Regular readers of this blog may well know that at home Up our Mountain or in our (now soon to be) second home Down by the Sea (well, I’m working on that phrase…give me more time) we have a passionate love for eating fish. Fish Man provides for us Up the Mountain and Fishmonger does the job Down by the Sea.
Skate is also a regular favourite and it’s usually pan fried in my biggest pan possible. The other day I was busy glossing paintwork but wanted to get dinner on the go. Not wanting to stand over a pan for all of ten minutes, I decided to turn on the oven and get cooking.
Ingredients for 2 people
- 1 skate wing cut into two pieces
- 1 large lemon thinly sliced
- A selection of vegetables for roasting (I used courgettes, peppers, onions, tomatoes and garlic)
- Olive oil
- Salt and pepper
Set the oven to about 180C degrees or medium. Start by coating your vegetables (cut into chunks or strips) in a little olive oil and season them. Put into a deep baking tray. Add a favourite herb if you like – I used thyme. Roast for 20 minutes then lay the skate on top, season it and then drizzle a little more oil over and lay the lemon slices over the fish. Cover with foil and continue to cook for another 20 minutes.
Check that it is cooked by prodding with a sharp knife in the centre (the flesh should be cooked all the way through in the thicket part). If it’s still a little raw (this will depend on the thickness of your fish) put it back in for another 5 minutes and check again.
You will have a lot of delicious juices in the pan which you can drizzle over but you will have extra which can be saved (freeze if not using within 2 days) and used another day for cooking with rice to make a delicious paella or as a stock for a fish soup.
Healthy, low fat, delicious. And plenty of time to jump under the shower and wash that paint out of your hair.
Chica Andaluza 
A delicious way to cook skate.
It was different for me and it worked well!
Just lovely! I love these kinds of fresh dishes. I wish we could get skate more easily here but I usually have to order it through my fishmonger. Delicious dish Chica!
We do find it in Spain too, it’s one of our favourites….
When I was scrumping blackberries the other day on the riverbank I noticed a skate case on the pebbles. I haven’t seen one for years. I know that the elbow of the river where we live is a shark nursery (skates, rays and gummy sharks) but was excited to pick up the case. Skate is one of the Aussie staple fish and chip shop fish. It yields a large “meaty” portion and Aussies are big on their large meaty portions ;). Your version looks fantastic. Steve loves his fresh caught fish just like you cooked your skate although he does love a bit of chilli with it. Simply cooked so that you get that maximum flavour and the lovely texture of the skate. Kudos…Anthony Bourdain would give you a clap on the back :). Once you recovered I dare say you would be firm friends. You always deliver the good stuff :). It’s no wonder I keep coming back 🙂
How funny, after taking the snap I smothered mine in some very hot chili I have! I do love the thought of being pals with Anthony Bourdain (as long as he didn’t use any cheffy bad language…well, a little bit would be ok)!
Skate is a dish I order when we are in Europe but is not something I see at our fish markets. Your simple preparation must have let its flavor shine.
It’s definitely becoming easier to get hold of here in Europe!
That looks like a lovely wing 😉
It flew into my mouth!
I like eating fish,and this version looks delicious.
A big GRAZIE ,again,dear Chica!
Ciao
Prego! We ove fish too 🙂
¡Delicioso! 😉
😉
Simple flavors and delicous food…just the way fish should be treated:)
It has such a gorgeous flavour that it can still be amazing when left very simple.
My kind of recipe – let the oven do all the work!
Does your skate still have the bone (cartilage?) in it, or is it filleted? It looks thicker than what I’m used to…
Yes, the skate still has cartilage. I bought a whole wing and just split it down the middle. Helps is keep its shape during cooking but I think it can be removed too!
Mmmm looks an easy meal to prepare, and gives you time to do something while it cooks itself in the oven – perfect!
And there are always jobs to be getting on with here while dinner is cooking!
Very healthy. Nice dish.
Thank you – it made a lovely change to eat it this way!
I love fish, and I looooooove roast veges. The two together – heaven.
So do we, I often cook meat this way and thought I’d give fish the same treatment!
Wonderful simple sensible recipe which would taste marvellous with many kinds of fish [uhuh, don’t easily get skate where I live]. Love both your home names as they stand. Oh yes, are all of you aware what a fabulous writer Anthony Bourdain is? I have just finished ‘Kitchen Confidential’ – his autobiography into his 40s and am about to get the follow up ‘Medium Raw’. Well, yes, quite a bit of well chosen ‘language’ and drugs and sex etc – so be forewarned: but I certainly could not put the book down and learned so many ‘cheffy’ things to boot 🙂 ! Huge fun!!!
Ooh I need to buy the follow up book, have read the first one and enjoyed it! And I think brilliant people are always a bit out of kilter with the rest of the world in terms of behaviour!
Several have commented that they don’t find skate here in the states. This is the first time I’ve ever known to be disappointed by its absence! A dish like this Tanya, so fresh, simple, well-flavored, is just the sort of thing we love around our house! Beautifully done!
Such a shame about the lack of skate…but you can make us jealous with all the lovely things that you have there that we don’t!
Isn’t simple just the best. I hadn’t thought to put the fish in with the vege – don’t know why cos do it chicken all the time. T’is all good.
It’s true – I cook chicken like this often too…worked well with fish and a little quicker 🙂
I saw skate today at the market and immediately thought of the recipes you’ve posted, Tanya. I chose something else (halibut) only because I couldn’t remember what other ingredients I’d need to cook skate like you had. Next time I’ll remember my smartphone and these things won’t happen. Today’s recipe really does sounds good. There’s definitely a skate dinner in my future, thanks to you. 🙂
Oh I do hope you come across skate again, it’s one of my favourite fish. Well, that’s a lie actually as I pretty much adore all fish…halibut included!
Sounds really delicious. I like the down by the sea slogan 🙂
Oh good, I think I’ll stick with “Down By the Sea”!
Very good healthy food. It also looks great and I can imagine those juices. We eat a lot of “raie” when we go out, but for some reason I never cook it at home. Have to change that.
Yes, raie is popular in France, I’ve eaten it there too. Maybe your local markets will sell it fresh?
I love skate and haven’t eaten it for many years! Think it’s time to change that.
🙂 Mandy xo
Oh do give it a go again Mandy! Hope your mum is ok after her op?
Oh so pretty. I wish I had a fish monger!
But you have wild deer….so I’m jealous of that!
Healthy and yummy! Great combo 😉
If you want to have a look at my blog, it would be so great!!
http://mystylerecipe.com
Thanks 🙂
Like a few others here, I haven’t tried skate nor seen it here. Your roasted preparation is very enticing looking, and I love that the skate looks like he’s still swimming a bit with the shape and the curled edges! 🙂 Nice plate of goodness!
Yes, the edges do start to curl up when you cook it! Action skate 🙂
OH, paint in the hair. I’ve been there.
Tell me about it….!
I love food like this that is easier to organise than takeaway…and considerably tastier too. Good fish is hard to come by locally, but this works equally well with lovely chicken breasts.
Last night we had to get a take away (complicated and dull tale) and went for fish & chips. The local take away was, unusually, doing skate wings, but we both agreed they were not a patch on home cooked and smaller and more expensive too!
This is making me crave fish right before bed time! 🙂 I’d love to see this pan fried. Do you have a recipe for that on your blog?
I have two recipes, just search under skate and they should pop up – one with capers and one with prawns! Hope you like them Fati 🙂
Thank you Chica! 🙂