King Prawn and Fish stew with Couscous

This is like an ode to the summer to come.  There is a hint of spring and summer in this dish while being comforting enough to take you through a cooler spring day.

This was also inspired by a trip to my local fish counter.  They had some beautiful looking large raw prawns and I decided to treat myself.  They were pretty expensive though so one way to have something which is a big treat like these prawns is to cook them in a dish with much cheaper fish, here I used mackerel and squid.

Teriyaki Salmon with Salad

I used a pre made Teriyaki sauce for this recipe and it was brilliant.  It made the fish delicious and juicy.  It's also great cold if you want to cook two pieces and save one in the fridge for the next day.

Linguine with Rocket (Arugula) and Prawns (Shrimp)

After a quick trip to a running club, I was desperate for something quick, fresh and tasty.

Nuoc Cham

Nuoc cham is a dipping sauce served as a condiment in Vietnam.  It is frankly delicious and sums up that sour, spicy, salty, sweet combo which is so great.

I will give you the recipe here for how to make nuoc cham yourself and also give you a couple of ways it can be used.

Sea Bream Rice Bowl

Christmas and all of its rich food is approaching.  I think it's great at this time of year to be a bit more pared back in our food choices, perhaps not so many fatty meats and deep flavours so we appreciate the tastes of Christmas all the more when they come?  In some cultures it is traditional to fast until Christmas Day, I'm not proposing this as an idea but eating fish with spiced flavours does feel "right".

There is something I love about raw Asian style dressings like this added after cooking, the flavours are so fresh.

If you prefer you could cook fish fillets instead of baking the fish on the bone but personally I always think fish cooked on the bone is a bit better in flavour.

Singapore Noodles

Woah!  Yellow!  Well there has to be turmeric in Singapore noodles, and how great is that for livening up a dark evening?

As far as I can tell, Singapore Noodles have nothing to do with Singapore.  They are probably a Hong Kong or even UK invention.  I suppose it makes sense in a way.  Having travelled in Singapore when I was younger, there is fantastic cuisine and a great melting pot of cultures and cuisines, particularly Malay, Chinese and Indian but Singapore Noodles?  Nope, didn't see it anywhere.

This dish though does make use of turmeric which is used commonly in Indian cookery.  If you believe the buzz on the internet, turmeric is the new health food as well.  Whether that's true or not, it gives the fantastic colour and a subtle earthy, almost slightly perfumed flavour.

There is some heat in this dish as I used hot chillis and extra for garnish, feel free to tone that down as this dish is more normally mild in flavour (but I just love chillis so I can't help it!)

Cod with Bagna Cauda Dressing

Bagna Cauda is a delicious if pretty unhealthy dressing / dip made with anchovies.  It also makes a delicious savoury sauce.

Great ideas for Seafood Week 7-14th Oct

It's seafood week this week and it's a great opportunity to try something a bit different.

There are some special offers and events going on around the country, take a look at the Seafood Week website to find out more.

In the meantime, here are a few great recipes to get you going.

Fish Soup with Gurnard, Mussels and Chunky Summer Vegetables

It feels so wrong to just call this "fish soup".  This is an awesome fish soup, a soup delicately flavoured with thyme, a touch of spice from chorizo and chunks of delicious fish and shellfish.  I'd had a hard day when I came up with this recipe.  A day where I needed to cook for myself something really good, something which would really make myself feel loved!

My idea started at the fish counter where there were a few mussels left at the end of the day.  Some fantastically fresh looking gurnard and an idea was born.

Smoked Salmon with Glazed Green Vegetables

I'd never tried lightly smoked salmon before.  This is sold as a fillet of salmon and unlike normal smoked salmon, it is intended to be cooked before eating.

Smokey flavours like smoked bacon are fabulous with vegetables like cabbage, peas and beans so I chose to pair them together in this very simple dish.

Chinese Style Prawns with Green Beans

I currently have a glut of green beans.  My green beans or "French" beans have grown so rampant that the wigwam of canes currently supporting them has given up and they have sadly fallen over my slightly disappointing courgettes.  Nonetheless I'm still trying (and failing) to get the wigwam upright again but still getting a bounteous harvest from them.  Fortunately I am absolutely in love with fresh green beans.

