Simple fish cakes using up leftovers

Gosh, where have the last two days gone?  I've been meaning to write a post and then never got round to it as there was too much going on.  We had a lovely anniversary dinner on Friday and I'll write more on those recipes later this week - just to tickle your taste buds: we had gyoza dumplings with a dipping sauce, followed by sesame chicken...yum!

Anyway, it's been a busy few days which has meant that food had to be quick, especially at lunchtime.  And what better way to use some simple ingredients from the larder and some leftovers than to make some fish cakes?   

Crab cakes using leftover mash

We had some leftover mash potato which needed using up and was ideal for these.  For the sweet potato version, I quickly boiled and mashed one large potato - they seem to cook so much faster than "normal" potatoes.  The rest is really easy:  take a tin of crab meat or tuna, mix with the mash and add the spices/seasoning you would like.  I went for spicy cakes, using cumin, turmeric and a bit of chilli as well as some grated ginger and finely chopped spring onions.  Job done!  You can add a little beaten egg to bind everything together but I don't think it's strictly necessary.  Form the cakes and bake in a moderately hot oven on a baking sheet for ca. 25 minutes.  One tin of fish and 200g potato made seven smallish fish cakes.

Tuna sweet potato cakes

The great thing with these is that you can just use what you have - chuck in a bit of leftover sweetcorn, chop up a little bell pepper...whatever you have to hand.  Oh, and you can fry them if you prefer.

Serve with a simple salad or this easy yogurt dipping sauce - plain yogurt, coriander/cilantro and a bit of salt.  Oh, and if you don't like fish, you can make  vegetarian cakes by simply omitting the fish and adding a few more veggies.

Right, off to take the dog out for his morning walk and then I need to prep a cake - we have a very dear friend visiting for a few days and I think that calls for a sweet treat :-)

Delicious pasta bake

Sometimes I find a new recipe and I can almost feel my arteries clogging up as I read it - heaps of butter, cream, cheese, more cheese.  Now, I like rich food and could quite easily munch my way through a whole baked Camembert cheese but I know that these can only be occasional treats in an otherwise balanced diet.

Salmon & broccoli pasta bake

I came across a salmon & broccoli pasta bake that I loved the sound of - but with much less of the suggested fat added to it.  I cooked my version of it last night and it was delicious (even if I say so myself :-)) - creamy but not over the top. 

I guess that's the beauty with cooking - you can always change the recipe into something you'd prefer to eat, so please feel free to play with this one.

Right, I guess I had better updated the much-neglected recipe index - I am still trying to find a better way of listing all the recipes in a more user-friendly way.

Like a fish in water...Salmon with a twist

"I can do it..."

Yippee - we are home!  And whilst there is still chaos everywhere, it is just so lovely to be back in our own home again!  We have missed being here and Keith the dog spent a lot of time sniffing around.  I spent the same amount of time dusting, hoovering, dusting some more and smiling to myself.  How lucky we are to have a home, to feel warm & safe.  We had a lovely time where we were staying - Keith even improved his swimming a bit although he is still not too sure about deep water, judging by the photo ;-)  Still, it's good to be back!

Before cooking

Salmon burger...yum!

Not all the work has been completed yet, so there is stuff all over the house but we can work around that for now.  I couldn't wait to get back into the kitchen and try some of the recipes I promised to write about.

If like me you are quite partial to a burger, you might enjoy what I cooked for my dinner tonight: salmon burgers. 

Making these couldn't be any quicker or easier and I really loved the taste and texture.  And if you want to reduce the amount of red meat you eat or just fancy a change, then I can highly recommend these.  You could also replace the salmon with fresh tuna.

Lucky dip...baked sea bream

It's been a busy couple of days...we are having building works starting on Monday with a wall being demolished, the kitchen being ripped out (sniff...) etc, so we are having to box everything up. The end result will (hopefully) be a lovely space to cook and eat and we can't wait to have it all finished.  Since Keith the dog will most likely be too keen to help, we have decided to move out for the duration of the works - the builders will be living here in the meantime.

There hasn't been much time for trying out recipes whilst all this has been going on and we've been keeping it simple.  In fact, for the last couple of days we have been having a lot of leftovers from our freezer.  The thing is that I keep forgetting to label my freezer bags and boxes, so now and again we don't know what we will have to eat until it's been defrosted.  I call it lucky dip ;-)  Tonight we definitely were lucky as I knew what was in the package - sea bream.  I simply topped it with a bit of butter and tarragon and put some garlic and chorizo inside (using up some bits and pieces from the fridge before it gets turned off next week) - we then baked it in foil in the oven for 25 minutes at 180 degrees and had it with oven chips and salad.  Simple and delicious!

Quick food for busy people

Wanna play a game?

