Gone fishing

I thought when I moved to an island I would eat fresh fish every day, but sadly, we almost never eat fresh fish here. I've explained it before, but to recap, fresh fish is not sold in the grocery stores.

If I want fresh fish I have to make a special trip to the fish market downtown. Two stops for groceries? An extra 10 minutes of driving? I am used to big-box, one-stop shopping and cannot be bothered with the time it takes to go to a separate market, even if I don't have anything better to do.

Also, the fish market can be intimidating if you are used to buying your fish out of a temperature-controlled glass case from a guy with a hair net and gloves. It's not exactly FDA approved on cleanliness.

That's not to say it is not clean, it is just not sanitized in the hyper-sterile way we Americans like it. The whole fish lays out in the open with a little bit of ice and if you want a slice of something a woman chops it with a cutlass using her bare hands.

I admit, I have been a little freaked out by the rustic aspect of the fish market. But I am an idiot.

I have been sitting on a gold mine of the freshest fish I will ever eat in my life, held back only by my own cultural fears.

This week I went down to the market with a fellow SO who is a professional chef (o.k. and my cooking instructor, I am so spoiled), and he walked me around and advised me on what to look for when selecting fresh fish. He also assured me that this fish is perfectly safe to eat and in fact this is how people have been buying fish for hundreds of years.

To make it worse, a pound of fish, any fish, is $7EC at the fish market. That is about $3US. That includes ahi tuna, wahoo, mahi mahi, red snapper and an assortment of smaller fish for stewing or frying. And they will descale, gut and clean the fish for a mere $2EC.

That's a lot cheaper than the frozen, imported and tasteless talapia from IGA and a steal compared to what we would pay in the U.S.

So I've made a new commitment to go to the market every week until we leave here. It is well worth the trip. And I had some instruction yesterday from the above mentioned SO on some new and tasty ways to prepare fish. It's not too late to take advantage of this island perk.

The deconstructed tuna fish sandwich - this sure beats canned tuna

They call this butterfish at the market - steamed in parchment paper with fresh local herbs and vegetables

Seared ahi tuna with homemade tartar sauce and bell pepper, chives and onion for garnish