Cats and Coley.

My Aunt had a cat called Chloe. Everyone used to say what a lovely fluffy cat she was. The way she would come and jump on your lap and cuddle up purring occasionally as she slept while you got caught up in her cat nap ways and ended up nodding off with her while the black and white Channel 4 weekday afternoon film played in the background. In everyone's eyes she was lovely.
I was not fooled. Whenever she jumped on me she would dig her claws into my thighs drawing blood as she did so. I would then try and get her off only for her to dig her claws into my arms and hands even more. My Aunt would shout at me "don't be so rough with her" !!! while I dripped blood. She surely would have been some Witches Black cat in a past life !
You can imagine she was spoilt too. Not Kitty Cat for her tea. No way she ate 3 Michelin star style compared to other cats. Poached Coley was her main feast although raw meat would have been more approbate !
Anyway Coley is a great chunky texture of a fish and you could use it with a covering of beer batter and a dollop of mushy peas and you would be in seafood heaven but if you want to try something a little different then you could always try it with a Olive oil based sauce known as Sauce Vierge.

Sauce Vierge.

• 120ml/4fl oz extra virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon, juice only
• 2 tomatoes, skins and seeds removed, flesh diced
• 1 shallot, peeled, finely chopped
• 1 small garlic clove, peeled, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
  
  
  In a pan pour your Olive Oil, the lemon juice and garlic. Whisk to combine the flavours together.
  Put the pan on a low heat but do not boil the oil or it can burn the garlic and spoil the dish.
  Let the flavours infuse for 5 minutes then add the shallots and the tomatoes. You are really just warming the tomatoes and shallots through so be careful not to over cook or you will just end up with a pan of mushy tomatoes.
  
  
  To cook the Coley.. Please yourself...ha ha !
  
  
  If the Coley is skinless (and not everyone likes the texture of the skin) you can either steam it or bake it in the oven or even grill it with just a little butter melting over the top of it to finish it off. I like the skin on.I think it tastes and looks fantastic when you pan fry it in oil. So I pan fry it to get the crispy skin and then transfer it into the Oven to finish cooking it.
  It really will only take about 5 minutes to cook and overcooked dry fish is horrible so try not to overcook it.
  
  
  OK Fish is ready. Let it rest for a few minutes. If you went the skin option turn it upside down so the skin is pointing in a kitchen ceiling direction. This prevents the juices soaking into the crispy skin and making it a soggy mesh.
  
  
  Back to the sauce. Make sure its warm then add the Tarragon and give it a good stir.
  
  
  
  
  I love the combination of lemon and garlic with fish and this is not only a great light spring dish but you can even share it with your cat ! ha ha enjoy.