Mexican spiced fish with capsicum salsa and baked potatoes

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 fillets of fish (1245g-200g) I have used orange roughy here

Mexican spice mix (recipe below)

4 x 150g potatoes, scrubbed of dirt

Crème fraiche/sour cream and chives as an option to put on the baked potatoes

Method

Dry the potatoes and rub with oil and salt. Make at 180 c for 1 hour. To check if the potato is cooked you can pierce with a small knife -it should easily go through. To serve do a criss cross cut on the top and squeeze the bottom to spread out the potato, top with sour cream and chive or butter and salt.

Sprinkle over some spice mix on each piece of fish, I tend to use less on the kids fish.

Heat a little oil and butter in a large pan and cook your fish, thin fish will only take 1-2 minutes each side, thicker fish will take longer, it is done when the fish flakes easily.

Serve you fish with your capsicum salsa and baked potato- I also had a handful of rocket under the salsa.

Capsicum, tomato and avocado salsa

Serve 4-6

Ingredients

½ a red yellow, red, and green capsicum, chopped 1 cm dice

 2 tomatoes, diced

1 lebanese cucumber, diced

1 avocado, stone taken out and diced

½ red onion, fine dice

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Optional chopped coriander

Salt and pepper

Method

Put everything in a bowl and mix to combine.

Mexican Spice Mix

This can be used for taco, burritos, as a rub or a marinade for various meats such as beef, chicken and prawns. Use as a base for a slow cooked casserole; add some tomatoes, some stock and serve with salsa, avocado, sour cream, coriander etc…

Ingredients

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp ground coriander seeds

1 tbsp mild paprika

1 tsp dried oregano

½ tsp garlic powder

½ tsp chilli powder (optional)

Method

Mix altogether and store in an airtight container.

Tandoori fish curry

Ingredients

4 fillets of fish

2 tsp each of finely chopped fresh garlic, ginger and turmeric (optional chilli)

1 x 270ml of coconut milk

1 tbsp of tandoori spice mix

Method

In a large pan or wok, heat a little oil on a medium heat and fry off your garlic, ginger and turmeric (optional chilli) Cook for 30 seconds and then add your spice mix and cook for a few seconds more until fragrant. Should smell pretty good right now!

Then add you fish and push down, add a little water if it is too thick. Simmer for 5-8 minutes, this will depend on the thickness of your fish. It should flake easily when done.

Serve with brown rice or basmati rice. I also had with steamed cauliflower, broccoli and green beans.

Tandoori spice rub

Makes 1/3 cup

Use this for beef, lamb or prawns

Ingredients

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons garam masala

2 teaspoons ground ginger

2 teaspoons paprika

2 teaspoons turmeric

1 teaspoon ground cardamom

1 teaspoon salt

1 ½ teaspoons white pepper

½ teaspoon cayenne or chilli powder

Method

Mix together and store in an airtight container.

Panko and sesame crumbed fish with basil, parsley and lime salsa verde

- Salsa Verde is a beautiful, tangy, tasty sauce and a great way to use up your basil and parsley!

500-600g fish- I have use snapper, slice into large slices

You need 2 plates and 1 bowl plus another plate to put your fish on when crumbed

On one plate put about ¼ cup of corn flour and season it with salt and pepper

In the bowl put in 1 beaten egg

On the other plate put about ½ cup or so of panko crumbs and 2 tsp each of white and black sesame seeds, you could leave the sesame out if you wanted. You can use gluten free crumbs as well.

Dredge your fish in the flour, shake off the excess, then put in the egg and then the crumbs. Continue until all the fish is used and place on a plate and put into the fridge until needed.

In a large pan cover the bottom of the pan with oil, heat up and then when hot cook your fish until golden brown on each side. The thinner the fish the shorter the cooking time. Cook on a medium heat you don’t want the outside burnt and fish raw!

Serve up with basil, parsley and lime salsa Verde and vegetables. I used steamed carrots, beans and asparagus.

Basil, parsley and lime salsa verde

Ingredients

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Juice and zest from 2 limes (you could use 1 big lemon instead)

1 cup lightly packed basil leaves, roughly chopped

1 cup lightly packed flat-leaf parsley leaves

2 tablespoons capers

2 anchovy fillets

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

Salt

Method

You can either chop everything by hand and then mix the oil and juice through, or you can use a food processors and blitz together. Store the rest in the fridge. You can use this as a salad dressing, mix through some cannellini beans and salad, serve with grilled chicken or fish.

Asian stir fried snapper with wombok, mushrooms and greens

Feel free to use any combination of vegetable you like, anything you have in the fridge that you want to use up. Make sure you add in leafy greens near the end of the cooking time.

