Like every British man, the moment the sun peaks out from behind the clouds I make a mad dash for the braai. They can come in many shapes and forms – open fires, disposable foil containers of charcoal briquettes, oversized wok-shaped things… on one memorable occasion, I even found myself grilling over a bucket of charcoal in a sunny Sheffield garden – in February. It was a good day; even if it wasn’t quite so warm when the sun went behind the trees, leaving my guests clapping gloved hands in a shady garden, or else sheltering inside.
I picked up some very fresh Cornish plaice fillets yesterday. They’re not the classic barbequing fish, which are typically oily and, therefore, better able to withstand the application of direct heat. Where I’m staying though, there’s a gas braai, which is a very different way of cooking to wood or charcoal, giving a more precise control of heat (even if approximations can be made with the other types).
After I turn the gas on to heat up, I put some new potatoes in a tin foil parcel with some roughly chopped parsley and a little olive oil. On a second piece of foil I place two crushed stems of lemongrass, a crushed clove of garlic and about half an inch of sliced ginger. On top of this goes two of the plaice fillets, skin side down (plaice, like all flat fish, produces four fillets), then a fistful of parsley before I put the other two plaice fillets on top, skin side up this time. A second piece of silver foil goes on top and the edges are folded up to make another parcel. The first parcel goes onto the grill for about twenty minutes – as I put it on I turn the gas down to its lowest setting, but keep the lid closed down – and the second one for about ten.
When everything’s cooked through I gently mix some watercress and baby spinach with the potatoes and a little more olive oil on the plate I’m going to serve it on. Next I turn to the fish. The glory of cooking it this way is that it stays wonderfully moist and flakes beautifully; falling away from the skin. I flake it onto the plate and fold it into the salad. That’s it; any further dressing would only detract from this delicate fish.
York Food 