Bring on summer - spicy hake with 3 salads

There was some sun today - hurray! So, I thought I would try to prolong the good sunshiny vibes with a salad dinner.  I had spicy hake, but also chucked a burger in for the victim ... just as well, as spicy fish was properly poo-pooed (silly! was delish).  OK - in order of cooking - beetroot, borlotti bean and mozzarella, coleslaw, waldorf (kind, sorta, ..ish) salads... spicy fish "goujons", green salad.

recipes - such as they are - beetroot, borlotti bean and mozarella salad.  I had beetroot and borlotti beans in the veg box this week, so made it from scratch - vacuum packed beetroot, and tinned beans would be proper tasty, and much less time consuming.  So, starting from the raw state... roast washed (but not peeled) beetroot in a tray with garlic, slosh of olive oil and splash of balsamic until beetroot is soft - I cover tray in foil and test after about an hour, knife should go in with very little resistance.  Meanwhile, pod and then boil borlotti beans - takes about 12 mins from boiling - but depends on beans.  Cool beetroot, cool and drain beans.  Skin beetroot (I always use gloves) and cut into bite sized pieces.  Mix together beetroot pieces, beans, chopped radish, mozarella - torn into bite sized bits, basil leaves, seasoning, olive oil - taste...yum yum - add splash of lemon juice/vinegar if needs a little sharpness.  Sorta waldorf ... well, as kids we hated walnuts, so Mum invented this with almonds... it may have morphed over the years, but it's proper simple, so morph it yourself.. Chop a fair bit of celery into small, but still chunky, chunks, add some chopped onion... chop apple - add - squirt with lemon/lime juice - mix up until all apple has touched acid juice, at this point I added chopped orange and red pepper.  Chuck in handful of almonds, small spoon of mayonnaise, good teaspoon of horseradish and about 2 tbsp of natural yogurt - season - taste, adjust... should be crunchy, savoury and refreshing.  Coleslaw... everyone has their own recipe - but finely shredded red onion, about 3 times as much red cabbage and white cabbage, grated carrot - lemon/lime juice or cider vinegar, and good pinch of rock salt... let sit for 30mins, cabbage will start to soften slightly.  Stir in splodge of mayonnaise and some natural yogurt (adjust proportions depending on whether you are trying to reduce fat (0% mayo lowest fat... all mayo if you are a skinny imp wanting to chunk up).

Spicy fish - was hake (could've been most white fish, tuna or salmon) - cut into strips and tossed in flour and fish curry spices - fried - hot and quick...

Delish.

Lettuce... OK - for completeness - I tossed it in lime juice and a whisper of olive oil.

Cheesy noodles with spicy bean casserole

As we were wandering aimlessly through the supermarket aisles, the victim declared a hankering for "Pot Noodle".... sheesh!  So, I tried to fashion something not to replicate, but to echo the best in the product, and minimise the processing... So, spicy bean casserole - nothing to do with the instant product, but savoury cheesy noodles to go alongside to provide the comforting (and ever so slightly slimy) texture.  Casserole:- Chop and sautee in olive oil:- onion, garlic, celery, courgette and roasted peppers (veg of your choice obv).  Add very finely chopped red chili and tbsp(ish) mediterranean herbs.  When vegetables are soft add tin of canneloni beans.  Stir through, add tin of chopped tomatoes and a cup of stock.  Simmer, season, simmer etc - until veg are all soft and flavour has developed (at least 30 minutes, but as long as you have really).  10 minutes before you are ready to eat cook noodles in boiling stock - I used 4 minute egg noodles in vegetable stock.  Don't swamp the noodles, you want the stock to soak in as they cook, so I started with about 200ml per noodle portion, and added a little more water when they looked dry.  When cooked, pull of the heat for 30 seconds, allow stock to soak in (if they are still wet drain off most of the excess stock) and stir in good dollop of cream cheese and a tbsp grated parmesan.  This makes the noodles slippy, deliciously stodgy and savoury.  Serve, with grated black pepper.  I think this was a success.  Victim slurped all noodles, but declared the bean casserole "too hot" - which is very odd, because it's usually me who wusses on spicy, and I finished mine no probs.  To avoid this catastrophe, be careful how much fresh chili is added!

Mushroom etc stroganoff(ish)

OK. We eat quite a lot of pasta dinners.  I do not apologise.  This dinner, however, takes you away from the tomato (or tomato/meat/cheese)
 sauce with spaghetti/whatever, and towards a slightly more eastern european flavour [please note, no claim to any authenticity etc..] What I was going for was an earthy, slightly hot and aromatic, slightly crunchy silky smooth sauce with perfectly cooked, biteful pasta to add body.  So, the chosen pasta was tagliatelli (follow instructions) - I boiled the pasta for about half a minute less than instructed, but let to drain for half a minute, and rest in the sauce for a good couple of minutes before dishing up.  So, the sauce, chopped onion sauteed in olive oil, added minced garlic (quite a lot), sautee until onions nearly transparent (not burnt) - add chopped veg - today red pepper, green beans, celery, mushrooms & edame beans - and minced garlic - chucked  in glass of white wine. Keep stirring, add stock (about a pint) and some water if necessary, to get all veg to soften enough.  When veg is cooked to just still slightly crunchy, the pasta should be nearly ready - if it is not on yet - cook the pasta - finish the sauce when the pasta is ready.  So, to veg stir in big spoon of cream cheese, some grated parmesan and a big splosh of cream - toss in pasta - Serve, scoff - well tasty!

Leek and potato soup

Slice and wash 2 large leeks, peel and dice 3 large potatoes.  Sautee leeks, garlic and celery, then add the potatoes, some mustard and a litre of stock.  I also stirred in a teaspoon of vegemite and a splosh of worcestershire sauce.  Season.  Simmer until veg is soft, liquidise in blender or using stick blender.  Stir in chopped chives.  Serve with natural yogurt and parsley.

Kedgeree

Cook rice, steam smoked haddock, hardboil a couple of eggs.  Sautee onion, red pepper, celery and mushroom in olive oil.  Stir curry powder/paste (balti in this case) into vegetables with a few spoonfuls of water.  Cook vegetables until soft, rice until cooked.  Add frozen peas to steaming fish for the last 5 minutes. Shell eggs.  Mix veg, rice, skinned flaked fish and eggs together.  Scoff.  Yum.  Victim still on adventures, so there's only my opinion to go on, but I'm just about to have seconds.

Smoked haddock with spinach and mushrooms

As easy as it sounds - steam smoked haddock (in foil in oven, in a pan on low heat the hob with some water and a lid, steam in bamboo steamer - could add squirt of lemon juice...) sautee onion and sliced mushroom in olive oil.  When fish nearly done (15 minutes), wilt spinach with onions, mushrooms and a tablespoon of water.  Grind of black pepper.  Scoff. Simple, delicious.  (Can you tell that fish hating victim is off on their adventures?)