Smoked Mackerel and veggie packed Buckwheat-otto

Soooo.. its been a while! I had completely lost my blogging mojo and over the past year I've really been questioning in general how much I share and how much time I spend online. Tweeting this, Instagramming that, posting various things on Facebook and updating on other groups meant there was not enough time leftover just for me and so I decided enough is enough, no more blogging and a real cut back of being online. So I did nothing. Absolutely nothing. And its lovely to do nothing. The last year or so has frankly been far too stressful (though there were some good things too) and it was taking a toll on my health and so I took a month off. My inbox is full but it doesn't bother me anymore. My blog has only ever meant to be a hobby and I had been thinking about giving up entirely but I will hang in a bit longer and see how I feel.. 9 years is a long time!!

These winter nights are not helping either with the blogging!! Everything I photograph looks odd and I've spent ages trying to adjust the colour balance!! Fingers crossed in the new year we may also be in pastures new...hopefully with much better lighting too!! Though the whole process is the part of my current stress levels, it will be worth it in the end! I've already decided summer cannot come around quick enough - our current kitchen is freezing and I am currently huddled under my snuggie blanket typing, thawing out from cooking our dinner tonight!!

Comfort food is definitely winning at the moment and this is one of those dishes! I am following my FODMAP about 80% of the time and whilst I think I've worked out both wheat and dairy are not my BFF's, we are alright mates if we don't hang out too frequently! I missed bread to much to carry on long term, also with it being the 'C' season I've been eating out a lot and doing FODMAP + restaurants is always a bad idea!! I have been avoiding garlic but a little in this would be probably rather lovely!!

A few months back when I started re-assessing my diet, I discovered Buckwheat, which isn't actually a type of wheat and is more grain like in texture. Its slightly nutty and its really versatile - it soaks up flavours brilliantly too and I've been making lots of risotto style dishes with it. This dish is also a one pan winner - less washing up is always good!! Its also fairly cheap to make, in a month full of annual type bills its very welcome! 

Serves 3

Ingredients

100g buckwheat

200g smoked peppered mackerel, skinned and shredded

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1/2 courgette, cut into strips

1/2 red pepper, diced

1 small stick of celery, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, finely chopped

5 tbsp parmesan, grated

1/2 tbsp herbs de provence

2 tbsp basil leaves, chopped

S&P to taste

Soak the buckwheat for about 10 minutes in cold water and rinse well. (This helps to remove any wheaty dust etc but isn't the end of the world if you forget!)

Heat a glug of olive oil in a saute pan till hot and fry the carrot and celery for 5 minutes, until starting to soften and then stir in the remaining veggies and fry until the courgette is starting to become lightly golden - about 5 minutes. 

Stir in the prepared buckwheat, herbs de provence and add the tomatoes. Fill the empty tin with water and pour over, cover and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat down and simmer for 30 minutes or until the liquid has absorbed, stirring every 5-10 minutes.

Fold in the prepared mackerel and half the parmesan and heat through. Scatter over the basil and remaining parmesan and serve

Serve in big bowls and enjoy!

Pan Fried Basa with a creamy Courgette and Chorizo Sauce

Over the years after many trials and tribulations I have become far more confident with cooking fish successfully, and this time I won the jackpot! I loved everything about this dish, it was dreamt up and fortunately it was a very good dream! The creamy sauce, with smoky chorizo and fresh chunks of sweet courgette works so well with the Basa, a relatively plain, affordable white fish that's ideal for this dish. It was a dish I would be happy to order and eat in a good restaurant!

I tried to keep the dish relatively simple, we had no cream in and as we car share during the week, and B was not home from work yet, so a little improvisation was on the cards! I wondered to myself if I could substitute with a little milk and it worked a treat! By the time it had cooked, and a little flour to thicken it was a really good consistency, smooth and cream like without being heavy or claggy (not often manage to use that word!! I used both dill and thyme in the dish in different stages, partly down to indecision! I wanted the earthy thyme with the rich chorizo but had some lovely fresh dill leftover from a fish pie I made on saturday - in the end I cooked the thmye at the start with the chorizo and then the dill went in to finish the dish. If you can't get any fresh dill I would suggest just use extra thyme leaves instead.

Another bonus is that its also cooked all in one pan so less to wash up! Alongside the fish I made sweet potato mash - always a winner!! Even more so when it involves my beloved Masha toy! If you hate mashing (or have evil elbow joints!) then its a god-send and takes no effort and is surprisingly therapeutic! I've had mine a few years now and wouldn't be without it! 

Serves 2

Easy

Under 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 Basa fillets (approx. 260g), halved across the middle

70g chorizo, finely sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 large beef tomato, chopped

1 courgette, halved and sliced

2 tbsp plain flour

Sea salt and black pepper

50g butter

1 heaped tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped

1 heaped tbsp. fresh dill leaves, chopped

200ml milk

Sweet Potato Mash:

2 medium sweet potatoes

1 white potato

Salt and pepper

1) Place the flour on a shallow plate and season with salt and pepper, pat the fish dry on kitchen towel and then coat well in the flour mix (don’t discard the flour mix!)

2) Meanwhile boil the potatoes in salted water for 15 minutes, then drain well. 

3) Heat a tsp of the butter in a large saute pan, fry the chorizo and courgettes gently for 3 minutes until starting to colour nicely, add the tomato and fry for a further 2 minutes, add the thyme leaves and stir through, remove everything using a slotted spoon and keep warm.

