Fish pie, garlic courgettes and steamed veg

It's British pie week, and Paul had some fabulous fish, so I got to make one of my favourites, a really good fish pie.

Cooking the courgettes long and slow in olive oil with plenty of garlic even made the veg dodger sit up and have seconds.

Fish - a combination of cod, haddock, smoked haddock and a little salmon.
Soya milk
Cornflour
Potatoes
Butter
Frozen peas
Carrots
Leek
Courgette
Garlic
Olive oil

1.  Peel potatoes and boil for the mash.
2.  Cut fish into bite sized pieces and poach in soya milk (or dairy milk).
3.  Drain the milk from the fish and thicken with slaked cornflour, ie.  heat in a pan, add cornflour mixed to a paste in water, and heat through, stirring continuously until it thickens. add a good grind of black pepper.
4.  Place the fish in an oven dish and cover with the thickened sauce.
5.  Mash the potatoes with a knob of butter.
6.  Chuck a good handful of frozen peas over the fish mixture and then cover with mash.
7.  Bake to get a crispy brown top, for about 20 minutes.
8.  Dice the courgette, fry in olive oil with crushed garlic.  Kepp it on a low-medium heat and let them cook through gently.
9.  Steam washed, sliced leeks and carrot batons.
10.  Serve, scoff …

Fish curry

Fancy a taste more exotic.  Todmorden market still has it all!  Oriental Foods, The Mediterranean Pantry, Paul the fish and Kev for the veg … this whole easy, but very tasty, dinner was sourced from Tod market.

Coconut oil
Red onion
Garlic
Malaysian curry paste
Curry leaves
Aubergine
Red pepper
Courgette
Green beans
Tomatoes
Coconut milk
Haddock
Basmati rice

1.  Cook rice - I cook it in a heavy cast iron pot, cover with water + 1 inch of water over the surface of the rice, bring to the boil, put the lid on and turn it down as far as possible - leave to cook until all the water has been absorbed.
2.  Sautee chopped onion and crushed garlic in coconut oil.
3.  Add curry paste and a small handful of curry leaves, to the onions and stir in. Cook for a minute or so, and then add chopped veg.
4.  When the veg have softened a little add a tin of coconut milk and half a tin of water, simmer.
5.  When the veg is nearly done add chunks of haddock, simmer again for about 7 minutes.
6.  Serve, scoff …

Fish wraps ...

The limited kitchen is still presenting its issues, but I am determined to make the most of Paul's fish on a Friday.

This week I had some spare Jamaican jerk seasoning, so I concocted these wraps - with some "sautéed potatoes" and a tomato salsa.  They went down very well.  The jerk seasoning gave a pleasant heat, and left us with tingly lips for a few minutes.

New potatoes

Olive oil

Red onion

Red pepper
Garlic
Haddock
Spinach
White wine
Baby plum tomatoes
Radishes
Tortilla wraps
Sour cream

1.  Mix sliced red onion, red pepper and crushed garlic with a teaspoon or so of jerk seasoning.  Set aside.
2.  Slice new potatoes, toss in a drop of olive oil and a drop of water.  Microwave for 3 minutes.
3.  Now - bear in mind I have only one pan - in a normal world you could fry the potatoes and other veg in two separate pans, and speed the process up.  Fry the potatoes in olive oil, turning fairly frequently, until they are just turning golden brown and a bit crispy.  Move them to the cool side of the pan.
4.  Fry the seasoned onion and pepper for a few minutes.
5.  When the onions and peppers and nearly done, pile them into a strip, and layer the fish on top.
6.  Cover the fish with big handfuls of baby spinach.  Add a splash of white wine, and a splash of water.  Cover and steam for 10 minutes.
7.  Chop red onion, baby plum tomatoes and radish - mix to form salsa.
8.  Sprinkle a tiny bit of water onto wraps, microwave for 1 minute, turn them over, microwave for 10 seconds.
9.  Serve, ... put fish mixture and salsa into wrap, splodge with sour cream ... add sautee potatoes - scoff.

Delicious!

