Saffron & pepper fish stew

Well, I can't bleat on about not being able to source fresh fish any more.  Not with a neighbour like Frank, who goes out sea fishing in his little boat and comes back to present us with Plaice and a huge Cod!  It's just as well we had room in the freezer, because it took me a few days to work out what to do with everything!

(It's also just as well that I have a hubby who will gut fish and lop the head off anyone who needs it.  Fish, that is .. not neighbours.  Although there have been moments .. but I digress).

The Plaice - isn't it gorgeous?

Now I have some small experience with filleting a Plaice (two goes, to be exact), so I was pretty much okay with that.  However, filleting a whopping great Cod?  Never done that before.  Well, I can't say that any more and it was actually surprisingly easy.  Thank you Mr Cod, for making it easier than I thought.

I was quite proud of my filleting efforts, even if my second Cod fillet wouldn't have passed Monica Galetti's critical eye.

Beautiful fat and chunky Cod

I had spent some time contemplating what to do with this fish and, rather than a recipe that demanded fillets to be kept whole, I decided to go with a "chunks of fish" recipe, just in case my filleting left a lot to be desired.  As it was, I could easily have gone for a "full fillet" recipe - but I'll know for next time (if there is one!).

I decided to go with a fish stew, as a very good way of making use of randomly shaped pieces of fish - and anyway, I've always wanted to make a fish stew or a fish curry.  I took hubby's advice in the end, and plumped for the stew.

I put the Plaice on top of the thicker Cod so that it wouldn't cook too quickly

I could see in my mind's eye what I wanted - and I got fairly close to it, I think.  The flavour was great - the fully flavoured ingredients didn't overpower the gentle flavour of the fish and the sauce/broth was an intriguing mix of richness and sweetness, with the wine preventing it from going too far into the sweet.

The colours were beautiful and, with some of hubby's delicious home made bread, it really was something out of the ordinary and truly memorable - for all the right reasons.  I knew it was good, when I heard our son comment "Mum, this is SO good!".  Thumbs up, that's the kind of reaction I like.

Not too many Cook's Tips for you with this one, just :


1.  I used a wok to make it in, as I felt it gave more control than a deep saucepan.

2.  Make sure not to allow the garlic to burn, so as not to make it bitter.

3.  Once the fish has been added, make sure to stir gently so as to keep the fish chunks as large as possible.  You don't want fish mash!

I can't recommend this one highly enough.  Quite apart from being exceptionally good for you, it tastes amazing and is fun to eat with the dippy bread.  I suspect that even people who are a bit leery of fish, would like this one - so long as they like saffron!

SAFFRON & PEPPER FISH STEW    (serves 4)

Ingredients :

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, half chopped finely, half sliced, then quartered
2 large garlic cloves, chopped finely
1 red pepper, sliced
1 green pepper, sliced
a pinch of sea salt
a half a tsp of ground black pepper
half of a butternut squash, diced
1 fennel bulb, sliced
1 large vine ripened tomato, diced
a good pinch of saffron threads
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
half a tsp dried parsley
4 strips of orange zest
250ml white wine
250ml water
2 tsp fish stock powder (or sufficient cubes for 500ml liquid)
80g sliced black olives
500g cod fillets, skinned
300g plaice fillets, skinned
lemon quarters for garnish.

Method :

1.  Heat the olive oil in a deep saucepan or large wok.  Once good and hot, add the onion, garlic and both peppers with the sea salt and black pepper.  Stir fry over a moderate heat until the onion is transparent and the peppers have softened.  Don't allow the garlic to burn.

2.  Add the butternut squash, fennel and tomato and continue to stir fry until the fennel appears slightly softened.

3.  Add the saffron, bay, thyme, parsley and orange zest and stir to combine.

4.  Add the wine and allow it to frizzle and reduce to around half, stirring throughout.

5.  Add the water and stock powder/cube(s) and stir to combine.  Bring to a lively simmer and cook with a lid on but stirring occasionally, until the saffron colour is well established and the flavours have combined nicely.  Keep tasting the sauce - you will know when it is ready.  Adjust the amount of black pepper, if it requires it.

