Folded Pizza Stuffed with Fish & Salad

This brainwave involved a boring old cheese & tomato pizza, with the addition of (umm) scampi, salmon, rocket, tomato, cucumber, red onion and a bit of mayo.

Fishcakes with Pea Soup

Is this a bit weird? Oh well sod it, it was lovely.

The soup was made by softening onion and garlic in a little olive oil, then adding quite a big bag of frozen peas. In went boiling water from the kettle, and some vegetable stock powder (the kind in the green tubs). I blitzed it with a stick blender and stirred in a noggin of cream cheese. Finally, just after plonking the fishcakes in, it was drizzled with drops of oil from a jar of pesto sauce.

Fish, Banana & Coconut Curry

From a recipe I found in a magazine in a waiting area. I scribbled down the ingredients quick, and tried to remember the rest. This is how it goes:

Fry a sliced onion and a pepper in a little oil, until soft. Add a teaspoon (I suggest more) of curry paste, and stir in. Add a tablespoon of flour and mix in. Gradually add, a splash at a time, a tin of coconut milk. Stir well to prevent lumps forming and the sauce should thicken nicely. Add your fish, cover and cook gently until the fish is cooked. A few minutes before the end, add a sliced banana. The bananas are so gorgeous in it, I'd maybe add more next time.

You could add fresh coriander, lemongrass, or perhaps some chopped red chilli. As it is, this is a lovely, simple and gentle curry. Deffo be making this one again.

Paella For My Valentine

Check out the love-heart pieces of red pepper! The paella contained turkey, sweet chilli meatballs (minced pork, mixed with a dollop of sweet chilli sauce) and the prawns cooked in garlic butter were added at the end. Add a squeeze of lemon too.

Fish Pie

Poach smoked & unsmoked haddock, salmon and some king prawns in milk. Remove from the milk and put into dish. When cool enough, break up gently with fingers. Use the fishy milk to make a white sauce, with butter, wine, and salt & pepper.
If you feel like it, lay some naughty surprise eggs on top of the mixture!
Top with creamy mashed potatoes, and pattern the surface as you like. Add some cheese too.
Bake for about half an hour until its hot and the cheese is bubbly. Await surprised yelps of "hey there's an egg in here!" from your guests ..

Roasted Trout with a Sundried Tomato & Rosemary Crust

Begin with a big fresh trout fillet, and pick out any bones. In a bowl, mix some fresh breadcrumbs, a couple of dollops of sundried tomato paste, and some finely chopped rosemary. Use this to top the fish, then roast it quickly in a hot oven.

Pad Thai (sort of)

This was not a serious, planned attempt at Pad Thai, but it did turn out to be bloody lovely. I began with raw king prawns, and I sprinkled them with thai spices from a jar. I stir fried them in oil, and added beansprouts and shredded veg, then a spoonful of peanut butter. Next, in went the noodles, with a shake of soy sauce and then one of those small packages of creamed coconut.

More ginger & garlic would have been superb.

Oh yes! And I put egg in it. There was a great big panful by the end, even though I was aiming to feed two.

Homemade Chinese Takeaway Part 2: Prawn Chow Mein

Please, begin with raw prawns. If you use cooked ones, they will be like little blobs of rubber at the end. These had sat in a tub in a fridge with a load of crushed garlic and ginger, before frying.
I added some shredded vegetables, beansprouts and stuff, then some sauce and noodles.
Completed gastro-symphony.