Fish recipes

Scroll down to see a selection of recipes, they're grouped under these headings

Recipes for mixed fish and shellfish
A few hints for cooking fish
Shellfish recipes
White fish
Smoked fish

We'll be adding new recipes daily, but here's a start!

Recipes for mixed fish and shellfish

Fish cakes

The Smelly Alley Fish Company recipe for fish cakes is very easy

Use just one third the volume of mashed potato to two thirds the volume of cooked fish or shellfish.

Mix together well (by hand or in the food processor) with whatever seasoning you chose on the day (salt and pepper, a pinch of chilli powder, a half teaspoon of ground ginger, herbs, etc), then form into fish cakes, of whatever size you fancy. About 6cm across would be a good size for a supper dish, about 1.5cm would be a good size for party snacks. We then chill really well in the freezer (don't freeze) before dipping in a bowl of beaten egg then into a bowl of bread crumbs. We like them baked on a baking tray lined with non-stick paper with a thin layer of oil on it (about half an hour on 180°C), but you can deep fry or shallow fry if you prefer. Just make sure they are really hot and the breadcrumbs nicely browned.

What fish can you use? Almost any, so ideal for leftovers: white fish, salmon, smoked fish, or shellfish, but ideal with white crab meat.
What sort of potatoes? Any left over mashed potato, instant mash if you are in a hurry, a more exotic mash like celeriac and potato mash, or mashed sweet potato.
What seasoning? Any you like, for example, a dash of chilli, lemon juice, fresh herbs, a pinch of nutmeg.

We recently made some fish cakes with left over prawns, crabmeat and smoked salmon, using sweet potatoes and seasoned with lemon juice and chilli sauce, served with an oriental barbeque sauce out of a bottle (see photograph).

Fish pie

Fish stew

This is an ideal lunch dish. For 8 people you'll need

One or two "home-made" style cartons of soup, we usually use tomato and basil, you'll need enough to have about 3cm deep in your chosen serving dish
200g each of four different sorts of fish (for example, seabream, monkfish, red mullet (red mullet is more strongly flavoured, so choose accordingly).
about 25 mussels
about 25 clams if available on the day
about 8 largish uncooked prawns
a dash of chilli sauce to taste (Tabasco or similar) or a pinch of chilli flakes to taste (this is not meant to be a hot chilli dish, it just gives the stew a bit of a bite)
you can add a vegetable stock cube if you wish
a largish onion or two, according to how much you like onions
about half a botle of white wine to cook the mussels in (you can use water)
varied bread to eat with the stew
a salad to eat with the stew

You'll gather from this that no ingredients and no quantities are exact, it's all to do with your own taste, but the above list is a guide.

For easy eating and entertaining, get everything ready before your guests arrive:
* Rinse and cut each type of white fish into portions, put it all into a lidded glass dish or plastic container in the fridge.
* Clean the mussels and clams and keep covered ready for cooking.
* Also get ready a large open oven-proof serving dish.
* Cut up the onion quite finely, cook it in olive or other oil in a second lidded pan until soft and transparent, but not brown. Leave in the pan.
* Get ready dishes for the soup, and plates or dishes for the salad.

About 40 minutes before you want to eat
Turn the oven on to about 190 C (10 C less if you have a fan oven), Gas 4.

About 30 minutes before you want to eat
Put all but about two tablespoons of the onion into the serving dish, add the soup, and crumbled stock cube if used, put in the oven to heat.

About 20 minutes before you want to eat
Put the prawns onto a baking tray, brush with oil and bake in the oven. Then add the fish to the soup in the serving dish, make sure it's covered by the soup and put into the oven. Pour the wine into the pan with the onions, when it's bubbling put in the mussels and clams, cover and cook until all shells are open. Discard any that don't open. Leave them in the pan until the last minute, when you can add them to the top of the serving dish.
You can warm the soup dishes if you put a little bit of water in each, stack them and microwave them for about 2 minutes just before serving.

