A-fish-ionado reveals The Alternative Easter Sunday Lunch

Eimantas Zvirblis today (Monday 20^th March 2017) revealed why he is a true A-fish-ionado and the 2017 BIM Young Fishmonger of the Year (Supermarket Seafood Specialist).  Eimantas, along with Jean Yves, a chef at Donnybrook Fair, prepared and cooked an Alternative Easter Sunday Lunch at Donnybrook Fair Cookery School.  The event was held to showcase Eimantas’ skills and knowledge and to launch the 2018 BIM Young Fishmonger of the Year Award – the closing date for entries is 28^th April 2017. (See details attached).

For the Alternative Easter Sunday starter, Eimantas and Jean Yves prepared and cooked Ray Cheeks with Dublin Bay Prawns Lemon & Garlic.  “Ray Cheeks is a delicious way to start a meal – they have the texture of scallops but with a more savoury taste and are very tender.  They are very quick to prepare and cook,” Eimantas commented.

View the recipe for an alternative Easter Sunday lunch (pdf 198Kb) .

For the all-important main course, they devised Stuffed Lemon Sole fillets with Mussels in a Cider & Bacon Sauce.   Chef Jean Yves says, “This is a quick and easy to prepare main course and showcases the best of Irish seafood. The cider, mussels and bacon compliment the delicate flavour of the sole. The dish is ready in a few minutes meaning you can relax on the day.” (See recipe attached).

Questions to ask a fishmonger

Fishmongering is a skill akin to being a craft butcher, according to Wayne Cuddy, Donnybrook Fair’s Head of Butchers and Fish.  Together with Ian Mannix of BIM, Ireland’s Seafood Development Agency, they suggested questions that consumers should ask their fishmonger.  These include:

• What fish is in season?
• Where is it sourced?
• How is it sourced?
• Which fish have no bones?
• If it has bones, ask the fishmonger to fillet the fish
• How to cook the fish
• How long to cook it for
• To prepare the fish for them e.g. cut into darnes, squid rings etc

Wayne commented, “Many people enjoy seafood when they’re dining out but can be unsure how to prepare it at home, so a good fishmonger should know all these answers and help customers with their selection.”

Wayne also acted as MC and advised on wines to match the fish – Joseph Drouhin St Veran for the Ray Cheeks with Dublin Bay Prawns, Lemon & Garlic while Oliver Zeter Riesling was served with the Stuffed Lemon Sole fillets with Mussels in a Cider & Bacon Sauce.