I try to make fish dishes at least twice a week, and it gets challenging thinking of interesting ways of presenting it to someone who doesn't like fish very much. So I do a lot of searching online to find interesting recipes online. It's a hit or miss affair, so we've found some keepers and some even I have trouble finishing. This week, I took some inspiration from Dorie Greenspan, and it's a hit!
The ingredients:
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1tbs of capers, chopped up and a few kept whole, with some of the caper juice
1/2 onion, finely chopped
salt, about 1/2 tsp
pinch of sugar (may need more when you're doing the sauce)
Dried pepper flakes/black pepper, to taste
Olive oil, about 3 tbs
Parsley, as much as you like, for topping
2 pieces of yellowtail
The process:
Chop and mix first 7 ingredients (lemon juice and zest, capers, onion, salt, sugar, pepper, olive oil). Add any dried herb, if you like, eg rosemary. Coat the fish in this, and leave it to marinate.
While it was marinating, I started off the side dishes. I served it with potatoes, roasted tomatoes, sweetcorn and a garlic mayo.
Potatoes: Peel and cube 2 potatoes, put into a pan with a little bit of oil, and cover. Leave for about 10 minutes, stirring once or twice. Once the 10 min are up, the potatoes will be cooked through. Sprinkle with salt and add to the tray in the oven to keep warm.
Roasted tomatoes: I had some nice tomatoes on the vine, which I just left as is and popped into the oven.
Sweetcorn: Frozen sweetcorn, also just onto the tray in the oven.
Garlic mayo: I had some of the roasted garlic from the Roasted Tomato Soup. I squeezed about 1/2 of that, mixed with mayo and some Bulgarian yoghurt. Taste and see if you're happy with it, or adjust to taste.
Once the potatoes were done and removed from the pan, put a little more olive oil in the pan. Scrape the marinade from the fish and place skin side down in the pan. Let it cook until golden, then flip and let it cook on the other side until it looks good to you. Probably about 5-7 min each side, depending on the thickness of your fillets. When done to your liking, pop it onto the tray into the oven to keep warm while you finish the sauce.
Sauce: just put the marinate in the pan and let it heat through. Taste - you may want to add more sugar at this point, it does have quite a sour kick from the lemon and the capers. When you have it how you like, dish up!
Plate the fish, potatoes, sweetcorn and tomatoes (which I put back in the oven on grill while the rest was being done, in order to blister it a bit) on the plate. Top the fish with the chopped parsley. Put the marinating sauce on/next to the fish (I prefer next to, so I can control how much I get in a bite), and add a dollop of the garlic mayo (if made) on the side.
Delicious!
03 November 2011
01 November 2011
Roasted Tomato Soup
I don't like soup. In fact, I actively dislike soup. It's just wrong. Why would I want to eat my food all gummy when I still have all of my teeth? It also looks weird.
The other half was feeling ill yesterday. I made him soup from a can for lunch, which he enjoyed and ate everything). But I thought I could do better than that, and toyed with the idea of making tomato soup (based on him asking if that's what we had earlier in the day). I googled a bit and checked out some recipes, and decided to wing it based on what I'd seen.
The ingredients:
4-6 large tomatoes, or a lot of little tomatoes (easier with the bigger tomatoes)
1-2 garlic gloves (use to taste, it does sweeten a lot in the roasting)
1 red pepper
1 onion (optional)
Thyme (fresh or dried) - to taste
Any other herbs you want to use (fresh or dried, I used some fresh parsley) - to taste
1tsp smoked paprika
1/2-1 cup chicken/vegetable stock
salt - to taste
The process:
Tomatoes should be halved and quartered, put on a baking tray, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. Put the garlic gloves, still in their papery skin, also on the tray. Prick the skin of the red pepper all over with a knife/fork, and on the tray it goes. If using, slice the onion into rounds and put it on the tray too.
This all goes into the oven at 200 for about an hour. Turn the pepper about halfway. The tomatoes will concentrate down and release some juices.
After an hour, take it out of the oven and put the tomatoes and any juices in the pan into a pot. Put the pepper in a bowl and cover with clingfilm (this will allow you to easily remove the skin from the pepper so you can just use the flesh). Split the garlic clove and squeeze the roasted garlic into the pot too (be careful, it's hot!). Once you're done with that, the pepper should be ready - pull the skin off, and remove the seeds with a teaspoon. Put the pepper into the pot too (I reserved some strips to put on the top). If you have onions, put them into the pot too.
Add the stock, and let it cook for about 5 min to reduce the liquid a bit. Add some smoked paprika, thyme (fresh or dried) and any other herbs you may want to add (fresh or dried).