6.  Remove the lid, add the black olives and stir through.  Continue to simmer until the sauce has reduced significantly and intensified.  Do not allow it to run dry, however!  Taste for seasoning - particularly salt at this stage.

7.  Place the fish on top of the mixture and replace the lid.  Cook on a gentle heat until the fish is almost done, then break it into large chunks and stir in the liquid that it will have produced, taking care not to break up the fish too much.

8.  If the stew is still rather dry, add a little more hot water - bit by bit - until it reaches a nice saucy consistency.

9.  Serve in warmed bowls with chunky bread for dipping and a lemon quarter to squeeze over.

Printable version

Baked cod on pea puree with beurre blanc sauce

Now here's something a little bit different for Jenny Eatwell's Rhubarb & Ginger - a fish dish!

We really enjoy eating fish.  Let me say that straight away.  However (and you knew one of those was coming, didn't you?), we just don't get the opportunity very often.  Which is completely ridiculous, considering that a) we live 2 minutes (literally) from the sea and b) we'll give a go to pretty much anything that came out of it!

Hubby has a few issues with river fish - he doesn't like the muddy flavour of River Cobbler, for instance.  Bottom feeders aren't his bag, at all.

However, if we could only find a supplier of affordable sea fish - you'd see it on the blog far more often than you do.

So, if anyone out there in blog-readership-land knows of a reliable and affordable fishmongler (both in the Bournemouth/Poole area and online - I don't mind either or both), let me know.

The only fishmonglers I've found locally, are in the "monied" areas of town and so their prices are astronomical.  The only one who isn't, is fabled as not selling truly fresh fish - so he's a non-starter.

It really annoys me that we live so close to the sea, yet cannot source fresh fish unless we go to the supermarket - and then it's likely to have been previously frozen.  I don't want supermarket fish - I want fish that's come straight off the boat!  Grrrrr!

Having said that, I now have to admit that the fish we used here was from our local Asda.  It was on special offer and looked particularly nice.  In fact, hubby was planning to make some fish cakes with it, but came to the conclusion that it would be criminal to munch up such a beautiful piece of fish - so this was what we wound up with.

I reckon he was quite right!

Anyway, I'll hand over to hubby, to talk you through the recipe :

See that photo up there?  Looks nice doesn't it?  Maybe even classy.  Pea puree, buerre blanc sauce, blimey!  Well, let me tell you a little secret - it's easy.  Almost unbelievably easy, and the results, well, just ask the lovely Ms Eatwell or the infamously hard to please, son and heir.  Oh, and by the way, a little veggie chopping aside, this whole dish takes only 25 minutes to prepare - honest!

The method described for for the buerre blanc sauce is the basic method.  There are probably more variations than you can shake a pointy baguette at.  For instance, rosemary, thyme and tarragon would transform it into a perfect sauce for chicken.

19 April 2013 : Every week when we do the menu plan for the coming week, we ask son & heir whether he has any special requests.  For the last four or five weeks, he's been asking for this cod on pea puree with buerre blanc sauce.  Now unfortunately, it's not that easy to achieve as the situation hasn't changed much with regard to fishmonglers over here (I have heard of one possibility, but have yet to get over there when they are open.  We've been twice (so far) and they've been shut both times - so we're not doing very well).  Aaaanyway, we waited until we could afford it - Asda had some nice cod fillets in again and we swooped upon them quickly.
 

Nothing has changed - except the Dill .... lol

Hubby made the recipe as per his instructions below (which he was glad of, because he'd forgotten how to do parts of it, it'd been so long!) but made a couple of changes to the buerre blanc sauce.  In the first instalment, he'd used salted butter but hadn't felt that was quite right, so used unsalted this time.  I have to admit, the buerre blanc was so much smoother and utterly delightful, so he obviously was quite right about it.  He also reduced the cream quantity to one tablespoonful, but added a little tarragon to the sauce at the very end, which was a very good addition that went really well with the pea puree.  Also, who knew that buerre blanc is so scrumptious on plain steamed carrots?  ~shrug~  Amazing.