4) Add the butter to the pan, melt down over a moderate heat, add the fish pieces in a single layer and fry for 3 minutes, turn over and fry for a further 2 minutes until crispening, spooning over the buttery juices, push to one side of the pan and add the prepared chorizo veggie mix, pour in the milk and simmer for a minute, make a well and sparingly scatter 1 tbsp of the flour mix and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring the sauce constantly until thickened. Add the dill and stir through.

5) Drain the potatoes, and mash, season to taste.

6) Serve up the mash on one side of your plate, with the veggie bits on the other side and gently place the fish on top. Scatter over a little sprinkle of dill leaves to garnish.

My dish was quite frugal and so I am sending my dish into this months Credit Crunch Munch - my Basa was bought half price reduced and my thyme leaves can from my 13p reduced plant! The tomatoes and dill were also bought over by dad so were free to me! This month it was run by Food Glorious Food. It was set up by Fab Food 4 All and Fuss Free Flavours to promote frugal recipes and cooking.

Also I snuck in a lonely, slightly soft tomato and cooked the courgettes all together in the sauce to boost veggie content with minimal washing up! I have entered it in Jen's Food Extra Veg Challenge, created by Fuss Free Flavours and Utterly Scrummy Food for Families:

Last but not least my first entry to Cook Blog Share! This week its held by Sneaky Veg ( I love the name!)

Baked Coley with Parma Ham

For the more avid reader....this dish actually was made last year but was somehow relegated and I stumbled across it lurking in the bottom of my word document for unfinished blog posts! Now its starting to get more summery, I am thinking more summery food and I remembered how easy, and delicious this dish was! Perfect for an easy summer nights meal! I think the night it was made, we had been for a long, leisurely walk around the grounds of nearby parkland and moaning about the inevitable midges and bugs of balmy evenings!

Blogging has been tough this past month, I have been purposely neglecting my internet presence, and trying to reconnect with real life in a hope to understand why I go through such bad bouts of low mood etc...making sure I am not just using the blog etc as escapism... that combined with deciding to come off virtually all my prescription meds and recovering from my mangled index finger has almost driven me to the edge of giving up the blog. The dressing is finally off, though I have numbness and a fear every time I pick up my chef's knife! Giving up though is not an easy decision, after over 8 years of doing it! I love blogging, connecting with others but sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed with it all, all the talk of PA, DA, SEO etc just phases me to the point of erm, should I retire?! Anyway, do please bear with my wobbly moments!

This dish is so easy it takes moments to throw together, and looks like you have made a bit of an effort! We originally had this with creamed spinach and jacket potato mash - can't go wrong really with its accompaniments but something green always complements fish very well!

Serves 2

Easy

2 Coley fillets

4 slices parma ham

6 halved cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp grated parmesan

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Line a baking tray with foil and grease lightly. Pre-heat oven to 200o

Wrap the parma ham around the coley fillets, tucking the seam underneath. Place in the baking tray,  season with salt and pepper, then scatter over the tomatoes and the parmesan. Drizzle with a little oil and bake for roughly 18-20 minutes, or until the fish has cooked through.

The flavours work so well together, Coley is a fairly light, inoffensive tastying fish and the Parma ham gives it a lovely, slightly salty tasting boost!

Tuna Meatball and Courgette Risotto

A few years back I recall making some tuna meatballs but I wasn’t exactly overwhelmed and I never revisited them... they were kind of stodgy and er dense from memory… until one particular night recently... I had planned a risotto of some sort for dinner and I thought about using up the bacon lurking in the fridge but as we were planning sausages on the Thursday and my head started muttering too many nitrates in the week, I decided to cook something fishy instead but we only had tinned tuna, tinned mackerel or tinned salmon and nothing in the fridge or freezer.. and I wondered if could we dare brave tuna meatballs again? Plus the thought of tuna stirred through risotto didn’t exactly sound inviting at all yet alone the mental imagery and I thought about making tuna meatballs again but smaller this time and a completely different recipe – so I tweaked a few things and voila! Success! Apart from Mr B initially thinking the meatballs were actually made of chicken it was a resounding success!

Since making this courgette version, I also made another one with finely sliced leek, added at the same stage as the courgette in the original version and a cupful of petit pois near the end, along with roasting cherry tomatoes instead of peeling etc as basically they are less faffy to do, oh and I used some lovely fresh rosemary instead of Basil – both risottos were resounding successes and I am making mental note of both to remake! Don’t be shy with the parmesan – I have in the back of my mind somewhere that cheese and fish are not very Italian but I am part Polish and the rest a mixed English bag and well I don’t really care! It tastes great and surely that’s all that matters?!

 

The meatballs are easy to make - I have tried both with and without flour to roll in and providing you work quickly, the less flour the better! Its a fairly cheap dish to make as well - tinned tuna is so handy to keep on standby this makes a great week night or weekend meal to cook!

Serves Two – Easily doubled.

Meatballs:

1 x tin tuna in spring water
1 tbsp finely grated parmesan cheese
1 medium egg
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
1 tbsp finely chopped basil leaves
1tbsp olive oil

Risotto:

175g carnaroli rice
1 white onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 courgette, trimmed, cut into thin quarters
1 tbsp olive oil
Knob of butter
50ml dry white wine (or vermouth)
1 large tomato (or 6 cherry tomatoes)
1 heaped tsp vegetable stock powder, made up in 700ml boiling water
½ lemon, zest only
2 heaped tbsp finely grated parmesan cheese + more to serve
3 basil leaves, for garnish

Pre-heat the oven 10 low – about 80o

Start by preparing the meatballs. Mix lightly the tuna, basil. Egg, parmesan and breadcrumbs. Use a teaspoon and hands to create mini meatballs. Heat the olive oil, fry the meatballs for about a minute or so on each side until lightly crispy, place in a baking tray, cover loosely with foil and keep warm in the oven.

