Delia's Flaky Fish Pie

I wonder why this recipe has eluded me until now?  It is in my battered and well-thumbed copy of Delia's 'Complete Cookery Course' which is well over 20 years old.  Perhaps it is the lack of a photo?  Anyway, it is supremely good, using puff pastry rather than mash (I used a sheet of bought puff rather than the home-made flaky in the recipe).  I can do no better than point you to the recipe on her website, and use her picture - mine was pretty-much like hers but without the fancy pastry shapes on top - couldn't be arsed.

Smoked Sardine Salad with Beetroot and Apples and a Honey Mustard Dressing

Marks and Sparks are currenty selling smoked Cornish sardines, so we had them tonight in a lovely salad just bursting with goodness from our wonderful Riverford delivery - the freshest lettuce, mellow cucumber, sweet earthy beetroot, freshly boiled and still warm. Added to the mix were some finely sliced spring onions and a crisp Discovery apple. This was all tossed together with a honey and mustard dressing - a classic vinaigrette of 1 part cider vinegar to 3 parts light olive oil, a dash of honey and mustard and some salt and pepper. Just lovely for a beautiful late Summer evening.

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.

Bouillabaisse [#238]

After our health scare on Good Friday, hubby (and I) had regained our appetite by Saturday evening - you can't keep a good trencherman (or woman) down! This was just as well as, early on Good Friday, I had bought loads of beautiful fish and shellfish to have a go at Judith Well's low-fat version of Bouillabaisse. So, I was glad to be able to use it up, and we were rewarded with a most delicious, light and appetising fish dinner that we will most certainly make again. I used some sea bass, chunks of cod, prawns and mussels. I know, no mullet, gurnard or rascasse, none of the spiny mediterranean fish that should be in there, but hey, we live in Oxford, not Marseilles! The subtle seasoning of fennel seed, saffron and orange zest sang through, along with the fish stock and tomato. Lots of parsley at the end brought the whole thing together. With some crusty bread, it was food to console and to comfort and to celebrate that we were eating it together.

Trout Fillets with a Lime and Spice Crust [#208]

The first Judith Wills' recipe in the Challenge, and we fancied something light after the pasta and meatball lunchfest! Judith uses salmon in the recipe, but M&S had lovely trout fillets, so I used those instead. They are topped with a breadcrumb crust flavoured with lime zest and juice, five spice powder and cumin, garlic and ginger, and chopped coriander. Mixed with a few teaspoons of olive oil and spread over the fish, a quick 8 minutes in a hot oven provided a light, zesty and low-fat supper (290 cals per serving with salmon, so lower with trout). Served with broccoli and a few spoons of potatoes baked in a little oil, it was very nice. No photo, sadly, as I didn't want it to get cold!

A Salad of Red Mullet with Lime and Ginger [#144]

Well........salmon, instead of red mullet, which I couldn't get anywhere. And I baked the salmon in the dressing rather than cooking the fish separately and then dousing it in the dressing afterwards, which Nigel's original recipe suggested. Delicious Asian flavours, and it ate very well with a big mound of stir-fried pak choi, courgettes, red peppers and spring onions mixed into egg noodles. We drank a dry Aussie Reisling which matched the lime and lime leaves in the dressing beautifully.

Baked Red Mullet with Saffron and Mint [#137]

Wo-hoo! Hayman's fishmongers in the Covered Market had red mullet! We bought two nice sized ones to bake with these unusual flavourings - I would never have thought of mint with fish but this recipe works very well. Next time, though, I would cover the baking dish with foil, as the lovely cooking juices of Noilly Prat vermouth had evaporated by the end of the cooking time, and they smelt so lovely too!

Bream with Lemon and Anchovy Potatoes [#126]

Yum, yum, in my tum, as we used to say when little! As always, this recipe depends for success on really fresh fish, and Hayman's in Oxford's Covered Market came up trumps again, with beautiful gilt head bream. They are roasted whole with oregano and a little olive oil, and served with potatoes roast/simmered in stock with anchovy and lemon. The fish emerged after 20 minutes with lovely crisp skin and succulent flesh. Served with new season's green beans from Medley Manor Farm PYO in Binsey (the potatoes were from there too), this was just a perfect Friday night supper with a bottle of chilled white. Thanks Nigel.

Grilled Monkfish with Rosemary, served with Garlic Mayo [#122]

It's been a busy and tiring week so far, with a funeral this afternoon, so we dropped off at Waitrose for a huge piece of monkfish tail on the way home, which would be quick and easy to cook. Cut into meaty chunks and marinated in chopped rosemary, anchovy, garlic and lemon, I was anticipating a speedy supper. About three hours and one bowl of garlic mayonnaise later, I was ready, finally, to cook the fish, even though my arm is ready to drop off! However, this recipe is worth it: lovely succulent fish and the most amazingly delicious mayo I have ever eaten! Accompanied by crisp sauteed potatoes that were dunked into the mayo, and finely shredded English runner beans - the first of the season - we dined like royalty - albeit very late! More mayo left over so we'll saute some more potatoes tomorrow and make a meal of dunking the crisp, salty wedges into the garlicky buttercup yellow lusciousness.

photos courtesy of thekitchensupperdiaries.blogspot.com/

Steamed Sea Bass with Ginger and Cucumber [#111]

So, we sold the family silver and re-mortgaged the flat, then took ourselves off to Hayman's Fishmongers for a whole, wild sea bass - £14. Gulp! But worth every penny. I couldn't understand why Nigel left out chilli and garlic from this Asian broth whose other ingredients included ginger, lemongrass, soy sauce and nam pla, so I added a little of each. And as I didn't have a steamer large enough to accommodate the substantial fish (even after it was beheaded), it steam-baked in its aromatic broth in a tightly-covered dish in the oven for 20 minutes, until done to perfection. Served with plain rice and steamed fine asparagus (just about the last of the season) it was a wonderful, light, virtually fat-free meal for a sultry June evening. In honour of its great expense, we washed it down with a very good wine - our favourite Hochheimer Spatlese from the Rheingau (via Laithwaite's!). Nom nom nom!

Miso-glazed fish - off-challenge but lovely recipe

Just had to blog about a lovely treatment for white fish, adapted from Aussie chef Bill Granger (who was, in turn, no doubt inspired by Nobu's Black Cod with Miso). We had some thickish fillets of Scottish haddock in the freezer, so thawed them and spread this glaze over the top: two teaspoons of white miso (soybean, barley, wheat, whatever you have), mixed with a teaspoon of sugar, two teaspoons of lemon juice and a teaspoon of sunflower oil. Grill the fish under a high heat until the fillets are just cooked through and the miso has glazed and darkened a little in places - about 6-7 mins depending on thickness of fish. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if liked. I served this with plain rice and steamed asparagus and courgettes, for a healthy, virtually fat-free quick supper. Lovely! Sorry it isn't Nigel!