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| ISBN-13: | 9781909166080 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Grub Street |
| Publication date: | 10/03/2013 |
| Pages: | 400 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.20(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
Fish
When I first came to Mousehole in the early seventies, most of the working menfolk earned their living from fish, either as fishermen or in a trade related to it. We were always being given fish and when we wanted crab or something particular we'd drive into Newlyn, which is home to the second largest fishing fleet in the country. Each morning except Sundays and bank holidays, the fish landed at the harbour is auctioned at the market and many of the big companies, such as Stevensons, Turners and Harveys, run a trade counter from their wholesaling business. These places change very little with the years and offer a no-frills service, but you can be sure that the fish is truly fresh from the sea. The best buys are the seasonal inshore fish caught within a six-mile radius of the harbour.
These days, though, Ben has a share in an inshore fishing boat – Go For It – and if I need six sea bass, say, or a few red mullet, and it fits in with Jake's fishing pattern, I can sidestep the shop and arrange a home delivery.
Jake Freethy is a Newlyn boy who bought a house in Mousehole and ended up living at the Fish Store. He met Ben in the pub in the early nineties during one of the famous lock-ins, when Tracey and Michael Madern were running the Ship. In true pub-talk style, they came up with the idea of Ben helping Jake buy a state-of-the-art fishing boat. The idea survived the night, was refined over a period of time and they decided to 'go for it'. Jake put his house up for sale, Ben dug deep in his pockets and at the end of 1990 a boatbuilder was commissioned to build a Kingfisher 24. On 9 September 2003, the boat was christened Go For It and launched to the sound of Jake serenading his girlfriend Tracey with a wedding proposal. PZ 903 is moored up in Newlyn harbour next to the new Penlee lifeboat, the Ivan Ellen, which cost a cool £1.8 million and makes Go For It look like a pretty toy. To an inshore fisherman like Jake, who has fished all his life, it is a dream come true.
Go For It has a chart plotter, autopilot, a fish finder, radar, two VHS radios and a GPS (global positioning system), a winch and automatic net hauler which coils the nets into net bins ready for shooting over the stern. It is useful having such a close connection with a fisherman working out of such a busy market. Just before Christmas one year, I was tipped off about sea bass being sold at £2 a kilo. Another time, I was given a big bucketful of unwanted crab claws, and when it is pilchard-driving time, the catch is so enormous that I have only to ask.
Pilchards, herring and mackerel are the fish notably associated with Cornwall and Nick Howell is trying to improve their image, particularly bony little pilchards.
Until the winter of 2005 he ran the Pilchard Works in Newlyn, the only surviving working pilchard-curing factory in the country, which he called a heritage working museum. It gave a glimpse of what life must have been like at our Fish Store and between Easter and the end of October it was possible to watch the traditional salt fish processing in full swing. Seventy-year-old screw presses were used to pack the fish into wooden boxes for export to Italy, where they have been sent since 1905. It was a fascinating place and Cornish salt pilchards, cured and canned or bottled, are still available. One aspect of Nick's upgrade entails canning the pilchards, sardine-style, in traditional flat tins decorated with paintings by Walter Langley of the Newyln School of painters. They are called Cornish pilchards on the cans, but why not claim them as Cornish sardines? After all, pilchards are nothing more than large sardines.
