We are eating a lot of fish these days I must say, and it is making the butcher quite grumpy, there is no doubt. I used to be such a diligent and fine customer. We just don’t seem to enjoy meat though the way we used to. Fish is so much more digestible, so easy to cook and so delicious to eat, oh and so much better for us too.

I have been cooking oven baked fish for many years. It was so simple to slip in a fillet of trevally for my son for breakfast in those years he did not eat eggs but routinely had a ten hour school day with sport and cadets and whatnot. I was buying excellent fish at the Victoria Market and do to this day, it so affordable compared to shopping strip retailers. Trevally usually sells around $10.00 a kilogram, has no bones, and although perhaps slightly stronger than other fish and not quite as white it was always as fresh as could be.

For a more refined meal I would select a side of ocean trout, for less than $20 it is sufficient for up to six people when served with rice or potatoes and a vegetable or salad dish. Whipping up a hollandaise sauce to serve on the side makes this a very luxurious meal.

More recently we are a smaller household and sometimes gather around the pan as we retrieve flat head tails cooked in golden batter and eat them with our fingers off a shared plate.

Cooking fish is such a simple thing to do yet so many of us are cautious about giving it ago. Here follows a recipe for Oven Baked Ocean Trout and Flat Head Tails cooked in Beer Batter. Do try them.

Oven Baked Ocean Trout

Ingredients

• (for 4 – 6 people)
• 1 side of ocean trout (approx 1 kg), skin on
• 12 cherry tomatoes
• 6 spring onions, full length, trimmed and clean
• Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper
• Chives (optional)

Equipment

• A baking dish that can comfortably accommodate the fillet
• A sheet of baking paper on which to lay the fillet

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200c
• Place the baking paper on the base of a baking dish
• Place the side of trout skin side down onto the baking paper
• Drizzle olive oil over the fish and season with salt and freshly ground pepper
• Arrange the tomatoes and the spring onions on and around the fish
• Bake for about 14 minutes. Remove the fish from the oven, check for doneness by inserting a knife into the flesh and separating it to check the colour. The fish should appear slightly undercooked as it will continue cooking when removed from the oven. The separated flesh should be opaque on the outside and rosy in the middle
• Either serve the fish from the pan at the table or transfer to a heated platter. Arrange the tomatoes and spring onions on and around it, garnish with fresh long chives and pour the juices over.

Voilà, Dinner in less than 20 minutes.

Fish Fillets Cooked in Beer Batter

(for 4 – 6 people)

Ingredients

• Approx 1kg flat head tails, or whiting or blue grenadier or whatever the fishmonger recommends
• Olive Oil or combined Olive and Canola Oil for frying
• Salt and lemon wedges to serve

Beer Batter

Mix 250g self raising flour with ½ cup beer and 1 cup cold water, beat with a wooden spoon or a fork until smooth and set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Equipment

• Heavy based iron pan
• Tongs or a spatula
• Paper Towel

Method

• Place the fry pan on moderate to high heat and pour oil into the pan, approximately 1 cm deep. Once the oil starts smoking it is ready to cook in.
• Dip a fish fillet into the batter, the batter will thickly coat the fish, gently place the fillet in the pan. Add as many fillets into the pan as can comfortably fit.
• Allow the fish to cook for at least 90 seconds before disturbing it, gently lift a corner of it with a spatula or tongs to ensure it is a golden colour, if the colour is right, gently turn the fillet and cook in the same way on the other side. The whole process will probably only take 3 minutes or less. Remove the cooked fillet from the pan and place onto a paper towel to drain. Eat immediately, seasoning with salt and lemon juice.
• Continue cooking and eating until everyone has had sufficient.

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