Steamed fish with ginger & scallions

For ➋-➍
600-800 g fish [porgy, black sea bass, Boston mackerel, or trout], scaled & gutted*
5-6 scallions, divided
4 cm knob ginger**
[optional alternatives: coriander or chilli]**
salt & pepper, for seasoning
1 ts Shaoxing wine or sherry
1 lime, juice & zest, divided
3 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs fine mild red wine vinegar
1 tbs sesame seeds
4 tbs sesame oil
[optional green: sautéed pak choi]
[optional aromatics for steaming water:
star anise
knob of ginger, roughly sliced
Szechuan peppercorn
scallions or green garlic]

Rinse the fish with cold water inside and out and pat dry. Score a couple of gashes in the flesh on either side of the fish.
Slice 4 of the scallions and the knob ginger into a fine julienne and set aside. Save the scraps for stuffing the fish belly. Season the fish belly with salt and pepper and the ts of wine or sherry.
Stuff the fish with the scallion and ginger scraps and the lime zest.
Take a large stock pot and put about 8 cm of water in it and bring to a boil.
Inside the pot, place an inverted cake pan or some other such thing so that you can rest a large plate with the fish on it inside the pot and out of direct contact with the water. (The fish will be on a plate that is resting on another object that is in direct contact with the bottom of the pot.)
Chop the final scallion into 3 pieces and rest it on the plate. Season the fish with salt and pepper on the outside with and place the fish on the plate.
Place the plate on the object in the pot, cover the pot, and steam over high heat for 10 to 12 m (more for a larger fish), until done.
While the fish is steaming, mix the soy sauce with the vinegar and lime juice.
Remove the fish carefully and place on a serving plate. Place the julienned ginger and scallions across the top of the fish and sprinkle with the sesame seeds.
Heat the sesame oil in a small pan until just before smoking, then pour over the fish.
Finally, pour the soy sauce mixture onto the plate and serve. This fish is also quite tasty still served at room temperature.
Serve with rice or some sautéed greens like pak choi.

*This can be made with fish filets, but fish in the bone comes out much more moist and flavorful, as well as being a beautiful presentation.
**Add coriander or chilli to the ginger, or make a mix.

London smoked eel sandwich

For ➊
1 slice of sourdough bread
butter
30-40 g fillet of smoked eel*
1 heaped ts of horseradish cream
Dijon mustard
¼ small red onion, peeled & thinly sliced
2 tbs white wine vinegar
a good pinch of sugar

Dissolve the sugar in the vinegar. Steep the sliced onion in the pickle and let stand for 1 h.
Warm a grilling pan over a gentle heat. Lay the sour dough on the grill and brown nicely.
Cut the eel fillet into 3 largish pieces.
Butter the toasted side of the sour dough. Cut this in half and spread with Dijon mustard.
Lay on the eel and then the horseradish cream. Lay on the other piece of toast and return to the grill.
Allow the sandwich to brown, then flip and cook similarly on the other side.
Put on a plate and heap the drained pickle alongside.
Serve immediately.

*Replace with smoked trout or mackerel fillet. Or even smoked halibut.

Aardappelsalade met gerookte haring (Flemish potato salad with smoked herring)

For ➍
600 g new potatoes
½ lemon, juice & zest
1 tbs good wine vinegar
3 tbs olive oil
2 tbs capers
1 ts horseradish relish or 1.5 cm fresh* horseradish
15 cl full cream
1 bunch dill
1 bunch radishes
300 g smoked fish fillets, smoked herring or trout or mackerel
some watercress or purslane (optional).

Scrub the potatoes under running water.
Boil them unpeeled in salted water.
When the potatoes are done, drain and cut into 2 (or 4 if big). Mix them, when they are still hot, with the vinegar, olive oil, capers and a squeeze of lemon juice.
Cut the radishes into thin slices, chop the dill and pull the smoked fish into pieces. Mix with the potatoes and season with pepper and some salt.
Whip the cream. When the cream is stiff, add pepper, salt, grated zest of ½ lemon and horseradish (add 1 ts horseradish from a jar, grate about 1.5 cm fresh horseradish).
Serve the salad with some watercress or purslane and a generous scoop of cream.

This is a re-creation of a classic recipe from an inexpensive workers' restaurant in Ghent. The original recipe might have been inspired by the classic French hors d'oeuvre harengs pommes à l'huile.

Tomato & fennel salad with grilled fish

For ➍
400 g fish fillets (tuna, mackerel, trout)
a handful of fresh marjoram or oregano, leaves picked & chopped
8 nice plum tomatoes or 800g mixed tomatoes
2 bulbs of fennel, trimmed, coarse outer leaves removed, herby tops reserved
2 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 red chilli, deseeded & finely sliced*

2 lemons
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil

To make the salad, finely slice the tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Arrange on your plates. Finely slice your fennel bulb and dress it in a bowl with extra virgin olive oil and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper then scatter over your tomatoes.

Mix together a good lug of extra virgin olive oil, a nice squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt and pepper. Drizzle this all over the fish then pat on the chopped marjoram or oregano. Put your fillets (skin-down) on the hottest part of the clean (BBQ) grill.

If your fillets are 2 cm thick, they’ll only need about 2 m cooking time. If it still has the skin on, cook it skin-side down as it’s less likely to stick. Once cooked, remove to a warm plate. Remove the skin, flake the meat.

Serve salad on 4 large plates. Spoon over the fish. Scatter over the reserved fennel tops, drizzle with the balsamic vinegar and scatter with chilli*.

*optional.

tip: cooking red beets

Cook beetroots with the skin on to preserve colour and nutrition value. Place them in a large pot then cover with cold water. Add 1 ts sugar + 1 ts salt, then cover. Turn heat on high until water begins to boil then reduce heat to medium to keep water at a simmer. Cook 45 m to 1h or until done (for large, fresh ones) or up to 4 h (for large, older ones from storage).
When they’re done, remove from heat, drain water and then plunge them quickly into cold water. Remove from cold water, cut off root tips & stems and you should be able to rub the skins off easily with a damp towel or paper towel.
When baking/roasting the beets, do not wash or peel. Put in aluminium foil, with a little bit of water. Set the oven to 180°C, and cook for at least 1 h.
Smaller, younger beets do not have to be peeled.
Add some sliced apple to raw red beet, or put apple juice in the vinaigrette.
Red beets go well with fat fish like mackerel, sardines or herring.

tip: a fish in a parcel

For ➍
4 portions (150 g) fish, such as salmon, tuna, mackerel, mullet or sea bass, off the bone.*
salt & freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Place each fish portion on a large piece of oiled parchment paper or aluminium foil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Then roll up the edges of the paper or foil to prevent the juices from burning in the dish and enclose, sealing the edges.

Cook in the oven for 12-18 m or until the fish is cooked through to the centre.

To serve, place the parcels on warmed serving plates.

Serve with a sauce, dressing or salad like the slightly Oriental tomato & cucumber & ginger salsa.

*Leave the skin on if you wish. De-scale if it's salmon, mullet or sea bass.

Read more fish in a parcel recipes: Japanese seafood & vegetables, Moroccan spiced fish, fish & fennel, Burmese steamed fish, chicken or fish with lime & peppers, chicken or fish with basil & tomatoes, Italian fish parcel, salmon in miso, saumon en papillote.
Read all papillote recipes.
Read more tips.