Product Description

More than just a cookbook, this beautifully produced volume in three parts promotes a total understanding of British fish, from their natural habitats to what sauce they go best with to how to respect their seasonality, in keeping with the River Cottage ethos. The first part is dedicated to understanding fish - Hugh and Nick explain the ins and outs of procuring a good fish, discussing fish farming, aquaculture, sustainability and harvesting issues, how to buy and catch fish in an ethical way, and how to prepare it for the kitchen. Next they open up a whole world of fish cooking - pickling, salting, barbecuing, frying, potting, stewing, smoking and more are explained in depth, each technique followed by classic recipes from gravadlax to kedgeree, from sashimi to chip shop battered cod. Finally, Hugh and Nick present Britain's best fish by species, giving portraits with notes on seasonality and ecology, as well as listing the relevant recipes from part 2 with alternatives. "The River Cottage Fish Book" is the only book on fish that the adventurous fish lover will ever need. The ultimate guide to British fish that reveals everything from their natural habitats to cooking and preserving techniques to how to respect their seasonality.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #513 in Books
• Brand: Books
• Published on: 2007-11-19
• Binding: Hardcover
• 608 pages

Financial Times
Does for marine life what his Meat Book did for our four-legged and feathered friends... with dozens of fine recipes.

Spectator
Simply the best and most comprehensive work on the subject I have read... a well-illustrated compendium to British fish, it is a great reference book and a good read.

Evening Standard
I wish the words `definitive' and `authoritative' weren;t so overworked, because they really do sum up this wonderful, entertaining book.

Customer Reviews

A Great book by a modern great.
This book contains everything you would ever need to know about seafood and a lot more. From how to open shell fish, how to fish for them, how to refrigerate/ freeze them. It is great as a reference book, but comes into its own as a cookbook.

Hugh is a magnificent chef some of the food I have cooked tasted amazing. With such simple recipes/ ingredients this book is a winner. Buy it now.

But make sure the fish is as fresh as possible and the fish is sustainabley caught

Thank you.

Not just a cookery book
I was impressed that this book goes much further than just fishy stories and recipes. It is a good read in its own right and the text would appeal to many people and not just those of us who want to make the most of the range of fish now on offer at the local fishmonger. It is very well written and easy to read and I found it really absorbing.

Just one thing, if you are of a certain age and need reading glasses you will definitely need them for this book. The text in this weighty tome is a tad on the small size.

Excellent
This really is a smashing book. Ms Green's review covers everything that you need to know about the contents of this fishy doorstopper, but it is also worth adding that the recipes themselves are both simple and hugely successful.

I've tried eight recipes to date with a range of seafood including bass, squid, mussels, mackerel and smoked fish and I would readily make them all again. Delicious.
Just be aware too that the recipes are, for the most part, quite 'English'. Though personally, who would hanker for lemongrass when there are such delights as mussels steamed in cider...