There are days that are really busy and productive when I can't wait to do stuff and others when I find it hard to get going.  Today was a good busy day, hence the late post.  There were chores to be done and preparations to be made for our building works (more on that another time).  Keith the dog tried his hardest to distract me - it was very difficult to resist.

Being busy usually means that food needs to be quick but we still don't want to compromise on taste.  Yesterday, I made a lovely oven-baked fish dish for dinner which I can highly recommend.

 I love food that can be done in the oven and "forgotten about" - mind you, I almost did with this one and the crust turned out to be a little darker than planned.  Anyway, that aside, this easy and yummy recipe with a Mediterranean twist went down a treat and was prepared and cooked in just over half an hour.  Ideal for those busy times during the week.

Have a lovely weekend!

Teamwork

Every now and again I write about a recipe that Mr Happy Larder has introduced me to.  The following one he cooked for me the other day and I loved it - we had enjoyed so much lovely seafood in Savannah and had promised ourselves that we would make even better use of the fresh fish available to us here by the Welsh coast.  So, I thought it would be nice if in fact he told you himself about his creation:

A long time ago, I went to an Italian restaurant in west London somewhere and ordered Zuppe di Pesce Siciliana. It was a delicious combination of tomato, fish and scented Mediterranean herbs: a week in a hammock slung between cypress trees overlooking the beach, right there in a bowl. It was filling too – more of a thick stew than a soup. It didn't seem very complicated to make so I resolved to have a go at recreating it at home. 

 

(I think the story might have been a bit more involved than this, and may have involved trying to impress young ladies, but I can't remember the details and it's Kirsten's blog so I'd keep quiet even if I could. This was at least ten years before we met, you understand.)

There was one thing I wanted to change from the original: in the restaurant, by the time I'd finished shelling the mussels, beheading the prawns and de-suckering the octopus tentacles, the soup was barely lukewarm. Purists (and Sicilians) may well look down their noses at me, but my crustacean dissection skills were never going to wow the girls so I made it shell-less that time and always have since. That way, it's as easy to eat as it is to make, which is to say very easy indeed.

Of sunshine and summer food...

Spring is here at last!  Funny how in just the few days we were away, all the plants have come to life and the trees are really beginning to go green with blossoms everywhere.  I took this picture on this morning's dog walk - what a pretty colour!

With the sunshine out, I am starting to finally get over my need for comfort food and my taste buds are wanting to taste fresh salads and the like.  Not sure if that - and the sunshine - will last...we'll see.  During our trip we ate the most delicious seafood and fish.  One of the restaurants we went to in the Blue Ridge Mountains was right by a river and on the menu were all kinds of variations of trout.  You really can't get any fresher than that - straight from the river onto the plate (ok - via the kitchen, luckily for us).  I also love smoked fish, in particular mackerel and trout.  Over here we can get packets of smoked mackerel filets for not very much money at all  including lovely varieties such as black pepper or hot smoked. 

Smoked mackerel pate on sourdough bread...

Inspired by our holiday, I made a smoked mackerel pate for lunch today - it was the topping for my open sandwich but it can be used in sooo many different ways (see suggestions in the recipe below).  It takes only a couple of minutes to make, is good for you with all those Omega 3s and is very tasty indeed. 

Of chocolate bellies and healthy choices...

I think I may have overdone the chocolate indulgence a little over Easter :-)  I was given a lovely large dark chocolate egg which was delicious...note the use of the word "was" - no wonder I feel ready to pop!  No regrets though - it's Easter only once a year (just as well).

The latest giveaway was really exciting for me as I was keen to share the River Cottage bread book and it was lovely that people took the time to take part.  Well done to the winner, Pigsmightfly!  I will do another giveaway next month, so it's worth keeping an eye out for the announcements.  In the meantime I will think of a suitable prize... :-)

I might have to eat a few lighter things over the next few days, so that I can still fit into my clothes after my chocolate binge.  One of my favourites is a simple fish dish: trout cooked in a foil parcel.  Not only is it simple and quick but it's also tasty and doesn't cost the earth.  The last time I made this, I served it with small new potatoes and salad. The whole thing takes less than half an hour to prepare and cook and for me, it ticks all the boxes when I want something a bit healthier to eat and don't have much time. 

Now all we need is the temperatures around here to rise a bit and this will become a regular on our summer menu...

The comfort of old friends...

We have gale-force winds and pouring rain today and Keith the dog was not impressed when he found out that the weather in the park (where he desperately wanted to go) was exactly the same as the one in the garden (where he really didn't want to go because of the rain).  After 20 minutes of trotting around in the wet, he had enough and we came back - needless to say that we are both still trying to dry off.

