It is not that the late great Kenneth Williams - as far as I am aware - had any special instructions for cooking fish, but that his most celebrated Carry On line 'stop messing about' surely applies perfectly to good fresh examples of that ingredient.
This came home to me on Sunday when for Mother's Day (Mothers' Day?) we enjoyed the simplest of dishes: a beautiful big fat fillet of salmon, firm and glistening, baked uncovered in the oven for half-an-hour at 160 centigrade, the only additions a good sprinkling of salt, plenty of black pepper, and a glug or two of olive oil. No basting, no sauce, no cheese, no herbs, no garlic, no glaze, no jus, no extra spices, no onions, no complication or adulteration of any sort.
Served with a salad of chicory, rocket, toms and cucumber, and it being a special occasion washed down with champagne (a cheapo bottle left over from Christmas) it was nicely moist and tasted beautifully of salmon.
Not exactly austere I grant you, but my wife had asked to eat at home rather than dine out as we have been disappointed in the past on such days with silly prices for special menus that are not special at all. On which it feels only right to conclude with the words of the great Mr Williams himself: "Hors d'oeuvres, ma Crepe Suzette."
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