This is a quick curry but it still tastes delicious and simple enough to throw together after work.
Thai red salmon curry – serves 2
100g dried rice noodles
350g skinless salmon fillets, cut lengthways into 4 thin pieces
1½ tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp Thai red curry paste
1½ tsp finely grated garlic
1 tsp finely grated ginger
125ml chicken stock
400ml tin coconut milk
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp white sugar
4 baby bok choy, leaves separated
1-2 tbsp lime juice, plus wedges for serving
fresh coriander leaves, to serve
red bird’s eye chilli, finely sliced, to serve
Soak the noodles in boiling water according to the pack instructions, then drain and divide between two bowls.
Season the salmon, then heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat. Cook the salmon for a minute on each side, then transfer to a plate. It doesn’t need to be cooked through yet, just lightly golden on the surface.
Add the curry paste, garlic and ginger to the pan. Cook, stirring continuously, for a minute, then add the chicken stock and simmer rapidly for a minute, stirring to scrape any sticky bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the coconut milk, fish sauce and sugar, then simmer rapidly for 2 minutes.
Return the salmon to the pan and push the bok choy in around it. Simmer for 2 minutes, pushing the bok choy into the liquid as it wilts. Once the salmon flakes easily, remove the pan from the heat.
Pour the lime juice over the fish and serve over the noodles. Sprinkle with the coriander and fresh chilli before serving with extra lime wedges.
(Original recipe from Recipetin Eats Tonight by Nagi Maehashi, Pan Macmillan, 2024.)
Two delicious sauces combine to really highlight the fish in this North African inspired dish. We used hake but you can of course use other white fish fillets. Serve with couscous and pitta breads.
Wine Suggestion: it is quite a complex challenge to balance the spices, tomatoes and creamy tahini, but we think this works great with Mediterranean inspired blends that include a bit of Tempranillo like Parker Estate Favourite Son Shiraz-Tempranillo. Despite this being a bigger red and this being a fish dish there’s a certain freshness from Coonawarra that comes through and very complimentary spices that make this work.
Fish cooked in tomato sauce with tahini – serves 4
4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
5 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
2 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
a pinch of chilli flakes
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes
1 preserved lemon
4 fillets of hake (or other white fish)
fresh coriander, to serve
FOR THE TAHINI SAUCE:
1 clove of garlic
half a lemon
80g tahini
5-6 tbsp ice-cold water
a pinch of ground cumin
Warm the olive oil in a large sauté pan, then cook the onion with a pinch of salt until soft. Add the garlic and spices and continue frying for another minute or two, then add the tomato purée and cook for another couple of minutes.
Add the tinned tomatoes, then rinse the tins with a little water and add that too. Break the tomatoes up with a wooden spoon and simmer for 10-15 minutes to thicken the sauce. Quarter and deseed the preserved lemon, then chop into small pieces and add to the sauce.
Meanwhile, make the tahini sauce. Grate the garlic into a bowl, then squeeze over the juice of the half lemon, mix together and set aside for 5 minutes. Add the tahini to the garlic and lemon and whisk together, then add 1 tbsp of the cold water at a time, whisking until you have a smooth, runny sauce. Season with a pinch of salt and a pinch of cumin.
Season the fish, then nestle it into the tomato sauce. Cook for 5-10 minutes, or until just cooked (a thermometer will help if you have one). Serve with the tahini sauce and coriander over the top and with some couscous and pitta breads.
(Original recipe from The Farm Table by Julius Roberts, Ebury Press, 2023.)
Everyone loves trout in our house and especially with miso – a master combination.
Wine Suggestion: You need a white with a touch of acidity and umami-savouriness here to both balance and compliment the flavours. Something like the Höpler Grüner Veltliner from Burgenland in Austria would work a treat.
