Lemon monkfish kebabs with basil aioli

These kebabs would be great cooked on the bbq or under a grill. Make sure you soak wooden skewers in water for 10 minutes before using them. Ask your fishmonger to prepare the monkfish for you.

-  Cut the monkfish into decent sized chunks. Marinade them  in olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper, and a pinch of chilli flakes if you like. Leave in the fridge for one hour.
- In the meantime, make the aioli using either homemade or shop bought mayonnaise. In a food processor (or using a pestle and mortar), blitz a clove of garlic with a large handful of basil leaves, some black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice. Stir this mixture into the mayonnaise and set aside.
- When the monkfish has marinaded for an hour thread it onto skewers, alternating with red onion wedges. Grill on each side for 5 minutes or so until cooked through. Baste with excess marinade every now and then.
- We like this with sauteed new potatoes, asparagus and green beans.

Thai seabass

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 fillets of seabass

1 large garlic clove, crushed

1 small piece of ginger, minced

1 chilli, finely chopped

a handful of coriander, chopped

1/3 block of creamed coconut

tea spoon of thai curry paste

handful of sliced mushroooms

5 sliced spring onions

1/3 bag of spinach

salt and pepper

rice, to serve

• Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees
• Fry the mushrooms, garlic, chilli, ginger and spring onions in a little oil until the mushrooms are soft
• Add the spinach and thai curry paste to the frying pan and continue to cook on a low heat until the spinach has wilted
• Add the creamed coconut and approx 100ml of hot water from the kettle. Gently stir until the coconut has broken down. You may need to add a little more water. Taste the sauce and season if it needs it.
• In an oven proof dish pour in the sauce and then top with the seabass fillets. Season the fish with a little salt and pepper.
• Place in the hot oven for 20 minutes. Check that the fish is cooked (it should be) and serve with rice. Scatter with the chopped coriander just before serving.

Turbot in a crab and champagne sauce

Ingredients:

2 turbot fillets or steaks

cooked crab meat

2 shallots, peeled and quartered

1 clove of garlic, crushed

100ml champagne

50ml double cream

flat leaf parsley, chopped

salt and pepper

olive oil

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees
• In an oven proof dish, place the shallots and garlic and drizzle with a little olive oil. Roast in the oven for 15 minutes or so.
• Lay the turbot fillets over the roasted shallots and garlic and pour over the champagne. Roast for 10 minutes.
• Scatter the crab over the turbot and pour over the cream. Season with salt and pepper and put back in the oven for another 10 minutes.
• Once cooked, scatter with fresh parsley and serve with potatoes and a green veg. (Note: the turbot may take longer to cok than 20 minutes - it depends on how thick your fillets or steaks are).

Seafood mixed grill

Bream, salmon, tiger prawns, squid and scallops, served with salad, crusty bread and garlic and parsley mayonnaise. And a bottle of Chablis. Mmmmm

Hake with clams, mussels and chorizo

Crispy fried potatoes as a side dish...

We make variations of this dish all the time. The chorizo, tomatoes, wine and lemon are always present though. We usually add some chopped parsley at the end but didn't have any on this occasion.

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 hake fillets

a handful of fresh mussels

a handful of fresh clams

2 cooking chorizo sausages, sliced

3 large tomatoes, diced

2 handfuls of mushrooms, sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed

1/2 a lemon

1/2 glass of white wine

a glug of good quality olive oil

parsley, chopped (optional)

potatoes or crusty bread, to serve

• In a large frying pan (preferably one with a lid) fry the garlic and mushrooms in olive oil for a couple of minutes before adding the chorizo.
• After 5 minutes add the diced tomatoes and the white wine, simmer for another 5 minutes.
• Turn the heat down a little. Place the hake fillets on top of the chorizo/tomato mixture, squeeze the juice of half a lemon over. Put the lid on (if you have one) and let the fish steam for a few minutes.
• Add the shellfish and allow to cook/steam for another 3-4 minutes or so, until the shells have opened.
• Scatter with parsley, adjust seasoning and serve.

Summer fish pie

It's not really summer yet but it seemed like an appropriate name for this dish. It's a deviation from our regular fish pie recipe which we make the usual way by poaching the fish and making a roux before adding the poaching liquor etc etc. We always use some smoked fish in our regular fish pie and although delicious it can be time consuming to make, and a bit too “heavy” in Spring/Summer.

So we decided to experiment with a more summery, all-in-one approach making it more acceptable for week night cooking. The result was a very tasty, but lighter fish pie … and mum, if you’re reading this, yes we did save you some!

