Category Archives: Fish

Salmon Trout Parcels

20 Monday Jan 2025

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Salmón trout fillets steamed on a bed of black rice and flavoured with fennel, leeks, garlic and fresh red chillis. This is a great dinner party dish as everything is prepared in advance and each portion individually parcelled up in tin foil ready to be baked in the oven. I suppose this is more of an assemblage than a recipe. Of course it’s a method of cooking that allows for variations of flavourings, I’ve used ginger, lemongrass and chilli, with coconut milk as the sauce and rice noodles as the bed to lay the fish on. I’ll write that style out in more detail at the end of this basic recipe.

So you need

fillets of salmon trout

cooked rice, I used black rice which apart from being tastier than white, was a great colour contrast to the trout

tender vegetables that will cook in 15 minutes, for example broccoli florets, mange toute peas, spinach, asparagus. I used the first two for this recipe.

well flavoured fish stock, 3 tablespoons per serving

finely chopped fresh red chilli

fennel fronds

finely sliced leek

finely chopped spring onion

finely chopped parsley

olive oil

Cut a large oblong piece of aluminium foil for each serving and oil the inside.

Place on one half of the oblong a portion of rice, on this a fillet of trout and the vegetables to each side of the fillet, then the seasonings, a sprig of fennel, pinch of chopped parsley, the sliced leek and chilli, and finally the spring onion

Spoon over 3-4 tablespoons of the fish stock and season everything well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Fold the aluminium sheet over the fish and seal the sides by neatly folding over the foil twice.

Lay the parcels on a baking sheet and bake at 180C for 20 minutes.

Simply serve each parcel on a plate and let yourself and your guests open them at the table and enjoy firstly the wonderful aromas of the fish and it’s herbs before the delicate taste of the dish.

As I said earlier there are many variations of flavours and ingredients than can be used with this method of cooking.

Any lean fillet or steak of fish can be used, salmon, hake, cod, swordfish.
The base can be a purée of potatoes or other root vegetables, with these being quite moist adjust down the amount of stock or sauce that is spooned over the dish.
Flat rice noodles work very well. I soak them in cold water for 15 minutes, drain them, and then pour over boiling water and leave them 2 minutes before draining again and using them in this dish. I allow 40 grams dry noodles per person.

To follow the oriental them of the rice noodles I flavour the fish with slivers of garlic, ginger, chilli and lemongrass and use coconut milk as the liquid.

Have fun trying your own combinations

Fusion Fish

24 Saturday Feb 2024

Posted by in Fish, Food for One, Main Courses

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Silvery, slippery, super fresh little fish, and locally caught too, I couldn’t resist. I’d got planned for lunch spicy tofu cakes flavoured with seaweed, mushrooms and ginger, the fish pickled in lime juice with ginger, lemongrass and coriander would complement them nicely. The recipe for the tofu cakes will be in the next post.

Boquerones en Vinagre

Boquerones en vinagre is a traditional dish here in southern Spain, the little fish are pickled/cooked in wine vinegar and then topped with finely chopped garlic and parsley, and dressed with olive oil. The preparation of these I’m reposting here.

For today I’m making the variation mentioned in the original post, where lime juice is used to pickle the fish but adding oriental flavours as a topping. For the first marinade I used half rice vinegar and half lime juice. Then just lime juice as the second marinade which is topped with grated ginger, finely slice lemongrass and green garlic stem, then finely chopped red chilli. It was delicious with the lime giving a gently sweetness.

Enjoy ❤️

Thai Fish Curry

24 Tuesday Oct 2023

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Poton, which I have used for this recipe, is from the family of cephalopods which include squid, cuttlefish and octopus. I’ve just discovered that there are over 800 types, many more than I expected! It’s an inexpensive fish to buy as it is a bit tougher and so needs longer slower cooking than squid which it resembles, so simmering it slowly in coconut milk flavoured with ginger, garlic and lemongrass suits it very well.


If you want to make this curry with more tender fish or the less tough squid, then make the sauce and simmer very slowly for half an hour before adding your fish, then continue simmering until the fish is just cooked.

