fish

coley korma with fluffy rice

servings
4

method

There’s loads of coley (which is also known as saithe and coalfish) in the sea.
Looks-wise it’s more of an ivory color than the snow white you’re used to but it’s beautiful, absolutely delicious, sweet, meaty, and melts in the mouth. Funnily enough cats have been enjoying it for years – lucky things – and sadly a lot of it is thrown overboard as bycatch. Coley is really versatile. Coley is often half the price of cod so you can feed twice as many people, or just save yourself loads of money.

Normally you’d start cooking a filet of fish skin-side down, but I’ve gone flesh-side down here to really encrust the fish and get those flavors going. Korma is mild enough for kids to eat too and when something tastes this good, you’d be mad not to try it.

Add the rice to a small pan with 2 cups of boiling water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil on a high heat, then turn the heat down to low, cover and leave for 7 to 8 minutes.

Put a large frying pan on a medium heat. Use the back of a spoon to spread 1 heaped tablespoon of the korma paste all over the flesh side of the fish fillets. Add a lug of olive oil to the hot pan, then add the coley, flesh-side down. Cook for about 10 minutes, turning halfway when you’ve got some colour.

Check your rice – all of the water should have been absorbed by now so fluff it up with a fork and take it off the heat. Pop the lid back on so it stays warm.

Turn the heat under the fish up to high and throw in the greener half of your sliced spring onions. Stir in the remaining korma paste, coconut milk, coriander stalks and most of the fresh chilli. Let it bubble away for a couple of minutes until the fish is starting to flake apart. Taste your sauce and add a squeeze of lemon juice if it needs it.

Divide the rice between your plates then top each portion with a piece of coley. Pour the sauce over the top, then scatter over the reserved spring onions, chili and coriander leaves. Serve with lemon wedges on the side for squeezing over.

Visit the Jamie Oliver Patak's page

ingredients

• 2 heaped tablespoons Patak’s korma paste
• 4 x 180g coley fillets, skin on, scaled and pin-boned
• olive oil
• 4 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
• ½ x 400ml tin low-fat coconut milk
• a few sprigs of fresh coriander, leaves picked, stalks finely chopped
• ½-1 fresh red chilli, finely sliced
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges

for the rice
• 1 cup basmati rice
• sea salt

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tried this recipe or a similar one? share your tips...

1. by steve sehmbi on Tue 04 Oct 2011 @ 14:35

jamie please dont use pataks curry paste...do it from scratch

2. by Pamela on Thu 23 Jun 2011 @ 22:52

My husband cooked this for tea, after watching your show last night on catch up. The meal was lovely and filled us both up - we haven't had any snacks all evening! I work at a Fishing Tackle shop and i've put up the fish fight poster and petition. Thank you for bringing this issue to light.(I brought the Coley from Morrisons)

3. by jpA on Wed 22 Jun 2011 @ 00:43

Tried this with pollack, on sale in the freezer compartment at Tesco as value range 'white fish' at about half the price of frozen cod. It was delicious; throw in some of their uncooked king prawns after defrosting them in cold water for a few minutes (ditto the fish, actually).

4. by Ash on Fri 11 Mar 2011 @ 16:47

This is an excellent recipie and a cracking fish. Actually nicer than Cod rather than a "substitute" in my opinion. I altered the recipie slightly by marinading in Tandoori Curry Powder (deep crimson in colour) mixed with some tomato puree and oil to loosen it up. Great results. I'm also going to try the recipie using Harissa paste and mixing some chick peas into the rice to take it a bit more Morrocan. ;) Ash

5. by Zuzana on Fri 04 Mar 2011 @ 17:16

You can use a cup of whole milk and 1/4 spoon cocnut extract.

6. by Mystified on Sun 27 Feb 2011 @ 10:06

I was also wondering if there was a suitable alternative to coconut milk. Would natural yogurt or creme fraiche work you think?

7. by @nGoose1 on Wed 26 Jan 2011 @ 22:05

Looks good, not by the sea, but I think Coley is in ther shops freezers. Fresh seafish here is not good expensive too. I think some frozen Coley has water with it. Would I be right to salt it for a short period of time if that is the case.
I am so used to buying fresh seafish, it is a bit weird being inland.

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