Griddled fish with potatoes and spring onions

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
4 large hake fillets, skin on
Fish seasoning
480gms new potatoes, quartered
Bunch spring onions, sliced
2 tsp butter

250gm green beans
2 large fennel bulbs, halved lengthways

3 Tblsp low fat mayo
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

Method
Mix together the mayo, lemon rind and juice.
Set aside.

Boil, steam or microwave the green beans and fennel.
Drain and keep warm.

Boil the potatoes in lightly salted boiling water until cooked.
Drain and leave in the colander.
In the same saucepan, melt the butter and gently fry the spring onions for 5 minutes.
Tip the potatoes back into the pan and turn to coat with the buttery onions.
Keep warm.

Spray a griddle pan and the fish fillets with non-stick cooking spray.
Sprinkle the fish seasoning over both sides of the fish.
Cook the fish about 8 minutes each side (skin side first), turning only once.

Serve the fish with the potatoes and vegetables, the mayo dressing separate on the side.

Cheese crust fish

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
4 skinless hake fillets ea ±120gm
1 egg, beaten
50gm stale breadcrumbs
40gm rolled oats
2 tsp grated lemon rind
20gm finely grated parmesan
2 Tblsp chopped parsley

250gm mixed broccoli & cauli
4 thick slices butternut
480gm oven chips

Method
Heat the oven to 200ºC.

Combine the oats, breadcrumbs, lemon rind, parsley and cheese.
Dip the fish fillets in the beaten egg and then in the breadcrumb mixture.

Spray 2 baking trays with non-stick cooking spray.
Place the coated fish on one baking tray, and the oven chips on the other.
Bake the fish at 200ºC for 15 – 20 minutes, until it flakes easily.
(Follow the instructions on the oven chip packaging for cooking time.)

Meanwhile, steam, boil or microwave the broccoli, cauliflower and butternut slices until tender.

Serve the fish with the vegetables and oven chips.

The hake fillets I used were long, so I cut them in half to fit on the baking tray.

 

Salmon in shrimp sauce

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
4 (±400gm) salmon steaks
2 cups milk
250gm tiny shrimp
2 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 – 2 Tblsp corn flour
1 – 2 Tblsp chopped parsley
Grated rind of 1 lemon

480gm mashing potatoes
500gm green beans

Method
Cook the potatoes in lightly salted boiling water until tender.
Drain, then mash well and keep warm.

Boil, steam or microwave the green beans for about 10 – 15 minutes.
Drain and keep warm.

Place the salmon and half the milk in a large pan.
Partially cover and simmer until the fish flakes easily.
Flake the salmon into bite-sized chunks.
Add the shrimp.

Mix the corn flour to a paste with the remaining milk, the parsley and the mustard.
Stir this mixture into the fish and continue to stir while the sauce thickens.

Serve the salmon over the mashed potato, with the beans on the side.
Garnish with the lemon rind.

Spiced fish with gingered mash

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
300gm mashing potatoes
200gm butternut
1tsp grated ginger

4 skinless hake fillets (±120gm ea)
2 tsp soft butter
1-2tsp mild curry paste
Grated rind of 1 lemon
1-2 Tblsp fresh coriander, chopped

4 sprigs of coriander to garnish

Method
Heat the oven to 200ºC.

Peel and cut the potatoes and butternut into chunks.
Cook in lightly salted boiling water for 20 minutes, or until soft.
Drain well and mash.
Add the ginger to the mash and mix well.
Keep warm.

Mix the curry paste, lemon rind and coriander into the butter.

Line a baking tray with baking paper.
Lay the fish on the baking tray and spread with the butter mixture.

Bake the fish for 10 minutes or until it flakes easily.
(Frozen fish will take 20-25 minutes.)

Serve 1 fillet per person with the gingered mash and a green vegetable of your choice.
Garnish with sprigs of coriander.

Salmon with bitter orange sauce

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
4 salmon steaks
480gm new potatoes, halved
400gm mixed baby spinach, watercress and rocket

2 heaped Tblsp bitter marmalade
Juice and shredded rind of 1 orange

Method
Place the potatoes in a pan with plenty of water.
Put the salmon steaks in a steamer over the potatoes.
Cook for 15 – 20 minutes until the potatoes are soft and the fish flakes easily.

Wilt the spinach, watercress and rocket.
Drain and keep warm.

Mix the marmalade, juice and orange rind together.
Warm gently – do not boil.

Serve the salmon beside the potatoes and greens.
Spoon the sauce over the fish.

Honey ginger fish parcels

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
4 skinless fish fillets
2 carrots, julienne
2 red chillies, julienne
4 large spring onions, sliced
1 Tblsp soy sauce
1 Tblsp honey
1 Tsp grated fresh ginger

240gm rice
150gm chopped broccoli

Sprigs of fresh coriander

Method
Heat the oven to 200ºC.

Combine the honey, soy sauce and grated ginger in a small jug.

Lay each fish fillet on a square of baking paper.
Divide the chilli, onion and carrot sticks between the fillets.
Drizzle the honey-ginger dressing over the vegetables.
Fold the paper around each fish bundle to make 4 parcels.

Spray a baking tray with non-stick cooking spray.
Place the fish parcels on the baking tray and bake at 200ºC for 15 mins.

Meanwhile, cook the rice in lightly salted boiling water until tender.
Add the chopped broccoli for the last 5 mins.

Slide the fish and juices onto 4 dinner plates. Garnish with fresh coriander.
Serve with the broccoli rice.

