Fish Molee

From Great British Chefs
Serves 4

Ingredients

lemon sole, filleted, skin-off and sliced
2 tbsp of coconut oil
1 onion, sliced
1 knob of ginger, julienned
2 green chillies, de-seeded
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 sprig of curry leaves
150ml of water
400ml of coconut milk
6 baby plum tomatoes, halved
25g of samphire
salt to season

In a medium-sized saucepan heat the coconut oil. When warm, add the sliced onion, ginger and green chillies. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are softened

Add the turmeric powder and curry leaves and sauté for a further 2 minutes, then add the of water and simmer for 5 minutes

Add the sliced lemon sole and simmer for a further 4 minutes, then add the coconut milk, tomatoes and salt. Simmer for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Check the seasoning, then garnish with samphire and serve immediately with steamed rice

 

Sicilian fish bake aubergine, tomatoes, pine nuts and raisins

From Super Food Family Classics by Jamie Oliver
Serves 4

Ingredients

2 large aubergines
1 kg mixed-colour tomatoes
1 red onion
4 cloves of garlic
1 celery heart
1 tbsp dried oregano
1 pinch of dried red chilli flakes
1 heaped tsp baby capers
40g raisins
40g pine nuts
4 black olives (stone in)
olive oil
4 x 120g white fish fillets
1 orange
250g wholewheat couscous
40g rocket
4 tbsp natural yoghurt

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Very finely slice the aubergines and tomatoes into rounds. Peel and very finely slice the red onion and garlic. Trim the celery, halve and finely slice lengthways. Throw it all into a large roasting tray with the oregano, chilli flakes, capers, raisins and pine nuts.  Crush the olives with the heel of your hand, tear out the stones, then tear the flesh into the tray. Add 2 tbsp of oil and a good pinch of sea salt and black pepper, then toss well. Arrange evenly, pulling a layer of tomatoes to the top, and bake on the bottom shelf of the oven for 40 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the fish fillets in a sandwich bag, squeeze in the orange juice (reserving the halves), add a pinch of salt and leave aside.

When the time’s up on the veg, remove from the oven and place the fish fillets on top, skin side up. Drizzle over the orange juice, then return to the bottom shelf of the oven for 15 more minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.

Put the squeezed orange halves and couscous into a bowl, just cover the couscous with boiling kettle water, then pop a plate on top and leave to fluff up.

Sprinkle the rocket over the gorgeous traybake, fluff up the couscous, season to perfection, divide it all up, and serve each portion with a dollop of yoghurt

Southern indian rice and seafood soup

From Jamie’s Dinners
Serves 4

Ingredients
5 tablespoons vegetable or sunflower oil
3 tablespoons brown mustard seeds
1 handful fresh curry leaves, picked off their stalks
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon garam masala
1½ teaspoons chilli powder
2 teaspoons turmeric
3 red chillies, deseeded and finely sliced
2 large thumb-sized pieces fresh ginger, peeled and grated
6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 handfuls basmati rice
565 ml water
600 g fish, from sustainable sources, ask your fishmonger, skinned, filleted and cut into 2-3 inch chunks
400 ml light coconut milk
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
juice of 2 limes
1 handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons freshly grated coconut

Get yourself a big pan and heat up your oil, then add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, cumin seeds, garam masala, chilli powder and turmeric. Cook for a few minutes and you’ll get the most amazing smells filling the room from all these spices. Then add the chillies, the ginger, the garlic and the onions. Continue cooking slowly until the garlic and onions are soft. Then add the rice and the water. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Add your fish and the coconut milk with a little more water and a pinch of salt. Put the lid on the pan and simmer for a further 10 minutes, then stir well to break up the pieces of fish. Taste and correct the seasoning with salt and pepper, then just before you serve it squeeze in the lime juice and stir in half the coriander. Serve in warmed bowls, sprinkle over some freshly grated coconut, if you have it, and rip over the rest of the coriander.</strong

Anything with curry powder in it is normally good!

One pot Spanish fish stew

From More One Pot Recipes
Ingredients
Serves 4

Handful of flat parsley leaves – chopped
2 garlic cloves – finely chopped
Zest and juice of a lemon
3 tbsp olive oil (plus extra to serve)
1 medium onion – finely sliced
500g floury potatoes – cut into cubes no bigger than 2cm
1 tsp paprika
pinch cayenne pepper
400g can of chopped tomatoes
1 fish stock cube
200g raw peeled king prawns
half a 410g tin of chickpeas – drained and rinsed
500g skinless fish fillets, cut into large chunks

In a small bowl, mix the parsley with ½ the garlic and lemon zest, then set aside. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large sauté pan. Throw in the onion and potatoes, cover the pan, then sweat everything for about 5 mins until the onion has softened. Add the remaining oil, garlic and spices, then cook for 2 mins more.

