Spanish Fish Stew

Sorry to everyone who reads this blog, as there were no new posts for a few weeks? The reason behind this is due to the fact that I was unwell. I managed to catch Swine Flu from someone in my work and it basically floored me for over a week. But I am back at work now and feeling much better.


I have been trying to think of some good recipes to add to the blog, but can never think of any, then it comes to me usually when I have to make dinner and open the fridge to see what we have, and that’s how this dish came about. It was a Thu night and we do not do our shopping until a Friday, so the cupboard was a little Mother Hubbard. We had some frozen fish and that got me thinking about a dish my wife and I had in Spain.

Spanish Fish Stew

Ingredients
500g of mixed fish. (Best to use a mix of smoked fish, white fish prawns and some shell fish; to be honest any fish will work with this)
2 tins of chopped tomatoes
2 cloves of Garlic crushed or finely chopped
2 heaped teaspoons of Smoked Paprika
A good handful of chopped basil and parsley
A little corn flour mixed with water to thicken the sauce.
2 table spoons of lemon juice
½ a teaspoon of Tabasco sauce

Method: -
1 – Take the garlic, tins of tomatoes and add to large saucepan or cast iron casserole dish, and heat over a medium heat until the tomatoes are simmering.

2 – Add the chopped basil and parsley, and reduce to half

3 – Add the paprika lemon juice and Tabasco sauce.

4 – Turn down the heat to low and add the fish, and the corn flour if required.

5 – Let the fish cook for about 10 mins on low or until the fish is cooked, and try not to stir the dish as this will break up all the fish.

6 – Now serve in a bowl with some crusty bread.

This is a great winter meal as it is warming and the taste is really great with the smoked paprika. Simple but yet so delicious.

Baked Cod (Can be made with any white fish)

This is an easy and quick dish that can be made with nearly any white fish. I prefer to use cod as it is meatier, but anything can be used. I have made this dish using a number of variations such as missing out the pesto and even replacing the pesto for a ricota and spinich mix.


What you need: -
2 fillets of Cod, or any white fish
6 slices of parma ham, pancetta or any thinly sliced continental ham
green or red pesto - dependent on your tastes.


Method: -

1 - Place two slices of the ham side by side and spread pesto on the ham.

2 - Place the Cod fillet onto the ham and spread pesto on top of the fish.

3 - Roll up the ham to encase the fish.

4 - Use one more slice of ham to cover the top of the fish.

5 - Place the fish on a baking tray and bake in the oven at Gas Mark 5, 375°F, 191° deg C for about twenty mins or until the ham starts to crispen up

6 - Remove and serve with some roast veg.



The idea is to wrap the fish up into little parcels using the ham as the wrapping paper if you like. The pesto then cooks into the fish and gives it a fantastic flavour, and also keeps the fish moist and seals in the flavours.

Balmoral Chicken

This is one of my favourite dishes. It's easy and tastes great.

Ingedients: -

4 chicken Breasts
1 haggis
8-12 rashers of smoked Bacon

Method -
1 - Preheat oven to Gas mark 5 / 190 deg C

2 - Take a chicken breast and butterfly it (start to cut it through the middle, halving it through the widest point. Do not completely cut it all the way through, and then open it up like a butterfly)

3 - Take some of the haggis and place it in the centre opened part of the chicken. The haggis is used as a sort of stuffing.

4 - Fold the chicken back, with the haggis in the centre, then wrap the bacon rashers round the chicken to enclose the haggis inside. tie with a little string if necessary.

5 - Repeat steps 1 to 4 with all breasts, then place on a backing tray and place in the oven for half an hour to 45 mins, or until the chicken is nearly cooked. the legth of time really depends on how big the chicken breasts are.



6 - Turn the oven up to Gas mark 7 / 200 deg C for 5-10 Min's to crisp up the bacon.



7 - Remove from the oven, cut in half showing the haggis in the middle, and serve with veg and boiled new potatos.



This dish goes really well with a whiskey cream sauce.


To make the sauce you need
200 ml double cream
100ml of whiskey
A knob of butter
Salt and pepper to season
1 tea spoon of chicken gravy granules


Method: -


1 - Take the whiskey and put into a small pan. A small frying pan is best.
2 – Warm the whiskey then light it to burn off the alcohol.
3 – Add the cream and butter
4 – Season with salt and a good but of black pepper.
5 – Add a the gravy granules and stir in

Pour the sauce over the Chicken Balmoral, it complements it perfectly.

The Best Pasta Sauce in the world

I learned how to make this when I was in Italy on holiday in the alps and it has never let me down yet. I had a bad fall and could not snowboard so spent time with the chef in the hotel, who taught me how to make a few things and this was one of them. it is easy and tastes fantastic.



You need.
about 50g of panchetta, smoked bacon or ham

1 Tin of chopped tomatoes.

3 cloves of Garlic, chopped

Olive Oil

125 ml Double Cream

A handful of sliced mushrooms

A handful of basil and parsley, chopped

Some Parmesan Cheese.



Method

1 - Take the panchetta and fry off in a little Olive oil until brown and crispy.

2 - Remove panchetta from the pan and put in a bowl. leave the oil and juices from the panchetta in the pan and empty in the chopped garlic and the tomatoes into the pan and reduce down on a medium heat for about 30 mins. Until the sauce has reduced by 1 quarter.

3 - Add the mushrooms and the cream, then as the mushrooms soften add the basil and the parsley and stir together.

4 - Finally add the Panchetta / Ham and add the Parmesan to your own taste.



The sauce is now ready to be tossed with whatever pasta you like. there is enough sauce for 4 people with pasta.



Enjoy as this is one of the best pasta dishes I have ever made.