Category: Fish

Pollock with chickpeas and chorizo

A friend of ours came to the back door with a couple of very fresh large pollock, just as I was contemplating what to have for tea. I was about to make a Norwegian dish from Davidson’s, involving cheese and macaroni, but then I turned to Google. 

When I search for recipes online, I type in the ingredients that I have, and then pick out interesting sites to check what they suggest. I sometimes pick up flavour suggestions, or some interesting methods. I don’t like sites with too many photographs, it makes it hard to find and follow the recipe. I also don’t like sites with poor formatting, or dodgy programming that don’t let you download the recipe so that it is readable.

The BBC food website is reliable, informative and full of good ideas, so when I spotted this recipe, I had to try it. I had to tweak it to fit my ingredients and timescale, though. I get all my spices and herbs from Seasoned Pioneers, if you wondered. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • coarse sea salt
  • a pinch of saffron
  • 1 large pollock, filleted, skinned and boned
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 2 red chillies, finely chopped, 
  • 4 cooking chorizos (about the size of a standard sausage, and soft) cut into 1 cm lengths
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 200ml chicken stock
  • 1 can chopped tomatoes
  • 1 can chick peas (or 150g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight and cooked until tender)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 125g spinach (could be more, but that is all I had)

METHOD:

  • Cut the fillets of pollock in half to make four good-sized portions, In a close-fitting plastic container with a lid, sprinkle the pollock with coarse salt and a pinch of saffron, and ensure that the fish is well-coated. Cover, and put in the fridge.
  • After an hour and a half, start preparing the rest of the stew. Preheat the oven to 170C.
  • Put a casserole dish on a medium/high heat, add the olive oil, and fry the onions, garlic and chillies for 6 minutes or so. 
  • Add the chunks of chorizo, and cook for a further 5 minutes. 
  • Add the cumin, paprika, bay leaves and cinnamon, and continue to cook for another 4 minutes or so. 
  • Add the drained chickpeas, chicken stock and chopped tomatoes, bring to the boil and then put it in the oven for 45 minutes. 
  • Next, remove the stew from the oven, check the seasoning, and add salt and pepper to taste. I also reduced the stew a bit on the stove top at this stage. 
  • Take the fish from the fridge, thoroughly rinse off the salt and pat dry, before adding to the top of the stew, and returning the casserole to the oven for a further 12 minutes. 
  • To serve, lift the fish onto warmed dishes, and then stir the spinach into the stew before ladling it onto and around the fish. 

We also had some fresh bread and olives at the table, and a Spanish white wine. 

Salar smoked salmon frittata

I’m home alone this week, Mr Bolton is checking up on family members in the south, sleeping in his van and stocking up on essentials. I have a lot of eggs, and a lot of potatoes, so frittata was inevitable. I also had a box of Salar off-cuts from a local supermarket, so I made this. I had half last night and half tonight. 

salmon frittata

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 medium potatoes, cooked with the skins on and cooled. (left-over potatoes are the best)
  • 4 eggs, beaten
  • black pepper
  • flaky smoked salmon
  • Olive oil
  • Garnish – choose from chive flowers, chopped parsley, or dukkha spice mix

METHOD:

  • Heat the grill
  • Cut the potatoes into thick slices, and fry in the olive oil until crisp and golden brown on both sides
  • Season the eggs with the pepper, and pour over the potatoes, and scatter the salmon and garnish over the top. Stir a little to allow raw egg to the bottom of the pan. 
  • When it is nearly cooked, pop it under the grill so that the top begins to set. 

That is all – ready to eat. 

 

 

Crab and pea risotto

We had a big tub of crab meat, almost 500g, much more than I could eat in one roll, so I made this delicious risotto. The crab meat came from Kallin – Namara seafoods 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 800ml of hot stock (vegetable or fish)
  • 200ml white wine
  • 25g butter
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
  • 175g risotto rice
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • juice of half a lemon
  • A tiny pinch of saffron (optional)
  • 140g frozen peas
  • 400g crab meat
  • 1-2 tbsp chive flowers, or chopped chives. 

METHOD:

  • Make sure the stock is hot, bring to a simmer.
  • Melt the butter in a large pan, and gently fry the onion and garlic until soft – around 5 minutes. 
  • Add the rice, and cook for another couple of minutes. 
  • Add the lemon zest and then the white wine, and then the pinch of saffron.
  • Add the hot stock, one ladleful at a time, stirring to mix and waiting for the liquid to be absorbed before adding the next ladleful. 
  • When the rice is nearly cooked (about 18 minutes into the cooking process) add the peas, lemon juice and crab meat, season and cook for around 3 monutes. 
  • Once the rice is cooked, add a knob of butter, another tbsp of stock, stir and leave to sit. 
  • Serve with wedges of lemon, and garnished with chive flowers. 

