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Archive for the ‘Fish’ Category

Spiced Salmon with Coconut Crumbs

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , on 26 January 2012| 3 Comments »

This is lovely and healthy too. We served it with the potato salad in the post below. The recipe serves eight so it would be really easy for a dinner party but was also really easy to adapt to feed just two.

Roast spiced salmon with coconut crumbs – to serve 8 (or divide it up to serve less)

  • 50g butter
  • 8 green cardamom pods, seeds removed and finely crushed
  • 3 tbsp desiccated coconut
  • 1 red chilli, seeded and finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp grated fresh root ginger
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • generous pinch of ground turmeric
  • 8 slim boneless skinless salmon fillets
  • 2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander

Melt the butter in a medium pan, add the cardamom and coconut and keep stirring for a few minutes or until the coconut starts to toast and smell divine. Stir in the chilli, ginger, garlic, ground coriander and turmeric. Cook for another minute and then leave to cool.

Arrange the salmon in a single layer but not touching, in 1 large or 2 smaller buttered ovenproof dishes. Scatter the coriander over and spread the coconut mixture on top. You can cover the salmon with cling film and stick it in the fridge for up to a day. Take it out of the fridge about an hour before you want to cook it.

Turn the oven to 200C/gas 6/fan 180C. Roast the salmon for 13-15 minutes or until cooked, but still moist.

Wine Suggestion: We had a Gruner Veltliner from Austria which tends to be a little bit spicy and so complements a dish like this. A little residual sugar never goes amiss when there is chilli in the food either.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Fantastic Fish Pie

Posted in Fish, Food, tagged , , , , on 15 January 2012| Leave a Comment »

Sometimes the less complicated recipes are the best. Our fish pies usually have all sorts of stuff inside but this white fish, egg and parsley sauce combo was delicious. Perfect comfort food.

Fish Pie – to serve 4 

  • 1 small onion, thickly sliced
  • 2 cloves
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 600ml milk
  • 300ml double cream
  • 450g unskinned cod or haddock fillet
  • 225g undyed smoke cod or haddock fillet
  • 4 eggs
  • 100g butter
  • 45g plain flour
  • 5 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1.25kg floury potatoes, peeled
  • 1 egg yolk
  • salt and freshly ground white pepper

Push the cloves into a couple of the onion slices. Put the onion into a large pan with a bay leaf, 450ml of the milk, all of the cream, and fish. Bring just to a boil and them simmer gently for 8 minutes. Lift the fish out with a slotted spoon and strain the cooking liquid into a jug. When the fish is cool enough to handle, break it into big flakes, discarding the skin and any bones. Sprinkle the fish over the base of a shallow 1.75 litre ovenproof dish.

Hard-boil the eggs for 8 minutes, then drain and leave to cool in cold water (so you don’t get ugly black rings). Peel and cut into chunky slices and arrange then on top of the fish.

Melt 50g of the butter in a pan, add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Take the pan off the heat and gradually stir in the reserved liquid. Return it to the heat and bring to the boil slowly, stirring all the time. Leave it to simmer gently for 10 minutes to thicken and cook out the flour. Remove from the heat again, stir in the parsley and season with nutmeg, salt and white pepper. Pour the sauce over the fish and leave to cool. Chill in the fridge for 1 hour.

Boil the potatoes until tender. Drain, mash and add the rest of the butter and the egg yolk. Season with salt and white pepper and beat in enough of the milk to form a soft mash that you can spread.

Pre-heat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/Gas 6. Spoon the potato over the filling and mark the surface with a fork. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until piping hot and golden brown.

Wine Suggestion: keep it simple and try a dry and minerally Muscadet. There are some great examples of Muscadet around at the moment and for not much money so it’s worth a try with any other seafood too.

(Original recipe from Rick Stein’s Seafood, BBC Books, 2001.)

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Baked Fish with Orzo and Gremolata

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , , , on 19 December 2011| 3 Comments »

A much needed bit of lightness in the midst of all the Christmas festivities. This is really nice and we got to use our new shallow casserole – not sure how we ever survived without one. The fish steams lightly in the oven which keeps it really moist and you’ve much less chance of over-cooking.

