Regularly eating omega 3-rich fish enhances everything from our cardiovascular to brain health. Here are six tasty options to please your palate.
Oily fish scores on nutrition: it is packed with omega-3 fatty acids, a type of good unsaturated fat that is naturally anti-inflammatory and good for the joints and muscles. It helps with high cholesterol and blood pressure besides having neuroprotective properties. Those of us who regularly eat oily fish are less likely to suffer from depression or dementia. So what you waiting for? Here are our top oily fish picks to enhance your physical and mental health!
It is a badly kept secret that many renowned chefs prefer the taste of mackerel to some of the more prestigious fish varieties they serve. Incredibly versatile, fresh mackerel is great for sashimi or over sushi; grilled over charcoal on the BBQ or pan-fried, plus it can withstand robust and piquant accompaniments. Posh tinned mackerel is now competing with anchovies and sardines for larder space and smoked Scottish mackerel is good for instant lunches or picnics with horseradish. Mackerel (and herring) are great sources of vitamin D too. Seek out handline caught mackerel which is better for sea life.
A fish enjoying quite a revival. Traditionally herrings have been eaten as kippers (cold-smoked) or bloaters (hot smoked) or fried Scottish-style in oatmeal. Herring is also exceptionally tasty grilled over a barbecue. Enjoy it as the Scandinavians and Baltic/East Europeans do: sweet, cured –usually in dill or mustard. Adopt the taste proclivities of Jews with Ashkanazi heritage and try chopped herring, which can be addictive. It makes an excellent bagel filling too.
Strongly fishy and perfect for grilling on the BBQ as they self-lubricate and baste when cooked over a high heat, resulting in a blistered, crisped skin and succulent flesh within. Grilled sardines are reminiscent of sunny holidays in Cornwall, southern France and the Greek islands. Tinned sardines have been given a facelift too.
These grown-up sardines, more than 15cm long, have been recently renamed Cornish sardines and are now marketed fresh in the UK from late June to the end of February. They have a far more robust flavour and aroma than sardines and can be grilled, baked or barbecued as well as enjoyed straight from a tin. Stargazy pie, the best known pilchard dish reportedly created in Mousehole, Cornwall, is filled with potato, egg and topped with pastry through which the intact heads of skinned and boned pilchards emerges while their oil drains into the main filling during cooking.
Buy well managed, that is less densely stocked farmed salmon, and seek endorsements by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) to ensure the fish has been sustainably raised and caught. Pacific salmon is currently the better choice as Atlantic salmon numbers are low. Best of all is Alaskan salmon: Bristol Bay is home to one of the largest remaining wild salmon runs on earth. Infinitely versatile, there are few more pleasing sights at a party than a beautifully dressed whole salmon which is so simple to cook in a fish kettle: simply bring to boil with some aromatics including bay leaves, black pepper, parsley, turn off the heat and leave to poach.
It used to be seen as salmon's poor relation, but farmed freshwater trout can be even tastier and more delicate as well as more sustainable than salmon farmed in sea cages and loch reared. The UK has 95% of the world’s 'chalk streams', rivers fed by underground chalk aquifers and springs that make Chalkstream trout taste so good. The farms supplying ChalkStream trout have a proven low impact on the surrounding environment.