Oily Fish
To prepare pilchards, herring and mackerel To fillet pilchards, herring and mackerel To butterfly-fillet pilchards, herring and mackerel
Grilled Herring Fillets with Dijon Mustard Grilled or Barbecued Pilchards Marinaters Escabeche River Café Roast Sardines Stuffed Pilchards Grilled Pilchards with Tomato and Rocket Oatmeal Herrings with Bacon Snotched Herring or Mackerel Soft Herring Roes on Toast Stargazy Pie Marinated Mackerel Sushi Devilled Mackerel with Beetroot, Tomato and Spinach Salad Cumin Mackerel with Gooseberry Couscous Butterflied Mackerel with Smoked Paprika and Garlic Mackerel with Peas in Wine and Tomato
Mackerel, Herring and Pilchards
Mackerel, herring and pilchards (or Cornish sardines, as Nick Howell, who used to run The Pilchard Works, a heritage museum in Newlyn, would have us call them) are rich in omega-3 fatty acids – which help reduce cholesterol levels – and extremely good for us. These undervalued fish suit being cooked simply, usually whole, under the grill or on the barbecue, but they are also quick and easy to fillet and their robust and interesting flavour suits some surprising seasonings. The fillets can be stuffed and rolled or used to sandwich all manner of ingredients, such as spinach and mushrooms with garlic and lemon zest. They look impressive butterfly-filleted. People are put off these wonderful fish, particularly herring and pilchards, because of their whiskery bones, but they are easy enough to remove. During their season, in the summer and in the winter months, Cornish waters teem with mackerel, herring and pilchards. They can be picked up for next to nothing and are virtually given away by local fishermen. They swim in shoals in mid-water and are easy to catch with hook and line. This is a common sport down here and appeals as much to children as it does to old salty sea dogs. The 'line' has about twenty hooks on either side and success relies on 'wiffing'. The idea is to tickle the water with the line, pulling it in and letting it out, and when there is a bit of a tug, you know you've got a bite. What you're after, obviously, is a full line, and because mackerel swim in a shoal, there is a good chance of succeeding. The line is whipped out of the water and if you're lucky there will be thirty-odd fish wiggling about on the one line. The trick is quickly to flick the fish off the line on to the boat. You have to wear gloves to do it, to protect your hands from the hooks. On a good catch, an inshore fisherman like Jake can catch several tons of mackerel, herring or pilchards, or a mixture of all three. For big catches like this, he uses a ring netter which shoots in a circle, leaving the nets overnight. Then, usually at about 4.30 a.m., the purse rope is pulled tight so that the fish are caught in a bowl of water. The net is hauled to the stern, lifted with a winch and packed on crushed ice in the big red plastic trays which are familiar all over Mousehole for all manner of uses, none of them connected with fish.
Mackerel is the largest and most striking of these three oily fish, followed by herring and then pilchards. The taste and texture of their flesh are quite different, although many recipes are interchangeable, and so too is their preparation. One November day, thanks to a particularly good catch by Jake, I had all three types of fish and a couple of sea bass in the sink at the same time and was able to have a good look at them together.
Mackerel always strikes me as a masculine fish. It's a fit, body-beautiful kind of male; firm and smooth, lean yet well covered, and appears to have no scales, the fish equivalent of body hair. When you look closely, you can see that mackerel is covered with hundreds of tiny scales, but they rub off quickly and easily in the water. Watch out, though, for the sharp fin on its back. Mackerel is clearly a peacock and a modern one at that. Its look is bold and colourful. Distinctive black squiggly stripes radiate from its backbone and overlay a petrol-blue, green and beige 'wash' on its creamy, silvery-white belly. It's a beautiful fish. It has dense, creamy-coloured yet meaty flesh which can be dry when overcooked. It has big bones which are easy to see, but there are quite a lot of them.
Herring, by comparison, is sleek and feminine and lightly covered with thin, flaky scales. Its predominantly grey 'back' has heathery undertones of purple-blue with a close, cross-hatch pattern which resembles fine netting. Female fish sometimes contain creamy plump roes that are delicious when dusted with flour and fried to a crisp. The flesh is slightly darker than mackerel but the texture is silkier and the flavour more interesting.
Pilchards are really mature sardines and resemble a somewhat shambolic herring. The Sardina pilchardus caught in Cornish waters were probably spawned in Namibia or South Africa. The millions of little sardines which streak through Italian waters are bigger by the timethey get to Cornwall and so become pilchards or Cornish sardines. They are usually smaller and slightly more compact than the smallest herring and are altogether shaggier-looking, with a mottled blue, grey and black 'back'. This pattern is hidden under a dense coating of thick, overlapped scales with the texture of plastic. Once removed, the colouring is noticeably brighter. When it has been scaled, the fish is soft and quite floppy. Its flesh is the darkest of the three and has lots of annoying little bones. These healthy little fish, so highly regarded in Portugal, Spain and Italy, and once the mainstay of the local economy, are largely passed over these days in Cornwall. Fourteen tons were landed one week just before Christmas and they were impossible to buy at Trelawney Fish, one of the wholesalers-cum-shops opposite the fish market in Newlyn. Snooping the local supermarket shelves for locally grown canned fish reveals that Glenryck source their pilchards young in South Africa and the Co-op's canned mackerel comes from Denmark. Many local fishmongers and some delicatessens sell Newlyn Pilchard Works canned Cornish pilchard fillets, available smoked in sunflower oil or salt-cured (known as 'fermaid' in these parts) in extra virgin olive oil. The little flat tins are instantly recognizable by the Walter Langley paintings which decorate them and although they cost twice the price of regular sardines, the taste is superb.
