fishy business

At Shampers we obtain our fish from Hackney-based inland merchant R Green. The bulk of Russell Green’s fish is landed at Brixham in Devon, the home port to 72 fishing vessels, where he has an agent who purchases his requirements at the quay-side and arranges deep chilled transport to London. Salmon, cod, haddock and prawns account for over 65% of fish purchases in UK restaurants.Of the many other varieties of fish available to us, these are some of my favourites.

Skate. The smaller, edible members of the ray family are known as skate and the term ray is reserved for their larger cousins, such as sting rays and electric rays. The thornback ray is the best ‘skate’ and is best eaten ‘au beurre noir’. The flesh of the wings is composed of long thick strands that are easily removed after cooking. The ideal is for the fish to be served with butter and wine-vinegar sauce absolutely sizzling.

John Dory. This fish has an exquisite taste and firm white flesh that provides boneless fillets. Fishermen maintain that the single dark spots on either side of a John Dory are the finger marks of Saint Peter, as this is the fish which he took up on the instruction of Christ to find in its mouth the silver to pay the tax collector. Often referred to in English as St Peter’s fish, it is known in France as Saint-Pierre, in Spain as Pez de San Pedro and in Turkey as dülger (carpenter).

Gilt-Head Sea Bream. This excellent fish, widely regarded as the best of the bream family, is identified by a golden spot on each cheek and another crescent shaped golden spot between the eyes. Hence the name gilt-head in English, daurade in French and dorada in Spanish. Most bream inhabit tropical and sub-tropical waters, including the Caribbean. A French recipe – filets de dorade à L’Antillaise – is a rum-based dish.

Gurnard. For my recipe I have chosen gurnard. This unusually shaped fish takes its name from the French word to growl (gronder). Gurnards, in common with species such as Meagre or Drums, make strange sounds to keep in touch with one another (a feat performed by muscle contractions acting on the swim bladder). A shoal many feet below the surface can be heard quite clearly on a fishing boat. This has led to speculation about the origins of the Siren’s Song.

In my article on Vietnamese cooking (Spring issue) I wrote about Lê Mi, the Vietnamese food store on Mare Street and by Ruth Arendse its owner Quyen. Quyen’s sister Búi is opening a Vietnamese restaurant at 251 Mare Street in October. Búi told me that her menu will include traditional fish dishes such as Chá Chá (monkfish with dill) and Cá Lóc Hãp (steamed fish with ginger and coconut milk)

Ruth lives in Stoke Newington and works as head chef at the West End restaurant Shampers. For more information on fish read Jane Gregson’s Fish Book (Penguin Books) and Alan Davidson’s Mediterranean Seafood (Prospect Books).

The UK fishing fleet has declined from 2,467 registered vessels in 1996 to 1,772 in 2002. The largest fleets are based in Fraserburgh (150 vessels), Newlyn (128) and Grimsby (101). According to the Sea Fish Industry Authority, 47% of fish reaches the consumer through wholesalers such as Billingsgate, followed by inland merchants (29%), port merchants (9%) and fishmongers (9%).