wester's Reviews
12 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 12Sort by: Title 
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The River Cottage Fish Book
By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Nick Fisher
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC - 2007
Black bream with herbs : page 305
I probably used too big a fish for this (almost a kg), which meant I had to put the lid on the pan for a bit, and it looked a bit messy when it was done.
But thanks to the general information on pan-frying a fish earlier in this chapter and their tips on how to check for doneness, the fish came out very well-cooked, and the herbs were very good with it.
useful (1)
Brill with celeriac and crispy belly pork : page 318
Very tasty, and it looks spectacular.
Do keep a good eye on the celeriac while it is simmering - there is a very thin line between milk simmering and boiling, and you want to avoid the latter.
useful (0)
Chloe's sardine and onion omelette : page 402
A good store-cupboard dinner. I used the second cooking method. The flavor was very good, but I found it a bit dry, and it was quite hard to flip over. Next time I'll use the first method, or possibly just make scrambled eggs with the ingredients.
useful (0)
Curried mussels : page 276
This is quite subtle, and very tasty.
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Fish-topped pizza bianca : page 407
Comfort food. Sweet onions, salty fish, and crème fraîche. In between pizza bianca (with no mozzarella) and pissaladière (with no olives). I wouldn't have minded a bit more anchovies.
useful (1)
Japanese slow-cooked mackerel : page 286
Lovely.
A very different way of cooking mackerel (or horse mackerel). Aromatic but not overly hot - children can eat it too, if you remove the ginger pieces. And the flesh becomes meltingly tender, especially if you use a fatty kind of fish. I also like it that the bones go soft enough to not be a nuisance anymore (although you will still have to remove the central bone).
It is nice with guests too, as you can put it on a slow fire early in the morning and then forget about it until it's nearly serving time.
I served this with rice and a cucumber-sesame salad. Good combination.
I did need a lot more than the given amount of apple juice.
It can be difficult to get the fish smell out of the pan. If possible, use a pan that you will only use for fish.
useful (1)
Mackerel stuffed with salsa verde : page 316
I still have to get the hang of the filleting and removing the pinbones. But the taste of this was excellent - the fresh green salsa verde works very well with the rich mackerel. And apart from the filleting it's very easy.
useful (1)
Seared squid : page 204
This was lovely. I used a squid that was slightly bigger than recommended and so it was a bit tough - but they warned me about that, The flavor was very good and the cleaning and butterflying instructions were clear.
I used sumac, but I'm sure the paprika version is lovely too. I wouldn't use smoked paprika though, together with the searing it might get a bit too smoky.
useful (2)
Slow-braised cuttlefish or squid : page 284
This was a disappointment. I braised it for the full two hours and it came out only just tender. The other flavors were nice, giving a very Mediterranean feel.
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Smoked pollack and spinach tart : page 241
This was very good, although I think it's not, as the authors claim, the best recipe in the book. But it does have a very good balance of salty smokiness, creaminess, and lightness from the spinach. I make it regularly.
The kind of fish you use should influence the amount of fish you use. I made this with smoked trout, and got a very subtle result, and with smoked sprat, which was very strong-tasting.
Good quality frozen spinach (leaves!) works well here. If you use fresh, do make sure to really squeeze it dry well, else the tart can turn out a bit wet.
I made it without the crust (I'm on a low-carb diet). Instead I baked it in individual ramekins (2 of 11 cm diameter, 2 of 9 cm). This worked well.
useful (1)
Smoked pollack with poached egg : page 170
Excellent. The smooth egg yolk complements the smoked fish perfectly.
I did feel I would have liked more eggs relative to the fish, something like 250 g fish with 4 or 6 eggs would be perfect. And if you worry about the cholesterol, just stop worrying. There is no evidence to speak of that eating cholesterol will raise your cholesterol levels.
I made this with smoked gurnard.
I used the poaching milk to make mashed potatoes, which also went very well with it.
I will put some nutmeg in the spinach next time, or use a different vegetable.
useful (2)
Warm smoked fish and sausage salad : page 175
This was totally delicious, even with supermarket mackerel and sausages. The sausages, smoked fish, chicory and creamy dressing blended together to a total that was definitely more than the sum of its parts. Even the kids loved it - my five-year-old daughter actually asked it she could have more chicory!
I think keeping the leaves of the chicory whole makes them too big. Halving them (except the really small ones in the middle) works better.
I used balsamic vinegar instead of wine vinegar with sugar.
useful (0)