As Christmas approaches there are usually options for pescatarians on most festive menus with the traditional favourites of Salmon fillets, Sea Bass, Prawns and Smoked Salmon leading the way.
While these are safe bets, sometimes you just want to mix it up a bit and here are a couple of great options.
For starters, there is a great option in Octopus. We have been lucky to have had some fantastic quality Cephalopods this year and we currently have some fantastic Spanish Octopus that is selling like hotcakes (but can be served hot or cold!).
Octopus is also our glorious leader Paschal’s favourite Cephalopod and for a treat he recommends washing it down with a special glass of Chassange Montrachet.
Another great choice as an alternative starter is a variation on Cod – so Salt Cod, Salt Cod Loins and Salt Cod Fishcakes could all be interesting menu options for Christmas.
We also have a great option when it comes to mains this Christmas, as a great alternative to the more traditional Salmon, which is Chalk Stream Trout.
The Chalk Stream Trout that James Knight offers is farmed in Hampshire, and is almost unique to the UK (as 90% of all chalk streams in the world are found in the UK), and it is especially pure and clean.
One of the unique things about this trout is its natural cleanliness, as it is cleaned by the raised levels of natural limescale in the water – which produces a trout with a very clean flavour.
The Chalk Stream Trout are big fish, at about 2-3 kg each in weight, and are bright red in colour like salmon. But they do not have the typically earthy taste that normal rainbow trout do because of the conditions in which they are bred, while the great thing is that they are local and dependable in supply because they are farmed.
And another top-end wine tip from Paschal (well it is Christmas!) for the trout is to try a Puligney Montrachet , which works really well with this breed.
Merry Christmas menus!
PUBLISHED: November 21, 2019