Place the pan back on the heat and melt the butter, gently sauté the onion until translucent, being cautious not to brown it then add the courgettes and fry for 5 minutes to lightly colour.

 

Add the white wine, allow to burn off then stir through the garlic and rice, fry for a minute then add a good splash of stock to loosen, reduce the heat slightly and when the stock has evaporated and starting to sizzle slightly, add a splash more and repeat until the rice has fluffed up - about 30 minutes give or take. You may choose to spend this time getting to know your wine better.

 

When its almost cooked through add the prepared tomato, and lemon zest. The texture should be slightly loose but not sloppy! Turn off the heat, season with salt and pepper and stir through the parmesan.

Serve in bowls with a good sprinkle of parmesan and a basil leaf

 

Risotto really is perfect comfort food – who can resist a big steaming bowl of hot creamy, fragrant rice on a chilly winters night? The flavours all worked so well together and it will definitely be made again soon!

 

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If my risotto has whetted your appetite why not check up this little round-up of deliciousness:

 

An intriguing sounding and gloriously golden Prawn Savoury from FabFood4All

 

This simple but delicious looking Tomato and Basil Risotto from Happiness is Homemade

 

If you have not tried using pearl barley instead of risotto rice it makes for a delicious risotto still - this Chorizo and pea one from What to Have For Dinner Tonight (I make a similar one myself and I agree the flavours work so well together!)

 

I adore the name of this newly discovered blog Knead Whine and her risotto of Butternut Squash and Sage looks scrumptious!

 

Seeing this lush looking Baked Wild Mushroom Risotto from Family-Friends-Food makes me pine for my old cast iron casserole.. which I regrettably sold to make space a few years back...one day we will meet again!

 

There is also another lovely oozing Mushroom one - this tasty risotto from Munchies and Munchkins also contains black garlic - something I recall seeing at a food show with a morbid fascination!

 

 

 

Smoked Trout Macaroni Bake

It seems that winter is starting to claim autumn from us, littering the ground with autumn leaves and whispering a chill to the morning air, thoughts of gloves on some days when I walk to work seems a given, and all I really want to do lately is eat. In my head its salad but when it comes to cooking comfort food is calling me! 

As you may have guessed by now Pasta bake in one of its various and many forms is one of my favourite comfort foods and when naughty pictures appeared on my facebook feed, posted by another blogger called Kavey, of her mums macaroni cheese it had me craving it all week, and after accidentally buying 0% fat crème fraiche rather than the more usual full fat option I decided to give in to my cravings and embark on a slightly healthier version of pasta bake…at least I can kind of pretend its healthier... well I did use high fibre macaroni too! There is a little white wine, mainly as I happened to be partaking in a glass at the time but you could use vermouth, or a little extra stock if you don't drink/ have any in.

Overall it was a good success, though I might sneak in a little more cheese next time! The macaroni wasn't swimming in sauce but not dry either, a good balance really! The smoked trout was delicious – I am not a huge fan of Trout 'au naturel' but thanks to a kind forum friend a few months back I quite enjoy smoked trout now, its nutritious, high in vitamin D, protein and Omega 3. See didn't I say pasta bake could be healthy?

Having had a good success with a smoked mackerel version previously, I decided to test the smoked Trout in a pasta bake form (I did make a few other things to but this was the best of them!). The fish has a good meaty-ish texture and light smoke flavour running through it. There were a few small bones but were quickly removed with tweezers. As its already cooked, its also so easy to use by simply shredding the fillet by hand and combining into the cooked macaroni.

Serves Two

Ingredients:

100g macaroni
1 large egg
4 heaped tbsp 0% fat crème fraiche
15g extra mature cheddar, grated
4 large basil leaves, shredded
4 cherry tomatoes, halved
60g smoked trout fillet, flaked
1 tsp cornflour, mixed with 1 tbsp milk
Splash of white wine, dry
S&P

Method:

*You will need two individual pie/ baking dishes*

Beat the egg with the cheese, basil and 1 tbsp of the crème fraiche and season with salt and pepper

Meanwhile boil the macaroni as per packet instructions, when cooked drain well and reserve 125ml of the cooking liquor. Pre-heat your oven to about 190o (mine is completely on the blink and everythings at about 230o currently!)

Using the now empty saucepan, heat the reserved liquor, wine and 3 heaped tbsp of the crème fraiche, when its boiling whisk in the cornflour mixture, until thickened and season. Stir in the cooked macaroni and trout and fill two individual baking dishes.

Spoon over the cheese and egg mixture and dot the tomato halves and bake for 25-30 minutes or until slightly souffled on top and golden. Serve with green vegetables of your choice.

  

Many thanks to The British Trout association for my samples. 

Recipe and images remain the property of Anne's Kitchen.

Twice baked Tuna Jackets with Green Bean Saute

Sorry I have been a bit sparse in posting these past few months.. since Christmas I have been really struggling to live normally, yet alone focus on my blog. Its became a chore to be honest at times, battling daily fatigue and brain fog, changing medications and eventually a long period off work due to hideous hip pain, that saw me questioning my sanity most days… however following intense physio, pilates, a new heat pad (I love it!) lots of relaxation, soul searching, spending quality time with loved ones and attempting to eat normally I am hopefully back on the road to recovery.. I am trialling out a few different health foods and will be reporting back at a late date with the results.. 