Salmon and mash

Our fridge went on the blink, so we are making our way through a selection of ingredients that need eaten up. At the same time, we have got a lot of vegetables, mostly home-grown. Tonight’s triumph sorted out the massive bit of smoked salmon, a jar of capers and a lemon that needed used, plus some of the potatoes. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 500g potatoes (a variety good for mashing)
  • 500g sliced leeks
  • 250g shredded cabbage
  • 125g butter
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp capers
  • 500g smoked salmon (or a mixture of salmon, prawns and scallops)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Chopped parsley

METHOD:

  • Peel the potatoes, and boil in salted water for 15 minutes until cooked. Drain when cooked. 
  • Meanwhile chop the leeks and boil in salted water for 10 minutes. 
  • After around 5 minutes, add the shredded cabbage to the leeks, so that the cabbage cooks as well, and is ready at the same time. 
  • Melt half the butter in a pan, and roughly mask the potatoes. Add the cabbage and leeks, salt and pepper. 
  • Quickly fry any raw shellfish in the rest of the butter, if you are using these. Add the lemon juice, capers and the salmon, and season with salt and pepper, heat until warm. 
  • Serve each scoop of mashed potato with a scoop of the salmon, garnished with chopped parsley

Prawns with caraway, tomatoes and green peppers

This dish is sensational. We bought 3kg of small Dublin bay prawns from a local fisherman, and boiled them for a couple of minutes in batches. The cooking water was flavoured with a pinch of saffron. We peeled them after they had cooled. Then I made this sauce and served them with toasted pitta bread and a green salad, as well as a stupendous white burgundy. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • Cooked peeled prawns, as above
  • 3 tbs olive oil
  • 3 cloves of garlic, sliced and chopped
  • 1 1/2 tsp caraway seeds
  • 2 small dried hot chillies, crumbled
  • 1 green pepper, diced small
  • 2 cans chopped tomatoes
  • 1/2 tsp honey or sugar
  • chopped parsley
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan, and fry the garlic over a medium to low heat until it starts to brown.
  • Add the caraway and the chilli and cook for a further 30 seconds before adding the green peppers. Cook for another 10 minutes.
  • Add the tomatoes and bring to a slow simmer. Cook for another 20 minutes, so that the sauce is reduced and thickening. Add sugar, salt, and pepper to your taste. 
  • Add the prawns and simmer for another couple of minutes to heat them through. 
  • Serve in a bowl, garnished with chopped parsley. A rocket salad and toasted pitta bread is ideal as an accompaniment. 

 

Tunisian seafood stew with fennel

This is a delicious recipe, you can use it with just about any seafood you like. We made it with some fish that Hector gave us, and some squat lobsters. Any mixture of fillets of white fish, mussels, prawns, etcetera could be used. I started with a recipe in ‘Jerusalem’ by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi. A few adaptations were made – I want to use local fresh seafood, and good cooking tomatoes are not always available. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 cloves of garlic, sliced
  • 2 fennel bulbs, cut into thin segmental wedges
  • 1 large firm-fleshed potato such as Maris Piper, or 200g of any waxy potatoes, cut into 1.5cm cubes.
  • 700 ml fish, vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1/2 a medium preserved lemon, finely chopped
  • 1 red chilli
  • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp sweet paprika
  • a pinch of saffron
  • chopped fresh parsley
  • mixed prepared seafood – enough for four people, around 600g
  • 3 tbsp raki or similar spirit
  • 1 tsp dried tarragon
  • salt and pepper

METHOD:

  • Put a wide casserole dish over a low heat, and add the olive oil, and gently fry the garlic for a couple of minutes
  • Add the fennel and potato, and cook for a further three to four minutes
  • Add stock, preserved lemon, a pinch of salt and black pepper, and bring to a simmer. Cook for around 12 minutes, until the potatoes are done. 
  • Add the chilli, tomatoes, paprika, saffron, half the parsley, tarragon, and cook through for another few minutes. Add the raki and bring to the boil.
  • Add the seafood, and enough boiling water to cover, bring back to the boil and cover, cooking fast for three to five minutes, until the fish is just done. 
  • Serve over couscous, garnished with chopped parsley.

The original recipe suggests taking out the seafood once it is cooked , and then adding the raki, reducing the sauce then adding the fish back in. I didn’t have the patience. 

 

Fish tagine with potatoes, tomatoes and olives

We had some white fish in the freezer, so I had another go at making this, from a recipe book called Moro. The first time I made it, the fish was wildly over-cooked, so it is adapted to take cognisance of the random bits of fish we sometimes get. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • Approximately 600g fish – white fish fillets, prawns, etcetera
  • A bag of approx 20 small salad potatoes
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 4 garlic cloves
  • 15 cherry tomatoes
  • 4 green peppers
  • 2 tbsp oily black olives
  • 100ml water
  • salt and pepper

Marinade ingredients:

  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 bunch fresh coriander
  • 1 tbsp olive oil. 

