Baked Sea Bream with Potatoes and Thyme

What a busy month. I can't belive that we are almost in June - what happened to May? I've been busy with a new job, recovering husband (from a slipped disc), weekend guests, our wedding anniversary and buying a new house. I've been busy cooking and have lots to share but time to do so has been scarce. Here's hoping for a more relaxed June!

We've been enjoying lots of fish recently. Inspired by a favourite recipe book (Mitch Tonks - 'Fish'), we tried out an interesting dish with two beautiful gilt-head bream which my husband picked out at our local fishmonger. Sea bream is becoming a real favourite of ours - flavoursome without being too 'meaty' in texture. We find that a whole fish is just right for my husband but a little too much for me - it all depends on appetite. Bream can take some pretty punchy flavours and this recipe is full throttle with red peppers, roasted garlic, thyme, olives, tomatoes and chilli. It had a distinctly Mediterranean feel to it and was superb with a full-flavoured southern French rose.

This is an all-in-one dish with potatoes cooked under the fish, a garlicy tomato sauce with roased red peppers all topped with crispy chilli-flecked breadcrumbs. We like a bit of greenery and served some green veg on the side too, but it wasn't really necessary. Mitch Tonks' recipe used a rather startling amount of oil in which to cook the potatoes. I couldn't bring myself to use as much as he suggested (200ml) and next time I would use even less. I've put the quantity I used here, but I did find the potatoes a little oily. We were also out of olives which was a shame, but it was delicious without too.

Baked Sea Bream with Potatoes and Thyme

Adapted from 'Fish' by Mitch Tonks

Serves 4 (although we ate the lot between 2, using smaller fish, half the quantity of garlic and fewer potatoes)

Ingredients:

4 waxy potatoes such as Charlotte

1 red pepper

1 head garlic, unpeeled

3tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves

2 sea bream, about 450g each (or smaller if only 2 of you). Ask the fishmonger to scale and gut!

6 whole canned tomatoes

1 pinch dried chilli flakes

50g black olives (optional)

50g fresh, coarse breadcrumbs drizzled with olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 240C.

2. Peel (or scrub) potatoes and blanch in boiling water for a few minutes. Drain and dry and set to one side.

3. Place the pepper (whole) into a roasting tin with the whole head of garlic. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Roast in the oven for approx 15 minutes. Remove the garlic from the tray (checking first that the cloves are soft and squidgy). Return pepper to oven and roast for 5 minutes more or until soft and blackened. Place pepper in a plastic bag, seal the top and leave to cool.

4. Divide the garlic into individual cloves, but do not peel. When the pepper is cool enough to handle, remove skin and seeds, reserving any juices.

5. Pour the olive oil into an ovenproof dish (large enough to hold both fish). You need enough oil to coat the bottom of the dish. Arrange the potato slices over the bottom and sprinkle with sea salt and the thyme leaves.

6. Rub the fish with a little olive oil and salt and arrange on top of the fish. Bake in oven for around 12 minutes.

7. Remove fish from oven and arrange the garlic cloves and olives around the fish. Slice pepper into strips and arrange in the dish too. Squeeze tomatoes over the fish and potatoes to release the juice and add these to the dish too. Pour any juices from the pepper over the fish and sprinkle the chilli flakes over the top. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the top of everything and bake for a futher 8 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are golden brown.

8. Place the dish in the centre of the table and dig in!

Seriously fresh fish - cod in parsley and caper sauce

Sorry for the radio silence over the past couple of weeks... The husband has done something fairly nasty to his back and, after a quick visit to casualty, has been convalescing at home for the past week-or-so. I've been busy making cups of tea and doing other useful wifely things.

I haven't even managed to blog anything about our fantastic holiday on the Suffolk coast a few weeks ago. We spent five days bathed in glorious Spring sunshine enjoying the delights of Aldeburgh, Thorpeness and Southwold. What a wonderful part of the country - extremely pretty with lovely little towns. Quite foodie too which is no surprise considering the coastal location and the vast swathes of agricultural land. We saw a great many pigs (and ate plenty of excellent sausages) but most of all we enjoyed some wonderfully fresh fish.