For 2 portions

Thumb sized piece of fresh ginger

1 stalk lemongrass

1 large or 2 small cloves of garlic

1 green chilli

1 tablespoon green coriander seeds or a bunch of fresh coriander

500 grams poton or other fish

200 ml coconut milk

1 tablespoon Nam Pla fish sauce

salt and freshly ground black pepper


Slice the tender part of the lemongrass very finely.

Finely chop the garlic, chilli, ginger and coriander leaves. Crush the green coriander seeds if using those.

Put all the above in a wok reserving some coriander leaves for a garnish and add the coconut milk. Slowly bring to a simmer.

Add the sliced a poton, cover and simmer gently until the poton is tender, between 40 minutes and an hour depending on the toughness of the poton.

Season with Nam Pla fish sauce and garnish with more fresh coriander leaves.

Serve with stir fried vegetables and pickled radish.

Marinated Bonito & Mixed Salad

18 Tuesday Jul 2023

Posted by in Fish, Food for One, Main Courses, salads, Starters

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Bonito is a medium sized fish related to tuna and mackerel which is in season in the Mediterranean Sea at this time of the year, so very reasonably priced. I bought a couple of thick steaks yesterday. I like to remove the skin and the little bones that divide the north, south, east and west of the steaks, so that I am left with four mini steaks from each slice of bonito. Two of these make a generous portion per person, so of my eight steaks, four went straight into the freezer, and four I cooked at lunchtime.

I fried them in olive oil together with two thinly sliced garlic cloves and had two of them for lunch with grilled vegetables. The other two I let cool and put in a small dish with the cooking juices of oil and garlic, then I put in enough white wine vinegar to come about half way up the fish. I covered the dish and left the fish to marinate in the fridge. Last night I turned the steaks over to ensure that the pickle was penetrating the fish all the way round.

So today I cut up the steaks and served them on a bed of salad using the marinade as a dressing.

The salad consists of a layer of lettuce and purslane from the vegetable garden, roughly diced tomatoes, avocado slices, the first padrón peppers and okra this season in the garden, thinly sliced radish and purple basil leaves. Yummy!

A Simple Curry of Poton

04 Saturday Feb 2023

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This fish from the Cephalopod family which includes squid, octopus and cuttlefish, resembles squid in form but is generally much larger and less tender, needing longer slow cooking. Stewing it in a coconut sauce spiced with ginger, garlic and chilli is a simple and flavoursome way to prepare it.


The same sauce can be used to cook more tender fish, but will need to be simmered for 30 minutes for the flavours in it to develop before adding the fish.

For 2 portions

1 stick lemongrass

1 large clove of garlic

a thumb sized piece of ginger – or galangal if you can get it

1 large green chilli

bunch of fresh coriander leaves or green coriander seeds

250 ml coconut milk

500 grams Poton

1 tablespoon Nam Pla fish sauce

salt & freshly ground black pepper

Slice the tender part of the lemongrass into very fine rounds

Finely chop the garlic, chilli, ginger, and coriander leaves – save a few of these for garnishing

Put the chopped ingredients above in a pan with the coconut milk and bring to simmer.

After five minutes add the Poton and simmer gently for 30 – 40 minutes until the Poton is tender.

If you are using a more tender fish, or selection of fish, then simmer the sauce for 30 minutes for the flavours in it to develop before adding the fish and then cooking the 5 or ten minutes that the fish needs.

Season the curry with fish sauce, freshly ground black pepper and salt if needed.

Serve with plain rice or rice noodles, and stir fried vegetables. A great garnish are thinly sliced radish that have been steeped in sweetened rice vinegar.

South American Style Prawn Cocktail

25 Wednesday Jan 2023

Posted by in Fish, Food for One, salads, Snacks and Tapas, Starters

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When I cook for my friends I quite often like to have a theme to the dishes, so once I’d decided on Chicken Burritos as a main course for this particular lunch, I was looking for something to have as an appetiser. There are generally frozen prawns in the freezer, so why not mix them with typical South American salads, tomatoes, peppers, sweetcorn, add a spicy sauce sharpened with lime juice and have a prawn cocktail?

