Pot-roasted Gurnard

River Cottage guru, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall loves fish. As a celebrity chef, people listen to Hugh. He’s someone who knows a thing or two when it comes to what we put on our plates. And if Hugh’s worried, we all should be. Right now, Hugh is concerned that over-fishing could seriously threaten the future of our fish supper. He says we should try something different and stop having a blinkered snobbery when it comes to fish by just asking for the traditional favourites.

We couldn’t agree more! So cook up Hugh’s one-pot casserole brimming with winter veg.

Serves 4
Like poultry and meat, whole fish work well in a one-pot casserole brimming with winter veg. If the vegetables are sweated for a while first, they can finish cooking in the time it takes a couple of nice whole fish to cook through, and lend their delicious juices to the dish. Pat Carlin, our regular River Cottage skipper, reckons this is the best way he’s ever tasted gurnard – and it’s one of his favourite fish.

A large knob of unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium leeks, white part only, cut into 2cm thick slices
300g celeriac, peeled and cut into 2cm
chunks 2 onions, thickly sliced 2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
2 large carrots, cut into 2cm chunks
1 large (about 1.5kg) or 2 medium (about750g) or 4 small (about 400g) gurnard (or other whole fish), descaled and gutted
A glass of white wine 2 bay leaves Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

Put the butter and olive oil in a large flameproof casserole over a medium-low heat. Add all the vegetables, season well and toss them in the fat, then sweat gently for about 10 minutes, until they begin to soften. Don’t let them colour.

Season the gurnard with salt and pepper, then add it to the pan, pushing it down so it is snuggled in among the aromatic vegetables. Sprinkle over the wine and a glass of water, tuck in the bay leaves and cover the dish. Bring to a gentle simmer on the hob.

Now transfer the casserole to an oven preheated to 180°C/Gas Mark 4 and bake for 30–40 minutes, depending on the size of fish. To check that the fish is ready, insert the tip of a knife at the thickest part to pull the flesh away from the bone. It should be opaque all the way through.
If you have one or two larger fish, take the flesh off the bones in big chunks. Otherwise, simply serve one fish per person, with plenty of the vegetables and juices alongside.

Article source the Marine Conservation Society Good Fish Guide – The consumer guide to sustainable seafood

A Senseless Waste of Good Food?

Every day far out at sea half the fish caught in the North Sea are being thrown back dead. That’s almost a million tonnes of edible fish every year – wasted. Fishermen hate doing it, but EU law says they have to. They call it “discarding”. What would you call it? Madness? An environmental crime? A senseless waste of good food? We want to stop it. Join the discard protest at http://www.fishfight.net

On two occasions, at Brussels and Strasbourg, Bob Morris Managing Director of RG Morris & Son Ltd spoke to Roger Helmer the European Parliament representative for the East Midlands, about the ludicrous and unfair European fishing policy, in particular the returning of dead fish to the sea that the British fishermen have to adhere to!

Mr Helmer totally agreed and said it was bad for jobs, bad for the environment, bad for the fish industry and bad for Britain!

He took Bob’s complaints to the minister who said that they were well aware of the problems and would be doing something about it, that was over two years ago so don’t hold your breath!

Hugh’s Fish Fight FREE iPhone App

R G Morris and Son have been delighted with and are proud to support Hugh’s Fish Fight so we thought we’d better tell you about the Hugh’s Fish Fight FREE iPhone App which you can download here

We know it can sometimes seem confusing to decide which fish you should be eating so Hugh worked with the Marine Conservation Society and Selfridges to make it really simple for you. Hugh’s Fish Fight app contains MCS’ easy-to-use lists of Fish to Eat and Fish to Avoid with illustrations, tips and videos.

If you like eating out, Fish2Fork’s restaurant guide is also included in the app to make it easier for you to do so sustainably.

Hugh has included some of his personal favourite fish recipes and there are many others from top chefs who were involved in Selfridges Project Ocean Campaign.

Hugh’s Fish Fight

R G Morris & Son are supporting Hugh’s Fish Fight

Around half of the fish caught by fishermen in the North Sea are unnecessarily thrown back into the ocean dead. The problem is that in a mixed fishery where many different fish live together, fishermen cannot control the species that they catch.

Fishing for one species often means catching another, and if people don’t want them or fishermen are not allowed to land them, the only option is to throw them overboard.

The vast majority of these discarded fish will die.

Because discards are not monitored, it is difficult to know exactly how many fish are being thrown away. The EU estimates that in the North Sea, discards are between 40% and 60% of the total catch. Many of these fish are species that have fallen out of fashion: we can help to prevent their discard just by rediscovering our taste for them.

Others are prime cod, haddock, plaice and other popular food species that are “over-quota”. The quota system is intended to protect fish stocks by setting limits on how many fish of a certain species should be caught.

Fishermen are not allowed to land any over-quota fish; if they accidentally catch them – which they can’t help but do – there is no choice but to throw them overboard before they reach the docks.

On two occasions, at Brussels and Strasbourg, Bob Morris Managing Director of RG Morris & Son Ltd spoke to Roger Helmer the European Parliament representative for the East Midlands, about the ludicrous and unfair European fishing policy, in particular the returning of dead fish to the sea that the British fishermen have to adhere to!

Mr Helmer totally agreed and said it was bad for jobs, bad for the environment, bad for the fish industry and bad for Britain!

He took Bob’s complaints to the minister who said that they were well aware of the problems and would be doing something about it, that was over two years ago so don’t hold your breath!

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has been travelling around the UK meeting fishermen, marine conservationists, politicians, supermarkets bosses, and of course fish-eating members of the public.

The website, fishfight.net is the campaign hub accompanying Hugh’s Fish Fight and will be continuing its work over the coming months. There you can find out more about the issues raised and lend your support to the campaign.

You can also follow the progress of Hugh’s Fish Fight on Facebook and Twitter.

Hugh’s Fish Fight is supported by a wide coalition of environmental Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and, they hope, by a growing number of fishermen and policy makers too.

A vital part of the campaign, and the area where they are currently looking for public support, is the issue of discards at sea.

R G Morris & Son, along with 646,532 other people are supporting the campaign so far.

By visiting the website and supporting this campaign, your name will be added to a letter to be sent to Commissioner Maria Damanaki, members of the Common Fisheries Policy Reform Group, and all MEPs

Sustainable Fishing…

Some fishing methods have now been found to damage the environment and have become an unacceptable way of sourcing fish.

Ethical Fresh Fish Sourcing Policy…

As a company, R G Morris and Son endeavor to provide fish and seafood caught through sustainable methods… thus promoting and helping to ensure that our industry continues to grow and improve in a viable way, helping to keep fish stocks at healthy levels and allowing us to provide the seafood you want!

Eco Alternatives…

Instead of cod and haddock, try hoki or pollock. For skate try herring. Try grey mullet in place of sea bass or John Dory instead of monkfish.