Spanish fish casserole

You could use any fish in this, really - but I had some lovely haddock and hake (from Paul the fish) in the freezer, so that was what went in for us.

The "spanish" about it is a little bit of heat, a little smokey paprika, peppers and garlic.  It was damn good.

Onion
Garlic
olive oil
Potatoes
courgette
Pepper (yellow or red)
White wine
Chilli flakes
Smoked paprika
Turmeric
Tin chopped tomatoes
Tomato puree
vegetable stock

1.  Sautee chopped onion and crushed garlic in olive oil.
2.  Add chunky diced potatoes - I keep the skin on, but peeled on not - either is fine.
3.  Add chopped courgette and pepper, add a pinch of chilli flakes, a pinch of smoked paprika and a smidge of turmeric.
4.  Pour in about a glass of white wine, and about the same of stock.
5.  Simmer, after 5 minutes add a tin of chopped tomatoes, a tablespoon of tomato puree and a tin of water.  Simmer again, covered.
6.  When the potatoes are just about done (15-18 minutes) add fish to the top, and cover again, to let it steam through for about 5-10 minutes (depends how big your fish is).
7.  Serve, scoff ... could have had crunchy bread and a green salad, could have topped with aioli - but it was delicious by itself.

Cod fish and ackee, with cornbread waffles

Caribbean Food week:  day 3 - which also happened to be National Waffle Day!

I couldn't find salt fish anywhere, and Paul's fish is so great I thought I would amend the classic saltfish and ackee very slightly and use fresh cod.  I poached it first, so that it would flake gently into the dish, as would be expected of real saltfish.

Also, instead of the classic callaloo, I wilted spinach with some onions.  Callaloo, is available at the Mediterranean Pantry at the moment.

I have a lovely american waffle iron gadget, so waffles are easy and delicious - I don't use it often enough.  If you don't have one, you could do light pancakes instead.

Most of the dish was sourced from Todmorden Market - The Mediterranean Pantry for spices, flour, ackee, The Crumbly Cheese for yogurt, Bracewell's butchers for the eggs, Paul for the fish and Garry for the veg.  Soya milk and baking powder from my cupboard.

GF flour
Cornmeal (or polenta)
Baking powder (1 tsp)
Thyme
Egg
Soya milk
Natural yogurt

Onion
Red pepper
Cod fillets, skinned
Chili
Thyme
Ackee

Onion
Spinach
Nutmeg


1.  Make the waffle batter.  Mix together dry ingredients in one bowl and wet ingredients in another.  Then whisk the two together.
2. Poach the fish in water.
3.  Fry onion and red pepper for about 10 minutes with thyme and chili, then add the fish, then the ackee to heat through.  Don't move it about too much as it could easily turn into mush.
4.  Make waffles.
5. Fry another chopped onion in coconut oil, add spinach and a grating of nutmeg and a splash of water to wilt the spinach.

Fish and chips

Haddock today from Paul the fish - so old school battered fish, but baked wedges instead of chips.  Onion and green beans instead of mushy peas.

Potatoes
Olive oil
Coconut oil
Gluten free flour
Egg
Soya milk
Onion
Green beans



1.  Cut potatoes into wedges, toss in olive oil and roast for 40 ish minutes.
2.  Whisk egg into flour, season and whisk in soya milk to reach a thick, double cream consistency.  Leave to stand while the potatoes roast.
3.  20 minutes in chop onion, put in a pan with a drop of olive oil.  Add chopped beans and a cup of wine or water and simmer.
4.  After 10 minutes - put olive oil and coconut oil in a large frying pan, and heat until hot.
5.  Dredge the fish in the batter, and fry for 3 minutes on each side.  Drain on kitchen paper.
6.  Serve, scoff.

Delicious - the batter is gluten free and lactose free, so we could all enjoy it - it's light, but crisps up well.

Fish, "chips" n peas

Haddock this week, and gluten free lemony batter.  The new potatoes were boiled and then roasted briefly, in olive oil, to crisp them up, so though not chips, they were crispy on the outside and soft inside - as good chips should be.  The peas are frozen.  Yum.

The batter is the only bit that even remotely needs a "recipe".