My guests loved it!


Per person

8 large prawns in their shells

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon quinoa – black or red look good, but if you have neither then the white is fine

1 tablespoon diced green pepper

1 tablespoon diced red pepper

1 tablespoon sweetcorn kernels

1/2 small avocado diced

Lettuce leaves to decorate your dishes

For the dressing

1 small clove of garlic

Fresh red chilli – finely chopped

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh coriander leaves or the same of green coriander seeds

zest and juice of 1/2 a small lime

Boil the quinoa until tender.

Drain and put in a bowl with the rest of the salad ingredients.

Peel the prawns reserving the heads and skins.

Fry the prawns in olive oil until just cooked. Remove to a plate and let cool.

To the same pan add the heads and skins. Fry gently squashing the juices out of the heads with a wooden spatula.

Once the prawn heads are cooked and have given out their juices, add the coconut milk and water. Mix well scraping any solid bits at the bottom of the pan into the liquid and squashing the the heads again to add yet more flavour to the dressing.

Let cook down a little and then take off the heat.

With a pestle and mortar crush the garlic, chilli and coriander with a pinch of salt.

Strain the dressing into the mortar and then mix well.

Add the lime zest and juice, mix again, then add the dressing and cooled prawns to the salad and mix to cover all with the dressing.

Line your serving dishes with leaves and pile on the cocktail.

Enjoy!

Market Day Salad Nicoise

12 Tuesday Oct 2021

Posted by in Fish, Main Courses, salads, Shopping, Vegetable Dishes

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Sometimes when food shopping most of the elements of a great recipe just happen to appear before you. In this case, picked this morning french beans, bright green little gem lettuce and fresh from underneath the hen free range eggs. A salad Nicoise is asking to be made. There is no fresh tuna, which I would normally use, but lovely big prawns will do nicely for the fish element. Southern Spain is the land of the tomato, so super tasty tomatoes are always plentiful.

I prefer poached eggs to boiled, I like warm yolks to dribble over the salad, and a vinaigrette dressing to mayonnaise, so here is my version of Salade Nicoise.

Per person

lettuce leaves

1 or 2 tomatoes – chopped

French beans – top and tail them and cut them into about 3cm lengths, then blanch them in boiling water for two or three minutes. Drain and leave to cool.

1 tablespoon corn kernels

1 clove of garlic – chopped

olive oil

7 large prawns – peeled

2 large free range eggs

For the dressing

1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 tablespoon white wine/cider vinegar

pinch of sugar

Firstly mix all the dressing ingredients together thoroughly. You can put them all in a little jar and give it a good shake. Put to one side while you assemble the salad.

Lay the lettuce leaves on a dinner plate to make a bed for the rest of the ingredients. Strew over the tomatoes, beans and corn.

Heat water in a small pan for poaching the eggs.

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a small frying pan and add the chopped garlic, fry for a minute then add the prawns. Fry gently until just cooked through. Add to the salad with the cooking juices and garlic.

Poach the eggs, drain and lay on the salad.

Spoon over the dressing, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serve with fresh crunchy bread.

Fish Cooked in Coconut Milk with Spices

25 Tuesday May 2021

Posted by in Fish, Main Courses, Sauces

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I made the sauce for this fish dish first, and then slowly poached the fish in it. I’ve used fillets of Mackerel as they are in season here right now, so superbly fresh and a good price, but any firm fleshed fish fillets can be used. I haven’t tried it, but it could be a good sauce to cook prawns in as well.

For 2 portions

500 grams fish fillets

1/2 red onion – sliced

2 cloves garlic – finely chopped or green garlic sliced

1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger

1/2 fresh red chilli – finely chopped

oil or butter for frying

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

200 ml coconut milk

1 teaspoon ground rice

juice of a small lime

salt and pepper

Heat the oil or butter in a deep frying pan or wok. Add the onions and cook on a low heat until starting to brown a little.

