Fish

Marta de Pascalis’s Spaghetti con le Telline 

10th May 2020 » Permalink: Marta de Pascalis’s Spaghetti con le Telline 

I chose this one because I read that Mika Vainio gave you this idea – it’s from the Roman coast, and I remember a friend told me that when he went to pick up Mika at the airport in Rome, which is by the sea, he started to talk about Pasolini, and put his head out of the car window to catch some sea breeze smell, daydreaming. I always think about Pasolini and Coil when I’m there… and from that day on I also think about Mika. And it’s one of my fav. dishes I dream about and miss most here in Berlin.

This is as a traditional dish from the sea of Rome.

It was a poor dish: the beaches are so full of this very easy-to-collect molluscs, that it has been a valid competitor to clams, which not everybody could afford back in time. But if you can’t find them, you can replace with clams.

Ingredients for 4 people:

600gr Telline
300gr Spaghetti (i prefer a thick one – like Rummo Spaghetti Grossi N.5 – and a moderate pasta portion – 75g each leaves space for some antipasti or a second course)
1 garlic clove
a bunch of parsley sliced thin
fresh chilli – just a tiny hint
half a glass of white wine
pepper
lemon peel

Put the Telline in a bowl full of cold water and 70g of salt, and let them clean themselves for a couple of hours – if you collected the molluscs by yourself, let it stay longer, changing the salty water until you see no more sand coming out.

Prepare a pot of salty water for pasta, and while you bring it boil, cook the Telline. Its important to calibrate timing, cause you absolutely don’t want to overcook pasta, or abandon it in the colander and ruin it.

So if you feel unsure, better not to make all at the same time, but to prepare the Telline first.

For the Telline:

Put some oil in a pan with the garlic clove (slightly crushed with its peel) and fresh chilli – not much, just a tiny bit. You don’t want it to cover the delicate fish taste – and when you see it become golden, add the Telline.

Toss it, add parsley, douse with white wine, on a high heat for a couple of minutes until the Telline is all opened up.

At this point, you can drain the sauce and pass it through a strainer, to avoid the annoying possibility of finding sand on your teeth. Remove garlic and some of the empty shells, but not all; part of the game is suckling them.

Once you have filtered the sauce, you can put it all back on the heat.

If you notice that the situation is too dry, you can add some olive oil or, here’s a trick – a spoon of potato starch to make the sauce more dense and creamy. Add a pinch of salt if you think it’s needed.

Once you reach a satisfying sauce texture, you can add the pasta. You’ll have to treat it like if you were cooking risotto, mixing it with the Telline until the sauce ties perfectly – adding, if necessary, a ladleful of the cooking pasta water you saved when you drained it earlier, and some ground pepper.

Once its on the plate, if you want you can grate some lemon peel on it.

Enjoy, possibly in the sun with loads of white wine!

Leopoldo Gout’s Espadón a la Quarantaine

26th March 2020 » Permalink: Leopoldo Gout’s Espadón a la Quarantaine

Swordfish line caught and sustainable
Olive oil
Garlic
Chipotle powder
Pepper / salt
Parsley
Lime
Butter
White wine
Parsley

Heat pan
Meanwhile rub spices on the fish
Fry the skin first with olive oil and little garlic / spices
Sear the fish until almost ready
Dash little drops of lime and white wine
A little butter
Transfer all to either oven or stove but wrapped in foil paper with the parsley lightly fried

All is about 10-15 mins depending on thickness of fish

Lay it over
Tomatoes
Arugula
Oil / salt
Make sure the extra wine sauce is doused into the fish stake

Eat with gusto

Lesley Handford’s Mackerel Pâté

22nd December 2017 » Permalink: Lesley Handford’s Mackerel Pâté

Oren Ambarchi’s 2 x sumptuous fish recipes from the Ambarchi kitchen both derived from traditional Sephardic recipes that go way back

30th June 2011 » Permalink: Oren Ambarchi’s 2 x sumptuous fish recipes from the Ambarchi kitchen both derived from traditional Sephardic recipes that go way back

POISSON SAUCE ROUGE

Ingredients:

Flour
3 Red Peppers
2-3 Cloves of garlic, peeled
1kg (2lb) of white fish fillets such as Flathead or Snapper
4 tablespoons of Peanut Oil
Juice of 1 Lemon
Mediterranean Parsley
Salt & Pepper

