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 …

Pistachio and parmesan crusted roast haddock

Oven chips and leftover salad made up the rest of the dinner, so to call this a recipe is a bit of an overstatement ... however, it was very good.

Olive oil
Haddock
Pistachios
Parmesan
White wine

Splosh some olive oil into an oven dish and lay the fish on top.  Roughly chop an handful of pistachios and grate on some parmesan, mix the two together and press onto the top of the fish.  Drizzle a little white wine around the fish - just to help it steam, and drizzle with olive oil.  Roast for 12-15 minutes.

Leek and haddock "hotpot", take 2

Last week's version Leek and haddock hotpot worked really well, and Paul had lovely haddock out at the front of Todmorden market (again), so I thought I would do something similar for this week's fish on Friday ... it was lovely.  Seasonal and comforting.

Olive oil
Leeks
Garlic
Mixed herbs
Potatoes
Butter
White wine
Vegetable stock
Mushrooms
Haddock

1.  Sautee leeks in live oil, add crushed garlic and a pinch of herbs.
2.  Add discs of peeled potato (about 3/4cm thick).  They should be in one layer on the bottom of the pan - the idea being that the potatoes suck up the flavour of the stock, not that it's a watery mess. Add a knob of butter, a glass of dry white wine (optional) and stock to the level of the top of the potatoes.  Simmer for a bit.
3.  Add chopped mushrooms, lid back on simmer.
4.  After about 12-15 minutes test the potatoes, if they are nearly done lay the fish on the top, closed the lid and allow to steam for 10minutes or so, depending on the thickness of the fish.
5.  Serve, scoff .. delicious again.

Leek and haddock "hot pot"

Oops ... I forgot to take a picture of this in a pretty state - so this is a snap of the leftovers.  However, the recipe was too tasty and too easy to omit from the blog.  Especially with the current limited cooking facilities in our temporary kitchen - so, if I can do this here, anyone can make it.

Olive oil
Leeks
Garlic
Potatoes
Butter
Saffron
White wine
Cherry tomatoes
Green beans
Haddock

1.  Sautee leeks and crushed garlic in olive oil.
2.  Add peeled potatoes, cut into discs about 1cm thick.  The potatoes should be in a single layer on the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle over a pinch of saffron, then add a big knob of butter, a glass of white wine and a couple of glasses of water (until the water just reaches the top of the potatoes). Simmer briefly and then put the lid on.  The idea is that the potatoes suck up the lovely buttery, saffrony, garlicky flavours as they cook.
3.  After a few minutes chuck in a handful of cherry tomatoes, halved, and put the lid back on.
4.  About 10 minutes later add green beans, put the lid back on.
5.  About 10 minutes later layer the haddock on top of the potatoes, put the lid back on and let it steam.  It will take about 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fish.
6.  Serve, scoff (so quickly that you forget to take a pic of your dinner, oh, no that's not normal, that's just me - you don't need to take a pic of your dinner).

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.

Haddock, pepper and tomato fish pie

Incredibly easy, incredibly tasty - all ingredients (except frozen peas - but you could use fresh, or leave out) from Tod market - this fish pie takes literally minutes to put together.

Baby potatoes
Onion
Olive oil
Red pepper
Tomatoes
Frozen peas
Italian seasoning
Haddock

1.  Slice potatoes and par boil for 7 minutes.
2.  Splash olive oil into an oven dish and layer sliced potato, sliced pepper and sliced tomatoes.  Add a handful of frozen peas.  Sprinkle with herbs.
3.  Add portions of haddock to the top of the vegetables.
4.  Drain the potatoes and lay over the top of the fish, like roof tiles, drizzle with olive oil.
5.  Bake for 30 minutes.
6.  Serve, scoff ....

Fish and chips, but healthier, and easier!

Fish curry

Fish on Friday, as usual, but a bit of a change this week.  Lovely haddock from Paul, and a trawl through the veg in the fridge, and we had this delicious, but not very authentic, version of Malaysian fish head curry.  There were no fish heads involved, or any Malaysians for that matter.

