What the fish stall at Parliament Hill Farmer's Market catch varies a lot, but if you see any sand dab, they are well worth a shot. Sand dab are by far the most common flat fish, and very sustainable as wild fish go. When the fish stall does sell them, they you can probably get around three for a fiver so there is no excuse not to treat yourself!
It always amuses me that, like sole, dab are of a type of
fish that is born with eyes on the left and right of its head before one eye
travels over and the fish becomes a flat fish as it grows up. The sand dab I
bought had a delicious, delicate flavour to them much like good lemon sole but
much cheaper. The fish are admittedly a little smaller than the more expensive
flat fish so arguably a bit more fiddly, but if you cook them right the flesh
will slide beautifully off the bones.
My recipe is very simple so you can taste how fresh the fish
are.
Dab and Salsa Verde
Serves 3
Prep time: 15 mins
Serving suggestions: warmed
up ciabatta and a couple of salads
3 large sand dab
1 teacup full of plain white flour
Salt
Pepper
Oil for frying
Lemon to serve
20g basil (leaves picked)
20g mint (leaves picked)
20g parsley ((leaves picked)
4 anchovy fillets
1 small crushed clove of garlic
1 tbsp capers
250ml extra virgin olive oil
Juice of 1 lemon
Finely slice the herbs (if you use a food processor it won’t
be quite as nice) with the crushed garlic, anchovies and capers. I like to use a mezzaluna such as this one since it really speeds up the process.
Then stir in the lemon and oil until all incorporated and you are done.
For the fish
Dust the fish in seasoned flour. Heat up a large, flat pan with a coating of oil to a medium heat. Once the oil is hot, drop the fish in and cook for 3-4 minutes per side.