I can understand why son & heir loves this dish so much.  The fish is just such a treat - to have large flakes of white fish on your fork, with your own choice of accompaniment from the plate, is something that doesn't happen often.  Usually, our fish is in a mungle with some other ingredients - such as Tuna Pasta Bake, or Kedgeree - all of which are perfectly nice, but they just don't compare with this cod dish.  The message is clear, therefore - if you can, when you can, have a go at this.  You won't regret it.

BAKED COD ON PEA PUREE WITH BEURRE BLANC SAUCE    (serves 3)

Ingredients :

150g frozen peas
3-5 fresh mint leaves (depending on how big they are)
50ml double cream
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp plus 25ml lemon juice
500ml good fish stock  (I used Essential Cuisine's fabulous fish stock powder)
6 & 4 whole black peppercorns
3 bay leaves
600g unsmoked cod (or other firm fleshed fish)
a small bunch of fresh dill
100ml white wine
2 banana shallots, very finely diced
150-175g cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes.

Method  :

For the Pea Puree

Place the frozen peas and a splash of water into a high sided bowl and microwave for five minutes.  Drain the peas and then return to the bowl along with the mint leaves.  Puree the peas using a hand blender, adding a tiny amount of double cream (or milk) until the desired consistency is reached.  Season to taste with salt, pepper and up to 1 tsp lemon juice if needed.  Cover the bowl and set aside to stay warm.

For the fish

Pour 300ml of the fish stock into a deep roasting dish and add a few peppercorns, and two of the bay leaves.  Lay the fish into the stock, adding more stock to almost cover the fish. Sprinkle the fish with dill fronds and then place the dish into an oven, pre-heated to 325degF/170degC/Gas 3 for 20 minutes.  This cooking time is recommended for chunky cod fillets but may need to be reduced for thinner pieces of fish.
 
For the buerre blanc sauce

1.  Place the white wine and lemon juice (white wine vinegar can be substituted) in a saucepan over a high heat.  Add the shallots, the remaining bay leaf and a few whole peppercorns and bring to a fast boil.  The liquids in the pan need to be reduced by about three quarters or until they become syrupy.

2.  Add the remaining 30ml of double cream to the pan and continue to cook and stir on a high heat until the emulsion reaches coating consistency.  Remove the pan from the heat and reduce the heat to very low.

3.  Now add a cube of cold butter to the pan, keeping it off the heat.  Whisk until the cube of butter has almost dissolved before adding the next cube.  Repeat this process for the rest of the butter, returning the pan to the heat when the butter's melting slows down.  This process is a critical one.  The sauce must not be allowed to get hotter than about 60degC otherwise it will split.  This is why the cubes of butter must be cold when added.  Conversely, the sauce must not be allowed to cool too much, so returning the pan to a low heat every so often is essential to warm it back up.  Continue this process, whisking continuously, until the sauce is glossy and reaches the consistency that you require. It can then be left in a warm pan, taking care not to let it come to the boil. 

4.  Season to taste and add a little lemon juice if the sauce tastes at all 'flat'.  The sauce can be served as it is or, for a more refined finish, can be passed through a fine sieve to remove the shallots and peppercorns.

To serve

Smooth as much or as little pea puree as required onto a warmed plate.  Place a fillet of drained fish on top of the puree and serve with a selection of steamed vegetables.  Pour a generous amount of the buerre blanc sauce over the fish and vegetables and serve with a well chilled, crisp white wine.


Printable version

Fish Pie - as close to "economical" as I could get

I love fish pie.  Well, it's got mashed potato on it so I'm bound to love it, right?  However, it also involves fish - which up until I got pregnant with son & heir, was very much a no-no for me.  However, even back in the day when I was a little nipper a fish pie could restore me from bed-ridden, tonsillitis-wracked misery, to something resembling health.