..Fortunately its already paid off a little – this past week saw me back at work, albeit in a new role which is a little less physical and I no longer come home in tears of pain, which has to be a bonus. It’s still a little up in the air as to whether its long term but at least its something, and whilst its rather busy I quite enjoy it! Best of all its Monday to Friday and no more shifts! Yay! I am Taurean and creature of habit, we like routine!!

These delicious and easy Twice baked Tuna jackets were made during one of the brighter days and are delicious. Jacket potatoes are such an easy low faff meal, and for bad days a comfort to the soul too! We always tend to have tins of tuna in the cupboards, very handy for when you have forgotten to thaw or buy anything else in! Though doing the potatoes in the oven is necessary, micro-zapped jackets just are not the same and as there is only about 5 minutes max of preparation involved its well worth the wait, and you can rest in between! I love the look of the twice baked ones, are almost cottage like..

You can use standard wholegrain mustard in this, however if you have a flavoured one even better – I used Bulldog mustard, which has a an extra chilli kick and it helps liven it up! If you have a taste for chilli try adding a little chilli sauce or freshly sliced chilli!

Serves two

Ingredients

2 large baking potatoes

1 tin tuna flakes in spring water

2 tsp wholegrain mustard

30g grated mature cheddar

1 finely sliced spring onion

100g plain yoghurt (I used Greek) – you may need less it depends on your potato size

S&p to taste

1 tsp oil

Heat your oven to about 210o – mine is ancient and slow so be cautious!

Roll the potatoes in oil, pierce and place on a small baking tin, roast for around an hour – will depend on your oven and potato size or until cooked through – a skewer will come away easily.

Carefully transfer the potatoes to a chopping board, slice the top off lengthways - about 1/2 an inch and scoop out the insides into a bowl, being careful not to pierce the shell.

Mix in the remaining ingredients in a bowl, add the mash, mix and season to taste: 

Use the mixture to re-fill the potatoes, put their lids back on and bake for a further 15-20 minutes or until hot inside and cooked through.

You can serve with your choice of green veg. I made a quick green bean saute to serve with mine. Frozen green beans are a great veg to keep in the freezer, and cook quickly with little fuss!

150g frozen fine green beans

½ red pepper, finely sliced

2 tsp lemon juice

1 knob unsalted butter

1 sliced spring onion

Heat a non stick frying pan, add the green beans and cook on a medium heat – they will thaw out quickly, stir through the red pepper and spring onion, add the butter and lemon juice and fry for about 3-4 minutes or until softened and cooked through. If they are sticking, add a splash of water to loosen.

Serve the Tuna jackets with the green bean saute:

We both loved these stuffed potatoes and its something which will made again, and again! 

Spiced Coley and Potato Bake

In conjunction with Sainsbury’s, I developed this recipe to show that there are other fish varieties out there to try – and in turn help protect over fished varieties such as Cod, Salmon, Tuna, Haddock and Prawns. Sainsbury’s are the UK’s largest retailer of MSC certified sustainable seafood so you can buy with confidence – something I find quite hard to know wrong from right at the best of times!

How often do you try a new fish variety? I must admit that we don’t eat much fish – I love it but am very bad at remembering to put it on the shopping list. It doesn’t keep very long and our freezer space is limited and I hate wasting anything so its not often we do actually buy it. And when I do I have been buying prawns and salmon etc..so its high time I switch my fish as I would like to eat it in the future too!

Initially when I think of Coley for some reason I was a little dismissive, I think I ate it once in a rather naff Italian restaurant several years back and didn’t really enjoy it… and it wasn’t admittedly on my list to buy when I popped into Sainsbury’s as I really wanted the whole Lemon Sole, however there was only one left – not enough to feed both of us and so we went with the Coley and I put my thinking cap on! My boyfriend was fancying potatoes and so whatever I made, it would involve potatoes.. after buying the fish at the deli counter, we also decided to get some of my favourite olives from the other counter and whilst there was talked into trying, and buying some very tasty Etruscan Pepperoni. I've done the spiced meat n fish combo before and rather liked it and thought it would be worth a try with the Coley and so a few slices slipped into the trolley too!

Once home I had a root through the fridge and decided on creating a Mediterranean type dish – I love baking fish along with other ingredients and decided to treat the Coley with the same affection..

Not being super at judging measurements I wasn’t too sure how much Coley to buy and had ended up buying two rather large sides of Coley, however once home I realised it was a bit too much and froze one side for another time! Despite being assured it was fully filleted I did find a few bones, fortunately I keep a pair of old sharp tweezers handy just for this task!

Ingredients:

250g Coley cut into two halves

385g baby potatoes, halved length way's (you probably wont need this many but B loves potatoes so I did extra!)

Half a large yellow pepper, halved and sliced

8 green olives, sliced

2 tbsp olive oil

Half large red onion, sliced thinly

½ tbsp dried oregano

2 pats lemon herb butter from the fish counter

2 slices Etrusan Pepperoni or similar spicy sausage, sliced into 3 pieces each

S&p to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 210o (my oven is slow – be cautious!)

Line a large roasting tray with baking paper, scatter over the onion and pepper, drizzle with half the olive oil and roast for 15 minutes

Meanwhile boil the potatoes for 10 minutes or until just tender, and drain.