To prepare pilchards, herring and mackerel
All these fish are quick and easy to clean up and prepare for cooking. I usually scale them first by holding the fish by its head and rubbing the blunt edge of a knife vigorously up and down the fish, taking care not to snag the flesh. Rinse away the scales under cold running water as you go, continuing until the fish feels floppier and all the scales are removed. Next, get rid of the guts by slicing up the length of the soft belly towards the head until you meet bone and can go no further. Pull out the guts with your fingers. To remove the head, lay the fish on its back and slice firmly at a slight slant under the gills. Rinse thoroughly under cold running water to remove any blood and the fish is ready to fillet or cook. Some people trim away the fins, but it's not crucial.
To fillet pilchards, herring and mackerel
Use a very sharp thin-bladed knife, preferably a filleting knife.
Lay the fish on its side with its tail towards you and its backbone to your right (unless you are left-handed). Cut across the top of the fish below the head to release the top of the fillet. Turn the knife and slice close to the backbone, cutting all the way down to the tail in one swoop but gently stroking the flat of the knife across the rib cage towards the belly as you slice. It helps to lift the fillet with your left hand as you move down the fish so that you can see what you're doing. Turn the fish over and repeat on the other side. I find it easier to run the knife from tail to head on this side. Use tweezers to remove the stray little bones, using your finger to locate them. This is known as pin-boning.
A perk from the female herring is the roe. These are plump and white and come in sets of two. Soft and hard are both equally good but on balance the soft roes are favourites. Rinse thoroughly before use. They freeze successfully.
To butterfly-fillet pilchards, herring and mackerel
Trim and scale the fish as above, then remove the head (the fish look nicer with the tail intact) and completely cut along the length of the belly. Open out the fish, turn so that it's skin-side up and press all along the backbone with the base of your palm. Turn and pull out the spine from the head end, bringing most of the small bones with it. Tidy up by scraping stray bones away with the knife.
Turn into two neat fillets by slicing down the middle. Pin-bone (see above) as necessary. If buying from a fishmonger, he may be persuaded to do this for you.
GRILLED HERRING FILLETS WITH DIJON MUSTARD
Serves 1–infinity
On a visit to Nick Howell's Pilchard Works, located a stone's throw from the fish market in Newlyn, I fell in love with his fish-filleting machine. Fish are piled on a circular bed of ice in the middle of a revolving wheel and – bang! – seconds later, the head and tail, guts and bones end up in a container down below, and two neat little fillets come out of the other end. It can fillet 250 fish a minute, getting rid of all those fiddly little bones that put people off eating sardines, pilchards and herrings.
2 herring fillets per person smooth Dijon mustard
This way of cooking the fillets is more of a tip than a recipe and works for as few or as many fillets as you like. Simply smear the flesh side of the prepared fillets with smooth Dijon mustard, lay out on foil and cook for a couple of minutes under a hot grill. No need to turn the fish. Eat them on or with buttered wholemeal bread or with boiled potatoes and a green salad which includes a few slices of crisp apple tossed in lemon juice.
GRILLED OR BARBECUED PILCHARDS
Allow 3 or 4 fish per person Roll the gutted but unscaled whole fish in coarse sea salt and place under a hot grill or on a barbecue when the coals are covered with white ash. Turn when the skin begins to blacken and cook the other side. Serve whole; the skin and scales come off together and the fish will fall off the bones.
MARINATERS
Serves 12–14
Sometimes, usually late at night, as you walk a Mousehole backstreet, you may catch a strong whiff of spiced vinegar. It could be someone enjoying a late-night chip supper but it is far more likely that a catch or gift of pilchards is being 'marinated'.