Being my second-rated (after a Cottage Pie) port of call for comfort food, I've stuck with it over the years.  Through many sub-standard supermarket versions when I was either without a kitchen or without the time and inclination to cook it and with occasional successes under the guise of a ready-made "Fisherman's Pie".

Now when I announced to the assembled family (hubby and son & heir, that is) that this was the "first Fish Pie I have ever made" - I truly believed that.  (Not taking into account several Russian Fish Pies that have come and gone).  However their reaction negated my belief and led me to the conclusion that fish pies I have made in the past have been so awful that I must have written them from my memory.  Odd.  I have given the grey matter a good old wring out and just can't remember ever making it before - but then with age comes a certain amount of loss of memory.  *cough*

Fish .. sauce .. spoon .. eat.  No!  Must add mashed potato and bake!

One thing I know for sure, is that I have wanted to make a fish pie for absolutely ages, but the price of the fish has been restrictive to the point where we just couldn't afford the investment in the ingredients.  Not much has changed where that is concerned (the price of fish, that is), but our local Asda have brought out two types of "Fish Pie Mix" - the frozen version (cod, smoked haddock and salmon) at £3.00 for 300g and the fresh version (haddock, smoked haddock and salmon) at £3.20 for 325g.  Now one of those packs on their own is not sufficient for the three of us and I had looked wistfully at them from time to time, just to see if the quantity increased at all.

However, thanks to the Tom Yum Soup requiring some fishy input and my buying a "cheap as chips" small bag of teensy prawns, it occurred to me that if I included a 200g bag of said teensy prawns for £1.30, it would bring the quantity up to acceptable and the price for the fish to (almost) an affordable level.

With a final flourish of grated cheddar, it is ready for the oven

So I invested in a bag of both, some Maris Piper potatoes and crossed my fingers.

Of course, I had to uncross them in order to peel the spuds - but they were crossed in my mind, you understand.  The fish pieces were minimal, but even so I cut them in half just to make sure they went a bit further.  Don't ask me how it does it, but somehow whilst in the oven, fish pieces have the capability of all migrating across to one side of the casserole dish - so rendering one poor person with mashed potato and sauce.  I hoped that by cutting them in half, it might slow down such shenanigans.  I gather that hubby's portion was somewhat light in fish and heavy in prawns, so it didn't quite work - but I tried to lay them down evenly!  I can't be held responsible for any migratory habits once in the oven.  Oh, now here's a thought - maybe it's the salmon who round up the other fish and chivvy them across during their migration!  We all know how salmon like to migrate during their lives.  It's possible - anything is possible.  I shall have to put up small mushroom weirs to keep them on their own side in future.

~ comes back to reality ~

The washing up is a good way of coming back to reality ..

So - I knew this fish pie was going to be tasty as soon as I got the sauce right.  This was the occasion I was talking about in the Creamy Chicken & Courgettes post - when I used some of Essential Cuisine's fish stock powder to full effect.  I had the sauce pretty much made, but it was just lacking in something to key it to the fish that was to be added later when I remembered the fish stock powder.  Essential Cuisine's stock powders aren't hugely salty and I knew that if I added a flat teaspoonful to the sauce it would mix in and disappear, but leave behind it a subtle hint of shellfish that would be perfect.  The cayenne pepper provided a lovely background warmth without being at all intrusive and the nutmeg and parsley were just plain old traditional.

Because the fish pieces were so small, I didn't worry about cooking the fish before adding it to the casserole dish.  I suspect we'd have wound up with tiny pieces of rubber, had I have done so.   I did take the precaution of squeezing out as much water as I could, by pressing them (along with the prawns) between two pieces of kitchen paper before adding them to the dish.  I have had several failures with defrosted frozen fish in the past, when they have let gallons of water (well, it looked like gallons) out into my beautifully crafted sauce - so leaving me with dishwater.