Pour over the lemon juice and sizzle for a moment. Add the tomatoes, ½ a can of water and crumble in the stock. Season with a little salt, then cover the pan. Simmer everything for 15-20 mins until the potatoes are just cooked.

Stir through the prawns and chickpeas, then nestle the fish chunks into the top of the stew. Reduce the heat and recover the pan, then cook for about 8 mins, stirring very gently once or twice. When the fish is just cooked through, remove from the heat, scatter with the parsley mix, then bring the dish to the table with the bottle of olive oil for drizzling over and some crusty bread, if you want.

Cataplana seafood stew

From Traditional Portuguese Cookery
Serves 4

Ingredients
200g of monkfish
200g of white grouper
200g of snapper
150g of shrimp
150g of fresh clams, cleaned
100g of chorizo
2 onions
2 cloves of garlic
2 tomatoes
1 pepper
200ml of oil
200ml of white wine
1 bay leaf
1 sprig of parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Season all of the fish with salt. Peel the onions and garlic, chop up the garlic and cut the onions into half moons. Wash the tomatoes and slice it. Cut the peppers into strips without the white skin and seeds. Thinly slice the chorizo.

Place half of the onion, garlic, pepper, tomato and chorizo into the “Cataplana”. Add the bay leaf and season with a little salt and pepper. Sautee at medium heat until softened. Add the fish and cover with the rest of the onion, garlic, tomato, pepper and chorizo, adding the parley. Add the oil and white wine. Close the cataplana and cook the mixutre for 20 minutes at low heat.

After adding the clams and the shrimp. Let it cook gently for another 10 minutes, then the mixture and place the Cataplana on the table. Serve with boiled potatoes.

“A Cataplana is an item of cookware used to prepare Portuguese seafood dishes, popular on the country’s Algarve region. It is traditionally made of copper and shaped like two clamshells hinged at one end and able to be sealed using a clamp on either side of the assembly. The cataplana was invented by Armando Luz (1927-2002), better knowned by its nickname, “Pató”. “Pató” was an artist that work crafting the copper and the stainless steel, and was recognized with an award back were he lived in Portugal, with the key of the town and a silver medal that was offered to him due to his contribution to the Algarve. He was also the inventor of the machine to make cataplanas using stainless steel and was the only one who produced such a product.”

Obviously I don’t have a cataplana and so I used my cast iron pot instead. The stew is effectively a lighter version of a rich tomato based stew (i.e. with a can of tomatoes thrown in) and its the white wine that’s the star of this dish. You can use any combination of fish for this.

Italian fish and garlic tomatoes

From GoodFood 101 Mediterranean dishes
Serves 6
Ingredients

2 unpeeled garlic cloves
3 tbsp olive oil
100g black unpitted olives
900g tomatoes, preferably on the vine
2 medium red chillies, seeded and roughly chopped
3 tbsp fresh pesto sauce
2 boneless skinless cod fillets (abt 450g each)
finely grated zest 1 small lemon
12 slices proscuitto

Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees. Put the garlic in roasting tin with two tablespoons of oil. Roast for 15 minutes, then remove from the oven and set aside. Add the olives, tomatoes and chillies to the tin and stir.

Spread the pesto over one side of a code fillet, sprinkle over lemon zest, season. Lay the other cod fillet on top, then loosely wrap the proscuitto around the fish, tucking in the edges. Season with salt and drizzle over remaining oil. Put the cod on a rack over the roasting tin and roast for 20 minutes or until the fish is coked and the tomatoes are starting to break up.

Transfer the cod to a plate. Mash the garlic into the pan juices and discard the skins. Slice the cod and serve with the olives, tomatoes, chillies and pan juices.

This is one of my favourite ways to cook fish; wrapping it with ham/bacon/proscuitto. The layer of pesto in between adds moisture and taste to the middle of the fish so it comes out wonderfully juicy and tasty.