Sesame miso trout – serves 4
4 fresh trout fillets, skin on
4 tsp white miso paste
3 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 tbsp olive oil, plus a bit extra for the veg
a knob of butter
4 pak choi, sliced into big pieces
6 scallions, finely sliced
FOR THE GLAZE:
4 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 tsp white miso paste
2 tsp sesame oil
Heat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.
Line a baking sheet with non-stick paper.
Whisk the ingredients for the glaze together in a bowl alongwith 6 tbsp of water, then set aside.
Season the fish fillets and spread the miso paste on the flesh side. Sprinkle the sesame seeds on top and press down so they stick to the paste.
Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the fish fillets, sesame seed side down, and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until golden brown. Carefully turn them over and fry for another 2 minutes on the skin side. Add the knob of butter and when it foams, use a small spoon to baste the trout with it.
Transfer the fish to the lined baking sheet, skin-side down, and cook in the oven for 7-8 minutes or until just cooked through.
Meanwhile, wipe the frying pan clean, add a little oil and put over a high heat. Add the pak choi, scallions and seasoning and stir until just wilted.
Spoon the veg onto a serving dish and put the fish on top. Add the glaze ingredients to the pan and gently warm until just bubbling, spoon over the trout and serve.
(Original recipe from Mary’s Foolproof Dinners, BBC Books, 2024.)
Such a lovely recipe, and you can of course use smoked salmon. We like smoked trout from Goatsbridge which is a local supplier. Recipe inspiration from the new Ottolenghi book – Comfort. You must have a green salad and a glass of white wine to serve. If you have a mandolin it will cut the potatoes and fennel just right.
Wine Suggestion: Weserved an oddity/one-off from Chateau Hureau from Saumur in the Loire. They grew a low quantity of Chenin Blanc grapes in 2022 due to frost so decided to make a Blanc de Noirs from Cabernet Franc for a bit of fun. Only available at cellar door it’s both crisp and fresh, but significantly has bags of texture which this dish needs. Look for whites with a touch of skin contact, or aged on lees as a substitute.
Potato, fennel & smoked trout bake – serves 4
200ml milk
425ml double cream
2 anchovies, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, lightly smashed with skin on
1 lemon, skin finely shaved into strips
2 tsp fennel seeds, finely ground
850g Yukon gold or red potatoes, peeled and sliced into ½ cm thick slices
1-2 large fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
4 egg yolks
10g dill fronds, roughly chopped
20g chives, finely chopped
20g parsley leaves, finely chopped
1½ tbsp unsalted butter, softened
200g smoked trout (or smoked salmon) slices, roughly torn
for the lemon butter sauce:
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp capers, roughly chopped
40g unsalted butter, fridge cold and roughly chopped
Heat the oven to 170C fan.
Put the milk, cream, anchovies, garlic, lemon strips and ground fennel into a small saucepan. Place over a low heat and warm for 10 minutes, making sure it never comes to the boil. Give it a stir now and then and press on the solids to get plenty of flavour out of them. Remove from the heat.
Put the potato and fennel slices into a saucepan and cover with cold, salted water. Bring to the boil and cook for 6-7 minutes or until just tender. Drain and set aside.
Whisk the egg yolks with ¾ tsp of salt and a good grind of pepper in a large bowl. Strain the infused milk into the eggs, pressing on the solids against the sieve. Whisk to combine.
Combine all the herbs in bowl. Measure out 2 tbsp and reserve for the butter sauce.
Grease an ovenproof dish with ½ tbsp of the butter. Spoon a third of the potato and fennel over the base and grind over some pepper. Sprinkle over half the herbs and lay half the smoked trout over the top. Repeat with half the remaining potatoes and fennel, season with pepper, then add all the remanining trout and the rest of the herbs. Arrange a final layer of potato and fennel on top and carefully pour over the egg mixture. Grind over some more pepper and dot over the remaining butter. Bake for 45 minutes or until set and just golden. Remove from the oven and rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile make the lemon butter sauce. Put the lemon juice into a small saucepan on a medium-high heat and bring to a bubble. Allow to bubble for 1 minute, then add the capers and butter, a few pieces at a time. Whisk until smooth and creamy, then remove from the heat and stir in the reserved herbs and some more pepper. Spoon over the dish and serve warm with a green salad.