Get out the stick blender and puree it. You can leave it slightly chunky or go all the way smooth - whatever floats your boat. Add salt to taste. If you want it thicker, cook it down further.
When ready, spoon into bowls and garnish with the roasted pepper strips.
I served this with some toasted cheese sandwiches made with mature cheddar on wholewheat. It works really well together.
The other half was feeling ill yesterday. I made him soup from a can for lunch, which he enjoyed and ate everything). But I thought I could do better than that, and toyed with the idea of making tomato soup (based on him asking if that's what we had earlier in the day). I googled a bit and checked out some recipes, and decided to wing it based on what I'd seen.
The ingredients:
4-6 large tomatoes, or a lot of little tomatoes (easier with the bigger tomatoes)
1-2 garlic gloves (use to taste, it does sweeten a lot in the roasting)
1 red pepper
1 onion (optional)
Thyme (fresh or dried) - to taste
Any other herbs you want to use (fresh or dried, I used some fresh parsley) - to taste
1tsp smoked paprika
1/2-1 cup chicken/vegetable stock
salt - to taste
The process:
Tomatoes should be halved and quartered, put on a baking tray, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. Put the garlic gloves, still in their papery skin, also on the tray. Prick the skin of the red pepper all over with a knife/fork, and on the tray it goes. If using, slice the onion into rounds and put it on the tray too.
This all goes into the oven at 200 for about an hour. Turn the pepper about halfway. The tomatoes will concentrate down and release some juices.
After an hour, take it out of the oven and put the tomatoes and any juices in the pan into a pot. Put the pepper in a bowl and cover with clingfilm (this will allow you to easily remove the skin from the pepper so you can just use the flesh). Split the garlic clove and squeeze the roasted garlic into the pot too (be careful, it's hot!). Once you're done with that, the pepper should be ready - pull the skin off, and remove the seeds with a teaspoon. Put the pepper into the pot too (I reserved some strips to put on the top). If you have onions, put them into the pot too.
Add the stock, and let it cook for about 5 min to reduce the liquid a bit. Add some smoked paprika, thyme (fresh or dried) and any other herbs you may want to add (fresh or dried).
Get out the stick blender and puree it. You can leave it slightly chunky or go all the way smooth - whatever floats your boat. Add salt to taste. If you want it thicker, cook it down further.
When ready, spoon into bowls and garnish with the roasted pepper strips.
I served this with some toasted cheese sandwiches made with mature cheddar on wholewheat. It works really well together.
04 March 2011
Chicken Sloppy Joes
Easy and relatively quick dinner. Had some wholewheat rolls.
Into the hot pan went some olive oil, chopped onions, chopped green peppers. When those were softened, in went a few tsp of minced garlic and half a tsp of minced ginger. 1/4kg chicken mince followed, with some salt, crushed coriander seeds and tumeric. When the chicken was cooked, added in some chopped tomatoes, and miscellaneous sauces. Reduce down to a yummy thick consistency, spoon onto rolls, top with some lettuce and serve (salad or chips on the side).
Into the hot pan went some olive oil, chopped onions, chopped green peppers. When those were softened, in went a few tsp of minced garlic and half a tsp of minced ginger. 1/4kg chicken mince followed, with some salt, crushed coriander seeds and tumeric. When the chicken was cooked, added in some chopped tomatoes, and miscellaneous sauces. Reduce down to a yummy thick consistency, spoon onto rolls, top with some lettuce and serve (salad or chips on the side).
03 March 2011
Quinoa, Chickpea & Spinach Salad
This is definitely one that is going to be repeated! A salad that's pretty simple to throw together, yet looks great and tastes even better. Incredibly filling as well.
1 cup quinoa, rinsed, then (perhaps damp rather than dry) toasted in the pot to get a bit of nuttiness into it. Add 2 cups of water to that, let it boil then reduce heat and cover, for about 20 minutes until the water's all absorbed and it's lovely and fluffy. Once it's done, it's into the fridge for a quick cooling (stir a few times to quicken the cooling time).
While that's on the go, the rest can be put into a (very large, to allow you to mix easily) bowl:
1 can of chickpeas, drained
2 rather large handfuls of baby spinach. I cut the leaves in half to make it more manageable (I hate large salad leaves and trying to shove it into my mouth gracefully) and chopped up the stems for some crunch
About half a cucumber, sliced into quarters lengthwise, centres removed so the salad wouldn't get soggy the next day, and then slices
A few cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters and seeds removed (see note about not wanting it to be soggy)
As much feta as you think is a good idea, some in largish chunks and some crumbled
A decent amount of mint leaves, chopped up
A good sprinkling of toasted flaked almonds (or you can just top the salad with this when serving, so it retains the crunch nicely)
When the quinoa is cooled, mix it into the salad.
