Simon Rhodes from Lobsterpot Fishmongers, Wood Street Food Hall

OUR fourth birthday celebration on Saturday was a great success.

We managed to finish off the last of the paella and the curry tastings just in time before the clouds turned dark and the heavens opened. We saw a lot of new faces who had come to the shop for the first time and were amazed they hadn’t known that there was a fishmonger in Swindon! They were also treated to our local products of which there were plenty of tasters.

On the fish display I thought I would get in a conger eel to get people talking. This relatively cheap fish lives in deep water and is generally found hiding in the many wrecks which litter the South West or on reefs and rocky ground. Despite their size — they can reach nearly 10ft (3m) — and power they are not very strong swimmers. They will eat almost any seafood they find, from octopus to crabs to fish and they are most active at night when they leave their resting place to hunt.

The tail end of a conger eel is notoriously bony and is best used for stock. The rest can either be grilled, pan-fried or casseroled. The firm, strong flavour, which is similar to pork, works well with bacon, garlic, white or red wine, and smoked paprika.

Conger eels are sometimes used to make Caldeirada, a Portuguese fish stew. They are also popular in South America, Japan and China. It tastes very good even in the simplest preparation on the grill, with a little salt, lemon and a few drops of olive oil or in the oven with lemon, olive oil, chopped parsley, and a chive. Also, rosemary makes an excellent match with the flavour of this white, tasty and abundant fish.

  1. Baked Conger Eel with Tomato
  • Place the conger fillets in an oven dish. Pour oil and wine over fish and salt and pepper to your liking.

Place some sliced garlic, capers, parsley, basil and several halved tomatoes on top of the conger. Then, place several more halved tomatoes around the conger.

Cover the baking dish and bake for 20 minutes. Five minutes before removing from the oven, uncover the conger. This type of dish is well accompanied with rice, pasta, artichoke hearts and also sautéed spinach with butter or with a mixture of garlic and olive oil.