Gurnard In Tomato Sauce with Star Anise

The surprising dish that came out of my kitchen tonight was gurnard in a tomato sauce. Like the monkfish they’re described as an ugly fish but I would differ from that view.  For one it’s usually a lovely pink colour and a gurnard’s head is big but not deformed as with the monkfish and their mouth reminds me of Donald duck, kinda cute.  Most importantly of all for me is the taste of gurnard, it’s far superior to that of the bland monkfish.  Once cooked it has lovely creamy white firm meat, not a strong flavour as an oily fish but not bland like many white typical fish favoured here, cod, hake, sole.

Normally the way I cook them is very simple like roasting them in lots of olive oil over sliced potatoes with bay leaves, sprinkling of sea salt.  The sauce I ended with was loosely based on the flavours of the Provençal stew Bouillabaisse, which incidentally the gurnard is used as one of the fish.  

I would have liked to use fennel but this was a sauce made of what I had, so it went tin tomatoes, strip of fresh orange peel, thyme, small bay leaf, garlic, little white wine and the surprise of the evening a whole star anise.  I spotted the jar of star anise as I grabbed the saffron and did a double take reached for it whilst thinking, tomatoes are one of the umami foods, star anise has an aniseedy flavour, and with the missing fennel, you can see how my brain was ticking here…

The tomato sauce was cooked down slowly for half an hour I added some sliced peppers and simmered for a further 20mins and then put the fish on top whole and if you don’t like picking out bones then I would suggest to ask the fishmonger to fillet for you, in which case they’ll only take 5mins of simmering until the flesh turns creamy white.  

The sauce complimented the fish beautifully, there wasn’t any one strong flavour to dominate it but I would say a harmonious blend with the mild background tang from the peel and the star anise added something to it, if you didn’t know it was there I think you might be struggling to detect it but it definitely added depth..Personally I wouldn’t add fresh tuna because I don’t like it stewed this way nor would I add fragile fish like plaice.And I couldn’t add oily sardines because where I come from I would be upsetting someone.  Large sardines are grilled, small sardines fried – end of.

Gurnard in Tomato Sauce

This sauce would be suitable for any fish, mullet, cod, sea bass, snapper, skate, turbot, the list goes on.  A note of warning, dig out the star anise before adding the fish otherwise you might have your beloved biting into a whole start anise as it was the case tonight.

• gurnard, whole or filleted, the sauce is enough to cook 2 good size gurnards or 4 large fillets
• olive oil enough to cover the bottom of your pan
• 1 onion chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic chopped
• 1 whole star anise – optional
• saffron strands generous pinch
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf small one
• 1 tablespoon of tomato puree or sun-dried tomato paste
• 1 large strip of orange peel fresh or dried
• 5 floz  150ml of white wine
• large pinch teaspoon of sugar
• when using tin tomatoes I always add between pinch and a mean half teaspoon of sugar to counter balance  the acidity they have, the natural sweetness in fresh tomatoes seems to get lost in the tin process.
• Salt and pepper
• 2 peppers sliced – optional

Fry the onions in the oil until soft and translucent and begin to change to a golden colour, add the garlic and cook it for a minute.

Add the saffron strands and star anise and let it cook for 30 seconds or so.  If feeling cheffy add the wine bring it to the boil, simmer for a couple of minutes before adding herbs, tomatoes, puree, peel, sugar and salt, if feeling like a pushed busy person add all of those at the same time.

Cover the sauce and simmer for a good half hour, after which add the peppers if using and simmer for a further 20-30 mins.  If you’re not adding peppers I would still let the sauce bubble away slowly for a  while longer.  The total time for the sauce from 40 mins – 1hr, just keep checking it’s not drying out, if it is add few spoonfuls of water but not too much as you’ll dilute the intense flavour it’s creating.

If the fish is whole and quite large I would cut a slit or two in the fattest part of the fish it will help with cooking evenly.  Put the fish on top of the sauce and cover the fish with some of the sauce.  If you’re finishing the dish on top of the stove cover the pan and let it simmer on a very gently heat.  If you prefer to put the pan in a hot oven cover at  180C/350F/Gas 4.

The cooking time will depend on what you have, fillets will take around 5mins, check the fillets are cooked all the way through, they should change to a white colour.  For whole fish depending on the size and which method you have chosen.  The fish will cook faster on top of the stove.  For small fish start checking after 15 mins by putting a blade of a knife in the thickest park near the spine.  For larger fish  check after 20 mins.

Note for those who need it, if you’re an experienced cook look away: You could put the fish uncovered in the oven in which case the sauce will dry more, you’ll need to keep an eye on it.  Cook this in a medium size pan that way your sauce will not evaporate as much.  You could make the sauce ahead, even the day before and just put it in an oven dish when you’re ready to add the fish, cover with foil and bake.

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