Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Why 'friendly local fishmongers' get on my tits....


I'm trying to eat more fish. I eat plenty of vegetables, enough fruit to keep the government off my back, but to be honest I just can't be arsed with fish. Unless it's deep fried and comes wrapped in greasy paper. I've spent too long in Yorkshire to spend time fucking about with gutting fish when really all I want is it battered and served with chips.
According to Jamie Oliver (don't get me started on that twat) "fish is easy" and according to Hugh Fearnley-Wasshis-Chops we should all be eating the less endangered species in British water, and making sure the likes of Woof, Mackerel, Coley, Gurnard, Pollock, (I could go on...) are up there in our minds with the likes of Cod and Haddock as perfectly lovely fish. And the fact is, they are perfectly lovely fish. However, more often than not in order to get these perfectly lovely fish, one has to go to a fish monger. I don't have a "friendly local fishmonger." I don't really want one. I have a spotty teen in the local Morrisions whom I've finally plucked up the courage to talk to; because you see this is my other problem with fish, it takes courage.
I'm a student, admitedly with an income, but lets be honest, I don't shit money. When I go to the supermarket, more often than not I pick up the pre-packaged meat because it has a sticker on it telling me excactly how much it is going to cost when I get it to the till. I buy my offal from the local butcher with whom I've lost all pretence and who knows I'm only going to buy something if its cheap or if its a special occasion. I don't object to spending money on food, what I object to is asking for two bits of Tuna to make a posh Tuna Nicoise and being informed once its been cut and wrapped I just spent £6 a head on fucking TUNA. JESUS!
Anyway I digress. I wanted to talk about Mackrel.
Mackerel is cheap, honest, and tasty. For dinner for himself and I I bought two Mackerel from afore mentioned spotty teen in Morrisons, he took the heads off and gutted them for me, and charged me no more than £2. Bargain. I didn't have to fuck about with gutting them, or spend a fortune.
I then cooked the Mackerel really simply.
I made two parcels out of tin foil, chucked a Mackrel into each, followed by salt, and plenty of pepper and about a teaspoon of Balsamic vinegar. I then chucked this in the oven. For about 20 mins at about 200 degrees celsius.
Job done.
I then served this with couscous, roasted vegetables and cucumber ribbons (cut with a potato peeler). The Balsamic vinegar reduces a bit and gives the Mackerel the beginnings of a soused (pickled) taste. Yum Yum.
If you dish it up like I have in the photo it looks more impressive than it really is, you could fillet the Mackerel and cook it in the same manner, but like I said, I'm just lazy.

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