Choose the Right Fish for Your Dish

I’m joining the masses and getting stuck into the big fish fight. I honestly cannot believe how disgusting some of the lengths that are being gone to when it comes to fishing. Did you know that often 80% of a fisherman’s catch will be thrown back into the sea, dead? Not only are they ravaging fish stocks unnecessarily they are destroying the sea beds and everything in its path.

What I hope to do here is give you a few pointers on how we can all help the fish stocks by shopping, cooking and eating responsibly.

First of all most supermarkets will have responsible fishing policies but still please always make sure you keep an eye out for the Marine Stewardships Council logo. This means that it is a sustainable fish and in good supply. Next try and mix things up a bit and don’t just go for your standard Cod and Haddock, although sustainable at the moment it may not be for long if we carry on with it as our nations favourite. Not only will you be helping the fish stocks you might just find out that you’ve come across a hidden gem or a new favourite. And don’t be happy to stop just there. There are loads out there to choose from such as Anchovies, Crab, Dogfish, Flounder, Swordfish, Pollock and Hake to name a few. The recipe I’m doing today is a Hake dish and I just can’t get enough of it! This recipe consists of a Hake fillet, covered with home made pesto, wrapped in parma ham with a confit of tomatoes. Tastes and smells amazing! Hake is quite a mild white fish with a fairly firm flake, but if it’s not available I’m sure you could substitute for some sea bass or pollock. 

Now this is another recipe that’s minimal effort, maximum flavour. The delicate, mild flavours of the fish works fantastically with the ham and pesto. When oven cooked the parma ham crisps up at the edges and surrounds the flaky, yet firm fish, and the layer of pesto in between really gives it that extra punch of flavour and some added moisture. When cooking this dish I recommend that you do the tomatoes first and set aside, then put back in the oven for the last 5 minutes of the fish cooking to heat up. Reason being, the smell and flavours of the garlic and rosemary oil are outstanding, use this to grease your fish tray before cooking as it really does just give it that little extra oomph! 

 Give it a go! I doubt I will have any unhappy bloggers on this one…

Hake Fillets wrapped in Parma Ham with a Confit of Tomatoes and Homemade Pesto

Ingredients

For the Pesto:

50g Pine Nuts, toasted in a heavy pan with no oil

A large bunch of fresh Basil (about 50g)

50g Parmesan, chopped or grated

75ml Olive Oil

2 Cloves Garlic

For the Rest of the Dish:

120g Cherry Tomatoes, on the vine

2 Sprigs Fresh Rosemary

6 Cloves Garlic

100ml Olive Oil

2 x 120g Hake Fillets, skinless and boneless

8 slices Parma Ham

4 tsp. of the homemade Pesto

Course Sea Salt and Cracked Black Pepper, to season

1. Preheat your oven to 200°C/ Gas mark 6.
2. Crush the garlic with a large knife and remove the skins and placed in an oven proof dish alongside the rosemary and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper and pour the oil all over. Cook for around 15 minutes.
3. Next put all the pesto ingredients in a food processor and blitz until smooth. You can keep the pesto for a few weeks in the fridge. Just put in a jar and cover the top with oil so it will stay fresh.
4. While the tomatoes are cooking you can prepare your fish. Place 4 of the slices of parma ham on a chopping board side by side and place the hake on top. Spread about 2 tsps of the pesto over the top of the fillet then wrap the ham around it and repeat for the other fillet.
5. Once the tomatoes have cooked, (I’m sure you can smell it by now!) set aside and take some of the oil to grease your oven tray for the fish. And put a light covering on top. Cook for about 15-20 minutes, putting the tomatoes back in for the last 5 minutes.
6. Serve with a dressed rocket salad and a little of the oil drizzled over the top and enjoy!

Take a look at the Marine Stewardship Councils website to keep you right when choosing your fish. Theres also a lot of great recipes on there! http://www.msc.org/