Skate wings with guanciale and salsa
plus some thoughts on eating fish
We tend to stick to fish that we’re used to in the UK, with the big names getting most of the attention and most of the sales. The big five are cod, haddock, tuna, prawns and salmon - making up around 60% of the fish consumed. Unfortunately, this means that a lot of the seafood we love is over fished or intensely farmed and our seas suffer the consequences. Without going into all of the detail (I’m here to share a recipe this week, and this topic is quite a deep dive), one of the easiest ways to support better standards of fishing is to diversify what you put on your plate. Luckily, as an island, we have plenty of seafood off our shores. Eating line-caught fish from independent fishermen is one of the best ways to do this, but it’s not easy when shopping from the supermarkets. Even if you’re choosing farmed fish from the big shops, eating an array of fish species is a better way to do it.
Skate is having a bit of the moment in the London food scene and I’m here for it. Skate, or rays, are a cartilaginous fish which means they don’t have a skeleton of bones like a flat or round fish. Instead, they have a central spinal cord and a fan-like collection of cartilage that run through the wings. This makes them much easier to eat as, once cooked, the fish easily slides of the cartilage and there’s no little bones to watch out for.
The wings are also easy to cook, lightly dusted with flour then fried in a pan. This recipe takes the delicate flavour of the fish up a notch by rendering guanciale in the pan first so the fish can cook in pork fat. Guanciale is a bit like pancetta but made with pork jowl. The higher fat content means, once rendered, it’s ideal for using like you would a cooking fat, imparting its flavour into what you’re cooking too. The crispy pieces of guanciale are then served on top of the fish with a green salsa.
Guanciale fried skate wings
Serves 2
2 skate wings, about 250g each
10g parsley, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 tbsp capers
1 lemon, juice (or 2 tbsp cider vinegar)
50g plain flour
50g organic guanciale
1-2 tsp olive oil
1 Remove the skate from the fridge and unpackage. Pat dry with some kitchen paper and season all over with salt. Leave on a board, uncovered at room temperature for 15 minutes to air dry.
2 Meanwhile, for the salsa, combine the parsley, garlic, capers, lemon juice, a pinch of salt and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
3 Put the guanciale in a large frying pan over a medium-low heat to slowly render the fat as it heats up. This will take about 10 minutes. Once the fat has rendered and the guanciale is golden crisp all over, scoop out the guanciale with a slotted spoon, leaving as much of the fat as possible.
4 Spread the flour out on a large plate and season with salt and pepper. Lay a skate wing in the seasoned flour, turn over then lift up and allow the excess flour to drop back onto the plate - you’re looking for a light dusting all over the fish. Repeat with the other wing.
5 Increase the heat under the pan to high and add a little . Once the fat is hot, add the skate wings (you may need to do them one at a time depending on the size of your fish and pan). Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side until the fish is opaque and slides off the bone easily when pushed with a knife. Lift the cooked fish onto serving plates.
6 Add the salsa to the pan and cook for 30 seconds, stirring, to warm it through. Spoon over the skate wings. Serve with greens and potatoes of your choice.
Mindful mentions
Taste of London // I’ll be at Taste of London this Friday with Belazu, speaking on stage to chef Eve Seeman of Apricity restaurant about how they source sustainable ingredients and reduce waste in a professional kitchen, with plenty of tips on how to do that at home too.
Restaurant Recommendation // If you live in London, I recommend visiting The Compton Arms in Islington for their most recent food residency from Rake. One of their popular dishes is ray wing tenders on a homemade crumpet and it’s delicious.
Wylde Market // I developed this recipe using ingredients from Wylde Market - an online shop that works like an in-person market in that all of the ingredients listed are what is available that week. They sell top quality ingredients from small scale farmers and producers that care about regenerating the land and sourcing with care. All orders are delivered on Fridays. If you’ve not shopped from them before, you can get £15 off your first order via this link. (Full disclosure, it’s an affiliate link, so if you use it, I’ll also get money off my next shop. But sharing is caring right).