After about 20 minutes of cooking
Take the serving dish out of the oven, and gently cut into one of the larger pieces of fish and see if it's cooked. It will be cooked if it's opaque and breaks apart easily. Monkfish may take another five minutes. If all is not cooked, put back in oven for a few more minutes. When cooked to your satisfaction, tell your guests to assemble at the table, pour the wine from the mussels into the stew, decorate the stew with mussels, clams and prawns (which by now should be pink and cooked) and parsley if used.

Put in the middle of the table with a big serving spoon, together with the bread and the salad, and ask your guests to serve themselves.

This dish will be a big hit with everybody!

Dressed salmon

Try this recipe for cold dressed salmon - it looks spectacular!

Want to impress your guests? Don't know what to serve at that dinner party? This is a light but impressive meal, ideal for summer parties!

YOU WILL NEED: a salmon, white wine, onions, celery, bouquet garni, cucumber, radishes, lettuce, lemons, mayonnaise, stuffed olives. Bouquet garni from good grocers, if you can't find it, sprinkle a few herbs in the cooking liquid

Traditionally the salmon should have a glaze of aspic jelly, but this is hard to get now, and looks just as good without.

Cooking your salmon
Remember to cook your salmon in good time, it needs at least 5-6 hours or overnight to cool completely! All quantities are approximate.

Poach the salmon as follows. Put water and about half a pint of white wine into the fish kettle, enough to just cover the fish. Don't add the fish yet. Add a few pieces of celery, onion and a bouquet garni, and bring to the boil. Then add the salmon, and allow the temperature to rise until the water is at a very gentle simmer. Allow about 8-9 minutes to the kg. Test by inserting a sharp knife into the area covered by the "scales" behind the head - it won't show on the finished salmon.

When the salmon is cooked, drain off the cooking liquid, and allow the fish to cool in the fish kettle.

Prepare the decoration. Cut up about half a cucumber into very thin slices and cut these in half. Cut up a few stuffed olives so that the red pimento remains in the centre. Wash a lettuce or watercress and cut up some radishes and lemon wedges.

Skin the salmon (this is easier when it's cold) and remove the fins. Leave on the tail and head. Don't bother to skin the underside as this will not show. Put the salmon on a large plate or platter.

When it's cooked and cooled, decorate the salmon in the order shown below.

1. arrange the cucumber to resemble "scales", starting at the arrow
2. arrange the second area of "scales", starting at the arrow
3. arrange slices of stuffed olives
4. finish off "scales" with a wavy line of piped mayonnaise (put a couple of spoons of mayonnaise in a new plastic bag, cut a very small piece off one corner of the bag - an instant piping bag!)
5. put slice of stuffed olive over the eye, finish with a line of mayonnaise

Serve the salmon with mayonnaise, boiled new potatoes or a potato salad.

A few hints for cooking fish

How to tell when fish is cooked

Well, you know when fish is raw, it just looks raw!

This is not a completely helpful answer, because the outer part of a fish can be cooked while the inside isn't.
To test fish, look at it. Has it lost that translucent quality that raw fish has? Insert a small sharp knife in it, especially into the thickest part or a part near the bone if there is a bone. Part the flesh slightly and see if the fish looks cooked near the bone or in the thickest part of the flesh. With a very large fish, such as a whole salmon, insert a skewer into the thickest part, just past the head, and if it goes in really easily, it is done.
For all fish, when it is cooked, the flesh separates slightly into flakes, the trick is to catch it before it gets dried out.
Most cook books say "when the fish is cooked..." without describing how to tell it's cooked! If you serve fish and it's not cooked, don't panic, just put it back into the oven or under the grill again - it won't take long, and your guests won't mind!
(we have even resorted to a quick flash in the microwave - fish cooks really well in microwaves, although you won't get a professional chef to admit this!). It is worse to overcook fish than undercook it, because once it is overcooked you can't retrieve the situation, but you can always cook undercooked fish a bit more!