(Original recipe from Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi, Helen Goh, Verena Lochmuller & Tara Wigley, Ebury Press, 2024.)
This recipe works well using fillets that have been grilled with fennel seeds and a bit of dill rubbed into the oiled sides before putting on the barbecue. However as we had a whole fish we adapted cooked it whole with some rosemary and lemon. Either way it’s handy to have a temperature probe to make sure the fish is up to 60C and therefore cooked. You can of course pop a pan on your hot barbecue and cook the spinach on there too, we usually cook the sauce indoors.
Serve with steamed, waxy (or baby) potatoes. And a big shout-out to Goatsbridge trout farm for the magnificent fish we bought online from them; superb!
Wine suggestion: Oaky Chardonnay all the way with this, so choose what ever is best in your local wine merchant.
BBQ trout with spinach & cream, serves 4 (depending on the size of the fish … our left-overs lasted all week)
1 large trout (1.5-2kg), scaled and gutted
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
6 bay leaves
2 garlic cloves, bashed
1 lemon, sliced into rounds
a few springs of rosemary, fennel or marjoram
For the spinach & cream:
a knob of butter
1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
250g spinach, washed and thick stalks discarded
150ml double cream
a small pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Take the fish out of the fridge at least an hour before you want to cook it.
Light your barbecue, you will need a gentle heat to cook the fish through. Scrub the bars of the grill with a wire brush so it’s nice and clean, then lightly oil the bars. Let the grill get really hot before you put the fish onto it so the skin doesn’t skick and crisps up.
When the barbecue is ready to cook on, rub the olive oil all over the fish and season all over with salt and pepper. Put the bay leaves, garlic and lemom slices into the fish belly. Lay the fish onto the hot grill and cook for 2 to 3 minutes – then check the underside to ensure it’s not cooking too fast or burning – if it looks ok, continue to cook for 12-15 minutes on the first side, then use a couple of spatulas to turn the fish over, don’t worry too much if the skin tears a bit. Scatter over the herbs, then cook on the other side for the same amount of time. The fish is cooked when the the flesh flakes away easily from the bone – we find a temperature probe helpful too.
Gently lift the fish off the grill and serve with buttery new potatoes and the spinach with cream below.
FOR THE SPINACH & CREAM:
Put a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the butter. When the butter bubbles, add the garlic and allow it to sizzle for about a minute, without colouring.
Roughly chop the spinach if needed, then stir it into the garlicky butter until it wilts right down. Add the cream, nutmeg andn plenty of salt and pepper, then stir until thickened.
(Original recipes from Outside by Gill Meller, Hardie Grant Quadrille, 2022.)
This is a dish we cook when we get home late and need something quick and tasty. You can easily pick up the ingredients in a supermarket on the way home.
Wine Suggestion: the more we taste them, the more we like how versatile Verdicchio is, even the entry level Villa Bianchi from Umani Ronchi in the Marche. There’s just the right level of texture and viscosity for the creamy richness, and zip, zing and minerality for the fish.
Hot-smoked salmon, gnocchi and spinach bake – serve 4
Wine Suggestion: a little indulgent, but we wanted to see how a bottle we picked up in the Loire from the winemaker was developing: the Domaine de la Taille aux Loups Montlouis les Hauts de Husseau. A crystalline Chenin Blanc from the neighbouring area to Vouvray, this was exciting, racy and edgy and exceptionally youthful. It may not be super cheap, but we’d argue still a bargain given the quality, complexity, depth and potential to age superbly. We’d even conjecture that it’s a very good option to top white Burgundy. The remaining bottles we’ll try to ignore for a few more years if we can resist.