Back in the day, when villagers were dependent on pilchards and herring to see them through lean times, every home would have a supply of pickled or soused fish, known locally as 'marinaters' or marinated fish. The fish are quickly prepared by removing their guts and heads, then layered up head to tail in a suitable dish with bay leaves (conveniently abundant in many Mousehole gardens), pickling spice and a little salt, then drowned in malt vinegar. The fish need to be covered with a sheet of waxed paper or tinfoil to avoid evaporation and they are then cooked very slowly overnight in the oven. Big dishes would be carried down to the bakehouse – in those days behind the Ship Inn, with a bakery next door – to cook overnight.
Several people gave me their imprecise recipes (and offered a supply of fresh bay leaves) but my first attempt with 32 pilchards freshly landed that day was pretty traditional. Only Peno Barnes, a very old friend of Betty's who moved to the village before her, told me to add a little dark brown sugar and that's what I did. Ben remembers Betty adding sliced onion, which was eaten with the fish, but he might be thinking of escabeche (recipe follows) or rollmops. The same recipe also works for herring and mackerel, and the flavours can be altered by using white wine or cider vinegar and isolating particular spices and dried herbs. I am a recent convert to marinaters and am delighted to report that the curing process also softens the little bones. In fact, the bones, including the backbone, should entirely disintegrate and be soft enough to eat. It was Lionel Wallis who told me the Mousehole name of marinaters. In St Ives they call them 'malio' or 'maliose'. The fish can be preserved indefinitely if kept covered in their pickling liquid and are always eaten cold, usually with bread and butter. They are also very good, Scandinavian style, with a bowl of cream beaten with a squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper and flavoured with chives, and black rye bread. Shots of chilled vodka are what you serve with this. Soused or marinated pilchards make an excellent impromptu snack or starter and are a lovely gift. Some people, though, and Henry is one of them, find the vinegar a bit overpowering. He likes them with boiled potatoes and a crunchy salad. If you have more or less fish, just adjust the recipe accordingly.
32 fresh pilchards, heads off and gutted
40g pickling spice sea salt about 20 fresh bay leaves
1½ litres malt vinegar
1 tbsp dark brown sugar
Any non-reactive, ovenproof dish is suitable.
If you have to prepare the pilchards yourself, scale them (see above) and cut off the head just below the gills. Slit the belly and remove the guts. Rinse the fish and shake dry. Arrange the fish snugly together (think canned sardines), season lightly with salt, lay a few bay leaves on top and sprinkle with pickling spices, continuing thus making layers until all the fish is used up. Pour over the vinegar and trickle the sugar down the sides. Cover with a sheet of greaseproof paper or foil and tuck it up the sides to avoid evaporation. Cook overnight in a very, very low oven, the lowest possible. Allow to cool naturally. Store covered with pickling liquid.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "The Fish Store"
by .
Copyright © 2006 Lindsey Bareham.
Excerpted by permission of Grub Street.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
An Introduction to the Fish Store 1
Hello, Maid 4
Proper job 9
Looking Out of the Window 14
Up the Crackers 20
Seagull Granny 24
All Right, My Robin? 29
The Return 32
Fish 37
Oily Fish 39
Flat Fish 62
Flaky Fish 77
Inshore Fish 97
Fish without Bones 116
Seafood
Crab, Lobster and Crayfish 134
Limpets, Winkles and Mussels, Scallops and Squid 151
Eggs 167
Chicken 175
Lamb 193
Vegetables 211
Potatoes 213
Spinach, Sorrel, Watercress and Nettles 231
Cauliflower, Broccoli and Cabbage 246
Beetroot, Swede, Carrots and Parsnips 262
Beans, Peas and Sweetcorn 278
Tomatoes 289
Onions, Leeks and Garlic 299
Cucumbers and Courgettes 320
Aubergines and Peppers 332
Puddings 343
Blackberries and Sloes 345
Apples and Pears 352
Strawberries, Gooseberries and Rhubarb 363
Plums and Peaches 375
Bread and Egg Puddings 384
Local Shops and Suppliers 393
Bibliography 399
Index 400
Picture Credits 410
Acknowledgements 410