Slowly submerging under a sea of sauce - but deliciously so!

There was slightly too much sauce in the casserole dish - I'll have to watch that in future, as I'd have preferred it not to have encroached quite so far upon the surface.  It rather spoiled the effect of the baked cheese.  It wouldn't have gone to waste, as it was all I could do not to eat it by the spoonful instead of putting it in the casserole dish.

Hubby felt that there was rather too much mashed potato on board his portion, so I've resolved to buy some individual sized dishes and use those in future.  That way son & heir and I can have a good whack of potato, whilst hubby's can be rather more restrained.  A good handful of grated cheddar on top finished it off beautifully.

The veggies - carrots (cooking), green beans (colander) and peas, all queueing politely

The finished pie served the three of us very generously - and there was even a spoonful or two left for lunch the next day.  Hubby thinks I'm mad to go scraping the bowl around, getting all the baked on bits of mashed potato and cheese out.  However, for me, they're the best bits and it really hurts to see them still stuck to the casserole dish, but the casserole dish put into the water to soak!  I'm sure I was born into the wrong era.  I should have been around during rationing.  I'd probably have enjoyed eating false marmalade and Lord Woolton Pie.

FISH PIE  (serves 3)

Ingredients :

1 pint plus 100ml of milk
2 small onions, one halved, one diced super-finely
6 cloves
2 bay leaves
50g and 25g butter
freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp plain flour
3 tbsp double cream (optional)
one third of a tsp of cayenne pepper
one third of a tsp of nutmeg
a pinch of sea salt
a flat tsp of fish stock powder (or half a fish stock cube, crumbled)
1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
300g mixed fish (I used a combination of smoked haddock, cod and salmon)
200g cooked peeled prawns
3-4 large Maris Piper potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
a handful of grated strong cheddar cheese.

Method :

1.  Pour the pint of milk into a small saucepan and place over a low heat to warm through.  Add the halved onion, into which you have pushed the six cloves (three on each half) and the two bay leaves.  Once the milk is steaming - but long before it boils - set aside to steep.

2.  In a small saucepan, melt one third of the 50g of butter and add the finely diced onion.  Sweat the onion - without browning at all - until it is softened and transparent.  Then add some freshly ground black pepper and the remaining two thirds of the 50g of butter to melt.

3.  Stir in the flour and continue to cook over a low heat for 2-3 minutes, without browning.  Then begin adding the steeped milk, little by little, stirring all the time, until you have a thick and lump free sauce.

4.  Add the cayenne pepper, nutmeg, cream, fish stock powder, sea salt and parsley and stir through.  Taste for seasoning and add a little more if necessary.  Remove from the heat and reserve to cool slightly.

5.  Place the potato chunks into a pan of boiling salted water and cook until tender.

6.  In the meantime, cut the fish into bite sized chunks and, if it was frozen or just plain old wet, then dry on some kitchen paper pressing down to remove as much water as possible.  Place the fish into the bottom of a casserole dish.

6.  Do the same with the prawns, removing all traces of moisture.  Add to the fish and stir to combine.

7.  Add the cooled sauce and gently stir the fish through.  Make sure the fish is evenly distributed across the bottom of the casserole dish, so that everyone gets an equal amount.

8.  Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them and return them to the saucepan along with the 25g of butter and the 100ml of milk (warmed slightly - I use the microwave) plus a pinch of sea salt and some freshly ground black pepper.  Mash the potatoes thoroughly, making sure that all lumps are gone.

9.  Place spoonfuls of the mashed potato onto the top of the fish mixture and gently level the top, making sure not to press too hard and squash the fish.

10.  Sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese across the top and place into a pre-heated oven at 180degC/350degF/gas 4, for 35-45 minutes or until the top is golden and the sauce has begun to bubble at the sides.

Serve.

Printable version
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Pesto crusted cod with roast vegetable giant couscous

As you no doubt know, I've been looking for low calorie, healthy recipes with a view to us all trimming a little of the Christmas-induced waistline width.

