Skate wings - alas de raya

[Bob]

This recipe is simplicity itself, but it requires high quality ingredients and having everything else ready in advance. Skates are relatives of sharks and rays.

You will probably have to order the skate wings in advance from a good fish market. Be sure to purchase and cook them on the very day that they arrive. Have your fishmonger skin and remove the cartilage from two skate wings. This is not a do-it-yourself project unless you have a razor sharp boning knife and some knowledge of the animal's anatomy. This will give you four pieces of skate meat. Sniff before buying. If you smell ammonia, try again another day.

Rub the wings with finely crushed garlic and sprinkle with smoked Spanish paprika (sweet or bittersweet as you prefer). Heat a skillet until it is quite hot, add a little virgin olive oil to cover the surface. Sear the skate wings on both sides, but don't let them stick (use a spatula to loosen them). They will cook very quickly. Turn only once. They should be opaque but barely cooked through. Serve with crusty bread, butter and a good salad.

[is]

I'm intrigued about this one too, Bob. Where does the ammonia smell come in? Preservatives? Also, is the Atlantic skate the same as the flatfish known in Asturias as 'gallu'? If so, the wings on that peixe are mighty small. Are we entering lo-cal territory? Just kidding...kind of, maybe those skates in Gloucester are extra large.

Btw, I saw a great recipe by Basque cook Karlos Arguinano on TV today: bacalao al turrukutuna, sea cod with a stew made from pieces of bread, red bell peppers (he called them 'pimientos choriceros'), garlic and leeks. Those Basques are great with fish...

[Bob]

Ammonia smell indicates spoilage, which can happen quite quickly. I think that gallu is a kind of flounder. Skate is a relative of sharks and sting rays. Its skeleton is made of cartilage, not bone.

[Art]

Yeah, gallo in castilian is a less expensive flat fish, like flounder. At least it was cheap in the 1980s. It has a mild flavor, a lot of short bones (as I recall). It fries up nicely and is definitely not rape.

Lucky Is! Living the good life in Asturies! Give Busto my greetings.

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Sí, gallo en castellano es un pescado llano (¿plano?), como platija. Al menos estaba barato en los años ochenta. Tiene un sabor suave, muchos espinas cortas. Sabe bien frito y es cierto que no es rape.

¡Qué suerte tiene Is! ¡Está viviendo la vida buena en Asturies! Dile un saludo a Busto para mí.