Salmon, veg and black bean tray bake – serves 4 to 6
2 red onions, cut into wedges
2 sweet potatoes, cut into chunks
2 red peppers, cut into strips
2 tbsp sesame oil or olive oil
1 head of broccoli, cut into florets
400g tin of black beans, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
5g fresh ginger, grated
½ tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
1 tbsp sesame seeds
fresh coriander, chopped
FOR THE SALMON:
600g skinned salmon fillet, cut into large chunks
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp runny honey
Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/Gas 6.
Put the onions, sweet potatoes and peppers into a large roasting tray. Drizzle over 1 tbsp of sesame oil and toss to coat, then season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 minutes.
Toss the broccoli in the other tbsp of sesame oil and add to the roasting tin. Mix the beans with the soy sauce, rice wine, garlic, ginger and Chinese 5-spice powder and add 100ml of water. Pour this around the veg and cook for another 20 minutes, turning the broccoli over after 10.
Toss the salmon in the soy sauce and honey and place on top of the vegetables. Roast for another 8-9 minutes, or until cooked.
Serve sprinnkled with the sesame seeds and coriander.
(Original recipe from The Hairy Bikers One Pot Wonders by Si King and Dave Myers, Seven Dials, 2019.)
We’ll cook anything on the barbecue and these mussels come highly recommended! Serve in the foil package with plenty of crusty bread.
Wine Suggestion: Muscadet all the way, but given you get a little more with the smokey barbecue flavours coming through we’d suggest one with a bit more oomph like Jérémy Huchet’s Clos les Montys which is grown on a very particular blue-green bedrock giving the wine depth and substance.
Mussels on the barbecue – serves 2
50g softened butter
2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
2 shallots, finely sliced
1 kg mussels
1 small pack parsley, roughly chopped
125ml white wine
100ml double cream
crusty bread, to serve
Mix the butter and garlic with a big pinch of salt.
Heat the barbecue until the coals are white. Lay a sheet of tin foil, about 60cm long on the work surface, then put another sheet the same size on to, then add a third sheet about 30cm long acorss the middle to form a cross shape. Spread the shallots in the middle of the foil, pile the mussels on top, dot the garlic butter all over, then scatter over half the parsley. Season, then fold the foil in at the sides to create a bowl.
Pour the wine into the foil bowl and then seal it securely by scrunching the foil together at the top. If you need an extra sheet of foil to encase the whole parcel at this stage then do so.
Carefully place the parcel on the barbecue coals and cook for 10 minutes. Carefully open the parcel and check the mussels have opened. Pour in the cream, then cover the barbecue with a lid to cook for a few more minutes.
Sprinkle with the remaining parsley and serve with crusty bread.
Tonnato is one of our favourite sauces and it works amazingly well with soft-boiled eggs and jacket potatoes. We take this back; Tonnato is Jules’ absolute favourite sauce … so we just had to try this dish!
You can make the sauce earlier in the day and leave it in the fridge.
Wine Suggestion: taking us back to our honeymoon when we stayed at the winery is Felsina’s “I Sistri” Chardonnay and a good match indeed with the nutty, toasty character really complementing the fresh capers, rich egg and velvety sauce.
Jacket Potatoes with Tonnato Sauce – serves 4
4 large baking potatoes
olive oil
4 large eggs, soft-boiled (cook in already boiling water for 6½ minutes, then run under cold water) and peeled
FOR THE TONNATO SAUCE:
2 large egg yolks
3 tbsp lemon juice
25g parsley, roughly chopped
120g good quality tinned tuna in oil, we like Ortiz or Shines
20g baby capers (or chop larger ones)
2 anchovy fillets in oil, rinsed and patted dry
1 garlic clove, crushed
180ml olive oil
Heat the oven to 220C fan.
Rub the jacket potatoes with a little olive oil and sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Put them on a tray and bake for 20 minutes, then reduce the oven temperature to 200C fan and cook for another hour.
