Prawn Bhuna Curry

Bhuna is a Bengali dish, traditionally a slow cooked 'dry' (not much sauce) medium hot curry, heavy on mustard oil.  I made a quicker and wetter curry, which is more to our taste.

Serves 4

Prawns:

500g frozen cooked prawns

1/4-1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/4 tsp ground cumin

1/4 tsp ground turmeric

1/4 tsp salt

1 tbsp mustard oil (optional)

Bhuna Sauce:

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tbsp mustard oil (another tbsp of vegetable oil can be used instead)

1 tsp brown mustard seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds

4 cardamon pods

1 tsp garam masala

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4-1/2 tsp chilli powder

2 medium onions

3 garlic cloves, peeled

2 cm root ginger 

500ml passata

1/4 tsp salt

Toss the frozen prawns with the spices listed whilst you get on with the sauce.

Roughly chop the onion, garlic, and ginger and liquidise with 75ml water to make a paste.

Get all the dried sauce spices ready in a ramekin/small pot.

Heat the vegetable and mustard oil in a sauce pan over a medium high heat.  When hot, stir in the dried sauce spices, and then quickly add the onion paste, taking care as this will spit in the hot oil.

Stir the onion paste regularly until it starts to dry out.  Add the passata, salt, and a little water to make a thick but pourable sauce.  Bring to the boil, cover, and turn down to a simmer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, add the prawns.  Don't worry if they are still frozen, just turn up the heat and bring them back to the boil.  The prawns will release a lot of liquid into the sauce so boil the sauce hard for a further 5 minutes to reduce the sauce a little and thoroughly defrost and heat the prawns through.

Serve with basmati rice.

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Prawn & Pea Risotto

Prawn & Pea Risotto is a simple dish with big flavour for only a few ingredients.  Frozen prawns and peas make this an easy quick supper.

Serves 4

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, peeled & finely diced

1 large clove of garlic, peeled and crushed

1 small glass of white wine (optional)

300g risotto rice

2 fish or chicken stock cubes

1 litre recently boiled water

250g frozen prawns

Large pinch of chilli flakes (optional)

Chopped parsley (optional)

Freshly grated parmesan (optional)

Heat the olive oil in a heavy based pan over a medium heat.

Sweat the chopped onion for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft but not coloured.

Stir in the risotto rice and garlic into the onions.  Pour in the wine, and stir until evaporated away.

Add a ladleful of hot water and the crumbled stock cubes, stirring until evaporated and the stock cubes have completely dissolved.  Keep adding one ladle of hot water at a time, and stirring until evaporated.  Halfway through the hot water add the frozen prawns, and then continue adding the ladles of hot water.  After about 25-30 minutes the rice is tender but not mushy.

Stir in the frozen peas and chilli flakes, turn off the heat, cover with a lid and rest for 5 minutes.

Serve with a topping of chopping parsley and parmesan if wished.

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Sesame Prawn Toast

I resisted the urge to buy some half price raw prawns in Aldi last week, and then saw a recipe online for Sesame Prawn Toasts. So when Aldi had some more half price prawns yesterday (and three tuna steaks - straight in the freezer), I grabbed them for my protein obsessed 17 year old son.

Makes 12

3 slices of bread

175g raw prawns

1 medium free range egg

1cm root ginger, finely gated

1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 spring onion, chopped into 1cm rounds

Sesame seeds

Sesame oil

Light olive or vegetable oil for frying

Whizz the prawns, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, and spring onion together in a mini food processor.

Drizzle sesame oil on each side of the slices of bread.

Divide the prawn paste between the slices of bread and spread smoothly right to the edges.  The two recipes I looked at said to cut the crusts off, and to use white bread, but I left the crusts off and used light wholemeal bread.  Sprinkle the prawn paste with sesame seeds.

Heat 1 tsp oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat.  If you have a larger non-stick frying pan that will fit more than one slice of bread, add 1 tsp oil per slice.

Fry topping side up for 1.5-2 minutes until the bottom is golden brown.  Lift the slice of bread up with a fish slice and pour in another 1 tsp of oil, then carefully flip it prawn paste side down into the hot oil.  Cover the pan with a lid or plate and fry for 1-5-2 minutes until prawn paste is golden brown.

Cut each slice of bread into quarters.  If the prawn paste looks slightly undercooked (grey rather than pale pink) when you cut up the toast, just fry again for another minute or microwave all four quarters for 1 minute.

