Photo by Chris Terry
I am tremulously grateful to the wine writer Fiona Beckett. If I hadn’t seen a recent Instagram post of hers about this glorious cookbook, I might, shamefully, never have known of its existence. I have since learnt it came out in May and am already regretting those lost months when I could have been cooking from it. And it’s a beautiful book. You can never have too many pictures of the sun glinting off the sea, as far as I’m concerned, and the food is both gorgeous and accessible. Mitch Tonks is pretty much Mr Seafood in the UK, and although I’ve yet to eat in one of his restaurants (this is to be rectified as soon as possible) this book is very much written with the home cook in mind. The love and enthusiasm that bounces off these pages is both infectious and uplifting, and his recipes — while always simple and streamlined — are bulging with flavour. Above all, there’s a cosiness to it all that can often be missing in fish cookbooks.
What’s more — as befits the subject — there’s a freshness about the recipes that has given me quite a spring in my step. I want to cook all of them and, since my weekends are dedicated to fish feasts, I rather think I will! So what have I earmarked to start with? The Mackerel Schwarma, for sure; then the Plaice Milanese, in other words, a breaded escalope; Poole Clam Chowder with Fried Bread; Crab Hummus, as divine as it sounds, with the brown meat folded into the pureed chickpeas, tahini, olive oil and lemon, and the white meat, tossed with dill, avocado, a tomato and a little more lemon juice, scattered on top; the Crispy Chilli Squid, inspired by the Chinese-recipe favourite, crispy chilli beef; Hake Kievs, the fish and chilled garlic butter encased in breadcrumbs and deep-fried; Fried scallops — small nuggets of them, encased in a tempura-like batter served with malt vinegar and jalapeño tartare; and the most inviting Smoked Haddock and Egg Hash that gave me great joy, and will be on regular rotation chez moi. There are, too, many plainer recipes, but these had my tastebuds dancing in advance. I love, too, the small section on sides and sauces at the back, including an impressive range of tartare sauces, beyond the jalapeño one already mentioned. And the Crispy Samphire Fritters, a concise one-paragraph recipe, deserves a mention all of its own. Nor should the fish finger taco go unrecorded. All I can tell you further is that this book just made me happy, makes me happy: who could ask for more?
But of course, there is one more thing: the recipe I am jubilantly sharing with you is his fantastic and joyously named Pizza Claminara; I love a New Haven Clam Pie, and adored this homespun, frying-pan version, although I might have to give it a go in my new pizza oven (about which, more on a later date) too.
Photo by Offshore Shellfish, Brixham
Image credit: Offshore Shellfish, Brixham.
From Rockfish by Mitch Tonks, published by Jon Croft Editions, 2021.
Photography by Chris Terry.