Jasmin rice
Peanut oil
Spring onion
Garlic
Curry paste (Malaysian fish head for us, but could have been red thai, or something similar)
Courgette
Mushrooms
Tomato puree
Coconut milk
Haddock (or other white fish)

1.  Cook the rice - I used a rice ball - those things really work - put rice in ball, put into pan of cold water - bring to the boil, boil for about 15 minutes - done!
2.  In a wok, heat peanut oil, then add chopped spring onions, curry paste and crushed garlic.  Stir fry briefly.
3.  Add chopped veg to the wok, and stir fry, then add water/stock and a squirt of tomato puree, simmer until veg a nearly done, stirring occasionally.
4.  Add coconut milk, and taste for seasoning.
5.  Add fish pieces and simmer gently for about 5-6 minutes.
6.  Serve, sprinkling more chopped spring onion on top, scoff.

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.

Spicy haddock goujons, with baby roasties

Easy, tasty, and on the table in under 40 minutes.

Baby potatoes
Olive oil
Carrot
Courgette
Sugar snap peas
Haddock
Polenta
Piri piri spice
Fennel seeds

1.  Boil potatoes.  When nearly cooked roast in olive oil for about 20 minutes, just to give them a bit of colour.
2.  Prep the veg and steam for 12(ish) minutes.
3.  Mix polenta, piri piri spice and fennel seeds, lightly coat strips of haddock.
4.  Fry the fish in olive oil for a couple of minutes each side - drain on kitchen paper and keep warm in the bottom of the oven.
5.  Serve, scoff.

See, I said it was easy!

Cornflake haddock, and chips

Paul the fish, Todmorden market, has lovely fish all the time - this Friday I choose haddock, but wanted a little bit of a change, so a bit of a spicy coating, and a covering in crushed cornflakes gave us this lovely crunchy dinner - served with oven chips (oh, give me a break!) and frozen peas.

For the spicy coating mix a spoonful of ketchup, a teaspoon of mustard, a few chili flakes and a dash of worcestershire sauce with a couple of spoonsful of olive oil.  Mix it well.  Crush a couple of handfuls of cornflakes.  Coat the fish with the sticky sauce, then dredge with cornflakes ...

"it's weird!  It tastes great ... I know they are cornflakes, and I can still taste the cornflakes, which is the weird bit - but it really, really works"  ... well, you can't say fairer than that, can you?

Healthy fish and chips

Fish and chips - potato wedges and batter with turmeric in it to make it a bit tastier, and quite a lot healthier.

Potatoes
Olive oil
Onion
Carrots
Haddock
Polenta
Egg
Soya milk
Turmeric
Fennel seeds
Peas

1.  Cut potatoes into wedges and roast in olive oil for about 45 minutes.
2.  Make batter by mixing polenta, a teaspoon of turmeric, a pinch of fennel seeds and egg and enough soya milk to form a batter.
3. Sautee chopped onion in olive oil, add carrot and a little water, simmer.
4. When the potatoes are nearly done dip fish in batter and fry fro a couple of minutes on each side.
5.  Add frozen peas to the veg.
6.  Done, serve, scoff - really very tasty.

Curried fish and chips

National Curry week:  day 5 - and Friday.  We love our fish and chip treat on a Friday - and Paul the fish has such good fish, that I decided to stick with tradition, but to do a spicy batter.  It tasted a lot better than it looks, but you can see how beautiful the haddock was in this pic.

Potatoes
olive oil
Haddock
Gluten free flour
Lahore fish spice mix
frozen peas


1.  Cut potatoes into wedges, toss in olive oil, and bake for 45 minutes.
2.  Make batter by mixing flour, spice mix and water - the batter should be about the consistency of double cream.
3.  Dip the fish into GF flour, then the batter and fry (make sure the oil is hot enough - that was my mistake - it wasn't quite, so it stuck to the pan a bit).
3.  Boil peas.
4.  Scoff.

Fish and chips with a calabrian twist

Spice up fish and chips with a little calabrian crust - don't mind if I do.

Fish from Paul, potatoes from Garry, fish crust from The Mediterranean Pantry.  (Peas from the freezer) ... easy peasy Friday night dinner.

