Fish Information Evening

I’ve neglected my blog as I’ve been on holidays. Had a fantastic time in the Basque Country – some amazing eating which I’ll save for another post. Lots of fish in fact, which brings me to my recipe today!
I’m forever promoting the benefits of eating fish in my clinic and through my cookery classes. Just recently I had a successful Fish ‘demo & dinner’ evening at my kitchen where I covered a few methods of cooking fish. I’ve now teamed up with a fantastic fish expert, Gerry Blain who has oceans (!) of experience catching, preparing and selling fish. He currently runs fresh fish stalls at Carrick-on-Shannon (Thursday mornings) & Roscommon (Friday mornings), bringing us great fish from Donegal. We’re running A Fish Information Evening on Thursday 10th November from 7.30-9pm. I will present on the health benefits of fish and give a cookery demonstration. Gerry will share his knowledge on buying, storing and preparing fish. I will also provide a booklet with information and recipes to bring home. All this for €10!
Today I couldn’t resist the whole fresh herring (well I asked for the fillets but Gerry convinced me to take them whole and I am glad!). Herring is one of the oily ones (so healthy for a whole host of reasons) and doesn’t need a lot of work when they’re perfectly fresh. It is simple to clean and you have the benefit of obtaining the beautiful creamy roe to eat alongside the fish.
Here’s a deconstructed herring – cut off the head – make a slit along the belly to take out the roe and intestines. Discard the guts and keep the roe. Score the skin in a couple of spots to allow the oils to ooze. Gerry recommends slitting across the back a few times to allow even cooking.

To cook:

Heat the grill to the highest setting.  Score the skin of the fish a couple of times on either side.  Season the fish all over and inside with sea salt and cayenne pepper.  Do the same with the roe.  Place the fish on a piece of foil on a tray.  Grill it 3-4 minutes on either side.  The skin will blister and crisp up nicely.

Meanwhile, toss the roe in a little rice flour.  Heat a small knob of butter in a frying pan and just as the herring is cooked, quickly cook the roe for less than a minute.

Grilled Herring, fried roe & pickled beets

To avoid a mouthful of bones, eat this from the tail up, carefully pulling the flesh away from the skeleton with a fork.  I ate this with some home-pickled beetroot today and it hit the spot for lunch nicely.

Herring Gone