Remove the tray from the oven, nestle in the potatoes, top with the fish fillets, and place the pepperoni slices across the fish – if you have any leftover bits just scatter in the tray. Halve each butter pat and place either side of the fish. Sprinkle over the oregano, season with salt and pepper, scatter the olives and drizzle the remaining olive oil over everything.

Roast for a further 20-25 minutes or until the fish is cooked through – it will flake easily.

Serve with lemon buttered and seasoned Kale. 

At Sainsbury's right now you can save 20% off until the 1st of April across the lesser known species so its a great time to try something new!

Many thanks to Sainsbury's for providing inspiration and vouchers to cover the ingredients and my time

Three Ways with Smoked Salmon

Up until about 18 months, perhaps two years ago I really didn't 'get' smoked fish, just could  not understand what the fuss was about. I recall laying out prettily a packet of smoked salmon at a garden party for my auntie when I was probably about ten years old and nibbling it - eurgh what are these people eating!! I guess its like olives - I adore them now but back then noooooooo way!!

Fortunately time has passed, and my taste-bud's have matured - and I am finding myself rather partial now to smoked salmon! It started with trying out smoked mackerel at a restaurant, as it came as part of a seafood starter platter thingy and then progressed onto smoked trout a food forum friend sent me, then finally smoked salmon!

A few weeks back 'The Handpicked Foodstore' sent me a rather delicious packet of their MacGilvray Smoked Salmon and it vanished very quickly! It was buttery soft, carried a gentle smoky flavour and made mine and B's meals that bit more special! Something like this is a rare treat for us, I am a budget queen but its nice to have something like this once in a while!

Lovely layers of Smoked Salmon!

 A honestly perfect way to eat breakfast - Buttered white toast, topped with creamy scrambled eggs and a scattering of smoked salmon strips! Heaven!

We had dinner guests last week, and as typical one of them was running late so I knocked up some quick canapes whilst wating - simply a tub of Divo ricotta cheese, a sprinkling of Divo Parmigianno Reggano seasoned with salt, pepper and lemon juice, atop a ritz cracker (so classy!) and a twist of smoked salmon and a sliver of cucumber! This dish however was hit and miss - me and the boyfriend really enjoyed it but my dad and brother were not so fond of the creamy filling. Ah well, more for us!

Last but not least - Stir-fried noodles with peppers and mushrooms, with the last few pieces of the smoked salmon. Unfortunately someone knocked at the door, then my phone kept ringing and by the time I ate it, it was lukewarm....was tasty at least still!

Many thanks to The Handpicked Foodstore who supplied me the Smoked Salmon, and to DIVO Italiano for the Ricotta and Parmigiano Reggiano

Trout and Horseradish Fishcakes

Whilst I love fish, I really can't stand the bones! Silly I know but the thought has me gagging! I have slowly learned to enjoy cooking and eating Seabass on the bone and got fairly adequate at removing the flesh cleanly, and when my boyfriend spotted two whole trout with a yellow sticker on, we nabbed them for the freezer and had similar thoughts... I hadn't really eaten Trout before, apart from trying a teeny piece of my aunt's in a restaurant so was looking quite forward to trying it out at home..

On the previous night, I had thawed the trout and stuffed them with a mixture of fried pancetta, garlic, rosemary in butter and then baked them in the oven, and served up with mashed potato. Unfortunately I found the trout so bony it put me off eating it, but not wanting to waste anything, I let it cool down then painstakingly removed all the bones and popped the leftover fish into the fridge whilst deciding how best to reinvent it! In all honesty too I wasn't wowed by the trout, and not sure will buy it again but the fishcakes were an excellent end to my fishies journey!

Pre-fishcaked

The idea of fishcakes came to mind as purposely I had made extra mashed potato also the previous night, and that I am rather partial to homemade fishcakes, and with my darling being also open to the idea, assembled them along with a few odd bits from the fridge. I always think of myself as a bit of a magpie with cooking, borrowing ideas from here and there and often store up ideas, because I am really not quite sure what prompted me to use horseradish but it worked a treat, adding a nice little kick!

A new toy I recently got sent was also the making of the dish - my 'Masha'! Oh where have you been all my life?! I really loathe certain kitchen tasks, grating being one but my main is mashing potato! All that effort gaining popeye like muscles and ending up with lumpy mash has resulted in me very rarely making it! In fact if it wasn't for the boyfriend asking for mashed potatoes I could have carried on quite happily never mashing potatoes again! Fortunately fate stepped in with the arrival of my Masha, and I am now more than happy to make mash!

You may be somewhat skeptical, a bit like me as to whether one can really justify more kitchen tools but I actually sold my blender to make space for this. Perfectly smooth potatoes, literally in seconds. Apparently it does lots of other clever things too, including pastry, houmous and cakes. The magic part is that is doesn't have blades to reduce your ingredients to smoosh, it works by literally pushing for example the potato through small holes, thus not breaking up the gluten, and making the equivalent of wallpaper paste! I had left the skin on my potatoes when boiling, so was even more of a test of the machine but it coped perfectly, not to mention more nutritious too!

The resulting fishcakes were delicious, the nice spicy kick from the horseradish gently warms the tongue without ruining the flavour's of the trout. We recently moved house, and my dear neighbour and long time friend Ces happened to pop in whilst I was finishing making them and I gave her two for her husbands dinner, which apparently went down so well she now has to make them again! Though this time I have volunteered to do the mash!