Polenta
Cornflour
Egg
Soya milk (or regular milk)
Lemon juice.

Mix together approximately equal quantities of polenta and cornflour, whisk in an egg, add milk to form a light batter - season and squeeze in the juice of a lemon.  Whisk again - the lemon juice will make it firm up a little, let it down with more milk if it goes too far.

Dip fish in batter, fry in olive oil.

Fish and chips

Friday is traditional fish day - and this week Paul's haddock was so good I really wanted to do it justice, so decided on some real fish and chips - gluten free, and made extra healthy and tasty with a smidge of of turmeric in the batter.  Gorgeous golden batter, beautiful white fish and altogether delicious.

Olive oil
New potatoes
Haddock
Corn meal
Turmeric
Egg
Soya milk
Peas

1.  Cut new potatoes longways into "chips".  Roast for about an hour.
2.  Make the batter by add a small teaspoon of turmeric to a cup of cornmeal, and whisk together.  The whisk in an egg and a splash of soya milk.  The batter should be thick cream consistency, with no lumps.  Leave to stand.
3.  When the potatoes look about 10 minutes away do the fish - dredge through GF flour, or simply pat dry and then submerge in the batter.  Fry in olive oil for a few minutes each side.
4.  Boil, steam or microwave the frozen peas as everything else is finishing off.

Crispy fried fish, tiny roasties and braised peas and lettuce

So, I opened "The Mediterranean Pantry" this week.  One exciting week!!! Lots of lovely stuff for sale, and loads of potential for lots of fun.  Today I invented "Calabrian fish crust mix", for fried fish.  It is delicious, and will be on sale in The Mediterranean Pantry very soon.

So, I took advantage of this and pepped up our traditional Friday night fish and chips ...

Potatoes
Olive oil
White fish
Calabrian fish crust mix
Onion
Garlic
White wine
Petit pois
Little gem lettuce

Instructions, in more or less, chronological order ...

1.  Chop potatoes into 1 inch cubes - parboil (or microwave) - toss in olive oil and roast in a hot oven.

30(ish) minutes later

2.  Chop an onion, sautee in olive oil until soft, add crushed garlic and a good slosh of white wine.
3.  Chop white fish into 1 inch strips (or leave as fillets if you prefer).  Pat dry with kitchen roll.
4.  Coat the fish pieces with Calabrian fish crust mix.
5.  Fry fish, in hot olive oil - a couple of minutes of each side, in batches, drain on kitchen roll, keeping the batches warm as you go.
6.  Add petit pois to the onions with wedges of little gem lettuce.  Stir until lettuce is wilted.
7.  Scoff.

Delicious.

Parsley and lemon crusted fish, with chips and green vegetables

Traditional Friday night dinner - small ringing of the changes.

"Chips" ... boiled and roasted in olive oil.  Boil - 5ish minutes - into hot fat, in hot oven, for about an hour.

The fish is Alaskan pollock in a batter made from 1 whisked egg, a splash of soya milk, a half cup of polenta and a fistful of chopped parsley, with salt and pepper and the grated zest of a lemon.  The fish was coated in the batter, and then fried, a couple of minutes on each side just before serving everything else.  Drain on kitchen paper.

The vegetables - leeks, softenned in olice oil, then added crushed garlic, some mushrooms and a knob of butter.  Sautee gently, then season and add a splosh of white wine.  Simmer briefly, transfer to oven dish - tip on handful of frozen peas, and some baby spinach.  Cover with foil and stick in the bottom of the oven.

Fnatastic batter, really fresh tasting.  And the veg ... oooo ... lovely, buttery and garlicky and fresh.

Fish and chips with peas ... cajun style (ish)

Friday night fish and chips, with peas - cos we love it ... but tonight some cajun spicing and some extra veg from the organic box make it a new version of a consistent favourite.

So, coming in from the train/commute like me ... you need to i - get that oven on heating up - chop the potatoes and get them on to boil.  Then calm down a bit  and take the next bits more slowly.