Meanwhile, make the sauce. Put the egg yolks in the bowl of a food processor with the lemon juice, 20g of the parsley, the tuna, half the capers, the anchovies and the garlic. Blitz to a rough paste, then scrape down the sides with a spatula. Now keep the machine running while you slowly trickle in the olive oil in a steady stream, the consistency should be like thin mayonnaise. Put this in the fridge until you’re ready to eat.
When ready to serve, slice the potatoes down the middle and sprinkle inside with a little salt (we also add some butter but you don’t have to). Spoon the sauce over the potatoes and top with a halved egg. Sprinkle over the rest of the capers and parsley, then serve.
(Original recipe from Ottolenghi Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi, Tara Wigley and Esme Howarth, Ebury Press, 2018.)
Amazing flavours in this super quick and easy dish. We’re loving pretty much every recipe that Ixta Belfrage has a hand in.
Wine Suggestion: A really hard one to match we thought, but we pulled out Dr Loosen’s Graacher Dry Riesling … a wine he has “declassified” from Grosses Gewächse (Great Growth) as the vines are only 15-20 years old … not old enough for Ernie Loosen! A wine of both elegance and power, with a crispness that balances any oilyness of the mackeral, and joyful fruit to match chillies, limes, soy and star anise.
Mackerel udon – serves 2
1 medium cucumber, peeled, halved and seeds scooped out with a teaspoon
2 x 115g tins of mackerel in olive oil, drained and flaked into chunky pieces
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tsp black or white (or both) sesame seeds, toasted
FOR THE DRESSING:
5 tbsp mild olive oil or sunflower oil
40g ginger, peeled and julienned
2 large mild red chillies, finely sliced into rounds (discard the seeds)
2 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick, bashed with the side of a knife
2 tbsp soy sauce
1½ tbsp maple syrup
¾ tsp toasted sesame oil
Cut the cucumber into half-centimetre diagonal slices. Put the cucumber in a bowl and mix with the flaked salt and lime juice. Set aside to pickle while you make the rest.
Put the udon noodles in a large bowl and, cover with boiling water, then drain well and set aside.
Put a heatproof sieve over a heatproof bowl and set aside.
Put the oil for the dressing into a medium saucepan over a medium heat and allow to get hot. Add the ginger, chillies, star anise and cinnamon and fry gently, stirring often, until the ginger is crisp and golden – about 5 minutes but watch carefully. Drain through the sieve and keep both the oil and the crispy aromatics.
Transfer 3 tbsp of the aromatic oil to a separate bowl along with the soy sauce, maple syrup and sesame oil.
Drain the cucumbers and toss with the warm noodles. Transfer them to a platter and top with the mackerel. Spoon over the dressing, followed by the crispy aromatics, scallions and sesame seeds. Serve with lime wedges on the side.
(Original recipe from Mezcla by Ixta Belfrage, Ebury Press, 2022.)
This must be the easiest and cheapest of fish soups but that does not make it any less delicious! Particularly good after a walk out in the cold. And no it’s not made from “skinks” for all the Aussies out there who may be confused … it’s a classic Scottish soup made from smoked fish!
Wine Suggestion: We would highly recommend pairing this with a peaty whisky like Lagavulin. If this doesn’t rock your boat, or you don’t have a bottle to hand then a dry, aromatic and elegant white, like the Sybille Kuntz Riesling Kabinett makes the whole meal feel refined and very sophisticated too.
Cullen skink – serves 4
50g buttter
1 onion, finely chopped
1.2 litres full fat milk
750g floury potatoes
450g smoked haddock fillet
2 tbsp chopped parsley, plus extra to garnish
Melt the butter in a large saucepan, then add the onion and cook gently for 7-8 minutes.
Add the milk and bring to the boil, then add the potatoes and simmer for 20 minutes until very soft.
