Any ideas to help me like fish?

[msbuggywinkle]

I really want to like it! I have just had to abandon my whole dinner while the DDs and DP munched away on salmon, broccoli, asparagus and hollandaise (I made it for the first time!) as I just can't like it.

It has nothing to do with taste, my Mum is phobic of fish and if she cooked it would handle it as though it was something nasty and inedible and we were made to eat it while she left the room. So it is psychological and I can eat tinned tuna happily, I am also ok with fish in batter, but obviously it isn't very healthy.

Does anyone have any good fish recipes that might ease me into it? Clearly steamed salmon was too much!

No real advice but I am the same as you - DH and DS love fish and I know its really good for you but I just don't like it at all (although love fish and chips !!) - I prefer white fish and just do very small portions for myself with lots of veg to fill up on. I quite like kedgeree or fish pie; a friend once cooked white fish with new potatoes, roast vegetables and pesto (all mixed up) which was very tasty.

For me there is something about the texture of salmon that I just really don't like although can just about force myself to eat a small amount if I have to.

Sorry, not much help but I sympathise.

are you eating it absolutely bang-on fresh?
I know you said it isn't the flavour, but it might still help.

have you tried fresh tuna, since you like tinned?

what about mixing fish with potato and herbs and spring onion to make fishcakes?

oh also, instead of fish in batter, do your own goujons: dip in flour then egg then breadcrumbs/bashed up cream crackers/bashed up cornflakes, flavoured with a bit of herbs and garlic and lemon if you want, then shallow fry or have a bit of butter in with the crumbs and grill or ovenbake.

I was going to suggest you watch finding Nemo, but I doubt very much whether that will help you to like eating them. You will probably like fish more though!

Fresh tuna steaks are lush, and can taste/look more like meat than fish (cook rare, serve with black pepper and a squeeze of lemon or lime).

Salmon is normally the other "beginner" fish recommended, but I guess it didn't work for you. Try finding a recipe that has a stronger-flavoured sauce or topping, maybe?

One step away from batter - a 'crust'.

Use fresh breadcrumbs. I mix with a little bit of grated lemon zest and some diced fresh herbs - chives or parsley very nice. There is no 'recipe' as such, just fresh breadcrumbs and whatever you fancy. Coat a piece of very fresh, un-fishy white fish in olive oil, press the breadcrumb mixture (the 'crust') on to the top of the fish and bake for about 20 mins in a hot oven.

You can serve it with potato wedges (Desiree potatoes cut into thick slices, coated in olive oil and sea salt and roasted - healthy chips!) & green salad.

It's a step towards more adventurous fish dishes....

DS1 doesn't like fish, other than battered, but he will eat salmon if I cook it this way:

1 salmon steak per person
marinade them in a mix of soy sauce, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, juice of a lemon or lime, chilli (optional), Chinese Five Spice, black pepper - leave them in the marinade for at least 20-30 minutes
Put the steaks, with their marinade, in a big piece of foil, scrunch the foil up into a sealed parcel and then bake in a hot oven for 20 minutes.

Serve with egg fried rice, stir-fried veg and/or noodles.

you could try salmon in a curry instead of meat - we did that recently and it worked. (Except when I defrosted the unlabelled leftovers and thought it was chicken curry that had gone off.)

You can make your own battered fish fingers which are not toooo unhealthy - am bookmarking, will come back with the recipe later. I love fish, we have fish pie, fish stew, lots of smoked mackerel for our lunches, fish fingers with crumbs or batter, fish cakes, salmon and creme fraiche pasta sauce. Don't often have fish fillets by themselves though, seems the most expensive way to eat them.

DH read an article the other day which said that you can retrain your tastebuds to like a food by eating a small amount of it every day for 30 days. I'd love to know if it's true!

smoked mackerel is ace, it's dead cheap AND sustainable too!
smoked mackerel pate with cream cheese in it, yum!

I have a dh who doesn't like fish and he is generally quite happy with things with fish in them, but gets a bit depressed when I feed him fillets no matter how beautifully cooked they are.

Thank you, brilliant ideas here.

I do like fish cakes (only had them in restaurants though) so I am going to make some this week, I like the crust ideas too and I bet the DDs would love home made fish fingers.

Have a look on Hugh Fernley Whittingstall (sorry about sp). He's got a Fish Fight going on at the moment to eat more sustainable fish and I've got quite a few good recipies from there and I think the same way about fish as you. Mine doesn't come from anyone in my family though - they're all proper islanders and love their fish but I distinctly remember my Granny gutting fish fresh off the boat each week, and the smell bolk.

I'm not helping much, am I?

Jamie Oliver did a few fish recipies for Hughs Fish Fight and they were great too. One our whole family loves is the Coley Curry:

Coley fillets (from the Cod family but not as overfished)
Spring onions
a couple of Tomatoes
Coriander
1/2 jar of Pataks Korma Curry Paste
1/2 tin of Coconut Milk

Rub some of the curry paste onto the fish and stick them in the pan
Turn them over and add the onions and tomatoes
Add the coconut milk and rest of the curry paste and coriander and leave till the fish is done.

Honestly, the whole thing takes less time to cook than your rice! Doesn't really taste that much of fish either - bonus.

Jamie Olivers Smoked Mackrel Pate with cream cheese, horseraddish sauce, spring onions and some lemon is brilliant on some toast too.

This is from Tessa Kiros' Apples for Jam: fried fish fillets

You need 2 eggs, grated lemon rind, 125g plain flour, 1tsp baking powder, 1tsp paprika, 125ml cold sparkling water, light olive oil for frying, 500g white fish fillets, cut into strips.

Whisk the eggs and lemon rind, stir in the dry ingredients, whisk in the sparkling water until the batter is smooth and thick. Pour 3-4 cm oil in a frying pan (don't think I use this much) and heat up enough for shallow frying. Dip the fish strips in the batter and fry on each side until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towels then serve straight away. If you have leftover batter it's lovely with thin chopped veg, esp courgettes, done in the same way.