How to avoid dirty dishes

You don't have to have dirty dishes when cooking fish

Line your cooking dish or baking tray with baking parchment, also called silicone-treated paper (available everywhere these days! - also from supermarkets - they've got to be useful for something). This paper is completely non-stick, and looks a bit like greaseproof paper. If you use it, the fish will be easy to get out of the dish when it is cooked, and you can throw the paper away, so that the dish will be easy to clean. You can also use it to line your grill pan (makes cooking kippers so easy!) but make sure that none sticks up near the heat or it will catch alight and you'll have a dangerous situation on your hands! If serving your fish straight from the cooking dish, you can usually slide the paper out from under the fish just before serving. If not, just transfer the fish to another heated dish.

Shellfish recipes

Mussels

Mussels are easy to cook and look impressive,

so they are an ideal dinner-party dish. They are quick to prepare and cook, so they are also ideal for quick mid-week meals or snacks. As an added bonus they are economical (allow 500g per person for a main meal, half this for a starter).
Our mussels come from Exmouth and Poole. It is no longer true that mussels are seasonal - they are available throughout the year. You can order here.

ABOUT THIS RECIPE Both of the recipes for mussels are low-cost, and should be served simply, with French bread and maybe a salad. You will end up with a lot of empty shells, so provide a large dish or dishes for this purpose! The moules marinière in particular are a very socialiable way of eating, so if you want to break the ice with new friends this is an ideal dish.

HOW TO SERVE MUSSELS Serve as a starter or main meal, depending on how many you cook. Allow approximately 500g per person. The other ingredients are approximate amounts, this is not an exact recipe! Don't forget that a few mussels are a very attractive garnish for other fish dishes.

GENERAL RULES FOR MUSSELS
1. If they are open before you cook them pinch the shells together. If the mussel closes, use it. If the shell does not move, discard it. If any shells remain closed after you cook them, discard them as well.
2. 500g of mussels will give about 125g of meat.
3. Mussels are simple to prepare - just wash them under cold running water, brushing off any dirt with a scrubbing brush and pulling off the “beard” with the blunt side of a knife, and scraping off the barnacles. Prepare as close as possible to cooking time.
4. Store mussels in a basin in your fridge. Do not soak them in water as this will kill them.
5. Modern methods of production and purification mean that mussels are good to eat all the year round.

Moules à la marinière
You will need about 500g of mussels per person, one onion, a garlic clove if you like garlic, about 2 pints of dry white wine, a large tub of single cream and a large handful of chopped parsley (to chop parsley, put into a mug and cut with kitchen scissors).

Before you start - put a large open dish, and a smaller dish per guest (for example, soup dish), to heat in a very low oven. Prepare the mussels (see GENERAL RULES FOR MUSSELS, above).

Chop one onion finely, fry gently in a large deep pan, with a crushed garlic clove if you wish. Add 2 pints of dry, white wine and bring to the boil. Add mussels (about 1 or 2 inches deep in
the pan at a time) and cook for a few minutes until the shells open. Give the pan a shake or stir the mussels while they are cooking. (Mussels can get tough if they are cooked too long - this is why you add them bit by bit.) Take mussels out of the pan as they open with a slotted spoon and put into a warmed serving dish. Some of the finely chopped onion will come up with the mussels, but this looks good, so don't worry about it. When the mussels are all cooked and in the serving dish, add a large tub of single cream to the wine in the pan and heat through.
Season with salt and pepper. Pour this sauce over the mussels through a sieve to remove any small particles of shell and grit, and sprinkle a large handful of chopped parsley over the dish. Give each person a bowl and allow them to take their own mussels from the serving bowl with a large spoon so that they all get some of the sauce as well! Serve with chunks of French
bread to mop up the sauce, and don't forget a large empty bowl for the shells!

Grilled mussels
You will need about 500g mussels each (if serving this as a starter), ¼ to ½ pint white wine, parsley, garlic, butter, breadcrumbs (and Parmesan cheese if you prefer).