I am also very keen to include more fish in our diet.  Amazingly, we all like fish - and we just don't make as much of it as we could do, because of the price in the supermarket.  We do have a fishmonger down in Lower Parkstone that we've spotted, but disabled access to the shop is quite difficult.  I think I'm going to have to send hubby in there to have a recce before I try staggering across the road and standing up long enough to view all the fish on offer (and absorb some of the prices!) before attempting to stagger back to the car, without bursting into tears or hyperventilating.  It'd be great to find a fishmonger (or fishmungler, as they're known in this house) because then I won't be restricted to cod, haddock or river cobbler.  I'd absolutely LOVE to get my hands on a crab or two, plus sardines - well, all manner of fish and shellfish!

In the meantime, however, I've been attempting to make something of the frozen fish on offer at the supermarket.  It is, at least, almost affordable in price even if it does require copious amounts of kitchen paper in order to squeeze the water from it!

I had decided to make some oven-baked fish - and cod won the toss, in this instance.  You could just as easily use any other type of firm fleshed white fish - haddock is perfect.


The preparation is really easy - just take a nice pesto and spread a teaspoonful across the top of each fillet or piece of fish.  Then, mix together some grated parmesan and breadcrumbs with a little black pepper and pat onto the top of the pesto.


After some 20-25 minutes in the hot oven, the fish was opaque and the crust crunchy.  Delicious!


I'd originally decided to make a roast vegetable couscous, however during the week I'd found some Mograbiah (or giant couscous) and decided to use some of that instead.

I had diced some parsnips, carrot, onion, courgette, red pepper and a baby aubergine which I roasted in olive oil, together with some thyme and garlic.  I cooked the Mograbiah in vegetable stock and simply tossed it together with the vegetables, a little lemon juice and some chopped mint and parsley.  Of course, you don't have to use Mograbiah - normal couscous would do just fine.  As such, I've written the recipe for normal couscous as it's more easily found in the shops.


The two recipes worked very well together.  Hubby found that the mint was a bit too heavy, however I was perfectly happy with the flavours - but then, I love mint!


Considering that the two recipes were either conceived on the spur of the moment, or with fingers crossed (as to whether the fish would be soggy), I was very pleased with how it came out.  Son & heir ate all his fish but was selective about the couscous.  Hubby would eat it again, but with less mint.  I would eat it again, just as it was!

PESTO CRUSTED COD with ROAST VEGETABLE COUSCOUS   (feeds 3)

Ingredients :

3 fillets of firm fleshed white fish
3 tsp pesto
a handful of breadcrumbs
a handful of grated parmesan
freshly ground black pepper
150g couscous
120ml vegetable stock, boiling
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
1 large carrot, peeled and diced 
1 onion, peeled and diced
1 courgette, diced
1 baby aubergine (or another courgette), diced
1 red pepper, cut into 2cm squares
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp dried thyme
small handful of parsley, chopped finely
2-3 sprigs of mint, leaves removed and chopped
sea salt.


Method :


1.  Pre-heat the oven to 200deg C (fan)/400deg F/gas 6.


2.  Place the parsnip and carrot cubes into a bowl with the garlic and thyme.  Drizzle with olive oil and add a pinch of sea salt.  Toss to mix thoroughly, then turn out onto a baking tray and put in the oven for 15 minutes.


3.  Add the remaining vegetable cubes to the bowl you've just used (which should still be a little garlicky) and drizzle with olive oil, to wait its turn in the oven.


4.  Place the fish into a baking dish, allowing a little space between the fillets.


5.  Spread a tsp of the pesto over each fillet, then in a small bowl mix the breadcrumbs, parmesan and pepper.  Pat the breadcrumb mix into the pesto, taking care to leave the crumbs loose enough that they will crisp in the oven.


6.  Remove the carrot & parsnip from the oven and add the remaining vegetable cubes to the tray, spreading to an even layer.  Replace to roast for 20-25 minutes.