Sesame Prawn Toasts can be cooked in an air fryer.  Drizzle the bread with sesame oil as above then toast  in the air-fryer for 3 minutes at 200°C until one side is golden. Spread the prawn paste on the untoasted side of the bread followed by the sesame seeds.  Cut into quarters and arrange as many as you can in the air fryer basket. Cook for 12 minutes at 180°C until golden brown.

Serve warm with sweet chilli sauce and/or soy sauce for dipping.

Can be reheated in the air fryer - 5 minutes at 180C. And can be frozen and reheated in the air fryer from frozen - 10 minutes at 180C.

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One Pan Salmon Biryani

A simple but flavour packed one pan Salmon Biryani.  If you don't have the individual spices listed in the recipe below, you can always use curry paste.  

Defrosted cooked prawns can be used instead of salmon, and a vegan version can be make with 2 cans of drained chickpeas instead of salmon or prawns.

Serves 6

500g boneless salmon fillet joint cut into 4 fillets, or 4 boneless salmon fillets

250g baby spinach leaves 

1 large mug (300g) basmati rice

2 medium onions, peeled and thinly sliced

2 cm fresh ginger, finely grated

2 large garlic cloves

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled

Recently boiled water

4 tbsp mild curry paste (only if not using the dried spices listed below)

1 heaped tsp cumin seeds

5 green cardamom pods

1/2 tsp hot chilli flakes

1 tbsp garam masala

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp dried mint 

2 bay leaves

In a large casserole dish with a well fitting lid, fry the onions gently in the oil over a medium low heat, stirring from time to time until golden. This takes about 20 minutes, giving you time to assemble the other ingredients.

When the onions are golden, add all the dried spices if using. Stir the spices in well then add the garlic and ginger.  Add the curry paste now if using and stir in.

Weigh the rice into a large mug and note where it comes up to inside the mug.  Add the rice to the pan, then pour in 1 & 3/4 mugs of recently boiled water, so the water comes 1cm above the level of the rice.  As this is a little hard to see with the spices or curry paste colouring the water, the dry end of a wooden spoon works well as a level indicator.  Crumble in the stock cube and mix in well.

Cover the rice with the baby spinach leaves, and then lay the salmon skin side up on top of the spinach.  Put the lid on the pan and bring to the boil, then turn the heat down to the lowest and cook for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes remove the lid and peel off the salmon skin and discard.  If the skin doesn't come away easily, put the lid back on and cook for a further 5-10 minutes. If the skin does come away easily, flake the fish with a serving spoon. Again, if it doesn't flake easily and is not cooked through, put the lid back on and cook for a further 5 minutes.

When the salmon is cooked, turn off the heat and flake the salmon.  Mix the salmon and spinach into the rice. Serve immediately.

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Nordic Salmon Soup/Chowder

Lohikeitto (Finland), Fiskesuppe (Norway), Laxsoppa (Sweden), and Fiskisúpa (Iceland) are all Nordic creamy salmon and potato soups or chowders. This is a simple warming meal in a bowl that takes just over 30 minutes to cook.  I based my recipe on an online recipe for Lohikeitto, and added extra potatoes to make this into a simple dinner for 4.

Serves 4

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 leeks, washed and sliced

2 carrots, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces

1kg potatoes, cut into bite sized pieces

1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed 

1 litre fish or vegetable stock

400g salmon, skinned and cut into large chunks

200ml double cream (I only had 100ml hence mine not looking very creamy)

Small bunch of dill, finely chopped (didn't't have any but would definately add it next time)

Sweat the leeks in the olive oil in a large covered pan over a gentle heat, stirring from time to time.

When the leeks have wilted down to half their size at the start (about 20 minutes), add the carrots. Sweat in the covered pan for a couple of minutes whilst you chop the potatoes. 

Add the chopped potatoes, garlic, and stock which needs to just cover the potatoes.  Put the lid back on the pan, bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes.

When the potatoes are cooked through stir in the cubed salmon, cover and simmer for 5 minutes to cook the salmon.  When the salmon is cooked, pour in the cream and chopped dill.  Heat the creamy soup gently and remove from the heat when it is steaming but not boiling.  

Serve.

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Tandoori Salmon & Potato Traybake

Oven season begins, and with a surplus of potatoes I thought I'd combine Tandoori Salmon with potatoes and cook a hands off traybake.

