A fish feast

I was entertaining two friends last weekend, both of them a big fans of mussels, but only get to eat them when they eat out, so I thought I would buy as big a bag as I could carry and cook up a feast at home.  Luckily I was nearby Borough Market, close to London Bridge, so I made a detour there to check out what was on offer.  I picked up 2kgs of mussels (we like them a lot!) from the Furness Fish stall, and was going to get some large prawns for a starter, but instead saw some great looking sardines on display at Applebees, a fishmongers/fish cafe on the edges of the market.  Last but not least I stopped for a baguette to mop up the mussels cooking broth, at Flourpower City Bakery, and then trundled home on the Central line with my fishy purchases.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the classic moules marinere, with shallots, garlic, white wine and a little cream, but I wanted to try something a bit different for my friends which I knew they’d like.  It turns the mussels from a French classic into a modern spicy Thai dish whereby you steam the mussels in a green curry style broth instead.  If you have time, then make your own curry paste, or simply use a ready made one, which is what I did as I was a bit pressed for time.  The only time consuming bit when you are doing mussels is the cleaning and checking bit, especially when you have 2kgs to go through.  Fill the sink, tip in the mussels, and give each one a quick scrub, remove the beard if there is one and set aside.  Discard any that have broken shells.  If any are open set them to one side in a pan with a lid, then once you have finished cleaning them, give the open ones a vigorous shake in a closed pan and you should find that they start to close.  Any that remain open after this should be discarded.  Then cover the bowl of good mussels with a damp tea towel and leave in the fridge until needed.  Don’t worry that they may start to re-open again once you take them out of the fridge, give the bowl a good shake and they will start to re-close.



Sardines are a delicious fish with really good strong flavour.  They evoke memories of Mediterranean BBQ’s for me, as I think there is no better way to eat them than this.  Sadly it wasn’t quite BBQ weather outside so I cooked these under the grill after having simply marinated them for a couple of hours.  The fishmonger cleaned and gutted the fish for me,  but he left the heads on and bones in, so it was up to me to do a bit of filleting.  Thankfully these little fish are pretty easy to prepare for the grill.  Remove the head and then place the fish belly side down, spreading it out slightly and begin to flatten it out starting at the head end with the heel of your hand, and working down to the tail.  Turn it over and lift up the tail bone starting at the head end.  It should start to come away from the flesh easily but you may need to help it along the way.  Remove any stray bones you can see with tweezers.  Now your fillets are ready for the marinade. 

Thai Style Mussels

For 4 (or 3 hungry people)

2kgs mussels cleaned and checked as above

2tbsps oil

1 can coconut milk (400mls)

2 shallots finely diced

2 tbsps thai green or red curry paste

2tbsps fish sauce

2tbsp lime juice

handful fresh chopped coriander

2 spring onions shredded into matchsticks

• You need a big cooking pot with a lid that will hold all the mussels with the lid firmly closed.  Heat the oil and fry off the shallots for 2-3 minutes until soft.  Add the curry paste and stir fry for another 2 minutes.
• Pour in the coconut milk, fish sauce and lime juice and bring to the boil.
• Once boiling tip in the mussels and close the lid and leave for 5 minutes, give the pan a good shake mid way through.  After 5 minutes give the mussels a good stir with a large spoon.  If they are open then they are ready.
• Discard any that don’t open, and serve on a large warmed platter and sprinkle with coriander and spring onion.  Serve with crusty bread to mop up the juices and provide warm bowls for your guests to serve themselves with.

Sardines with garlic, lemon & parsley

For 3-4 people
2-3 sardines per person filleted as before
3 cloves garlic crushed with salt
zest & juice of 1 large lemon
3 tbsps olive oil
2 handfuls of roughly chopped flat leaf parsley
salt & pepper to taste

• mix all the marinade ingredients into a small dish and stir well.  Pour over the sardines, ensuring they are all well covered in the marinade.  Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before cooking.
• Pre-heat the grill to a medium-high heat and place skin side up.  Pour over any remaining marinade.  Grill for 2 minutes either side – the skin side should start to brown and go crisp.
• Serve with lemon wedges and some crisp green salad on the side, and not forgetting a glass of chilled white wine!