Firm and succulent, gurnard is a pleasing alternative to cod and haddock. Lindsey Bareham shares two delicious recipes

Captain Birdseye made his debut TV appearance in 1967, 12 years after the first deep frozen fish fingers went on sale. Made in Birdseye’s Great Yarmouth factory, the original combination of silky cod covered in crisp orange breadcrumbs and cooked from frozen is pretty much identical today. They were a regular treat for my young sons and these days I keep a packet in the deep freeze for visiting smalls (and the occasional fish finger butty for me). Restaurants call fish fingers goujons, a handy name for irregular shapes. In my kitchen, goujons are as popular as fishcakes and I make both regularly with all kinds of fish, including cod but also crab, tinned sardines, plaice and mackerel. But my absolute favourite fish for both is gurnard.

I first met this fishy weirdo years ago in Cornwall where it was mostly used for crab bait so was very cheap. These days its price is on a par with red mullet which it vaguely resembles. It’s a prehistoric-looking fish with a big, beaky, hard face and surprisingly intricate snowflake etching on its huge, duck-like head. Its fillets cook firm yet luscious with a gently assertive flavour. Most are small but they can grow as large as 2kg. Whatever the size, its slim tapering body and long, beard-like side jaw fins are at odds with its huge head. Gurnard tends to be sold boned and filleted (expertly done, 2 fillets (150g) per poly-pack, from therockfish.co.uk) and freezes perfectly. It could be used instead of cod, hake or haddock for my latest variation on fish cakes: Danish fiskefrikadeller.

Gurnard Goujons with Minted Pea Purée
Serves 2 • Prep: 20 min
4 gurnard (or plaice) fillets, about 300g
50g fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg

Flour for dusting
1tbsp Dijon mustard (optional)
200g frozen petits pois
1tsp mint sauce
1tbsp clotted or other thick cream
1tbsp unflavoured oil

Check the skinned fish for bones, removing any malingerers. Following the line of the fillets, cut lengthways into roughly equal pieces. Whisk the egg in a shallow bowl. Add flour to a second bowl and spread crumbs on a plate. Spread one side of the fillets with mustard, dust with flour, swipe through the egg and press into the crumbs, transferring to a plate as you go. Next boil the peas in salted water until tender. Drain and pulse briefly with mint sauce and cream to make a bumpy pea not-quite-purée. Heat the oil in a frying pan and quickly fry the goujons in uncrowded batches, adjusting the heat so they turn golden and the fish cooks through. Serve with hot purée and lemon wedges.

Danish Fishcakes
Unlike other fishcakes I’ve made, the fish is blitzed briefly with lots of herbs, crème fraîche, egg, shallot and seasonings, then formed into bite-sized nuggets. Fried to a crisp, they’re served with a quickly made tartare-style remoulade sauce. My recipe is easy to scale up and could be made in advance, the fishcakes quickly warmed through in the oven.

Serves 2, generously • Prep: 35 min plus 30 min chilling • Cook: 10 mins
380g thick fillet cod, hake or haddock
1 egg
75ml crème fraîche
2tbsp grated shallot
2tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
1tbsp chopped dill
Microplaned zest from ½ lemon
37g plain flour
2tbsp vegetable oil

For the remoulade sauce:
4tbsp mayonnaise
Generous squeeze lemon
1 heaped tsp smooth Dijon mustard
½tbsp capers
4 cornichons
1tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

Remove skin and bones from the fish and coarsely chop. Place in a food processor bowl with the egg, crème fraîche, grated shallot, parsley and dill, lemon zest and a generous seasoning of Maldon sea salt and pepper. Add the flour. Pulse in short bursts to mix and chop finely, the flour and zest integrated. Use a spatula to scoop into a bowl, cover with clingfilm and chill for a minimum of 30 minutes. The mixture will be soft but chilling firms it up. To make the remoulade, place mayo, lemon juice and mustard in a bowl with the capers and parsley. Quarter the cornichons lengthways then chop into small pieces. Add to the bowl and mix thoroughly. Transfer to a serving bowl, cover and chill.

With wet hands, take a heaped tbsp of the fish mixture and quickly form into little patties, transferring to a plate as you go. Cook immediately or cover with clingfilm and chill until ready for them. To cook, heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and when hot, quickly lay them out without overcrowding. Cook for 3-4 minutes until firming and browning underneath. Use a metal spatula or fish slice to deftly turn and repeat. If not golden, turn and repeat. Transfer to a fold of kitchen paper before piling into a warmed serving dish. If necessary, keep warmed in the oven while you cook the rest.

You’ll find more of Lindsey’s recipes at lindseybareham.com and in her latest paperback One Pot Wonders (Penguin/Michael Joseph).

This is an extended version of an article from Idler #107.