Time for the dressing. 1 tablespoon of white vinegar, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, 1-2 teaspoons of smoked paprika, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and a good few drops of Tabasco Chipotle Sauce. These are mixed together, then mixed into the salad. And toss toss toss. I might make more of the dressing in the future.
Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste.
Tastes great as leftovers the next day too!
1 cup quinoa, rinsed, then (perhaps damp rather than dry) toasted in the pot to get a bit of nuttiness into it. Add 2 cups of water to that, let it boil then reduce heat and cover, for about 20 minutes until the water's all absorbed and it's lovely and fluffy. Once it's done, it's into the fridge for a quick cooling (stir a few times to quicken the cooling time).
While that's on the go, the rest can be put into a (very large, to allow you to mix easily) bowl:
1 can of chickpeas, drained
2 rather large handfuls of baby spinach. I cut the leaves in half to make it more manageable (I hate large salad leaves and trying to shove it into my mouth gracefully) and chopped up the stems for some crunch
About half a cucumber, sliced into quarters lengthwise, centres removed so the salad wouldn't get soggy the next day, and then slices
A few cherry tomatoes, cut into quarters and seeds removed (see note about not wanting it to be soggy)
As much feta as you think is a good idea, some in largish chunks and some crumbled
A decent amount of mint leaves, chopped up
A good sprinkling of toasted flaked almonds (or you can just top the salad with this when serving, so it retains the crunch nicely)
When the quinoa is cooled, mix it into the salad.
Time for the dressing. 1 tablespoon of white vinegar, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, 1-2 teaspoons of smoked paprika, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and a good few drops of Tabasco Chipotle Sauce. These are mixed together, then mixed into the salad. And toss toss toss. I might make more of the dressing in the future.
Season with sea salt and black pepper to taste.
Tastes great as leftovers the next day too!
23 February 2011
Mediterranean Fish Parcels on Leeks
This was actually pretty quick to put together. Chopped up some leaks and put it in a pan with a bit of olive oil and a small piece of butter, and cooked until they were soft and delicious.
The fish were put into foil parcels with a bit of sundried tomatoes, chopped olives, sliced red pepper, salt, black pepper and lemon juice. Then into the oven until done.
Quick prep and delicious.
Dessert was steamed gemsquash. Purely because we're trying to be healthy and didn't have anything else on hand :) .
Ok, so I added sugar to mine and boyfriend added honey to his; but still, better than cake! :D
The fish were put into foil parcels with a bit of sundried tomatoes, chopped olives, sliced red pepper, salt, black pepper and lemon juice. Then into the oven until done.
Quick prep and delicious.
Dessert was steamed gemsquash. Purely because we're trying to be healthy and didn't have anything else on hand :) .
Ok, so I added sugar to mine and boyfriend added honey to his; but still, better than cake! :D
20 February 2011
It's been a while
Tons of stuff came up over the last few months, so I had barely any time to update. That must change! So, for starters, 2 meals :)
Lunch was 3 mini pizzas. I've finally found the perfect pizza dough recipe, which I'll touch on another time. I'd made extra dough last week, and froze it for use when the pizza bug struck again.
The 3 variations:
- Garlic, sea salt and rosemary (and a little butter)
- Tomato base (sauce left over from last time; recipe to follow at another time), mature cheddar cheese and thyme
- Parmesan, feta, and some sliced green onion on the top once out of the oven.
Dinner is going to be ostrich burgers with thick chips and a salad. Not very high on the skill level, but I am working through the night again. I had wanted to make some onion marmalade for the burger, but there was no time today. Perhaps some of the Devil's Sauce (look out for the recipe soon) will go over well with it...
Lunch was 3 mini pizzas. I've finally found the perfect pizza dough recipe, which I'll touch on another time. I'd made extra dough last week, and froze it for use when the pizza bug struck again.
The 3 variations:
- Garlic, sea salt and rosemary (and a little butter)
- Tomato base (sauce left over from last time; recipe to follow at another time), mature cheddar cheese and thyme
- Parmesan, feta, and some sliced green onion on the top once out of the oven.
Dinner is going to be ostrich burgers with thick chips and a salad. Not very high on the skill level, but I am working through the night again. I had wanted to make some onion marmalade for the burger, but there was no time today. Perhaps some of the Devil's Sauce (look out for the recipe soon) will go over well with it...
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