Fish ‘n’ samphire
Ambling down the high street today, I noticed samphire for sale at the fruiterer. Samphire is only around for about a month (and it has no shelf life at all), so gather ye samphire while ye may.
It’s not actually seaweed, though it looks it. It grows wild in the marshes near the sea and it is salty as a bastard. I’m sure it has all kinds of interesting minerals and shit, but mostly it’s nice with things that need lots of salt, like fresh fish and new potatoes. It’s become something of a trendy veg, but I like it anyway.
This ugly bastard is a European plaice. It’s the local flounder and nearby Rye Bay is famous for being stuffed full of them. It’s deelicious.
Fun fact: flat fish are born with eyes on either side of their heads like normal fish. Then, as they mature, the fish flops on one side and the back eye takes a mystical journey through the fish’s head and pops out on top. No wonder he’s making that face.
There’s a fish shop not far away, by the water. Once a day, a Rye registered fishing boat pulls up and offloads its catch, including loads of plaice. Often the poor bastards are still dreaming of the sea floor. I had him filleted though, so this guy isn’t dreaming of anything any more, guaranteed.
It’s plaice and samphire for this little mustelid tonight. I don’t usually blog my supper, but I thought this was local enough to be interesting.
Posted: August 13th, 2015 under food, personal.
Comments: 12
Comments
Comment from bad cat robot
Time: August 13, 2015, 9:56 pm
I’ve actually had that salty sea vegetable stuff, but they didn’t call it that. And yes, it was a trendy restaurant (not my choice don’t judge me!)
Oh and Stoaty, I saw this and instantly thought of you 🙂
http://www.suffolkgazette.com/news/morris-dancers-blind-footballers-brawl/ Pity there isn’t video…
Comment from mojo
Time: August 13, 2015, 10:26 pm
I don’t think the eye goes through it’s head. just sorta migrates around…
Comment from Nina
Time: August 13, 2015, 11:31 pm
That’s what I thought, too, Mojo.
So how do you cook that stuff?
Comment from PatAZ
Time: August 14, 2015, 12:42 am
Just looking at the head part without the rest of the fish, it kinda looks like a frog. Does it taste like regular old flounder or something else entirely? And the first thing I thought of when I saw the samphire (which I have never heard of) was chicken feet. Cleaned chicken feet, ready for frying. Yes, I’m a southerner and we did cook them.
Comment from Uncle Al
Time: August 14, 2015, 12:45 am
Sounds quite lovely, stoaty. I’d like to try that myself.
How about my local dinner? Yuca frita, ceviche con pulpo, palmito, flan. Not bad, eh? (I’m in San Isidro de el General, Costa Rica this week and next.)
Comment from catnip
Time: August 14, 2015, 3:49 am
Yumm! I bet he was delicious. Except for being lighter in color, he looks like my favorite seafood–halibut.
Comment from J.S.Bridges
Time: August 14, 2015, 5:05 am
…he looks like my favorite seafood–halibut.
When we took an Alaskan cruise (many years ago, now), our final stop (we flew home the next day) was in Anchorage, where – as in many tour-stops along the Alaskan Coast – fresh seafood is a fairly-big item in restaurants, ‘specially the tourist-oriented ones. They sold “souvenir of Alaska” t-shirts around there that said “…I’m Only Here For The Halibut!”
Actually saw a guy wearing one, right out on the street.
Tasty stuff, it was, too – the fish, not the t-shirts – though I personally preferred the fresh-caught salmon, which was also widely available thereabouts…
…a European plaice. It’s the local flounder…
Whether called plaice or flounder (or another, even-older name, “flatfish”) or a similar breed called halibut, it is indeed mighty tasty stuff – also good with sides of crispy home-fries and cole slaw, maybe with a li’l tartar ‘n lemon or even a sprinkle of A-1 sauce on top.
Halibut steaks – good eatin’, you bet…
Hadn’t heard of samphire before, though; thanks, have to look into that…
Comment from J.S.Bridges
Time: August 14, 2015, 6:46 am
Ran across this whilst snoopin’ about on the subject of samphire, thought you might just find it of interest – they’re apparently in Norfolk somewhere, call themselves a “smallholding”…
Comment from SCOTTtheBADGER
Time: August 14, 2015, 8:45 am
Great Whites like halibut. http://www.lovelab.id.ucsb.edu/MrHalibut.htm# By the way, you aren’t supposed to call them Great Whites any more, just White Sharks. Calling them Great Whites implies that they are great because they are white. I am not making this up.
Comment from Deborah HH
Time: August 14, 2015, 12:38 pm
To make Stoaty laugh:
http://www.gocomics.com/thegrizzwells/2015/08/14
Comment from S. Weasel
Time: August 14, 2015, 7:46 pm
Yay! It’s Weasel Day!
Luck to y’all…
Comment from mojo
Time: August 15, 2015, 6:34 pm
Halibut is a very tasty fish, light, white and flaky. Try Macadamia butter with it.
Damn near as good as Cod.
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