Potatoes

potatoes
olive oil
salt

Par-boil potatoes, put olive oil in a roasting dish to heat up.
When potatoes are par-boiled, and oil heated up, drain potatoes and bung into the roating pan.
Stir them around until they have a film on every surface sprinkle with salt.
Roast for an hour or so, until crispy.

Green veg

1 onion, finely chopped
olive oil
crushed garlic
savoy cabbage
dry white wine
petit pois

1.  Sweat down chopped onion in olive oil.
2.  When a bit soft add crushed garlic, and wine.
3.  Chuck in shredded cabbage, simmer until soft,
4.  5 minutes before serving chuck in frozen peas .. season ..

Fish

Olive oil
White fish
Polenta
cajun seasoning

1.  Mix polenta and cajun seasoning to taste ... in our case about 50/50 ... because it's on the outside of the fish and not HOT HOT HOT all the way through ... but the fish is nice and spicy.
2.  Dredge the fish in the spice mix.
3.  Shallow fry each piece - a couple of minutes each side.
4.  Drain on kitchen paper and keep warm while you do the rest.

When everything is done .. serve... scoff.

peas, sweetcorn and chicory - with fish and chips and gherkin fritters

Fish and chips are a solid tradition in this household, but sometimes it's worth adding a twist, particularly when something less usual turns up in the veg box.  This week, I thought I'd try batter instead of recent cornmeal crispy coatings, and had a bit of a bonkers idea about chopped gherkins in the batter (you know, in the batter instead of in the tartare suace, well why not ??) ... and had some red chicory in the veg box.

The gherkin didn't stick very well to the fish in the batter - BUT little blobs of it fried in the batter (like a bhaji) were DELICIOUS!

So, start with the potatoes, chop and par boil - heating the oil in a tray in the oven, so that it's hot to transfer the drained potatoes an hour before you want to serve.  Then prep the veg and batter for the fish then need to be sorted 20 minutes before you want to serve.  Start the veg, then when it's simmering start frying the fish .. then it'll all be done about the same time.

"Chips"

Boil, drain, roast in hot oil...

Fish in batter

Enough fish (I cut pollock fillets into 3-4 pieces, about 4 cm square)
cornflour
polenta
cream of tartar
cold water
Chopped gherkin
salt and pepper

olive oil

1.  Mix cornflour, polenta and cream of tartar with cold water to form a batter - the consistency of double cream.
2.  Stir in finely chopped gherkins and seasoning.
3.  When ready, coat fish in batter, and fry in batches, in hot olive oil.  Fry for a minute or so on each side, and drain on kitchen roll.  Keep warm.
4.  Collect the remaining chopped gherkin and batter into spoonfuls, and fry as little fritters.

Vegetables

olive oil
1 onion, chopped
frozen sweetcorn
frozen petit pois
garlic
chopped chicory
white wine
squirt of lemon juice

1.  Sautee onion in olive oil.
2.  When soft add frozen veg and garlic, turn in oil - add in wine and simmer
3.  Throw shredded chicory on the top and allow to wilt, add a little water if its looking dry.
4.  After about 4-5 minutes it should be heated through - squirt with lemon juice and grind on black pepper.


Rally good.  Chicory works really well with peas and sweetcorn instead of lettuce in the french version.  The gherkin fritters were spectacular.

Crispy fish and chips, "tartare sauce"

With a gluten free diet you sometimes miss the staples, like breaded fish - so - coat it in polenta, delicious.

The most "complicated" dish here is the vegetable dish.  Start with the potatoes, then do the "tartare sauce" - put it in the fridge.  Then the vegetables and finally the fish.


Potatoes
Olive oil
Salt

Natural yogurt
Garlic
Parsley
gherkins

Chopped onion
Celery
Green beans
Peas
White wine
Stock

Cod
polenta
salt and pepper
olive oil

1.  Boil potatoes until half done.
2.  Put olive oil in a baking tray and heat up.  Drain potatoes and toss int eh oil.  Roast for 45 minutes +
3.  Mix natural yogurt, crushed garlic, chopped parsley and gherkins, season to taste and refridgerate.
4.  Sautee onions and celery in olive oil.
5.  When onions are a bit soft add crushed garlic, chopped green beans and white wine.  Simmer.
6.  Check vegetables, add stock when it goes a bit dry.
7.  Coat cod fillets in seasoned polenta, a fry in olive oil - about 3-4 minutes per side.
8.  Just after you put the fish in, add peas to the vegetable mix.

