March 2008 - Fishy business

 March is a good month for fish. At a recent workshop we met up at the local supermarket to get a feel for what's on offer. The next day we cooked up some of the following dishes.

MUSSEL SOUP WITH COCONUT MILK AND THAI GREEN OR RED CURRY SAUCE

Serves 4 for a main course, 8 for a starter

• Scrub the mussels well, pull out the beards and discard any that stay open when tapped firmly or which smell suspicious
• Put mussels in a large pan with shallot, ginger, lime zest, Kaffir lime leaves and lemongrass, cover with a lid and cook over high heat until all the shells are gaping open and the flesh has pulled away from the shells (about 5 minutes – more if necessary) – give the pan a vigorous shake now and then
• Remove pan from the heat, tip the mussels into a colander set over a large bowl; reserve the cooking juice
• Shell the mussels and set them aside
• Strain mussel juices through a muslin (or J-cloth, or coffee filter paper) into a bowl. [You can prepare everything - shelled mussels, sauce - ahead up to this point, then refrigerate till ready to proceed]
• Put strained mussel juice into a saucepan, mix in the curry paste and add the coconut milk
• Warm some soup bowls
• At the last minute, heat the mussel juice/coconut milk gently, add the mussels and let them heat through for a couple of minutes (don’t overcook or they will toughen)
• Divide the mussels between heated soup bowls, garnish with coriander/cilantro or parsley leaves

• Heat the oven to 200 C
• Put the couscous in a big baking dish
• Boil the kettle, measure out 2½ cups water into a bowl, crumble in the stock cubes
• Pour this onto the couscous, mix up with a fork
• Add the olive oil, grated zest and juice of the lemon, salt and pepper and chopped parsley
• Leave for 10 minutes till the couscous absorbs all the liquid
• Cut away skin, remove any bones from the salmon pieces with tweezers or a small knife, sprinkle with salt and pepper
• Place salmon pieces on top of the couscous and put the dish in the oven (*see below for alternative method to cook fish)
• Bake for 10-12 minutes or until the fish is just opaque

*Alternative method for cooking salmon pieces on a bed of salt:

• Put a layer of coarse salt in a heavy frying pan, enough to completely cover the bottom and heat the pan over moderate heat for about 5 minutes
• Put the salmon pieces skin side down on top of the salt, season with salt and pepper and brush/smear with olive oil
• Cover the pan (a glass lid works well as you can see how the cooking’s going – IKEA does a good one) and cook the fish for 10-12 minutes or until it turns from translucent pink to opaque
• Lift out fish onto a board, lift the flesh off the skin and serve - discard the skin (unbearably salty!)

• Quarter the shallot or onion, tip into a food processor, add chile pieces and process till finely chopped (or chop finely by hand)
• Quarter the tomatoes and add to processor with salt and mashed garlic – process in short bursts till roughly chopped – the salsa should have some texture
• Add olive oil, lime juice and coriander and process again briefly

• Heat the oven to 220^oC/425^oF
• Season the fish with salt and pepper and arrange in a single layer in a lightly oiled ovenproof dish
• If you have a food processor, put the bread chunks into it and process with the herbs and a little salt till nicely crumbly
• Through the funnel, add the oil, garlic and lemon juice and process till well mixed
• [Alternatively, in a bowl, stir together the breadcrumbs, finely chopped herbs, oil, garlic and lemon juice]
• Spread the crumb mixture over the fish, pressing down well
• Chill the fish until ready to bake
• Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the fish is just opaque and the crust lightly golden – if you wish (and your oven has this option), switch on the grill for the last few minutes to make sure the crust is golden