Spaghetti with Muscles and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Spaghetti with Muscles and Sun Dried Tomatoes

I came home on Friday expecting a nice piece of white fish or a whole sea bass or something - ritual in our house is to buy what looks good at the fishmonger on a Friday and make it up from there. Judging from the purchase of ready cooked muscles I guess the fishermen hadn't had a good week!!

Whilst cooking your own can add a bit more flavour to the muscle the ready cooked variety are pretty cheap (85 pence for a pack at our supermarket) and a few bits of careful ingredient adding and a really nice, tasty meal can be prepared without much fuss.

Ingredients

wholewheat spaghetti (enough for 2)
2 shallots
2 cloves of garlic
pack of ready cooked muscles
6 sun dried tomatoes
150g of reduced fat creme fraiche
half a glass of white wine
basil leaves

Method

Start by boiling some water and getting the sundried tomatoes on to soak (they need about 10 - 15 minutes to refresh them otherwise they can be a bit leathery).

Get the spaghetti on the boil - mine takes about 10 - 12 minutes to cook which is plenty of time to prepare the sauce.

Finely chop the shallots and garlic and add to a hot pan with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Let the shallots soften rather than fry to a crisp. Add a dash of sea salt at this stage.

Next remove the sun dried tomatoes from the soak and slice into thin strips and add to the pan. After the pan is back up to the heat add the white wine and the muscles - make sure you don't overcook the muscles as they only really need heating through.

Drain the spaghetti and add the contents of the pan to the spaghetti pan. Give a good stir, the olive oil should evenly coat the spaghetti. Then add the creme fraiche and a good bit of black pepper. Stir well.

Serve with the ripped basil leaves on top. Great with the rest of the bottle of wine.

Tuna with Greek Salad

Tuna with Greek Salad

Dead easy and very healthy, that's what this meal is about.

Ingredients

Fresh Tuna Steak
1 Beef tomato
1 Little Gem lettuce
9 Black Olives
Feta Cheese
2 Pickled Chilli Peppers
Olive Oil
100g Cous Cous
1/2 a Green Pepper
2 slices Fresh Tomato
2 Sun Dried Tomatoes
1 tsp coriander powder

Method

For the cous cous - In a bowl place the cous cous, coriander powder, finely chopped sun dried tomatoes and salt & pepper into a bowl with some olive oil and 200ml boiled water. stir all the ingredients then add the green pepper (finely diced) and the fresh tomato (again finely diced) give a good stir and put a lid on the bowl.

Heat a griddle pan until searing hot. Oil the tuna with olive oil then season with sea salt and black pepper. Griddle on both sides to the point that the tuna is cooked 3/4 the way through. This allows for a medium rare steak - the way I like it - this requires good thick steaks.

Layer the salad and dress with a good olive oil.

Trout with Warm Black Eyed Bean Salad

Trout with Warm Black Eyed Bean Salad

Pulses are much underutilised but are such a great vehicle for flavour. This warm black eyed bean salad could be done with an alternative bean (butter beans or canalenni perhaps).

The fish is simply seasoned and grilled as the natural flavour is not required to be messed with - there is enough in the beans.

Ingredients

one small tin of black eyed beans
3 spring onions
2 tablespoons of olive oil
juice of half a lemon
sprig of fresh thyme
half a glass of white wine
6 french beans
6 cherry tomatoes
12 black olives
dressing made from 1 tablespoon olive oil, 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar a teaspoon of pesto.
Good handfull of fresh parsley

Method

drain and rinse the tin of black eyed beans. Place in a saucepan with the lemon juice and olive oil. Add the spring onions (finely chopped)and the thyme. Let this come p to a simmer and reduce the heat.
On the side chop the cherry tomatoes in half and mix in the black olives and the dressing.
Add the wine to the pan and then the french beans, slowly bring the pan back up to the simmer and add the tomatoes, olives and dressing mix.
Slowly bring back up to the simmer and just before serving add the chopped parsley.

