Spiced haddock, with sweetcorn and black beans

It's Friday, so a pick of Paul's excellent fish.  Today, I went for haddock and some bang in season sweetcorn.  To give it a bit more body I mixed the sweetcorn with black beans, onion and red pepper, and to give it some zing I coated the fish with a paprika herby garlicky paste.  We had it with leftover mash with the leeks stirred through it.

Haddock

Corn on the cob

Tin of black beans

Onion

Red pepper

Paprika

Crushed garlic

Italian seasoning

ground cumin

salt & pepper

olive oil

1.  Strip the corn off the cob, rinse the beans, finely chop the onion and red pepper.  Mix together and layer in the bottom of an oven dish.

2.  Mix the garlic, herbs and spices into a paste with the olive oil.  Spread onto the fish.

3.  Layer the fish over the bean mixture and cover with foil.  Pop into a medium oven.

4.  Do what ever you want for 30-40 minutes ... drink wine and chat, watch Corrie, do a crossword etc etc

5.  Open oven door, take foil off the dish - serve ... scoff ... optional spritz with fresh lime.

Chilli two ways, with GF cheesy cornbread

We had no potatoes!  We had recently had both rice and pasta, so I wanted something different on the carbs front - so - cornbread, why not?  This led quickly to the obvious decision to combine it with chili for dinner.  A minced beef one for the veg dodger, an aubergine based one for the veggie - and, of course, both for me!

Olive oil
Onions
Garlic
Cumin
Chilli flakes
Mixed herbs
Paprika
Carrots
Minced beef
Aubergine
Courgettes
Red pepper
Kidney beans
Black beans
Passata
Soya milk
Dark chocolate
Sour cream
Lime (optional)

Corn bread

GF plain flour
polenta/cornmeal
baking soda
baking powder
salt
egg
soya milk
sour cream
grated cheddar

1.  Start the chillies.  In two separate pans sweat down chopped onion in olive oil.
2.  Add crushed garlic, herb and spices - we don't like things too hot so I held back on the chili flakes, you can add, but it's very difficult to take away (if you do over spice you need some sugar to counter balance, so a big squirt of ketchup can help).
3.  Add chopped carrot to both, and continue to sweat down.
4.  Add minced beef to the meaty version, and diced aubergine to the veggie version.  Stir.  Keep stirring every now and again until mince is browned, and aubergine is slightly soft.
5.  Add chopped courgettes and red pepper to both, stir in.
6.  Drain a tin of kidney beans and a tin of black beans, stir half of each into each chili.
7.  Then add a cup of passata and a cup of water - simmer - season to taste.
8. When they are cooked (about 20 minutes, but you can just keep simmering gently, just make sure that they don't get too dry, add more water if necessary), add dark chocolate and a splash of milk/soya milk (this just "softens" the chili slightly). Stir until chocolate has dissolved. Spritz with lime if you have any.


Make soda bread

1.  Combine a cup of GF plain flour, a cup of cornmeal, 1/2tsp each of salt, baking powder and baking soda.
2.  Whisk together 1 egg, about half a cup of soya milk and a spoonful of natural yogurt or sour cream (you need a little acid to get the baking soda working).
3.  Mix a big handful of grated cheese into the wet ingredients.
4.  Combine the dry and the wet ingredients - kneed gently, but not for too long.  Juts enough to bring the mixture together.  Form into a round - with a sharp knife slash the top in a cross.
5.  Bake, on a floured tray, in a medium oven for about 30 minutes.

Serve, with sour cream .... scoff

Tuscan sausage and black bean casserole

 Rain, rain, rain, rain, rain .....

So time for something i) warm and comforting, and ii) out of the cupboards.

Had some Tuscan sausages in the fridge, so this seemed to fit the bill.  And, it did!

So....

1 onion
tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic
tbsp mixed herbs
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1 carrot
1 pack Tuscan sausages
1 red pepper
1 squash
several mushrooms
left over green beans
2 tins tomatoes
glass of white wine
black beans (tin/box - pre-cooked)

Recipe (if you can call it that)

1.  Chop and soften onion in olive oil.
2.  Cut sausages into bite sized pieces and add to softened onion.  Allow to fry, turning occasionally for about 5 minutes.
3.  Meanwhile peel carrot, chop other veg.
4.  When sausage has started to "catch" very slightly, chuck in garlic, herbs, chili and all veg and stir round.
5.  After a couple of minutes chuck in glass of white wine, stir to pick up sticky bits from the bottom of the pan.
6.  Simmer, add tins of tomatoes and water (about a tin and a half's worth).  Bring to simmer, season.
7.  Simmer for about 20-30 mins - don't let it go dry.
8.  Add beans, heat through
9.  Scoff (with brown rice and a spoonful of yogurt in my case)

Chicken and noodles in black beans

From scratch!   Bash black beans, garlic, chili and ginger to smithereens, add a little peanut oil to make a paste.  In a wok, or large frying pan, stir fry spring onion, black bean paste, chicken breast pieces, red pepper, mushroom and green beans.  Boil noodles for 4 minutes, drain.  Stir fry/ simmer chicken mixture in a splash water, for about 10 minutes, add soy sauce and rice wine, thicken sauce with slaked cornflour.  Stir in noodles, sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve... feed to admiring victim.  Who was mostly complimentary except apparently there were too many mushrooms.

Black bean and ginger noodles with chicken

Speechless today I'm afraid.  Made some dinner.