SKATE WITH CHORIZO PIPERRADA

The first time I ate skate was with butter and capers, which is a very traditional, French way of cooking it. I love skate’s meaty texture but it’s a mild-flavoured fish by itself. Piperrada is a Basque dish of sautéd peppers and onions (sometimes with tomatoes). I add chorizo to it here, and the combination of the fat from the sausage and the sweetness from the peppers provides the punch the fish needs. When you get this dish right, it’s so tasty and juicy, and easy to eat too – there’s no fiddling around, you just have to push the flesh away from the bone. Skate isn’t something we eat a lot in Spain, but it’s unique in that it can be eaten both hot and cold. If you use jarred piquillo peppers instead of fresh, you can have this ready in 10 minutes.

FOR 4–6

80ml extra virgin olive oil

1 onion, julienned

1 red pepper, julienned

1 green pepper, julienned

200g whole chorizotos (baby chorizo)

1 bay leaf

565ml/1 pint of cider (Asturian or Aspall Suffolk cider)

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1kg skate wings (3cm thick portions – ask your fishmonger to skin them for you)

3 teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves

Put 15ml of olive oil into a pan on a medium heat. When hot, add the onions and peppers and cook for 15 minutes. Add the chorizotos and fry until they caramelize and start to lose some of their juices. Add the bay leaf and cider, then cook until reduced slightly and amalgamated with the chorizo juice to make a sauce (around 5–6 minutes). Season to taste.

Put the rest of the olive oil into a large pan on a medium heat. Season the skate with salt and pepper. Depending on the size of your pan, you might need to cook the fish in two batches. Fry the thickest side first, for around 4–5 minutes, then flip and season the other side and cook for around 2–3 minutes. To check if the skate is cooked, pierce with a knife to see if the flesh comes away from the bone. If it’s still attached, give it another 30 seconds or so. Remove from the pan and leave to rest for a couple of minutes.

Serve the skate with the chorizotos and peppers on the side, and sprinkle over the chopped parsley.