Just thought I write up a quick post to show you what I served with the bean salad I put together for No Croutons Required!
I was down at my fishmongers* and they had the most gorgeous sole - I picked up this beaut for £2!!! Bargaineous! ;)
What with all the flavours going on in the salad I figured the best treatment of this delicate fish was to keep it simple. A quick dredging of the skinned fish with flour, salt and pepper, then frying it in a medium heat pan with a good glug of olive oil for 4/5 minutes each side. Just before the first side was finished I melted in a knob of butter... Easy, tasty, perfect!
I tried something a bit different when preparing the fish this time - dover sole is notorious for getting rid of all the wee bones along the fins... so this time I left the fins on whilst cooking, then when it was cooked, used the side of the fish slice to gently pull the side fins away. Woo hoo - They came away in tact, with no little bones left to catch me out! I don't know if that was a fluke, but it definitely seemed easier than when I've left them whole in the past!
* oooo, excitement for kittie! It was the first time I'd been there in a week or so... and they've had a redesign... Now, in addition to the 'normal' fish I buy, they have a tank of live lobsters and crabs. I can't wait to try them - I've never prepared live lobster or crab before! Any tips or tricks will be much appreciated :)
5 comments:
Perfect marriage for the bean salad Kittie. I have drooled over your recipes..now I am heading to the beach:D
With the lobster and crab just keep it simply steamed for the first time. I use beer or vinegar in the water when steaming dor flavor. And a nice clarified butter with some lemon or garlic.
Yay Kittie...as if a "kittie" would have a problem with fish! lol
Pan-fried nicely, dear lass.
Msg me...I need your expertise, sil vous plait.
Re: cooking live crabs, they will squal a bit and attempt to escape if you go the steaming route (as I did). It sounds terrible, and I had to run out of my kitchen and plug my ears. But I really think it makes them taste so much better than boiling. :\
val - I hope you had fun! I am in the office - would much rather be on the beach! :D
coco - I hadn't realised you could steam them, I've usually seen the plunging in boiling water way... Thanks for the vinegar tip!
peter - thanks - hope it helped!
heather - eek!! As I said above, I hadn't thought about steaming before... but if it improves the flavour I will have to do it that way! Do you think putting them in the freezer for half an hour before cooking would help?! (Also, I once read that the squeal is the sound of air rapidly leaving the shell... still not pleasant though...)
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