All along the beach in Aldeburgh, sit little fishermen's huts. Here they sell their daily catch and it really is as fresh as it could be.

We had rented a little cottage in Aldeburgh so cooked for ourselves most nights. We love to do this on holiday. Whilst we love eating out too, it is such fun to seek out local produce on holiday and take a little time to prepare something tasty. It also saves money of course - we spent much less on food which allowed us to splash out a little on some really super wines to enjoy with our food.

The dog ready for his holiday long before us!

When going on a self-catering holiday, I have to be prevented from taking the entire contents of my kitchen. One can never be too sure what kitchen equipment one will find in a rented holiday cottage. I also am unable to live without certain condiments (mustard, ketchup) and feel irked by the idea of having to buy new pots of herbs and spices when I have them already at home. This time, I tried to limit myself to one box of basic 'staples'. Plus a couple of tea-towels and my potato peeler (I can't be doing with a bad potato peeler). I also took my pancake pan as Shrove Tuesday fell in the middle of our holiday and we were not going to do without pancakes! As we were going to a seaside town, I also took my favourite fish cook book and a jar of capers (!) Is there anything you can't leave home without?

Holiday essentials

Anyway, back to the fish. The huts had a variety of fish and we asked for advice as to what was freshest and best. The first evening we were recommended some line-caught cod - it was new season cod, according to the fishermen, and came highly recommended. We bought a large piece at a fraction of the cost of supermarket fish and took it home wrapped up in newspaper.

We decided to cook it very simply as we didn't want to mask the flavour of the fresh fish. Having consulted my fish cook book we decided upon a simple parsley sauce studded with capers. New potatoes and a few green vegetables completed the dish along with a stunning bottle of Californian Chardonnay from Au Bon Climat, a winery we visited on our honeymoon. It was a comforting dish that reminded me of my childhood but the capers added a slightly more adult kick to the sauce. Delicious!

This simple yet super fish supper would work well with other varieties of white fish, including sustainable catches such as pollack.

The recipe is a pared down, simplified version of Mitch Tonks' 'Cod in Parsley Sauce' from his excellent 'Fish' book.

The Freshest Cod in Parsley Sauce

Serves 2 

300ml milk

1oz butter plus a small knob extra to 'finish' the sauce

1 heaped tbsp plain flour

Generous handful of parsley, chopped

1 tbsp capers, drained, rinsed and finely chopped

2 portions of cod, skin on, about 180g each

1. Pre-heat the oven to 230C.

2. Make the parsley sauce. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low head. Stir in the flower and combine with a wooden spoon until you have a paste. Gradually add the milk, little by little, stiring well in between each addition so that you have a smooth consistency. Keep adding until you have a smooth sauce about the consistency of double cream.

3. Add the parsley and capers, season with salt and pepper and set to one side in a warm place whilst you cook the fish.

4. Heat a little oil in a frying pan (use one that can also go in the oven, if you have one). When hot, season the fish and lay flesh side down in the pan. Cook for 2-3 minutes (depending on thickness) until the fish is golden. Transfer pan to the oven, or place fish in a small roasting tin, and roast for a further 5-6 minutes until cooked through.

5. To serve, add a small knob of butter to the sauce and heat through, stirring. Serve the fish with a generous pool of sauce.

Nigella's Slutty Spaghetti

Pasta puttanesca is probably my favourite pasta dish. Loosely translated as 'prostitute's pasta', it is a punchy concoction of tomatoes, chilli, olives, anchovies, garlic and capers. Reasons for the intriguing name are various with many suggesting that it is the sort of dish made by slovenly people who can't be bothered to go to the market to buy fresh ingredients and rely on a storecupboard full of jars and tins instead. I prefer to think that the brazen, salty, firey flavours of the dish are akin to the character of the ladies of the night who used to frequent the backstreets of Naples (from where this recipe originates). Whatever the reason, I love it. Furthermore, I generally have all the ingredients required just ready and waiting in the storecupboard.