Add the smoked haddock and simmer for 3-4 minutes or until cooked and easy to flake. Gently remove the haddock with a slotted spoon onto a plate. Leave until cook enough to handle.
Meanwhile, use your wooden spoon to squash some of the potatoes against the side of the pan to thicken the soup slightly.
When the fish is cool enough to handle, break it into chunky flakes, discarding any skin and bones. Tip the fish into the soup, then add the parsley. Serve in warm soup bowls with a little more parsley.
(Original recipe from Rick Stein’s Simple Supper, BBC Books, 2023.)
Salmon is very popular in our house and we particulary like this recipe with a delicious barbery butter.
Wine Suggestion: we like dry Rosé with barberry dishes and chose the Quinta de la Rosa Rosé this time as it has great depth and poise alongside the refreshing red berried flavours.
Salmon with barberry butter – serves 4
olive oil
4 salmon fillets, skinned
FOR THE BARBERRY BUTTER:
75g softened butter
2 tbsp dried barberries, finely chopped
1 tsp pul biber
1 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp clear honey
Put the ingredients for the barberry butter into a bowl with plenty of salt and black pepper and mix well.
Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat and add a little olive oil. Season the salmon fillets on the skinned side, then put skinned-side down into the pan. Cook for a couple of minutes, then turn over and add the butter. When the butter has melted, start basting the salmon. You need to go quite quickly so the butter doesn’t burn. Keep basting for a couple of minutes or until the salmon is just cooked through.
Serve and spoon the butter over.
(Original recipe from Flavour by Sabrina Ghayour, Aster*, 2023.)
We’ve cooked this easy Indian salmon a load of times now. The salmon is really soft and tender and the flavours are fab! Nice with potatoes and a green salad or with other Indian dishes.
Grilled masala salmon – serves 2
⅛ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cumin
⅛ tsp ground coriander
⅛ tsp ground turmeric
¼ tsp ground cayenne pepper
340g skinned salmon fillet
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
2 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
Mix the salt, cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne pepper together, then rub all over the salmon fillet. Cover and leave in the fridge for 1-4 hours.
Heat the oven to 180C/Gas 4, and heat the grill to it’s highest setting.
Mix the mustard, oil and lemon juice together and add the chopped coriander. Rub this all over the fish and place under the grill until the top has slightly browned, about 4 minutes. Transfer the fish to the oven and bake for about 10 minute or until cooked through.
(Original recipe from Curry Easy by Madhur Jaffrey, Ebury Press, 2010.)
Fish in a bap with caper mayonnaise because most things taste good in a bap.
Wine Suggestion: We went Portuguese and chose an Arinto-Verdelho blend from near Lisbon: the Mar de Lisboa white, made by Quinta de Chocapalha. Lemon flavours with hints of passionfruit felt the perfect addition to this dish and the minerally, zip added a freshness that really matched the caper mayonnaise.
Fish in a bap – serves 1(easily multiplied)
2 skinless fillets of dab or other flat fish – we used plaice
butter
1 tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil
2 tbsp plain flour
a fresh white bap
a squeeze of lemon & a dash of tabasco, to serve
For the caper mayonnaise:
2 tbsp good mayo
2 tsp capers, drained and finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped parsley
lemon juice
Make the mayonnaise first by combining the mayonnaise, capers, parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice (to taste). Set aside.
Heat the the oil and a knob of butter in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Spread the flour out on a plate and season it well. Dust the fish fillets with the flour, shaking off any excess, then fry for 2 minutes on each side.
Slice the bap in half and butter it generously. Add a few lettuce leaves and put the cooked fish on top, seasoning with lemon juice and tabasco. Add a good blob of the caper mayonnaise, the close the bap and eat it.
(Original recipe from River Cottage Everyday by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Bloomsbury, 2009.)
A surf-n-turf compromise maybe for the meat-eaters and such a delicious sauce to go with the fish. Looks a bit messy in the picture but it tastes delicious! We served with baby roast potatoes and greens.
