Nick Fisher
LATIN NAME
Pollachius virens
ALSO KNOWN AS
Saithe, coal fish, gilpin, greylord, sillack, piltlock
SEASONALITY
Avoid January–March when spawning
HABITAT
North Sea, northeast Atlantic
MCS RATING
2–4
REC MINIMUM SIZE
60cm
MORE RECIPES
Cod with fennel, capers and tomatoes; Pollack with courgettes and cannellini beans; Herbed pouting fish fingers; Crumbed whiting goujons with curried egg tartare
SOURCING
Time has been cruel to coley. Once it was revered all around the British Isles as a versatile staple. In Orkney, it was smoked; in Northumberland, wind-dried. Every region had its own pet name for it – gilpin, greylord, sillack, piltlock – and the most enduring old coley moniker, still used in Scotland, is saithe.
But this cousin of the codfish became less popular as cod became more readily available, even though the only real difference between the two is that cod meat is lily white and coley fillets are a bit grey. That and the fact that coley is currently a far more sustainable choice than cod. Apart from that, both bake, deep-fry and bulk out a fish pie with similar succulent style. In the wild, both grow to a similar size, inhabiting similar terrain and depths, with the coley favouring the cooler waters of the North Sea while cod will happily migrate south to the English Channel and even beyond.
If you’ve got adventurous guests, the head of a big coley is a great thing to bake, studded with garlic, bay leaves and anchovies. Simple, shallow-fried fillets with lemon and capers take a lot of beating too – but you can do with coley anything you’d do with cod or haddock.
As with much white fish, light salting firms up coley a little, making it particularly good: just sprinkle over 1½ tsp fine salt per fillet, leave to stand for 20–25 minutes then thoroughly wash off and pat dry before cooking (see next recipe).
A friend of mine who spent time on a Swedish commercial cod-fishing boat told me that the crew regularly caught coley too. These, he said, did not go into the hold but were saved for the crew’s dinner: they considered it superior to cod, which they thought of as flabby and boring. The Swedes called it by their own pet name, which translated to ‘white salmon’: a sign of deep respect that goes a little way to righting the wrongs that time has dealt this fine fish.
COLEY WITH BACON, APPLES AND HAZELNUTS
This is a very lovely way to eat this underrated fish (or any other white fish, such as pollack or pouting). The apples add an unusual fruity edge and the hazelnuts a delightful crunch. Serves 2
15g fine sea salt
½ tsp fennel seeds, roughly crushed
2 coley fillets (150–200g each)
2 knobs of butter
100g smoked bacon, chopped
2 eating apples, such as Cox or Orleans Reinette
1 tsp thyme leaves
25g hazelnuts (skin on or off)
Sea salt and black pepper
Lemon wedges, to serve
Scatter a pinch each of the salt and crushed fennel seeds on a plate. Put the fish on top, skin side down, and scatter the remaining salt and fennel over the flesh. Leave to stand for 20–25 minutes.
While the fish is salting, heat a non-stick medium frying pan over a medium heat. Add a knob of butter followed by the bacon. Fry, tossing regularly, until the bacon is beginning to turn golden at the edges.
Meanwhile, peel, quarter and core the apples. Cut the quarters into slim wedges and add them to the pan with the bacon. Add the thyme and hazelnuts and toss well. Cook for 4–6 minutes or until the apples are soft and golden and the bacon is crisping nicely. Remove to a bowl and keep warm.
Return the pan to the hob and increase the heat a little. Wash the salt and fennel off the fish under a gently running tap then pat dry on kitchen paper. Place the fish in the pan, skin side down, and fry for 3–4 minutes or until almost cooked through. Flip the fish over, add the second knob of butter and take off the heat. The residual heat of the pan will finish cooking the fish in about a minute.
Divide the warm apple and bacon mix between two plates and add a fish fillet to each. Serve at once, with lemon wedges. This is very good with a watercress salad on the side.