Pan fried tandoori cod fillet

This is another one of those recipes that I've made with  a few shortcuts, but is still packed full of flavour whilst being super quick to prepare.

Lightly pan fried fish coated in tandoori masala for a bit of a spicy hit, paired with griddled asparagus, steamed baby potatoes and a side of Mexican rice.

For a bit of a treat, you could always swap the steamed potatoes for chunky chips and leave out the asparagus & potatoes.

To serve 4 people you will need

4 peices of cod*  fillet

6 tbsp tandoori masala

5 tbsp plain flour 

3 x packs of Uncle Ben's spicy Mexican rice
20 asparagus spears ( 4-6 per person )
700g herb baby potatoes**


• Preheat your oven to 100c, ( fan ) in a large flat plate, mix your plain flour & tandoori masala together. 

• Line a large baking tray/dish with greaseproof paper and set aside.

• Set your frying pan on a medium heat, add enough oil to just cover the base of the pan.

• Whilst the oil is heating up, dip each fillet of fish into the flour mix ensuring each peice is thoroughly coated.

• Place 2 pieces of fillet into the frying pan at a time and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, and transfer to the lined tray once cooked.

• Put the cooked fillets into the oven - this is to keep them warm just while you make up the side accompaniments 

• Cook the rice and potatoes as instructed on the packaging. For the asparagus, add a drizzle of olive oil to a griddle /frying pan, add in the asparagus and cook on a high heat until they are slightly charred but still have a bit of a bite. Season with sea salt & black pepper 

• Serve the fish with the accompaniments straight away once cooked

* for the fish i often swap it around. I use cod, haddock and basa 

** I love the prepacked butter and herb potatoes thar are microwaveable- so quick and easy but just as delicious 

Crispy basa with roasted vegetables & chilli yogurt

This recipe is a combination of wanting something for dinner that's quick, isn't anything curry like as you've had nothing but curry for almost a whole week, but also something that's got a punch flavour wise and isn't heavy and stodgy and likely to make you feel bloated.

Delicious basa fillets , with roasted veg spiked with cumin, coriander & finished off with a chilli yogurt .. all in 30 minutes

For 2 people you will need:

80g natural yogurt
1 tablespoon siracha chilli sauce
Handful chopped coriander
1 medium small potato
1 red pepper
2 spring onions
1 large aubergine
4 fillets bassa ( about 100g each in weight)
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

• Start by preheating your oven to 200c / 180c ( fan ). Chop the potato aubergine & pepper into small  chunks

• Put the veg into a baking tray, drizzle     with olive oil, add the cumin seeds & season with some salt & pepper, place in the oven for about 20-30 minutes ensuring everything is cooked through.

• While the veg is roasting, trim the spring onions, and chop up along with the coriander & set aside

• In a plate, mix the plain flour along with  the smoked paprika, half a tsp of chilli flakes, a good pinch of salt and mix it all together.
Carefully dip each fillet into the seasoned flour ensuring each fillet is coated all over

• In a large non stick pan, drizzle with olive oil & cook the fillets on a medium heat for 2 minutes on each side or until it crisps up lightly all over

• Whilst the fish is frying, mix together the yogurt and siracha sauce and a 1/4 tsp smoked paprika

• Mix the chopped spring onion & coriander with your cooked veg, serve the fish ontop of the veg & finish off with the yogurt drizzled on top

Pan fried Cajun salmon

This is quite simply a quick and easy but unbelievably delicious meal that is perfect for lunch or even dinner.

I made this to serve 4, I bought a large fillet with the skin on and cut it into 4 chunks but you can buy it pre cut into pieces if you prefer. I did a live video of this as when I made it the first time round quite a few friends were asking for a live tutorial on facebook, and have only just got round to posting the recipe a year later after a friend requesting it again. 