Baked fish with orzo and gremolata – to serve 4

  • 25g butter
  • 1 bunch scallions, chopped
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 200g orzo
  • 4 thick skinless pieces of haddock or cod
  • a small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • 1 lemon, zested
  • 1/2 a garlic clove, finely chopped

Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Heat the butter in a non-stick shallow oven-proof pan. Slowly cook the scallions until soft and then add the orzo and chicken stock. Simmer for a few minutes, until the orzo is almost cooked. Lay the fish on top, season, cover with a lid and put in the oven. Cook for 15-20 minutes or until your fish is cooked through – it will flake easily when pushed with a fork.

Mix the parsley, lemon and garlic and sprinkle over the top.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

Wine Suggestion: Go for something simple, light and lemony – like a Verdicchio or a light and dry Riesling. Nothing too complicated is required here.

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Rice with Monkfish, Saffron and Red Peppers

Posted in Fish, Food, Spanish, tagged , , , , , , on 10 December 2011| 2 Comments »

We have loved every recipe we have tried from Rick Stein’s Spain. This is a really nice rice dish from Valencia which we’ll definitely be doing again. It tastes similar to paella but requires fewer ingredients. Delicious and easy!

Arroz de rape, azafrán y pimientos – to serve 6

  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 75g finely chopped shallot
  • 1 small head of garlic, cloves separated, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1/2 tsp pimentón dulce (smoked sweet Spanish paprika), plus a bit extra for seasoning the fish
  • a pinch of crushed dried chillies
  • 200g vine ripened beef tomatoes, halved
  • 1 litre Fish stock
  • 1/2 tsp loosely packed saffron strands
  • 400g short-grained paella rice such as Calasperra
  • 1 large roasted red pepper or 3 jarred pimientos
  • 500g monkfish fillet, trimmed of membrane then cut across into 1 cm thick slices
  • Aioli to serve

Grate the tomatoes using a coarse grater. You will be left with the skin which you can discard. Heat 2 tbsp of the oil in a 28-30cm cazuela or shallow flameproof casserole, add the shallot and fry gently for 10 minutes or until soft but not browned. Add the garlic, pimentón and chillies and fry for another 2 minutes, then stir in the tomatoes and cook until they have broken down into a sauce.

Stir in the fish stock, saffron and 1 1/2 tsp of salt and bring to the boil, stirring. Sprinkle in the rice, stir once, then leave to simmer vigorously over a medium-high heat for 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the roasted red pepper or jarred pimientos into 1cm-wide strips, removing any skin and seeds. Sprinkle over the top of the rice and shake briefly so they sink in a bit. Lower the heat and leave to simmer gently for another 12 minutes. At the end the liquid should all have absorbed and the rice should have small holes on the surface.

Before the rice is ready, pat the monkfish pieces dry and season well with salt and a little pimentón. Heat 2tbsp olil in a non-stick frying pan. Add the monkfish slices in batches and fry over a high heat for 1 minute on each side until very lightly coloured and almost cooked.

Lay the fish on top of the rice, turn off the heat and cover with a lid or clean cloth. Leave to rest for 5 minutes to allow the monkfish to finish cooking through.

Serve with alioli.

(Original recipe from Rick Stein’s Spain, BBC Books, 2011)

Wine Suggestion: The best match would be something with a the joy of youth and fruitiness like a joven (young) Tempranillo or a light Garnacha.

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Sicilian-style Fish Stew

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , on 16 November 2011| 4 Comments »

This dish is really easy, light and yet full of flavours. Takes hardly any time to rustle up on a week night too.

Sicilian-style fish stew – to serve 2

  • olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely sliced
  • 2 celery stalks, sliced
  • 3 garlic cloves, sliced
  • a pinch of chilli flakes
  • 2 plum tomatoes (we had to use tinned tomatoes this time)
  • 125ml white wine
  • 400ml vegetable stock
  • 50g couscous
  • 250g white fish fillet – we used hake
  • 1/2 a lemon, zested
  • a small handful of chopped parsley chopped

Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a wide, shallow pan. Add the onion, celery, garlic, and chilli flakes. Season and cook for 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook for another couple of minutes. Pour in the wine and stock and bring to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes then add the couscous. Turn down to a simmer and add the fish. Cover with a lid and cook until the fish is done, about 5-7 minutes. Break the fish into large chunks as you serve and sprinkle over the lemon zest and parsley.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

Wine suggestion: You want a bit of body and minerality here as there are some fairly robust flavours, despite being a light dish. We went for a Riesling from Alsace but a Provencal rosé would also work well.

