Fish!!

Fish has long been recognised as one of nature’s healthiest foods and with its rich package of nutrients it is one of the few foods that can truly be called a super-food.

You need to eat fish at least once a week to get the full benefit for your heart. It also has other benefits for your well being, and this is why nutritionists recommend that we eat fish twice a week. This should include at least one oil-rich fish – such as mackerel, herring, trout and salmon.

Oil-rich fish is an excellent source of beneficial Omega 3 oils, which can help to prevent blood clots, keep the rhythm of your heart healthy, and may help to lower blood pressure. Fish can also help to develop healthy nervous system, eyes and skin.

Guide to Buying Fish

Pay your local Fishmonger a visit they are certainly the experts and will be more than happy to help you understand what fish is in season and what fish is the best value for money.

Don’t be afraid to ask for advise from your Fishmonger and they are usually more than happy to bone, fillet or skin fish which is very helpful.

How do I know Fish is Fresh?

Choose whole fish with bright, prominent shining eyes,

bright red or pink gills, distinct skin colour and above all has a clean fresh “Sea Smell”   Fresh Fish doesn’t have a strong “Fishy Smell” 

Fillets of fish should be translucent in colour and have no signs of discoloration

Storing Fish

Pop fresh fish in the fridge as soon as possible, it’s a good idea to remove it from plastic and pop into a container with a lid. 

Some fishmongers have specialist foil pouches, which are great for storing fish.

Fresh Fish in good condition will last up to 48 hours in your fridge  

Freezing Fish

All fish can be successfully frozen.

Fresh white fish can be frozen for a maximum of 6 months.

Oil-rich fish is best if used within 3 months. 

Mackerel, Herring, Trout Or Salmon 

Do not freeze previously frozen fish.

Cooking Fish

Fish is a very versatile food and can be cooked in many

different ways. In most recipes a similar fish can be

substituted for another. Whiting, hake and haddock are

good examples of this.

Fish cooks quickly so take care not to overcook.

When cooked, fish loses its translucent look and will

flake easily.

A good rule of thumb is to allow 10 minutes per 2.5cm

of thickness when cooking fish. So to grill a hake fillet

that is 2.5cm at the thickest part, simply grill for 5 minutes,

turn and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Increase

or reduce the cooking time as necessary depending on the thickness of the fillet.

Oven bake – Salmon or Seatrout Fillets 

Monkfish drizzled with a little olive oil & lemon

Fish Cakes – combination of fish with fresh herbs, egg, 

Fish Curry – Coconut milk, curry paste and selection of fresh fish

Fish Pie – light cream sauce, mixture of fresh fish poached gently in the cream sauce and top with mashed potatoes

Easy Fish & Chips 

Serves 4

4 fillets of Hake or Haddock

2 eggs lightly beaten

3 tablespoons of flour

Salt & Pepper

Grated Lemon Zest

3 rooster potatoes

Olive Oil 

Butter

Pop the beaten on egg on 1 plate 

Combine the flour with salt pepper and grated lemon

Slice the Roosters into wedges, drizzle with olive oil and place on a baking tray @ 180 for 20 mins.

Meanwhile heat a non stick pan, dip each fish fillet in the egg first and then the flour.  Pan fry fillets for 2 mins each side then transfer to a baking tray and pop into the oven for 10 mins .

Serve with a garden peas,  lemon wedge & tartar sauce.

Donellis Seafood Lasagne

Serves 8 

This is a delicious, decadent dish, so save it for the special occasion and really enjoy it..

This Seafood Lasagne can be made up to two days beforehand, and will store perfectly in the fridge for two days.  I would not recommend freezing.

Preheat the oven to 160/325 or Gas mark 3

Ingredients 

2kg Seafood mixed to your taste, in bite sizes pieces.

Salmon, prawns, cod,  (do not overdo the smoked fish or it will overpower the delicate delicious taste of the dill)

1 large handful of dill

900 ml of cream

2 tablespoons of grated fresh parmesan & 2 tablespoon of mozzarella

1 large glass of white wine

2 cubes of fish stock

Lasagne Sheets

Salt & Pepper

• Pop the wine into a large saucepan bring to the boil and simmer for 3 mins.
• Crumble in the stock cubes and stir well
• Add the cream, bring back to the boil
• Add half the chopped dill & simmer for 5 mins 
• Reserve 1 large ladle of the sauce in a separate jug
• Pop the seafood mix into the pot and bring up to a simmer
• Add the remainder of the dill, salt & pepper 
• Cook for 10 mins
• Lay the bottom of an ovenproof dish (approx 32cm x  22cm) with sheets of lasagne
• Pour an even ladle of fish and sauce on the base layer, cover with another layer of lasagne and repeat
• Cover the top layer the reserved sauce and scatter with the cheese mixture
• Pop into the oven for 20/25 mins until bubbly
• Set aside covered for 5 minutes before serving.
• Serve with a little dill on top and a light sprinkle of parmesan cheese
• Delicous with a fresh green salad of rocket and baby spinach, or some steamed sugar snap peas...

