Читать книгу Tony & Giorgio - Tony Allan, Giorgio Locatelli - Страница 27

I love cheap fish. Baby red mullet is one of my favourites, but I like all small fish. I used to get a mixed bag of small fish from Tony sometimes, and it was wonderful.

Often I will call up a fish supplier and ask, ‘What is the cheapest fish you have?’ I don’t mean bad-quality fish but good quality that happens to be cheap. If I’m lucky I might get some anchovies or sardines. A lot of people don’t think of them as very exciting fish but they’re wrong. You can do anything with them, and whatever you do they always reward you with so much flavour and character.

Mackerel is a great fish. I always have it on my menus as a starter. There are about twenty different ways I can serve it. I can cook it like a saltimbocca, with ham around it, or fry it and make up an agrodolce (sweet and sour sauce), or maybe just flash it in a pan with a bit of red wine, then whisk in a little olive oil to make a light vinaigrette.

I also love to cook predators, such as pike and zander. They’re like the sharks of the rivers. Like Tony, I love eel, but I just can’t sell it in the restaurant. It’s a pity because when you cook it on the grill with a herb and breadcrumb crust, the flavour is absolutely amazing. Come on, everybody! Eat more eel!