Norwegian Skrei cod - in season now!

Down at Billingsgate Market in London where our Kitchen is located, we have seen the arrival of wonderful Skrei cod, from the cod waters of Norwegian seas.  It is line-caught and sustainable, and much favoured by Michelin starred chefs and restaurants, as it’s a real seasonal treat to have on our plates right now!

I immediately got thinking about recipes – to keep it true to itself and to pair it with complementary flavours: it would work well with lovely puy lentils, or black beluga lentils with chorizo. Alternatively it would be delicious with a beetroot salsa, or salsify and tender-stem broccoli in a caper-beurre-noisette. 

I have also been thinking about how to use it in Platter and Slate canapés and catered events. If you are having a party or a wedding between now and April, ask me how to build in Skrei cod into your menu.  

We offer seasonal menus at Platter and Slate for all our food, whether it’s sharing platters or canapés or wedding food, which is why we are very excited about the short season of Skrei cod.

A recipe idea, if you happen to get hold of some from your fish monger: 

Pan-fried skrei cod with caper-beurre-noisette

Make sure the cod's skin is dry and cold – keeping it cold helps the skin crisp up, as the oils in the skin set.  Heat up a good pan with a little bit of oil to a medium-high heat. At the same time, set the oven to 200 degrees.  Place the fish in the pan skin-side down and leave it – it will unstick itself so please do not be tempted to prod!  After a few minutes and when the skin has released, transfer to a baking sheet lined with some baking paper, or if you used an oven friendly frying pan, put that straight into the oven. Bake for around 4 mins, depending on size.  When it is cooked you should see large opaque white flakes. If it needs longer, put it back into the oven for no more than one minute at a time – the aim is to keep the moisture in the fish, not leaked onto the baking paper.

To make the beurre-noisette, get everything ready to go.  Finely chop a large tablespoon of parsley, and a tablespoon of capers. Have a half a lemon cut ready to squeeze.  Put 100g butter into a pan to melt, watch it and stay with it - it will foam and sizzle. After this stage it will start to turn to a nutty brown look and smell. It’s the butter solids which are at this stage turning from melting to cooking and it doesn’t take long before it burns, so once it has stopped foaming, if you can see the darkening and smell the nuttiness, put the capers and parsley straight in - it will sizzle and spit a bit. Add a good squeeze of lemon and now pour it over and around the cod.  Be careful not to leave the lemon sizzling for too long.  

Keep in touch, for recipes from the Platter and Slate menu board

Find out more about Skrei cod, from www.norway.org.uk