Recipe: ultimate fish pie

There are recipes that evolve - I start making one recipe, but as I make it over and over again, I realise that I've moved away from the original ingredients and have ended up with a basically new recipe.  

Not this one.  While I tried to move away from my original fish pie recipe, it's never tasted as good as the first one, so at some point I stopped trying to vary it and just stuck with the good old ingredients.  A fish pie, by nature, is one of the more comforting foods available and this one has been a staple in my diet for many, many years!

My favourite Fish pie

inspired from Jamie Oliver

700gr firm white fish, cooked

3 handfuls spinach,  cooked

2 boiled eggs, cut in quarters

2 large potatoes, boiled and mashed with milk

for the sauce:

1 carrot

1 onion

500ml single cream

2 handfuls shredded cheese

1 tsp grainy mustard

juice from 1/2 lemon

salt/pepper/persil

Print recipe

Preheat oven at 210 C.  Make the sauce:  finely chop carrot and onion, fry over medium heat in a tsp of olive oil.  Add cream, let it cook for about 1 minute.  Remove from heat, add remaining ingredients.  In a large dish, start layering in this order:  fish, spinach, eggs.  Cover with sauce and top everything with the mashed potatoes.  Bake for about 25 minutes.  Leave to cool slightly and try not to eat the whole dish!

This post is my entry into Weekend Cooking, a weekly event hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

Recipe: Southern Sisters recipes

A while back, I read Anne George's Murder Runs in the Family, a Southern Sisters mystery.  I was immediately hooked to that book not only because it is a rather interesting whodunnit, but also because it has wonderful twists everywhere: right between the shootings, the suicides and the murders, there would be cooking! 

I was really intrigued with this ability of the characters to maintain balance in life:  yes, there are serious things happening in their lives, they get to pursue dangerous criminals, they even risk their own lives at times.  Still, man has to eat:  food is  one of life's most pleasant delights, and the Southern Sisters make full use of this.  There are several dishes described in the book that make their days even better than they are with all the excitement.  I had an epiphany:  I would try some of these recipes myself.  I had not yet cooked any Southern cuisine, so, what better excuse than this book to inspire me?

Weekend cooking: Baked fish sticks

Like many children, one of my favourite moments in my mother's kitchen when growing up were the (ready-purchased, frozen) fish sticks.  A novelty at the time, it entailed all things good and healthy and tasty in my mind. The fact that they were deep-fried only served as the added bonus for being a good child...

Fast forward to present day, when I realise that I haven't had fish sticks for some decades, because: a. I'm not thrilled by deep-frying anything, b.  when frozen meat/fish is already covered in "breadcrumbs", I cannot see what the original looks like, and I do want to see the quality... c.  the end result more often than not has deceived me in the taste department.

Enter my friend Jessi (check out her great blog!), who - being the investigative mind - has looked around and come up with a great recipe for home-made baked fish sticks.  What a great invention!  I copied her recipe, made some changes (of course...) and I am thrilled to say I am happy again, like a child, to taste the fish sticks from so long ago...

Weekend cooking - salmon and zucchini tart

I try to find inspiration for my cooking from all sorts of occasions:  a good meal at a restaurant, an open market with fresh produce, or, again, a tart from the famous Les Tartes de Françoise in Brussels, devoured at a friend's house.

The "innovative" aspect in this tart, was the combination of salmon and zucchini, which, together with the creamy egg mixture, rendered it mouthwatering, and - believe me - not heavy at all.  In addition, given that salmon not really "fishy" is, this tart can provide an excellent alternative to the meaty varieties.  New challenge ahead:  try to make it myself!  After a few tries (I mean, how difficult is it to mix salmon and zucchini), I had a new recipe under my belt!

Salmon and zucchini tart

Salmon and zucchini tart

1 pack (230g) puff pastry (I use all butter)

600g zucchini, grated 

1 small red onion, finely chopped

500g fresh salmon 

juice from half a lemon

50g cheddar cheese, grated

4 eggs, medium

250g single cream

1 tbsp corn flour

Dill, to serve

In medium-high heat, slightly fry zucchini and onion, until most of the water is evaporated.  Season and leave to cool.  Wash salmon, cut in smallish cubes, sprinkle with lemon juice.  Beat eggs with cream and cheese, season well. Lay pastry in a 26cm round pie form, sprinkle with corn flour, so the base doesn't get soggy.  Now, you can either lay zucchini and salmon first and pour the egg and cheese mixture on top, or, as I do, mix everything together and pour at once!!! (I never said I was conventional..).  Bake at 180^oC for about 40 minutes. Sprinkle with dill and serve - enjoy!

This post is my entry into Weekend Cooking, a weekly event hosted by Beth Fish Reads.

Weekend cooking - tuna pasta sauce

There's no lying about it - when in a hurry, the only thing that I can manage to cook and to feed people is pasta.  And while I make batches of bolognese sauce to freeze, or keep portion-size batches of bacon ready for my carbonara, I do want to have some variety in my pasta sauce - even when I'm starving and have to eat NOW. 

I've always enjoyed tuna pasta sauce but until recently had not succeeded in getting a substantial one, something that will cover my pasta nicely and give me all the comfort I need.  Until this one, that is, which was tried and tested several times to get it right.  It's not a light sauce, so not for every day consumption, but it is super-quick and easy - and I guarantee it will provide shelter from whatever ailment you have...

Tuna pasta sauce

1 small shallot, finely chopped

70gr each plain and herb cream cheese spread

100gr cooking cream

130gr tinned tuna, broken up in small pieces

parsley, to serve

In medium heat, slightly brown the shallot in some butter.  Add cream cheeses and cream.  Stir and add tuna.  Stir again, add salt/pepper to taste. Just before serving, add the parsley.  I used spaghetti, but pappardelle would also be great in this sauce.  It will normally serve 2 people, but my latest experience showed that it is actually for 1 1/4  hungry people...    

This post is my entry into Weekend Cooking, a weekly event hosted by Beth Fish Reads.