Serve with a grilled trout - simply trim the tail, head and fins then season with sea salt and grill until cooked through.

Taramasalata

Our house could probably boast a supply of taramasalata vast enough to feed a Parthenon full of Greeks for a week. The way to avoid this is to not use too much roe (like I did). Either way if there are any suggestions of how to convert Taramasalata into something else (cos whilst it's nice there is only so much that I can take) please send them through sharpish.

Ingredients

100g cod roe
an onion
stale bread (4 slices)
50ml olive oil
paprika

Method

Start by grating the onion. I used a food processor to save my eyes. Then soak the bread (I had a left over homemade loaf which is denser than the shop bought air pumped guff) in water and squeeze out the liquid. Add this to the onion and mix i the food processor. As it is mixing add the olive oil.

Cod roe is a funny thing to handle. The roe is inside a skin/sac and can be squeezed out like piping icing.

My error was to use 5 times the roe in the recipe above, I just asked for a whole roe from the fishmonger and didn't appreciate the weight of them. You live and learn as they say.

Mix the roe into the food processor and serve. I sprinkled it with paprika and served with black olives and warm pita bread.

Clam Paella

This is partially inspired by TV chef Tomasina (bad spelling I expect) who has just started a new Cook's Tour series on Spain.

There is no traditional Spanish element to this as I chose Clams and Pollock because they looked good and fresh when I went out shopping.

Either way not a bad accompaniment to a glass of white wine on Good Friday.

Ingredients

a chopped onion
a red pepper
a green pepper
2 beef tomatoes
2 cloves of garlic
12 Clams
a good head end piece of Pollock (Any white fish would substitute well)
Arborio rice (2 ladles worth)
a pinch of saffron
Fish Stock (I made my own)- 4 ladles worth
Parsley

Method

Start by softening the onion in olive oil, move to the outer edge of the pan (Tommi's tip) then add the chopped peppers and garlic. After a couple of minutes move the peppers and garlic to the edge of the pan and add the tomatoes - to prepare the tomatoes chop into large chunks and add a shake of sea salt, this aids bringing out the sweetness (apparently). Again wait a couple of minutes and move the tomatoes to the edge of the pan then add the Pollack (cut into 3cm cubes). When the fish is sealed move to the outer edge of the pan and add the clams (Vongoles if you are French). Add the rice and saffron, then add the stock. Turn the heat down low and cook for 20-25 minutes -another top tip from Tommi is to not stir the paella once the stock has been added! This does make for varied texture in the rice (i.e. some of it doesn't cook right good).

The fish stock is something that I concocted myself. I used the pan from Jerusalem artichoke & carrot soup making and used a standard vegetable stock cube with two tablespoons of home made taramasalata (see tomorrow's blog entry for recipe).
Top off with chopped parsley in olive oil and a finely chopped garlic clove - eat with loved ones

Trout with Parsley, Prawn and Caper Sauce

Trout with Parsley, Prawn and Caper Sauce

This was a dinner shared with my mates Dan and Tom. As such we enjoyed a nice glass of wine with the food followed by a truck load of beer, port and cheese then Jagermeister after eating.

Ingredients

Trout fillets
Chopped parsley
salt and pepper

For the sauce
30g goats butter
clove of garlic (crushed)
100ml milk
50g grated parmesan cheese
chopped parsley
a handful of cooked prawns
6 capers

Method

Coat the trout in olive oil and season, scatter with chopped parsley and wrap in foil. Cook the trout for 15 mins in a pre-heated moderate over (180 degrees C).

For the sauce melt the butter with the crushed garlic in a saucepan. When melted stir in the flour and cook out for 30 seconds. Gradually add the milk, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon. Add the capers and when boiled and thickened add the parmesan and the chopped parsley. At the last minute add the prawns

Pour over the fish to serve.