Serve... scoff

This wasn't just fish, chips and peas

It's national chip week.  I have resisted all week, so I am celebrating with tonight's tea.

The fish is from the asian supermarket in Bradford, and I can't fully remember the name of it pang..... fillets.  Very tasty, not quite as firm as cod or haddock, but mild in flavour, and a bargain to boot.

So, chips - potatoes (skins on) cut into chiplike pieces, par boiled, drained and put into hot olive oil on a baking tray.  Into a hot oven (190+) for 45 minutes or so.

Thaw fish, pat dry, and splash through batter - fry in olive oil.  Batter is actually left over pancake batter , let down with soya milk and seasoned with caribbean seasoning.  Splosh fish through batter.  Fry until golden brown.

Veg are chopped onions, softenned in olive oil, add garlic and a half glass of white wine, big handful of frozen peas - simmer for 2 minutes - then add spinach - stir until wilted.

Scoff - congratulate yourself shamelessly ... well, that's what I did.

Fish and chips

Fish and chips - yes - but spicy fish, roasted potatoes and lovely green veg - absolutely delicious, and very very good for us.  AND, used up some lettuce from the veg box to very good effect.

Olive oil
6 potatoes
1 leek
white wine
garlic
fish fillets (pollock in this case, cooked from frozen)
spicy seasoning (blackenned cajun, could be any number of other mixes)
frozen peas
little gem lettuce

Start with the potatoes - they will take an hour an a half, start to finish, the veg will take 20 minutes and the fish about 15.  Either the fish or the beg can be held in the oven for a few minutes without ruining - but not for too long.

1.  Wash potatoes and chop into bite sized pieces - skin on for my preference, but it does depend what they are like.  Boil in salted water for 5ish minutes.  Meanwhile have a roasting tray in the oven at 180, heating up a couple of tbsp of olive oil.
2.  Drain potatoes, toss in the hot oil and roast for an hour.
3.  30 minutes later, start thinking about the rest of it - chop and wash the leek, sweat down in olive oil.
4.  Fry fish in olive oil, seasoning with your chosen mix - I fried from frozen, so gently and for about 10 minutes.
4.  When leeks are soft, add garlic and a glass of white wine, simmer for a few minutes.
5.  5 minutes before serving add a cup of frozen peas and wedges of little gem lettuce.

Yum.  That is all.  Much better than heading to the chippy - and cheaper, I think.  I estimate - fish £1.50, veg £1 .. other bits £1.50 max (including (optional) wine) £2 each - and there are some potatoes left for breakfast... can't wait!

Easy "kedgeree"

I don't want to bleat on... but I have had a couple of bad days or so.  On the Sunday before we had this for tea I fell over on ice - people around me insisted it was a heavy frost, not ice, but it WAS ice... it was water, frozen and invisible on the pavement.. and I fell over.  Dramatically!  One minute I was upright, next I was on my back.  Luckily (hmphh) the dog broke my fall ... well the poor thing got squished under my arm for a milli-second as I fell - he did not provide a mattress in my minute of need.  So, I spent a day ouching, a second day unable to sit down for more than 10 minutes (it's always worse the day after with the bruising), then it has got gradually better.  I won't put a picture of it up here - you will be pleased to hear - but the bruise on my bum really was an insult to the underlying pain!

So, easy kedgeree:-

1 onion
oilve oil
1 turnip, peeled and diced
1 leek
rice
veg stock
malaysian fish curry mix (cos I have some, could be another spice mix)
1 pack of "fish pie" mix (cod, salmon, smoked haddock)
garlic
1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
handful of frozen peas

1.  Sweat  chopped onion in olive oil.  About 3 minutes.
2.  Add chopped veg - could be a mixture - we had turnip and leek to use up.  About 2 minutes.
3.  Add rice and stir in, so that every grain is separate.  Chuck in the spice mix and tinned tomatoes and some stock/wine and simmer for a bit, don't let it get too dry, but don't swamp it.
4.  When the rice is "al dente" add in fish bits.  Leave them on top of the rice mixture and put on a lid to steam for about 5 minutes.
5.  Chuck in a handful of frozen peas, stir in.
6.  At this point you should be able to turn off the heat, clamp the lid down hard, and let the ricey mixture soak up the residual juice.

