
50g Melted Butter
Zest of a Lemon
Juice of a Lemon
Good bunch of fresh Parsley (chopped)

Blitz the bread to make breadcrumbs, fire in the melted butter, chopped parsley, lemon zest and juice of the lemon, stir to combine.

Lightly press the breadcrumb mix onto the fish

Cook for 12-15 mins (you can check it's cooked by sticking a knife in the centre and checking that the fish has gone opague) it's better to undercook than overcook but in my experience 15 mins has been tops that I had to cook it, but 12-15 mins depending on thickness of the fish.

Serve and live !!

the beer revolu

I thought this recipe was really good.

Toast4532

Seabass is delicious, I like to pan fry it with a little olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Sometimes I will throw a pinch of chilli flakes on top. I like to serve with buttery mashed spuds or boiled spuds and sometimes spinach.

For Salmon, I like to pan fry, grill or oven bake a small piece with butter, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper and chillie flakes, and serve with potatoes or rice or something.

I cooked kippers the other day, and chopped up red onion and mashed the kippers, threw in the onion, bit of pepper. I wouldn't eat it again simply because I found the kippers to be have a strong smokey flavour which put me off, but if you like smoked fish you'll probably like that.

My granny used to cook mackerel, she would dip it in beaten eggs and then coat in flour and then pan fry for a few minutes and I loved it (although haven't had it in years, she can't cook anymore and my attempts never turn out nice!). I have never had mackerel as nice as the way she did it.

My bf loves smoked coley, pan fry for maybe 3-4 mins, its so thin it barely needs cooking.

If you like raw salmon, I sometimes get the prepacked salmon in Dunnes for a few euro and slice it up and serve it with sliced brown bread with a sprinkle of lemon juice and pepper, delicious, but I don't eat it often (really need to be in the mood for it to be honest!).

I've made salmon fish cakes before and they were scrumptious, absolutely delicious, I cannot find the exact recipe I used but this recipe look good

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/166631/fishcakes

duploelabs

Toast4532 wrote: »

Seabass is delicious, I like to pan fry it with a little olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt and pepper recipe I used but this recipe look good

Again with the price issue, Seabass while lovely, it's very expensive. Make a haims of it and you're out serious wedge. Also try to err away from recipes that involve a direct heat with a very short cooking time. The margins for error for overcooking and undercooking fish are a lot smaller than meat for example, these are made smaller with using an intense direct heat. Try a fish pie (Jamie Oliver has a very good recipe in his first book) or maybe parcel up some salmon with salt and pepper, a splash of white, and squeeze of lemon and a knob of butter in some tin foil, in to a pre warmed oven at 180 for about 15 mins and you're laughing

pampootie

I always think fish doesn't need much done to it, I love it really simply done in the oven with lots of lemon and black pepper. My local fishmonger has a website though and the recipes are quite good, can't link on my phone but go to www.goodfish.ie and check out the recipe section, the fish pie and the hake with lemon herb crust are both lovely

Toast4532

duploelabs wrote: »

Again with the price issue, Seabass while lovely, it's very expensive. Make a haims of it and you're out serious wedge. Also try to err away from recipes that involve a direct heat with a very short cooking time. The margins for error for overcooking and undercooking fish are a lot smaller than meat for example, these are made smaller with using an intense direct heat. Try a fish pie (Jamie Oliver has a very good recipe in his first book) or maybe parcel up some salmon with salt and pepper, a splash of white, and squeeze of lemon and a knob of butter in some tin foil, in to a pre warmed oven at 180 for about 15 mins and you're laughing

I couldn't tell you how expensive Seabass is as my local fish shop do 4 pieces (good sizes too) for €8 I think, so I generally get them on offer and freeze what I don't use, I don't think I've ever gotten them at full price to be honest.