Something fishy with Simon Rhodes from Lobsterpot Fishmongers, Wood Street Food Hall

LING is a deep water fish relative to the cod and is similar in appearance to a mix of cod and conger eel.

It is a strong and powerful fish with sharp teeth, living in deep rocky waters it is often found around wrecks.

Ling spawn in the spring and the young feed in shallower waters until they are big enough to venture into deeper depths where they feed on other fish and sometimes crustaceans. They are hard fighters and are popular with charter boats because of this.

The boat-caught record for ling was broken in 2013 with a 67lbs specimen caught by angler James Isbister fishing off the coast of the Shetland Islands. It was nearly 6.5 feet in length and took nearly half an hour to land.

Ling is a very versatile fish for cooking; it has a firm flesh which is not too dissimilar to cod in taste and texture, it is ideal for use in fish pies or fish cakes. It also works wonderfully well with creamy seasoned sauces. Here is a simple recipe that would make an ideal midweek meal:

Poached ling with a Vermouth sauce

To make the vermouth sauce first sweat some finely chopped shallots in a little sunflower oil. Add a little crushed garlic and then add a good glug of vermouth (Noilly Prat is a good).

Reduce the sauce by two thirds and add some fish stock, again reduce. Finally add some double cream and season to taste. If the sauce is a little sharp then add a little sugar.

At this point add in some fillets of ling and poach for about five minutes depending on the size of the fillets. When the fillets are just cooked, remove them from the sauce and plate them up.

Finally stir in a couple of knobs of cold butter to the sauce to help it thicken and add a little chopped tarragon and spoon over the fillets.

If you fancy giving this recipe a try why not contact me and order some ling or even hake fillets would work equally well.