1. Roast the red peppers in a hot oven (about 200-220 degrees) – make sure
they’re fleshy – put them on a baking tray in the oven until their skins are
blistered & black. Turn them over once so the skins are blistered on both
sides. Take them out and leave for 10-15mins.
Once they are cool enough to handle, peel them and remove the seeds & stem. Keep
the juice but make sure there are no seeds in it.
2. Blend the peppers and the juice of the peppers to a cream together with the
garlic + the salt & pepper in a food processor
3. Pour the sauce into a pan & heat through being careful not to burn it. Heat
it through gently until it begins to bubble.
4. Lightly flour the fish & then saute in the oil turning over once
5. Take the fish out & add a little salt & pepper + the lemon juice
6. Serve with the sauce poured over the fish and the chopped parsley sprinkled
on top

Best served with cous cous & a Mediterranean green salad (tomatoes, cucumbers,
parsley, a little mint, lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper).

POISSON AUX CITRONS CONFITS

1.5kgs (3lb) of White FIsh Steaks or Fillets such as Flathead or Snapper
3 Preserved Lemons (these are lemons that have been preserved in salt – easy to
make but even easier to buy readymade in a jar from a store)
4 Tablespoons of Peanut Oil
175ml of Water
1 Teaspoon of Smoked Paprika (or regular paprika, however the smoked version is
goooood)
1/4 Teaspoon of Turmeric
Salt + Pepper
4 Tablespoons of chopped Coriander

1. Mix and beat the oil and water with the paprika, turmeric, salt, pepper and
chopped coriander and marinate the fish in it for 30mins
2. Rinse the preserved lemons under cold water & remove the pulp (important!).
Once the skins are rinsed cut them into small pieces & spread half of them on
the bottom of a baking dish
3. Lay the fish on top and pour the marinade over it
4. Cover with the remaining lemon skins
5. Bake in the oven at 220 degrees for 20mins

As per the previous dish this one is best served with cous cous & a
Mediterranean green salad (tomatoes, cucumbers, parsley, a little mint, lemon
juice, olive oil, salt & pepper).

Bon Appetit!

Brian Morton’s Beetroot Cured Salmon

2nd April 2010 » Permalink: Brian Morton’s Beetroot Cured Salmon

(Saumon Tchernakova – but as yet untasted (here at least) by the dedicatee!)

Need: salmon tail, or thinnish (not too) pieces;
beetroot;
vinegar and/or lemon juice;
a shallot;
clove of garlic;
dill;
vodka (optional but very good);
salt/pepper; to serve: dill;
sour cream/creme fraiche

Boil the beetroots whole and then mash them down in the cooking water, which should have a drop of vinegar, chopped shallot, smashed garlic, vodka, half the dill (or just the stalks) 1/2 teaspoon salt and some pepper added.
Strain the juice off, taste and add lemon/salt/pepper to taste.
Then when still warm but not hot, immerse the salmon tail or pieces in.
Refrigerate when cool for two hours.
To serve: remove and drain, then slice through each piece at an acute angle, revealing pink centre and red exterior.
Serve with sour cream, chopped dill, raw red onion or shallot; frisee salad

Salmon confit

Need: fillets of salmon (NOT darnes on the bone) or trout;
olive oil or flavoured oil (lemon/chili);
bunch of tarragon, or dill, salt, lemon juice;
thermometer or guesswork

Put all the tarragon and plenty oil in a blender and whiz till fine.
Meantime, lightly salt the salmon pieces (still with skin on bottom) and sprinkle them with lemon juice.
Then, while salmon sits, strain the oil, ideally through a bit of muslin or fine sieve.
Shake excess salt and lemon juice from each piece of salmon and immerse in strained oil for two hours, or a bit more.
When ready, take out salmon and WARM oil to 43 C.
When temperature reached put salmon back in oil and keep temperature steady for about 5 to 7 minutes.
Take out, drain on paper and serve as required; fish is neither ‘raw’ nor ‘cooked’ – looks the former, but tastes closer to the latter, and it should have the aroma of the oil in it.
ALTERNATIVELY, if no kitchen thermometer, warm the oil in a pan till you can feel it with a finger tip get hotter than blood heat.
Then pour over the fish in a bowl which is standing in larger bowl of boiling water, but off the heat – works just as well.
If the fish goes opaque very quickly, it’s too hot. It should ideally look ‘different’ but not cooked – the marinade makes the connective tissue break down and changes the texture, which is soft AND flaky.
We’re addicted to it at the moment, which given that Loch Striven salmon is cheaper than mince, is a mercy.