I've blogged about this dish before, having used Delia's recipe, but haven't actually cooked it for ages. I was reminded of it recently when flicking through the new Nigella book; Kitchen. True to form, the recipe is accompanied by an image of the Domestic Goddess herself wrapped in a silky crimson gown and comes with a suggestion that it should be eaten with an 'untipped cigarette clamped between crimson lips'. I'm not quite sure about the logistics of this (and didn't try), but the image brought a smile to my face.

As if by chance, the theme for this month's 'Forever Nigella' food blogging event is 'Ciao Italia'. Hosted by Sarah from Maison Cupcake, bloggers are challenged to celebrate Nigella's greatness by cooking a recipe from one of her books which falls in line with the monthly theme. Last month's chocolate-themed round-up was truly spectacular!

The assembled ingredients - storecupboard staples

So, last night I cooked up Nigella's version and can heartily recommend that you do the same. I was cooking for one so I adjusted a few things but rather greedily used a whole tin of tomatoes and almost finished the lot. I made a couple of very minor additions - a finely chopped shallot added at the start (simply because I found it, looking lonely, in the bottom of the veg box) and a little fresh basil stirred into the sauce at the end. Unnecessary but tasty. I'd probably just stick with the suggested parsley next time though - it is traditional and marries very well with the gutsy flavours of the sauce.

The recipe can be found on Nigella's site. Just click here for all the details.

Pea and watercress purée for fish

Last Friday I asked the husband what he fancied for supper. His response? 'Chips'.

Hmmm. Anything in particular he wanted with his chips? 'Anything'.

Not brilliantly helpful, I have to admit, but I aim to please and so chips were on the menu. As it was Friday, it seemed somehow appropriate to have fish and, as we try to be healthy-ish, I bought two trout which we steamed to serve with our chips. To accompany this fishy feast, I made a vibrant pea and watercress purée which really was the star-turn of the meal. I often make a plain pea purée to accompany fish but I actually like this version better - the peppery watercress adds a bit more interest and somehow tempers the sweetness of the peas. On making it the second time, I was didn't have quite enough watercress and so I added little rocket which also worked well.

The recipe can be found here so I won't repost it as I followed it to the letter. But you hardly need a recipe - simply boil some peas, add watercress (minus woody stems) at the last minute until it wilts, drain (reserving a couple of tbsp of liquid) and whizz with a finely sliced spring onion or two. Warm back in the pan and season to perfection!

Tuna and caper pâté

The husband and I are fond of a pre-dinner drink (or two). The trouble is that with that pre-dinner drink, we usually feel the urge to indulge in a pre-dinner nibble. This, I have no doubt, is one of the key reasons for our overly expansive waistlines. (This, and our fondness for cheese, proper puddings and cake). Whilst we know that eating earlier would help ease this habit, we're not actually willing to forgo this favourite part of our day. It is the time we relax post-work, talk through the day's events and generally unwind whilst one of us potters round the kitchen creating dinner.

We try to keep our snacking under control and stick to reasonably 'healthy' nibbles. Low-fat hummous with carrot sticks, olives or tomato salsa spread on melba toasts are staples in this house. We love them, but we get tired of them too. When friends are here, or at weekends, we are more adventurous and make more fancy canapes but mid-week, it is all about low effort. Whilst browsing through some of my favourite food blogs the other day, I stumbled accross a tuna and caper pâté on the Kitchen Diaries Challenge blog which rather caught my fancy. I find the salty tang of foods like capers, olives or anchovies just perfect for awakening the taste buds prior to the main event. I had most of the ingredients to hand in the cupboard and simply improvised for the rest. It took mere moments to make - a 'bung it all in and whizz it all up' recipe. The best sort for mid-week really.

