Pollack & Tomato Chowder

*part of the Sizzling Staffordshire menu series*

I love fish soups and chowders. I have a young memory of being on holiday with the family in the Mediterranean and experiencing a variety of fish dishes produced locally on a daily basis. That said I've always loved fish and seafood. I can recall being in a supermarket at a young age and seeing lots of kids in a huff because they wanted a toy and were told no - I was the one in a huff because i couldnt have some cockles.

This recipe combines alot of elements I love about Mediterranean food, whilst utilizing a cheaper but flavoursome sweet tasting fish - Pollack. In some ways its not too dissimilar to bouillibaise, although the fish content is alot different and so is the spice balance. But thats ok, we only need a whiff of something to invoke memory.

It's also rich in protein and low in carbs - a plus for alot of the heatlh conscious eaters.

You will need (serves 4-5):

3tbsp Olive Oil
2 Medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 Celery stalks, trimmed and roughly chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped to same proportions as onions / celery
1 large waxy potato, peeled and roughly chopped
1 red or yellow pepper, de-cored and roughly chopped.
4 sprigs of thyme
2 bay leaves
400g chopped tomatoes. Fresh are better, but cartoned or tinned will suffice (especially if on a budget)
800ml fish or chicken stock
150g french trimmed beans, cut into short lengths
2 courgettes, roughly chopped
500g pollack fillets, deboned and deskinned
generous handful flat leat parsley roughly chopped.

The doing bit:

In a large pan heat the olive oil, add the onions and celery and a pinch of salt and pepper, and cook stirring over medium heat until onions begin to soften. Add the carrots, potatoes,, pepper and herbs. Continue cooking for (roughly) 5 minutes or until potatoes have gone lightly golden.

Add the tomatoes and allow liquid to reduce by about a third. Add the stock, cover and simmer for about 8 minutes until vegetables are tender. Add the green beans and the courgettes, give the mixture a stir and simmer for another 3 mins.

Season the fish with some salt and pepper, then lay them on the vegetables in the pan. Cover and simmer again until the fish has turned white and is just cooked. Gently break the fish into large flakes, and serve immediately.

Devour.

Lemon glazed chicken with chicory, asparagus & spring onion warm salad

This dish is typically a late spring / summer dish. I know its a cardinal sin by posting it now, on the verge of winter, however its too good not to share, and if you can get the ingredients, its a cheeky little uplifting number that wont impact the waistline.

if you're a fan of lemon chicken dishes and are  curbing the calories / carbs then by all means give this a try. It has a lovely balance of protein versus fibre, and also features the wonderful chicory and asparagus. Vitamin power!

As a salad feel free to add many other greens to it such as fennel, baby gem, cos lettuce etc. For more of a larger meal add a couple of bacon rashers to the mix (chopped), or chorizo or salami.

You will need:

1 chicken breast
4 spears asparagus (trimmed). You can keep the ends for soup or similar
1 heart of chicory (washed)
3 spring onions (chopped)
zest and juice 1 lemon
50 ml water
1/2 crumbled chicken stock cube or similar
tsp sweetener or sugar.
2 tbsp olive oil for dressing.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 200C

In a frying pan add a little oil (or none if the breast has skin on). If there is a skin add it to the pan skin side down first. When one side is coloured flip over the chicken and add the pan to the oven. If the pan doesnt allow oven use, use a baking tray or roasting tin.

While the chicken is cooking seperate the leaves of the chicory and add to mixing bowl. Sprinkle in the spring onions and move gently together until salad has become uniform.  Feel free to add any fresh herbs you wish to the pan along with the chicken (rosemary, sage and thyme are ideal). If you are going to use a deliacte herb such as parsley, dill, basil, or fennel, we will wait and add them later.

In a saucepan combine water and sugar / sweetener and bring to the boil. Allow to reduce to a syrup then add the stock and zest of lemon and juice. Allow to reduce on a simmer to thicken and keep warm.

When the chicken is almost ready add the asparagus to the pan with the chicken and return to the oven. When the chicken is cooked the asparagus should have griddled sufficiently. Check how tender it is. if it needs further development return it to the oven whilst you are busying yourself with the next bit.

Add any delicate herbs you wish to use at this point such as parsley, dill, basil, tarragon etc, then drizzle a bit of the lemon liqour over the leaf and spring onion mix, with the olive oil. Add the asparagus when ready then layer in salad bowl. Serve the chicken on top and drizzle further with the lemon liquid. Serve immediately

Devour!

Winter Lamb Stew with flax focaccia (and dumplings)

It is monday, its cold outside and it feels like winter. Whilst toying with the idea of what to make for dinner later i'm heavily torn towards something hearty, be it a roast dinner, something spicy like a curry or a chilli, and then it hit me - what could be better than a lovely stew?

Upon deciding on a lamb stew (as i could get lamb stewing meat quite cheaply), I incorporated getting various bits and bobs into the days errands. No stew is complete without something to mop up with also, and as a result I decided to try out a recipe for flaxmeal foaccacia. A lovely pan style flatbread :).

The following recipe isn't all that glamourous or complex, in fact it couldn't be simpler in all honesty. They key element is to just do things in stages. it pays abeyance to the french adoption of mirepoix (the holy trinity of onion, carrots and celery) whilst adding sweetness from parsnips and Swedish turnip. You'll need a slow cooker or a cool oven (about 150-C). Slow cooker i would favour here because of their minimal power usage. But if you have other stuff to be going in and out of the oven for the day, you might favour the oven. I just dont favour the high fuel bills.

Note: I was carefully supervised by the feline.

You will need:

About 6 small onions or 3 large ones (red)

3 stalks of celery

5 medium carrots

1 swedish turnip

1 parsnip.

handful of fresh rosemary.

glass of port.

750g stewing lamb

1/4 bulb of fennel

Couple of handfuls of closed cup mushrooms

1.5 litres of beef, chicken, veal or lamb stock (you choose)

For the foccacia please click here for the recipe I followed. It turned out like this:

Prep:

For the dumplings:

4 oz/ 100g self raising flour

2 oz / 50g shredded suet

In a large baking bowl mix the flour with the suet and a pinch of salt. Add 3 tbsp cold water and stir. If the dough is dry add more water until you have a soft, slightly sticky dough.

Divide the dough into 8 and shape into balls with floured hands. Leave to one side.

Chop the onions into a fine dice (about 1/2 cm). Do the same with the carrots, the celery and the fennel. Slice the mushrooms into a julienne thickness.

 


Saute the vegetables & mushrooms off in a pan until they begin to soften, but leave half of the onions behind. We are going to use them in a little while with the meat.

note that once again the carrot and parsnip peel was much enjoyed by the rabbit - here he is again looking approvingly :)

Peel and chop the swede and the parsnip and add to the slow cooker or casserole dish - they can develop on their own and wont need any coaxing. Add the vegetables to the slow cooker or casserole dish, with the rosemary.

Dice the lamb (if required) then sear in the pan with the remaining onions. Once the onions begin to soften and the lamb has begun to brown add the port and reduce the liquid by half. Add the meat and liquid to the casserole dish or slow cooker.


Add the stock, switch slow cooker on for about 3 hours, the same for a casserole dish at about 140 / 150C.

After the stew has cooked for 3 hours, remove the lid, check the seasoning and add salt or pepper to taste, then add the dumplings, cover with the lid and cook for a further 20 minutes. Serve hot.

It should turn out like this:

Enjoy! :D