As we’ve seen, gurnard is one of those fish that is less commonly eaten but does deliver some great flavour. It feeds mainly on crabs and shrimps, which I think gives the flesh some shellfish notes. It has a firm, creamy, white meat and is often used in fish stews or baked whole. It is not the easiest fish to fillet, given its shape, but my personal preference is for fish off the bone so, to me, it is worth the effort. Of course, a good fishmonger will happily fillet the fish for you.
As with many fish dishes, you can change the fish according to what is best at the time from your supplier. The potato and caper salad is hugely versatile and you could easily swap the gurnard for pollock or John Dory.
SERVES 4 AS A STARTER
For the dressing
6 sun-dried tomatoes
1 tbsp small capers, drained and rinsed
1½ tbsp lemon juice
50g crème fraîche
75ml light olive oil
1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the potato salad
50ml olive oil
350g small unpeeled new potatoes, boiled and cut into 1cm-thick rings
1 banana shallot, diced
1 tbsp small capers, drained and rinsed
½ lemon, zest only
1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the fish
50ml olive oil
2 large gurnard, filleted, pin-boned and trimmed
1 tbsp plain flour mixed with 2 tsp semolina, seasoned well
25g unsalted butter
Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1. To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients except the parsley in a small food processor. Blitz until smooth. Adjust the seasoning and add the parsley.
2. For the potato salad, heat the oil in a medium, non-stick frying pan and add the potatoes, followed by the diced shallot. Cook over a medium heat, turning frequently, until lightly coloured. Add the capers to the pan and remove from the heat. Grate the zest from the lemon on top and season. Set to one side while you cook the fish, and finish by stirring in the parsley just before serving.
3. To cook the fish, heat the oil in a large, non-stick pan, dust the skin side of the fillets with the seasoned flour mix and lay gently into the hot oil. Cook over a medium-high heat until the fish begins to crisp – around 2 minutes. Season the flesh side of the fish and add the butter to the pan. When the butter is foaming, baste the fish and then flip over. Cook on the flesh side until you can pierce the fish with a cocktail stick without feeling the fibres tearing. This will only take around 1 more minute. Remove the fish and drain on paper towel.
4. To serve, divide the potato salad between the plates, lay a fillet of gurnard across the top and dot some dressing around. If you wanted to serve this as a light lunch, a chicory salad would go well with the dish.