plain jane cooking - recipes for the novice:

cooking fish

Fish, fish, the family dish . . . also a good brain food, so they say.

Fish are very high in protein and low in fat, also with sufficient amount of all the essential amino acids. The fats in fish are less saturated, so are good for those on a diet. They are also prominent in omega-3 fatty acids. Fish oil is also one of the few natural food sources of vitamin D.

But how to cook it properly? Most fish, like steaks can be cooked underdone and tends to dry out when overcooked, but of course it should be as fresh as possible.

To get the best out of fish, it is best removed from the pan when approximately three-quarters cooked, by the time it is plated and served it will be nicely cooked and still moist.

Poaching is a good healthy way of cooking it, but requires expertise and exact timing to get it right. Overcooking it by poaching can strangely enough dry the fish out.

Grilling is also a good healthy way of cooking it and the degree of doneness easily detected (see the frying method below).

Frying is the easiest way to detect its degree of doneness, and if done in a non-stick pan with just a smidgen of oil for flavour it can also be healthy too.

method

1. Heat pan over a gentle to moderate heat, adjust enough oil to prevent it from sticking
2. Allow the oil to come up to heat
3. Ensure the fish is patted dry
4. It can be lightly dusted in flour, which will give a nice crust to it, and also help it from not sticking to the pan. Season with salt and pepper or your favourite flavoured salt or pepper, such as lemon pepper
5. Gently and carefully place into the pan, cook gently until the colour changes ¾'s the way up
6. Carefully turn over and cook for 2 - 3 more minutes only
7. Remove and serve as required

chef notes:

To prevent the fish from breaking up, it should be turned only once
during cooking, so if cooking it with the skin on (see below) place it into the pan with the skin side down (in contact with the pan).

The skin on many fish is delicious when cooked as above, as it
crispens and has a similar flavour to pork crackling.

Leaving the skin on also helps prevent the delicate flesh from
breaking apart when turning over or removing from pan, and prevents
the flesh from burning if it is fairly thick.

If the fish fillet is fairly thin, scoring the skin (cutting through the skin) in 3 to 5 evenly placed places, can prevent the fillet from curling.

email chef@tallyrand.info