Wine Suggestion: This begs for a youthful, oaked white like the textural, fresh and balanced Neudorf Tiritiri Chardonnay from Nelson in NZ. There’s both a finesse and a complexity to this wine with fresh fruits, hints of spice and … it may be the food influencing it, but we get hints of bacon and a meatiness. All bound together tightly and opening up gently in the glass.
Monkfish with mushroom & bacon sauce – serves 6
6 x 150g monkfish fillets, ask the fishmonger to remove the skin and membrane
3 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp oil
a knob of butter
6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, chopped into small pieces
1 small onion, finely chopped
200g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
200ml crème fraîche
juice of ½ lemon
1 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp chopped parsley
Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6 and line a tray with baking paper.
Season the monkfish with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the flour over a plate and dust the fish until coated, shaking off any excess.
Put a frying pan over a high heat and add the oil and butter. When the butter is foaming, add the fish fillets and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side or until sealed and lightly golden. Transfer to the paper-lined tray and pour over any buttery juice from the pan. Roast in the oven for 8-10 minutes or until cooked through.
Meanwhile, wipe the pan clean with kitchen paper to remove any flour, then add the bacon and fry over a high heat until crispy, then remove to a plate. Tip the onion into the pan and fry for a few minutes, then cover and reduce the heat and leave to cook for another 5 minutes. Remove the lid and turn the heat back up, add the mushrooms and fry for a few minutes until golden.
Add the crème fraîche, lemon juice and mustard with half the cooked bacon and half the parsley. Bring to the boil and bubble for a few minutes until reduced and slightly thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Slice each fish fillet into three and arrange on a platter. Spoon over the sauce and garnish with the rest of the bacon and parsley.
(Original recipe from Foolproof Cooking by Mary Berry, BBC Books, 2016.)
We love this easy pasta dish. If you haven’t cooked smoked salmon before you should.
Wine Suggestion: this is a deceptively rich dish and we think needs something like a fuller Pinot Gris, like Au Bon Climat’s blend with Pinot Blanc which is treated very much like a Burgundian Chardonnay and is both textured and vibrantly fresh with flavours of fresh pears, toasty creaminess and gentle spices.
Pasta with smoked salmon & mascarpone – serves 4
400g farfalle
200g smoked salmon
125g mascarpone
20g butter, at room temperature
zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
dill, snipped
Cook the pasta in lots of salty water until al dente.
Meanwhile, cut the salmon into short pieces with scissors and put them into a large warm serving bowl along with the mascarpone, butter and lemon zest. Ladle some pasta cooking water into the bowl to loosen to a cream, then taste and add salt if needed.
Drain the pasta, reserving some more pasta water, then tip on to the sauce and gently mix together, adding more cooking water if needed. Serve, sprinkled with dill.
(Original recipe from An A-Z of Pasta by Rachel Roddy, Penguin: Fig Tree, 2021.)
You need to marinade the salmon for 30 minutes or up to 24 hours ahead. After that, it’s dinner in 15 minutes. We served with with some sticky rice and dressed Asian greens.
Wine Suggestion: This works with a good Pinot Gris, like Neudorf’s Tiritiri. An underestimated grape, given the oceans of bland Pinot Grigio sold, but in the right hands … the riper, richer and more textural French styled Pinot Gris is a joy. Neudorf’s version is all about mouth feel: depth, viscosity, and richness while staying deliciously clean and deceptively moreish. And the back-bone is a fresh, salty-stoney texture keeping it all clean and vibrant.
Sticky glazed salmon – serves 2-3
2-3 salmon fillets
rapeseed oil spray
FOR THE MARINADE:
1 tsp finely grated ginger
1 garlic clove, finely grated
1 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
TO SERVE
sesame seeds
1 scallion, finely sliced
Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a shallow dish, then add the salmon and turn to coat.
