Fig Jam and Lime Cordial

I have several friends who will only eat fresh, locally sourced fish. I completely respect their position. But this post is about frozen, imported fish, so if that’s not your thing, then please skip this one, and I’ll catch up again with you tomorrow. x

Last week, Carol called to tell me about a fish wholesaler in nearby Lilyfield who was newly opened to the public.

As I was on my way to get groceries (we’d made it nine days between shopping trips), I told her I’d check it out.

Prestige Fisheries is a wholesaler of frozen imported fish, supplying to cafes and restaurants. When the lockdown happened, 85% of their sales stopped overnight. So brilliant Gina opened all her 6kg boxes and invited retail customers to buy in smaller quantities. On my first visit (I’ve since been again), I came home with two frozen barramundi, each weighing about 700g. The fish were grown in Taiwan and snap frozen immediately after being caught. Each fish only cost me $7 (no, that’s not a typo)…

Like many people, I’m a bit wary of frozen fish. But a few years ago, I realised that a lot of the produce I was paying top dollar for at the fish markets had been frozen and then defrosted for sale. Which is the case with nearly all prawns, both green and cooked, so it’s quite important not to bring them home and re-freeze them without checking their provenance first. Much of what I was buying was actually imported, which only became apparent after changes in regulations required sellers to clearly state where the seafood originated from.

I also realised that the fresh fish I was buying, popping into my freezer and then defrosting, was cooking up perfectly. The trick seems to be to defrost in the fridge overnight – if you try to rush the process by putting a frozen fish in the microwave or hot water, the texture turns to mush.

. . . . .

And the reason I went back for a second visit? Not because the fish was ridiculously cheap, but rather because it was beautifully clean and well-prepped. The intestinal organs and gills had been removed without hacking into the flesh of the fish, and the body had been scaled without destroying the skin. Someone had taken a lot of care over this $7 fish. The flesh was firm and sweet, without tasting muddy like barramundi sometimes does.

We prepared it very simply – the washed and towel-dried fish was slashed, then rubbed with a little oil, salt and pepper. I sat it on a large parchment lined tray, then tucked a handful of garden parsley and some lemon slices into the cavity. A few lemon slices and a bit more oil went on top. It was then surrounded by sliced and peeled potato and sweet potato, which had been tossed in a little oil and salt. The whole tray went into a preheated 200C fan-forced oven for 30 minutes, and that was it!

I dragged out the cute peacock platter that I’d picked up secondhand earlier in the year at the Salvos (isn’t it lovely?) and plated up…

Small Man and I fell on it like hungry wolves. Pete really enjoyed it too, but as he pointed out, he didn’t grow up eating fish, so he doesn’t crave it madly like the rest of us do. It had been weeks since we’d had anything other than tinned tuna and anchovies, and I didn’t realise how much we’d missed it. Actually, that’s not completely true. Our lovely neighbour gave us a piece of Hiramasa kingfish sashimi a couple of weeks ago and I nearly wept with joy.

So if you live in Sydney’s inner west and you’re interested in some good quality fish for your freezer, do pay Gina a visit. Ask her about her produce – she’s very knowledgeable and has flown over to inspect many of her producers firsthand. She will happily talk your ear off! As always, this isn’t an ad, but these lovely folks are based less than ten minutes from home, and I’m keen to support small businesses in our area.

Prestige Fisheries
1 White Street
Lilyfield NSW 2040
(02) 9660 8699