Makes 6, serve 2 per person

Mixture:360g cold mashed potato
70g leftover cooked trout finely flaked
3 tbsp soft cheese or similar ingredient
1 spring onion finely chopped
S&p to taste
1 tsp lemon juice (from a bottle is fine!)
2 tsp creamed horseradish

Coating:1 beaten egg
Bowl of fine breadcrumbs
Pinch of s&p

Start by preparing a foil lined tray

Gently combine all the mixture ingredients until its thick but smooth enough to shape. Form a large ball into a 'cake' shape, toss in the egg and gently pat on the breadcrumbs and repeat to make a total of six fishcakes, spray with a little cooking oil. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Now with regards to cooking, you can oven bake or grill. My 'new' oven is actually an antique and they frankly just would not brown, and after a good 30 minutes got grilled to give them a firmer crust and better colour. However my lovely neighbour has a fan oven, and after less than 30 minutes in a hot oven, her two were perfect!

Alongside the fishcakes, I served honey roasted sweet potato chunks, braised cabbage and topped with a fried egg. And it was all delicious!

Many thanks to Dianne Kenyon for my Masha!

Grilled Haddock with Tomato and Rosemary Butter - Surprisingly Frugal

Recently I moved in with my boyfriend, and into another shared kitchen...which hasn't gone quite as swimmingly as one had hoped but its being resolved...as a result most of my cooking stuff is still in storage boxes whilst we await both space and furniture to arrive and cooking has been limited...however nothing gets in the way of dinner and this fishy dish was not only surprisingly frugal but delicious too and nothing complicated needed other than a grill, a bowl and a fork. Oh and the shared microwave (slightly grim inside but nothing a good dose of anti-bac won't fix!)

Sainsbury's recently were doing a blogger promotion for a fish called River Cobbler, and sent me a voucher, unfortunately my local branch didn't stock it and instead used it to pick up some lovely MSC fresh Haddock Fillets, that were on offer and reduced to 99p for the two! I do like a bargain! I am hoping to still try the River Cobbler, I've heard mixed reviews but always like to go with my own judgement on these things... 

Keeping on the frugal theme the butter was just the basics unsalted stuff, the rosemary came from a neigbour's garden and the tomato puree was a recent discovery also by coincidence from Sainsbury's, and I use it in so many things is worth its fridge place! The lemon juice is from a bottle, far more economical if you don't often buy lemons or just need small amounts. And the potatoes were Jersey Royals, paid for by Dad when we were in Jersey. 

Serves two - Easy

Ingredients:

2 large boneless Haddock or similar white fish fillets

Approx 3 tbsp butter

1 sprig rosemary, leaves stripped and finely chopped

Squeeze of lemon juice

1 tsp cherry tomato puree

Twist of S&P

Method:

Soften the butter, either by being organised and leaving out of the fridge ahead of making or via a couple of short blasts in the microwave.

Beat in the lemon juice, puree, seasoning and rosemary, use a teaspoon or similar to smother the fillet.

Pre-heat the grill to medium heat, place the fillets skin side down on foil and gently grill for approximately 10 minutes or until the fish flakes easily and is just opaque inside. Gently remove using a fish slice or whatever does the job in the mess of the kitchen draw.

Serve with buttered new potatoes and steamed vegetables of your choice:

Simple, delicious, healthy and nearly free. What more can you want!

I am also entering my dish over at Cooking with herbs June challenge:

With thanks to Kate at Sainsbury's

Spicy Fishy Fajitas

I'm not usually taken to writing poetry but whilst dreaming up this post the following struck me (poetry was never my strong point!):

A wicked daughter, that I be. 

Poor mum had promise of mayonnaise… 

Only it wasn't just mayonnaise 

It had a sneaky ingredient – wasabi!

Hellmann’s recently sent me a couple of their new flavoured mayonnaise's to try, one of them being a wasabi version - if you are not familiar with wasabi - aka my mum - its a similar to horseradish but with more oomph - the mayo lures you in all creamy then your tastebuds go BING!

Considering those who know me, know I am not actually a huge fan in general of mayonnaise and so probably found it a bit odd that I accepted the offer to try these but its not that I dislike it, I just only like it in certain things, I.e. on the side of my salad or with lots of garlic as a dip, however I really like this wasabi one and have been eating it with everything! I also have a bottle of the caramelized onion version, which is nice but a little too underwhelming for me on the sweet oniony flavour...

I really do enjoy making fajitas, as you get to have lots of lovely things to add in to make them your own, and these fishy ones were a big hit - my mum bless her is a little hesitant of trying 'new things' but tucked in happily to these, very proud of her though I have promised that I won't trick her again with wasabi!

My fishy fajitas (taco's? not really sure what to call them?!) were very reasonable and quick to make - I used fresh pouting fillets, which are a fraction of the price compared to fresh haddock etc - they came in at a whopping £1.50 and fed easily both of us! I then removed a few sneaky bones, once I had torn the cupboards apart trying to find the tweezers of course, then cut into strips, tossed with flour seasoned with smoked paprika, pepper and salt then quickly fried in a little oil. They did fall apart slightly so got affectionately renamed fishy smooshy but to no ill effect, if anything made the fajitas easier to assemble! 

To go with them, we had strips of cooked peppers, rocket salad, spring onions and grated cheese, soured cream and mine had a layer of the wasabi mayo too which was a lush combination! Another highlight was some new mini wraps I found in the supermarket - so much more ladylike than wrestling a big tortilla wrap!