When you are ready to cook, heat the grill to high. Line a grill tray with tin foil and place the salmon fillets on top, skin-side down. Brush with the marinade but don’t pour if over as any on the tin foil will burn, discard any extra.
Put the salmon under the grill, about 15-20 cm away from the heat. Cook for 7 minutes, then remove and spray with the rapeseed oil. Put back under the grill for another 1-3 minutes or until nicely caramelised.
Allow the salmon to rest for 5 minutes before serving with the scallions and sesame seeds scattered over.
(Original recipe from Recipetin Eats Dinner by Nagi Maehashi, Pan MacMillan, 2022.)
This is very much a weeknight dish but it’s suprisingly good. Baking in a bag means very few dishes to wash which always helps. Serve with a green salad.
Wine Suggestion: try to find a good Vermentino with a medium body, not the richer ones with higher alcohol like you sometimes find from Sardinia and similar. A favoured one at the moment is Domaine Ventenac’s “les Dissidents” Cassandre from Cabardes in southern France.
Baked salmon with harissa and chickpeas – serves 2
1 unwaxed lemon
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp clear honey
3 tsp harissa paste
150g roasted red peppers from a jar, sliced
15g coriander, roughly chopped
2 salmon fillets, skinned
1 tsp olive oil
Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5.
Tear off 2 large sheets of baking paper.
Halve the lemon and cut one half into thin slices.
Toss the drained chickpeas with the smoked paprika, honey, 1 tsp of the harissa paste, the peppers, most of the coriander and seasoning, then divide this between the two sheets of paper.
Season the salmon and spread each piece with 1 tsp of harissa, then place on top of the chickpeas and drizzle with the olive oil. Place the lemon slices on top, then fold over the edges to seal the parcels.
Put the parcels onto a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes or until the salmon is cooked. Open the parcels and scatter over the rest of the coriander, then serve with some salad on the side.
(Original recipe by Tom Mitchell-Dawson in Sainsbury’s Magazine, September 2023.)
We are still a bit apprehensive when cooking fish and shy away from the simple methods that require last minute cooking. We shouldn’t do this as they tend to be the dishes that show the fish at its best. We managed to conquer this one anyhow.
Wine Suggestion: Served with Domaine Rochette Morgon Régnié Cuvée des Braves, a red fruited Beaujolais from this sensitive and thoughtful family making wine in a Cru that is often overlooked. I say… expand your horizons beyond Morgon and Fleurie! Rich, powerful, and aromatically exquisite.
Plaice with Creamy Mushroom Sauce – serves 4
8 skinless, single plaice fillets (or 4 double fillets which you need to half lengthways)
45g plain flour
2 tbsp olive oil
15g butter
FOR THE SAUCE:
20g butter
200g small chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 clove of garlic, crushed
120ml dry white wine
170ml double cream
finely grated zest of 1 lemon
juice of ½ a lemon
2 tbsp chopped dill
Pat the fish dry with kitchen paper. Sprinkle the flour onto a plate and season well with salt and pepper. Coat both sides of the fish fillets in the flour.
Heat 1 tbsp of the oil with the butter in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add 4 of the fish fillets and fry for 1½ minutes-2 minutes or until golden. Gently turn and fry for another 1½-2 minutes on the other side. Careful not to let the butter brown. Transfer the fillets to a serving platter, cover with foil and keep warm while you cook the rest.
To make the sauce, melt the butter in the same frying pan. Add the mushrooms and fry over a medium-high heat for a few minutes, then add the garlic and fry for another minute or so. Pour in the wine, stir and bring to the boil. Simmer for a couple of minutes, then pour in the cream. Simmer, stirring, until the sauce thickens.
Stir in the lemon zest and juice, season with salt and pepper and add the dill. Spoon the sauce over and around the fish and serve with a few extra dill sprigs if you like.
(Original recipe from Mary Berry Cooks the Perfect, Penguin Random House Group, 2014.)
