Hasty Tasty Baked Plaice with Chive Butter (Gluten Free) for Fish on Friday

Hasty Tasty Baked Plaice with Chive Butter (Gluten Free)

Hasty Tasty Baked Plaice with Chive Butter (Gluten Free)

Fish on Friday

Today’s Fish on Friday’s recipe is made with one of my favourite fishes, Plaice. I love plaice, but sadly it seems to have fallen out of favour in the UK. Gone are the days when a nice fillet of breaded plaice was the mainstay of every fish restaurant’s menu, and even the humble local “caff” used to offer a plaice supper, usually breaded, and served with chips. Plaice is part of the “flat fish” family of which its siblings are lemon sole, Dover sole,  halibut, turbot, brill, megrim, flounder and dab. We are truly blessed with the array and variety of flat fish that live in British waters, and with the exception of Halibut, the rest are NOT found in the rest of the world. And yet, apart from Dover sole, turbot and lemon sole, we shun our home-grown flat fish in the UK, with  the vast majority of it being sent abroad, particularly to Spain and France……I equate that to sending the Crown Jewels abroad, and thinks it’s such a shame.

Plaice is a pretty fish, well I think so! It has bright orange spots on its skin and the brighter the spots the fresher the fish. It is best eaten as fresh as possible as its delicate flavour can fade, but, frozen plaice is a good substitute when filleted and frozen by a reputable fish monger. You can eat plaice on the bone or as skinned and boned fillets……..obviously the fillets are extremely handy for quick suppers, as the fish cooks in under 10 minutes on the hob and under 15 minutes when baked in the oven. The plaice that I used for my Fish on Friday recipe was supplied by John from the fabulous Delish Fish in Peterhead, Scotland and was already skinned, boned and filleted, as well as packed in handy bags ready for freezing.

Wild Scottish Plaice

I was so excited when I received my fish package, ( I need to get out more I think!)  as I haven’t had plaice in quite a while, and the plan for a suitable recipe was running through my head as I unpacked my box of fish. Plaice is a delicate fish, as I mentioned before, and so simple recipe seemed in order.  Returning to my nostalgic memories of breaded plaice and chips in old-fashioned seaside restaurants, I decided on a breaded recipe, but, I also wanted to experiment with one of my latest ideas of a gluten-free bread crumbed coating.  Whilst in Edinburgh last weekend, where I was doing some videos for Fish is the Dish, one of my recipes that I cooked and prepared for the video shoot was breaded hake…….but disaster, just before filming we realised that there were NO bread crumbs in the ingredients box……and with cameras and lights ready to roll, I remembered that when this happens at home, I turn to my trusty box of cornflakes, simply crush them in a pestle and mortar or whizz them up in a food processor and voila, you have “bread-crumbs”, and that’s exactly what I did!

Hasty Tasty Baked Plaice with Chive Butter (Gluten Free)

So, if you have any friends or family that are gluten intolerant, and you want to treat them to this recipe, it’s NO problem, and to be perfectly honest, I find the cornflake crumbs MUCH crisper and lighter than breadcrumbs. You can whizz up a batch of cornflake crumbs in advance and they keep for a couple of weeks or more in an airtight jar…..I also use them on Southern Fried Chicken recipes at home, as well as a crispy topping for gratins and baked pasta. The chive butter was delicate and just gave this baked fish dish the little moisture that it needed, and I make NO apologies to showing you photos of my meal with  “tinned” peas, which I happen to LOVE now and then, although I did serve fresh new potatoes (with crème fraîche and black pepper) as the other accompaniment to this delicious baked fish. That’s it for today, I am hoping to catch up with LOTS more posts over the weekend, I have some very exciting and interesting photos and news to share, as well as more recipes of course! Have a wonderful weekend, Karen.

Hasty Tasty Baked Plaice with Chive Butter (Gluten Free)

Hasty Tasty Baked Plaice with Chive Butter (Gluten Free)

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Serves	4
Prep time	5 minutes
Cook time	15 minutes
Total time	20 minutes
Allergy	Fish
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish
Misc	Child Friendly, Pre-preparable, Serve Hot
Occasion	Casual Party, Formal Party
Region	British
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

A tasty baked plaice recipe which is gluten free, as the crumbs that are used are crushed cornflakes.

Ingredients

• 4 plaice fillets, skinned and boned
• salt and pepper, to season
• rapeseed oil (to coat the fish)
• cornflakes, about 75g (crushed into small crumbs in a pestle and mortar)
• 50g butter (softened)
• small bunch chives (finely chopped)
• lemon wedges to serve

Note

A tasty baked plaice recipe which is gluten free, as the (bread) crumbs that are used are crushed cornflakes.

Directions

Step 1	Pre-heat oven to 180C/350F. Add the chopped chives to the softened butter, and season to taste. Set aside to chill.
Step 2	Take a large oven proof baking tray, and drizzle some rapeseed oil over it, about 2 tablespoons. Put the plaice fillets on the baking tray and turn them over to coat in the oil. Season the plaice fillets with salt and pepper, turning over to season both sides.
Step 3	Sprinkle the crushed cornflakes (crumbs) over the plaice fillets, turning them over to coat both sides.
Step 4	Put the plaice in the pre-heated oven and bake for 15 minutes, or until crumbs are crispy and the fish is opaque.
Step 5	Serve the plaice on heated serving plates, and add a portion of chive butter to the top of each plaice fillet. Serve with new potatoes, peas and lemon wedges, or seasonal vegetables of your choice.

Disclaimer: I was sent the plaice from Delish Fish to try with no request to promote it on my blog; all opinions are my own.

With thanks to John at Delish Fish for sending me the Plaice Fillets.

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