The only mystery is why it has taken so long to catch on. When Rick Stein opened his fish and chip shop in Padstow a few years back, I was knocked out by the quality of the local gurnard, freshly battered and deep-fried in beef dripping. It left the Icelandic cod for dead, but for every gurnard sold, there would be dozens of orders for cod.

Since then, Michelin-starred chef Anthony Demetre has done much to upgrade the image of the humble gurnard at both Arbutus in Soho and Wild Honey in Mayfair. Now Tom Aikens, too, is a gurnard fan. His Chelsea fish-and-chipper, Tom's Place, has hooked the interest of some the nation's toughest critics. The Sunday Times AA Gill said his deep-fried gurnard was brilliant, calling it "the Amy Winehouse of battered fish… a sonorous bluesy mouthful." The Times' Giles Coren wrote: "I warn if you eat the battered red gurnard and chips, you will never eat boring old cod again."

Most recently, seven different speakers at Billingsgate School's Sustainable Seafood Day talked up the virtues of different sustainable fish before the audience of journalists, fishing industry types and chefs, who were then asked to vote for their favourite. Gurnard won.

According to Restaurant trade mag, gurnard "is usually thrown back in to the sea as unwanted bycatch; and in today's world, with food stocks low, demand soaring and prices spiralling, this kind of waste cannot be acceptable." True, but it wouldn't happen unless it tasted brilliant. We're still more greedy than worthy.

Now take another look at that gurnard pic. I don't know about you, but I'm beginning to see something quite beautiful about it myself.

Spiced gurnard with broad beans, feta and dill
Serves 2
4 x 100 g gurnard fillets
flour for dusting
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp dried mint
sea salt and pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
For the broad beans:
300 g fresh or frozen broad beans, podded
3 tbsp natural yoghurt
100 g feta, diced
2 tbsp chopped fresh dill
half tsp dried mint
half tsp smoked paprika
half a red onion, finely sliced

Mix the flour, paprika, mint, sea salt and pepper on a dinner plate.
Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick fry pan. Coat the fish in the spiced flour and fry skin-side down for 5 minutes until golden. Turn and briefly cook the other side.

In the meantime, cook the broad beans in salted simmering water for 4 minutes and drain. Return to the pan (off the heat) and lightly toss with yoghurt, feta, dill, mint, paprika, sea salt and pepper. Serve the fish on the broad beans and scatter with red onion.