Fishing for Compliments

Photo © Rob Jones

Fish.

I love fish.

I find myself in Torquay. How did that happen? A swift recce this evening and I can see an abundance of Fish’n’Chip emporia, a crab shack and a few specialist fish restaurants. Hoorah. Some exploring to be done.

My fish-o-filia was not always so. As a child, we rarely ever ate fish. As kids we had fish fingers (beans and chips), while we dined ocasionally in the summer on tins of salmon with salad. My dad liked kippers on a Sunday morning, and smoked haddock for tea. My gran was partial to a bit of Cod and Parsley Sauce.

The decades came and went, and boil in the bag fish became the in-thing. Cod in parsley or butter sauce, bought in catering packs from the cash-n-carry.

Then came Tuna in great waves, in sandwiches, or pan fried. And crab and langoustines.

More recently - cavalcades of fish and shellfish on platters.

But there was one constant… and that was fish at Christmas. Don’t know why. Usually a whole salmon. Maybe kedgeree on Christmas morning … all probably as an antidote to the stodginess of Christmas Dinner..

Not that fish can’t be stodgy … Before heading south, I made…

Fish Pie

Baked some sliced Fennel and Garlic in some olive oil.

Fried off some chopped onions, diced chorizo, and prawns.

Poached some fish mix - salmon, cod and haddock - in some milk and Italian herbs.

Lifted the fish out of the milk mix, and thickened the milk with some grated (any) three cheeses, and a little cornflour. Cream if you have some.

Combine all the above and pop into a pie dish.

Make a pastry - heavy on the butter.

Overlay the filling, wash with some egg, and into the oven.

Very comforting on a cold and wet December night.

R