7.  Put the fish in the oven for the same 20-25 minutes.


8.  In the meantime, in a deep bowl, add the boiling vegetable stock to the couscous.  Cover with cling film and leave to absorb the stock for 10-15 minutes.


9.  Uncover the couscous and fluff up with a fork.

10. Remove the fish from the oven and keep warm whilst you finish off the couscous.

11.  When the vegetables are fully roasted, browned and lovely, add them to the couscous and gently stir through.


12.  Add a squeeze of lemon juice and the chopped parsley & mint.  Taste and add a pinch of sea salt, if necessary.


13.  Serve.

Goan Fish Curry

Original version, minus okra

This was my first go at a) a Goan curry and b) a fish curry.  I'd say it was - for me - around 85% successful, however for my son & hubby, 95% successful.

For me, it was a little one-dimensional.  The original recipe didn't contain any lemon juice or okra and even with the tamarind paste, I felt it just needed that sharpness that lemon juice brings.  I had dithered and dathered over whether to include okra or not and was dubious about the texture of okra combined with the fish.  However, having sampled the original version, I'd definitely include okra in the mk. 2 version.

I used cod in the original version and again, I'd change that to haddock when I try it again.  The flavoursome sauce did a very good job of wiping out the delicate flavour of the cod, so I feel that haddock would stand up to it a lot better.

I served ours with rice, although I can't help but think that with the addition of a carbohydrate-based vegetable to the curry - such as potato, or sweet potato - you could easily dispense with the rice and just go for Naan bread as an accompaniment.  Served from warmed bowls, with naan to dip and scoop with, would be ideal.

Goan fish curry - very good with a Cobra beer!

GOAN FISH CURRY  (serves 3-4)

Ingredients :

2 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground cumin

1 dried red chilli

olive oil

1 onion, halved and sliced

a small piece root ginger, finely grated

2 garlic cloves, crushed

½ tsp turmeric

400ml tin coconut milk

a handful of Okra, top & tailed, then diced

1 tsp tamarind paste 

1 tbsp lemon juice

2 green chillies, finely sliced

300g firm white fish cut into chunks

fresh coriander, to garnish

Method :

Heat a little oil in a pan and cook the onion with a big pinch of salt until soft and golden.

Add the ginger, garlic, turmeric and ground spices and fry for 1 minute.

Add the coconut, tamarind, lemon juice, okra and green chillies and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the fish and cook for 3-4 minutes until just cooked.

Sprinkle with chopped coriander and serve. 

It's just one of those phases we go through ...

Do you find that you go through phases with the food you choose to eat? I do. For definite. I’d love to know what causes the swap from one phase to the next, because I really can’t put my finger on a reason – other than my singular lack of success at combining tomato and chilli, as per recent attempts.

This week seems to have been all about chicken and cheese. Not necessarily combined though, you understand. I see you looking somewhat relieved. *chuckle*

Well, we started off the week with a Smoked Cod Rarebit with baked cherry tomatoes. Now, apart from it winding up rather over-sauced, this was an all-round success that will be repeated at some point.

It’s also extremely easy to do, as you begin by melting butter, adding garlic, tossing the tomatoes in the garlic butter, before adding them to an oven-proof dish. Then you wilt some spinach in the remains of the butter, add a teensy bit of nutmeg and put on top of the tomatoes. Place some fillets of smoked fish (cod, in my case) on the top of the spinach and make up a thick, roux-based white sauce, to which you add some wholegrain mustard and some grated cheese. Pour this over to cover the fish and bake in a moderate oven for some 30-45 mins (depending on how thick your fish is) and serve.

I was even able to avoid the tomatoes for my son, who hates cooked tomato, buy only placing them into two-thirds of the dish.

From there, we progressed to Chilli Meatballs with Cheesy Nachos. Now I do understand that in no way can this be classed a dish that is remotely good for you. However, it does come into the category of “got to be done” and now we’ve done it, we’re satisfied. Until next time. *wink*

For Friday’s dinner, I had chosen “One-pot Chicken & Bacon Stew”, which looked to be far more difficult than it actually was. You can find the recipe for it here.