Add the garlic, ginger and chilli. Stir in and fry for a few minutes.

Add the mustard seeds and fry until they begin to pop, then add the turmeric and coconut milk.

Gently cook the sauce for five minutes.

If the sauce is thin, then thicken with the rice flour.

Add the fish and poach gently until the fillets are just cooked.

Season with salt, pepper and the lime juice.

Serve with rice. I made a Red Rice, Cauliflower and Green Bean Biryani, which went very well. I’ll post the recipe for that next.

Kerala Coconut & Pineapple Sauce

23 Monday Nov 2020

Posted by in Fish, Main Courses, Sauces, Vegan, Vegetable Dishes

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Roasted coconut gives this sauce a deep richness, fresh pineapple a sweetness and tamarind a sourness which combined with spices create a complex sauce with layers of flavour. Fish can be lightly poached in it, nuts can be added for a vegan dish or little cubes of paneer for a vegetarian version.

I’ve cooked some big chunks of salmon in the sauce this time, but any meaty fish works well as do prawns.
The tamarind that comes in a block, which you can buy online if it’s not available in your local shops, has far more flavour than the ready made tamarind sauces. You just break off a chunk and pour a little boiling water over it. Once it softens you can mash it removing any seeds and then add it to your dish. The block keeps for months in an airtight container in the fridge.

For 4 portions

1 onion – finely sliced

2 tablespoons olive or peanut oil

40 grams fresh coconut – finely grated and toasted slowly in a thick bottomed pan until lightly browned.

Tamarind – piece 2 cm square soaked in 2 tablespoons boiling water or 2 tablespoons tamarind sauce.

Fresh ginger – piece 2cm square

4 cloves garlic

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1/2 fresh red chilli – finely chopped / 1/4 teaspoon chilli powder

100 ml chopped tomatoes / passata

2 x 1 cm thick slices fresh pineapple – core removed and cut into small cubes

salt

400 grams salmon – cut into large chunks

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion sliced slowly stirring from time to time until slightly caramelised. This will take 10 to 15 minutes.

Put the ginger, garlic, coconut, tomato and tamarind in a small food processor and blend to a paste.

Add this paste to the caramelised onions together with the turmeric, coriander and chilli. Add the pineapple and 100 ml water.

Bring to a simmer and cook slowly, covered for 15 minutes.

Add salt to the sauce as needed. The sauce can be made in advance up to this point and will benefit from having time for the flavours to develop and meld.

If using fish, add the chunks to the hot sauce and cook for only about 5 minutes until the fish is just done.

If using nuts or paneer, likewise add them to the hot sauce and let them heat through.

I served my dish with plain boiled basmati rice and Carrots and Peas with Fresh Green Coriander.


Malaysian Steamed Fish

25 Sunday Oct 2020

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Sea bass cooked in coconut milk flavoured with ginger, garlic, chilli and tamarind. To accompany the fish I made Rice Noodle with Mushrooms and a Seaweed Salad, I’ll post those recipes to follow.

For 2

2 seabass

peanut oil for frying

4 cloves of garlic – peeled and sliced

piece of fresh ginger – cut into little julienne

1 green and 1 red birds eye chilli – the green finely chopped and the red sliced

1 stick lemon grass – white core only – finely sliced

1/2 onion – sliced

50 ml thin tamarind sauce / tamarind paste in 50 ml boiling water

100 ml coconut milk

1 tablespoon fish sauce Nam Pla

1 tablespoon Ketjap Manis / soy sauce and 1 teaspoon sugar

fresh coriander

Heat the oil in a large shallow pan or wok into which the fish can fit.

Add the ginger and fry for a few minutes until starting to brown.

Add the onion, garlic, chilli and lemon grass. Fry for five to ten minutes to soften.

Now add all the liquids, stir well to blend and bring to a simmer.

Add the fish, cover and turn the heat down. Leave to cook for seven minutes.

Turn the fish over, cook this side for seven minutes.

Serve the fish with the sauce spooned over and garnished with red chilli slices and fresh coriander.