Moules mariniere

Moules mariniere is a fast dish that lives or dies on the mussels, so buy them live and cook them the day you get them. Ask the counter and we clean and debeard them for you. The whole thing comes ...

Fish pie

A fish pie is better for a mix: smoked haddock brings the depth, a white fish like cod or pollock gives meaty flakes and prawns add sweetness. Ask the counter for a fish pie mix, skinned and cut to...

Seafood platter at home

A cold platter is mostly buying and arranging, with very little cooking. The skill is balancing texture across the plate: sweet white crab meat, firm cooked prawns, soft oysters, meaty lobster or c...

Moules in cider

Cider gives mussels a rounder, sweeter broth than wine, with a soft apple note that suits the cream. As with any mussel dish it lives or dies on the shellfish, so buy them live and cook them the da...

Dressed crab

Dressed crab is cooked brown and white meat picked from the shell and arranged back in it, ready to eat cold. Brown meat from the body is soft and rich, white meat from the claws is sweet and flaky...

Sea bream en papillote

En papillote means baked in a sealed parcel, where the fish steams in its own juices and everything you add, so it is the gentlest way to cook a delicate fillet without drying it out. Sea bream has...

Monkfish curry

Monkfish is the fish to reach for in a curry because its dense, meaty flesh holds its shape in a simmering sauce where a flaky white fish would collapse. Ask us to trim the grey membrane, which tig...

Dressed crab salad

This salad puts sweet white claw meat centre stage and works the rich brown meat into the dressing, so the whole crab ends up on the plate and nothing is wasted. Buy a cooked crab and we pick both ...

Seared scallops with pea puree

King scallops are dense and sweet, and a hard sear caramelises the outside while the middle stays just set. The one thing that ruins them is time, so a minute a side is the whole job. Ask the count...

Cullen skink

Cullen skink is a thick Scottish soup that leans entirely on smoked haddock, so ask for an undyed cure with firm flakes and a gentle smoke rather than a bright yellow fillet. Poaching the fish in m...

Lobster thermidor

Thermidor takes a cooked lobster, lifts the meat, folds it through a mustard and cheese sauce and grills it back in the shell until gold. The dense sweet tail and claw meat stands up to the rich sa...

Sardines on toast

Fresh sardines under a fierce grill are one of the fastest routes to a serious plate, the skin blisters, the rich flesh stays moist and charred sourdough catches every drop. Ask the counter to butt...