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Posts Tagged ‘fish’

  1. Almond Crusted Fish Sticks & Tartar Sauce

    April 1, 2012 by Tali

    YOU AWESOME MONKEY BACON!

    Have you ever wondered what to do with your almond flour that is just too coarse for making macarons?

    Here is a super delicious and healthy idea!

    Making breadcrumb-free ‘breaded’ fish fingers (or as you wonderful people across the pond like to call them – fish sticks) is a great way to keep meals fun and makes a change from all those fancy herbs and posh crusts people seem to be adding to their fish these days (not to say I dislike such things!)

    Who doesn’t LOVE a portion of fish fingers – especially when you have some tartar sauce to drench them in!

    I reckon there are a lot of you out there whose parents fed them fish fingers far more than they should have, I know it certainly happens now. Parents feeding their kids breaded, processed ‘meats’ and ‘fish’ – it’s enough to make you sick!

    I should really thank my parents; I may have been overweight for all of my childhood but my parents were just doing what they thought was right, keeping up with the conventional wisdom of healthy eating. At least they had the sense to know processed foods weren’t great for my brother and I but certain childhood memories stick…

    Fish fingers to me were more than just a quick weekday meal, even more than just a treat! Fish fingers remind me of some very distinctive smells, emotions and tastes. My brother and I always got fish fingers when my parents went out with their friends for dinner.

    When I think of fish fingers – I think of the smell of my mom’s YSL Opium perfume, I think of the smell and taste of Koo tomato sauce, I also remember crying (because I wasn’t allowed to go out with my parents) but my tears were always wiped away with the promise of mighty fish fingers!

    Now that the sentimental story is out the way – let’s get down to it!

    Almond Crusted Fish Sticks and Tartar Sauce
    Inspired by Paleo Comfort Foods

    Makes: 15 pieces  Takes: 30-35 mins

    For the Fish
    Ingredients:

    600g cod loins (or any other strong white fish)
    60g ground almonds (coarse is good)
    1/2 tsp paprika
    1/4 tsp black pepper

    • preheat oven to 180 C/350 F and line or lightly grease a baking sheet
    • start by mixing together the ground almonds, paprika and pepper into a wide shallow dish
    • rinse and then dry your pieces of fish
    • place fish onto a chopping board and cut into evenly sized long portions
    • place a few pieces at a time into the ground almond crumbs and coat evenly
    • place the well coated pieces of fish onto the baking sheet
    • repeat the process until all pieces of fish are evenly coated
    • once the fish sticks have been coated and the oven is at the correct temperature, place the tray in the oven, and bake for 20-25mins
    • serve with tartar sauce (and maybe a side dish)

    For the tartar sauce-
    Ingredients:

    2 egg yolks
    1/2 cup light olive oil
    2 tsp of lemon juice
    salt & pepper to taste
    1 large pickled cucumber – finely chopped
    2 tablespoons capers – chopped
    1 tsp cider vinegar

    • start by making your mayonnaise, whisking your egg yolks briskly while VERY slowly adding in the olive oil – refer to this website for detailed instructions if you’ve never made mayonnaise before
    • once the mayonnaise reaches the right consistency, add the lemon juice, salt and pepper
    • VERY finely chop your cucumber and capers, add into the mayonnaise with the vinegar
    • mix, taste and adjust with salt and pepper to your taste

    These could be enjoyed as an addition to a buffet table, eaten as a snack or served with a side dish to round it off as a whole meal.

    Mo and I ate these with a portion of oven baked potato ‘fries’ (we need to work on those) but that was a special treat and I made sure to keep my carbohydrate intake low for the entire day in order to enjoy the potato. It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten potato.

    If you’re being good I recommend serving with a generous portion of long stem broccoli. You can pretend they’re fries!

    If you don’t like broccoli – you’re crazy!