I served this with a spinach and rocket salad and some slow roasted peppers and mushrooms

Thai Style Prawn Porridge

Thai Style Prawn Porridge

This is a bit of a thrown together dish but dead tasty. Not authentic Thai, more inspired by Thai flavours.

Ingredients

300g King prawns (shelled and pre cooked)
2 bok choi, roughly chopped
a sliced red pepper
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1cm root ginger (sliced finely)
small piece of dried galangal
a birds eye chillie
one tin of coconut milk
150g cous-cous
Chopped corriander

Method

Heat some groundnut oil in a frying pan and add the garlic, ginger, galangal and chillie for one minute. Keep the chillie whole rather than chopped.
Add the pepper and bok choi for a further minute then add the tin of coconut milk.
After 3 minutes add the cous-cous - this is definitely not Thai style but makes the porridge texture.
After five minutes add the prawns then serve and sprinkle with chopped corriander.

Fish Florentine

Fish Florentine

This is rich and calorie packed but dead tasty as a treat.

Ingredients

2 haddock fillets (skinned and boned)
150ml dry white wine
good handful of spinach
50 grammes butter
plain flour
150ml milk
75ml double cream
100 grammes grated mature cheddar cheese
110 grammes dried bread crumbs
dash of mace

Method

Poach the fish fillets in the wine for about 10 minutes. Remove from the poaching liquid and flake the fillets.
Make a sauce by melting the butter in a sauce pan and adding the flour.
Cook for 30 seconds and then start gradually adding the milk and stirring with a wooden spoon.
When the sauce boils and thickens remove from the heat and stir in the cream and half the cheese.
Stir until the cheese is absorbed then add the fish and the mace.
Steam the spinach for 5 minutes (so that it keeps some shape rather than going to a pulp).
Layer in ramekins spinach, fish, then spinach. Top with breadcrumbs and then more grated cheese.

I served with French beans and mashed potatoes.

Italian Style Salmon and Cannellini Beans

Italian Style Salmon and Cannellini Beans

This is a fantastic, healthy dinner which goes marvelously with a glass of sauvignon blanc.

It is really easy to pull together and is a nice taste to zing up winter.

Ingredients

fish
300g salmon fillet
salt and pepper
juice of half a lemon

beans
tin of Cannellini Beans
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary
3 cloves of garlic
100ml water
juices of half a lemon
olive oil
chopped parsley
3 chopped spring onions

tomatoes
200g cherry tomatoes
a finely chopped shallot
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
12 torn basil leaves
salt, pepper
olive oil


Method

Start by putting the beans, rosemary and whole, peeled cloves of garlic and water in a saucepan and very gently heat until just starting to reach a boil then remove from the heat. The purpose of this is to infuse the flavors.

For the cherry tomatoes, cut them in half and place in a bowl with the shallot (finely chopped). Add the red wine vinegar and a glug of olive oil and stir and let stand whilst you prepare the rest of the meal.

Skin the salmon, cut into healthy size chunks (about the width of 2 fingers), season with salt and paper and coat in olive oil and place in a searing hot pan until just cooked through, squeeze over the lemon juice 30 seconds before removing from the pan.

Whilst the salmon is cooking drain the beans and remove the garlic cloves and sprigs of rosemary. Discard the sprigs of rosemary (don't worry if a few leaves stay with the beans) and mash the garlic in the lemon juice. Add the chopped parsley and spring onion to the beans and lemon juice and garlic. Mix well with a glug of olive oil.

Just before serving, season the tomatoes with salt and vinegar then add the ripped basil leaves mix well with a little more olive oil.

Serve and enjoy.

Salmon Fishcakes

Salmon Fishcakes

Ingredients

600g skinned and boned salmon
generous handful of coriander
100ml goats milk
good knob of goats butter
salt and pepper
2 tsp chillie chutney (see previous post)
egg
flour
dried breadcrumbs
500g mashed potatoes (I used King Edwards)
sunflower oil

Method

Poach the salmon in the milk with the stems of the coriander and some salt and pepper for 10 mins. Set aside to cool and flake.