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An Autumnal Fish Dish

Posted in Fish, Food, tagged , , , , , , on 20 October 2011| 3 Comments »

Hake is a really versatile white fish. It has a meaty texture that holds together when cooked and is also really good value as it’s not as popular as cod, haddock etc. It’s quite mild and so goes well with firm flavours like the mushrooms and sage below.

Hake with mushrooms, hazlenuts and crispy sage – serves 4

  • 100ml white wine
  • 200ml fish stock
  • 100ml double cream
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 50g hazlenuts
  • a handful of sage
  • 250g mixed mushrooms, sliced if large
  • 4 hake fillets
Bring the stock and wine to boil in a small pan. Simmer rapidly until you have just 2 tbsp of liquid left. Stir in the cream, take off the heat and set aside.

Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan and toast the hazelnuts until golden, coarsely chop and then set aside. Next, crisp the sage leaves in the same pan for just a few seconds, then drain them on kitchen paper.

Fry the mushrooms until soft, you will need a little more butter. Season, then tip them onto a plate. Cook the hake in the same pan for 2-3 minutes on each side. Reheat the sauce over a low heat.

Put the cooked fish onto warm plates, pour a little sauce over each and scatter over mushrooms, hazelnuts and sage.

Wine Suggestion: Something like a Vermentino from Italy or Sardinia that has a little more body – 13% abv or more (as some are a lighter style – 11-12% abv – which would be overwhelmed with these flavours). This should be nutty and minerally and will complement the earthy flavours in the dish.

(Original recipe by Sarah Randell for Sainsbury’s Magazine, October 2011)

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Seared Tuna with a Green Olive Salsa Verde

Posted in Fish, Food, Spanish, tagged , , , , , on 14 October 2011| Leave a Comment »

The leftover salsa verde will keep in the fridge and is lovely with meat, fish or bruschetta.

To serve 4:

  • 4 tuna steaks
  • olive oil
  • sea salt flakes
For the salsa verde
  • 10g each of flat-leaf parsley leaves, mint leaves and basil leaves
  • 1 clove garlic, thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp capers, drained and dried
  • 50g good-quality pitted green olives
  • 4 anchovy fillets in oil
  • finely grated zest of 1/4 small lemon
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
To make the salsa verde, drop the herbs into boiling water for a few seconds, then drain and refresh under cold water. Squeeze out the water, then put on a chopping board with the garlic, capers, olives and anchovies and finely chop everything together. Scrape into a bowl and add the lemon zest, mustard, lemon juice, olive oil and some black pepper.

Heat a cast-iron griddle pan over a high heat. Brush the tuna with olive oil and season with sea salt. Put them on the griddle, turn the heat down to medium high and cook for 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side so you get nice char marks but the fish is rare on the inside.

Serve the tuna steaks with the salsa verde spooned over the top.

(Original recipe by José Pizarro for Sainsbury’s Magazine, October 2011).

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A Jono & Jules Original!

Posted in Fish, Food, Pasta, tagged , , , , , , on 23 September 2011| Leave a Comment »

It’s amazing what you can throw together when rummaging through the cupboard. We always make huge batches of tomato sauce and freeze it as you can use it in so many things. We made pizza on Tuesday which didn’t quite use the whole tub and this is how we used up the leftover sauce. We recommend buying good quality pasta – we like Martelli which comes in cute yellow paper bags but most importantly has a great texture – you will notice the difference.

To make this dish we sliced up a red chilli and sautéed it in a glug of olive oil. We then added our leftover tomato sauce and some tuna chunks from a jar of tuna fillets in olive oil – much nicer than tinned and we always avoid brine! Heat this gently while you cook your spaghetti. Throw some rinsed capers in at the end and toss the sauce and spaghetti together. Yum!

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Here’s what to do with your pesto

Posted in Fish, Food, tagged , , , , , , on 4 September 2011| 2 Comments »

Yum yum yum yum! Throw this together after work and you won’t be disappointed. Try and get salad potatoes – we could only find floury new potatoes in the village and they sort of went to mush. A great way to use up pesto.

