Category: Fish

Individual #Fish and #prawn #pies with #puff pastry

These fish pies are great if you are on a low carb diet like we are at the moment. There are lots of different versions online including a weight watchers version but most of them have potatoes in them or potato mash as the topping.

My version combines the best of both worlds and I think it is as tasty as you can get without the potatoes but keeps the cream and milk to make a lovely roux and resulting sauce.

Preparation time: 30 minutes cooking time: 20 minute

Ingredients:

  • 400g monkfish or other firm white fish chopped into chunks
  • 6 green prawns peeled and chopped into 3 or 4 pieces each
  • 100g hot smoked salmon or trout or smoked haddock
  • 200ml of milk
  • 2 tablespoons white wine
  • 50ml cream
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 stalks of dill with friends removed and finely chopped
  • 2 stalks of parsley, leaves removed and finely chopped
  • 1/4 cup of finely sliced leek
  • 15g butter
  • 2 tablespoons of flour
  • 1 sheet of bought puff pastry
  • Beaten egg to brush pastry
  • Salt and black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp Dijon mustard400g blue eye cod or other firm white fish

Method:

Remove a sheet of puff pastry from the freezer to defrost.

Place the monkfish and prawns (not the hot smoked fish) in a small pot and cover with milk, add bay leaves and bring to a light rolling boil, then reduce heat and allow fish and prawns to poach in milk for 2 minutes. Remove fish and prawns from the milk with a slotted spoon and place into a seperate bowl.

Strain the milk through a sieve and reserve.

In a seperate non-stick pan, melt the butter and add leek and cook slowly until well softened.

Add the flour gradually and stir constantly to form a roux, and cook for a minute until flour is “cooked out”.

Add milk and wine to the roux gradually and whisk to form a smooth sauce.

Add mustard, salt and pepper to taste and mix through sauce.

Then add the cream and mix through.

Add fish, prawns and hot smoked salmon and allow the mixture to cool.

Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celcius

Put cooled fish mixture, focus on getting as much of the fish and prawns rather than all the sauce, into 3 small ramekins and then cover the ramekins with round of puff pastry cut to slightly larger rounds than the tops of the ramekins. (You might end up with a bit extra sauce leftover) Decorate with some of the leftover pastry and make a small hole in the middle of each to allow steam to escape.

Brush the puff pastry with the beaten egg and place in the oven on a foil lined baking tray for 15-20 minutes until pastry is golden and puffed.

Allow to cool for a few minutes before serving with a green salad on the side.

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Shedding new light on modern Australian dining #Lamshed #canberra

Brilliant dinner at Lamshed in Canberra on Friday night. Waiter suggested AUD$45pp shared plates but we got to choose what we wanted from the menu.

Started with fennel cured kingfish with orange, tarragon and lightly pickled fennel. The combination of flavours was perfect. This was followed by Sweet potato “schnitzel” with tzatziki…the sweet potato was crumbs and deep fried but the cool yoghurt cucumber tzatziki made it all feel healthy and fresh!

The wine list is excellent and we enjoyed a beautiful Rose and moving to an Albariño as we progressed through the various dishes.

One of the specials was the slow cooked lamb neck perfectly spiced with what tasted like all-spice and wrapped into cabbage rolls and garnished with dill. Another special was pan-fried fish of the day with a sweet pea puréed sauce, peas and pea tendrils.

The eggplant tempura with white miso was divine as was the the pressed oxtail, celeriac and fregola.

Every course was an imaginative combination of ingredients and flavours delivering an overall excellent dining experience.

We finished the meal with cheese and a bottle of 2015 Campbell’s of Rutherglen Durif.

The restaurant that is in Yarralumla is minimalist but warm and the open kitchen adds a buzz of activity and atmosphere to the dining room.

We went with a party of 6 which was great for trying lots of dishes.

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#Canellini beans with garlic, chilli and olives with pan fried #salmon.

A yummy and quick side to go with easy pan fried salmon. Served in a bed of fresh baby spinach. Healthy, nutritious, using mainly items you probably have in your pantry.

Prep time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
2 boneless salmon fillets with skin on
1 can of canellini or white beans
1 ripe tomato chopped into large chunks
1 small onion diced
2 red chillies chopped
3 cloves of garlic pounded into a paste with a good pinch of salt
6 green olives roughly chopped
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 lemon juiced
3 large handfuls of baby spinach leaves
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in pan over medium heat, add crushed garlic to flavour oil, then add onions, and allow to simmer gently, add tomato chunks, olives and chillies, allow to simmer for 2-3 minutes.

Add canellini beans, half a cup white wine and simmer until wine is reduced and a thickish sauce. Turn off heat, cover and set aside.

Smother the salmon in the other 2 tablespoons of oil.

Heat a seperate non-stick pan, then place salmon fillets face down and cook on medium high heat until sealed an browned on flesh side, then add knob of butter and then over to cook skin side down for 5 minutes or so until skin is crispy and salmon is cooked to your liking.

Plate a bed of spinach leaves on plate.

Return beans to heat, add lemon juice and reheat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Place 3-4 tablespoons of the bean mixture on top of the spinach, put salmon on the side and serve.

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#Quick Fish Curry with #Tamarind

This recipe is for my friend Jennifer who especially asked for a fish curry recipe using Tamarind and no fenugreek. The use of tamarind in fish and seafood curries is traditional in South Indian curries and adds a beautiful tangy flavour.

Tamarind has all sorts of health benefits and is rich in many nutrients. This is a good link for more info https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/tamarind#section4

I keep a block of pressed tamarind handy in the fridge but sometimes use concentrate. If using pressed tamarind then slice off a thick bit and steep in boiling water and using gloves rub the skin and pulp off the seeds, the resulting mixture looks brown and murky but adds delicious flavour to the curry.

