January's Great Time For Fresh Fish
We’ve experienced some wild weather recently, which may sound like an odd way of starting an article about food - until you remember that most of the stuff we put on our plates probably came from the great outdoors.
As storm after storm has hit this week, some of us in our cosy kitchens may have been sparing a thought for people like the farmers who must tend livestock in such conditions or who’ll be worrying about over-wintering crops and early planting regimes. But the folk I really think about as the wind rages and the Atlantic tries its best to invade the land are the people who go out into that ocean in their bid to catch an array of this region’s finest foodie treasures… By which I mean, the amazing seafood for which the West Country has such an exceptional name.
Fishing harbour at Newlyn
As I steam a fillet of John Dory over a pan of gently bubbling water, my imagination flies west to some raging maelstrom in which a Cornish fisherman has somehow managed to catch the sweet and delicate morsel which is about to become my supper. As a person who suffers from seasickness, it never ceases to amaze me that there are people who make a living from returning again and again to the wild seas.
But another thing which has never ceased to amaze me is how we Brits have been so reluctant to embrace the treasure trove that’s landed upon our own shores. I realise things have changed a lot since I began writing about the West Country food scene a quarter of a century ago, but we still have a long way to go before we catch up with the love our neighbours have for fresh fish. Many times have I been in European towns and cities located hundreds of miles from the sea where I’ve seen fish-markets selling the likes of sparkling fresh Cornish hake or Devon brown crab in such great quantities it’s as if the stuff had been landed just down the road.
I always feel somewhat deflated, comparing it with the situation in Somerset where I’d have to travel a 60-mile round trip to the nearest fresh fish shop to have any hope of seeing such produce. Of course, some areas in the region are better supplied than others - in North Devon there’s our old friend, the inimitable Dan the Fishman, who sells fresh seafood around markets in the region such as Tavistock and South Molton (find out more at https://clovellyfish.com/). There’s also the much acclaimed Fish Deli, Ashburton, which is an exemplar of its kind.
Dan the Fishman
There is a fish-stall in a large supermarket a little closer to my home, but every time I’ve attempted to support it with custom I’ve been left disappointed with the staleness of seafood on offer. I don’t know if that’s the supermarket’s fault or the fact that we Brits seem so reluctant to buy seafood that doesn’t come out of a packet. What I do know is that the situation has changed and that now, in what could be termed the Age of the 24-Hour-Delivery, we can get hold of very fresh fish direct from the people who catch it.
A growing number of firms run fish-by-post operations in the region and it is now possible to purchase the very freshest seafood and have it delivered to your door within 24 hours of it being landed. That’s because many vessels fishing out of Devon and Cornwall are day-boats, which means their catches can be processed, vac-packed and despatched to your door with an overnight courier just hours after the fish has been caught.
Prices vary according to season and the catches involved, but visit the numerous websites and you can purchase the kind of seafood you like either by selecting specific fish or species - or by relying on a company like Newlyn-based Fresh Cornish Fish (https://www.fresh-cornish-fish.co.uk/) which puts together boxes of whatever’s been best on the market that day. They run the Fish Box Club - there’s no signing up or necessity to become a member - and this month the best value box deliverable nationwide (which typically contains around 4 kgs of fresh fish from Newlyn market) costs £44.99.
Another such operation is run by Trelawney Fish, also based on the harbour-side at Newlyn (http://www.trelawneyfish.co.uk).
For many years now I have been a regular customer of the excellent Brixham seafood merchant David Walker and Son (davidwalkerandson.com/). My old friend David, who was one of the most experienced and knowledgeable fish merchants in the country, sadly passed away a year ago - but for a long time now the business has been in the very capable hands of his son Neil, who operates an overnight delivery service to both home and commercial customers, as well as running a shop from the quay alongside a seasonal shellfish take-away on the harbour-side.
Neil Walker at his Brixham seafood stall
This week Neil told me: “January is a great month for fish in the region. Pretty much everything is good at this time of year - we normally have the full spread - but of course we’ve been hit badly by storms in the past few days. However, locally caught lemon sole, hake, sea-bass, haddock… It’s all good.
“Our stock is dependant upon which species the local fishing boats land on any particular morning, therefore guaranteeing the ultimate in freshness. So just give us a call and we will be able to tell you what offers are available and you can instruct us how you would like it processed, packed and sealed,” said Neil.
