Fish is the dish

Daily recipe 27 March 2020

Hey all, how are you doing? Hope you are all keeping positive and ready for today’s recipe. How much fish do you eat each week? Fish, especially oily fish is a very important addition to our diets and a good source of Omega three and vitamn B12. To keep your immune system healthy you need to eat a well balance diet, including fresh or frozen fruit and veg. Sorry to be a spoil sport, but you also need to remember, while self isolating and lazing in front of the TV, you need to reduce your calorie intake. Less activity means less food. Simples.

Today is not so much a recipe, but suggestions for you to create tasty dishes using fish. Fish is a great brain food, so no excuses. Use you imagination.

Cook some brown rice or quinoa in vegetable stock, add chopped apple, walnuts and celery. Stir in some flaked smoked Mackerel , dress with olive mixed with crushed garlic, lemon juice and a teaspoon of horseradish. Sprinkle with chopped parley or dill. Serve with a light lunch or supper.

Cooked brown rice – leftover, perhaps – can be mixed with lightly fried, chopped onions, celery and grated carrot. Mix in tinned tuna fish, olives and a tin of chopped tomatoes. Spoon into halved, de-seeded pepper shells, sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake in the oven until the peppers are just tender. approx 40mins.

In a food processor add two tins of sardines in olive oil, drained. Add half a grated onion, half a teaspoon of curry powder, two chopped hard boiled eggs and two skinned, chopped tomatoes. Process until smooth. Spread on toast and grill or serve with crackers.

Process two skinned smoked mackerel fillets, with 250ml greek yoghurt, chopped parsley and a teaspoon of grated lemon rind. When smooth, turn into a bowl, serve as a dip with cucumber, celery and carrot sticks.

Dip fresh Mackerel fillets in beaten egg mixed with a teaspoon of English Mustard and coat in rolled porridge oats. Lightly fry in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Serve with baked potatoes and grated carrot and orange salad.

There’s a few ideas to keep you going You can use different fish and vegetables, the choice is yours. Post your fishy photographs to twitter or Instagram, using the #northdevondoesfish. We will share them in next weeks blog. Stay safe. Eat healthy.

salads, fish, leftovers, seasonal food, vitamins
Stay safe, eat healthy

Merry Christmas

Christmas Countdown 22 Recipes for a Merry Christmas

If you have been. Thank you for reading. This concludes the 22 recipe Christmas Countdown. All thats left for me to say is “I hope you have found these recipes useful & you have enjoyed, reading these blogs.

Click the photos below to take you to the individual recipes. OR the blue link below will take you to all the recipes, mentioned below in the drop down menu of Christmas Countdown.

WISHING YOU ALL A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS & A HEALTHY & HAPPY NEW YEAR

Stollen Pudding

Leftovers recipe

If you are lucky enough to be given or bought a lovely home made Stollen this Christmas, you MAY have some left over, along with some drops in the bottom of your liqueur bottles!!!!

For this leftovers recipe you can use Brioche, Croissants or any other bread product you happen to have to hand.

Ground Almonds,Marzipan,Marzipan recipe,Cake covering,Icing
Christmas Stollen with Home made Marzipan

 

INGREDIENTS. ALLERGENS IN BOLD. Serves 6 Oven 180c 350F Gas MK 5 Time taken 20mins + Standing time & Cooking

Slices of Stollen,( I used my own Homemade, filled with Cranberries, Pistachios & Marzipan) or any of the above.

3 Large Free Range Local Eggs

150ml Double Cream

350ml Milk

2 Tbspns Rum, or Cointreau

Grated rind of 1 large Orange

1/2 Tspn Freshly grated Nutmeg & Cinnamon.

METHOD.

Butter a large oven proof serving dish & lay the slices of Stollen over the base, building several layers.

Beat together the eggs, cream, orange rind, liqueur & spices.

Pour over the sliced Stollen pushing the slices down to cover in the liquid.

Leave to stand for 40mins.

Bake in the centre of the oven for approx 45mins until the pudding is just firm in the centre.

Allow to cool slightly, before serving, dust with Icing Sugar and add a good dollop of Clotted Cream or clotted cream Ice Cream. ( Marshfield Farm do a superb clotted cream & gingerbread Ice Cream if you really want to go mad).

If you want to use Croissants slice them & spread with Nutella. The addition of some of those bananas, wasting in the fruit bowl, also compliments this dessert. Omit, the alcohol, for a fruity childrens pud.