Potatoes
Olive oil
Haddock
Calabrian Fish crust mix
Frozen peas

1.  Cut potatoes into wedges and roast for about an hour in olive oil.
2.  Sit about, chat, drink wine ... whatever ...
3.  40 minutes later, check on the potatoes, put the water on to boil for the peas, and coat the fish with the crust mix.
4.  Fry the fish for a few minutes each side.
5.  Serve, scoff.

Pork'n'beans

At Kitchen Fairies HQ at the moment we have 4 people - all with particular dietary requirements.  1 pescatarian, 2 lactose intolerant, 1 gluten free and 1 "salad dodger" carnivore.  This makes dinner preparation an interesting experience.  Tonight I thought - cowboy dinner - but the pork can't touch the beans, and there was some lovely haddock - so the unifying element for everyone was a hearty veggie beanie sauce!  Also, there was cabbage in the fridge which needed using up, so a side dish of cabbage and cumin was included.

It took about 40 minutes start to finish.

Brown rice

Olive oil
Onion
Carrot
Celery
Garlic
Yellow pepper
Turkish beans
Paprika
Chopped tomatoes

Pork
White wine
Quince jelly
American mustard
Chicken stock

Haddock

Cumin
Cabbage

1.  Start the rice - I use the adsorption method - rice + water to about an inch above the rice, bring to the boil.  Lid on tight and keep hot in the oven while everything else finishes off.  It's quite a forgiving method, and the rice can sit there for quite a while as you sort everything else out.
2.  Now for the veg casserole - sautee chopped onion, carrot and celery in olive oil.  Add crushed garlic and chopped pepper, and a pinch of paprika.  Sautee until veg is a bit soft, but not done - then add a tin of beans (I used turkish beans because we had them - but butter beans or haricot would also work - even good old baked beans!) - and a tin of chopped tomatoes. Simmer.
3.  Fry the pork in olive oil, add a splosh of white wine (or apple juice), a spoonful of quince jelly (or apple jelly) and a squirt of american mustard.  A cup of chicken stock will stop it going too dry.
4.  Pan fry the haddock.
5.  Stir fry shredded cabbage in hot oil and cumin.
6.  Gather troops, serve, scoff.

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.

fish and aubergine curry

Getting the victim to eat fish is no mean feat, so I tried again with a kind of Malayan fish curry (curry mix provided by globe trotting mate, so it is the genuine article).  I have made something similar before - but this time I used more authentic ingredients.  So - rice in usual way - and chopped and sauteed in peanut oil onion and garlic - added grated ginger and good shake of curry mix.  Then added celery and sauteed until until soft.  Then added chopped aubergine, courgette and red pepper and a can of coconut milk.  Simmer gently for 20 minutes or so, until vegetables are nearly done.  Then added bite sized chunks of haddock, and some good old frozen peas.  Lid on, simmer again for about 10-12 minutes.  When fish is cooked dinner is done.  Check for seasoning, squirt on lime juice and jobs a good 'un.  Victim ate it, but didn't say much. I liked it (and I don't like aubergine that much).  It was half fat coconut milk, so hopefully not too calorific, and fish is good for a person - however resistant!

Haddock chowder

Haddock chowder, and a low fat version too.  Poached haddock briefly in a mix of soya milk and water.  Chopped and sauteed in olive oil onion and red pepper with crushed garlic - added 4 chopped potatoes and some stock, and the drained poaching liquor.  Simmered until potato was softish, added tin of sweetcorn to warm through.  Pulled out about half of the bits and zizzed the remainder.  Season.  Chuck bits back in along with the flaked fish.  Served with toast and good grinding of black pepper.  Victim ate it, but moaned as would have preferred version with double cream and butter... well, matey pants that's the way it goes for a while!  

Haddock and greens

Home alone - so indulged in beautiful simplicity of baked haddock, splash of lemon juice and knob of butter - splosh of white wine if it's handy.  In a foil parcel in the oven for 25 minutes.  Served over a good couple of handfuls of wilted greens - I used spinach, watercress and some rocket.  Lots of black pepper.  Lovely, and surprisingly filling.

Race for life in the morning - gird your loins.