Served moments later with a crisp glass of white and some melba toasts, it was a very delicious 'snackette' (as we like to refer to such things). It would make a nice starter too and, as it uses low-fat mayo, is pretty healthy too.

Do you like a pre-dinner 'snackette'? If so, what do you tend to choose?

Tuna and caper pâté

Adapted from this recipe at Kichen Diaries Challenge

Ingredients:

1 tin of tuna, drained

half a small red onion or a shallot, finely chopped

2 heaped tablespoons low-fat mayonnaise

juice half a small lemon (to taste)

2 heaped teaspoons capers, well-rinsed

1/2 tsp paprika

handful flat-leaved parsley

1. Place all ingredients except lemon juice and capers into food processor and whizz to combine.

2. Add lemon juice a little at a time, tasting after each addition until the balance seems right.

3. Add the capers and pulse briefly so they are combined but not completely broken up. You want a little texture here.

4. Scrape into a serving dish and (ideally) leave for an hour or so in the fridge for the flavours to combine. If greedy and rushed like us, serve immediately with melba toasts or crudités. Or spread on crostini, as suggested by Maggie at Kitchen Diaries Challenge.

5. Serve with a crisp glass of white wine.

Timbale of trout and dill

I've just started a new job which is exciting but also rather tiring, particularly as we've had guests staying every weekend recently. I feel like I'm permanent sheet-washing duty! Anyway, I haven't had much time to blog but we are excited to have finally got our Aga working. We haven't quite got the hang of the re-fuelling as yet - my husband seems able to keep it going but as soon as he goes away with work it mysteriously goes out. I do my bit - riddling and emptying the ash pan, filling it up with anthracite and hoping for the best. But it seems not to like me much...!

When it has been working, we've been enjoying Aga classics such as the fatless 'fried' egg, fantastic butter-less toasted sandwiches (honestly) and wonderful drop scones cooked straight on the top of the simmering plate. I'll be reporting on these treats later in the week but firstly, I wanted to share this lovely little starter that I made the other night.

It emerged out of leftovers - as the best things often do. We don't often have a starter but I had some leftover trout which needed eating and wasn't enough for a main course. It took moments to throw together but looked impressive and tasted fantastic. An inpromptu starter for us but something I'll do again for a dinner party perhaps.

It was so simple that I hardly feel it requires a recipe. I used a 'cheaty' ingredient which was a jar of dill and mustard sauce I had in the fridge - the sort that you serve with gravadlax. I'm addicted to it and love it with all smoked fish too. You can make your own very easily too - there are plenty of recipes on the web, such as this one. To make your starter look attractive, use a big biscuit/cookie cutter or a timbale mould.

I use the word timbale in the loosest sense possible. I think it really refers to things that are baked in a circular mould. I find a regular round biscuit cutter can make all sorts of things look dinner party-ish. Rice, mashed potato, ratatouille, mousses all look strangely accomplished when served in a neat little shape like this!

This starter is the base for many. You could use leftover salmon, for example. Or try cooked chicken bound together with a little mayonnaise, curry powder and mango chutney. Smoked mackerel with creme fraiche and horseradish perhaps? The world is your oyster!

Here is the basic recipe...

Timbale of trout and dill

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 small fillet cooked trout

2 tbsp dill and mustard sauce

1 inch piece of cucumber

half and avocado

1. Halve cucumber across the middle and scrape out the watery seeds. Chop into smallish cubes.

2. Peel avocado and dice.

3. Combine trout, sauce, cucumber and avocado in a bowl with salt and pepper. Add a squeeze of lemon juice if you think it needs a little more acidity (depends on the sauce). You may need a little more or less sauce in order to bind the ingredients together.

4. Push the mixture into a circular mould or biscuit cutter on a serving plate and refrigerate for half an hour if you have time.

5. When ready to serve, remove the mould carefully. You should be left with a nicely shaped mixture. Arrange some salad leaves on the plate, if desired. Garnish with dill or chives.