For more ideas on what to do with your Christmas Leftovers. I will be on  The Graham Rogers morning show at 9.10 on Boxing Day morning. BBC Radio Wiltshire

 

If you would like to comment or ask a question, please use the form below:

Ground Almonds,Marzipan,Marzipan recipe,Cake covering,Icing
Christmas Stollen with Home made Marzipan

Christmas Get Aheads

Time saving Christmas Tips.

Christmas Countdown. The big day is nearly here. Could you be interested in any time saving tips, on the run up to that festive feast. No. Of course not, you are not worried, or panicked, no doubt you are sitting down, with your feet up watching your favourite Christmas movie. Or, maybe you are tearing your hair out, bitting those finger nails & wondering how you are going to cope? Have a read, you might find something to assist you.

Lots of things can be prepared, ahead of the big day, saving you time & allowing you to demonstrate just how good a hostess you are:

  1. Laying the festive table, the day before is alway a good idea. Delegate the task to someone else and check that all is in order, with nothing forgotten. Make sure you have enough glasses for all those festive drinks. Don’t stress if they are mis-matched. No one will notice, as long as they have a drink.
  2. Peel the spuds & par boil them. place in a bowl, & toss in whichever hot oil you are using, on the day.
  3. If you are serving mash, invest in a potato ricer. No only can you have your own, cheap, cauliflower, brocolli or carrot rice. It saves time trying to mash those lumps out. Start a new trend, to impress your guests. Place the rice potato in a serving dish, & hand butter or oil seperately. (will satisfy all dietry requirements!)
  1. Of course, if you have chosen a cold starter, this can be prepared the day before. Was salad veg ready & wrap in kitchen towels & store in the fridge.
  2. Slice carrots & celery sticks into chunky strips. Plave in a casserole or roasting tin. Sprinle with chopped parsley & pop in the oven to cook. Drain, reserving the stock for the gravy. & serve. (Any root veg can be cooked in the same way)
  3. Make your gravy the day before, thicker than usual. when the Turkey is cooked pour some of the juices from the roasting tin, into the made gravy to add more flavour & thin it down. If lumpy, pass it through a sieve.
  4. If you need a quick extra pud. Keep a shop bought pastry case to hand. Spread mincemeat over the base & arrange apple slices on top. Grate over some marzipan & bake. Sprinkle with icing sugar & serve.

Hope you find some of this useful. Just remember, delegation is the key. This is after all, just another roast dinner. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Above all. ENJOY. It is your Christmas too.

Glace fruits, nuts, vegan Christmas Cake

Vegetarians Look away

Recipe Sweet Potato & Pork

Christmas Countdown. We all need a quick warming meal, in the run up to Christmas. this recipe for Sweet Potato & Pork fits the bill. All you need is a roasting tin, some veg and your pork, which has been placed in a quick, cheats marinade for a few hours. Throw it all in the oven & forget about it, while you wrap those presents. In 45mins to 1hr, depending on the thickness of your meat, you have a delicious, one pot pork dish ready for the family. If you want to add another veg, serve on some lightly steamed, kale or Cornish spring greens. Yum.

Veggies Look away NOW

Spicy Pork & Sweet Potato Bake.  

Serves 4. Equipment: Large Roasting Tin. Oven temp 200c 400F Gas 6. G/F D/F

For the cheats Marinade:

4 Tbspns Sweet Chilli Chutney.

2 Tbspns Runny Honey

2 Tbspns Light Soy Sauce

5 cm Fresh Ginger, grated.

2. Cloves garlic Crushed

2 Tbspns Red Wine Vinegar

Mix all the above ingredients together in a bowl, spread over the meat, turning occassionally.

1 kg Belly Pork Slices, or 4 Pork Chops.

4 Sweet Potatoes, Quartered, unpeeled.

2 Large red onions, peeled & quartered.

1/2 kg Carrots, cut into large chunks.

METHOD:

Place the chunky veg, in a single layer, in a large roasting tin.

Place in a preheated oven & cook for 45mins -1hr, depending on the thickness of the meat.

(If you do not like your meat as crispy as in the photo, move the tray down a shelf, 15mins before the end of the cooking time.

Serve with freshly steamed veg.

If you have any particular recipe requirements or questions, please leave a comment below & I will answer tomorrow.

Until then. Have a great evening.