Back in the Kitchen: A Good Fish Supper

I had a craving for a fish supper, not fish and chips, something a little healthier but needed some inspiration. So I went to my local supermarket which has a really good fish counter. There was a special offer on sea bass, so I bought two whole and two fillets. I prefer my fish on the bone, it has much more flavour and I like prising all the lovely bits of fish of the bones but David prefers fillets and there is no persuading him otherwise. On to the veg and I bought three whole endives(chicory) and some Israeli samphire which has a lovely salty tang of the sea to it.

I decided to bake the fish as it is a much less smelly business than grilling it. I put the fish on a bed of samphire and half a lemon cut into chunks. I topped it with the remains of a jar of capers, two anchovy fillets which had been lingering in the back of the fridge for too long, a couple of glugs each of virgin olive oil and white wine, seasoned with some Maldon salt and ground black pepper. This went into a medium-hot oven for about 20 minutes or so. I haven't a clue what temperature it was because all the numbers have come off my oven and I have to guess. I reckon about 200C. Since last night when I cooked this, my oven totally overheated, melting the internal clock. I think my it may be on its last legs, we'll see what the engineer says tomorrow.

I wasn't too sure what to do with the endives. I've only had them in salad before. My mother in law adores it, she calls it chicon, she ate it in Belgium as a child before the war . I didn't want a salad, I felt like cooking it so it would blend well with the fish juices. I needed inspiration and advice. So I turned to my one of my trusty Nigel Slater books called "Real Cooking". I love the way he writes about food with total honesty and lack of pretension. You feel like you are sitting in his kitchen watching him cook because that is what he is...a great cook and a wonderful food writer. Anyhow, he writes that endives do very well married with strong flavours such as dijon mustard and rich ingredients like cream. I didn't want to make anything too rich, we are trying to eat light.

The other book I researched was "Roast Chicken and Other Stories" by Simon Hopkinson who used to be the chef at the Normandie in Birtle near Bury. I remember it as being a very posh restaurant on the odd occasion that I went with my parents in the late 70's and early 80's. Simon Hopkinson trained there and he writes a very long piece in his book all about the endive and how when he first started at the Normandie at the age of 16, he detested the vegetable. The owner and chef, Monsieur Yves Champeau decided to break the young lad in by inviting him to a lunch which comprised mainly of chicory cooked in every manner conceivable!

After my research I concluded that the best and simplest way to prepare the endives was to braise them in a splash of water, a generous knob of salted butter and a squeeze of lemon juice. I cooked them on the hob in a cast iron pan (which was a wedding present!) for about 20 minutes till they were golden brown and bathed in a lovely savoury juice. There was a tinge of bitterness but it was delicious. I am thinking of reheating the leftovers under a grill with a topping of grated cheese, cooked till bubbling and golden.

Finally, the potatoes. My organic veg order contained a bag of lovely new potatoes, and I wanted something crunchy to go with the fish and endives. So I cut a few into rough little squares with the skins on, tossed them in a couple of teaspoons of olive oil and baked them in the oven along with the fish, till they were all brown and crispy.