Boil the potatoes and then mash in a little of the poaching milk and a good knob of goats butter. Let cool

Chop the coriander leaves and mix with the mashed potato, flaked salmon and chillie chutney.

Shape into patties using a small fist of the fishcake mix.

Cool in the fridge for an hour then dip in the beaten egg, then the flour and then the dried bread.crumbs. Shallow fry in sunflower oil. Dry on kitchen towel and serve.

I served with grilled peppers in olive oil and garlic.

Seafood Paella

Seafood Paella

A loin of cod (skinned)
12 king prawns (cooked)
4 baby octopus
6 asparagus spears
an onion
a clove of smoked garlic
safron (soaked in 200ml boiling water)
6 chestnut mushrooms
12 fresh basil leaves ripped
250ml vegetable stock
salt and pepper
paella rice
glass of white wine
ounce of goats butter

Chop and fry the onion in a big glug of olive oil until clear.

Add the paella rice and stir until the grains are starting to look clear.

Add the glass of white wine until absorbed by the rice

Then add the safron and its stock and the vegetable stock.

boil for 25 mins or until the rice is cooked

add the cod cut into chunks and the vegetables. After 2-3 minutes add the prawns and the squid cut into rings/tentacles (remember to remove the spine).

After 2-3 minutes stir in the butter and basil then serve.

Cod in Lemon and Garlic

In a dish layer slices of lemon and a sliced clove of garlic.

Place a fillet of cod on top and season the flesh of the cod with salt and pepper.

Drizzle the cod with a good glug of olive oil, sprinkle with some chopped parsley and then layer a sliced clove of garlic and some lemon slices.

Place in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.

Ideal served with french beans and boiled new potatoes.

Thai Tuna Stir Fry with Coconut Milk

Thai Tuna Stir Fry with Coconut Milk

1/2 an inch of fresh ginger
1/2 a star anis
1/4 tsp astofedia
2 birds eye chillies
1 clove of garlic
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tin of light coconut milk
250g fresh beansprouts
2 bok choi
2 kafir lime leaves
6 shitake mushrooms
6 button mushrooms
chopped coriander
2 Fresh Tuna steaks
250g wild rice

Grind the ginger, star anis, half the chili, black pepper, astofedia and garlic in a mortar and pestle.

Add to a hot wok with a dash of groundnut oil heated until just short of smoking. Fry for a minute and the add the beansprouts.

Stir fry for 3 minutes and add the kafir lime leaves, add the two types of mushrooms (sliced). After a minute add the bok choi (chopped)and the rest of the chili.

Add the coconut milk and heat until boiling. Then add the tuna (cut into strips)for 3 minutes.

Add half the chopped coriander.

Serve on the wild rice and sprinkle with the rest of the corriander

Thai Tuna Stir Fry with Coconut Milk

Thai Tuna Stir Fry with Coconut Milk

1/2 an inch of fresh ginger
1/2 a star anis
1/4 tsp astofedia
2 birds eye chillies
1 clove of garlic
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tin of light coconut milk
250g fresh beansprouts
2 bok choi
2 kafir lime leaves
6 shitake mushrooms
6 button mushrooms
chopped coriander
2 Fresh Tuna steaks
250g wild rice

Grind the ginger, star anis, half the chili, black pepper, astofedia and garlic in a mortar and pestle.

Add to a hot wok with a dash of groundnut oil heated until just short of smoking. Fry for a minute and the add the beansprouts.

Stir fry for 3 minutes and add the kafir lime leaves, add the two types of mushrooms (sliced). After a minute add the bok choi (chopped)and the rest of the chili.

Add the coconut milk and heat until boiling. Then add the tuna (cut into strips)for 3 minutes.

Add half the chopped coriander.

