In which the Wartime Housewife talks A Load of Old Cod (but preferably another sustainably sourced white fish of your choice)
We haven’t had a fish dish for a while and this recipe is great for the winter as it contains Vitamin C and things to ward off the winter nasties. You can use cod but in my opinion we should all be laying off the cod until the Atlantic fish stocks have recovered a bit. Haddock would work, but if you want to save your pennies, try Basa fillets. I have mentioned these before (Storecupboard), they are really tasty and half the price of cod or haddock. One can definitely buy Basa in Sainsbury’s but I can’t speak for your own fishmonger or other supermarkets.
PIQUANT BAKED FISH
Utensils:
1 x medium size ovenproof dish
1 x small saucepan
1 x hand whisk
If the dish has no cover, you will need some tinfoil
Ingredients:
4 good sized white fish fillets
½ red pepper – de-seeded and finely chopped
½ “/ 1cm ginger – peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves – finely chopped
Salt & pepper to season
½ pint / 300ml white wine
1oz / 30g butter
2 tblspn double cream
Method:
Place the fish in an ovenproof dish and sprinkle the pepper, ginger and garlic on top
Season with salt and pepper to taste
Pour over the white wine and leave to marinate for about 2 hours
Preheat the oven to 200 / 400 / 6
Cover the dish with foil and bake for 20 minutes
Turn the oven down to a low heat
Pour off the marinade liquid into a pan
Re-cover the dish of fish and return to the oven to keep warm
Add the butter to the pan of marinade liquid and heat on a rolling boil until the liquid is reduced by half
Whisk in the cream
Put the fish fillets on plates and pour the sauce attractively over them
Serve immediately with new or jacket potatoes and nice fresh vegetables
Wartime Housewife 
Is this the Piece of Cod that passes all understanding?
Oh well done!
My name’s Peter Ashley, thank you, good night!
Is (are?) basa what Sainsbury’s sell as Basics White Fish Fillets (or something similar)? I love cod to distraction and always hover over it, then decide that I shouldn’t and opt for the “white fish”. Perfectly edible, isn’t it? Don’t suppose you have any suggestions for a cod alternative in the chipshop? I’m afraid I always opt for the cod in there.
BW: If you go to the fish counter, Basa fillets are usually on the right hand side and are, at the moment, 71p / 100g (3.5oz). In the freezer cabinet, the ‘White Fish Fillets are usually Pollock (no it’s true – bo-boom) or occasionally Coley, both of which are perfectly nice. One of the chip shops in Harborough, I can’t remember whether it’s the Blue Wave Fish Bar on Coventry Road or St Mary’s Fish & Chip Shop, has a poster on the wall advertising the alternative, which they offer if you haven’t specifically requested Cod. The Blue Wave also offers Haddock but the people in St Mary’s are usually more jolly!
All this talk of fish and chip shops has not only made me crave some late night chips, but may have inspired me to offer my recipe for Home Made Battered Fish!
Thanks for that. It probably is the pollock that I’m thinking of. I’m a bit of a Blue Wave loyalist, partly because it’s opposite the Baptist Church Hall, where my daughter’s Guides meet. The staff there get jollier the more you go, I find. The jolliest chip shop staff in Harborough, funnily enough, are in the Chip Inn. There’s a woman there with very Firm Views about the Importance of Good Manners in the Younger Generation.
Would orange roughy work? Yea…I hadn’t heard of it either until I moved stateside!
VG: If it’s of a firm texture, there’s no reason why not. Try it and see, I say!
BW: Have you ever been into the Baptist Cafe? The coffee’s appalling but everything else is fine and incredibly cheap, and it offers unique people watching opportunities.
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