Serves 4

500g salmon fillet

100g greek yoghurt

2 tbsp tandoori masala powder

1 clove of garlic, peeled & crushed

Juice of a small lemon

1kg white or salad potatoes

1 tbsp light olive oil

Mix the yoghurt, tandoori masala, garlic, and lemon juice together.  Spread over the flesh side of the salmon and leave to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

About an hour before you want to eat turn the oven on to preheat to 220C/200C Fan.

Cut the potatoes into wedges, or in half if smaller salad potatoes.  Place in a high sided baking dish big enough to spread them into a single layer, toss in a tablespoon of light olive oil and turn skin side down.

Bake the potatoes for 30 minutes then remove the dish from the oven.  Toss the potatoes so the ones on the outside are moved to the middle then make space in the middle of the dish for the salmon. Scrape all the marinade onto the salmon, and arrange the potatoes around it.

Return the baking dish to the oven for 15 minutes.

Serve with something green like wilted spinach, peas, green beans, or cucumber raita. 

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Mediterranean Rice

OH came up with this dish whilst cooking in the cramped static caravan in the south of France, and with the limited supplies in the small campsite shop (we had sweetcorn instead of yellow pepper, and he mistakenly picked up tuna in tomato sauce) 

Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and diced 
1 large clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
2 cans tuna chunks in oil
1 yellow pepper, deseeded and diced 
1 beef tomato, diced 
500g cooked rice (we could only find rice in sachets, which only took 12 minutes to cook)

Chilli powder (optional)

Soften the onion, pepper, and garlic in a large saucepan in either olive oil or the oil from one of the tuna cans.

When the onion is translucent, add the chopped tomato and cook gently until it starts to soften.
Stir in the tuna and rice and heat to piping hot. 

Serve with chilli powder if desired 

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One Pan Asian Salmon & Rice

I've been seeing a lot of recipes for rice cooker 'all in one' meals.  Whilst I do have a rice cooker (in the garage), I thought I'd try cooking it my Perfect Basmati Rice way.  It worked brilliantly.

Serves 4

1 mug basmati rice

1 tbsp grated ginger

1 large garlic clove, grated 

1 tbsp sesame oil

2 tbsp light soy sauce

200g baby leaf spinach or frozen edaname beans 

1 large carrot, grated 

500g salmon fillet

Put the rice, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, and soy sauce into a pan with a good fitting lid, wide enough to fit the salmon fillet.

Mix the rice and flavourings, then place the spinach and grated carrot on top of the rice.

Pour over 1.5 mugs of boiling water, put on the lid, and place the pan over a medium heat and bring to the boil.

When boiling, place the salmon skin side up on top of the spinach and carrot.  Put the lid back on, and when the pan comes back to the boil again, turn down to the lowest heat and set a timer for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes is up, turn the heat off and set a timer for another 10 minutes to finish steaming the rice and salmon.  DO NOT LIFT THE LID!

After the second 10 minutes, remove the lid and lift off the skin of the salmon and discard. Break the salmon into flakes and gently mix the rice, spinach, and carrot.

Serve with an extra drizzle of soy sauce and sesame oil.  I also added a sprinkling of chilli flakes and sesame seeds because I had some.

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Harissa Salmon, Broccoli, & New Potato Traybake

As the weather cools in southern England, turning the oven on for a traybake doesn't seems a bad idea, particularly if you can cook something else for later in the week on another shelf (roasted homegrown Crown Prince squash).

A relatively quick midweek dinner.

Serves 4

500g side of salmon
1kg new potatoes 
Small head of broccoli 

1-3 tbsp harissa

2 tbsp olive oil

Juice of half a lemon

Mix the harissa, olive oil and lemon juice and marinade the salmon for as long as you can beforehand. The recipe I loosely followed stated 3 tbsp of harissa but ours was old, fiery, and the genuine article (Le Phare de Cap Bon from France) and just 1 tbsp was surprisingly hot.  I presume supermarket homebrand harissa is not as hot?  Our salmon marinaded whilst boiling the potatoes.

Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the potatoes for 10 minutes, adding the broccoli florets for 2 minutes at the end of the cooking time. Drain.

Lightly oil a high sided baking dish and place in the salmon.  Toss the potatoes in any remaining marinade and around the salmon as suits. I would have cooked the piece of salmon whole, but was worried that once child would find the harissa too spicy, so cut the salmon into four portions and kept one of portion well away from the marinated portions. To further complicate things, another child does not like broccoli (but thankfully likes harissa), so I had to separate the potatoes and the broccoli as well as marinated and non-marinated fish, otherwise I would have mixed the vegetables all together.

Bake for 30 minutes at 180C, until the salmon is cooked through.

