Don't Sweat the Aubergine

the batter to adhere. Dip the fillets in the batter, holding them at their thinnest points. Quickly, so that not too much batter falls off, transfer them to the hot oil; but submerge them gradually. They may rise to the surface; if they do, turn them halfway through cooking. An average-sized fillet will take about 10 minutes to cook. The batter should be puffed and crispy; the fish, which has steamed inside its coating, moist and tender. Serve immediately, before the batter goes soggy.
    The ideal accompaniments are, of course, chips ( see here ), made first and held spread out on a baking tray in a warm oven, and tartare sauce ( see here ). What a lot of rather scary work. But only a select few chippies, along with some quite expensive restaurants, will make fish and chips as well as you can.
Grilled or baked fish
    I treat them together because many recipes are interchangeable: you coat the fish with a marinade of some sort before putting it under or on the grill, or in the oven.
    I was a bit sniffy about overhead grills in the Meat chapter ( see here ), but I like them for fish: they cook quickly enough to keep the fish tender, but not so fiercely that they scorch it. Even better is a barbecue. If you’re going to use it a lot, you might invest in a fish-shaped, long-handled grilling basket, to which your fish won’t stick as eagerly as it will to a grill rack.
    You shouldn’t go wrong if you bake fish at gas mark 6/200°C. Put it in a roasting tray or baking dish, and cover it with your marinade (see below). It’s impossible to give accurate cooking times: the best I can manage is to tell you that a 500g fish may take 15 to 20 minutes. You’ll have to stick a knife into the thickest part to see if the flesh is opaque and flaky.
    Another way of baking fish is to enclose it in a loose parcel of foil. Lay it on the foil, sprinkle over some salt, pepper, herbs (chives, parsley or thyme, say) and a couple of tablespoons of white wine. Or (from Nigel Slater): for each fish, a couple of chopped chillies, a couple of smashed pieces of lemon grass, a couple of tablespoons of rice wine (or juice of a lime or 1/4 lemon), a few sprigs of coriander, some salt.
    Bring up the sides of the foil to make a tent, and scrunch the edges together.
    A grilled fish will take less time to cook than will a baked one. Line your grill pan with foil, place your fish in it, and cover with marinade. Turn it halfway through cooking; the operation requires some care.
2 marinades for a 500g grilled or baked fish
MARINADE 1
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HOW TO MAKE IT
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    1 tbsp olive oil
    1 garlic clove, finely chopped
    1 shallot, finely chopped
    1 dstsp herbs: parsley, chives, rosemary, thyme, oregano
    Juice of 1/4 or 1/2 lemon, to taste
    Salt
    You can scatter these ingredients separately over the fish.
MARINADE 2
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HOW TO MAKE IT
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    1 tsp coriander seeds
    1 tsp cumin seeds
    1 tbsp olive oil
    1 garlic clove, finely chopped
    1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
    Salt
    Put the coriander and cumin into a small saucepan, and place over a medium heat, shaking the pan until the spices give off a toasted aroma. Grind them in a mortar, or in a small electric mill or coffee grinder. Mix with the olive oil, garlic, cayenne pepper and salt, and pour over the fish.
FISH CAKES
    Restaurant fish cakes come covered in golden, unbroken casings of breadcrumbs. I do not kid myself that I can reproduce that effect at home, satisfying myself merely with egg and flour.
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HOW TO MAKE THEM
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    For 2
    250g fish (any you like – smoked is good)
    250g maincrop potatoes (King Edward, Maris Piper or Desirée, for example)
    250ml milk
    1 tbsp chopped parsley
    1 tbsp chopped chives
    1 egg, beaten
    Flour on a plate
    Oil and butter, for frying
    Cook the fish (in the milk) and potatoes as described in the fish pie recipe ( see here ), flaking the fish and mashing the potatoes . Stir the herbs, with salt (remember that smoked fish is salty), and pepper if you like, into the mash, with just enough of the egg (which will help to hold the cakes together) to make the mixture squidgy, but not enough to loosen it. Gently blend in the flaked fish.
    Mould the fishy mash into 4 patties (or 2 large ones if you like; or 6 small ones). You won’t be able to get them perfectly formed; not to worry. Dip them in the remaining egg, and roll them in the flour. Putting them in the fridge for half an hour will firm them up.
    If you’d like breadcrumb-coated fish cakes, put the breadcrumbs on a separate plate. Roll the