Oriental steamed seabass

I spent the weekend down on the Isle of Wight. It is where my parents live and where I lived from the age of ten. It really is a very special bit of England and this weekend was at its sunniest, sparkliest best. Our dog was extremely chuffed as he was finally allowed to tear along the beach - during the summer months dogs are not allowed on the beach near my parents' house. He had his first taste of swimming in the sea and absolutely loved it. I was momentarily nervous as he hasn't done much swimming as yet (he's just 8 months old) and the tide is so strong that I worried he might be swept out to sea. Fortunately he appears to be a strong swimmer and made it back to shore before indulging in an almighty shake-out...

But this has nothing to do with food. The sea surrounding the Island is home to a great deal of food however. Earlier in the week my mother was lucky enough to be given a large bass which she'd immediately frozen so that we could enjoy it at the weekend. Seabass is a favourite fish of mine and I often order it in a restaurant but I have to admit that I'm not sure I've ever cooked it before. My favourite way to enjoy it is with lovely fresh Oriental flavours and I've eaten it recently in a Chinese restaurant sprinkled with coriander and ginger with soy sauce and sesame. Inspired by this I took a look through my  mother's books and found a recipe very similar to the one I'd tasted. The book was written by Sophie Grigson and William Black and has the very original title of (you guessed it) Fish. I don't have the exact recipe here but I can remember what we did. It was extremely tasty - the only fiddly bit was serving the fish but with practice I'm sure we'd improve!

Oriental steamed seabass

Serves 2-4 depending on size of fish

Ingredients

1 large seabass

1 inch piece of fresh ginger

3 spring onions

1 small red chilli (less or more to taste)

1 fat clove of garlic

2 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil

2 tbsp sesame oil

soy sauce

large handful fresh coriander

1. Wash and clean your fish and trim the dorsal fins. Cut 3-4 slashes through the skin on both sides. Season the cavity generously and place a few stalks of coriander in the cavity too.

2. Steam the fish. We used a fish kettle for this but you could curl it up in a regular steamer over a pan of boiling water as an alternative. Depending on the size of the fish, this could take anything from 10-20 minutes. Ours was pretty large and took almost 20 minutes. You want the fish to be just cooked.

3. Whilst the fish is steaming, prepare the garnish. Peel the ginger and cut into small matchsticks. De-seed the chilli and cut into very fine matchsticks. Finely chop the garlic and the spring onions. Mix all together in a little bowl. Chop the coriander.

4. Once the fish is ready, transfer quickly to a warmed serving plate and sprinkle on the ginger, chilli, garlic and spring onion mixture. Sprinkle over the chopped fresh coriander too.

5. Heat the oils in a small pan until smoking. Once really hot, pour over the top of the fish and garnishes. Dress liberally with soy sauce and hurry the fish to the table!

6. To serve, gently ease the fillets from the backbone and spoon over the juices and garnishes. We served ours with plain boiled rice and stir-fried vegetables.



Roasted sardines on toast (and other fishy tales...)

Since we have moved, we have been eating rather a lot of fish. This comes as something of a surprise seeing as we are nowhere near the sea. It is usually when I am by the sea that I get an increased urge to cook fish. Up until recently, we've cooked and eaten fish on a regular basis but I have to confess that my repertoire of fish recipes is embarrassingly slim. I make a mean fish pie. My fishcakes are pretty good too and come in a variety of guises from the very tasty smoked mackerel fish cakes to the more traditional white fish and parsley variety. Cod and salmon fillets are bought and cooked regularly whether in an Italian-inspired sauce or with a more Oriental twist. However, I tend to stick to the basics. I'm not overly adventurous when it comes to the type of fish that I cook. I'm stuck on those old favourites even though I know they may not always be the most sustainable of species.

I have to confess to one of my culinary fears. Fear of the fish counter. I kid you not.

