Carina’s Kitchen

With some stocks in decline we need to learn there’s plenty other fish in the sea

Your top chef’s recipes and tips for selecting the best fish

IT is estimated there are 250 species of fish in Scottish territorial waters. I bet most of us would struggle to name 10 or 20. Our favourite fish have always been the classics: haddock, cod and lemon sole. More luxurious and expensive varieties include halibut, turbot and sea bass. Salmon used to be the ultimate but wild stocks are dwindling and some intensively farmed salmon has a dubious reputation.

Pollock, whiting and hake were popular. Almost the poor cousins. But thankfully fashions change.

Growing up between two harbours in East Lothian added a whole other level of discernment. Mackerel or mussels, for example, were fish that weren’t allowed in our house because they weren’t allowed in any of the fishermen’s houses. Only if you lived by the sea, would you know why.

We worry about plastic pollution these days, but it was the sewage disposed of directly into the sea that was the problem then. This tended to be done in the same breeding areas of these fish. Sewage processing is far safer now than it was even in the 90s, however, the contamination issues we face now are also man-made with plastic pollution and global warming being the bigger concerns.

We need to learn to try other varieties of fish. We follow the Marine Stewardship quotas and monitor the stock levels of different fish. From time to time we have removed haddock or cod from our menus. Hake is the fish that we and our customers prefer as a substitute. This large flaky fish with a delicious soft slightly milky flesh is actually less watery than both of its competitors.

It’s taken us years to be able to transition easily to these other varieties of fish. We would get complaints that we didn’t have the usual ones. So, if cod is on the endangered list, then it’s off the menu and another more sustainable option is offered. I’ll certainly be ordering hake for my fish supper with no hesitation.

Carina Contini is owner of Contini George Street; Cannonball Restaurant & Bar; and The Scottish Cafe & Restaurant, all in Edinburgh

Hake With Salsa Verde

Ingredients (per person)

– 200g hake fillet, skin on, patted dry

1 Add a little olive oil to a frying pan.

2 When hot but not smoking, place the hake skin side down in the pan and cook over a medium heat for about 5 minutes.

3 Remove, and place skin side up on a baking sheet, season with a little salt and roast in a hot oven for another 5 - 7 minutes until the flesh is cooked through.

4 Serve with salsa verde and your

favourite greens.

Salsa Verde Ingredients

– 20 salted baby capers soaked for a

few minutes and drained

– 1 clove fresh peeled garlic, crushed – 1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped

– 1-2 salted anchovies in olive oil

– 50g fresh flat leaf parsley leaves,

finely chopped

– 50g fresh basil leaves, finely chopped – 50g fresh mint, finely chopped

– 1 tsp of red wine vinegar, just enough

to give a sharpness

– 4-6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Use a pestle and mortar to cream the garlic and anchovy together. The anchovy is very strong so add one to start, this may be enough.

2 Fold in the chopped herbs and chilli

to the garlic mixture.

3 Add the extra virgin olive oil as you go to lubricate the mixture. The mixture should be looking creamy but loose, then add a splash of vinegar and the soaked, drained capers. Taste. Add salt if needed.

4 This will last in the fridge, if covered

in oil for up to a week.