Baked salmon with dill

Few things are more useful to have in the fridge for impromptu lunches than a piece of cold baked salmon that you can eat with mayonnaise or stuff into slices of soft brown bread with slices of crisp cucumber and watercress.

I tend to wrap a large piece of fish in foil, seasoned with a few suitable herbs (dill, tarragon, chervil) and a splash of white wine and bake it when something else comes out the oven.

Serves 4

tail end of salmon, filleted - 1kg

olive oil

dill - a small bunch

white vermouth - 3 tbs

Set the oven at 220°C/gas 7. Place one half of the salmon on a piece of tin foil or baking parchment, skin-side down. Brush it with olive oil. Season with salt and a little pepper, white if you have it, black if not. Remove the dill leaves from their stalks and lay them on the fish. Place the second half of the fish, skin-side up, on top of the dill. Sprinkle over the wine. Wrap loosely in the foil or parchment and bake in a roasting tin for 10 minutes per 500g.

Remove the salmon from the oven, let it cool and serve at room temperature with homemade mayonnaise into which you have stirred some lemon juice and chopped dill.

Mackerel

Roast mackerel with sherry vinegar, potatoes and thyme

Mackerel is thriving and it's one of those fish we are encouraged to eat more of.

Serves 2

small, yellow-fleshed potatoes - 475g

olive oil

fresh thyme - a small bunch

mackerel fillets - 2 large (or 4 smaller ones)

sherry vinegar

Set the oven at 180°C/gas 4. Wipe the potatoes then slice them to the thickness of two pound coins. Put them into a bowl, pour over three tablespoons of olive oil and a generous grinding of sea salt and pepper. Pick the leaves from three or four of the thyme sprigs - you want a small palmful - and toss with the potatoes. Tip the potatoes into a shallow dish and bake for 40 minutes till golden and tender.

Pour 2 tablespoons of the oil into a small bowl and stir in a tablespoon of the sherry vinegar, some salt and pepper and a tablespoon or so of thyme leaves. When the potatoes are golden, lay the fish skin-side up on the potatoes then spoon over the dressing.

Return the dish to the oven and continue roasting for 15 to 20 minutes until the fish is cooked and the skin is just starting to crisp lightly.

Spiced crumbed mackerel with smoked paprika

I sometimes feel as if I am on a one-man mission to make the world eat more mackerel. This recipe, spiced with smoked paprika and rings of soft, golden onions, is one of the best I have come up with for this underrated fish. I am not sure you need anything more with it than some steamed spinach or spinach salad. Some raspberries to follow, perhaps with thick, mild yoghurt, would be perfect.

Serves 2

mackerel - 4, filleted

onions - 1 medium to large

olive oil

parsley - a handful

garlic - 3 small cloves

smoked 'hot' paprika - ½ tsp

fresh breadcrumbs - 100g

lemon - 1

Rinse and dry the mackerel and lay them skin-side down in a lightly oiled dish. Season them lightly with salt and pepper. Set the oven at 185°C/gas 4.

Peel the onion and slice it into very thin rings, then let it cook over a moderate heat in a couple of tablespoons of oil until it starts to soften and colour.

Chop the parsley, not too finely, then peel and crush the garlic and stir into the onion with the smoked paprika, a seasoning of black pepper and salt and the breadcrumbs. Pour in 3 tablespoons of olive oil.

Spoon the spiced breadcrumbs evenly over the fish then bake for 20 minutes. The fish is done when the crumbs are golden and the fish is opaque and tender. Lift onto the plates using a fish slice then squeeze the lemon over each one.

Mullet

Baked red mullet with pine-nut stuffing

Large, juicy flakes of fish are what appeal so much here. I always find you need a large red mullet per person, or two smaller ones. This sounds a lot, I know, but trust me, they have quite big bones. This stuffing is good for other things, too - whole squid, perhaps, or even partridge.

Serves 4

large red mullet, cleaned but with the heads left on - 4

large shallot - 1

a clove of garlic, finely chopped

fresh white breadcrumbs - 50g

black olives, stoned - 15

pine nuts - 50g

juice and finely grated zest of a lemon

raisins - 2 tbs

chopped parsley - a small handful

leaves from a couple of bushy sprigs of rosemary, chopped

capers - 2 tsp

olive oil

Heat the oven to 190°C/gas 5. Rinse the mullet, pat them dry with kitchen paper and lay them snugly in a roasting tin. Peel the shallot and chop it finely, then let it cook slowly with the olive oil and garlic in a small pan over a moderate heat until it is soft and translucent. Add the breadcrumbs and let them colour slightly. Chop the olives and add them to the crumbs with the pine nuts, lemon zest, raisins and chopped herbs and capers. Season with salt and pepper.

Stuff as much of the filling into the fish as will go comfortably. Any remaining stuffing can be scattered over the fish. Squeeze over the lemon juice and add a drizzle of olive oil and a grinding of salt then bake for 20 minutes till the fish is opaque and comes easily from the bone.

