Fish

One of the best things about fish is that you don’t have to do an awful lot to it. You can buy it ready-prepared, or you can choose a whole fish and ask at the fish counter for all the fiddly work, like cleaning, scaling and filleting, to be done for you, if necessary. Then when you get the fish home, it only takes a few minutes to cook. Neat.

The fresher fish is, the better it tastes. When choosing fresh fish, the first thing to check is the smell. Fresh fish smells of nothing more than the open sea; if it smells ‘fishy’, then it is stale. The eyes should be clear and bright, not misted over and shrunken. The gills should have a good red or pink colour and the skin should have a healthy sheen to it; avoid fish with dry, tired-looking skin. Finally, the flesh should be firm and plump.