Indeed, it is with a mix of fear and excitement that I approach the fish counter in the local fishmonger or supermarket. I feel all brave and think I'll see what looks good and choose something a little... out of my comfort zone. But then, just as the red mullet looks me in the eye, I hear myself saying 'a couple of salmon fillets please'. Oh the shame...

But all this has changed. Well... slightly. Deciding that I needed to put an end to this fishy nonsense, I requested (and received) a fishy cookery book for my birthday. I wanted one not only with recipes, but also one that educated me on the creatures that lurk beneath the waves. The book I received is Mitch Tonks' book which is imaginatively entitled 'Fish'.  It is exactly the sort of book I'd been looking for. A page is dedicated to each fish detailing the flavour profile of the fish, its habitat, what time of year it is at its best and other such interesting facts. Not too much information - just enough. Mitch then gives two or three recipes for each one. The recipes are really varied - a mix of the classics and some more daring suggestions like the fabulous-looking mackerel tagine. The photos are inspiring and I love all the extra information of the fishing industry, including mini interviews with various fishermen. Interesting as well as useful. The only criticism I have is that there are some potentially 'important' fish missing from the book: trout and plaice to name a couple.

Enough of a sales pitch though. This book certainly got me inspired and feeling brave enough to walk boldly into my new fishmonger and face his fish counter head on. And what a helpful fishmonger he was - plenty of advice and hand-holding later and I walked out clutching a parcel of gilthead bream. I cooked it up later that evening following ideas I'd gleaned from the new book and was extremely pleased with the result.

Feeling highly successful, I then decided that we needed to christen our new fish kettle which we received as a wedding present. Our area is well-known for the local trout - the rivers are teaming with them. I adore trout and purchased two of the shiny beauties. We stuffed their bellies with soft herbs and then let them steam away happily for around 20 minutes. They were cooked to perfection and we felt virtuous having prepared such a healthy supper. So successful that we repeated this meal at the weekend. This time though, my husband also picked up a couple of large sardines (pilchards??) at the same time, planning to serve them as a starter.

I 'fished' around on the internet (oh the wit!) trying to find a suitable recipe using ingredients we had to hand and knowing that these little fish could handle strong flavours. I've usually eaten them when they've been cooked on the barbecue and we were debating griddling them when I found this simple recipe from Gordon Ramsay. We adapted it slightly and were impressed with the extremely tasty results.

Roasted sardines on toast

Ingredients (per person):

1 large sardine (or a couple of smaller ones), as fresh as can be

handful of cherry tomatoes

sprig of rosemary

clove of garlic

bread - we used baguette, Gordon used ciabatta but any crusty bread would be nice

olive oil

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Scale the sardines by running them under a cold tap and rubbing slightly with your fingers. Gut sardines if desired (we did as they were rather large).

2. Put sardines and tomatoes in a roasting tin, season well with salt and pepper, drizzle over a good splodge of olive oil and then scatter rosemary on top.

3. Roast in oven for 10 minutes until sardines are cooked and skin is crisp.

4. Meanwhile, heat a griddle pan until smoking. Slice bread into thick slice/s. Cut garlic clove in half and rub over both sides of bread. Drizzle with olive oil and toast in the pan on both sides until ever-so-slightly charred.

5. Cut the heads of the sardines and lay sardine/s on top of the toast with the tomatoes. Drizzle with the juices from the roasting tin.

Smoked trout and leek fritatta

Another busy week over. I've barely set foot in my kitchen and when I have, I've been pretty exhausted and cooked virtually nothing of note. Pasta. Sausages. Jacket potatoes. I've been away travelling with work again this week (Liverpool, Harrogate and Dorchester) and am hugely relived to find that I finally have a weekend at home in London with very few plans. No plans might sound dull but, at the moment, to me it sounds like heaven.

At lunchtime I finally got into the kitchen to make something a little more interesting than the convenient comfort food I've been indulging in all week. A while back I saw a recipe for a smoked trout and leek frittata in a magazine which stuck in my mind. I can't quite remember what else went into the recipe, but my version today seemed to work pretty well. I ate it hot with a peppery salad but think it would pack well to take to work for a cold lunch during the week too. Great for picnics too once the weather warms up!

