If you’ve spent any time in the top bit of Scotland, you’ll have no doubt seen the ubiquitous local rag, the P&J. And in that, of course, you will have cast your eye over the shinty scores, become engrossed in Rabbie Shepherd’s Gaelic column and got yoursel’ up tae date wi the fashin and fermin. And if you’ve ever found yourself in possession of a fantastically fresh bit of fish then you may have taken your P&J and used it to steam that fish on the coals of a fire that you built yourself.
Now the following recipe can be done with most fish you buy or catch yourself. If it’s the latter, just make sure you gut it and clean it. While running a course in a cabin overlooking a loch full of beavers recently, my students and I used a whole side of Hebridean salmon.
The method essentially involves steaming on coals with no pans, so you end up with fish that is deliciously tender and no washing up.
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Ingredients
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One clean, well read P&J
A side of salmon
Extra virgin rapeseed oil
3 finely minced garlic cloves
A lemon thinly sliced
A handful of fresh coriander leaves
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Get a roaring fire going so that in about 30 minutes you’ll have some good flame free hot embers. Open the paper to the middle pages and depending on the size of your fish, you may need to split the paper into two overlapping parts. Lay the salmon skin side down and season with salt and pepper. Add a good drizzle of extra virgin rapeseed oil (I like to use Culisse- made by a friend on his farm north of Inverness). Follow with a sprinkle of garlic, then lay the lemon slices in a pattern that spaces them well but visually pleases you in equal measure. Now toss on the coriander in a caring fashion and wrap the fish up snug, like a burrito.
We want to keep the steam in, and we don’t want the fish to fall out. If you have a clean loch nearby you can now submerge the whole parcel in the water, keeping it tight, under the water for a couple of minutes. The paper is to be sodden to create steam to cook the fish, and wet so it doesn’t catch fire. Now if you have a fish clamp, great use it, if not you can put the fish parcel directly onto the embers, turn it carefully after 10 minutes, if it is looking very dry, take it off and wet it again.
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Give it another 10 minutes then check if it’s cooked. A poke to the flesh will tell you, if it flakes, it’s cooked. If it’s not cooked enough for you, re-wrap, re-wet and pop it back on. Get the table set and and your guests ready. Bring it to the table and let everyone crowd around for the big reveal, unwrap the fish and serve it straight from the newspaper. Serve with boiled new potatoes, fresh pickles, and fire-burnt leeks.
