Plaice is a very common fish in Ireland and traditionally sold as fillets in fishmongers or supermarkets when I was a boy. Though not as meaty as turbot, it is great to cook on the bone and offers a cheaper alternative to prime flat fish such as sole and turbot. According to Webster's Dictionary, the term plaice stems from the 14th-century Anglo-French plais. The Anglo-French terms derives from the late Latin platessa, meaning flatfish, which in turn look back to the Ancient Greek platys, which means broad.
European plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) is actually a right-eyed flounder belonging to the family Pleuronectidae. It was an important source of food for the first settlers of Ireland in Mount Sandal around 7,000 BC. These fish would have been harpooned with scale-shaped flints attached to poles.
A plaice sandwich
The Irish love anything between two slices of bread. Growing up we would have sandwiches of Findus fish fingers, with lashings of butter. This recipe is a tribute to all the fish-finger sandwiches we ate growing up in the 1980s. In her restaurant Kai, in Galway, Jess Murphy makes a mean fish-finger sandwich with pollock. In theory, any white fish will suffice. If you like, herbs or spices can be added to the breadcrumbs. I like to add a little fresh thyme to mine on occasion. But my daughters would tell me that this was just me being fancy!
Soak the four fillets of plaice in milk for an hour. Remove the fish from the milk and dry off. Add one egg to 100ml of milk and whisk, seasoning with a little salt. Dredge the fish in flour and then dip into a milk-and-egg mixture. Carefully slip out and lay gently into some breadcrumbs. Toss the breadcrumbs over the fish without touching the fish. Lift out and lay on a tray. Deep fry in 175 degree Celsius oil for three minutes. Remove from the fryer and place on some kitchen paper so as to absorb the extra oil. Butter a couple slices of bread and place the fish fillets in between two slices. Serve immediately.