I’ve turned to another old friend, Robin Turner for this week’s recipe. Robin has had a long and interesting career as a fish merchant working out of the port of Newlyn for over 40 years and still works closely with local fisherman and shellfish businesses. Nowadays he also works with his wife, Rebecca, running one of Cornwall’s most prestigious specialist catering outfits. Their business, Indulgence Catering, uses the finest of local ingredients to tailor-make bespoke menus and I, for one, can vouch for the quality of their food.
Robin Turner of Indulgence Catering
This week’s recipe focusses on turbot and lobster, but before he gave me details of Rebecca’s excellent recipe, Robin and I spoke about the locally caught haddock, a species which was doing well before the storms hit…
“Personally, I like my haddock smoked with poached with an egg for Sunday breakfast,” said Robin. “Or, if you really want to try something special, try thinly sliced smoked with sour cream instead of using the traditional smoked salmon.
“Unsmoked and fresh, the simplest way is best,” he went on. “The best fish and chips uses battered haddock. It is absolutely fantastic – as is haddock in fish pies. Or you can cook one on the bone in the oven, wrapped in tin foil, with wine – throw in whole cloves of garlic and sieve the sauce afterwards before squeezing a fresh orange into it and tipping it over the fish, making sure you’ve squeezed in the garlic flesh.”
Smoked haddock can be fabulous at this time of year
I don’t know about you, but at this time of year I can find myself becoming a little weary of the big heavy meals which winter tends to inspire. This week I tried Robin’s whole-haddock suggestion and (although I am not adhering to it myself) gave a nod to Dry January by serving it with a glass of Luscombe’s amazing Sicilian Lemonade (luscombe.co.uk). It was a sensational combo! As well as being utterly delicious, it felt wonderfully light, refreshing and healthy - and I felt good knowing I was both helping a great local company like Luscombe and a regional fishing industry which has been knocked back by recent storms, not to mention, Brexit, fuel prices and just about everything else. Bring on the fish, I say! Especially if I can get fish which is the envy of Europe delivered straight to my door.
RECIPE
Cornish turbot with lobster sauce and tender stem broccoli - as made by Newlyn-based Indulgence Catering (https://www.indulgence-catering.co.uk)
For two people - If no turbot available, use brill or large lemon sole - and instead of lobster you can use prawn shells or crawfish shells to flavour the sauce.
Ingredients:-
2 x 180 gram skinless turbot fillets
1 x 500 gram lobster
150ml white wine
150 ml cognac
Tomato passata 200ml
Olive oil 2 x table spoons
Trewithen Cornish butter 2 x 150gram
1 x large shallot
2 x cloves garlic
200ml fish stock
150ml Trewithen double cream
Salt & black pepper
Veg 180 gram tender stem broccoli
Method
Render lobster to a state of sleep (insentient) by putting in deep freezer for an hour. Cook in boiling salted (4%) water for 8 minutes - after cooking and cooling cut lobster lengthwise and remove stomach and intestine. Then remove meat (both white and brown meat) and put aside in fridge.
Put empty lobster shells (or prawn or crawfish shells) in a pan chopped and crushed so that all flavours will go into the sauce, add just enough water to cover shells and bring to boil, then simmer for 30 mins. The shells should have given up lots of flavour into the simmering water. Keep for adding to sauce mix.
Chop finely shallot and garlic cloves. In a separate pan soften shallot in olive oil. When softened continuously stir, add garlic on gentle heat do not burn garlic or shallot. Add cognac and flame to burn off alcohol. Add wine, tomato passata and fish stock. Now add the lobster shell liquor through a chinoise. Add butter, bring to boil and then simmer until liquid is reduced by 60%. Season to taste.
Pass all through chinoise into a new pan, then add double cream stir and taste. There should be a rich lobster sauce fit for a king. Can be frozen or chilled to use next day. Cut lobster white meat into 8 x small 20p sized discs to add and serve with sauce warmed and turbot. If you are within 10 minutes of serving warm sauce over gentle heat and add lobster meat discs. Freeze the balance of the lobster meat (white and brown) for future use. Steam tender stem broccoli for 5 minutes.
In a shallow pan add the second tablespoon of olive oil and heat to medium heat on hob. Put turbot fillets into pan, presentation side down and season. Turn after 2 minutes and season presentation side cook for a further 2 minutes, remove turbot from pan and serve on top of tender stem broccoli pouring lobster sauce over the turbot sharing the lobster discs evenly between the two plates.