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Fish Finger Tacos

Fun family finger food.  You could do this with fish fillets, but don't think the kids would have eaten so many.

Serves 4

8 mini tortilla or 4 large tortilla wraps

8 fish fingers 

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 tbsp white wine or apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp salt

4 gherkins, finely chopped

2 tbsp capers

4 tbsp soured cream or mayonnaise

4 handfuls shredded lettuce

Optional - sliced tomato, jalapeños, guacamole

Scrunch the sliced onions together with the vinegar, sugar, and salt and leave to one side.

Stir gherkins and capers into the soured cream or mayonnaise.

Fry, grill, or air fry the fish fingers. 

Prepare tortillas, sharing out the lettuce, pickled onions, and tartare sauce along the middle, and lay 1-2 fish fingers on top of this when cooked.  

Serve two mini tortillas or 1 large tortilla per person.

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Smoked Mackerel & Goats Cheese Pâté

I bought smoked mackerel and goats cheese with two separate lunches in mind, but ended up combining them to make a very tasty spread on toast. The first time I made it, my daughter took one of the slices, despite not liking goats cheese or smoked mackerel.

Serves 2

1 peppered smoked mackerel fillet (about 65g)

50g soft goats cheese

1 tbsp greek yoghurt

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Small garlic clove, crushed 

Salt & pepper to taste

1 tbsp chopped chives (optional)

Mash the goats cheese with the yoghurt, olive oil, and garlic. 

Place the smoked mackerel fillet in a lidded takeaway container cracked open. Microwave on high for 30 seconds.

Flake the hot smoked mackerel and stir into the goats cheese.

Serve hot toast, ideally sourdough.

You could mix all the goats cheese together, with more yoghurt, in a food processor to make a whipped goats cheese, similar to Whipped Feta 

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Curried Tuna & Sweetcorn Soup

Popped round to my 92 year old mum's who told me she'd just made Curried Tuna & Sweetcorn Soup.  This was one of the first recipes she taught/asked me to make as a young teenager.  So I just had to go home and make some.

Serves 2

1 can of tuna

125g can of sweet corn kernels (or mug of frozen sweetcorn)

1 tsp curry powder or powdered cumin

1 tbsp flour (gluten free or gram flour works well)

1 tbsp olive oil (or tuna oil)

600ml cold water 

1 chicken or vegetable stock cube

In a cold saucepan, gently whisk water, flour, milk, oil, crumbled stock cube, and curry powder until the lumps have gone.  Place of a medium heat stirring constantly until it starts to thicken, then turn down to the lowest heat.  

Flake the tuna with a fork and add to the soup, together with the sweetcorn.  Cover and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve with sprinkling of chopped parsley you have any,

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Indonesian Egg Fried Rice with Smoked Mackerel

A quick midweek Omega 3 rich family friendly fried rice, based on BBC Good Food's Indonesian Fried Rice with Mackerel.

For a fish dish, this went down really well with the kids.

Serves 4

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 tbsp red curry paste

800g cooked basmati rice (about 250g-300g uncooked)

4 fat spring onions, sliced

140g frozen peas, edamame beans, or sliced cabbage

4 smoked mackerel fillets, flaked

4 tbsp kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce),  or 2 tbsp soy sauce + 1 tsp sugar

Sriracha Chilli Sauce, to serve

Cook the rice if you don't have any ready cooked, and leave to cool.

Heat the oil in a wok.  If using cabbage, stir fry this for a couple of minutes, then add the curry paste and fry breaking up any lumps with a wooden spoon.

Pour in the egg and swirl around as if making an omelette, then break up with the wooden spoon and push to one side.  Add the mackerel to the side of the wok you've just cleared, then add the spring onion and peas or edamame.  Stir and mix well then add the rice and stir everything through well.  

Once the rice is well mixed, cover and turn the heat down low for a few minutes to heat the rice through thoroughly.

Serve with a tablespoon of kecap manis per person, and Sriracha chilli sauce to taste.

I would have made this with brown rice had we had some, and possibly would substitute the red curry paste for garlic in ginger as in Nasi Goreng, Indonesian Fried Rice with Chicken & Pork I was taught years ago by someone who lived in Singapore.

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Salmon Tikka Masala Curry

 

Healthy, Omega 3 rich, salmon works really well in a curry.  