Some curries use a lot more tamarind for a dark, rich sauce but this one is quick and lighter.

Prep time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
2 thick boneless fillets of monkfish or similar meaty white fish, cut into medium size pieces (about 500g)
1 large onion diced
2 large ripe tomatoes diced
3 cloves garlic and equal fresh ginger pound to a paste
Handful of fresh curry leaves (optional)
1/2 stick of cinnamon bark (optional)
1 teaspoon cummin seeds
2-3 fresh chillies tops sliced off, left whole (optional)
Thick “slice” of tamarind or 1 teaspoon tamarind concentrate
1 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 to 1 teaspoon chilli powder depending on your taste
1/2 teaspoon fennel powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Coriander to garnish

Method

Steep tamarind in 1/2 cup boiling water whilst preparing other ingredients, or mix tamarind concentrate with 1/2 cup of boiling water and set aside.

Heat oil in heavy based pot over medium heat

Add cummin seeds, cinnamon bark, curry leaves and green chillies if using until spluttering stops.

Add onions and cook slowly over medium heat until transparent, stirring from time to time to prevent caramelisation.

(if using block tamarind ….While onions are cooking, rub tamarind to seperate and remove any seeds from mixture, strain and set aside tamarind juice. You can use the pulp as well but make sure it has no seeds left in it.)

Add ginger and garlic, mix through into onions until just heated.

Add turmeric, chilli powder and fennel powder and mix through onions, taking care not to burn spices

Immediately add tomatoes, salt and mix well, cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring to prevent sticking to the bottom

Add the tamarind water mixture and bring to a bubble.

Add fish and another half cup of water to bring sauce up to sides of fish.

Cook for 5-8 minutes on a slow simmer until sauce is reduced and fish is cooked to your liking, turn fish during cooking so both sides are coated in sauce.

Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with rice.

This curry is delicious with Indian Spicy Mint and Coriander Chutney on the side.

Shanthini3 Comments

Pan-fried #Spicy #salmon fillets with #butter

I love these salmon steaks, marinated in Indian spices then pan fried in butter. A little bit naughty but a lot of nice!

Served here with a beetroot salad, Red lentil dhal https://freespiritfood.net/2015/08/16/red-lentil-tarka-dhal-with-turmeric-and-ginger/.

Prep time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients:
2 boneless salmon fillets, skin on
1 teaspoon ginger and garlic paste
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
1/2 teaspoon cummin powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons butter

Method:

1. Marinate salmon fillets with garlic, spices, salt and oil for 25-30 minutes or longer.

2. Heat non-stick pan until hot, reduce heat to medium and place salmon fillets face down in pan and fry for 4 minutes or so,until sealed and browned. Add butter to pan.

3. Flip fillets and fry skin side down until skin is crispy about 4-5 Minutes.

4. Serve immediately with butter sauce drizzled over fillets and garnished with coriander.

Shanthini2 Comments

Ji “Terrific” Terrace by the Sea, Canggu

Three years ago we enjoyed cocktails and dinner at the then newly opened Ji Restaurant, part of the Tugu Hotel in Canggu, in their original wooden temple building imported from Mainland China. Last night we returned to experience their newly opened Terrace overlooking the ocean and the perfect spot in Canggu to enjoy the stunning sunset over the Indian Ocean. The entire restaurant, bars and Terrace are beautifully decorated with Asian antiques and the atmosphere is quite unique.

As their website describes: “Ji Terrace by THE SEA carries the spirit of Tugu properties, which celebrate the rich cultural heritage and ancient history & legends through romantic atmosphere, interior and beautiful arts from ancient Indonesia and Asia, but what is different here is that the bohemian spirit of Canggu is very much alive. Beautiful statue of goddess of Durga from Rajasthan, centuries old urn from the Babah Peranakan family in Lasem, Java, Tibetan Mahakala masks, intricate Balinese Barong heads and many more artworks transport guests to a magical world of ancient kingdoms and quixotic legends, while seducing through beautiful Indian lanterns and sensuous beats of the best DJs on the island.”

We started with delicious cocktails including the spectacular CoCo Sexo which is served in a coconut shell of dry ice and a tiki jar …with Sagatiba Cachaca, aromatic coconut, vanilla, passion fruit and a Timur with Tequila, Mango, Smoked Paprika, Beetroot shrub, lime, Cocktail syrup, Coriander.

Last time here we had enjoyed excellent sushi and our friends who had come for dinner the previous evening had once again recommended the freshness and creativity of the sushi and sashimi specialities of the Japanese fusion menu. We started with a selection of the chef’s choice Nigiri platter called Tic Tac Toe ..laid out like a noughts and crosses game. Every single offering was delicious and different with special toppings for each individual Nigiri including samples from the menu which can be ordered separately:

Tai Uzura – Seared snapper topping with breadcrumbs, parmesan and poached quail egg

Seared Gyuniku – Kobe style US beef with shoyu chimichurri sauce

Nihon Unagi – Grilled eel with grated ginger

Hotetaki – Scallion with seaweed & sambal matah

Sake Kyabia –Salmon with crème fraiche, green caviar & dill

It was the perfect way to try a wide range of the Nigiri on offer and at IR195 (about AUD20) extremely good value as well!

We added the Succulent Crispy Pork Belly with ginger, leek and scallion sauce and Amah’s Baby Back ribs served with Baby kalian, five spices and oriental molasses. Both of these were divine as well.

Great value, great atmosphere, great views, friendly and efficient service, and excellent food. Couldn’t ask for more and highly recommend a visit! So nice not to be disappointed on our second visit here.

Shanthini7 Comments