Celebrating Local Seafood - Part Two

This summer at Rockfish we're celebrating great local seafood, both in our restaurants and our online seafood market.

We’ve always been passionate about British seafood, which is why we’re based at the Brixham quayside, right next to Britain’s biggest seafood market. Our team walk the market every morning selecting the best of the local landings which are portioned at the quay. That seafood is then sent to our restaurants and uploaded to our online seafood market to be delivered to your door for you to enjoy at home.

Read part one of our guide to local seafood here>

Read on for the second part of our quick guide to fabulous south west seafood.

Plaice

Plaice is a diamond-shaped flat fish that you find on sandy seabeds all around the UK. It is very popular but more often than not in its smaller, younger form. We prefer to get large fish from the market that have had time to breed and develop wonderfully flavoursome flesh, which our team cut into T-bones which are fabulous roasted in the oven with melted butter spooned over the top.

Monkfish

Monkfish can eat prey that is one and a half times their own size! Brilliant for barbecues studded with rosemary and garlic and perfect for spicy curries monkfish is often referred to as being a ‘meaty’ fish. Firm textured, mild and with few bones (other than a large central spine) it is much loved in the UK. Depending on the size of the fish we cut them into large steaks or trim the tails and leave them whole as a great dish to share.

Cuttlefish

A favourite in Spain and Italy cuttlefish is a fabulous cephalopod that is abundant in the waters of the south west. Known as Brixham calamari it is similar to squid and surprisingly versatile. They’re great braised with tomatoes, wine and fresh herbs or chargrilled with lemon garlic and parsley, which is how we serve them in the restaurants. We’ve also used cuttlefish in our range of tinned British seafood, it is hand-steamed, chopped and braised in its own ink with tomatoes and herbs to create an incredible and eye-catching delicacy that is delicious with pasta, or straight out of the tin. A fun fact about cuttlefish is that they have not one, not two, but three hearts!

Sardine

Sardines mean summer! They spawn in the spring and summer in the open sea or near the coast and are at their best in UK waters between July and November. There isn’t much that can compare to a juicy sardine sizzling on the barbecue, throw in a few herbs a good squeeze of lemon and a cold drink and you have the perfect meal. In order to be able to enjoy sardines year-round, we’ve also included them in our range of tinned British fish where we’ve preserved them three different ways, in olive oil, in escabeche which is a very light pickle, and in chilli.

Crab

The waters off the South Coast of England are home to fabulous brown crab, which Mitch believes to be the best crab in the world. The deep, fast-flowing water off the English Channel is a rich source of food and the rocky coastline a perfect habitat. The best way to enjoy it is to keep it simple, freshly boiled in salty water and left to cool, then take your time picking the meat with a cold drink and some friends. Crab season has now begun which means now is very much the time to enjoy them.

Ray

Rays and skates are both relatives of the shark and are found all around the coasts of Britain and Ireland. Rays are delicious white fish, with a distinctive flattened kite shape that have a unique silky firm texture with long linear flakes that tear apart. The taste is delicate with a sweet flavour and aroma. Our expert filleters at the Brixham quay cut them into wings which we serve in our restaurants and into our signature T-Bones from the middle of the fish giving thick fillets on both top and bottom of the soft cartilage bone running through the middle.
The waters around Britain also contain electric rays which can discharge a shock of 220 volts!

Squid

One of the things we look forward to in Brixham is Squid season. One minute there are no Squid to be seen and then suddenly there are plenty. At the beginning of the season they are small, but very quickly grow. The flavour of Torbay squid is sweet and the texture is very tender. It is a versatile fish and can be cooked in a number of ways including frying, roasting, braising and chargrilling. In the online fishmonger we sell them fully cleaned and prepared so you get to enjoy all the benefits of this delicious cephalopod with none of the hassle.