Hi

I have NEVER eaten an sort of fish but now I am in my late 50's I feel it may be a good thing to introduce to me diet. Also don't eat white meat because I dont like the texture of it so my diet is based on Beef, Lamb and Pasta dishes.

If you are a fish eater, what fish and how would you cook it if you were just starting eating it.

We have a couple of fresh fish shop's locally together with an assortment of main stream suppermarkets.

Thanks in advance for your help.

There's so many different types that it's hard to recommend.

Personally I only really like white fish such as cod, haddock, sea bass, bream. I don't generally like salmon or oily fish such as herring, pilchards, sardines and mackerel.


So I would first recommend white fish. You could have it battered from the chippy. If you don't like too much batter then you can always ask your chippy to cook you one with a light coating of batter.

If you want to cook it yourself then a peice of cod or seabass cooked on the skin side of a few minutes to get the skin crispy then a minute or two on the other to cook it through would be good.

Oh you've missed so much! I'm a similar age to you and when I was a kid fish was cheap and we had it at least once a week but things have changed.

Guessing from your post you would prefer a 'meatier' fish and my favorite is dover sole but it's expensive and not that easy to get. I would recommend you go to a good restaurant and have cod or haddock to start with. They won't be too expensive will give you an idea if you want to try more. Don't go to a chippy unless it's recognised as one of the very best as you could be eating any old frozen, long cooked and kept heated, drenched in overused oil, rubbish.

Or, as degsy says, buy a fresh piece, if you can, and cook it yourself. If you don't have a fishmonger, Waitrose is the best supermarket followed by Asda in my experience.

Start of slowly. Get some Cod fillets and just slowly poach them in milk and butter for about 15-20 mins. Then throw in a handful of parsley and serve with nothing but buttered crusty bread. Adding pepper to taste.

Or even simpler, get a tin of Sardines in tomato sauce and gently mash them up with loads of vinegar and pepper. Then just serve them up on toast.

if its the texture get monkfish to start, its meaty and doesnt have a really fishy taste, plus is goes well with tomato based dishs so you could make a pasta dish with it.

If you want a meatier fish then how about tuna. You can pan sear it pretty much like beef and serve with a creamy lemon sauce on top of pasta.

One of my favourite meals is a really quick one:
Marinade a tuna steak in lemon juice and olive oil for half an hour or so and then griddle it.
Cook some noodles then toss them in a bit of sweet chilli sauce. Put the tuna on top and eat.

Dead quick and gorgeous, and probably a good introduction to fish because it's not too fishy

sounds good, and probably healthier then then using a cream based sauce.

Cooking fish perfectly is a bit of an art so for your first try it is definitely best to go to a restaurant you know is good. Like others have suggested, go for a classic white fish as oily fish have a stronger flavour and can repeat a little.

Also, make sure it is served off the bone. Perhaps the most off-putting thing for newbies and the fussy are the bones.