Guilt-free fish dishes - recipes

Published Nov 20, 2014

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Name: Star Fish

Author: Daisy Jones

Publisher: Quivertree

Price: R450 (R399 from Kalahari)

Review by Jenny Kay

 

Any cook worth their salt should have this book on their shelf.

Cape Town author Daisy Jones wanted to eat and cook more fish, and set out to do so ethically. Thus began her journey to find out which fish she could enjoy without feeling her choice would encourage overfishing, resulting in depletion of the ocean.

The logical place to start was with the SASSI (Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative ) list. Consulting this list, Daisy was shocked to see so many of her favourite fish on the orange list. And, besides the common hake, most fish on the green list weren’t really the fish many home cooks would serve up to their families.

The idea of going green appealed to Daisy and so she set about doing a thorough study of 10 fish on SASSI’s green list.

Each fish was rated according to sustainability, taste and accessibility.

She then went on a road trip to meet farmers, fishermen, conservationists and scientists, who assured her that these fish would remain sustainable for at least the next decade.

The chapter on each of the fish explores how and where they are farmed and caught, and the people involved.

There are also recipes using the fish, and these are practical, user-friendly and the kind of dishes you would feed your family.

A useful section at the back of the book lists a whole range of fish and a sustainable substitute for each.

Visit www.wwfsassi.co.za and you can print a card with the fish on the green, orange and red list. You can download a SASSI app on your smartphone which gives an A-Z of every fish and its rating. You can also SMS the name of a fish to 079 499 8795 to get its rating.

With all these tools at your fingertips, there is no excuse for ever eating or buying an endangered fish.

 

DAISY’S TOP TEN SUSTAINABLE FISH

1 Locally farmed oyster

2 Anchovies

3 Squid

4 Locally farmed rainbow trout

5 Snoek

6 Hake

7 Locally farmed mussels

8 Yellowtail

9 Sardines and other oily fish

10 Locally farmed dusky kabeljou

 

EASY TROUT PASTA

Serves 4

a third of a packet of pasta of your choice

1 tsp olive oil, plus extra for frying

half an onion, finely chopped

half a cup frozen peas

4 slices smoked trout

half a cup cream

2 eggs

1 small handful grated Parmesan

juice of half a lemon

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

chopped chives, dill or fennel, for garnish

Get the pasta on the boil in salted water with the olive oil added.

Fry the onion in olive oil until soft and transparent, not browned. Add the frozen peas to the pan. When they are warm, turn off the heat.

Cut the trout slices into strips. In a bowl, mix together the trout, cream, eggs, Parmesan, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Drain the pasta. Tip into a serving bowl. Add the onion and peas and the trout mixture to the pasta and stir well to coat.

Garnish with herbs.

 

SNOEK SAMOOSAS

Makes about 50

SNOEK FILLING

1kg fresh snoek

half a cup cooking oil

2 large onions, sliced

1cm fresh ginger, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic

a big handful of mint, finely chopped

a big handful of coriander, chopped

1-2 fresh green chillies, chopped

2 tbsp smooth apricot jam

half a tsp turmeric

1 tsp salt

2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

2 tbsp lemon juice

SAMOOSAS

1 roll phyllo pastry, defrosted

1 tbsp oil, for brushing

mustard seeds, for sprinkling

FILLING: Steam the fish for 5-7 minutes, remove from heat and, when cool enough to handle, remove the bones and flake.

Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion and fry until soft. Add the fish and remaining ingredients.

Cover and gently simmer over a low heat for 15 minutes. Cool.

SAMOOSAS: Preheat the oven to 190°C.

Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry lengthways into 6 strips, each about 5-6cm wide. Lay one strip lengthways on the work surface and brush with oil.

Place a heaped tablespoonof the snoek filling on the end nearest you. Lift up the bottom left-hand corner of the strip and fold it diagonally over the filling.

Continue folding diagonally to the end of the strip, ending with a triangular parcel. Place the parcel on a greased baking sheet. Brush lightly with oil and sprinkle with a few mustard seeds.

Repeat with the remaining pastry and filling to make 12 samoosas.

Freeze the rest of the filling, if desired, or make up to 50 samoosas, which can be frozen raw.

Bake for 12-15 minutes, until golden and crisp. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool.

In the book, this is served with coriander dipping sauce.

 

HAKE BOBOTIE

Serves 6

500g hake, steamed until just cooked through

1 thick slice of white bread

200ml milk

65ml butter

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp curry powder

2 tbsp seedless raisins

2 tbsp chopped blanched almonds (or almond nibs)

1 tsp salt

milled pepper

2 large eggs

2 bay or lemon leaves

Preheat the oven to 190°C.

Flake the cooked hake and place in a bowl.

Soak the bread in the milk.

Melt the butter and sautéthe onion for 5 minutes or until transparent.

Add the lemon juice, curry powder, raisins, almonds, salt and pepper, and cook for a minute. Add the hake.

Squeeze the milk from the bread and reserve it.

Add the bread to the fish mixture and combine well.

Beat the eggs, add the reserved milk and blend well.

Pour the fish mixture into a greased oven-proof dish. Pour the egg mixture over the top with the bay or lemon leaves.

Bake for 35 minutes or until the custard is set.

 

YELLOWTAIL STEAKS WITH BROWN BUTTER, CAPERS AND PARSLEY SAUCE

Serves 4

2 lemons

4 fillet steaks yellowtail, about 200g each, skin removed or not

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

flour, for dusting

2 tbsp olive oil

85g butter

1 good handful capers

1 good handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, picked

Juice one of the lemons and cut the other into wedges.

Season the fish with salt and pepper on both sides and very lightly dust with flour. Shake or pat off the excess.

Heat a non-stick frying pan to very hot. Add the olive oil, swirling it around to coat the bottom. Place the fish in the pan, flesh side down. Leave it to colour for 2 minutes.

When the flesh is golden, turn the fish over onto its skin side. Turn the heat down slightly.

The yellowtail should be cooked through after 3-4 minutes. Remove the fish from the pan and keep it warm.

Now toss the butter into the pan and allow it to melt. Watch very carefully as the butter starts to turn golden. Add the capers and parsley, and, for the next 30 seconds, swirl the pan again until the butter goes slightly brown (not black).

Add the lemon juice and remove the pan from the heat.It will sizzle and bubble. Swirl the juices around in the pan, then pour the sauce over the fish (with a flourish).

Serve with lemon wedges, potatoes cooked your favourite way, and a green salad.

 

KERALAN FISH CURRY

Serves 4-6

1 tbsp chilli powder

1 tsp turmeric

half a tsp yellow mustard seeds

half a tsp ground cinnamon

4 large cloves garlic, crushed

750g kabeljou, cut into chunks

2 tbsp coconut or vegetable oil

2.5cm piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped

2 green chillies, finely chopped

2 onions, finely chopped

10-15 fresh curry leaves (optional)

1 x 400ml can coconut milk

1 cup fish stock or water

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 tbsp finely chopped coriander, to garnish

chapattis, to serve

Mix together the chilli powder, turmeric, mustard seeds, cinnamon and garlic, and rub into the fish. Cover and leave for a couple of hours to “dry marinate” in the fridge.

Heat the oil and fry the ginger, chilli and onion for 5 minutes to soften and brown slightly. Add the pieces of marinated fish and fry lightly on both sides.

Add any remaining spice mixture and the curry leaves, if using, then stir in the coconut milk and stock or water, and simmer very gently for 12 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper and garnish with chopped coriander.

Serve with chapattis.

The Star

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