Thanks to Nicola at Clarion for sending the samples.

Fennel and Pancetta Baked Seabass

Firstly, apologies for the lack of blogging and general activity visiting other blogs etc - I have been too busy revising to make the effort of cooking anything more elaborate than an omelette, yet alone remembering to photograph what I've made! Also with lending my camera to my dad for several weeks didn't help! However one exam is out of the way, and my final one is approaching fast so I will be returning back to normal soon!!

Last year the very nice PR for Jamie Oliver sent me a copy of the Jamie's 30 Minute Meals and due to everything that's happened since this is a very delayed posting! Its been regularly flicked through and drooled over but I just hadn't quite gotten around to cooking from it.

One big thing that sets this book apart from other cookery books, is that whilst yes it’s a recipe book; they are grouped together and written so that you can make the whole meal, rather than trying to read 3-4 separate recipes and working out how to combine them best, so all the hard work is already done for you! Now its just hard to to decide what to make first as so many menu's are all delicious sounding!

I am quite relaxed in my cooking style and had no intention of sticking to the '30 minutes' given the size of my kitchen and lack of facilities nowadays to cook but overall I didn't do that badly for time at all! I think organisation plays a huge part, I daresay I could of done some prep to get ahead but as I was doing my own interpretation of the recipes it didn't really matter! 

And so finally last week a series of separate thought processes resulted in me finally using the book - I'd invited my dad around for dinner (aka bribery to help dreaded Maths revision!), he wanted fish. I also had a head of greens that mum had offloaded onto me, and I had a sweet potato bought from the market to make something else which hadn't quite happened. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind I recalled Jamie making a fabulous looking 'crispy seabass with pancetta' on tv and dug out the book, and thus found the recipe. 

Whilst I borrowed most of the menu idea, this is my take on it, due to what I could actually buy at the time! It worked out cheaper to buy the seabass whole, compared to fillets, and now I've gone past the slightly squeamish 'its still got its head on' stage I love to cook it! Don't be scared - the fish remains so moist and is beautiful. Also I couldn't get smoked pancetta strips and had to use pancetta cubes. Oh and Jamie does 'asian greens' with the particular menu but I used the aforementioned greens instead, now I wasn't hugely keen on the asian dressing - was a bit oily for me and wouldn't do again, however it was all still eaten so semi successful!

Overall it was a success, my fish was absolutely beautiful, there is just a hint of fennel which works so well with fish, and the pancetta too added its own delicious element. Definitely will be making this one again!

Preheat oven to 180o

Ingredients

2 whole seabass, cleaned and gutted (your fishmonger will do this!)

100g pancetta cubes

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1 tbsp or so of butter

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

butter for greasing

In a small frying pan dry fry the pancetta until cooked through, reduce the heat, add the garlic, butter, about half the lemon juice - about 2 tbsp worth, bubble for around 30 seconds or until the butter has melted and allow to cool slightly, add a pinch of the lemon zest.

Butter two large sheets of foil, place a fish in the middle of each, make 3 slashes across the top. Fill the cavity with the bacon mixture and pour over any remaining juices and remaining lemon zest. Season. Sprinkle over the fennel seeds, seal the parcels well and place on a baking tray. Cook for 22-25 minutes depending on your oven - the fish should be opaque and just cooked.

Serve with your mash and greens as desired.

You can find his sweet potato mash recipe on line- I forgot to buy my coriander oops, and spent so long trying to chop it on the board it went a little cold...however it was still delicious! 

Prawn and Spinach Baked Gnocchi

Time and motivation have not always been on my side this past few months, and I've swayed from writing out a detailed meal planner for a month, then completely changing my mind and making it up as I go along on the day! On this particular day I really couldn't decide what to make, despite having invited my dad over for dinner. I think I may have originally put something glamorous like tinned soup or cheese and crackers on the planner, and really couldn't offer that up to my guest!

I knew I had spinach in the freezer (so handy) and a bag of some rather lovely jumbo king prawns also in there bought recently on offer, and was trying to decide how to combine them best. One of my favourite dishes is my haddock bake with prawns and spinach, but just wasn't in the mood for it. My mum needed to do some shopping anyway, so after a wander around Sainsbury's I spotted the bags of ready made gnocchi and my mind started doing its usual scheming! Gnocchi are funny little beasts I think, not pasta and not potato either. I do find them rather filling but I was hungry as a horse that day, and decided to experiment! My dad is a good eater and we did eat this between us but you probably could stretch to 3 servings from it. It made a nice change from the more usual pasta bakes I make and everything worked well together.

The only thing I would say is make sure everything is ready to go, and still hot under grill as you are merely finishing the dish off by browning, and not actually baking it. It would probably happily go in the oven for around 20-25 minutes to get the same effect.

Ingredients:

2 heaped tbsp. Yoghurt style cream cheese (I like Lidl’s one!) 

225g cooked, peeled king prawns, thawed 

4 blocks of frozen leaf spinach, thawed 

Handful grated cheddar Cheese 

500g ready made gnocchi 

S&p 

Pre-heat grill to medium hot 

Boil gnocchi for 2 minutes, add the spinach to warm through (or boil separately) and drain, reserving about half a cup of the liquid 

Place the drained gnocchi and spinach in a suitable baking dish (I love my little pyrex one), poke in the prawns. Gently warm through the reserved liquid, season and stir in the cream cheese, pour over the gnocchi, sprinkle with cheese and grill for around ten minutes or until piping hot and all lovely and golden brown 

Tuna and Spinach Orzo bake

Whilst getting close to moving house last month, I was trying obviously not to buy any new stuff in and to work my way through the cupboards/ freezer/ fridge etc, and this bake was born! Once again this falls into *Note to self: Always write things down* section! I really should have learned by now that whilst planned dishes are lovely, impulse ones are frequently kitchen miracles!