Ingredients (serves 3-4):
1 large fillet of cod, cut into large chunks
1 pack of small prawns
1 tin of white crab meat (or equivalent quantity of fresh cooked crab meat if possible)
Approx 4-5 potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 white onion, peeled and finely diced
A large handful of mushrooms, sliced
½ bag of spinach, roughly chopped
½ bunch of parsley, roughly chopped
1 cup of frozen petit pois
½ tub of crème fraiche
½ glass of white wine
A generous sprinkling of grated parmesan (or cheddar), we used quite a lot
Salt and pepper
Olive oil and butter

• Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees.
• Put a large pan of salted water on the hob to boil. Add the potato chunks and cook until completely tender. Mash in the usual way, adding milk/butter etc as you like.
• Meanwhile, fry the diced onion in a large non-stick frying pan until soft. Then add the sliced mushrooms and cook for a couple of minutes.
• Whilst you’re cooking the onions and mushrooms, get your fish pie dish ready. We use a square dish which is about 10cm deep. There’s no need to pre-cook the crab, prawns or peas so spread them evenly across the bottom of the dish.
• Once the mushrooms/onions are soft add the cod chunks and white wine into your frying pan and allow to simmer for a couple of minutes. Then add the crème fraiche, parsley and spinach and stir everything carefully, trying not to break the cod chunks up too much.
• Carefully spoon this mixture into your fish pie dish, on top of the peas, crab and prawns. You can stir everything again if you like but it’s not necessary.
• Sprinkle ½ of your grated parmesan on top of the fish and add a little black pepper.
• Add a layer of mashed potato to the top of the fish pie, using a fork to spread it out evenly.
• Sprinkle the remaining parmesan on top of the fish pie before baking in the oven for around 40 minutes

Mediterranean Fish Soup

Ingredients: serves 2

a couple of shallots or a white onion

2 celery sticks

1 carrot

2 cloves of garlic

3 tomatoes

sml bunch of parsley, chopped

a bay leaf

a pinch of saffron

600ml fish or veg stock

a selection of fish and shellfish (we used a monkfish tail, mussels, clams and prawns)

• Dice the onion/celery/carrot/garlic and fry in a little oil until softened.
• Dice the tomatoes and add to the veg. Saute for 5 minutes or so.
• Add the stock, saffron and bay leaf and simmer for 20 minutes.
• Cut the monkfish into bite sized pieces and wipe/de-beard the shell fish.
• Add the fish and shellfish to the soup, put a lid on the pan, and allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add the chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Discard any shellfish that haven't opened.
• Serve with crusty bread.

Sea bream with tomatoes, red onion and lemon

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 sea bream fillets

1 large potato, sliced

2 large tomatoes, sliced

1/2 lemon, sliced

1 red onion, diced

1 bay leaf

1 clove of garlic

1/2 glass of white wine

salt and pepper

olive oil

1. pre heat the oven to 180 degrees


2. par boil the potato slices and then layer them on the bottom of an oven proof dish with a drizzle of olive oil, season


3. layer the tomato and red onion slices on top of the potatoes and cook in the oven for 10 minutes


4. add the garlic, lemon slices, and bay leaf, season the fish and place the bream fillets on top side by side


5. pour over the white wine and put the dish back in the oven for 20-25 minutes, depending on the thickness of the fillets

Spiced curry monkfish with mussels

Mixing wine and cream with spices sounds a little odd but this really works. It's based roughly on a Gordon Ramsey recipe but we altered it slightly according to our personal tastes and the ingredients we had in the house.

Ingredients (serves 2)

4 monkfish cheeks

small bag of mussels, cleaned

100ml white wine

100ml double cream

1 carrot

1 leek

1 onion

1 bay leaf

tea spoon curry powder

pinch of saffron

1/2 teaspoon of turmeric

butter

olive oil

1. Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees.


2. Heat a splash of oil in a large saucepan and then add the mussels, bay leaf and white wine. Cover with a lid and cook for about 3 minutes, until the mussels have opened.


3. Strain the juices into a bowl and set aside.


4. Remove the mussels from the shells and set aside in a second bowl.


5. Chop the carrot, leek and onion and saute in olive oil until soft. Add the curry powder, saffron, turmeric and reserved mussel liquid. Simmer until reduced by approximately half.


6. Whilst the liquid is reducing dust the monkfish cheeks with salt, pepper and a pinch of curry powder. Pan fry the monkfish in a hob and oven proof pan for a couple of minutes on each side before transferring to the oven. Roast for approx 5 minutes until firm.


7. Add the mussels and the cream to the sauteed veg. Heat through.


8. Serve the roast monkfish on top of the creamy mussel mixture. Asparagus or spinach would be a good accompaniment.

Roast skate wings with shallot and tartare butter

We're trying to cook with one new ingredient a week. This week it's skate wings.

We searched for various recipes and opted for a slight variation of a Gary Rhodes recipe where skate is served with a sizzling tartare butter. This is our version...

Ingredients (serves 2):

2 skate wings, skinned

salt and pepper

plain flour

4 shallots, finely chopped

dessert spoon of diced capers

dessert spoon of diced gherkin/cornichons

1 clove of garlic, crushed

juice of 1/2 a lemon

chopped parsley

leaves from a couple of thyme sprigs

butter

olive oil

mashed potato and steamed spinach to serve

1. Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees.


2. Heat the oil in a hob and oven proof pan. Dust the skate wings with salt, pepper and flour and place them in the hot pan.


3. Cook the skate wings on each side for approx 3 minutes before transferring the pan to the oven. Roast for approximately 10 minutes, depending on the size of the skate wings. If they are particularly large wings, they may take a little longer.


4. In the meantime, heat some oil in a frying pan. Add the chopped shallots and garlic and cook until golden. Next add a knob of butter and once it starts to foam, add the capers, gherkin, herbs and lemon juice.


5. Once cooked transfer the skate wings to a plate and top with the sizzling butter.


6. Serve with olive oil mashed potato and steamed spinach.