Serves 4

2 tbsp vegetable or coconut oil

1 large onion, peeled and finely diced

1 tbsp peeled, finely grated root ginger

5-6 garlic cloves, peeled & crushed

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp brown mustard seeds or English mustard powder

1 tbsp ground coriander

¾ tsp chilli powder

1 tbsp paprika

1 tbsp garam masala

1 tsp turmeric

1 carton passata 

500g side of salmon, skinned and cubed

400g greens, green beans, or squash (optional)

300ml double cream,  or a can of thick coconut milk

1 tsp salt

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat.  Add the chopped onion and fry for 10-15 minutes until brown.

Add the all the dried spices, stir around, then add the garlic and ginger. Fry for a minute or so then add the passata, 400ml recently boiled water, and coconut milk and vegetables if using.

Bring the boil, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes whilst you put some basmati rice on to cook.  

After 20 minutes stir the cubed salmon in gently then cover again for 5 minutes until the salmon is just cooked.

Remove the lid and simmer to reduce if you've already added coconut milk.  If using cream, add it at the end then heat gently but do not boil.

Serve with basmati rice.

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Jamie Oliver's Speedy Homemade Flatbread Tuna Melt Toastie

Watching Jamie Oliver's One Pan Wonders series I've been inspired to make the Speedy Folded Flatbreads with a tuna and cheddar filling.

They are quite small, and it took a little trial and error not to put too much filling in.  After making four think I've got it right.

4 tbsp bread flour (I ended up using 2 tbsp wholemeal, 2 tbsp white)

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt
1 tbsp yoghurt, or milk

4 tbsp water

1/4 tin of tuna, drained

20g grated mature cheddar

1 tbsp chopped onion (optional)

oil for frying

Mix up the flatbread ingredients in a small bowl until smooth. Put a small pan over a medium heat to heat up whilst you get your filling ingredients prepared.  

When ready, put a drizzle of oil in the hot pan, swirl or brush around, then add the flatbread mixture.  Swirl around with a spatula or back of a spoon, patching any holes caused by bubbles, and thinning out any raw mixture. 

When the top looks less wet, shake the pan to loosen the flatbread.  You may need to loosen it with a spatula first.  Sprinkle the cheddar on one half of the flatbread, followed by onion (if using) and tuna. Using a spatula, fold the half of flatbread with no filling over onto the filling, cover with a curved lid that doesn't touch the flatbread, and turn the heat down low.  Cook for a further 2 minutes then serve, warning your diner it may be hot!

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Tinned Tuna or Salmon Kedgeree

Tuna Kedgeree is a great quick budget store cupboard meal.

I used to make kedgeree with smoked haddock, but the kids found one bone too many and took against it. 

Discovering a recipe for Smoked Salmon Kedgeree got me thinking whether tinned tuna Kedgeree might be a possible alternative.  Turns out there are several recipes on the web, and is very similar to a Frankfurter (or Tuna) & Sweet Corn Risotto taught to me by my first boyfriend's mother, fearing we young students were going to starve when left to housesit for a week.

Serves 4 

4 medium free-range eggs

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, finely sliced

1 tsp medium/hot curry powder 

1 tsp garam masala (optional)

300g basmati rice

1 mug frozen peas, or sweet corn of a combination of both (I used half sweetcorn, half homegrown sliced runner beans)

2 x 160g tinned tuna or salmon

600ml recently boiled water

In a large saucepan with a lid, gently fry the onion in the oil for 10 minutes until soft. Stir in the spices and fry for a couple of minutes, then stir in the rice and vegetables.

Pour in the hot water, season well, place the eggs in their shells on top of the rice, then cover the pan, bring to the boil, then turn down to a very low heat and  cook for 10 minutes until all the water has been absorbed and the rice is cooked.

When the rice is cooked, turn off the heat, remove the eggs. Fluff the rice with a fork and stir in the tuna.Replace the lid whilst you cool the eggs under cold running water, then peel and quarter.  Serve the kedgeree with a quartered hard-boiled egg per plate.

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Protein Packed Noodles

These protein packed noodles are my son's lunch today whilst out at a drama workshop

Serves 1

1 bundle soba noodles

1 spring onion, finely sliced

1/4 cucumber, grated

50g smoked salmon trimmings

1 tbsp crunchy peanut butter

1 tbsp miso paste

1tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp mirin

1 tbsp sesame oil

1/8 tsp hot chilli flakes

Cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet. Drain and leave in cold water.

Mix the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, then stir in the cucumber, smoked salmon, spring onion and cold noodles.

