Oily Fish

There are a staggering number of fish swimming in our oceans, and myriad ways in which to cook them. Although there are many species of fish, we have divided them into two families: oily and white. Oily fish have oils throughout the fillet and in the belly cavity, rather than only in the liver like white fish. Oily fish are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and are a good source of vitamins A and D. Oily fish include salmon, fresh tuna, trout, mackerel, sardines, anchovies, whitebait, kipper, swordfish and orange roughy. Tinned tuna loses much of its oils in the canning process and so is not strictly classified as ‘oily’, however we have included recipes for tinned tuna in this chapter. Oily fish have a stronger flavour than white fish, and can usually cope with being teamed with more robust flavours and marinades or ‘harsher’ cooking methods, such as barbecuing or smoking.