It's been a busy few days with little time for trying out new recipes.  I did cook but relied on our trusted favourites - sometimes you just need the comfort of knowing exactly what ends up on your plate :-)  It's almost like spending time with old friends - no need to explain anything, just enjoying the company. So we had sausages with homemade coleslaw and baked potatoes, savoury mince with rice and peas and stuff like that - easy & yummy at the same time.

One of the dishes I did make that I want to share with you is this fish dish: salmon wrapped in pancetta (a very thinly sliced bacon).  I love how the pancetta goes all crispy and the fish stays lovely and moist!  We had this with a creamy dill sauce and served mine with pasta and Mr Happy Larder's with crispy potato cubes - both worked equally well and with a handful of mangetout on the side made a tasty and complete meal. 

The wrapped salmon does also work really well with potato gratin (you can find the recipe here) and you can also add herbs before wrapping up the pancetta...sage leaves are great for this but why not try basil for a change?  I hope you will love this dish as much as we do.

Have a wonderful weekend!  I will spend my time trying out a few new recipes, so I will have plenty to share with you coming up to Easter :-)

Of horses, ready meals and proper food

I thought I'd give you a little update on the horse meat scandal that I wrote about a little while ago (please click here if you missed it).  Companies in Germany, France and the UK have withdrawn further products from sale, either because they have already tested positive for horse meat or as a precaution (the majority of further products tested negative).  Worryingly though, some hospital and school food has also been found to be containing horse.  I would have thought that a weakened or young body needs the best nutrition but maybe that's a lot to ask when the money just isn't there (as is the case in UK hospitals & schools).  What a shame that it all boils down to money in the end :-(

Talking of money, I had to laugh the other day when I saw the TV advert of a fast food company.  Here they were, shouting about the great value of their family meal for £19.99.  It was pizza, potato wedges and a large bottle of soft drink - all for four people (I am assuming 2 adults and 2 kids).  I am sorry but you can cook a perfectly lovely meal for 4 people for far less than that!  I'm not sure if I am angry, frustrated or just bemused by the ad - maybe a bit of everything.  How do you feel about this?

Fish pie...

So, in order to prove my point, here is today's recipe - a yummy fish pie!  I reckon you can make this for four people for half the price of the fast food meal, even when buying sustainably sourced fish.  Plus, it'll be nutritious and tasty!

Fish Fight...

Did you know that half the fish caught in the North Sea is thrown back dead?  That's over 1.7 million tons of fish per year - discarded!  Strict fishing quotas, consumer choices,...the list of reasons is long. When you have a moment and want to find out a little more, please have a look at Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Fish Fight campaign - Hugh is of River Cottage fame and an avid campaigner on the subject.  What an eye-opener!

Fish gratin...

I love eating fish but now that I am more aware of what is going on, I am trying to make more ethical choices.  I guess the more consumers are happy to try other types of fish, the more these will become available.  And it's not about never eating cod, tuna or salmon again - that would just create another problem - for me, it's about variety and about us, the consumer, influencing legislation so that it makes sense, for us and the environment.

And because fish is a fabulous food I can't not give you this quick & simple recipe to try: fish gratin.  The recipe originally asked for smoked haddock but why not try another type of white fish such as coley?  Or use a mixture of fish, giving some new varieties a chance together with some old favourites?  Here, the fish is placed on a bed of spinach but as I didn't have enough, I also used some finely sliced gem lettuce...it worked a treat!  I have never cooked lettuce before but it certainly wasn't the last time.  I have also amended the amount of cream and cheese used as there was no way I would have been able to taste the fish - the star of the show - under all that fat.

I hope you'll enjoy this one!

Bonjour!

Ok, this is almost the extend of my knowledge of French.  It is such a beautiful language and yet so scary when it appears in the name of a recipe, don't you think?  It sounds complicated, so it must be - right?  And here comes the funny bit:  I am finding that more often than not, it is actually not that hard!  Sure, there are plenty of recipes that need a lot of skill and will only be perfected after much training but there are others that just sound difficult.

Trout meuniere...

Take "sole meuniere", for example - I heard the name and ran for the hills.  Not that it didn't sound tasty but I didn't have a clue what it meant or what was involved and so I was never going to cook it.  Until now, that is, because I actually bothered looking up the meaning and reading the recipe.  A "meuniere" is a female miller or wife of a miller and in this dish it basically just means that the fish (sole) is covered in seasoned flour (hence the miller bit) before being cooked in plenty of butter which then forms the basis for the sauce.  To me that does sound quite a lot easier.

I cooked trout meuniere because that's the fish I could get hold off and we served it with broccoli, crispy potato cubes and a creamy mustard sauce (which I unfortunately forgot to take a picture of).  We loved it and I will definitely make this again.  It was surprisingly quick to make as the fish only needed frying for a total of 6 minutes - talk about fast food!

And so, as promised, here is the recipe for a quick and easy dinner...