SCOFF. gloat

Tuna and chickpea paella

Stay for lunch they said.  Lovely, I said, don't mind if I do! so, who made the lunch?  Shrug!

That's not fair.  The victims in this case were my lovely parents who allowed me to come and park my bags with them in the evening, and go out for the night with old mates from school... to return after midnight, grunt and go to bed, so to rustle up a bit of lunch with their ingredients was a pleasure.  Thanks M&D.. heretoforth known as "victims".  There was a third victim, she is also related xx sis.

This recipe was adapted from another one... and I tweaked a lot, but significantly increased the tomato, rice and chickpeas and decreased the tuna.  If I made it again (which I would) I would reduce the tomatoes I used, but would keep to my proportions of other stuff.. and as usual measurements are vague, so just adjust to what you have.

Olive oil (about 3 tbsp)
Tuna (300g) - in big "bite size" pieces.
2 peppers, 1 red, 1 yellow, cut into 1.5cm x .5 cm slices (ish)
celery, chopped, about 3 stalks
spring onions - 1 bunch chopped (reserve about 1/4 for garnish)
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 red chili (the nice 4 inch long shiny, a bit sweet one ... not the firey bird eye type) finely chopped - again reserve a bit for the garnish if you fancy.
1 carton passata (use less for a more authentic, less gloopy dish)
1 pint(ish) fish stock
250g paella rice
1 tin chickpeas, drained
good pinch paprika
pinch saffron

1.  Heat paella pan (or whatever you are using) to quite hot.  Toss tuna pieces, gently, in olive oil.  Sear in hot pan.  Don't faff with them, let them brown, and if possible crisp, on each surface without overcooking.  It should talk no more  than 5-6 minutes - but let them rest enough to nearly caramelise on each surface.  You are aiming for a bit more than "seared" but not much more.
2.  When all tuna surfaces are browned, remove to a plate and cover loosely with foil or baking paper (you want to keep a VERY gentle cooking continuing, but you don't want to steam off any caramelisation).
3.  Add a little oil to the paella pan, add chopped celery, peppers and onion (and any other veg you wish to chuck in.  Stir a bit, on a moderate heat, until a little softenned.
4.  Add crushed garlic and finely chopped chili (or crumbled dried chili, which might be more authentic), keep stirring.  It should look glossy still.  If it doesn't, add a little more olive oil and stir in.
5.  Add rice.  Stir GENTLY, until every grain is covered in a film of oil, and the rice has started to cook a little.  The change is subtle, but it changes form white, to more or less translucent.  The veg mixture will mask this a bit, until you are familair with it - but basically keep stirring gently for a few minutes - don't let it catch on the bottom of the pan.
6. Add passata, stir again, gently.  It'll look sticky quite quickly.  When it starts bubbling again add the stock.  Now stir it confidently, bringing the rice from the bottom of the pan "de-glazing" as you go. (stirring the stubborn bits from the bottom of the pan into the mixture).
7.  Cooking time should now be about 12-15 minutes.  The mixture needs to simmer for a bit, on a low heat, with its lid on. [insert grumble,  Mum - that paella pan is too big for just 4 of us...me, no it's not, there's just a shallower mixture... etc etc... reality - I cook TOO MUCH - I used the lovely (and big enough) risotto pan, and still cooked too much, and in the wrong pan... yes well, I'm cooking it, and I'm trying to balance the flavours, and there are 4 of us not 2, and if we use less tuna, we can use more chickpeas....... etc  xx all)

8.  Add tuna bits... simmer 3 more minutes.
9. Leave to stand for 3(ish) minutes - scoff

with a green salad.

