10 tips on fish and seafood

1.     How much is the fish? For all the sea that surrounds us, the scarce amount of fishmongers in comparison to the butcher shops scattered around the island only points at meat being a more favoured staple to fish. This is certainly not a question of price, or at least it shouldn’t be. By all means, certain types of white fish are expensive. But then so is Black Angus rib-eye. Certainly, beef topside goes at €4 per kilo, but then so does parrotfish (pappagall) – which is grilled on a hot plate, scales on. Other lovely cheap fish on your fishmonger’s counter may include cinturin (scabbard fish) – which can be tossed in extra virgin olive oil with some chili; imsell (garfish) – bakes beautifully; alongi (albacore tuna) – marinated in ginger and lime and then seared; mazzolla (dogfish) – stewed in tomato and black olive sauce; and fresh sardines – which can be deboned and eaten raw with some lemon juice, seasoning and parsley.

2.     Forbidden fruits.  A couple of years ago, The Sun and The Telegraph had made a fuss over a rare plankton-feeding bream (Sarpa Salpa) that was found meandering through the waters of the English Channel. The news had hit the front pages because Sarpa ostensibly causes hallucinations when consumed, and its trips are said to last for days. It transpires that the fish is so commonly found in Malta that some fishmongers will stock it reluctantly due to its very low resale value. At the time, I decided to conduct some fieldwork for a follow-up article to this curious UK news item. So I finally took up the offer of my fish supplier for some free ‘Xarpa’ for aljotta - an item I cooked and ate in prolific amounts purely for research purposes, of course. Let us say that any perceived effects I may have had were diagnosed as placebo, so thankfully, the story never went to print.
Xarpa may not be illegal, but fishing for date mussels warrants harsh legal consequences. This type of shellfish, which resembles dates in both shape and colour, grows right into the seabed – so it can’t be fished without causing serious collateral damage to the environment. It is rumoured that a Valletta family illegally farms date mussels by allowing them to grow in boulders that are eventually hauled up and broken on the hard to retrieve the delicate prize without having to damage the seabed. Albeit less morally wrong, date mussels may contain a very high allergenic content due to the fact that little or no current flows through them while in the sea. They’re worth the risk though, or so it is said.

3.     Lampuki netting exceeds a hundred tonnes a year, but we often (and perhaps unfairly) limit this delectable oily fish exclusively for frying or as filling for pie. A lampuka makes fantastic sashimi. It also lends itself to a memorable ceviche – a Peruvian recipe of raw diced fish marinated in citrus, chillies, onions and coriander leaves. And once we’re on the ‘a crudo’ theme – lampuki tartare: following the same recipe as for your ceviche but replacing the coriander with parsley and cutting your ingredients into very tiny dices to allow shaping into a patty. But watch out for raw lampuki… ensure the fish is day-fresh and stored in low temperatures before eating raw. Such species (along with tuna, pilot fish and sardines) tend to cause scombroid food poisoning as they develop histamines when exposed to temperatures higher than 16 degrees Celsius for extended periods of time.

4.     Tuna. Someone like Raphael Vassallo would certainly be better versed on the issue, but in my books, boycotting tuna consumption in Malta will do very little to slow down its route to extinction. Local consumption only constitutes a fraction of the tuna that is exported to Asia. Besides, Malta astonishingly does not allow for a bycatch contingency, meaning that if a blue-fin tuna is caught unintentionally its captor will be left with no other option but to smuggle it in and eat it himself… or sell it illegally. So chances are that if we stumble on just-caught, wild, off-season, blue-fin tuna that screams ‘hot’ at the fishmonger, this could simply be the result of chance rather than of malicious fishing. Be it prized blue-fin (sold to us at a tenth of its price in Japan) or yellow-fin (which breeds in the Atlantic and is less endangered) that reaches our fridges – keep in mind two golden rules for it: never cook it through (keep it rare) and match it with a sweet ingredient like honey, raisins, lime, marjoram or port wine. Chili is also a near-must.

5.     Gandofli (venus clams) may cost as much as Eur10.00 per kilo, but when you see them, jump on them. A fishmonger worth his salt will purchase them alive, and keep them in an aquarium or in a large bucket of seawater. Take a container with you and ask for some seawater to store them in until you reach a hot pan. Such clams tend to be very sandy, so before cooking - drain, place them in a closed container, shake vigorously and then cleanse under running water. Toss with chili until the shells open and finish off with some fresh parsley.

6.     Red prawns are not exactly cheap either, but certainly cheaper than the red prawns found in Italy’s fish markets. Red prawns are sold in Malta at about the same price as Argentinian pink prawns – which are tasteless in comparison. For an even tastier and cheaper red prawn – go for the L2 (medium) size rather than the giant ones. Toss in extra virgin olive oil, flambé with some tequila and finish off with a little fresh orange juice. Remember to suck the heads.

7.     Fine white fish is expensive, so if you’re treating yourself see to getting your money’s worth. Farmed fish is not vile, but it is no match to wild counterparts. Wild fish like kahli (saddled bream), sargu (silver bream) and cappullaz (rock fish) are commonly found at many a fishmonger. All you need is garlic, sea salt, pepper, marjoram, olive oil and white wine to insert in its cavity. Roll in aluminum foil and bake in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes per 400 grams.

8.     Frozen and fresh. To tell whether fish has been pre-frozen, tap on it and see if the flesh bounces back. If it forms a pit retaining the shape of your finger, chances are that it has been frozen. You will hardly be able to tap around a barracuda when inspecting fresh fish at a restaurant. Good kitchen practice involves cleaning out the fish prior to freezing. If a fish is presented to you cleaned and gutted for inspection – it could simply mean that it was done to enable faster kitchen processes. But it also means that your chances of knowing whether or not the fish has been pre-frozen are diminished. To ensure freshness - gills must have a vibrant red colour, the scales must be all intact, the skin must be nice and shiny and it should smell of the sea and not ‘fishy’.

9.     Octopus. Inserting cork in the pot while cooking octopus will not tenderize it, that’s an old wives’ tale. Freezing will, but it will also take away much of the fresh taste of the sea. Another way of tenderizing octopus is to beat it thoroughly with a kitchen mallet. Wear an apron while doing that. Cook under a lid on a low flame in liquid until tender.

10.  Salmon features among the fastest moving fish in local markets. As delicious as gravlax and many other recipes may be, salmon is not a Mediterranean species so it must travel for hundreds of miles in boxes before reaching our homes. Its popularity is undeserved on this island.

David Darmanin is chef-owner of traditional Maltese restaurant Taverna Sugu in Vittoriosa.