Poached plaice with cider and onions

Please excuse my mini blogging hiatus, caused by a combination of too much work to do in the working, a funeral that made writing about food seem self-indulgently irrelevant, and yesterday spent at work (again). I feel like a snail inching painfully slowly towards Easter, which isn't coming nearly quickly enough for me. I managed to miss St Patrick's Day and the excuse to make Nigella's chocolate Guiness cake but I won't miss out on Easter's culinary possibilities. Oh and today is Mother's Day, but my mother is sunning herself on an all-inclusive in Gran Canaria (postcard arrived earlier this week, showing a huge, white hotel sitting amidst greenery and swimming pools) while Simon's lives at the other end of the country. So no excuse there either for a baking fest - although I may well bake anyway later, because who needs an excuse, really? The weather forecast gloomily predicted snow today, but outside looks the same as always, bright-skied but icily windy. Just the right weather for chocolate..

Anyway for Valentine's Day, as reported a few posts back, Simon bought me The Fishmonger's Book, by Mitchell Tonks (a re-issue of his book Fresh). You'll have seen Mitch on various cookery programmes, typically grinning widely and enthusiastically as he raves about cooking and eating fish. I am perpetually on the look-out for new ways to cook fairly standard fish, as most recipe books include fish that I am simply unable to find. Also fish is a good weekday food because it is simple and speedy to prepare and cook; it would be an even better option if there were more fishmongers around. This book is endorsed by Jamie and Nigel and begins with the premise that the best seafood dishes tend to be the simplest, which sounds like a mantra for home cooking. Mitch begins with guides to buying, preparing and cooking fish, before launching into a series of appetising recipes divided as follows: 'favourites', 'pasta and rice with seafood', 'easy everyday seafood', 'easy food for guests', 'special occasions', 'eating outdoors' and 'side dishes'. Recipes like 'fried swordfish Milanese style with wild oregano and anchovy', 'linguine with scallops, artichokes and walnuts', 'haddock with creamed leeks, runner beans and chervil', 'sea bass with roasted whole garlic, rosemary and chilli', all sound extremely appetising. Not every recipe is accompanied by a photo; those that are make you crave fish as you read. It will be a particularly good book in the summer; many of the recipes have a Mediterranean vibe and will feel appropriate in the warmer months here.



For now, though, I tried poached plaice with cider and onions, from easy everyday seafood: characteristically simple, but I'd never poached fish in cider before. It was good; the cidery juices that were left to pour over the fish were very tasty and worked well with the plaice. As suggested I served with haricot beans dressed with thyme and olive oil, and - not as suggested - some purple sprouting broccoli.


Ingredients:

2 fillers of plaice
25 g butter
a glug of olive oil
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
500 ml dry cider
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs fresh thyme
small handful fresh parsley, finely chopped

Melt the butter in a heavy-bottomed pan and add the olive oil. Add the onions and cook slowly for 10-15 minutes so that they gently brown and melt but do not fry. Add the garlic, cider, bay leaves and thyme and simmer for 5-6 minutes. Add the fish and, with the liquid barely simmering, allow it to poach for 6-7 minutes. Lift the fish fillets out and place them on a serving plate. Add the parsley to the pan, turn the heat up and reduce the liquid by a third. Season to taste.
Place a pile of onions on top of each piece of fish and spoon the juices around. Creamy mashed potato, haricot beans dressed with thyme and olive oil, or buttered cabbage with just a bit of shredded smoked bacon are great with this.