SouthseaScene

I love fish and there's such a variety you can find these days in your local supermarket. Eating fish is also good for you and here's a recipe I return to again and again because not only it is simple to make, but also very tasty. Cut a bunch of spring onion into thin sticks. Slice carrots into very thin rounds. Chopped an inch of ginger and set aside. In a mug mix together 3 tbsp each of soy sauce and orange juice, 2 tbsp sherry, 1 tbsp malt vinegar and 1 tsp sugar. Basa fillet (you can use cod or haddock, but basa I find to be the best to hold its form) 150 g per person. Pat dry with kitchen paper and cut into cubes. 2 tsp. Cornflour Salt and pepper Toss the dry fish pieces in the spiced flour and coat evenly. Heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan and when hot enough, add the fish pieces and make sure the pan is not overcrowded. You want the fish pieces to brown to a crisp. Do not turn the pieces until 2 minutes is up, then flip to fry the other side another 2...

Sometimes you don't need to overthink your dinner. Pressed for time, and ideas, I recently fried plaice fillets with butter. The result was really delicious, especially if you squirt some lemon juice over the whole thing afterwards. You want to dust the fillet with plain flour and then fry them for 3-4 minutes on each side. I use 20-25g butter per 120-150g fillet.

This recipe originated from a meal I had at Tita Nelia Salazar's in Surabaya. I was visiting and she made this amazing dish. There are a lot more ingredients on her recipe, but this modification suits my kitchen and it has been a staple in our household for a very long time. Marinade each salmon fillet with 1 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tablespoon malt vinegar. Chop up a clove of garlic and a slice of ginger and add to the marinade with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil.  Heat the oven to 180 degrees Celcius and bake the almond kin the juices with the skin side up for 20 minutes. You want the flesh to remain juicy. Serve with mashed potatoes, which can absorb the delicious jus. Steam carrots and broccoli go well with this dish. Thank you Tita Nelia!

This orange and Harissa glazed mackerel take minutes to cook and ideal for a midweek supper. Mackerel has a strong flavour and so can take the robustness of the Harissa sauce.  Mackerels are easy to fillet yourself because there are no scales to clean and the flesh would usually come off the bones easily. Fresh fish should have bright eyes, shiny skin and smells of the sea.  Ingredients for cooking 2 mackerels: 2 tbsp vegetable or olive oil 1 tbsp plain flour 1 tsp paprika 2 tbsp Harissa powder 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil zest and juice of 1 small orange In a small bowl, mix 2 tablespoon Harissa powder with 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil and zest and juice of one small orange. Then mix 2 tablespoons of flour with 1 teaspoon paprika and dust the fillets in this. Fry the fillets skin side down first for about 3 minutes and then the other side for 2 minutes. When the mackerel is fried, add this mixture and let it boil to a sticky sauce.  Serve these delicious fillets ...

We have really enjoyed shopping for fresh fish in Viviers in Camber Dock. We would go and check out what's available during our lunch break and plan our dinner around what we find that day. One of the most common and cheap fish to have is mackerel and at Viviers you can find really shiny (fresh) ones. Mackerel is also easy to prepare, partly because it doesn't have scales. Cleaning scales often adds to the time it takes to prepare fish for dinner.   Here's our fast and delicious recipe for a simple mackerel fillet with chilli and lime Ingredients per person One mackerel, butterflied Juice of half a lime 1 tsp of dried chilli flakes 1 tsp of vegetable oil Line the grill pan with aluminium foil and brush with the vegetable oil. Lay the fillet skin side down and sprinkle with the chilli flakes and squirt with the juice of half a lime. Let it stand for 10-15 minutes if you can to let the chili mingle with the lime juice. Heat the grill and grill for 5-7 minutes...

One of the best things of living by the sea (and on an island) is the access to fresh fish. Okay, this one we had tonight was from Waitrose but I have been hankering over some lovely fish dinner after the heaviness of the Christmas food orgy. This seabass recipe is delicious with some jacket potatoes and steamed vegetables. Tonight we had Helda beans which is sweeter and less stringy. You just need to steam it for 3 minutes. So here's the recipe... Make sure the fish is nicely descaled and gutted. Seabass gills can be really sharp so ask your fish counter to do the job of descaling and cleaning the fish. Keep the head on. Score the side of the seabass. Slice some ginger thinly and insert the ginger pieces into the slits. For each seabass, marinate with 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsbp orange juice, juice of half a lemon and 2 tbsp of vegetable oil. Leave it for an hour or so, if possible. Then put the fish under a heated grill for 7 minutes on one side and 4-5 minute...

A fried skate or ray wing (I don't know which) can be really delicious. It's also a fish dish that doesn't have any bones to deal with. Great for someone who hates dealing with the bones. Pat dry the wings on kitchen paper. Then dust with plain flour mixed with Paprika powder, salt and pepper. Then shallow fry for 5 minutes on each side or until the edges are dry and crispy. Serve with mash, jacket potatoes or simply with steamed vegetables for a very quick dinner.