Warm potato and tuna salad with pesto dressing – to serve 4

  • 650g new potatoes, halved lengthways (try and get waxy/salad potatoes)
  • 2 tbsp pesto (fresh is best – see recipe below)
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 8 cherry tomatoes
  • 175g can tuna (we like to use the tuna in oil that comes in jars)
  • 200g runner beans, sliced finely on the diagonal (or you can use halved green beans)
  • couple of handfuls of spinach
Put the potatoes in a pan of boiling water, bring back to the boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, mix the pesto and oil together. Halve the tomatoes, drain and flake the tuna. Add the beans to the potatoes for the last 3 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and beans and tip into a salad bowl. Stir in the spinach so it starts to wilt. Season well. Scatter the tomatoes and tuna over the top and drizzle over the pesto. Give it a final toss and you’re ready to go.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Falling Cloudberries’ Greek Baked fish

Posted in Fish, Food, Greek, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on 12 August 2011| Leave a Comment »

When we find recipes that do something a little differently and look like they work we have to give them a go. In this case Tessa Kiros suggested baking a firm white fish for one and a half hours which to our wisdom was too long to respect the fish flavours and texture but her enthusiasm and passion for the dish won out. The following recipe proved our preconceptions wrong and we had a delightful and flavoursome dish that proved a complete success. Definitely will be made again (and already has been :-))

Oven-baked fish with tomato & parsley (serves 4 )

  • 1 kg firm white fish fillets, skinned and cut into 6cm pieces
  • 400g tin tomatoes with juice
  • 15g (1/4 cup) chopped parsley
  • 4 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • 2 celery stalks, very finely chopped with some leaves too if you like
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil

Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan/350F. Lay fish pieces in a single layer in a large flat oven dish. Mix together all the other ingredients and taste for seasoning. Pour over and cover fish pieces, shaking the dish to balance and equally distribute the juices. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove foil and bake for another 40 to 50 minutes until the liquid has thickened and the top of the fish is golden. You will have to judge this according to your oven as you may have to raise the temperature or reduce the time if necessary. Try to let the dish remain somewhat juicy and not dry out but at the same time crisp the top a little.

Serve with boiled or steamed potatoes as we did to good effect, or a warm crusty bread would work well too.

Wine Suggestion: A slightly herbally and mineral white with a medium body and no overt oak. We drank a superb Friulano brought by our friend Enrico, Vignai da Duline Fiulano 2007,  which had a  great balance of medium weight but perfectly poised concentration and elegant complexity. A delight and superbly matched the food. We recommend you search out this gem (2100 bottles in 2007) as it truly represents the Friulano grape to it very best and has a taughtness and poise that lifts it above the crowd.

We had this dish as the main when we cooked the Saffron Penne –  a good pair.

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Super-healthy salmon & rice salad

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on 24 July 2011| 2 Comments »

We made this salad because we were trying to use up some brown basmati we’ve had sitting around in the cupboard. The flavour and texture combination turned out even better than expected and it was just as delicious for dinner as well as the next day for lunch. Fresh and light and yet filling and very satisfying. Definitely will be done again.

We reckon this would be a fabulous as part of a buffet; easy to prepare in advance and bursting with colours and flavour.

Don’t be put off by microwaving the salmon – it really does work a treat!

Zingy salmon & brown rice salad (serves 4)

  • 200g brown basmati rice
  • 200g frozen soya beans, defrosted (we used peas because we couldn’t find he soya beans)
  • 2 salmon fillets, skin on
  • 1 cucumber , diced
  • small bunch spring onions , sliced
  • small bunch coriander , roughly chopped
  • zest and juice 1 lime
  • 1 red chilli , diced, deseeded if you like
  • 4 tsp light soy sauce
  1. Cook the rice following pack instructions and 3 mins before it’s done, add the soya beans. Drain and cool under cold running water.
  2. Meanwhile, put the salmon on a plate and microwave on high for 3 mins. Allow to cool slightly, remove the skin with a fork, then flake.
  3. Gently fold the cucumber, spring onions, coriander and salmon into the rice and beans. In a separate bowl, mix the lime zest and juice, chilli and soy, then pour over the rice before serving.
Original recipe BBC Good Food

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Italian tuna balls (hee hee)

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, Italian, Pasta, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on 14 July 2011| 5 Comments »

Well this was a pleasant surprise! We only made it cause it was super cheap and low fat but we will definitely be doing it again. This costs less than €2 a head and it is gorgeous! We don’t buy tomato pasta sauce because this one is so fabulous, super cheap, easy and freezes. We usually have some pasta dough in the freezer that needs used too so the picture has fresh tagliarini – so for us it cost the price of a tin of tuna.  Still  we don’t think you’ll be disappointed if you use shop bought sauce and dried spaghetti either.