You may notice that apart from the portions of salmon per person I have not noted down amounts of the seasoning as at the time of making the recipe I didn't measure anything out. I just ensured the pieces were all coated generously for maximum flavour

so for a serving of 4 portions of Cajun salmon you will need:

4 pieces of salmon with the skin on

Cajun seasoning

salt

pepper

2-3 garlic cloves

a small bunch of fresh thyme

butter

olive oil  

• Start by cutting 3 slits along each piece of fish. Place the pieces onto a large flat plate or even a chopping board. Sprinkle the pieces with a generous amount of the Cajun seasoning and a good pinch of salt. Rub the seasoning all over the skin and flesh side ensuring every piece is well covered
• Into a non stick frying pan, add a little olive oil- just enough to cover the base. Let the oil heat up till it's quite hot, warm oil will result in soggy and oily skin which is the last thing you want with this dish as the crispy skin with the seasoning is what makes the salmon so delicious.
• When the oil is nice and hot, add in the garlic cloves, fresh thyme and knb of butter and stir through the oil. 
• Place 2 pieces into the pan skin down and gently using a fish slice, press the pieces down so they come directly into contact with the pan and are nice and flat. Let them cook skin down for about 5- 8 minutes or until the skin is crisp and golden
• Whist the first 2 pieces are cooking, switch your oven on to it's lowest setting. This is so as your first 2 cook you can transfer them to the oven so they stay warm whilst the final 2 pieces cook. You dont want or need to be baking or further cooking the salmon in the oven
• Once the skin has crisped up on the first 2 pieces and flip them over flesh side down onto the pan. Cook the flesh of the fish on a slightly lower heat as the high heat will cause the flesh to overcook and burn quite quickly. I found the flesh took just a little over 5 minutes. 
• Once the first 2 pieces have cooked, transfer them to the oven so they stay warm and cook the other pieces in the same way. Serve with baby new potatoes and steam veg or however else you wish - we had ours with tender stem broccoli an asparagus cooked in my griddle pan all charred and crispy

My 'Kinda Red Thai' prawn curry

So this is one of those recipes that i threw together, and didn't follow any kind of set recipe or instructions and hoped for the best - hence the 'kinda thai' title as i used ingredients and flavours typically found in Thai curries. The husband thoroughly approved so I'm happy with that  


 For my Kinda Thai curry to serve 2 -3 people you will need 

200-250g cooked prawns
2 medium onions
1 tsp salt
2 tsp garlic paste
2 tsp ginger paste
100g red thai paste
2-3 lime kafir leaves
1 lemon grass stalk
2 tbsp tomato puree
1-1 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes 
1 tin coconut milk
300g pre cooked egg noodles

To garnish:
spring onions
bean sprouts
1-2 red chillies
ginger 
fresh coriander

• Start off by finely chopping the onions and saute in a little olive till lightly brown, then add in the salt, garlic paste & ginger paste.

• Add in the lemon grass stalk (i peeled off the first outer leaves, snapped the stalk in half then added)  and the kafir lime leaves, stir for a couple of minutes to let the flavours absorb, then add in the chilli flakes, red thai curry paste and the tomato puree. 
• Finally add in the cooked prawns, the coconut milk & enough water to just cover the prawns. 
• Leave to simmer for a few minutes on low heat then add in the egg noodles
•  Just before serving finely slice all the garnishes except for the beansprouts - i just snapped them in half, chop the coriander then sprinkle all the garnish over the curry and tuck in

Cheats Paella

This version of Paella is super quick and easy but still full of flavour and perfect for when like me the other day, was craving this particular dish but was in a bit of a rush to get something decent on the table to have for our evening family meal.

If your not a fan of seafood, swap the prawns and scallops for cooked chicken breast as an alternative with diced peppers added in for a slight crunch.


To serve 4 people easily you will need:

3x 250g packet Uncle Bens Mexican rice
1x 200g pack of scallops
1 x 400g pack of cooked king prawns
1 x 198g tin of sweetcorn
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
fresh chopped coriander (optional)
lemon wedges (optional)

• Start by adding a little oil into a heavy based pan, and on a medium heat, add in the scallops and prawns together. Cook the scallops for not longer than 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure they don't catch or over cook on one side.
• Add in all the rice to the pan along with the sweetcorn, and continuing on a medium heat, heat the rice through. One the rice is heated all the way through, take off the heat and sprinkle the smoked paprika over the rice.
• Just before serving, scatter over the fresh coriander and serve the lemon wedges on the side as an extra for squeezing over the rice as you wish.
• As an extra, i served a mixed green leaf salad on the side with some cheesy chilli nachos