Photo by Rob Palmer
I’ve written about the inspirational and innovative “fish butcher” Josh Niland before, and rather than repeat my words about him, happy though I always am to do so, it seems more sensible to direct you to my review of his first book The Whole Fish Cookbook which featured in CookbookCorner a couple of years back.
Take One Fish is a further demonstration of his passionate belief that we need to think about cooking and eating fish in exciting new ways, with a very necessary emphasis on sustainability and waste-reduction. Right now, says Niland, approximately 50 per cent of all fish just goes to waste. “I’m not suggesting you go and eat the eyeballs out of every fish you buy at the shops, but this conversation is urgent: it’s past time to question the normalisation of half a fish going into the bin. My desire here, as it has been throughout my career, is to encourage you to see fish differently and to consider it as more than the sum of its fillets.”
But don’t worry! It’s not all innards and offcuts, though there are indeed recipes for both, including a beautiful Red Mullet and Sauce of its Offal (I was brought up being told that the liver was the choicest bit of a red mullet; here Niland uses absolutely everything bar the gills and gall bladder!) and Salt and Pepper John Dory Tripe. And while there are certainly recipes that are accessible to the everyday, if ambitious, cook (with the aid of a helpful fishmonger) — among them, Crumbed Herring with Kohlrabi Remoulade; Red Mullet in Roast Fennel Gravy; Potato Tart with Trout Roe Dressing; Tuna Mapo Tofu; Snapper Baked in Salt Pastry — there is no point denying that many recipes require access to fish more easily available in his native Australia (though obviously they can be adapted to other fish) and speak more to the inquisitive expert. However, and it is a big however, if you are at all interested in food and cooking generally, and fish and sustainability in particular, this is a book that will catch your imagination and truly inspire you. For those of us in this category, it is essential reading. I want to add, too, that this is a book full of simple tips to make cooking fish simpler; his advice that you should remove fish from its wrapping and leave it on a wire rack over a plate or tin in the fridge for a couple of hours or, in some cases, longer (as many know how to do with steak) will mean that you end up with much crisper skin and, as he says “give you confidence it won’t stick to the grill bars or pan”.
Anyway, the recipe I’ve chosen delightedly to share with you today is for Swordfish Schnitzel and Egg Salad: no special set of skills needed; deliciousness delivered!
Take One Fish: The New School of Scale-to-Tail Cooking and Eating by Josh Niland (Hardie Grant, £26).
Photography: Rob Palmer
