These fish recipes are the perfect way to cook up a storm in the kitchen – even if it’s round a campfire.
Fish is so versatile when it comes to recipes that there truly is some way of cooking it that everyone will enjoy.
These two recipes are some of the latest to hit the recipe book scene. One is an ideal way of cooking fish while camping, and the other comes from former Great British Bake Off star Candice Brown.
So all that’s needed is some of your favourite fish – and get cooking.
Fried mackerel with horseradish butter, gherkins and lettuce in brioche
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp butter, softened
- 2-4 tbsp horseradish, to taste
- 4 large or 8 small mackerel fillets
- 1 soft round lettuce, leaves separated
- 4 large gherkins, sliced
- Salt and black pepper
- 4 brioche buns (or any soft roll), split open, to serve
Method
- Beat the butter and horseradish together in a bowl, adding pepper to taste, then put the mixture to one side.
- Season the mackerel fillets on both sides and grill them over a high heat, skin-side down, for two minutes.
- Carefully flip the fillets over with a spatula and cook for another one minute, until just cooked through. Cook in a pan with a splash of cooking oil, if you prefer.
- Lightly toast the inside of the rolls on the grill, then generously spread each with the horseradish butter. Add lettuce and gherkins to each bun, and then finally the cooked mackerel, sandwiching shut to serve.
Recipe from Camper Van Cooking by Claire Thomson & Matt Williamson, photography by Sam Folan, is published by Quadrille, priced £20.
Candice Brown’s goats’ cheese, smoked salmon and asparagus filo tart
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 6-8 sheets of ready-made filo pastry
- 50g unsalted butter, melted
- 250g fine asparagus
- 5 eggs
- 100ml double cream
- 100ml whole milk
- Small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 200g baby spinach
- 5 spring onions, trimmed and finely chopped
- 200g smoked salmon
- 250g soft goats’ cheese
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
- Preheat the oven to 160C Fan/180C/ 350F/Gas Mark 4. Brush a 25cm flan or quiche tin with melted butter and then lay in the first layer of filo pastry.
- Brush this with melted butter and lay in the second layer, then brush with more melted butter.
- Repeat with the filo and butter until there are no gaps in the pastry, the tin is covered and you have lots of lovely jagged edges sticking up. You will have to arrange the sheets at different angles – about six to eight sheets of pastry should work. Brush the last layer of pastry with butter and bake for eight to 10 minutes until the filo starts to turn golden and crispy. Remove from the oven and set aside.
- Bend the asparagus spears until they snap – this is the bit that is too woody to eat – then blanch for two minutes in boiling water.
- Mix the eggs, cream, milk and some salt and pepper together in a jug. Finely chop the parsley and stir through.
- Layer up the spinach, asparagus and spring onions in the baked filo pastry case and tear the smoked salmon over the top.
- Pour over the egg mixture and top with slices of the goats’ cheese. Very carefully transfer the filled filo pastry case to the oven.
- You may find it easier to put the flan tin on a flat baking tray and pour the egg mixture into the pastry while it is in the oven – just be careful not to burn yourself.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes until the egg is just set with a slight wobble and the filo is golden brown – if it starts to catch, simply cover it with foil.
Serve warm on its own or with a heap of salad.
Recipe from Happy Cooking by Candice Brown, photography by Ellis Parrinder, is published by Ebury Press, priced £22.