IN SEASON The cooking
You’ve found your recipe, bought your fi sh, but how do you make sure you don’t overcook it? We asked Matthew Mason, head chef at the award winning The Jack in the Green for some advice.
What are your top tips for cooking a whole fi sh?
It may sound obvious but for your end product to taste great it is imperative that you begin with a wonderfully fresh fi sh and preferably from a day boat (so called because it is at sea for only a day thus ensuring the freshest fi sh). Look for bright and clear eyes, rich red gills and a healthy slime - fresh fi sh smells of the sea. When buying whole fi sh ask your fi sh- monger to remove the head and trim the fi ns and tail so you end up with a half oval shape and importantly something still resembling its original form. Cooking fi sh on the bone is a great way to build confi dence and expand your repertoire. If you are looking for a knock out dish to
impress at a dinner party you need look no further than a whole poached brill or turbot. Hugely popular at the Jack and a menu staple is whole grilled lemon sole with shrimps and brown butter.
As with any ingredient – meat, vegetables
or fi sh - it’s about sourcing what’s best and in season because it will not only be better quality but it will be good value too. Where possible, choose Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certifi ed fi sh and you will be helping to protect the future of our oceans.
And fi llets?
When cooking fi sh fi llets don’t be too keen to prod, poke and fl ip too much as it will only fall apart in front of your eyes. Add some oil to a hot pan and fl ip only when the desired degree of cooking is achieved. Leave in the pan with some butter and a squeeze of lemon, basting with the resulting juices until cooked. We prefer to buy fi llets from a larger fi sh, for example stunning line caught Cornish cod fi llets that you certainly won’t fi nd in the supermarkets.
What are your favourite sauces with fi sh? A dark nut brown butter is a great way to cook
fi sh and works famously with sweet West Country lemon soles. An obvious choice but worthy nonetheless is tartare sauce (I mean the real kind made with homemade mayo, chopped eggs and anchovy running through it). Some good quality fi sh stock is a must when making fi sh sauce - a light aromatic broth made from the bones of fl at fi sh cooked briefl y to which you need only add a little saffron and butter or a dollop of crème fraiche and some chopped dill. A spoonful of pesto works wonders for a fi llet of wild sea bass.
Do you have a favourite fi sh? That’s almost an impossible question to answer given my passion for West Country fi sh. If I had to choose one I would prob- ably plump for scallops because they have a touch of luxury about them and I have enjoyed them in so many various ways over the years and in some of my most memorable meals.
What about something a little different? A fi rm favourite of mine is hake, a popular fi sh in Europe and when in season offers remarkable value. Due to its fl aky nature it works wonderfully well in a stew with roasted peppers and tomatoes all topped off with some chilli squid.
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