Tuesday night in Berkshire -Bob Marley and Blackened fish

I’m trying to decide what to have for dinner and for no reason, I think about the  Barbados Fish Fry.  I start to think about the amazing smells and tastes of this amazing spectacle, which takes place every Friday and Saturday night in Oistins. Locals and tourists all turn up for for the amazing food- fried and grilled fish (marlin, swordfish, tuna, dolphin – not flipper- anything they’ve caught really) fish cakes, sweet potato, macaroni pie, and coleslaw and a lot of beer and rum-based drinks.

http://www.barbados.org/oistins-fish-fry.htm

Dancing, eating and drinking are the order of the night.  Alas on a Tuesday evening in Berkshire there was no  live reggae, or rum punch, but I thought I’d give my favourite type of cooking, which was “blackening” a try. I love the spiciness, great on fish or chicken.

In the blender I whizzed

• 2 tablespoons ground paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground chilli powder(more or less, depending how spicy you like)
• 2 spring onions
• 1 clove of grarlic
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• Small handful of freshthyme, basil and oregano (use ¼ teaspoon of dried if you don’t have fresh)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil

I spread just one side of 6 pieces of skinned salmon fillet with the mixture, then placed a heavy frying pan on the heat until it was very hot. I placed the fish mixture side down for 2-4 minutes or until it was blackened, then flipped it over for a further 2 to 3. Take it off the heat and leave for a few minutes, the fish will continue to cook through.

I served this with new potatoes and a sort of raita/tsaziki  (greek yogurt, fresh mint and cucumber).

I stuck a bit of Bob Marley on the Ipod and had a rum and coke, it was the nearest I could do, and you know what? It wasn’t bad at all!