Skin on or skin off?

I am an advocate of leaving the skin on fish fillets, because it helps retain moisture and provides more flavour. Don’t hesitate to ask your fish seller to leave the skin on when buying filleted fish. However, a word of warning: make sure orange roughy is always skinned, as a waxy ester between the flesh and the skin can cause a stomach upset. SAUCE

4 tbsp grapeseed oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

2 large ripe tomatoes, skinned and grated 400ml coconut cream

1 tbsp palm sugar (or soft brown sugar)

2 tsp tamarind paste

4 large flounder fillets, skin on salt and freshly ground black pepper small bunch of coriander leaves, stalks removed a few tiny cubes of fresh tomato

To make the spice paste, toast the coriander and cumin seeds in a dry frying pan until they are fragrant (about three minutes.) Put the toasted seeds into a mortar and pestle or a spice grinder with the turmeric, pepper flakes and ginger, and mix until a paste forms.

To make the sauce, in a small frying pan heat 2 tablespoons of the oil, add the onion and fry until soft and golden. Stir in the spice paste and cook for a minute or two until it becomes aromatic, then add the grated tomato. Continue to cook until the mixture is soft.

Tip in the coconut cream, sugar and tamarind paste and bring to a simmer. Cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the sauce starts to thicken. Keep aside while you cook the fish.

Season the flounder fillets with salt and pepper. In a clean frying pan, heat the remaining oil and when hot, fry the fish until just cooked, turning once.

To serve, place the fish fillets on top of some steamed basmati or jasmine rice. Bring the sauce back to a simmer, spoon over the fish and garnish with coriander leaves and tomato cubes. Serves 2

Wine match: chardonnay or chenin blanc.