Italian Tuna Balls – to serve 4  (easy to double or halve)

  • 2 x 160g cans tuna in oil, drained (reserve a bit of the oil)
  • small handful pine nuts
  • finely grated zest 1 lemon
  • small handful parsley, roughly chopped
  • 50g fresh breadcrumbs
  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 400g spaghetti
  • 500g jar tomato pasta sauce

Flake the tuna into a bowl, then add the pine nuts, lemon zest, parsley, breadcrumbs and egg. Season and mix with your hands until really well combined. Roll the mix into 12 walnut-size balls. Put a large saucepan of water on to boil, then cook the spaghetti according to the pack.

Heat a little of the tuna oil in a large non-stick frying pan, then fry the tuna balls for 5 minutes or until completely golden all over. Drain on kitchen paper. Heat the tomato sauce, then toss with the pasta and tuna balls.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Wasabi salmon with cucumber salad

Posted in Asian, Fish, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , on 30 June 2011| 2 Comments »

This was another of our heathy weeknight ideas – some of which turn out surprisingly well and others that turn out a bit bland and boring (we don’t blog the bland ones). This was great, though beware of wasabi fumes coming down your nose, a sensation we quite like but mightn’t be for everyone. The cucumber salad was a real hit too – salty, sweet, hot and sour. Felt like a bit of a treat in fact.

Wasabi salmon with cucumber salad – to serve 2

  • 2 salmon fillets, c. 125g each
  • 1 tbsp wasabi paste
  • half a cucumber
  • 1 small red chilli, cut into rings
  • 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1tsp golden caster sugar
  • 1tsp salt
  • 2 tsp poppyseeds
  • steamed rice to serve

Rub the salmon all over with a tiny bit of oil and then the wasabi paste.

Split the cucumber in half lengthways and discard the seeds. Cut into large diagonal chunks and put in a bowl. Add the chilli, rice vinegar, salt, sugar, poppyseeds and a bit of pepper. Mix well until the salt and sugar have dissolved. There will be quite a lot of liquid but don’t worry and don’t be tempted to leave out the salt as it is essential for the hot, sour, salty, sweet balance.

Preheat your grill and grill the fish for 5-6 minutes or until is turned a nice colour on top and is just cooked through (no need to turn it over).

Serve with the cucumber salad and steamed rice. The salad dressing is nice drizzled over the fish too.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

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Our last recipe for a short while

Posted in Fish, Food, tagged , , , , , on 17 April 2011| 7 Comments »

We’re moving house this week and next week we’re getting married so we don’t reckon there will be much cooking done. Don’t worry we’ll be back mid-May after eating lots of great food and drinking lots of wine in Tuscany. In the mean time enjoy this cause we did!

Baked salmon with smoked pancetta – to serve 4

  • 4 pieces of salmon fillet, about 540g in total
  • 12 thin slices of smoked pancetta
  • 4 bay leaves
Heat the oven to 230C/fan 210C/Gas 8.
Take the skin off the salmon and wrap each piece in 3 slices of pancetta, tuck the ends underneath.
Lay the fish in an ovenproof dish and tuck a bay leaf between the fish and pancetta.
Lightly brush with olive oil and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the pancetta is golden.
Serve with minty peas and new potatoes.
Simple and the salmon stays wonderfully moist and picks up the smoky flavour.
(Original recipe from Nigel Slater, printed in Sainsbury’s magazine).

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Emergency Red Mullet Recipe

Posted in Barbecue, Fish, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on 4 April 2011| Leave a Comment »

Our local fish counter (in Caviston’s, Glasthule) had Red Mullet today, which we never see, so I urgently called Jules to find a recipe. She found this in 2 minutes flat and we went with it as there wasn’t too many ingredients. The salsa tastes absolutely amazing. Now that the evenings are longer we’ve been dying to use the barbecue more so we’re very pleased with ourselves for a Monday night (especially as we’d planned to have  salad!) Very full and satisfied now.

Barbecue red mullet with a hot salsa (to serve 4)

For the fish:

  • 4 red mullet, scaled, cleaned and gutted
  • small bunch of fresh oregano, leaves picked

For the salsa:

  • a handful of black olives, stoned and roughly chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
  • 1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced
  • a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
  • 6 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • juice of 1/2 a lemon
  • a small bunch of flatleaf parsley, leaves picked and torn

Get your barbecue hot.