Festive fish pie

From 101 Fish & Seafood Dishes – Tried and Tested Recipes
Serves 6
Ingredients

200g smoked salmon
4 plum tomatoes, skinned, seeded
400g raw king prawns
500g cod fillet cut into 2.5cm chunks
2.5cm piece of fresh root ginger
50g butter
50g plain flour
425ml milk
150ml dry vermouth
142ml carton single cream
3 tbsp chopped fresh dill
juice of 1/2 lime

For the topping
700g potatoes peeled,
good pinch of saffron strands
25g butter

Cut the salmon into strips and chop the tomatoes. Mix these with the prawns and cod in a buttered overproof dish

Chop the ginger. Bring the butter, ginger, flour milk and vermouth to the boil in a non stick pan, whisking all the time until until thickened and smooth. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes, then season and leave to cool, stirring occasionally. When cooled to room temperature, stir in the cream, dill and lime juice. Taste and season. pour over the fish.

Slice the potatoes and boil in a pan of water with the saffron and some salt until just tender, thend rain. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

Arrange the potatoes, overlapping, over the pie mixture. Melt the butter and brush over. Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden.

Cod and prawn bake in a cheese sauce

From Irish Cooking by Clare Connery
Serves 4

Ingredients
450ml / ¾ pint milk
¼ onion
6 peppercorns
Blade of mace
1 bay leaf
A few parsley stalks
50g / 2oz butter
450g / 1 lb cod fillets, skinned
50g / 2oz button mushrooms, sliced
125g / 4oz cooked peeled prawns
30g / 1 ½ oz plain flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
125g / 4oz grated Cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper

Put the milk into a saucepan with the onion, peppercorns, mace, bay leaf and parsley stalks. Bring to the boil, and then remove from the heat and leave to infuse while preparing the remaining ingredients.

Melt the butter in another saucepan and use a little to brush the inside of a 1.6 litre / 2 ¾ pint ovenproof pie dish. Cut the cod into finger size strips, place in the pie dish and scatter the mushrooms and prawns on top.

Strain the milk through a sieve, then discard the contents of the sieve. Add the flour to the remaining butter in the saucepan, stirring to blend. Gradually stir in the strained milk to make a smooth sauce.

Bring to the boil, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens. Season with salt and pepper and lemon juice and add two thirds of the grated cheese. Stir until melted.

Pour the sauce over the fish, sprinkle with the remaining cheese, place on a baking sheet and cook in a preheated oven 180C, Gas 4 for 20 – 25 minutes until golden brown.

I love the taste of the white sauce! To the extent I made too much, and that’s why it looks a lot more than it actually is. I am saving up the cheese sauce so that I can have pasta with it.

Tomatoes and thyme cod

From BBC More One-pot Recipes
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion , chopped
400g can chopped tomatoes
1 heaped tsp light, soft brown sugar
few sprigs thyme , leaves stripped
1 tbsp soy sauce
4 cod , fillets (we like No Catch) or another white flaky fish, such as pollack

Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion, then fry for 5-8 mins until lightly browned. Stir in the tomatoes, sugar, thyme and soy, then bring to the boil.

Simmer 5 mins, then slip the cod into the sauce. Cover and gently cook for 8-10 mins until the cod flakes easily. Serve with baked or steamed potatoes.

Lainey! See! Penne! Not Fuscili!

Light and fresh fish pie

From BBC Good Food Fish and Seafood Dishes
Serves 4
Ingredients

1tbsp plus 1 tsp olive Oil
1lb/450g new potatoes thinly sliced
8oz/200g broccoli, very small florets
2oz/50g plain flour
1 pint/600ml Skimmed milk
9oz/250g Cod fillet skined &, cut into large chunks
9oz/250g Salmon fillet skined &, cut into large chunks
3 tbsp Chopped fresh parsly
½ Lemon finely grated zest

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees and grease a 1.8litre baking dish.

Cook the potato slices in a pan of boiling salted water for 3 mins. Drain, return to the pan and drizzle over 1tsp of oil to stop the slices sticking.

Cover the broccoli in boiling water for 30secs drain into a seive and run under the cold tap.

Put the flour in a non stick pan with the milk & 1 tbsp of oil. Bring to the boil stirring with a wooden spoon then cook for a minute or two. Take of the heat stir in the broccoli fish, parsley & lemon zest season with salt & pepper.

Tip the mixture into the dish cover with the potato slices and season with pepper. Bake for 30 mins until golden brown.

Good simple fish pie recipe which doesn’t require mashed potatoes! But I really should try out the classic way of making fish pie as I haven’t done it before. Taste wise, I think it’s lacking a bit of a kick… still contemplating whether I should add mustard or something just to bring it over the edge.

In the end, with two leftover servings, I opted for cheddar cheese over the top and baked. Wonderful!