I enjoyed it - and gathered victims were unanimous (it's not family tradition to be vociferous) in praise.  So for my own judgement,  the tuna could have been cooked less -and more of a statement if it was in 1 piece.  but in summary --- BIG WIN!

NB.  From #5 you can leave to cool, and then pick up later ;) ... just make sure you have enough stock, so it doesn't all fry out

uninspiring looking fish and rice (delicious)

Looks entirely ... yeah, whatever, do I have to eat that?  But was very tasty, and very cheap.

The fish I used was actually dab - but could have been any white fish in cajun(ish) marinade.  I mixed cajun seasoning, 1 clove crushed garlic, 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tbsp yogurt ... chucked fish in and put in fridge for half an hour.

For the rice I chopped a small onion and 1 stick of celery, and fried in olive oil (quite hot, so that it caught a little bit, so got some caramelisation, but not much), added 1 cup of rice, and turned around so that every grain had a coating of oil/onion.... added veg stock, about a pint (just short of an inch above surface of rice), stirred in added 3 tbsp sweetcorn from a tin and a chopped red pepper from a jar.  Lid on, brought to boil - stuffed in simmering oven in Aga for about 20 mins (on hob, low
simmer for about 14 mins, if your oven is on... lowish oven for 20 mins +... in a microwave, about 6 mins)...

So, fish marinading, rice nearly done ... fry/grill fish in olive oil... make sure the oil is hot - or really hot grill.

Serve as glamorously as you can manage, with lemon.

Was very tasty.

Tilapia fillets with pesto.. and pasta thingy

I ate this, and I enjoyed it.  However, I was very hungry, and I like all the constituent elements.  I cannot wholeheartedly claim that it all goes together!  I think some tomatoes (fresh, not tinned) tossed into the pasta mixture might have brought the mediterranean vibe together more.  Having said that - I would have it again in a heartbeat.  AND I didn't have to buy/ supplement a single ingredient, and it stopped some stuff going to waste.  So, as far as I am concerned RESULT.

I don't think my primary victim would be a big fan - but that's a lot to do with the aversion to fish .. and spinach.


2 tbsp olive oil
3 tilapia fillets
3 tbsps pesto (mine today was from a jar, but if it's homemade, so much the better)
1 cup mushrooms
1 crushed garlic clove
1/2 cup macaroni (when dry)
Handful spinach leaves
5(ish) tbsp half fat creme fraiche


1.  Place the fish fillets in an oven proof dish, which has been drizzled with a tiny drizzle of olive oil, and spread pesto on top (if you are going to keep any of the pesto for another day, make sure you don't "double dip" - or cross contaminate... ie.  do not dip into jar, touch fish with spoon, and then go back into the jar ... that way food  poisonning lies.  Put slathered fillets in the oven (about 180)
2.  Chop mushrooms and fry off, gently, in olive oil, after a couple of mins add crushed garlic (optional .. obv).  (Whilst bringing pasta water to the boil)
3.  Cook pasta in boiling water according to packet instructions (lets say 11 mins)
4.  When mushrooms have released their liquid (the sound of them in the pan changes), add a couple of spoons of pasta water and chuck in spinach.  Take off the heat after a out a minute and let the spinach wilt.
5.  When pasta is cooked, drain and add to mushrooms and spinach, add big dollops of creme fraiche (you might want to return to the heat if its been waiting around) and stir in, until lovely and creamy.  grind on black pepper, and salt to taste.
6.  Chuck pasta and veg on a plate and place fish on top.
7. Scoff ... ponder about whether they go together (and then comment here! ...)

Spicy tilapia fillets with rice, veg and wilted spinach

No prizes for presentation on this one, but it was quick, healthy and tasty.

1 tbsp olive oil
chili mix
natural yogurt
3 tilapia fillets
rice
vegetables (green beans & purple carrots)
spinach


1.  Cook rice and steam chopped vegetables.
2.  Mix chili seasoning into natural yogurt, coat tilapia fillets.
3.  Wilt spinach in very little water.
4.  Fry marinated fish in olive oil for a couple of minutes either side.
5.  Put out neatly on plate... chortle.