Day 6 of 7 a day

6 days into my challenge to eat 7 fruits and vegetables a day for 7 days and over yesterday and today I've suddenly got far more energy than I had.  I would even go so far as to say, I'm feeling pretty healthy.

Breakfast

I started the day with my (now typical) breakfast of Skyr, this time with grapes and raspberries so only 2 of my 7.  Honestly, my fridge is looking a little bare.  This is one of the things I'm noticing that I have already shopped for fresh produce twice this week and I'm going to have to do so again.

Lunch

After a food shopping trip I had a simple Buddha bowl of rice, vegetables, prawns and Teriyaki sauce.  Believe it or not, this is only 2 portions of vegetables.  I know!  It looks so much doesn't it?

Spicy Prawn Skewers

A fantastic and simple way to have prawns (shrimp) on a barbecue.  As I've said before, barbecues don't have to be all about meat and, in fact, vegetarian and fish based barbecues are, in my opinion, some of the best.

The other great thing about using fish on a barbecue is you can buy prawns (shrimp) raw and frozen, they're pretty quick to defrost as well so in no time at all, you can be enjoying a lovely barbecue.

Salmon Ramen

I don't mean ramen as in those packs of instant cup noodles or the packets so many students live on, this is an attempt to make lovely ramen soup at home but with delicious and healthy salmon.

In a moment of inspiration I bought a jar of miso paste a few months back, then forgot about it.  I have no idea why because it really adds depth to a soup, it's definitely going back on my shopping list again.

I've used ramen noodles here (as in the dried proper ramen noodle not the pack with the sachet of MSG filled flavouring) but if you can't get them, try egg noodles.  Not quite the same but close enough.

Tandoori Salmon

Salmon is such a fantastically versatile fish; with a flavour strong enough to stand up to robust spicing but with a delicacy as well.

There's nothing traditional about this but it's a great way to give a salmon fillet a different feel and it is genuinely very tasty.

Sticky Salmon Rice Bowl

Salmon, beautifully cooked with a delicious sticky dressing.  Healthy food at it's best.

I used to avoid a lot of carbs but I'm learning to love them again as the great thing about carbs, especially low GI carbs like brown rice is they really fill you up and it tastes so much better than white rice.  I have no idea why I ate boring white rice for so long!

Salmon with Green Beans and Potato Salad

I love salmon and it's a great way to get some omega 3 in your diet.

This simple salad is easy to make fresh with warm salmon, potatoes and beans or great to make for a packed lunch by cooling the ingredients or from leftover cooked salmon and vegetables.

Hake with Chorizo

I bought some delicious hake from my local supermarket recently.  Hake is not a fish we eat a lot of in the UK but the fillet looked in beautiful condition and I had some chorizo in the fridge.  Hake is one of the most loved fishes in Spain and I can see why with it's firm, flaky flesh.

This is a very simple recipe made after a long hard day at work.

Salmon en Papillote with Summery Salads

Ok summer isn't here yet but spring is in the air and I love a simple salad with dishes like this.

I remember the days when "salad" meant a bit of cos lettuce, insipid tomato and cucumber.  It was something to be endured rather than enjoyed.  Nowadays with fantastic tomatoes available (and more starting in my greenhouse right now) there really is no excuse not to eat something as delicious and healthy as this.

I always cook salmon en papillote (i.e. in paper or you could also use foil).  It keeps it juicy.  You will find the cooking times below are far shorter than those recommended on packaging but if you follow those cooking times you end up with sad, dry, overcooked fish.  If you prefer, cook for longer.

Tomato and Anchovy Salad

This is a very simple starter, side dish or light main course using lovely marinaded anchovies.

I first had anchovies like this in Spain so in my head I always want to call them boquerones (which is just the Spanish for anchovies which isn't very helpful) but they often sell them in deli counters or sometimes in the chill cabinet in film covered trays or small tubs.  Don't buy the anchovies in tins, they're great on a pizza or in pasta, not so good for a salad.