Salmon

Salmon and dill cakes

Salmon and dill is one of those made-in-heaven marriages that works in many forms: as gravadlax, as a delightfully retro mousse or as a beautiful piece of gently poached fish with an accompanying green sauce. As a long-time fan of this culinary partnership, I had a go at making light, crisp, potato-free fishcakes and putting them on the table with a jar of the dill and mustard sauce that is usually served with gravadlax. Make your own sauce, or buy it from fishmongers, delis and major food shops.

Serves 3

salmon - 500g

large egg white - 1

fresh dill - a small bunch

flour - 1 tbs

grain mustard - 1 tsp

the juice of half a lemon

olive or groundnut oil

dill and mustard sauce and lemon wedges, to serve

Remove the skin from the salmon then chop the flesh finely. Put it in a bowl with the egg white, a couple of tablespoons of dill fronds - finely chopped - the flour, mustard and lemon juice, then mush together with a generous grinding of salt and black pepper.

Squash spoonfuls of the mixture together lightly with your hands to make 10 small balls. Flatten each one slightly then set aside for a few minutes. Heat a little oil in a shallow pan. Place the patties in the hot oil - I do this in two batches - and leave them for two or three minutes until they have coloured on the underside.

Turn them over with a palette knife and colour the other side. Cut one in half to check it for doneness. The fish should be lightly cooked within and golden and crisp on the outside. Eat them with wedges of lemon and the mustard sauce.

Halibut

Halibut with capers, lemon and parsley

Given a spanking fresh piece of white fish, I sometimes do nothing more to it than rub it with salt and roast it in a very hot oven, its only gilding the juice from a fat Sicilian lemon and a modest pile of lightly steamed spinach. Last time, I got the parsley out, too, and a few delectably piquant little capers. This to me is a feast of the first order. You can keep your fancy French sauces.

Serves 2

halibut steaks - 2 x 225g

olive oil

salted capers - 2 tbsp

flat-leaf parsley - the leaves from a small bunch

juice of a large lemon

steamed spinach, lemon halves, to serve

Set the oven at 230°C/gas 8. Warm 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a flame-proof baking dish over a moderate flame. Rub the fish generously with salt and pepper and brown lightly on one side in the hot oil. A minute should suffice. Put the fish into the hot oven and bake for 7-8 minutes until opaque and the flesh parts easily from the bone.

Chop the parsley and rinse the capers. Lift out the fish onto warm plates and place the baking dish over a moderate flame. Scatter in the capers and parsley, squeeze in the lemon juice and grind in a little salt and pepper. Drizzle in a little extra virgin olive oil and bring very briefly to a fierce bubble. Tip the lot over the fish and serve.

Bream

Bream with lemon and anchovy potatoes

I suggest bream here because it is especially fine at the moment, but any whole, smallish fish will do. Get the fishmonger to clean and gut the fish but ask him to leave the heads on. There are plenty of potatoes here, but I find people seem to come back for seconds. A tomato salad on the side would be fun.

Serves 4

for the fish:

sea bream - 4 whole fish, cleaned but left on the bone

a little dried oregano

olive oil

for the potatoes:

waxy-fleshed potatoes such as Anya or

Pink Fir Apple - 1kg

olive oil - 4 tbs

lemon - 1 large

anchovy fillets - 12

vegetable stock - 500ml

Set the oven at 200°C/gas 6. Slice each potato three or four times. If you do this lengthways you will end up with long, elegant pieces.

Warm the olive oil in a roasting tin over a moderately hot flame, then put the potatoes in and let them colour on both sides. They cook best if you leave them alone for several minutes in between stirring. You want them to be pale gold on both sides.

Cut the lemon in half, then into thick segments. Add the anchovy, which will appear to dissolve as it cooks, and then pour over the stock. Bake for 50 minutes until the potatoes are soft and deep gold.

Next, lay the fish in a roasting tin and drizzle with a little olive oil, then add the herbs and a mild seasoning of salt and black pepper. Bake in the preheated oven until the flesh will slide easily away from the bone in big juicy pieces. This will take a matter of 15-20 minutes. Serve the fish with the potatoes.

Smoked haddock

Smoked haddock with cream and broccoli

Smoked fish and cream is one of the most successful marriages around. Smoked salmon and cream cheese, smoked mackerel and creamed horseradish, smoked haddock with cream in a fish soup such as Cullen Skink are all famous pairings. The idea of cooking smoked haddock in a simple gratin with cream and broccoli is more contemporary.

Serves 2

smoked haddock - 700g

milk or milk and water - 500ml

broccoli - 250g

double cream - 30ml

fresh, white breadcrumbs - 4 tbs

Set the oven at 200°C/gas 6.

Check the fish over carefully for any stray bones. Put the fillets into a shallow pan and cover with milk or milk and water. Season the liquid with black pepper bring to the boil. Turn down the heat and leave till the fish is tender, a matter of 5-10 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish.

Remove the fish from the milk and then leave to cool a little. Cook the broccoli until it is just tender in boiling, lightly salted water. Drain.

Remove the fish from its skin in big, fat flakes. Place them in a shallow baking dish together with the broccoli.

Pour over the cream (it won't quite cover, but no matter), then scatter over the breadcrumbs. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, till bubbling.