Cheap and delicious fish with very low mercury content

Fish with a lot of mercury

The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) has updated its recommendations on fish consumption and has indicated the fish that children under 10 years of age, pregnant women (or with prospects of being pregnant), and breastfeeding mothers should avoid eating because they have a high concentration of mercury. These fish are swordfish or emperor, bluefin tuna, shark in all its varieties (dogfish, porbeagle, dogfish, dogfish and blue shark) and pike. Children from 10 to 14 years old could eat them but with a maximum of 120 grams per month. The AESAN has also released a list of the most recommended fish because they have a low mercury content. We have selected the cheapest so that you go to the market well prepared.

Why is mercury dangerous?

Fish absorb mercury because much of the fish products contain methylmercury, the organic form of mercury. It is especially dangerous in pregnant women and children because its toxicity can alter neuronal development and cause brain damage, learning difficulties, hearing loss and alterations in the baby's nervous system.

Mackerel

We start the list of cheap and safe fish with mackerel. Try grilling some steaks and then bring them to life with a minced red pepper, green pepper and onion. Salt and pepper and sprinkle with parsley. Spectacular.

Anchovy

Fish is a fundamental element in our Mediterranean diet and we should eat it 3-4 times a week. So that its price does not slow you down, opt for one of these cheap, delicious and safe fish that we propose. For example, anchovies. You can make them fried or open and clean without thorn in the oven with a little oil, garlic and parsley.

Sardine

Another of the most popular cheap fish and similar to the anchovy is the sardine. This recipe is original and delicious, it is all made in the oven. First bake chopped vegetables (aubergine, zucchini and onion) with oil, salt and pepper. When they are done add the sardines with a splash of lemon for 5 more minutes. Before serving, add some pine nuts, olives and chopped basil leaves. Here you can find a lot of recipes with canned sardines, which are also very healthy!

Maira or blue whiting

It is one of the cheapest white fish with a fine fine taste. The small battered mairas are delicious. In this case, the recipe is all baked with tomatoes and asparagus.

Pout

An ideal fish if you like to eat it fillets. This recipe is very easy: sauté some minced garlic with olive oil and a little flour. When they take color, add fish stock, salt and pepper and cook for two minutes. Add the salted haddock fillets skin side up and cook 4 more minutes. If you dare, add some frozen prawns or prawns (much cheaper) and cook 3 more minutes. Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley.

Golden

Farmed sea bream is usually very inexpensive. Your grilled steaks will be very good with a rich sauce. Try to accompany it with a sweet potato puree.

Bass

The sea bass, also cheap if it is farmed, is a fish that admits festive and attractive preparations. Write this down for Christmas. In a baking dish put some potatoes, zucchini and sliced onion. Salt and pepper and sprinkle with a little white wine. Sprinkle with sprigs of fresh rosemary and bake at 180º for 25 minutes. Then add a clean gutless sea bass greased with oil and with a sprig of rosemary inside and continue cooking for another 30 minutes. Delicious!

Mussels

The mussel is a very inexpensive mollusk that we can find all year round in fishmongers. Here is a very inexpensive stew. Cook the cleaned mussels in a pot with wine until they open. Remove the mussels, strain the broth and reserve. Peel the potatoes, wash and chop them, snapping them. Chop onion, garlic, and green and yellow pepper and sauté for 8 minutes. Add the washed and grated tomatoes and sauté for 5 more minutes. Add the paprika, frozen peas, the potatoes, a pint of water, the mussel broth and season. Cook for 20 minutes, add the mussels from before and sprinkle with chopped parsley. Here is another, cooler recipe.

Bighead octopus

Octopus? But it does go up enough in price! Well, the big-headed octopus costs half, ask at your fish shop. The meat is a little tougher, but it's still delicious. You can prepare it just like the normal one. Freeze the octopus for 24 hours to make it more tender. Thaw it in the fridge the night before cooking. In a tall saucepan, bring plenty of water with the bay leaf to a boil. Dip the octopus, washed, for a few moments, remove it and blanch it two more times. Then, let it cook for 35 min. At 15 min, add the potatoes. Drain the potatoes and octopus. Peel the first ones and cut the octopus into thick slices. Assemble the skewers alternating both ingredients. Serve them drizzled with oil and sprinkled with paprika and salt.

Butternut

It is one of the cheap fish par excellence. It has a semi-fat texture and you can cook it in many ways. Try this recipe for palometa in marinade. In a bowl, put pieces of cleaned pomfret fillets with parsley, paprika, oregano, 2 tablespoons of vinegar and 50 ml of olive oil. Cover with plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge for 1 day. Drain, lightly season and flour. Fry it in plenty of oil.

List of recommended fish

This is the complete list of low-mercury fish that AESAN has released. Those that do not appear are considered to have medium content.

Pollock, anchovy or anchovy, herring, cod, blue whiting, cockle, mackerel, squid, shrimp, crab, cañadilla, saithe or stoker, carp, squid, chirla or clam, cuttlefish or cuttlefish, crayfish, coquina, bream, sprat, Prawn, horse mackerel, lobster, prawn, European sole, sole, seabass, mussel, merlan, hake or whiting, razor, oyster, pomfret, flounder, squid, octopus, shrimp, Atlantic or Pacific salmon, sardine, sardinella, sardinopa, plaice , and trout.