Recipe: Rowley Leigh’s roast plaice with cherry tomatoes

Think harpoons and I think of Queequeg. The film of Moby Dick — and later the book — enraptured me at a tender age and no character was more enthralling than Queequeg, the cannibal harpooner. We meet him early when Ishmael, forced to share a bed, decides it is “better [to] sleep with a sober cannibal than a drunken Christian”, only to witness Queequeg employing his harpoon as a razor in the morning. Tattooed and of a threatening aspect, Queequeg was played not by a South Sea Islander but by one Friedrich Anton Maria Hubertus Bonifacius Graf von Ledebur-Wicheln, a former Austrian cavalry officer and socialite.

Queequeg was highly paid for his skill with his weapon, and while most civilised societies have outlawed whaling, there is still money to be made in harpooning. Carried out mainly by deep-sea divers, it remains quite a dangerous activity, although not perhaps in the same order of peril as battling with the great white whale. 

In Norway and Alaska, harpooners can catch halibut weighing 200kg, and swordfish of prodigious sizes have been speared in Canada. In Poole Harbour, however, the plaice are of a more modest size, rarely exceeding 4kg. Around Britain, most spear fishing is of this scale, with anything from a turbot or sea bass to pouting or grey mullet being considered good game.

This is the season for plaice, when they have finished spawning and come into shallower waters. They have fed voraciously and put on more weight than Robert De Niro in Raging Bull — but unlike Jake LaMotta, they are sweet-scented and have a delicate, melting texture. Those who crave the firm, muscular meat of a Dover sole or turbot will deprecate the plaice but it is a delicacy, more akin to soft roes or whiting than any flatfish.

This fish was not harpooned but it was spanking fresh and big enough for juicy fillets. Fish like these — and most other fish — are best cooked on the bone. The meat is delicate but tasty and can be enjoyed with some robust flavouring. Albert Roux’s preferred sauce for plaice is ketchup, which certainly works. 

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Roast plaice with cherry tomatoes

I had a load of prawn shells in the fridge. Rushed but anxious not to lose them, I covered them with cold water and simmered them for half an hour with no accompanying aromatics. I had a lovely clear prawn stock, which I decided to use here. The combination of the little datterini tomatoes and this reduced stock produced a sophisticated ketchup. 

No prawns, no problem: the fish and the tomatoes will more than suffice. If the fish is simply too big for the pan, cook it in the oven under a hot grill. Serves four to six.

1. Make sure the fish is well-gutted and scaled and trim the tail. Remove the head if the fish is too big for the pan. Pat the fish dry, season well with salt and pepper and dust it with a little flour or semolina flour. Heat a large non-stick frying pan with three tablespoons of olive oil and place the fish, dark skin down, in the oil. 
2. Let the fish cook on a gentle heat for six to eight minutes while you halve the cherry tomatoes and finely chop the garlic. Once it is well-coloured on the first side, turn it over. Add a little oil if necessary, then add the garlic and the cherry tomatoes. (If there is no space, cook the tomatoes with the garlic in a separate pan and add to the fish later.)
3. Once the tomatoes have begun to wilt and the fish is almost cooked, turn up the heat and add the splash of wine and then the prawn jus (use water if you don’t have stock). Season well, adding the chilli flakes, and baste the fish with the juices produced. Add a few leaves of oregano or shredded marjoram and take to the table. This needs no accompaniment but some new potatoes and simply dressed lettuce (or samphire, as pictured) would be good.

Wine

Tomatoes and a delicate fish won’t appreciate a too rich or much-oaked wine. A zippy Vermentino would be ideal.

Photographs: Andy Sewell