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T
raditionally fish is eaten as a
replacement for meat over the Easter
period, especially on Good Friday, an
important date in the Christian calendar.
Many of our customers push the boat out
(excuse the pun) and treat themselves to some
fantastic fish such as turbot, halibut, lobster,
salmon, tuna and scallops, and turn them into
mouth-watering dishes.
You can use this time of the year to go to town
and create something really special.
Why not have a go at some
sea bass baked
in salt
?
This old method of cooking fish is fantastic at
bringing out the best flavour of the bass and
believe it or not it is not salty.
Cooking fish in a salt crust may seem a
bit scary, but is, in fact, quite easy and is
extremely popular in Spain.
It’s just a matter of placing the fish in a salt
parcel and the salt will seal in the juices.
To give good theatre to your guests present
the whole salt-crusted fish at the table.
To prepare a salt crust:
Combine salt, water
and herbes de Provence in a bowl; mix until it’s
the consistency of wet sand. Spread half the
salt mixture on the prepared baking sheet in a
rectangle just larger than the fish.
Place the prepared sea bass on top of the salt
and cover the fish with the salt making sure
there are no gaps and simply bake in the oven
for 30 minutes.
Then remove the sea bass from the oven and
break open the crust and carefully remove the
skin to reveal a delicate, soft flesh of the fish
which can be filleted or eaten off the bone.
Accompany the sea bass with either a good
homemade hollandaise sauce or melted lemon
butter.
This recipe works equally well with salmon too.
Talking of salmon, why not go full steam ahead
with a delicious
salmon Wellington
.
Was this dish an adaptation of the beef
Wellington, so named after the defeat of
Napoleon? Or is the name related to
Wellington in New Zealand? A topic for
discussion over the dinner table perhaps?
Anyway, this dish is awesome with a capital
AWWW..
Method:
Melt some butter in a pan and sweat down
some finely chopped leeks, then add a glass of
white wine and reduce by a third.
When the wine has reduced, add a couple of
handfuls of fresh spinach and cook down until
it has wilted.
Take off the heat and add a good helping of
soft cheese or cream cheese. (Ricotta is ideal)
and stir into the mixture.
Brush the salmon fillet with a mixture of
balsamic vinegar, brown sugar and salt and
spread the cheese, leek and spinach mixture
on top of the salmon.
To make this even easier wrap the salmon in
ready made puff pastry.
Bake in the oven for approx. 30 mins at 180c,
or until the pastry is golden brown.
So, along with chocolate eggs and hot cross
buns make fish part of your Easter tradition.
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Simon Rhodes owns:
The Lobster Pot Fishmongers. Cobbs
Farmshop, Bath Road, Hungerford, Berkshire
RG17 0SP
Telephone: (01488) 686770
About the author
Festive fish
Easter is a great time to go all out and enjoy some special fish treats. SIMON RHODES
makes some suggestions and has a couple of simple recipes for you to try at home
Left: Sea Bass baked in salt,
below Salmon Wellingon