I'm behind on writing up the recipes I worked on during the second half of the summer, for reasons that are now all too clear. But it's not too late for the majority of them as the champion ingredients of those months are still around for a while longer.
All summer I have had in mind the quintessential British sunshine meal of poached fish (typically sea trout in late spring joined by wild salmon in summer) with classic summer veg. Less commonly prepared but equally delicious is poached white fish - which can also be enjoyed cold - and with line-caught sea bass right in season I have enjoyed simply poached sea bass a few times, just, for example, with an accompaniment of dill and lime mayonnaise. OK, broad beans are thinning on the ground by now but their cousins, French and runner beans are widely available and quite suitable instead.
Another species I have been coming across lately, regrettably more generally quite difficult to obtain, even from fishmongers, is flounder. It's lack of availability is an enigma. It keeps longer than plaice and when fresh is just as delicious, if not more so, albeit with a very mild flavour. As such it benefits from very simple cooking (breaded it is superb) and for a long time I have been simply pan-frying whole fish and recently been serving it just with a flavoured butter. This particular dish proved to be extremely popular on my Instagram page.
Gurnard is a species I am inclined to call my favourite. I love using it in fuller-flavoured dishes and, inspired by a recipe I came across in the August 2020 edition of Waitrose Food magazine, I tried what turns out to be the (in)famous Vietnamese dish of fish stir-fried with turmeric and dill. Genuinely it is a taste sensation and it's a recipe I will definitely be making time and time again. Gurnard is a very native species and is increasingly available at very reasonable prices at fishmongers (who will be delighted that you buy it and therefore equally delighted to prep it for you as this does benefit from a bit of skilled attention), but if you prefer, any firm-fleshed white fish can be used.
Lastly, although scallops are coming off the market stall around about now, they are nonetheless widely available from a variety of top fisheries around the UK. It is very unusual for me to venture in the direction of fusion cookery as the near-inevitable plate of confusion food rarely eats well. However, Harumi Kurihara's intriguing dish of scallops sautéed with miso sauce is as delicious as it is inspired. Get hold of some seriously peppery watercress and you've got a stunning plate of food which, prep-done, is rather easy to prepare.