This is one of Donellis favourite recipes we love making it really enjoy eating it too!!     For more Donellis Recipes please log on to www.donellis.ie

Heartwarming Winter Soups

Trivia…   The Cambell Soup Company invented condensed soup in 1897, in the US..   Tomato, Cream of Mushroom, & Chicken Noodle, Americans still consume approx 2.5 billon bowls of these soups alone each year.

There is nothing quite like a hot bowl of soup on a cold winter’s day, a bit like today.. so why not get cracking at brewing up some batches of Heartwarming Soups..?

A soup is basically a warm food that is made by combining ingredients such as meat and/or veggies with stock, juice or water. Traditionally, soups are classified into two main groups: clear soups and thick soups. So you’ve got the French Classification of clear soups buillion and consommé.  

Thick soups are more filling soups and in some cases there is little to distinguish soups from a stew, except that a soup will have more liquid, therefore making soups extremely good on the purse strings.

Some ingredients used to thicken & make more robust soups include, potatoes, rice, eggs, lentils, beans, grains, pasta, milk, cream, coconut milk.

   

Soup or Chowder? - Chowder is a generic name for a wide variety of seafood or vegetable stews and thickened soups, often fortified with diced potatoes, milk or cream; however some healthier varieties use a mixture or cream and tomatoes.  

Were not sure where the name chowder came from however it is possible it came from the French Chaudière, the type of pot in which the first chowders were probably cooked.

Examples: Seafood Chowder, a mixture of diced potatoes, sauted onions, mixed seafood, milk & cream 

Smoked Haddock & Leek Chowder – mixture of leeks, butter sautéed, with a little flour, milk, cream and smoked haddock…

Heartwarming Soups 

The great thing about making soups is that you do not have to follow any recipe, you can make it up as you go along with the ingredients & leftovers you have at hand…

The Very Basics..  Mixture of Veggies +  Liquid which can be water, stock, tomato juice+ flavourings = herbs, spices, seasoning.

Pop the mixture of veggies into a pot completely cover with a liquid, bring to the boil, simmer until tender, blend with a hand blender.  Soups can be lumpy, very thick in consistency or simply very drinkable.. its your choice, just add some more stock or water if you want it to be thinner in consistency…..

Additional Flavourings – honey, ginger, fresh chilli, chilli powder, cumin, coriander fresh & ground,  

• Carrots, potato, veggie stock cube, honey, salt & pepper
• Leeks, 2 potatoes, veggie stock, salt & pepper
• Sweet Potato, carrots, veggie stock, pinch of chilli.
• Thai Curry Paste, coconut milk, leftover chicken
• Can of tomatoes, 3 cups of water, 1 pinch of chilli powder, 1 cup of pasta, 1 cup of Bolognese meat sauce

Dress them up….

Croutons, toasted pita bread, a scattering of chopped herbs or roasted pine nuts and serve with a basket of mixed breads for an extremely economical dinner, and how easy is it when you  can  prepare them well in advance and simply heat and serve.

Turnip & Wholegrain Mustard Soup 

This is really a great tasting soup…

1 medium sized turnip peeled & cubed

4 medium potatoes cubed

1 white onion chopped

1 tbls of chopped garlic

1 litre of veggie stock

1 tbls of wholegrain mustard

3 tbls of cream

Cracked black pepper & a little salt

Couple of glugs of Olive Oil to saute

Sauté the onions in some olive oil until nice and translucent. Pop in the garlic and cook for about another min before adding the turnip & potatoes, cook for about 5 mins before adding the veggie stock.  Continue to cook the veggies until when pierced they are quite soft. 

Whizz with hand blender or food processor when cooked.  Return the pot to the heat, add the cream & wholegrain mustard stirring until well combined.  Season to taste with cracked black pepper… 

This soup is delicious with a good loaf of wholesome brown bread. 

