What no pictures! how do I do a post without pictures. Well, I was cooking at a friends place, and didn’t have my camera with me. Boo hoo. Anyhow, this one really doesn’t need pictures to be honest – most of the recipe is the same as this one: http://mattikaarts.com/blog/?p=83 that I cooked a while back, the only thing that has changed is the fish.

I was in Whole Foods the other day, doing somewhat of a weekly shop (picking up stuff I couldn’t get at Ballard Farmers Market), and was looking for a fish to do with the roasted peppers recipe I did a while back. I had some peppers that had to be used up, and this is a decent dish for a cool day. One thing I do like about the Whole Foods fish counter is variety. So.. looking through the fish. Salmon was out of the question – having that a couple of times this week, and well, a white fish gives better visual contrast to this dish. Halibut? nope.. too expensive, and really not my favorite fish. Their cod didn’t look that great (prev. frozen, and it just didn’t look good). Some sardines might be nice, but so much with this recipe. Hmm… Then I eyed up the Skate wings. “Well, it has been a while since I have had Skate” I thought, and it was pretty reasonably priced too. (er, maybe 10 years since I have had skate). The wings looked decent, already filleted (still on the cartilage though) and had good colour. Well, that was a pretty easy decision really.

So what is the best way to cook Skate? If you ask me, in a pan, then finished in the oven. The fish is delicate, and I reckon that under the grill wouldn’t work too well. Skate is definitely worth cooking still on the cartilage – it is flaky by nature and would kinda fall apart during cooking. For me, I just dredge the fleshy side of the skate in flour, and get a pan nice and hot. Add to that a mix of olive oil and butter, and when hot, bung in the skate, flesh side down. It is going to have a tendency to curl up. Either keep your finger on the back of the fillet to prevent this, or if you don’t have asbestos fingers, use a small plate or dish. After about 4 minutes, I turn the fish over, and cook it on that side for just a minute. I add more butter to the pan if needed, and then bung it in the oven for another 5 minutes or so. You can top the fish with a couple of slices of lemon if you wish – before you bung it in the oven. This imparts a subtle lemon flavor to the flesh, which makes it very fresh tasting (and is a good offset to the butter).

That is it really. Dead simple! You know when the skate is done when the flesh pulls off of the cartilage easily.