Smoked trout and leek frittata
Serves 2-3

Ingredients

3 large eggs (preferably free-range, organic)
2 heaped tbsp half-fat creme fraiche
1 teaspoon horseradish cream/sauce
125g hot smoked trout
2 medium leeks
small handful baby potatoes
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh chives
Knob of butter

1. Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender (around 15 minutes). Cut into halves or quarters depending on size.

2. While the potatoes are boiling, finely slice the leeks and steam for around 5 minutes. Rinse under cold water and squeeze to get rid of excess water.

3. Crack eggs into a bowl and lightly beat or whisk together with the creme fraiche, horseradish and chives. Flake in the smoked trout, add the leeks and season with a little salt and plenty of pepper.

4. Pre-heat the grill to high. Take a smallish-medium non-stick saucepan and melt a knob of butter. Add the potatoes and then pour oven the eggy mixture. Cook on a medium heat for around ten minutes, until the frittata is starting to firm up nicely.

5. Place pan under the hot grill and cook for another ten minutes, until the top is evenly brown and the frittata is just set. Remove from oven and turn out onto a serving dish. Alternatively, wait until cold and wrap in foil.

Soy and sesame salmon with vegetable noodles

Brrrr. All of a sudden there is a serious nip in the air - I occasionally work from home and have been trying to do so without resorting to the heating... Unfortunately I've had to cave in - there are only so many layers a girl can wear!

Before it got so chilly, I cooked up this tasty noodley salmon dish based on this recipe from BBC Good Food. Rather than serve the salmon with a warm noodle salad, as per the recipe, I stir-fried strips and ribbons of vegetables with the noodles to create a tasty side dish. I made this for a friend who came over for dinner and I enjoyed it so much that I made it again the following night for another friend. Testament to its success, I think!

You could use any combination of vegetables, but I liked the colourful combination of courgettes and carrots along with mange tout, spring onions and red pepper. This is an easy dish to whip up after work as it takes very little time yet is packed with flavour.

Soy and sesame salmon with vegetable noodles
Serves 2






Ingredients

2 skinless salmon fillets
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
juice of 1 lime, plus two lime wedges for serving
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
small pinch dried chilli flakes (to taste)
1cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
100g egg noodles
1 courgette
2 carrots
handful mange tout
1 red pepper, deseeded and finely sliced
4 spring onions, finely sliced

1. In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, brown sugar, ginger and chilli flakes. Use a small whisk or fork to mix until the sugar has dissolved. Take a freezer bag, place the salmon fillets inside and pour over half the mixture. Set to one side to marinate for at least ten minutes.

2. Meanwhile, take a potato peeler and cut thick ribbons from the courgette and carrots. Set to one side with the other vegetables. Put a pan of water on to boil and pre-heat the grill to high.

3. Boil the noodles, as per the packet instructions (you could even use 'straight to wok' noodles to save time and washing up. Pop the salmon under the grill for 5 minutes, or until just cooked through.

4. Whilst the salmon is cooking, heat a little oil in a wok and lightly stir-fry the vegetables. Add the noodles once cooked, along with the remaining marinade. Stir well to ensure that everything is combined and coated with the soy and sesame glaze.

5. Serve the salmon with the noodles on the side, perhaps with a wedge of lime on the side to squirt over the top.

Kedgeree for the British Food Fortnight Challenge

Since I decided to host the British Food Fortnight Challenge a few weeks ago, I've been trying hard to decide what I should cook for the challenge. At first, I thought I'd go for a traditional British pud - treacle tart, perhaps? As the days passed, I decided that I'd focus on some of the best produce our nation produces and thought I'd plunk for something meat-based. Beef Wellington is a favourite, but is hardly credit crunch-friendly (...and as I had no plans to entertain this week, I thought it a little decadent to make for one).

