Sea the benefit of fresh fish

SEAFOOD has always been a passion of mine – I have always cooked in the fish section, worked in seafood restaurants or hotels and enjoyed preparing, cooking and serving the huge variety of creatures that we have in our waters.

As a chef, it is always an education to work with seafood. While you may learn to be quick and efficient with a knife when filleting different fish, and learn the craft of cooking and preparing lobsters, crab and langoustine, I have always found myself discovering something new, whether how to open a scallop even faster, trim a certain fish more accurately or cook a variety of clams I have never seen before.

There are so many different species and variations of fish and shellfish, you never stop learning. Even eating out, particularly abroad, we can always see types of fish we have never seen or cooked before.

I have been fortunate enough to have worked in some great restaurants and hotels in fantastic locations for the best pick of seafood and shellfish.

When we opened The Wee Restaurant in March 2006 my vision for the food was to serve the best, freshest seasonal ingredients available to us – always seasonal and where appropriate local, but only if it was of suitable quality and not just for the sake of it.

We are fortunate at the restaurant to have an excellent supplier for the majority of our fish and shellfish. David Lowrie delivers our fish every day, sometimes twice if I catch him.

While David supplies many of the top restaurants, buying fresh fish is also within public reach and I'd recommend Eddie's Seafood Market on Roseneath Street.

I often read articles about how fresh fish should be when you are buying it, things to look for and the fact that it is often a few days old before we even get it home from the shop or supermarket.

The idea of buying or eating fish not quite at its best or that has been sitting around in a fridge for a few days horrifies me.

The fish we buy at The Wee Restaurant is always incredibly fresh. The halibut will still be stiff with rigor mortis, monkfish brilliant white in colour, the flesh of cod so firm and tight that the pin bones are hell to remove, lobsters still crawling as they try to make the short distance from the restaurant back to the sea.

There are plenty of shops out there who can supply it but do demand to know how long something has been on the slab or what is fresh in to make the most of.

When you visit the fishmonger, don't go with too much of a preconceived idea about a certain type of fish. Instead, choose something really fresh and build your menu from that – this will ensure you have the building blocks for the start of a good dish.

We are very fortunate in Scotland to have what I believe is the best selection of seafood anywhere in the world. The advantage of Scotland being so small is that we can quickly transport the catch to our markets and shops within hours.

To me, seafood is the ultimate fast food – quick to cook and healthy. Even fish and chips isn't too bad occasionally!

• The Wee Restaurant, 17 Main Street, North Queensferry, 01383 616263.

Recipes

Herb crusted monkfish with red wine, tomato and garlic braised squid (Serves 4)
Ingredients:
1kg monkfish tail, trimmed
100g Japanese breadcrumbs
2 egg whites, beaten
1 clove of garlic
1 bunch parsley
thyme leaves
half a bunch of fresh coriander
seasoning
olive oil
Braised squid ingredients:
8 small baby squid or two to three larger
100g dried haricot beans
4 cloves of garlic finely sliced
4 shallots chopped
8 ripe plum tomatoes (skinned and de-seeded)
2 red peppers diced
1 fennel bulb chopped
1 star anise
100ml red wine
pinch cayenne
half a teaspoon paprika
1 litre of fish stock
half a bunch flat leaf parsley
50ml extra virgin olive oil

Method
Wash the squid and remove the outer skin, cartilage and ink sac. Clean again under cold water and pat dry. Cut each of the squid into approximately four sections lengthways.

Heat in a medium sized casserole pan the olive oil, add in the chopped garlic, shallots and star anise. Cook gently for two minutes then add peppers, fennel and the squid a minute later. Season lightly and cook for two to three minutes then add tomatoes, haricot beans, wine and cook again for a couple of minutes. Pour in the fish stock, bring to the boil, cover with greaseproof paper and place in the oven at 140C for one and a half to two hours. Add the chopped parsley.

To cook the monkfish remove the skin and sinew. Season generously with salt. Next, blitz the breadcrumbs, garlic and herbs in a food processor. Coat the fish in the egg and toss in the breadcrumbs.

Place the fish in a sauté pan with olive oil on medium heat and cook each side for a minute. Remove from the pan and place on a tray in the oven 150C for three to four minutes.

Spoon the squid into bowls and place monkfish on each.

Seared rare John Dory with thai broth (Serves 4-8)
Ingredients:
500ml fish stock
2 tablespoons soya sauce
1 tablespoon squid/fish sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
mild red chilli
1 stick lemongrass
2 dried lime leaves
1 shallot sliced
1 clove garlic sliced
1 knob of fresh ginger peeled and sliced
1 plum tomato quartered
stalks from fresh coriander
1 star anise

Broth method
Place all the ingredients in a large pan and bring to the boil. Turn off the heat and allow to cool. Pass through a fine sieve and reserve the liquid.

For the garnish:
1 red and 1 yellow pepper finely shredded
1 piece of mooli shredded
4 heads of pak choi leaves
1 bunch spring onions
100g basmati/thai rice cooked
coriander leaves, chopped

Place all of the ingredients in the broth and warm through. Spoon into bowls with some of the vegetables and broth.

To cook the John Dory, season four fresh steaks lightly, sear in a very hot pan for 30 seconds to a minute on each side and place on top of the broth.