Delicate and fragrant, this dish is the perfect recipe for summer entertaining or just indulging the two of you on a balmy night. It’s not too complicated though to have it on an ordinary weeknight either!
Can you eat samphire raw?
Samphire, or sea asparagus, is a marshland grass and not a seaweed as some may think. It belongs to the very salty club together with capers, anchovies and Parmesan but it loses most of the saltiness when lightly cooked.
It is traditionally served with fish but I completely fail to see why fish should claim exclusivity: it will complement chicken or lamb just as well.
It’s perfectly edible raw, as most vegetables, once you get rid of the excessive saltiness. The best way to do it is to bung the samphire in a large bowl of water and soak it overnight or for two days.
If you have only a couple of hours to spare, change the water as often as you can. Try a stem for taste – you’ll easily know when it’s good to eat.
Picking samphire is a little tedious: you want to get rid of the woody, thicker stem ends which might be excessively fibrous even when cooked. But it needs doing if, like for this dish, you’re going to use the samphire raw.
How to prepare the fish
I know: poaching! Why would you want to boil the fish? But I insist that in this instance it’s the gentlest, daintiest method in order to have the fish cooked, but only just.
Apparently you can cook fish in a microwave with similar results but to me it seems too risky: one second, one beep too long, and it’s sawdust.
Poaching in wine with some extra flavour from lemongrass takes only about three minutes. You can prod and check the fillets because you’ll flake them off the skin later anyway. They’re done when they start to flake – fish will continue cooking for a while after it’s out of the pan.
It is not strictly necessary to pick the flaked fish off the skin but as boiled (poached!) skin is unappetising and the flesh will flake very easily, it’s not too much hassle.
You can try poaching the fillets skinned if you wish but the risk of overcooking them will be high then.
Sea bass is my fish of choice here because it’s reasonably firm but also delicate. Sea bream, sole, hake or plaice fillets can be used instead.
Thai-flavoured dressing
Soaked samphire, poached fish and the only thing missing is a fragrant dressing. I make mine based on nam pla prik, classic Thai dipping sauce, or rather drizzling sauce as you don’t dunk things in nam pla prik.
I know that authentic Thai nam is a simple affair: fish sauce plus chilli. And so my dressing is merely inspired by it since I add the lemongrass flavour, lime juice and leaves and bulking it out with water, soy sauce and sugar. The result is exquisite, if I say so myself (but then I’ve not been to Bangkok!).
Assemble – or make ahead
The salad is supposed to be served warm but don’t fret too much on a summer day – and summer is of course when samphire is at its best – the fish won’t get cold that easily and room temperature is perfectly tolerable.
That’s why it makes a super good starter for summer entertaining: easy to assemble ahead, just drizzle the earlier mixed dressing over the plates at the last minute.
And you surely plan and shop for a party in advance enough for the samphire to soak.
More sea bass recipes
How to pan fry sea bass fillets? It’s simple: all you need is for the fish fillet skin to be really dry and the pan to be really hot.
Sea bass fillets baked in a creamy spinach sauce, delicious and ready in 15 minutes. This method keeps the fish succulent and flaky even if you use previously frozen fillets.
Whole sea bass baked on a bed of lemon slices. Whole sea bass or sea bream is easy to prepare and tastes great baked with herbs and lemon.
More elegant fish recipes
Fish with mushroom gratin, haddock, turbot or sole fillets baked au gratin, covered with delicious mushroom sauce topped with crisp breadcrumbs. It’s a dish that looks very impressive and is, in fact, very easy to accomplish.
Halibut fillet steamed atop braised leeks and carrots, the best cooking method for halibut. Healthy, tasty, and one pan dish to boot!
Miso marinated haddock seared and baked to a succulent, golden beauty. Inspired by Nobu black cod, it is truly an outstanding fish dish.