At the time I had half a bag or so of quick cook orzo to use up, a few nuggets left of frozen spinach and a half a bag of grated cheese (I hate grating!) going spare….and half an hour later I sat down to this lovely, rather filling pasta bake, which also filled my lunch box for the next two days which is always a bonus! I did admittedly eat the leftovers cold but am sure would taste better heated up! 

As a result of it being a cupboard surprise dish, and not thinking it might actually be rather decent I didn’t really measure anything but basically boiled the orzo as per packet instructions (I.e lots of boiling salted water), added the spinach at the end until just thawed, bashed it around to separate, then drained well and transferred into a baking dish. 

Separately I brought to the boil a small pan of milk and vegetable stock, stirred in a little cornflour (slackened with water first) until thickened nicely, removed from the heat, added a tin of drained tuna chunks, s&p, poured over the orzo and mixed well. Then topped with a little grated cheese, a sprinkle of natural breadcrumbs (the last tbsp. or so in the tub!) and it went until a moderate grill until bubbling and golden brown.

Not the best of pictures but you get the idea!

Serve on its own or with a nice green salad. But being that theres already spinach in there I highly recommend garlic bread on the side!

Finally a Batter success – Tuna, Olive and Vegetable pancakes

After my sharing of my batter nightmare some time back with you all, and abstinence from all batter related items for a considerable amount of time since, the fear of failure had finally diminished and after having several successful recipes of late, decided it was high time the scary world of batter was revisited!

Firstly, I will be honest in that I actually don’t like pancakes. There is just something to me that’s not quite right about them, this has stemmed from an early age, so you may now be wondering why I chose to make them…..well, many moons back D and I spent a sunny two weeks in Greece, and in one of our favourite lunch places they used to serve filled savoury crepes, baked in a cheese sauce. Now these were the exception to my no pancake rule – they were really delicious and if I recall correctly we had them a good five times or so during the fortnight! Also being of the mindset that anything is salvageable with a cheese sauce, I spotted this recipe on the good to know site a few weeks and pencilled them into our meal planner, D loves pancakes and my friend / sous chef was coming over, who equally likes them so in the back of my mind I thought if I didn’t like them, I could just eat something scraped together from the cupboards! D was actually out in the end, so we roughly halved the recipe, tweaked the sauce and filling a little……and... they were delicious! I will still avoid regular pancakes but baked in this manner, with the yummy filling it was a big hit with both of us!

They also actually work out very cheap to make, and served with a nice green salad make an ideal light dinner.

Whilst the original recipe served 4, as mentioned earlier I roughly halved it, and we ended up with 3 regular sized pancakes and one halfy! Additionally, I made a quick light sauce to pour over the pancakes, to moisten and also make them slightly more appealing to me! If you save the pancake pan to make it, its also one less pan to wash up!

There are a few stages to the dish but don't let this put you off, it is very easy, even better if you have another pair of hands to help you!

So roughly to serve 2, with our tweaks:

For the pancake filling:
150ml milk
15g butter and 15g plain flour
½ can tuna steak in spring water, drained
I didn’t weigh out but used a small handful each of frozen sweetcorn and peas (the original recipe suggests either frozen or leftover veggies)
8 green olives, roughly sliced
S&P to taste
½ tsp garlic puree
grated cheddar cheese – also didn’t weigh, a scant handful was used to fill AND to finish the dish with

For the pancake batter:
37g plain flour
Pinch of salt
1 large egg
75ml milk
A little oil for frying

For the sauce:

(Roughly)
125ml freshly boiled water
125ml milk
1 heaped tsp cornflour
1 tsp marigold boullion powder

Method

For the filling:
1. Place the milk, butter and flour in a medium pan, bring to the boil, whisking all the time until a smooth sauce forms. Simmer for 1 min. (I had never done all-in-one method and was dubious but am converted!)
2. Drain and flake tuna steak and stir into the sauce with the garlic, vegetables and olives. If using frozen vegetables steam for a couple of minutes in microwave/ boil in saucepan first.
3. Divide the filling between the pancakes and place in heatproof dishes

For the batter:
1. Place the flour, salt and eggs in a large bowl with half the milk. Whisk until the mixture is lump free. Add the remaining milk and whisk again until smooth.
2. Heat a 20cm/8in diameter non-stick frying pan until hot, drizzle a little oil over the centre and wipe it around with a piece of kitchen paper. Now pour a little of the batter into the pan and immediately tilt the pan to spread the batter thinly and evenly over the base. Cook for 2 mins or until the top is set and the base golden. Turn the pancake over with a spatula or if you are feeling brave, flip the pancake!
3. Cook for a further 1-2mins or until the base is golden. Transfer to a plate and interleave with greaseproof paper, keep warm. Use the batter and a little more oil to make a further 3 pancakes in the same way - it depends upon their thickness.

For the sauce:
1. Place the water, stock powder and milk in the frying pan, bring to boil, add the cornflour and whisk very quickly together, until thickened, remove from heat
2. Pour over the pancakes and sprinkle with the remaining grated cheese and pop under a hot grill until the top is crisp and golden.