Serve on the wild rice and sprinkle with the rest of the corriander

Seared scallops on watercress salad

Seared scallops on watercress salad

Heat olive oil and butter in skillet
Sear seasoned scallops in pan add strips of serano ham
Serve on watercress (nice and peppery) with a pesto dressing (tsp of pesto, olive oil and white wine vinegar)

Seared scallops on watercress salad

Seared scallops on watercress salad

Heat olive oil and butter in skillet
Sear seasoned scallops in pan add strips of serano ham
Serve on watercress (nice and peppery) with a pesto dressing (tsp of pesto, olive oil and white wine vinegar)

Roast monkfish in serano ham

Roast monkfish in serano ham

Wrap seasoned monkfish tail (light on the salt because of the ham) in serano ham inside the wrap add a teaspoon of garlic jelly then sprinkle with smoked paprika. Roast in the oven for 30 mins

Serve with pan seared broccoli with capers

Roast monkfish in serano ham

Roast monkfish in serano ham

Wrap seasoned monkfish tail (light on the salt because of the ham) in serano ham inside the wrap add a teaspoon of garlic jelly then sprinkle with smoked paprika. Roast in the oven for 30 mins

Serve with pan seared broccoli with capers

Pan fried tuna with mango cous cous

Pan fried tuna with mango cous cous

Sauté onion, mushrooms and courgette in olive oil
Add tuna and sear making sure to leave the middle pink
Serve on cous cous – soak in boiling water and add 3 tsp of mango chutney
Serve with watercress

Pan fried tuna with mango cous cous

Pan fried tuna with mango cous cous

Sauté onion, mushrooms and courgette in olive oil
Add tuna and sear making sure to leave the middle pink
Serve on cous cous – soak in boiling water and add 3 tsp of mango chutney
Serve with watercress

Fillet of Plaice with a spiced Peanut crust

Fillet of Plaice with a spiced Peanut crust

For the spiced peanut crust fry a chopped clove of garlic and a pinch of curry leaves in olive oil. Add pinch of cumin seeds and some crushed chillies then add a handful of salted peanuts. Blend the fried off spices and peanuts in a food processor with a tablespoon of houmus and a teaspoon of cumin powder and a teaspoon of tumeric, add olive oil to make consistency become creamy.

Grill the plaice (seasoned with salt and pepper) then smear the peanut paste over the fish and grill till crisped
Serve with salad (lettuce and tomatoes) dressed in a balsamic and honey dressing

Fillet of Plaice with a spiced Peanut crust

Fillet of Plaice with a spiced Peanut crust

For the spiced peanut crust fry a chopped clove of garlic and a pinch of curry leaves in olive oil. Add pinch of cumin seeds and some crushed chillies then add a handful of salted peanuts. Blend the fried off spices and peanuts in a food processor with a tablespoon of houmus and a teaspoon of cumin powder and a teaspoon of tumeric, add olive oil to make consistency become creamy.

Grill the plaice (seasoned with salt and pepper) then smear the peanut paste over the fish and grill till crisped
Serve with salad (lettuce and tomatoes) dressed in a balsamic and honey dressing

Grilled red mullet with vegetables

Grilled red mullet with vegetables


Sprinkle the mullet with lemon and sea salt and grill for 5 mins each side
Served with boiled new potatoes, lemon chard, green beans and some daikon radish marinated in white wine vinegar

Salad with Anchovies

Salad with Anchovies

Salad made of 3 tomatoes, handful of green beans, basil leaves, olives, red onion, anchovies, capers, boiled egg dressed in vinaigrette made of the olive oil in the anchovies tin, white wine vinegar (ration 3:1) and Dijon mustard.

Tea smoked salmon

Tea smoked salmon
Fillet of salmon skinned and pin boned, seasoned with salt
Smoked over assam tea in a steamer (place tea on a piece of foil in a steamer pan and put the salmon on the steamer level – turn up the heat and let the smoke infuse into the fish). A better method would be to mix the tea with sugar and rice mine was a bit too overpoweringly smokey.
Served with an avocado, tomato and dill salad dressed in lemon juice and olive oil.