A Fishy Dishy...

I do love a good piece of fish for my tea. However, these days we all need to think about what fish we eat. I fell in love with herring whilst working at a festival in Norway last summer, and was delighted to find out that it's not too naughty. Although herring stocks were radically over-fished in the 50s and 60s, they've regenerated themselves well and a couple of varieties are now classified as sustainable by the Marine Conservation Society's Good Fish Guide. I bought two whole fish for under £2 from Castle Market, so they're easy on the wallet too.


I made this recipe up myself using what we had in the fridge, but I did take inspiration from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's Guardian article about herring and Delia's Limey Herring recipe so have included links below. Enjoy!


Polenta Crusted Herring with Crushed Potatoes and Lime Ratatouille

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS
- Quartered baby potatoes (as many as you like)
- 2 handfuls of frozen peas
- 2 herrings (ask fishmonger to remove head & gut and fillet if possible)
- 2 handful of fine or medium polenta/cornmeal
- 1 red onion
- 1/2 aubergine in chunky pieces
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 4 large tomatoes, chunkily chopped
- 1 lime
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 knobs of butter
- splash of olive oil
- tablespoon Dijon mustard

1. Chuck the potatoes into a pan of water and boil with a large pinch of salt until tender.
2. Finely slice onion and fry in a little oil until soft and golden. Add aubergine, tomatoes, the juice and zest of 1/2 a lime, the garlic and salt and pepper to taste. Simmer for around 10-15mins (until aubergine is soft and unctuous), stirring occasionally.
3. If necessary bone the fish and snip off fins with scissors. Rub all over with the other 1/2 lime and push both sides into the polenta.
4. Warm 1 knob of butter and a dash of oil in frying pan until very hot. Cook herring flesh side down for around 3mins, then turn over and give 2 mins on skin side.
5. Whilst the herring is cooking, add peas to potato pan for 2 mins, then drain and crush lightly with mustard and reamining butter using a masher. You're not trying to make a smooth mash, rather a chunky crushed explosion.
6. Stack up the elements, starting with potato and pea crush, then herring, then ratatouille. The zestiness of the ratatouille should balance the oily richness of the fish, and the sweetness of the pea and baby potatoes should provide a subtle background, offset with the tang of Dijon to stop it becoming too heavy. But that's just my opinion.

Check out the sources below for more fishy fun:

www.deliaonline.com/recipes/main-ingredient/fish-and-seafood/herring/fried-herring-fillets-with-a-lime-pepper-crust.html - Delia's Lime Pepper Crusted Herring recipe breaks down the method super-clearly as always. I just wish I'd read her guide to boning herring, trout and mackerel BEFORE I made my meal: www.deliaonline.com/how-to-cook/fish-and-shellfish/how-to-bone-a-herring-trout-or-mackerel

www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/jan/23/herring-recipes-hugh-fearnley-whittingstall
Interesting summary of herring history and sustainability alongside a few great recipes, including home pickled rollmops (which I will try out and report back on in the future, no doubt).

http://www.goodfishguide.co.uk/ - Marine Conservation Society's edible fish guide: includes a search function with sustainability ratings and less naughty alternatives suggested and 'fish of the day' area which highlights less popular fish.

http://www.msc.org/. - The Marine Stewardship Council, who work with seafood companies, fisheries, scientists, conservation companies and the public to promote fishy conservation. You can find their mark on approved fish products in the shops; it's a blue fish and tick symbol. They also have a library of recipes on the site using varieties they have certified sustainable. The mackerel "Gravad Max" (a variation on gravalax) looked especially appetising (another Hugh classic, it turns out).