Grilled Coley Fillet with Herb Baked New Potatoes and Mushrooms

Coley is one of the sustainable types of fish which is perfect for eating instead of the desperately endangered Atlantic cod or haddock. It is a white, meaty fish, just like cod or haddock, and where it is cooked properly, coley can be every bit as tasty and enjoyable as its distant cousins. Coley is known by a number of different names just in the UK alone, such as coalfish, saithe or cuddlings. In the US, coley is commonly linked with pollack and the two are known collectively as pollock.

This grilled coley is one of the quickest and easiest ways of cooking fillets. It is a domestic, overhead grill that is used, rather than an outdoor grill. The potato dish made to accompany the coley is actually my own adaptation of an outdoor grilling recipe devised by a friend of mine on Hub Pages, who writes under the name, "Just Ask Susan." I would strongly recommend you take a look at Susan's original, spicy version of this potato recipe, especially where you are lucky enough to live in a climate where outdoor grilling is a regular option. You can find the details by clicking here, after you have read this coley recipe.

Ingredients per Serving

1 fresh coley fillet (skin on - very important)
1/2 oz butter
3 medium sized new potatoes
2 closed cup mushrooms
1/2 medium onion
Large clove of garlic
Generous pinch of dried thyme
Generous pinch of dried rosemary
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt and white pepper

Put your oven on to preheat to 400F/200C. Wash the potatoes and add them to a pot of cold water. Put the pot on to a high heat and bring the water to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes. Take the pot to the sink and run cold water in to it for a minute or so to rapidly cool the potatoes. Peeling the potatoes is optional. Normally I wouldn't but in this instance, the skins were particularly blemished so I simply rubbed them off with the ball of my thumb. Chop the potatoes in to approximately 1" chunks.

Pour the olive oil in to a glass or stone mixing bowl. Add the herbs and season with salt and white pepper. Mix well. Mixing the seasoning with the oil before adding the remaining ingredients allows the seasoning to be distributed much more evenly and effectively.

Roughly chop the onion half, cut the mushrooms in half and peel and finely slice the garlic. Add the onion, potatoes, mushrooms and garlic to the bowl. Instead of stirring the ingredients, hold the bowl at a slight angle with one hand and fold the vegetables through the oil with a wooden spoon, similar to how you would fold flour in to wet ingredients. This method will be less likely to damage the potatoes or mushrooms.

Lay a large sheet of aluminium foil on a baking tray, shiny side uppermost. Carefully pour the vegetable mix in to the centre and wrap in to a loose but sealed tent. Bake in the oven for forty-five minutes.

If, like me, you have a combination oven and grill, it is clearly not practical to use both at the same time. In this instance, this is not a problem. When the potatoes are ready, turn off the oven and remove the tray to a heatproof board. Being very careful of escaping steam, unwrap the foil enough to test the potatoes are done with a skewer or the point of a sharp knife. Rewrap and leave like this while you grill the coley fillet. The vegetables will easily remain hot during this time.

Take about a third of your half ounce of butter and use it to lightly grease a non-stick grilling tray. Lay the coley fillet on the greased area, skin side down. Season the coley with salt and white pepper. Break the remainder of the butter in to small pieces and distribute evenly over the top of the fish. Grill under a moderately hot grill for six or seven minutes until the coley just starts to separate in to flakes and you can clearly see it is cooked.

Use a fish turner to carefully transfer the coley fillet to your serving plate. Add the potato mixture alongside and if you do wish to add further garnish, try some sliced cherry tomatoes, or freshly chopped parsley.