A Fishy Winner

Following on from last week's Sweet and Sour Fish with Egg Fried Rice I decided to use the other half of the hake fillet.

Before I start with the recipe, which is more of a re-make than an original, I thought I would give some thought to good choices for fish. My mission with last week's fish recipe was to promote the City of Cape's campaign to encourage Capetonians to pick one day of the week where they eliminate red meat from their diet and eat more fruit, vegetables and grains instead.

Today I want to address some fish choices which are better than others with regard to their sustainability.

The Southern African Sustainable Seafood Initiative (SASSI) was initiated in November 2004 in order to inform and educate all participants in the seafood trade, from wholesalers to restaurateurs through to seafood lovers. SASSI has three primary objectives:

1. Promote voluntary compliance of the law through education and awareness
2. Shift consumer demand away from over-exploited species to more sustainable options
3. Create awareness around marine conservation issues

Having said and supported all this, I do on occassion choose fish from the orange list, but it is definitely more of an exception than a rule. I have even blogged on fish on the orange list, only because I feel I should be honest. There those who don't share those tasty morsels with their readers for fear of reprisal. 

Hake is on the green list, so it's a good choice for the environment and the sustainability of our sea stocks and is also relatively cheap when bought in season.

For more information on choosing the "right" fish click here.  You can also SMS  the name of the fish as a text message to the number 079-499-8795 you will get a prompt response telling you where the species is on the list, as well as some additional information such as minimum size and bag limit in the case of line-fish. The SMS is charged at standard cellular rates.

Lime Battered Fish with Aubergine and Red Bean Salad

Hake fillets (skin on cut into 4.5cm pieces)
1 Cup of Plain Flour
Finely grated Zest of 1-2 Limes
2 Eggs Beaten
Salt and White Pepper
Oil for Deep Frying

Warm the oil to 190ºC.

Add the zest of the limes, the salt and a little pepper to the flour.
Dry the fish thoroughly.
Coat the Fish in the flour, then in the egg and again in the flour.
Deep fry until golden brown and cooked through.

Warm Aubergine and Red Bean Salad

1 Large Aubergine cut into 1" disks and then cubed evenly.
4 Whole Dried Red chilis
Olive Oil
1 Tin Kidney Beans, drained and washed.
Juice of 1 lime
Salt and Black Pepper
Pomegranate Concentrate (I use Verlaque Persian Pomegranate Concentrate)

Pre-heat your oven to 200ºC
Place the aubergine and chilli in a roasting tin and coat with olive oil.
Season with salt and pepper and bake for about 30-35 minutes until browned and cooked.
Add the kidney beans and bake for another 10 minutes, until the are heated through.
Squeeze over the lime juice and toss through.
You might want to add a little extra olive oil (if you not watching your fat intake)
Serve and drizzle with the Pomegranate Concentrate.