Thai Chicken, Lemongrass  & Coconut Soup

Serves 4

3 chicken breasts or chicken thighs, thinly sliced

2 carrots finely chopped

1 cup of frozen peas

2 teasp of red curry paste

1 can of coconut milk  (reduced fat)

1 cup of chicken stock

2 stems of lemongrass, white part finely chopped

4 cloves of garlic

1 teasp of black peppercorns

6 kaffir lime leaves finely chopped

1 small red chilli thinly sliced

1 tbls of fish sauce

2 tbls of lime juice

1 teasp of soft brown sugar or palm sugar

Coriander leaves as garnish

Pop the curry paste, lemongrass, peppercorns & garlic into a food processor/blender and process until they all blend together to form a smooth paste.

Transfer the paste to a non stick saucepan, gently heat on low temperature, gradually adding the coconut milk and stock , bring to the boil.  

Add the thinly sliced chicken, carrots and kaffir lime leaves, bring back to the boil and simmer for 10 mins. Add the peas, Stir in the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar and chilli....  Enjoy

You could also add some noodles just remember to use a bigger pot!

Donellis Roast Carrot & Parsnip Soup

With a drizzle of honey

Serves 4

4 carrots peeled and cubed

2 parsnips peeled and cubed

2 potatoes roughly cubed

2 cloves of garlic

1 tablespoon of olive oil

2 tbls of honey 

1 litre of veggie stock

Salt n pepper to season

1 tablespoon of chopped  fresh herbs

Heat oven to 180 – place carrots, parsnips, potatoes , garlic & honey  on a baking tray and drizzle with the olive oil.  Cook for about 15 mins until veggies are soft.  

Transfer to a pot with warmed veggie stock cook for a further 5 mins and then  puree with a hand blender to your desired consistency… season to taste, Transfer to bowls  with some freshly chopped herbs.  Delicious served with brown bread or try pita bread.

Asiany Sweet Potato, Roast Cashew & Chilli

6 sweet pots peeled and cubed

1 litre veggies stock

1 teasp butter

1 tsp chopped red chillies

1tbls chopped ginger

1 tbs chopped garlic

3 carrots peeled and cubed

1 white  onion

2tbs soy sauce

1 can of  coconut milk

few sprigs of coriander plus extra garnish

10 cashew nuts

Melt butter in largish pot pop the chillies, ginger, garlic, carrots and onions sauté for 5 mins.  Add  the sweet pots and veggie stock and bring to the boil for 15 mins or until soft. 

Blend the sweet pots mixture until smooth.  Add the soy sauce, coconut milk and coriander.   Pop the cashew onto a non stick pan to toast gently.  

Serve the soup in bowls with a sprinkle of cashews & Coriander.

Delicious with a chilli garlic bread…. Combine 2tbs of butter with 1 clove of finely chopped garlic and a red chilli finely chopped.  Slice a French bread stick (not quite the whole way thru) & spread the butter mixture lightly over each round.  Wrap in foil and pop in the oven for 10 mins & 180.  

Donelli’s Minestrone Soup

This soup is really a meal in itself, its wonderfully filling, warming and satisfying and is so versatile.  It will keep in the fridge for about 4 days and freezes perfectly.  You can also either have this as a purely vegetarian soup or with chorizo sausage, bacon or Pancetta.  Serve with crusty bread for the perfect lunch or how about a fireside supper!!  

400g Borlotti beans – 1 can

400g Haricot beans – 1 can

1 large onion chopped finely

3 celery stalks halved then sliced

2 carrots sliced

1 courgette halved then sliced

1 red pepper cubed

1 yellow pepper cubed

2 cloves of garlic crushed and chopped

400g chopped tomatoes whizzed

2 litres veggie stock

1 handful of basil leaves torn

1 teaspoon of smoked paprika

150g orza or other small pasta shapes

2 tablespoons of olive oil

To serve:

2 tablespoons of shaved Parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons of basil pesto

Optional:

2 tablespoons of chopped chorizo sausage

2 tablespoons of bacon or Pancetta

Method

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil & sweat the onion over medium heat for about 2 mins.  Then add the garlic, celery, peppers and continue to sauté for about 2 mins,  add your carrots remainder of olive oil  & ½ teasp of smoked paprika and sauté until combined.

Combine your pureed chopped tomatoes & stock and add to the veg mixture, cook uncovered for about 10 mins, then add the pasta, courgette & beans & remainder of smoked paprika. Continue to cook for a further 10 mins until pasta is al dente.  Season with salt n pepper and scatter with torn basil leaves..  Ladle into bowls and top with shaved Parmesan and or a teasp of basil pesto.