oh fish in the sea...tales of fishing and cooking

snapper soup...hvala gospodja lutza

hello viewers today is fish friday! 

if someone told me that i was only allowed to eat fish for the rest of my life i for one could probably handle that imposition although some of you might consider that torture. (personally i believe that eating marzipan is torture in itself...a big yucko from me but lovie she can inhale that stuff, she must have tastebuds of steel!!). nothing better than freshly caught fish i say and a spot of fishing for fun. being of croatian descent (although not many would select that as their first choice, just call me the chameleon of the multicultural world, sometimes it pays to be venezuelan...tee hee)  it seems as though some of us were born with a filleting knife in our hands. it is not surprising to find that a high proportion of croatian immigrants who found their way to australian shores headed straight for the coastline and into a boat. my dad was not one of those but probably would have been happier if he had. dreamer of the sea he certainly was never without a boat of his own. from the very first wooden boat that he and my uncles went out in, to the eighteen foot fibreglass one he designed and outfitted himself. and lastly the one he fantasises about when he wins x-lotto,...mm, i know that tale well but good luck with that one anyway. still i have fond memories and maybe not so fond memories of family fishing expeditions plus a few personal ones; my favourite being catching baracuda on the cocos keeling islands. (apparently not good eating but certainly exciting to catch). if game fishing is your style then cocos just might be the place for you.

     so to fish friday viewers. do you like eating fish? is that a big yes? a big no? or perhaps you don't mind? do you have a favourite? and if so, what is it? i have a few personal favourites which remind me of my childhood as well as some favourite ways in which i like to eat particular ones. number one on my list is flathead. this once humble fish has now sky rocketed to the realm of expensive. why i can't tell you, unless there is some fishing expert who can enlighten me. flathead in my books is not only delicious but versatile when it comes to cooking. simply pan fried, fish cakes, fish curry, you name it and you can do it. flounder reminds me of when i was a girl as well as the humble leather jacket. can't say i have eaten flounder in some time but leather jackets, lovie often cooks these for us for our customary tuesday night dinner at her place. barbequed or pan fried with olive oil, parsley and lemon...simple folks. sometimes simple is best as you want to taste the flavour not mask it. besides leather jackets are rather inexpensive on the fish scale of price. so why not buy some and give them a go. 
     whiting of course who does not like it? whiting seemed to be the jewel of the sea when it came to eating fish during our childhood days. haven't had it for a while unless someone is being generous and offering it fresh off the boat and that folks hasn't happened for  quite some time. next fish to surface is the very versatile snapper. mm, snapper conjures up many tasty memories, from teta wiesa's snapper salad to my favourite soup which incidentally we enjoyed today. the soup has been a long standing favourite in our family and compliments of gospodja lutza, a big thanks to her for teaching lovie how to make it. this soup is exquisite in flavour and as simple as it gets. however, you will have to rely on your culinary senses to get the flavour just right. i asked lovie for the recipe today. i will personally road test this for you viewers and report back with a standard recipe for you to try. (btw my dad's mate brought around a 4kg snapper yesterday caught fresh). once filleted, the head and carcass will be kept to form the body of this deliciously tasty soup. so no need to waste a thing readers. and yes the fillets are going to be used for a madras snapper curry for sunday. i have made this several times. so if you fancy some fish with a bit of spice this recipe from rick steins india is also easy to make and surprisingly quick for a curry.
     and lastly another favourite from childhood days which has become a bit of a staple in our household is of course prawns. cooked and eaten as is with a zesty cocktail sauce (which is another one of my culinary secrets), hee, hee...seriously you won't believe what goes into it, three ingredients and you will have someone asking you for the recipe i guarantee you that. i can't claim this to be one of my own but discovered this from someone who wrote the encyclopedia called catering shortcuts!!! lovie can lay claim to her infamous prawn curry which is a big winner. i have tweaked the recipe for prawn busara which is a croatian recipe that personally lends itself to sexy. so viewers that is my spiel for fish friday. i shall leave you with a few snaps and will continue the seafood theme tomorrow where i will introduce you to raw tuna and a recipe from cumulus for tuna tartare, followed by a personal favourite...paella. ole!!!

       so i will finish with a childhood recollection...oh fish in the sea come listen to me, my wife begs a wish from the magic fish. ever heard of that story viewers? the magic fish? as much as fishing has painted certain pictures of my childhood, this story left an idelible impression upon my young mind. not wanting to admit to my age but hey there were no smartboards or computers in my school days. we had to listen and we had to imagine. in some respects our brains had to exercise their way through making meaning and sense of the world. but i loved this story because the moral of the story just seemed to resonate with me.  and really it is still a lesson for today and always...

fish friday...salmon asian style, calamari and leather jackets cooked by lovie of course!