Don’t you just love surprises? Mine came in the shape of a white box, delivered by a courier late one afternoon. Inside was a cornucopia of fish from Skipper’s Choice. Meanwhile across town, Amy also received another box of fish brimming with a different selection of fish.
If you watched the Trawlerman programme, you’ll have met Jimmy Buchan, skipper of Amity II. He’s the man behind Skipper’s Choice bringing his 40 years experience to delivering prime Scottish fish fresh to your door. Some of the fish in our boxes will have come from his boat and the remainder from his trusted band of fellow trawlermen. The fish is delivered from Peterhead to your door within 24 hours of its being caught.
Be inspired by our four tasty recipes!
Danielle’s recipes
You’ll know how much fish we eat in the Edinburgh Foody household – twice a week at least. What I don’t cook a lot of is smoked fish, so the box I received was the ideal challenge as the majority was smoked!
I wanted to make sure that I had flavour and texture in my dishes and whilst the taste of the chowder I made was fine, I didn’t quite get the balance right so that recipe needs reworking and it won’t be included here.
Here are two recipes that I am very happy with. The first is so simple and quick to do. Peppered mackerel, scrambled eggs and croutons is the perfect midweek supper.
The second dish are fish cakes re-imagined. I used the classic ginger garlic paste used in Kerala with onions and mustard seed as the flavouring to the fish cake. Rather than ordinary potato, I used sweet potato and for a nice crunch added sesame seeds to the gram (chickpea) flour to coat the cakes. Don’t be daunted by the recipe.You could do a lot of prep one night and complete the recipe the second night.
Both of these recipes will definitely be devoured again in our household.
Smoked mackerel with scrambled eggs and croutons
- 2 peppered hot smoked mackerel fillets (or similar)
- 4 eggs lightly beaten
- Handful of fresh herbs chopped (I used a mix of chives, mint, oregano and thyme)
- Salt and pepper
- 40 gr butter (or oil if you prefer)
- 3 slices of good quality bread cut into cubes about 1.5 cm
- Oil for frying.
- Take the skin off the fillets and break the fish into flakes. There might be the odd bone so check as you flake. Set aside
- Chop the herbs finely and add to the lightly beaten eggs. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil in a small saucepan. You want a good 3 cm deep. Test to see if it is hot enough by adding a few crumbs to the oil. If it sizzles it is ready. Add the croutons in batches and fry until golden. Don't be tempted to add them all at once. Place on kitchen paper to drain.
- You'll need a low to medium heat. Add the butter and melt.
- Add the egg mixture and still occasionally until nearly set.
- Add the fish and mix to warm through - 1-2 minutes maximum
- To serve add the croutons to the egg and fish mixture and gently stir. Eat immediately.
Smoked haddock fish cakes – Indian style
I was intrigued by the description of angel cut haddock. This video, shows how it is done. It seems to be particularly Scottish.
- Two angel cut smoked haddock filets
- 200 gr sweet potato
- 1 red onion
- 1 large clove of garlic
- 1 cm slice of fresh ginger
- 1 tsp black mustard seeds
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- Salt
- Pepper
- Gram flour (or plain wheat flour)
- Sesame seeds.
- Oil for frying (I used coconut oil)
- Chop the onion.
- Finely grate the garlic and ginger
- Heat a small amount of oil in the pan. Add the garlic and ginger and cook slowly until softened. Add the mustard seeds, chilli powder and onion and cook until soft. Don't rush this bit, the onion should be really soft.
- Meanwhile, peel and chop the sweet potato into cubes and boil until softened.
- Remove the skin from the fish - insert a knife between the flesh and the at the thin end of the fish and gently wiggle the knife to remove the skin
- In a saucepan, add 300 ml of water bring to the boil then add the fish which you have cut into about 8 pieces. Cook for 2-3 minutes until just cooked. Cool the fish then break it up into flakes (it will naturally flake)
- Mash the sweet potato with a potato masher. Add the onion mixture, leaving any excess oil in the pan. Check for seasoning. You might need to add a little salt and pepper.
- Gently mix in the flakes. Form into fish cakes.
- Mix 2 tablespoons of flour (approx) and 1 dessertspoon of sesame seeds together. Place in a wide bowl.
- Gently press each fishcake into the flour/sesame seed mixture coating them all over.
- Refrigerate for 20 minutes or up to 24 hours.
- To fry, heat oil to cover the bottom of your pan and fry slowly on each size until browned.
Amy’s eecipes
Like Danielle, we also regularly enjoy fresh fish at home. This year I’ve committed us to consuming less meat and fish from the supermarket so I was delighted when a huge box of treats arrived on the doorstep. Its contents were ideal for the frequent fish eater too, with two of everything and the ability to freeze for future meals. Admittedly there were no surprises, as the box contained only the usual suspects of haddock, salmon, mackerel and hake, but some fillets were smoked, which offered variety.
So far I’ve made smoked haddock kedgeree (recipe below) and tapenade-topped hake. I didn’t include this recipe as it really only entailed buying tapenade, mixing it with breadcrumbs (a great way to use up stale bread) and spreading it on the fish before baking. The hearty, briney olive mixture makes a solid partner for meaty hake and the dish really only needs a light salad or perhaps a couple of boiled potatoes with it to create a satisfying midweek meal.
When I asked my father for a kedgeree recipe, I was dismayed by his response: “tinned tuna and rice?” My version is just a little more sophisticated and more like kedgeree as it should be, I think, with smoked fish, curry powder and peas. The addition of Mara’s Shony seaweed blend reinforces the fish’s fishiness by adding umani as well as a health boost, removing the need for salt.
Kedgeree with smoked haddock
- 2 fillets smoked haddock
- 150ml milk
- 250g frozen peas
- 2 cups white or basmati rice
- 1 small white onion
- 1 small leek
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1tbsp Mara Seaweed Shony
- 3 large eggs
- Finely slice the onion and leek and gently fry them.
- Pour the milk into a large, deep frying pan and bring up to room temperature on a low heat. Place the fish fillets in to the milk and sprinkle the seaweed on top. Poach on medium heat for 10-15 mins depending on the thickness of the fish.
- Meanwhile, put the rice on to boil and simultaneously boil the eggs to your liking, but ideally not too runny. Once cooked, rinse the eggs under cold water and peel as soon as you're able to.
- Combine the rice and veg in a big mixing bowl and add the frozen peas. The heat of the veg and rice should defrost them without reducing them to mush. Stir together with the curry powder.
- Break the fish into chunks and chop the eggs into similar sized pieces. Gently stir through the rice mixture. Add more seaweed, curry powder or black pepper to taste.
- Serve immediately or leave overnight for the flavours to come together.
Having so much fresh fish at my disposal has set off my imagination. Tonight I’ll be making a Goan fish curry and I plan on making this lovely recipe for salmon ramen in the near future. As I regularly make ramen with pork I’m interested to see how the fish stands up to the broth. In contrast, I’ve never made a fish curry but since Goa is on the West Coast of India and the cuisine nearly always contains seafood, that style seems like a good place to start. I think haddock with coconut, ginger and spices will be a lovely combination – but I’ll let you know.
How it works
Make your choice from one of the Skipper’s Choice boxes, then add any additional items you desire. All the fish provided is seasonal and sustainable. In addition to boxes, you can indulge in fish perfect for an event such as a side of salmon. Most of the fish can be frozen. It is all clearly labelled.
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