    Ooo peas! mush some of them up and be all British… although personally I can’t say I’ve ever understood the appeal of mushy peas…

    These are great to make ahead of time and re-heat OR make a huge batch and freeze half to use as a convenience meal during the week, just reheat in the oven for 15-20 mins


  2. Primal Ramen

    March 23, 2012 by Tali

    Whilst eating pasta on Sunday, my cheat day, I came to a very clear conclusion that I much prefer a bowl of zucchini spaghetti over the real stuff. In fact, I’d be more than happy to substitute zucchini for pasta any day!

    It can be prepared in a number of ways, but my favourite involves using my spiral vegetable slicer, which spiral cuts any number of vegetables into spaghetti strings. Top with your favourite sauce, some meat balls or make a bowl of this awesome primal ramen!

    You’ll almost forget about the real thing!

    I’m a big fan of Japanese cuisine and there are few other dishes that can comfort you more than a giant bowl of steamy ramen noodles, with a fragrant broth, adorned with slices of meat or fish and a variety of simple yet flavourful toppings. A real mix of flavours and textures.

    This dish Mo and I fashioned on a day we were both craving ramen, and wanted it FAST.

    We simply used a few packets of instant miso soup sachets, added water, some zucchini noodles, mushrooms and a piece of fresh oven baked salmon.

    This recipe is fast, simple and easy. But you could also make your own broth (which I hear, done the traditional way – is a lot of work). Ideally I would make it myself but I was hungry, our nearest Asian supermarket is too much of a hassle to get to and I wanted my ramen NOW!

    However you choose to make it – a hearty, warming bowl of primal ramen – you can’t beat it!

    Primal Zucchini Ramen

    Makes: 2 servings   Takes: 25 minutes

    Ingredients:
    2 pieces of fresh water salmon fillets
    2 tsp liquid aminos/low sodium soy sauce
    1 tsp honey
    1 Tbsp sesame seeds
    2 small/1 large zucchini
    1 Bok Choy
    6 small chestnut mushrooms
    1 bunch of asparagus
    1 chilli
    2 spring onions/scallions
    2 sachets Sanchi gluten free instant miso soup*
    1.5litres boiling water
    3 tsp tahini

    • preheat your oven to 180 C/350 F
    • prep your salmon, rinse in cold water and dry. Place into a baking dish, pour on liquid aminos and honey, place in the fridge to marinate
    • once oven has heated up, sprinkle with sesame seeds and place in the oven for 20-25mins (depending on the size of your fillet and how rare you like your fish)
    • while the salmon is cooking get all your veggies ready.
    • using a spiral slicer, make your zucchini noodles. place in a dish until you’re ready for it
    • slice your mushrooms, wash your bok choy, and trim your asparagus spears
    • pop your kettle on and empty 2 sachets of instant miso soup into a pot. once kettle has boiled pour in, stir and turn on the heat
    • stir in 1 tablespoon of tahini and let the broth come to a simmer
    • chop your spring onions/scallions and chilli
    • when your salmon is about 3 minutes away from being done, throw your mushrooms, bok choy and asparagus into the simmering broth to warm through. You don’t want to over cook them, the freshness and crunch adds to the dish!
    • once you have taken your salmon out the oven, split your ‘noodles’ between your ramen bowls, pour over the broth (the residual heat will be enough to cook your ‘noodles’) place the mushrooms, bok choy and asparagus into the bowls, and then place a fillet of salmon on top
    • garnish with scallions and chilli
    • serve immediately
    • eat and enjoy!

    * I selected this brand of instant miso soup because its ingredient list seemed the least offensive. The ingredients are labelled as: Original Miso (Gluten Free): Hatcho Miso (made from aged and fermented soya beans, water, sea salt, koji [aspergillus oryzae]), Onions, Spring Onions, Wakame Seaweed. It contains no dried tofu, MSG or any other nasty things I’ve seen on other packages.

    As with the real stuff you can prepare your ramen however you like. Using the meat, fish or seafood of your choice and topped off with your favourite seasonal vegetables.

    My best advice is to keep it as fresh as possible and don’t over-cook your vegetables. Not only will they lose their lovely crunch and great texture, but you’ll also be killing off all those great nutrients. We like those nutrients!