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Galton Blackiston of Morston Hall prepares a favourite
fish dish.
Skate wing has to be one of the most underrated of
fish. I believe that beautifully fresh skate wing
is second to none. Although you must make sure that
the skate is really, really fresh.
Do this by being cheeky and asking to smell the skate
wing prior to buying; if you detect an ammonia type
of smell coming from the fish don’t buy it. Also, slightly
unusually, get your fishmonger to take the wings off
the bone.
This makes getting the skate cooked perfectly so much
easier. The recipe I am giving you is a fairly classic
way of serving skate, maybe with some new potatoes and
green beans to make a wonderful supper dish. It really
is easy.
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Pan
fried fillet of skate wing served with a beurre
noisette
Serves six.
3 or at least 1lb (450gms) skate wings For the
beurre noisette you will need: 1oz (25gms) small
capers (if you can’t get them, ordinary ones will
do) 3oz (75gms) salted butter 6tbs finely chopped
parsley 3tbs lemon juice salt and pepper
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Bone the fish
Begin by taking the fish off the bone; this is easier
than it seems. You need a sharp knife and confidence.
Do this in the morning for the evening and keep in the
fridge.
Heat the pan
Ten minutes before serving, have a frying pan and a
deep-sided saucepan ready. Firstly, heat your frying
pan and throw in the butter, once it foams add the skate
wings, making sure you have room to turn them.
Fry and season
Quickly fry until golden on each side and season. Then
take out and put on a baking sheet.
Make the sauce
Have your oven set at 200C/400F/gas 6. Now heat the
saucepan and place in the 3oz (75gms) of butter, let
it foam and then turn nutty brown, at this stage add
the lemon juice and capers. Finally add the chopped
parsley and your sauce is ready.
Cook the skate
Now place the skate wings in the oven for about five
minutes until the flesh starts to separate when pressed.
Beware not to overcook the skate. Serve with the beurre
noisette and lots of crusty bread.
This is, for me, the best way of serving skate. It is
important the skate is beautifully fresh with no ammonia
smell, and although the dish needs to be cooked at the
last minute, the skate can be prepared in the morning
along with chopping the parsley and being well organised.
So you just need to cook the fish and throw in the sauce
ingredients at the last minute. Go for it, it’s well
worth it.
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