There’s a turn in the tide as demand grows for our lovely local fresh fish

Ewing’s, on Belfast’s Shankill Road opened in 1911 and is now run by the fourth generation of the family. Every town had at least one fish seller, never mind the carts that would drive around the country delivery herrings and other fresh fish as the season dictated. Over the years fishmongers have been depleted and only a handful remain in the country. We exported much of our fish to the continent. Chances are those delicious prawns or succulent lobster you enjoyed on holidays came via Northern Ireland.

There’s a turn in the tide though in our desire for fish. The local lobster boat in Portstewart used to export all his catch but now it’s taken by a couple of the town’s restaurants. It’s a win win situation for everyone - the freshest fish possible and no carbon footprint. Native Seafood in Portstewart opened last summer. The chef/owner Stevie McCarry picks fish up from Greencastle and prepares it. Some of the fish ends up on the menu and some goes to the in-house fish counter. Either way they can’t keep up with demand. They source seasonally so at the moment there’s locally caught squid, hake, monkfish, John Dory, Ling and oysters to name just a fraction of what’s available. It’s heart warming to see us embrace the treasures of our surrounding sea.

When cooking fish the best thing is to keep it as simple and true to itself as possible. When I was learning to cook at college we were taught a base of “mother sauces” - hollandaise, veloute and a compound butter. I’ve included these recipes this week and some suggestions to vary them. Hollandaise is a classic accompaniment to salmon but will work with white fish too. It’s an egg yolk emulsion sauce where the egg is whisked with a vinegar reduction over heat and butter slowly trickled in. It’s rich and indulgent and like Ewing’s fish shop will never go out of fashion. At college a veloute was a roux thickened stock but here the stock is made with roasted fish bones, reduced and cream added. A compound is a flavoured butter - garlic being the usual example. You can add herbs, chilli, etc and it can be frozen very successfully.

At the moment new season asparagus is with us for a limited season. You can buy it all year round from many corners of the world but the local crop is infinitely better with no air miles. Enjoy it while it’s here and then forget about it until it’s back next year. Trim the bottoms and either steam or boil in salted water until a knife slips into the stalk. Wild garlic is also here and is lovely with fish. Blend it into one of the mother sauces, place it on some simply cooked fish and have some good spuds on the side. Cherish food from here while it’s at its best.