The spice in this recipe complements very well the lean, firm white-flesh of the Gurnard. Easy to cook and prepare this will make a great supper dish.

Gurnard are a very distinctive fish with a bright orangey red colour and a rather square chisel shaped head. This fish found in the Atlantic and Mediterranean oceans. They live on the seabed with a diet that is made up mainly of crabs small fish and shrimps that live there.

Serves 4

Ingredients for Gurnard Recipe

4 x 350 g (12 oz) gurnard, cleaned and trimmed from Walter Purkis
40 g (1 ½ oz) butter
1 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp English mustard powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tblsp red wine vinegar
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
For the Mint and Tomato Salad:
225 g (8 oz) small vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced
1 small onion, halved and very thinly sliced
1 tablespoon chopped mint
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Cooking method for Spicy Gurnard

  • Pre-heat the grill to high. Slash the skin of the gurnard at 1 cm (1/2 inch) intervals on both sides from the head all the way down to the tail, taking care not to cut too deeply into the flesh.
  • Melt the butter in a small roasting tin. Remove from the heat, stir in the sugar, mustard, spices, vinegar, pepper and salt and mix together well. Add the gurnard to the butter and turn them over once or twice until well coated in the mixture, spreading some into the cavity of each fish as well.
  • Transfer them to a lightly oiled baking sheet or the rack of the grill pan and grill for 4 minutes on each side, until cooked through.
  • Meanwhile, for the salad, layer the sliced tomatoes, onion and mint on 4 serving plates, sprinkling the layers with the lemon juice and some seasoning. Put the cooked gurnard alongside and serve, with some fried sliced potatoes if you wish.

Alternative Fish:

Red Mullet

You can find more gurnard recipes here >>