Slash the fish all over on both sides, about 1 cm deep, to help it cook through.

Roughly chop some oregano on a big board and spread it out. Sprinkle with a generous amount of salt and black pepper.

Roll the fish over the board and rub all the flavourings into the slashes you made.

Barbecue the fish for about 4 minutes on each side until you have crispy skin and soft cooked flesh inside.

Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and add the chopped olives. Warm them through for a minute or two and add the garlic, chilli and rosemary sprigs. Fry gently until the garlic is soft.

Remove and discard the rosemary and toss in the chopped tomatoes. Squeeze in the lemon juice and add the parsley.

Taste for seasoning (you probably won’t need salt as the olives will be salty) and warm through.

(Original recipe from Jamie Oliver)

Wine suggestion: We had a glass of Gruner Veltliner from Marlborough in New Zealand. Very unusual as this grape’s home turf is Austria. Quite peachy with bit of typical white pepper spice. If you fancy something different you can buy it in Mitchell and Son for about €15.95. A refreshing change from Sauvignon Blanc.

 

 

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Easy Prawn & Curly Kale Linguine

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, Pasta, tagged , , , , , , , on 3 March 2011| Leave a Comment »

We debated whether this could actually be called a recipe as it is so simple; it’s more of an assembly job.

To serve 2:

  • 200g linguine
  • 200g curly kale or spring greens
  • olive oil
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli, finely sliced
  • 200g raw prawns

Cook the linguine following the instructions on the pack and add your greens for the last 3 minutes.

Heat a little olive oil in a small frying pan and gently fry the garlic and chilli until soft.

Add the prawns and stir around until they are pink and then season well.

Put the linguine and greens in some bowls and serve the prawns etc over the top.

Drizzle a bit of oil over and you’re done.

Wine suggestion: something light and white and a little aromatic like a Cote de Gascogne. We had a Marsanne/Viognier blend from the Languedoc which was also good.

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Smoked fish cakes with poached eggs

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, Wine, tagged , , , , , on 1 February 2011| Leave a Comment »

It’s another healthy one but not lacking in flavour at all. Haven’t had eggs for ages so poached eggs were a nice treat on the top. Don’t think we’ve ever had mushrooms in a fish cake but they definitely added good flavour and texture so we’ll throw a few in next time too.

Smoked fish cakes with poached eggs (serves 4)

  • 250g potatoes, peeled (and halved if big)
  • 300g smoked haddock
  • 100g button mushrooms, thinly sliced
  • 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
  • 1-2 tbsp plain flour
  • 2-3 tbsp sunflower oil
  • 4 medium eggs
  • cooked frozen peas, to serve

Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes until tender but firm. Put the haddock on top, flesh side down, then cover and simmer gently for 4-5 minutes.

Remove the fish, roughly flake and get rid of any skin and bones.

Drain and roughly mash the potatoes, and season.

Dry-fry the mushrooms in a non-stick pan until golden.

Mix the mash, mushrooms, fish and parsley together in a bowl and leave to cool.

Shape the mixture into four fish cakes with floured hands.

Heat the oil in a non-stick pan and gently fry the cakes for 6-8 minutes, turning once.

Meanwhile, poach the eggs and cook your peas.

Top the fish cakes with the eggs and serve the peas on the side.

Original recipe from BBC Good Food.

Wine Suggestion: eggs can be difficult to pair with wine but we had a glass of easy-drinking lemony sauvignon blanc from Bordeaux which did the trick nicely.

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Whiting Dugléré

Posted in Fish, Food, France, Wine, tagged , , , , , , , , on 20 January 2011| Leave a Comment »

Jono picked up this Whiting for just over €3 for 500g – the challenge then was finding a recipe to use it with. This one is from “I Know How to Cook” (the French Silver Spoon) which we got at Christmas but hadn’t used yet. The sauce is delicious and the fish cooks just right. Next time you see some bargain whiting, grab it!

Whiting  to serve 6 (we only used half the amount of fish but kept the quantities for the sauce)

  • 1/2 an onion, chopped
  • 3-4 shallots, chopped
  • small handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • 250g tomatoes, skinned, deseeded and torn up small
  • six fillets of whiting (or whole whiting, scaled and cleaned)
  • 400ml white wine
  • 50g butter, plus a bit more to grease the dish
  • 30g flour
  • juice of a lemon
  • 2 tbsp creme fraiche

Preheat the oven to 220C and grease a flameproof dish with butter.