Cook the mussels in wine as described above until the shells open (you can use ½ wine/½ water, or all water for a more economical dish). Break the pairs of shells apart, leaving the mussel meat in one of the shells. Discard the other shell. Arrange the mussel meat in their shells on a heat-proof dish or plate, and put a small teaspoon of butter blended with garlic and parsley on each, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and put under a hot grill. Or blend butter with garlic only and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. Grill both versions until lightly browned. TIP You can buy ready-made garlic butter or garlic/parsley butter and ready-made breadcrumbs (wholemeal are best), making this dish even quicker to prepare!

Oysters

Savoury prawn croissant

Quick and easy, always popular

200g cooked peeled prawns defrosted.
125g cottage cheese
1 small avocado, peeled and diced
salt and black pepper
4 croissants

Gently mix together the prawns, cheese and avocado and season.
Cut the croissants in half and divide the prawn mixture between them.
Serve with a side salad or on its own as a snack.

Serves 4


NUTRITIONAL VALUES PER PORTION (APPROX); 328 Kilocalories;
18g Protein; 19g Fat; 24g Carbohydrate; 2g Fibre.

This recipe is courtesy of the Seafish Industry Authority

White fish recipes

Ideas for cooking cod

Cod is easy to cook, it's quick and everybody likes it, including children!

Order skinless or skin-on fillet
400g will serve two or three depending on how hungry they are

Preheat oven to 180°C gas mark 4

Use one of the toppings below
Cheddar cod
Breadcrumbs, dry English mustard and Cheddar cheese
Cod with almonds
Flaked almonds and small knobs of butter, drizzle with lemon juice
Herb crusted cod
Breadcrumbs, finely chopped thyme or marjoram and olive oil

Then bake for about 20 minutes, use baking parchment (non-stick paper) to make life easy.

Cod's quite pale in colour so serve with colourful vegetables, like tomatoes, red peppers, fresh peas, sauté potatoes or chips, or a salad

Salmon and trout recipes

Smoked trout

Smoked trout is such an easy starter, just put on a plate with some horseradish sauce and some brown bread and butter, that's it! Makes a nice change from smoked salmon. The fillets are 140g, very well boned and vacuum packed. At a pinch one fillet would serve two, especially if they are a starter and not a main meal. Good with watercress.

If you'd like something a bit different, mix equal quantities of fromage frais and smoked trout and whizz in a food processor, or mash by hand with a fork for a more rustic result - perfect smoked trout pate!

To order, click here.

Smoked fish recipes

Fish chowder or Cullen skink

Cullen skink is a soup that originates from the village of Cullen on the Moray Firth in Scotland. Skink is a word for soup.
We've seen recipes that add chopped bacon, or other vegetables such as peas or tinned sweetcorn. Soups with chunky ingredients tend to be called "chowder". Some recipes for Cullen skink use mashed potato to thicken the soup, but this is a simple version using double cream. This is a quick, easy soup, haven't met anybody yet who didn't like it!

Ingredients
400g smoked haddock, buy the one with the skin removed, cut into cubes with kitchen scissors or a knife
55g butter (about two rounded tablespoons)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 stick celery, finely chopped, we don't particularly like celery, but it goes well in this soup
225g potatoes, peeled and diced roughly into about 1.5 or 2cm cubes
300ml (½ pint) fish or vegetable stock, a stock cube in boiling water is fine
425ml milk (¾ pint)
black pepper
3 tablespoons double cream
a couple of tablespoons of chopped parsley if available
Serves 2-3

Method
Melt the butter in a large saucepan. Cook the onion and celery for 2 minutes.
Add the potatoes and cook for 1 minute. Add the stock and bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Add the fish, milk and black pepper. Simmer for 5 minutes. Mix in the cream and most of the parsley. Sprinkle with the remaining parsley and serve with crusty brown bread.