Tapenade

Such an easy thing to make, and SOOO expensive to buy ready-made, so if you are fond of this spread, make it yourself, and it tastes much better too.  The only consideration is whether to 'anchovy' or not.  I'm not a huge fan of the little fish, myself, so I leave it out, but add a well-drained fillet or two if you like it.  I take a jar of pitted black olives in brine, about 120g drained weight, rinsed well under a running tap.  Bung into a food processor along with a tablespoon of well-rinsed salted capers, half a clove of garlic, 2 tablespoons chopped parsley and a spritz of lemon juice.  Grind in lots of black pepper, but no salt, then pour in 3 or 4 tablespoons of good olive oil.  Zazz in the processor for 30 seconds, then scrape the sides of the bowl, add another spoonful or two of oil and zazz for another 30 seconds.  Spoon and scrape into a bowl, pour over another tablespoon of oil, and keep covered, in the fridge.  This lasts well for a couple of weeks in the fridge, and is lovely spread on toasted ciabatta, or spread on a chunky piece of fish before grilling, or as a dip for baby new potatoes, so many things.  A great supper, by the way, is a pouch of Merchant Gourmet ready-cooked Puy Lentils, piled on salad, topped with a soft-boiled or poached egg, and toasted sourdough with tapenade spread on.  I could happily live on this!  In the meantime, on toast for us tonight, to accompany a Dry Martini.  Cin cin!

Spaghetti Puttanesca

Now, this is a challenge.  Puttanesca needs oil and olives and cheese and plenty of pasta.  Something's gotta give!  I decided that we needed the carbs and have been good all week, so it is the full 100g portion each of pasta for us tonight, not the measly 75g that most books say - my hubby could put 150g away in one serving.  I also used a full tablespoon of oil - this seems quite a shocking amount now, even after just a week.  So, 1 tablespoon of oil in which you saute some sliced onion and a couple of cloves of garlic - keeping the lid on during this process creates steam and helps the cooking process.  I also added some fresh fennel bulb, very finely sliced, the remains of a tin of tomatoes from last night's chilli, some fresh cherry tomatoes, about 10 olives and some rinsed salted nonpareilles capers.  I don't use anchovy in my puttanesca, as I think it makes it smell like cat sick.  Simmer until all the veg are tender and the sauce has reduced a little, add some fresh oregano if you have it, and serve up with the pasta and just a little grated parmesan.  Dunno how many calories, but this isn't a diet, rather it is a healthy eating regime!

Tuna Caper Pate

Bit quiet on the blogosphere for the last week, as I wasn't well, but am fighting fit again, so today saw a bit of a cooking marathon.  This is a great storecupboard standby and great to top crostini or sippets of toast to accompany drinks, which is what we did before dinner.  So simple as well.  Simply blitz a tin of drained tuna (or a really good jar - go for the best you can afford, line caught of course!) with a couple of tablespoons of low-fat mayo, a couple of piquant little piquillo peppers from a jar, a finely chopped shallot, some lemon juice to taste and a handful of chopped flat-leafed parsley.  Stir in some salted capers - rinsed well - and pack into a bowl.  Will keep for a day or two and leftovers are great in sandwiches.

Grilled Plaice with Caper, Lemon and Parsley Butter [#240]

Lovely fresh plaice available today, so we adapted a Mitch Tonks' recipe for grilled Dover Sole. Sadly, the budget can't quite run to Dover Sole, and plaice made a very pleasant substitute. Incredibly easy - butter a baking sheet and season, put the fish on the sheet and brush it with melted butter, and season again. Grill under a really hot element for about 5 to 6 minutes until golden brown and the flesh flakes easily. Serve on a hot plate, and spoon over a simple sauce of a little melted butter seasoned with the zest and juice of half a lemon, a dessertspoon of salted capers (rinsed), black pepper and lots of finely chopped parsley. Fluffy mash is essential with this, to soak up all the buttery, lemony juices, and some lovely, seasonal, purple sprouting broccoli added colour and a lovely bitter note to proceedings. I wish we lived by the sea, so we could eat fresh fish every day. Fish is good for the brain too, so I am virtually force-feeding poor old Hubby with the stuff.

Smoked Haddock with Caper, Parsley and Egg Sauce [#210]

No chance to do anything before today, as I have been laid low with a nasty cold. It is still lurking, but now I have a little energy and most of my olfactory senses back, I turned to this lovely, homely dish from Mitch Tonks for a bit of comfort. Essentially, it is a stew of fish, chopped boiled eggs and buttery onions in a creamy sauce, given piquancy with English mustard and capers, and enlivened with lots of chopped parsley - almost, as Mitch says, like the filling for a good fish pie but without the potato topping, and like a thicker chowder or cullen skink. Very soothing served in a bowl and accompanied by broccoli and some crisp toast to scoop it all up with. Of course, it is necessary to use the very best fish, and we get fabulous smoked haddock from the Port of Lancaster Smokehouse. In the absence of such splendid fish, do at least make sure you use undyed smoked haddock from the fish counter. If you haven't come across Mitch Tonks before, do yourself a favour and get down to The Seahorse restaurant in beautiful Dartmouth - a place to rival, and possibly surpass, Rick Stein. What Mitch doesn't know about fish isn't worth bothering with. And when in Dartmouth, don't even THINK of going to Burton-Race's Carved Angel next door.....................