Fresh fish can be an intimidating thing for many home cooks, says Ben Thorpe. Without access to a reputable fishmonger for advice on different cuts and cooking techniques, it can be easy to get swept up in self-doubt and let the fear of ruining an expensive piece of fish take over.
Similarly, sourcing seafood can be an intimidating experience if one is starting from a position of relative ignorance. Step forward Mitch Tonk’s Rockfish Seafood at Home offering that is setting out to offer high quality, incredibly fresh fish for the home cook along with enough guidance to demystify its preparation and make sure you end up with the perfect dish.
The range of fresh fish varies week to week and is made up of a limited number of portions of whatever has been landed.
With a few of the cuts topping £18 for a single portion, it makes it all the more important that the accompanying guidance hits the spot and lets you make the most of your investment. Your delivery, which arrives in recyclable or returnable packaging, also comes with an engaging booklet that lays out what cooking techniques best suit each cut of fish, all presented simply and with handy tips for flavour pairings and which of the flavoured butters to use.
Irrespective of the price though, it’s hard to argue with the freshness here as the fish is portioned immediately after landing before being shipped for next day delivery.
I opted to get stuck into some Gurnard first that I pan-fried and finished with some of the Rockfish Bearnaise butter to serve with asparagus and roasted baby potatoes. These fillets were just the right size for a light meal and were slightly oily, reminiscent of mackerel but much more subtle to make a positive first impression of the Rockfish
offering.
Next up, some smoked haddock that I oven roasted with some kedgeree butter for a memorable breakfast when sandwiched between a slice of sourdough toast from a local baker and a fresh poached egg from next door’s chickens. It’s not hyperbolic to say that this was one of the best brunches ever eaten in this house, and the kedgeree butter has been depleted quickly in the aftermath too.
Scallops require a bit more thought in their presentation, with my efforts throwing into sharp relief the skills that chefs put on the plate, but regardless of the slightly amateurish plating, the result hit its mark perfectly. These were some of the sweetest scallops I’ve yet had the pleasure of and set the scene for a real headliner in the form of a Turbot T-bone. Cut from the centre part of the fish and with the bone remaining in situ this was my first time eating this cut, and indeed cooking it though by now I was confident in the guidance that accompanied it.
Simply oven-roasted and well seasoned this was a memorable bit of food, the meat remaining succulent and flaking apart beautifully to work well with sauteed spinach and a roasted then seared cauliflower steak. Last up were some Hake fillets that I cooked en papillote (using parchment to create a tight parcel in which to roast them) to great effect and served with more of the well-judged Kedgeree butter.
This service from Rockfish is a cohesive and well thought out way to experiment with seafood cookery at home, making sure that you get the best out of the produce you order and giving transferable instruction on how to cook seafood consistently.
This is a premium product, with most single portions around £7-£10 and rising close to £20, but there’s no doubting the quality of the seafood, the accompanying flavoured butters and sauces or the guidance surrounding it. It’s also a great way to try different cuts and different fish as the range changes. I’ll be keeping up to date on what’s available and putting in a repeat order when something catches my eye.
It’s also worth checking out the recently launched range of tinned fish that Rockfish launched recently, in particular, the mussels are as unique as they are irresistible – I would be sneaking those into any subsequent orders.
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