a nice piece of fish for supper

F.C. Soper, a great fishmongers. And open on Sunday mornings too.

If you were to draw a line on the map from Khan's Bargain Ltd on Rye Lane to Sopers on Evalina Road, you'd find that the Skint Foodie Corp™ headquarters are situated at almost exactly the halfway point between the two. Which makes it, arguably, the most desirable piece of real estate in London.

Sopers is, simply put, the ideal of what a neighbourhood fishmongers should be. Mind you, they have had quite a while to perfect their offer, given that they've been trading since 1897.

There's a dizzying array of fresh fish on display, quite a bit of it bought from day boats operating in the coastal waters off Cornwall, Devon and Norfolk. One of my most frequent purchases here is spankingly fresh mackerel, for one of my favourite quick meals, along with gurnard, sardines, rock salmon, sea bream, flounder and pollock. I also love the Cornish squid and hake. And if they have any river trout when you visit, grab it - it's gorgeous.

There's also a great variety of shellfish (fresh, cooked or frozen) and kiln-roasted and smoked fish. Occasionally I'll buy a lunchtime treat of a few spoonfuls of crab meat, maybe a bag of mussels or, perhaps, a small piece of hot smoked salmon.

And, for those of you who think that cooking fish is a bit of a faff, here are three of the simplest of recipes, hardly cooking at all, but with utterly delicious results.

roast fillet of hake

You can use cod, of course, or any white fish which will give you a nice thick fillet.

serves one
a thick 225g hake fillet, skin on
salt and black pepper
a tablespoon of olive oil
a knob of butter
a squeeze of lemon juice

Heat your oven to 220C/200C fan. Season the hake. Heat a small, oven-proof frying pan to almost smoking hot, add the oil and place the hake in it, skin side down. Press down on the fish with a metal spatula for a minute or so, to prevent the skin from shrinking and arching while it crisps up. Add the butter to the pan and, when it has melted, flip the fillet over, then transfer the pan to the oven. Roast for 8 minutes, remove the pan from the oven, and squeeze a little lemon juice over the fish.

a whole baked fish

serves one
a whole fish such as sea bass, sea bream, red mullet, trout etc.
salt + black pepper
olive oil
2 garlic cloves, squashed but whole
a couple of sprigs of thyme
a squeeze of lemon juice

Heat the oven to 200C/fan180C. Oil the base of a roasting tray. Season the fish inside and out, stuff with the thyme and place in the tray. Throw the garlic  in. Drizzle the fish with oil and squeeze some lemon juice over it. Bake for 20-30 minutes. The fish is done when the skin peels easily away from the flesh and the flesh pulls away easily from the bone.

plaice + parmesan

serves one
a plaice fillet (approx 175g-200g)
10g butter
1 tsp of olive oil
1 tbsp of grated parmesan
1 dsp of breadcrumbs
salt + black pepper
a wedge of lemon

Heat a grill to medium. Put the butter and oil in a grill pan and melt. Mop the melted butter up with both sides of the plaice, then lay it skin side down in the pan. Season.

Shove the pan under the grill and leave for 3-4 minutes. Mix the parmesan and breadcrumbs together. Baste the fish and sprinkle over the cheese/breadcrumb mixture. Return under the grill for about 3 more minutes, until the crust is golden. Serve with the lemon wedge.

F.C. Soper
141 Evelina Road
London
SE15 3HB
T:  O20 7639 9729

Opening times:
Tue-Fri: 0830-1730
Sat: 0800-1730
Sun: 0900-1400
Closed: Mon