Considering everyone had clean plates at the end of the meal, I’d call that a success. Well, as it was involving chicken, bacon, white wine and cream, how on earth could it have failed to succeed? That combination Is almost guaranteed to impress.

However, all this was put into the shade by a muffin recipe. Well may you raise your eyebrows, but this is no ordinary muffin recipe but one for the lovely Brunch Muffins.

Now, again, how could anything involving bacon, cheese and spring onions not win anyone’s heart? Especially when the end result is fist-shaped and portable. Perfect Sunday morning food for boys, men and blog-writing mothers, alike.

Again – like most of the best recipes – it is dead easy.  You simply take 360g of self-raising flour, half a tablespoon of sugar, half a teaspoon of salt and combine them in a large bowl.

Take 100ml of vegetable oil, 2 large eggs, 300ml buttermilk or semi-skimmed milk and a grind or two of black pepper and combine them in a large jug.

Fry off 100g of diced streaky bacon until it’s starting to go brown, then 5-6 chopped spring onions until they’re softening.

Add the liquids to the flour mixture and whisk or beat until smooth, then add 70g grated mature cheddar cheese together with the bacon and onions and mix well.

Decant into six large muffin cases, sprinkle another 10g of cheese over them and bake in a moderate (190deg fan) oven until brown and a skewer comes out clean.

Then, fend off the hungry hordes until they are cool enough to eat (the muffins, that is, not the hordes) and arm yourself with tomato ketchup for the “can’t eat bacon without ketchup” members of the family.

My thanks go out to Lucinda Overington, for the Brunch Muffins’ recipe – without whom our Sunday mornings would have been markedly less enjoyable.

(First published 31.8.10 Bournemouth Echo "Taste" Pages)

Smoked fish & cherry tomato rarebit

You see what I mean, by over-sauced!

Although delicious, this did turn out a wee bit over-sauced.  Next time I make it, I'll follow the reduced quantities I've set out below.

Serves 3-4

Ingredients for the sauce :

30g butter
40g plain flour
a dash of worcestershire sauce
400ml whole milk
75g strong cheddar, grated
1 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard

Ingredients for the fish :

25g butter
1 clove garlic, grated
250g cherry tomatoes, halved
120g fresh spinach, washed
pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
400g undyed smoked haddock or cod, skin removed
25g strong cheddar, grated

Method :

Preheat the oven to 190C/fan 180C/gas 5.

To make the rarebit sauce, melt the butter in a heavy based saucepan and stir in the flour.  Cook, stirring, for one minute.  Remove the pan from the heat and slowly whisk in most of the milk until combined.  Keep some milk back, so as to keep the sauce as thick as possible. Add the Worcestershire sauce, then return to the heat and slowly bring to the boil, stirring or whisking constantly, adding a little milk as you go until the sauce is unctuous and thick.  Simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and add the mustard and cheese.  Season with pepper and set aside.

For the fish, melt the butter in a large, high sided non-stick frying pan, add the garlic and cook until just coloured.  Immediately add the tomatoes and toss them with the garlic butter, cooking just enough to heat through.  Remove the tomatoes with a slotted spoon and place into a shallow baking dish (a lasagne dish is perfect).  Spread them evenly.  Replace the pan on the heat and add the spinach.  Cook over a high heat until just wilted (will only take seconds), then tip into a colander and press to remove all the liquid.  Replace into the pan and add seasoning plus the nutmeg.  Arrange over the tomato layer, then cover with the fish fillets.

Spoon the rarebit sauce over the fish fillets so that they are completely covered, then sprinkle with grated cheese.

Bake in the oven for around 30-45 mins until brown and bubbling and the fish is cooked through.  You can check this by inserting a knife into the fish, whereupon the flesh should flake easily.

Serve straight from the dish, with new potatoes and peas.