An ideal accompaniment to the baked haddock and spinach dish below!
Serves two
2 medium sized sweet potatoes, cut in half then twice lengthwise, to get about six wedges out of each potato
A couple of lugs of groundnut oil
For the spice rub:
2 tsp fenugreek
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
pinch cayene pepper
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
Pinch Maldon sea salt
Parboil the potato wedges for ten minutes or so until just cooked. Set aside.
Meanwhile, put all the spice rub ingredients in a mortar and pound with a pestle until well crushed.
In a baking tray, put the cooked sweet potatoes, the oil and spice mix. Rub them all over until well coated with the oil and the spices, then bake at 200C for 25 minutes or so until crispy.
Saturday 13 October 2012
Smoked haddock baked with spinach and almonds
We're getting autumnal now, and this is a sort of autumn warmer supper dish.
Serves two
2 fillets of undyed smoked haddock, ideally quite thin (this would also work well with plaice fillets or other flatfish)
For the stuffing:
two or three big handfuls of spinach, wilted under boiled water
tablespoon of capers, rinsed
two tablespoons of flaked almonds, lightly toasted in a dry pan
splash of cider vinegar
a lug of olive oil
grated nutmeg
white pepper
Preheat the oven to 200C. Prepare the stuffing, squashing the excess water out of the wilted spinach, chopping roughly, then putting into a food processor. Add the toasted flaked almonds and all the other stuffing ingredients, then blend to a rough paste.
Lay one of the fillets on a board and spread spinach paste all over. Lay the other fillet on top, then slice lengthwise to form two portions. Place the fish portions on a piece of lightly buttered baking foil, and wrap loosely. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until done. Serve with lemon.
This dish goes really well with baked sweet potato wedges, which you can do in the oven at the same time (the wedges will need to go in first for five or ten minutes), and some stir-fried kale.
Serves two
2 fillets of undyed smoked haddock, ideally quite thin (this would also work well with plaice fillets or other flatfish)
For the stuffing:
two or three big handfuls of spinach, wilted under boiled water
tablespoon of capers, rinsed
two tablespoons of flaked almonds, lightly toasted in a dry pan
splash of cider vinegar
a lug of olive oil
grated nutmeg
white pepper
Preheat the oven to 200C. Prepare the stuffing, squashing the excess water out of the wilted spinach, chopping roughly, then putting into a food processor. Add the toasted flaked almonds and all the other stuffing ingredients, then blend to a rough paste.
Lay one of the fillets on a board and spread spinach paste all over. Lay the other fillet on top, then slice lengthwise to form two portions. Place the fish portions on a piece of lightly buttered baking foil, and wrap loosely. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until done. Serve with lemon.
This dish goes really well with baked sweet potato wedges, which you can do in the oven at the same time (the wedges will need to go in first for five or ten minutes), and some stir-fried kale.
Tuesday 17 July 2012
Sing for your supper! The Prawn Song...
Food and music collide! A group of enthusiastic Canadian foodists have made a nice little film about their fishing trip to catch Spot Prawns, native to British Columbia, and used they one of my February Album Writing Month ('FAWM') songs on the soundtrack.
The song appears at about 5'20'' - but it's well worth watching the whole film!... http://vimeo.com/43839814
Read the full article.
The song appears at about 5'20'' - but it's well worth watching the whole film!... http://vimeo.com/43839814
Read the full article.
Monday 19 March 2012
Stuffed fried chillies
We love to watch a spaghetti western on a Sunday evening, and it's nice to have food that fits the fake Mexican vibe.
Makes six to eight, depending on the size of the chillies
6 or more medium sized mild green chillies, or you can use small sweet peppers for a milder dish
For the filling:
2 tbs cream cheese
1 can tuna, drained
two handfuls grated cheese (Montery Jack, Cheddar or Emmental work well)
1 tbs chopped chives
For the batter:
two eggs
plain flour
salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil suitable for shallow frying
Slit each chilli down one side lengthways, and put them in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat for about ten minutes, shaking and turning them occasionally. When the skins have started to blister, put the chillies into a plastic bag, tie the top (those sealable food bags are handy for this) and set aside for twenty minutes. They'll steam in the bag.
While the chillies are steaming, mix all the filling ingredients together in a bowl. You want quite a sticky filling, which helps the chillies keep their shape and won't leak out.
To make the batter, separate the egg whites and yolks. In a large bowl, whip the whites until quite stiff, then fold the yolks in. Get another bowl for the flour, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste.
Take the chillies out of the bag. The steaming will have loosened the skins a bit, so peel off the loose chilli skins, then carefully open each chilli and take out the seeds and veins. Fill each with the cheese and tuna stuffing, making sure there aren't any air pockets left.
Heat a large deep pan filled with enough oil to shallow fry the chillies in. Roll each chilli in the seasoned flour, then dip in the whipped egg so all the surface is covered. Fry the chillies in the hot oil for a few minutes, turning once or twice, until they're golden brown. Drain the excess oil off on kitchen paper, and serve immediately.
Makes six to eight, depending on the size of the chillies
6 or more medium sized mild green chillies, or you can use small sweet peppers for a milder dish
For the filling:
2 tbs cream cheese
1 can tuna, drained
two handfuls grated cheese (Montery Jack, Cheddar or Emmental work well)
1 tbs chopped chives
For the batter:
two eggs
plain flour
salt and pepper to taste
Vegetable oil suitable for shallow frying
Slit each chilli down one side lengthways, and put them in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat for about ten minutes, shaking and turning them occasionally. When the skins have started to blister, put the chillies into a plastic bag, tie the top (those sealable food bags are handy for this) and set aside for twenty minutes. They'll steam in the bag.
While the chillies are steaming, mix all the filling ingredients together in a bowl. You want quite a sticky filling, which helps the chillies keep their shape and won't leak out.
To make the batter, separate the egg whites and yolks. In a large bowl, whip the whites until quite stiff, then fold the yolks in. Get another bowl for the flour, seasoned with salt and pepper to taste.
Take the chillies out of the bag. The steaming will have loosened the skins a bit, so peel off the loose chilli skins, then carefully open each chilli and take out the seeds and veins. Fill each with the cheese and tuna stuffing, making sure there aren't any air pockets left.
Heat a large deep pan filled with enough oil to shallow fry the chillies in. Roll each chilli in the seasoned flour, then dip in the whipped egg so all the surface is covered. Fry the chillies in the hot oil for a few minutes, turning once or twice, until they're golden brown. Drain the excess oil off on kitchen paper, and serve immediately.
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