Serves 4

Ingredients

600g snapper, cut into 2 cm chunks- you need to use a firm fish or it will fall apart. If you do not use a firm fish you can panfry in whole fillets and not stir fry

¼ cup of oyster sauce

2 tbsp tamari or soy sauce

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2-3 tsp finely chopped turmeric

2-3 tsp finely chopped ginger ( you can blitz the garlic, turmeric and ginger together in a little food processor)

¼ of a wombok (Chinese cabbage), chopped

300g mushrooms, sliced, feel free to use exotic mushrooms like shitake, enoki black fungus etc

3 stalks of celery

1 bunch of asparagus, woody ends trimmed and cut into 3 on an angle

1 bunch broccolini, chopped into 3

2 small zucchinis, sliced thin on an angle

Method

Put the fish, garlic, ginger, turmeric, tamari and oyster sauce in a bowl, set aside.

In a large pan or wok heat some oil and panfry your fish for 2-3 minutes or until its cooked, it will continue to cook through with the residual heat. Wash the bowl out and use that bowl to put your cooked fish into. Cover the bowl. Rinse the pan out to reuse.

In your large pan or wok heat some oil and add your zucchini, broccolini, celery and asparagus, Stir fry for 3-4 minutes on a high heat and then add in the mushrooms, cook another minute and then add the wombok, cook until just wilted.

Serve up vegetables with some soba noodles or some rice. Put your fish on top on your vegetables, you can garnish with some chilli if you like. Any juice that came out the fish you can pour over your meal.

Thai red fish curry

Ingredients

1.5 tsp coriander seeds/ 1 tsp cumin seeds, dry fry in a pan to toast

1.5 tbsp ginger or galangal

1 tbsp fresh turmeric

4-5 cloves of garlic

¼ tsp white pepper

5 lime leaves or the zest of one lime, you can get lime leaves in the herb section at the supermarket

1 stem lemongrass, white part only, you can get this in the herb section at the supermarket

1-2 tsp shrimp paste, dry toasted a little in a pan until fragrant

1 red capsicum, if you do chilli you can use some red chilli in there too. You can also use green or yellow capsicum.

Method

Blend up everything to make a smooth paste. Add a little oil if you need to.

On a low heat, large pan fry off your paste until fragrant, about 1-2 minutes.

Add 1x 270ml can coconut cream. Add ¾ pack of Thai basil leaves (you can get these at the supermarket)

Reduce for a few minutes until nice and thick. Place 500-700g white fish. Simmer until the fish flakes easily- this is about 5-8 minutes depending on the thickness of the fish. You can also use salmon or prawns. Now to balance the flavours by adding some fish sauce, some palm or coconut sugar and a squeeze of lime or lemon juice.

If you want to use chicken thighs or beef you can do that too, you will need to adjust the time as chicken will take longer, add more water or coconut cream if you need it beef strips would be quick though. This would make a great slow cooker dish, just cook off the paste, add the coconut cream and water and put the meat and curry in the slow cooker for the day.

I have served with a turmeric and lemon rice plus stirfry veg of carrot, capsicum, green beans and asian veg. For the garnish in a small pot put some oil in the bottom, when hot throw in the rest of your thai basil leaves and some sliced chilli. They will sizzle. After 1 minute take out and set aside, your basil will be crispy.

Baked fish with chili coconut, lemongrass, lime and kale.

Melt some butter and olive oil (about 3 tbsp altogether) in a small pot

In a large pan put half the butter mix and cook a bunch of chopped kale, add 1/2-1 stem finely chopped lemongrass (white part only as the outside leaves are tough) and 2-3 cloves of crushed garlic. Cook for 3 minutes or until wilted. Then add a 270ml can of coconut cream (I use ayam brand) heat through and season well with salt.

In a baking dish put your kale mix on the bottom and top with 4-6 fillets of fish (I have used some wild caught NZ blue grenadier). Then on top of your fish place some slices of lime and chilli. I leave the chilli off the kid's fish. Season well- I have used Jamie Oliver’s thyme, lemon and bay salt but you can just use salt and pepper. Bake at 200c for 15-20 minutes. It’s done when you can flake it easy, yours may take a little less or more depending on the thickness of your fish! Pour any extra sauce on the bottom of the dish over your veg and fish.

I served up with some steamed carrots and broccoli.

Korma fish and bean sausages

Serves 4

 

Ingredients

500g fish fillets- take half the fish and just finely chop to keep some texture.

1-2 tbsp korma paste paste, or store brought

200g green beans, top and tailed sliced as thin as you can

Method

Put half the fish in a food processor, add your paste and blend until smooth. Put in a bowl add your beans and the chopped fish. Shape into 8 sausages and put in the fridge until you are ready to cook them, they hold together better if you put them in the fridge first. Cook in a pan on a medium heat in some coconut oil/ghee and cook for 10 minutes turning regularly. Serve this with some cucumber/garlic yoghurt sauce and roasted cauliflower and broccoli tossed in some korma paste