Mix onion, shallot, parsley and tomatoes together in a bowl and season. Spoon into your greased dish.

Put the fish on top and pour the wine over everything.

Bring to the boil over a high heat and then cover with buttered greaseproof paper.

Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, soften the butter slightly (if its come straight from the fridge) and mix to a paste with the flour.

Transfer the fish to a serving dish and keep warm (but don’t put it back in your hot oven at this stage or it will over cook).

Boil the juices in the pan and reduce.

Gradually stir in the paste, making sure each bit is fully blended in before you add more.

Stir in lemon juice to taste, add the creme fraiche and adjust seasoning.

Pour the sauce over the fish and put some more parsley over the top.

Serve with some steamed baby spuds.

Wine suggestion: Kelly from the wine shop in Harvey Nichols (Dundrum) suggested La Griffe Bernard Chéreau, Muscadet Sevre et Maine (€15)  and it was a great match: honeyed, minerally and rounded. I know we always suggest Muscadet with white fish but it goes!

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Coriander Halibut and Carrot Pilaff

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , , on 5 January 2011| 5 Comments »

To be honest we thought this would be a little bland (mostly as the look is a little light in the magazine photo – bland colours = bland flavour). We were wrong and we felt even more virtuous as it is a total diet dish; the flavours burst in every morsel.

To serve 4 (easily halved):

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 skinless halibut fillets, about 175g each (or cod)
  • 2 tbsp chopped coriander
  • zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 large carrots grated
  • 200g basmati rice
  • 600ml vegetable stock
  • a handful of frozen peas

The rice and fish cooks at the same time so get everything ready first.

Heat the grill to high, then line with double thick foil and curl up at the edges so you don’t lose all the juice. Brush lightly with oil and put the fish on top. Sprinkle over the coriander, lemon zest and juice and drizzle with a bit more oil. Season with salt and pepper, then grill for about 10 minutes or until the fish flakes (keep an eye on it as it might cook quicker than this depending on how thick your fish is).

Meanwhile, heat the rest of the oil in a pan, add onion and cumin and fry for a few minutes. Stir in the carrots and then the rice until glistening. Add stock and bring to the boil. Cover and cook gently for 5 minutes, then add the peas and cook for another 5 minutes.

Serve the fish on top of the rice. Enjoy.

Original recipe is on BBC Good Food.


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Asian-spiced fish with mushrooms

Posted in Fish, Food, Healthy, tagged , , , , , , , , on 13 December 2010| Leave a Comment »

Believe it or not … this is actually a delicate, white fish (hake) and not a badly burnt chop as the picture might imply. We blame a wonderfully rich and dark soy sauce (yum scrum) but if you use a lighter soy sauce like Kikkoman it may be more pleasing to the eye!

We made this because we haven’t had proper fish (ie. not shellfish) for a while and we’re trying to cook healthily  for a few days before Christmas takes over.

Asian-spiced fish with mushrooms (serves 4 – we halved the fish and mushrooms but not the sauce and served with rice for 2)

  • 25g butter
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • finely grated zest of a lime
  • 1 mild red chilli, thinly sliced in rings
  • 4 x 175g firm white fish fillets, skinned and boned (we used hake)
  • 200g mixed mushrooms, trimmed but left whole or at least chunky
  • coriander leaves to serve
  1. Heat the oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Melt the butter in a little pan, then stir in the soy sauce, lime zest and chilli. Tip this into a shallow (non-metallic) dish and add the fish, splashing it well in the marinade. Set aside for about 10 minutes.
  2. Take the fish out of the marinade and put it on a baking tray. Toss the mushrooms in the marinade and scatter them around the fish, drizzling the rest of the marinade over the top. Roast for 6-8 minutes, until the fish is cooked and the mushrooms are sizzling. Scatter with coriander and serve with rice or noodles.

(Original recipe from Ainsley Harriot – not someone we often cook from).

If you are serving rice you could try Jono’s foolproof rice cooking method which he got from Madhur Jaffrey:

For 4 people:

Combine 300ml long-grain/basmati rice with 500ml water. Add 10g butter and bring to the boil. Cover tightly (we use tinfoil and a lid), turn heat to very very low, and leave it be for 25 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it rest for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve. Perfectly cooked rice!

Jono and Julie

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