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Fideua, a kind of Pasta Paella

Fideuà is a simple pasta paella that has been on my ‘To Do’ list for a few years since I came across it on a menu in South West France, a region (and cuisine) heavily influenced by Catalunya and Spain.

I picked up a packet of Fideuà pasta in the  supermarket in the small, very French, beach resort we are staying in just south of Beziers, and thought I’d give it a try. But it would work well with vermicelli or orzo pasta.

Serves 4

500g Fideuà pasta, soup vermicelli, or orzo
500g chopped prepared squid or mixed seafood
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 large beef tomato, finely chopped or 2 tbsp tomato paste 

1 red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped 

1 large garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 pinch saffron (optional) 

1 litre dish stock (I used mussel broth from Moules Mariniere cooked a few day earlier)

In a large saucepan, fry the onion gently in the olive oil until translucent. In the recipe I had partly copied out it said fry the pasta in olive oil first and set aside. But I couldn’t be bothered with this step. 

When the onion is soft, add the garlic and red pepper and fry for a few minutes. 

Next, if you’re using vermicelli pasta or any pasta that takes 10 minutes or less, add the squid or seafood before the tomato and give it a quick fry. The Fideuà pasta looked the same thickness as spaghetti  and the packet said 20 minutes cooking time, so I see decided to add the squid 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time. So I added the chopped tomato after the red pepper. 

Whenever you are adding the squid, add the pasta after you’ve added the tomato. Stir round then add 1 litre of fish stock, the paprika, and saffron if using. 

Cover and bring to the boil. Once boiling, turn down to the lowest simmer and cook for the cooking time on the packet of pasta. Stir from time to time. 

If the cooking time is more than 10 minutes, stir the squid in 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time. 

When the pasta’s cooking time is up, turn the heat off but leave the lid on. Leave for a gutter 10 minutes before serving.

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Fish Pie Pasta Bake

I was surprised to find there is no Fish Pie recipe on my blog, but then again it is not my kids favourite by any stretch of the imagination. Many, many, years ago it was, but then they found a few bones and went off anything with the word 'pie' in it.  I did try bribing them with a chocolate button for every bone they found, but after a particularly bony pie, and not enough chocolate buttons in the house I lost the will to make fish pie.

The kids are now teens, so I thought I'd I try again, quite simply because I love it.  But the protests were even louder than when they were smaller. So I have attempted to placate them by making it into a pasta bake.  I did offer to add some prawns, but it turns out we haven't got any...

Serves 6

500g pasta 2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, peeled and finely diced

600ml whole milk

2 heaped tbsp plain flour

1 bay leaf

1 bag baby spinach leaves or 300g frozen peas 

2 packs of frozen fish pie mix, or 1 pack of fish + 1 of prawns

2 tbsp capers (optional)
1 large clove of garlic, peeled and diced

100ml white wine

75g breadcrumbs

75g mature cheddar

Put the pasta on to boil (in a pan big enough to mix the pasta and the sauce) according the packet's instructions.

Gently fry the onions in the olive oil in a large saucepan until golden brown.  

Pour in the milk and quickly whisk in the flour so it doesn't go lumpy. Heat gently stirring all the time so the sauce doesn't catch on the bottom. Once thickened, stir and wilt in the spinach, then the frozen fish, capers, garlic and bay leaf. Heat gently, adding some white wine if too thick.

Drain the pasta then return to the pan. Toss in a little olive oil then stir in the fish mix.

Tip into a large baking dish, sprinkle with the breadcrumbs and cheese.  Bake at 200C for 30 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.

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Salade Niçoise, French Tuna Salad

It turns out there are quite a few versions of Salade Nicoise, and I was going to stick my neck out and say the only thing that people agree on is that it has tuna and egg, but I’m not feeling that bold. 

On a hot summer’s evening in the South of France this is what I made 

Serves 4-5

A big handful of washed, chopped lettuce per person

1kg cooked and chilled salad potatoes, sliced

1/2 sweet onion, sliced 

1 large beef tomato cut into bite sized chunks

1/2 a cucumber cut into chunky half moons

2 tins tuna, drained

1 hard boiled egg per person, chilled, peeled, and quartered

About 10 black (or green) olives per person

Olive oil

Red wine vinegar

Pepper & salt

Assemble in the order listed above. I served it up on 5 pasta bowls, trying to cater for everyone’s likes and dislikes - my disabled daughter can’t chew lettuce, other daughter doesn’t like tomato, I don’t like egg...

You could make a vinaigrette dressing but I just put the oil and vinegar in the table and let people do it themselves. 

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