The fish with a beak

Due to its unusual shape, the garfish is extremely difficult to confuse with any other species of sea fish.

It is caught in rivers, bays, estuaries and sometimes along the Australian coastline and is widespread in New Zealand waters from north to south.

Averaging 30cm in size, garfish have a delicious sweet flavour, which makes them popular for sashimi and excellent butterflied and pan-fried or grilled.

FRIED GARFISH IN A CRISP COATING
Serves: 4

12 garfish (scaled, cleaned and butterflied)
lemon juice
4 tablespoons flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
½ teaspoon paprika
1 egg, beaten with a tablespoon of water
1 cup breadcrumbs oil

Sprinkle the garfish with lemon juice. Coat the fish lightly in flour that has been seasoned with the salt, pepper and paprika. Dip into a mixture of beaten egg and water, and then roll in breadcrumbs.

Shallow fry the garfish in oil and serve with potato wedges, a crisp green salad and lemon.

Recipe supplied by: FISHline, Sydney Fish Market

GARFISH FACTS
There are six species of garfish commonly sold in Australia. They are in season from October to March and are available in lower quantities throughout the year. They are found in warm seas and are herbivorous (feeding upon minute scraps of vegetable matter and seaweed etc.). They frequently leap from the water or skip along its surface at a great pace. Garfish are a small long fish averaging 30cm in size, they have a delicious sweet flavour which makes them popular for sashimi. They are also excellent butterflied and pan-fried or grilled.

TO BUY
Sold whole but on occasions, may be available in fillet form. Fresh whole will have a pleasant sea smell, lustrous silver skin, which is firm and a firm gut.

TO STORE
Clean, gut and scale. Wrap whole fish or fillets in plastic wrap or put in an airtight container. Keep up to three days in the refrigerator or up to three months in the freezer providing your freezer operates at –18ºc.

TO PREPARE
Clean and gut. Remove scales before cooking. To butterfly or fillet cut off the head and run a sharp knife down either side of the rib cage and break the backbone at the base of the tail. A rolling pin or bottle may be used to break the backbone. Lift the base of the backbone with your fingers and remove it by pulling it towards the head. Use the knife to free the flesh down as you go.

TO COOK
Serve 2 as a starter, 3 - 4 as a main course. Garfish have a fine sweet flesh with a delicate flavour. Ideal pan-fried, baked, steamed, grilled or barbequed. The cavity can be filled with a mixture of rice, breadcrumbs and fresh herbs or fillets can be coated in seasoned flour and breadcrumbs or even a light batter.

NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION - SOUTHERN GARFISH (RAW)
Kilojoules Protein Cholesterol Sodium Total fat Omega 3 - Total
N/A N/A 32mg N/A 0.7g 153mg

*Nutritional information sourced from Australian Seafood Users Manual and Omega 3 content from CSIRO Marine Research. Values shown are for 100g edible portion of the seafood.

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