I then decided that I'd like to challenge myself a little and attempt something I haven't made before. I have a bit of an issue with rice. I virtually never cook it. I'm hopeless when it comes to cooking the stuff. Actually, the truth be told, I'm not really hopeless at it. I just have a fear of cooking rice. I'm convinced I'll get it wrong. Either it'll be one big sticky, lumpy mess or it'll stick to the pan and have to be chiseled off, or it'll be more al dente than an uncooked potato.

However, a dish that I've loved since childhood is kedgeree and I have always wanted to re-create it. Kedgeree became popular in the UK during the reign of Queen Victoria and was served at breakfast in the homes of the wealthy. The name of the dish may be Indian in origin, but it came initially from Scotland. The dish was taken to India by troops serving the British Raj and it is no doubt in India where the kedgeree gained its curry spices. The combination of smoked fish, rice, eggs and spices became popular amongst British colonials in India and made its way back to Britain. Since then, it has become a British classic. Whilst still served in the finest hotels as a breakfast dish (it is particularly good 'the morning after the night before'), it actually makes a delicious lunch or supper dish.

There are many variations of kedgeree. The basics are fish (traditionally smoked haddock), rice, eggs and butter. The quality of these are all key to the success of this dish. I made mine with smoked haddock but you may prefer to plunk for a more sustainable species. I think that smoked mackerel would work quite well. Salmon is a good choice too, though quite different.

This recipe worked out just as I hoped. It is a combination of around 6 different recipes as I couldn't find one that sounded just right. Cooking the rice in the poaching liquid is key - adds so much flavour. I've kept my version fairly basic, just enriching it with a touch of cream. But peas, spinach or tomatoes would be valid (if nontraditional) additions.

Kedgeree
Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 fillets Scottish smoked haddock (traditionally smoked and undyed*)
1 mug long-grained rice
bay leaf
2 free-range organic eggs
a good few knobs of butter
1tsp medium curry powder
1/2 an onion (or 1 very small one), chopped
a very generous handful of parsley
a small handful coriander (optional)
1 tbsp double cream (optional)
cayenne pepper
a lemon

1. Place the haddock in a pan and just cover with water. Add a bay leaf and bring to simmer. Poach for around 10 minutes or until the fish is cooked through and easily flakeable. Remove with slotted spoon and place in a dish, covered with foil in a very low oven to keep warm. Do not throw away the poaching liquid. Pour it into a measuring jug.

2. In another pan, melt a knob of butter and gently sweat the chopped onion. Meanwhile, give the rice a good rinse and add to the buttery onion. Stir to coat the rice and add the curry powder and mix gently. Pour poaching liquid into same mug that you used to measure the rice - you need two mugfuls in total (i.e. double the volume of rice). If you don't have enough, top up with water. Pour over rice, stir once and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer very gently for 15 minutes, or until rice is tender.

3. Meanwhile, hard-boil the eggs in a pan of simmering water.

4. Whilst you are waiting for this to do, utilise your brand-new mezzaluna to chop copious amounts of parsley. Try not to get too excited or carried away event though mezzaluna chopping is so satisfying...

5. Peel the eggs and chop into quarters (or smaller, if you prefer). Flake the fish into the rice and stir to combine. Add the herbs, another decent knob of butter, the cream (if using) and the eggs. Heat through gently and stir to combine all the flavours. Squeeze over the juice from half a lemon (or to taste). Add pepper and salt but go easily on the salt as the fish may be quite salty (taste to be sure).

6. Serve, garnished with more parsley and a little cayenne pepper.

*Traditionally-smoked haddock should have a natural yellowy colour - if it is very white, it has not seen enough smoke. If it is bright yellow, it has been dyed to make up for the lack of natural colouring that should arise from proper smoking.

N.B. The herbs came from my garden. The haddock from Scotland. The eggs from Monmouthshire, butter and cream are British. The rice, spices and lemon are sadly not!