METHOD:

  • Make the marinade. Crush the garlic to a paste with the salt. 
  • Add the cumin and paprika, and continue to crush together, adding the other ingredients until reasonably well blended. 
  • Cut the fish into portions
  • Mix about two thirds of the marinade mix with the fish, cover and set aside. 
  • Next, prepare the other ingredients:
    • Boil the new potatoes in salted water for 15 minutes, then drain, cool and peel. Cut into halves.
    • Slice the four garlic cloves
    • Cut the cherry tomatoes in half
    • Take the stems off the green peppers, and scrape out the seeds. Put them in a microwave dish with a lid and cook on high for about seven minutes. Take them out, and remove the lid after a couple of minutes. Peel the outer skin off the cooked peppers. Chop the peppers into strips. 
  • In a medium pan, heat the olive oil, and over a medium heat, fry the garlic for a couple of minutes until it starts to brown. 
  • Add the tomatoes, and continue to cook for a couple of minutes. 
  • Add the green peppers and the rest of the marinade, and cook for a couple of minutes
  • Put the cooked potatoes in the bottom of a large flat casserole dish or tagine dish. Cover with most of the tomato mixture, then add the fish in a layer, still coated with the marinade. Then complete with the rest of the tomato mixture, and the olives.
  • Add 100ml hot water, and cook for a further 6 minutes or so, until the fish is just cooked through. 

Serve with bread and salad. 

Prawn Biryani

We adapted this from Madhur Jaffrey’s book, Curry Easy. Her recipe uses farmed tiger prawns, which are available frozen. We used fresh local prawns. It was really delicious. We had to adjust quantities as well, as we are only cooking for two people. I added some spices and herbs from similar recipes from Iran. 

INGREDIENTS: 

  • 1 kg fresh prawns
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • salt and pepper
  • 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 2 tsp lemon juice
  • chopped coriander and mint leaves
  • 2 cardamom pods
  • 150g rice
  • Small pinch of saffron in 1 tbsp boiling water
  • 1/2 tsp Caraway seeds
  • 1 tbsp butter

METHOD:

  • Put the rice in a large measuring jug of cold water, and leave to soak. Drain off and refresh the water from time to time. 
  • Cook the prawns for a couple of minutes in boiling water, then drain. When the prawns are cold, peel the tails, and cut them in half around the middle. 
  • Put the prawns in a bowl with garlic, cumin, turmeric, cayenne, a pinch of salt and pepper and mix well. Cover and set aside.
  • Bring a large pan of water to the boil, flavoured with salt, half a teaspoon of caraway and 2 cardamom pods. 
  • When the water is boiling, add the drained rice. Bring back to the boil and cook until the rice is not completely cooked, but almost. Drain the rice.
  • In a frying pan, heat up a tbsp of vegetable oil and fry the prawns for 2 minutes or so. 
  • Mix the cooked prawns with the lemon juice, coriander and mint leaves. 
  • Grease the bottom of a large pan with the butter, then add half the drained rice, then the prawns, and then the rest of the rice. Sprinkle the top with the saffron water. 
  • Cover the rice and cook over a low heat for another ten minutes or so, until the rice is fully cooked. 
  • Carefully mix the rice and prawns, and serve. 

Goan prawn curry with coconut

We made this with some really great quality local prawns. Looks like a tradition is starting. 

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 kilo medium or large prawns, shelled
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/2 onion, finely chopped
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
  • 2 tsp hot paprika
  • 250ml coconut milk (or 50g creamed coconut dissolved in 250ml boiling water)
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric
  • juice of 1/2 lemon (or 1 tsp tamarind paste)
  • 2 cloves of garlic, finely diced
  • 1cm cubed fresh ginger, finely diced

METHOD:

  • Heat the oil in a wok, or large frying pan
  • Add the onion, and fry at quite a high temperature. 
  • Add the ginger and garlic when the onion is translucent. 
  • When the onion starts to brown, turn off the heat and stir in the pepper, cayenne, paprika and turmeric. Stir to mix. 
  • Return the pan to the heat and add the coconut milk. When it starts to bubble and cook, add the prawns and lemon juice, stir and cook until the prawns are hot.

Serve with rice. 

Prawns, Garlic, Chillies, Mustard Seeds

I made these with prawns from DA and Tina. There are some great food producers locally, and they need our support, having lost their overseas markets during the Covid-19 pandemic. DA and Tina have had such a good experience selling their catch locally, they may be able to continue working this way in the future. 

https://eatdrinkhebrides.org.uk/ takes you to an evolving website for purchasing local produce.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 kilo of prawns. 
  • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 to 2 chopped green chillies
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
  • 1 large clove of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
  • 15 curry leaves or 10 basil leaves
  • 5 tbsp peeled chopped tomatoes (or grated tomatoes)

METHOD:

  • Shell the prawns (easier if they are quickly cooked first)
  • Put the prawns in a bowl with the cayenne pepper, black pepper, salt and chillies, and mix well. If you are working ahead of time, they can be covered and kept in the fridge for a few hours. 
  • Put the oil in a wok, medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. After a few seconds they will start to sizzle and pop. 
  • As soon as the mustard seeds start popping, add the chopped garlic, stir and then add the prawns and curry leaves. 
  • Stir a few times, and then add the grated tomatoes. Turn the heat to low and simmer for two or three minutes. 
  • Serve immediately. 

We served the prawns on a bed of noodles, but they could be served as a starter on their own, or with rice.