(I once made it ‘three ways’, with a portion of confit, a portion of minced raw salmon and a little piece deep fried in tempura batter, plus trimmings)

Gavin Bryars’s Vancouver Island Salmon

25th February 2010 » Permalink: Gavin Bryars’s Vancouver Island Salmon

Use wild salmon fillets, ideally from the Pacific (there are frozen Alaskan wild salmon easily available in UK). In Canada I would use fresh Spring, Pink, Coho or Sockeye – it works well with the darker kinds of salmon. Scottish or Atlantic salmon is also fine but this is more usually farmed. Allow one good-sized fillet per person or a couple of smaller ones.
Pour some olive oil (extra virgin organic is best…) into a pan, enough to coat the bottom of the pan at least. Place the salmon fillets, whether fresh or frozen (and cooking direct from frozen is fine), skin side down in the pan. Sprinkle with roughly chopped garlic (as much as you like, I usually add at least four cloves), roughly chopped dry ginger and pour organic tamari or other soya sauce over the fish. Optionally dribble a good size spoon of clear honey over the fish.

Cover the pan and cook on a low flame until the liquid is bubbling vigorously. Turn off the flame, always leaving the pan covered with the lid. Leave to stand for around twenty minutes or longer. Prepare other food in this time and only go back to the salmon when everything else is more or less done. At this point light the flame again and bring to the bubbling state. Turn off the flame and the salmon is ready. It will have poached and steamed during the time it was left, and there will be a rich sauce in the pan too.
I would serve with baby new potatoes, dwarf French beans and salad. This is one of the easiest and most effective ways of cooking salmon fillets or steaks.

[Bamfield, in a remote part of the Pacific coast of Vancouver Island]

Tony Myatt’s 55˚ Turbot with Salsa Verde and Roast Potatoes

10th December 2008 » Permalink: Tony Myatt’s 55˚ Turbot with Salsa Verde and Roast Potatoes

Turbot fillets for four
Salsa verde:
Large bunch of parsley
Bunch of basil
1 small tin of anchovies
3 tablespoons of capers
2 cloves of garlic
1 small shallot (or tablespoon of chopped onion)
25g white breadcrumbs
3-4 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
100ml of olive oil
Maris Piper potatoes
Olive oil
Salt

Peel the potatoes and cut into pieces that have large flat surfaces (cutting almost triangular shapes from the centre of the potato will help). Soak in a bowl of running water for a few minutes until the water is clear. Boil the potatoes in unsalted water for 8 minutes. Drain in a colander, then shake around the potatoes to break them up a little. Leave to cool and dry for a few minutes.

Place a roasting tray containing about 1 cm depth of olive oil into a 225˚C oven. When the oil is hot, put the tray onto the top of a hot stove and carefully add potatoes. Stir until they are well coated with the oil. Put the tray back into the oven for 45 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown, turning the potatoes in the oil after 25 minutes.

When cooked, remove the potatoes from the oil and drain on kitchen paper, then add salt.
While the potatoes are in the oven, make the salsa verde.

Chop the shallot, parsley and basil, crush garlic and add to a blender with anchovies, capers breadcrumbs and wine vinegar. Blend, then slowly add the oil to make a smooth, thick sauce.

Poach the turbot in water kept at a constant 57˚C until the temperature at the centre of the fish reaches 55˚C.

Lift the turbot, drain and serve on a warm plate with generous helping of salsa verde on the side, a green salad and a few roast potatoes.

Charles Matthews’s Norwegian Trout

11th March 2008 » Permalink: Charles Matthews’s Norwegian Trout

In a large pan heat 3 cups of water, ½ cup of salt and 1 cup of vinegar (we go for white wine vinegar). When it comes to the boil, add the fish, remove from the heat and leave to stand for 15-20 minutes.

That’s it!

BJNilsen’s Jansson’s Frestelse (Jansson’s Temptation)

11th March 2008 » Permalink: BJNilsen’s Jansson’s Frestelse (Jansson’s Temptation)

Ingredients:

for 4 persons

8-10 Potatoes
2 Big onions
2 tins of anchovies (100g each)
3dl cream
breadcrumbs
2ms Butter

How to make:

put on the oven to 225°C
cut the potatoes in the shape of fries
chop the onions in rings
smear a pan suitable for the oven with butter
place a layer of potatoes in the bottom of the form, mix onions and anchovies in the middle and then place a final layer of potatoes on top
pour in half of the cream
spread a thin layer of breadcrumbs over the top
after 30min pour in the rest of the cream
the temptation is ready when goldenbrown and the potatoes are soft.
add salt and pepper after your own taste
Gratinate for 30-45 min 225°C

This is mainly served on a smorgasbord but can be enjoyed at any time. Should be eaten with a cold beer and a few shots of brännvin.