Skate Recipes

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Skate with juniper and capers

Preparation Time: 5 Minutes
Cooking Time: 15 Minutes

This dish sounds quite elegant yet it's simple and inexpensive to put together.

You will find an abundance of skate wings in Kent when they are in season and they can be found in most supermarkets all the year around. When you buy them fresh you'll benefit from excellent value as there is often a glut that makes prices competitive. I rarely plan to cook skate, rather I buy it up when I see it's at a good price. Skate is much underrated, it's really easy to deal with (no filleting or gutting) tastes great, no small bones to worry about and can be oven baked, pan fried, steamed or poached. I find that two wings per person is about right for a main course but it all depends how big they are. I'm not particularly fussy about ingredients, but you need to use fresh juniper berries to get any value from them at all in this recipe.

Ingredients: Serves 4
8 medium sized Skate Wings (two per person)
120g butter
3 tbsp of capers
3 tbsp of juniper berries
Large dollop of fresh cream
Flour
Salt and pepper

Cooking Instructions:

1. Coat the wings in seasoned flour then fry for about five minutes both sides with a knob of butter, medium gas putting the wings in when the pan is already hot. If anything burns or blackens you have the pan too hot.

2. Melt the remaining butter on a moderate heat, add half the cream and juniper berries, keep stirring for about five minutes then add the rest of the cream and salt and pepper to taste, stir until the sauce is the same consistence (just a few minutes).

3. Try serving with mashed potatoes and pan fried courgettes.