Simple fish and seafood

Brandade de morue is salt cod beaten with warm olive oil, milk and garlic, then mixed with mashed potato into a soft, creamy purée. It is eaten warm on toast, or baked in a dish until golden on top…

Chraime is white fish simmered in a hot, garlicky sauce of tomato, red pepper, paprika and cumin, finished with lemon and coriander. It takes half an hour in one pan and works with any firm white…

Cotriade is a Breton fish soup of potatoes, onions and chunks of cheap fish such as mackerel and whiting, cooked together in one pot. It is eaten in two courses: first the broth, poured over toasted…

Cullen skink is a thick Scottish soup of smoked haddock, potatoes, onion and milk. It is smoky and filling, and with bread it makes a full meal on a cold evening. It takes about 50 minutes and only…

Fish and chips is white fish, usually cod or haddock, dipped in batter and deep-fried, served with thick chips, salt, malt vinegar and often mushy peas. At home it takes a deep pot, a thermometer and…

Fishcakes are patties of flaked white fish and mashed potato, coated in breadcrumbs and fried until crisp. A pack of frozen pollock or coley and a few potatoes make eight of them, enough for four…

Gambas al ajillo are prawns cooked in a few minutes in olive oil with plenty of garlic, a dried chili and parsley. They come to the table still sizzling, with bread to dip in the garlic oil. Made…

Grilled sardines are whole fresh sardines salted, grilled over high heat until the skin blisters, and eaten with lemon, bread and a salad. Sardines are one of the cheapest fresh fish at the counter…

Heringsstipp is pieces of mild salted herring in a cold, creamy sauce with apple, onion and gherkin, served with hot potatoes boiled in their skins. Apart from the potatoes there is no cooking, and…

Pasta al tonno is spaghetti in a quick tomato sauce with canned tuna, garlic, capers and parsley. Everything in it keeps in the cupboard, it costs very little, and the sauce is ready in the time the…

Pesce all'acqua pazza is white fish poached in a light broth of water, olive oil, garlic, cherry tomatoes and parsley. It cooks in one pan in about twenty minutes, and the broth that is left is…

Salade niçoise is a summer salad of ripe tomatoes, hard-boiled eggs, tuna, anchovies and small black olives, dressed with olive oil. With canned tuna it is cheap and needs almost no cooking, and it…

Salmon en papillote is salmon baked in a sealed parcel of baking paper on a bed of thin courgette slices, with lemon and dill. The fish steams in its own juices, so it stays moist, and the whole dish…

This warm potato salad with smoked mackerel mixes sliced potatoes in a hot dressing of stock, vinegar, mustard and red onion with flakes of smoked fish and dill. Smoked mackerel is sold cooked and…

Moules marinières are mussels steamed open in white wine with shallots, garlic, butter and parsley. They cook in five minutes and are served in the pot, with bread for the juices or fries on the side…