Eats/Reads

My family got really sick of grilled trout so this is what I did with it last night. Yum. Easier than I thought fish pie would be. Can use onions or shallots instead of leeks, and garlic is always welcome in that mixture. 600g trout skinless and boneless 400ml milk 1 bay leaf A few black peppercorns 3 leeks finely sliced 1 tbsp olive oil 5 large potatoes Milk and butter for mashed potatoes Flat leaf parsley 50g Butter 50g Flour 4 tbsp parmesan 1. Lightly poach 600g of skinless and boneless trout fillet in 400ml of milk (can add 1 bay leaf and some peppercorns, then strain before making sauce). 2. Meanwhile saute chopped leeks (or onion and/or garlic) in 1 tbsp of olive oil 3. Drain the trout and use the poaching milk to make a white sauce with 50g butter and 50g flour 4.Combine the flaked fish with the leeks, white sauce and 2 tbsp of chopped parsley and season 5. Place in an ovenproof dish and cover with potatoes, mashed with butter and milk. 6. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and cook...

I got some sardines at the farmer's market because they were cheap and looked nice and fresh. SWC said he'd never had sardines he liked so I took it as a challenge to make these really tasty. Result: I thought they were amazing: moist, flavourful and crispy. SWC agreed on the taste but had a hard time with the bones, which I barely noticed. The original recipe called for cumin in the flour but I was hoping the toddler might eat these too so I left that out. She didn't go for them in the end - might try spicing up the flour next time. Handful of fresh parsley, chopped fine 4-6 garlic cloves, chopped fine 6 sardines, prepared Half a lemon About 1/2 cup plain flour Vegetable oil Salt Freshly ground black pepper Chop the parsley and garlic and mix together in a bowl. Then spread the mixture all over the sardines - inside and out. Lay the fish out on a plate, squeeze some lemon juice over them, then wrap in plastic and refrigerate for about two hours. Place the flour, salt and p...

We thought we had absolutely nothing to eat in the house - and then we realised we had the ingredients for tuna casserole. Not exactly the most sophisticated dish but this is a tasty version - with, notably, no canned cream of mushroom soup (which about 99.9 per cent of the recipes we found online called for). The toddler was a bit suspicious of it but in the end ate several pieces of fusilli and a couple handfuls of the meat and sauce, once we separated them for her. If you don't have kids, add some dry white wine or sherry in the sauce and double or triple the garlic. Next time we'll try putting bread crumbs on top, under the grated cheese. 1 pound fusilli 2 tbsp olive oil 2 onions, chopped 4 cloves garlic, chopped 1/2 pound mushrooms, sliced 300 g tinned tuna 1 cup frozen peas 6 tbsp butter 6 tbsp flour 3 cups milk 1/4 pound grated cheddar cheese Cheddar Parmesan Melt the butter, then stir in the flour. Slowly add the 6 cups milk on low to medium heat, stirring constantly. Y...

Wild Boar Korma Curry Notes: This was good but next time, more fresh garlic and ginger. The paste isn't that zesty. And add chilis or chili sauce at the table (didn't add chilis because sharing with toddler). 2 Tbsp oil 1 onion, chopped 6 mushrooms, sliced 3 Tbsp korma paste 1/2 c yogurt 1/2 c milk 1/4 c water 400 g wild boar 4 dried apricots, chopped 1 cup peas About half a ripe mango, chopped. Saute onion and mushroom in oil until soft. Add korma paste and cook for 1 minute. Add milk, yogurt and water. Add boar and apricots. Bring to simmer, cover and cook about 1 to 1.5 hours, until boar is soft. Mix in peas and mango. Cook about 5 minutes until peas are done. Serve with rice or noodles. -- 15/2/10: Finally got this right! Yummy Fish Korma Curry. 1 onion, chopped 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 inch fresh ginger, minced 3 Tbsp korma paste 3 mushroom, sliced 1 tin coconut milk 1/4 c plain yogurt One large fillet pollock, cut into large chunks (10-12 ounces) 1/2 cup fresh mango, d...

This was the result of banging together what we happened to have in the fridge, rather than buying ingredients on purpose. The result was quite tasty. Notes: It was a little light on sauce, and the sauce might have been better with some lime juice. Also next time, dress the lettuce lightly too. 400g grilled salmon, flaked 2 small carrots, grated 4 scallions, chopped Fresh basil and mint, chopped About 1/4 mango, in small cubes 1 head of lettuce sauce: 1 tbsp fish sauce 1 tbsp light soy sauce 1 tbsp rice wine vinegar 1 tbsp brown sugar 1 tsp toasted sesame oil 1 chili, minced Thai jasmine rice Mix the salad ingredients together. Mix the sauce ingredients together. Then mix the sauce with the salad. Make a bed of lettuce on a plate, put the hot rice on top, then put the salad on top of the rice.

This is basically a Jamie Oliver recipe, from his first cookbook, "The Naked Chef" - long before he was so terribly overexposed. I didn't have the coriander seeds he called for and I used a lot more garlic. Also I used fresh chili not dried. It was tasty! Next time: See if I can create a crispier crust by heating up the pan more. 1 clove garlic 1/4 fresh red chili 3-4 large fresh basil leaves small handful fresh cilantro juice of 1/4 lemon salt and pepper 8 oz tuna steak Chop up the first four ingredients until they're very fine (or mash them in a mortar and pestle). Add the lemon, mix, then season to taste. Heat up an iron skillet or grill pan until it's very, very hot. Put in just a bit of oil and spread it thin. Heat more. Spread the herbs and spices on both sides of the tuna steak. Throw the fish into the hot pan. Cook one minute on each side. Remove from pan, slice into thin pieces. We served it over leek/tomato fried rice, and with a side of creamed spinach.

This recipe is nothing fancy but it's tasty and flexible, depending on what you have on hand. It is inspired by an Annabel Karmel recipe for kids but altered a bit. It can be fed to toddlers (my daughter loves it) or to adults. It served as the basis for our first 'family meal' - where all three of us ate the same dish. Imagine! If you don't have courgette (zucchini to you Americans) or celery, you can substitute another type of squash, or potato, or just use more carrot and onion. You could add a clove or two of garlic if your toddler is willing. If you don't have tuna, you can use ground beef, or make it veggie, or add some grated cheese before serving for extra protein and fat. You could probably also use flaked salmon or trout, or perhaps even chicken, but I haven't tried those yet. Let me know how it goes if you do! 6 Tbsp olive oil 1 small onion, chopped 1 small or medium carrot, chopped 1 stick celery, chopped 1 small courgette, chopped 2 400g/14 oz tins...