Fish and Chips

Fabulous Fish Dishes
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Fish and Chips


So, last night I was out at a Trade Show and the boys took the reins with the old Yellow Box. They decided on Fish and Chips, shopped, cooked and even took some stylish photos to prove it!   Apparently the Fish and Chips were delicious and the batter was lovely and light and crispy. They made the Tartare Sauce and thought that was good too.  My people are big fans of the golden delight that is Fish and Chips and much prefer the home-made version to the shop bought.

How about you? Do you make your own? Do you buy it in?  Are you a fan?  Potato Cakes? Tartare Sauce? Chiko Rolls?  What's your fancy?!

xx Pip

Pip's Tomato and Fish Curry

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Please note :: you can substitute steamed or roasted pumpkin for the fish if you are not fishy! Or even tofu would be good! ALSO this is a really mild, gentle curry, perfect for everyone in the family - but you can heat it up if you like by adding lots of fresh or dried chilli!


Ingredients:
1kg of roughly chopped tomatoes
1kg of trevally fillets - cut into generous bite-size chunks (no bones please!)
200 grams beans, topped and tailed and cut into small pieces and steamed for just a couple of minutes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped finely
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, chopped finely or grated
1 tsp of mild curry powder
1 tsp of turmeric
1 tsp of mild paprika
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
a slosh of soy sauce
1 cup of coconut milk
1 cup of stock (fish, chicken or vegie is fine)

1. Heat the oil and fry the onion until golden brown (this takes time!) Meanwhile - make a paste with the rest of the spices, the soy sauce and 1 tbsp of water.
2. When the onion is nice and golden, throw in the ginger and fry for 30 seconds, then the garlic and mustard seeds and fry for another 30 seconds or so.
3. Next add the spice paste you just mixed up and fry for a minute or so, stirring as you go.
4. Add the tomatoes and give it a good stir. Put a lid on the whole schmozzle and cook gently for 5 minutes.
5. Now blend this tomatoey and spicy base until pureed (use a food processor or a stabby mixer or even a good go with a potato masher). You want to get a nice even sauce - no big lumps allowed. No need to strain it though - rustic is good.
   
6. Now back on a gentle heat with the blended curry-tomato base - add the coconut milk - and the stock. Slowly heat the mixture until it's nearly boiling. Do not let it boil though!
7. Add the fish pieces and the beans, pop on the lid and turn off the heat. Let the curry sit for half an hour or so so the flavours develop - or overnight even in the fridge - and then reheat it gently and serve - the fish really doesn't need much cooking at all - the residual heat and the gentle reheating will do the trick - taste a piece to see!
8. Serve with rice or roti or naan even! YUM!

Serves 4 - 6 people

xx Pip

Make Salmon Patties....

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We cook some fancy stuff at our house sometimes - but usually we cook simple stuff. The kind of old fashioned food that kids will eat two helpings of. I like to see the kids gobbling their dinner down. No point serving them fancy schmancy if they won't eat it. Well. Max doesn't mind fancy schmancy if he can pick the meat and potatoes out of it. Ari = no fancy schmancy.


1 440g (or thereabouts) tin of pink salmon
1kg of nice potatoes, mashed
3 tablespoons of mayonnaise
1 tablespoon of dijon mustard - or seeded is good too
a squeeze of lemon
2 eggs
salt and pepper
breadcrumbs
vegetable oil for frying


Mix the salmon, mashed potato, mayonnaise, mustard, egg and salt & pepper together. If it seems super moist, throw in some breadcrumbs until it's a dry enough to shape into patties. Next, tip some breadcrumbs onto a plate. Now form a heaped tablespoon into a pattie shape, using your hands, then roll in the plate o crumbs until well covered. Set aside and continue until you've pattied and crumbed all the mixture. You can store these in the fridge until you are ready to eat, if you like! To cook, heat about half an inch of oil in a big frypan over a medium-high heat and cook each side of the patties until golden. Keep warm in a lidded dish until you've fried all the patties. (Don't stop - you need to fry them all - they are super good cold too!)

You can serve them with more mash, or a salad, or in a sandwich with sauce if you're finiquey. You can also add other things to the patty mix - like fresh herbs, peas, chilli and garlic.. whatever takes your... fancy.

Amazingly Delicious Fish Curry

If you DEFO won't eat fish - you could try this with chunks of pumpkin in the rolls - you'll just need to cook them for longer (about 15 minutes on an even simmer). Or you could put chicken fillets in there. Or some deep fried tofu would be lovely too.

Please note: This makes a mild curry that Max can eat too - definitely add some fresh chilli to amp things up if you like!


2 tsp of red curry paste - DIY or store bought
1 440 g tin of coconut milk
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/2 kilo of nice fish fillets - cut into little bite sized pieces - no bones please!
1 large CHINESE cabbage - for extra stretch
Juice of one lime - or 1 tbsp of lime juice
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1/2 tsp fish sauce
1/2 tsp white pepper
1 clove garlic, 1 inch piece of ginger, 1 small onion, 3 candlenuts (or macadamias!) - all ground to a paste in a food processor or mortar and pestle
1 tbsp of peanut or other good frying oil
Some toothpicks for securing the 'fishy cabbage rolls'


First cut the end off the cabbage - discard the outer leaves for compost and separate the rest of the leaves nicely. Also remove any hardcore woody ends too - they'll make for a yick mouthful and tricky wrapping too. Put on a large pot of water to boil - and blanch the leaves for about 30 seconds each - until soft. Place a leaf flat and pop the bite sized raw piece of fish in the centre. Fold one end of the leaf over - the fold the sides in - and finally roll the whole lot over and secure into a neat, tightish parcel with a toothpick. (Easy. Max did this for me this afternoon)

Next - fry the garlic, ginger, onion, nut paste in a spoonful of oil until fragrant. Add the red curry paste and fry for 30 seconds or so, stirring. Next add the stock and stir till combined. Then add the coconut milk, lime juice, pepper, soy and fish sauce.

Bring to a fairly serious simmer and then pop in the cabbage/fish parcels. Now, slosh it around a bit so the curry sauce gets all over the fish. Next, bring the whole lot up to the boil, and turn off the heat. Allow to sit for 15 minutes while you cook some rice.

When your rice is done, turn the fish back on and bring up to the boil again. Turn off and allow to sit for 5 minutes with the lid on before serving.

Enjoy with a nice cold beer or glass of crisp white wine!