Salmon parcels with horseradish

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
480gm new potatoes
250gm green beans
250gm broccoli florets

4 salmon steaks
4tsp horseradish sauce
Freshly ground black pepper

Lemon slices
Extra horseradish to serve.

Method
Heat the oven to 200ºC.

Cook the new potatoes, in their skins, in lightly salted boiling water.
Steam, microwave or boil the green beans and broccoli.
Drain the vegetables and keep warm.

Place each salmon steak on a piece of baking paper about 30cm x 50cm.
Spread 1 tsp horseradish on each steak and give a grind of black pepper.
Top with a slice of lemon.
Fold each sheet of baking paper over the fish to make 4 parcels.
Place the parcels on a baking tray.
Bake the salmon at 200ºC for 15 minutes, or until the flesh flakes easily.

Serve the salmon with fresh slices of lemon and another spoonful of horseradish.

Lemon hake and soy potato mash

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
240gm mashing potatoes
240gm frozen soybeans
100ml fat free milk
2 Tblsp chopped parsley
1 Tblsp lemon juice
200gm cherry tomatoes
2 cups frozen peas
4 fillets hake, skinless
Fish seasoning
To garnish:
Zest from 1 lemon
2 Tblsp chopped parsley

Method
Peel the potatoes and cook in lightly salted boiling water until tender.
Add the soybeans and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Drain.
Mash roughly, adding the parsley, milk and lemon juice.
Keep warm.

Steam, boil or microwave the frozen peas.
Drain and keep warm.

Spray a large frying pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Toss in the tomatoes and allow them to heat through and become soft.

Sprinkle the fish seasoning over the hake.
Dry fry the hake in the same pan as the tomatoes, turning after 5-7 minutes or so.
Cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the fish flakes easily.

Serve the fillets alongside the vegetables.
Garnish with lemon zest and parsley.

Xtra crunchy fish sticks

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
4 (±480gm) skinless hake fillets
1 small egg, lightly beaten
75gm dry couscous
75gm dried breadcrumbs

480gm potatoes, peeled and chunked
250gm green beans, topped and tailed
8 courgettes, thickly sliced on the diagonal

Lemon slices or wedges
4 Tblsp Helman’s Low-Fat mayo

Method
Heat the oven to 200ºc.

Mix the breadcrumbs and couscous together.
Cut each fish fillet into sticks.
Dip the fish sticks in the beaten egg and then coat with the breadcrumbs and couscous.
Place the coated fish sticks on a baking sheet and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
Chill for 10 minutes while you:

Boil the potatoes in lightly salted boiling water until soft.
Drain well and mash.
Boil, steam or microwave the beans and courgettes.

Bake the fish for 20 minutes, turning the pieces over after 10 minutes.

Serve the fish sticks with the vegetables, lemon slices and mayo.

Haddock chowder

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
4 rashers lean bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
3 sticks of celery, sliced
200gm sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 Tblsp whole grain mustard
2 Tblsp Worcestershire sauce
800ml vegetable stock
300ml milk
2 Tblsp corn flour
2 cups frozen peas
1 x ±400gm tin butter beans, rinsed and drained
400gm haddock fillets, skinned and cut in chunks

Method
Spray a large saucepan with non-stick cooking spray.
Dry fry the bacon for 2 minutes, then add the onion, celery and potato.
Cover with a lid and allow the vegetables to sweat for 5 minutes.

Mix the mustard and Worcestershire sauce into the stock, and pour into the sauce pan.
Simmer, covered, for 10 minutes until the potato is cooked through.

Add the peas, beans and fish chunks to the pan.

Mix the corn flour into the milk.
Pour into the sauce pan, stirring all the time, and allow the soup to thicken slightly.
Simmer for 5 more minutes, or until the fish flakes easily.

Serve with whole wheat rolls or toast, if desired.

Because of the beans, this chowder is filling – you don’t really need a starch with it.

Seafood coral pie

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quickish

Ingredients
240gm potatoes
240gm red sweet potatoes
1 onion, sliced
2 celery stalks, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 anchovy fillets, chopped
1 x ±400gm tin chopped tomatoes
½ cup white wine
Grated rind of 1 lemon
300gm skinless salmon fillets, cut in chunks
200gm prawns, shelled and deveined
200gm frozen peas

Method
Peel the potatoes and sweet potatoes and cut into chunks.
Cook in lightly salted boiling water until soft.
Drain and mash well.

Meanwhile, spray a pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Dry fry the onion, celery and garlic until the onion starts to soften.
Add the anchovies, tomatoes, lemon rind and wine.
Stir well.

Nestle the salmon and the prawns into the sauce.
Cover and simmer for about 5 minutes.
Thicken the sauce with 1 Tblsp corn flour, if you wish.

Tip the fish mixture into a casserole dish.
Top with the mashed potatoes.

Bake in the oven at 200ºc for 20 minutes, until the top is slightly browned and the sauce is bubbling.

Boil, microwave or steam the frozen peas.

Serve the pie with the peas.

Fish Espagnole

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Grated rind & juice from 1 lemon
1 onion, finely sliced
480gm potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
1 small aubergine, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
1tsp paprika
100gm green beans, cut in 3cm lengths
2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped
10 cocktail tomatoes, halved
1 ±400gm tin chick peas, rinsed and drained
1 ±400gm tin chopped tomatoes
480gm skinless hake fillets, cut into big chunks
Roughly chopped parsley, to garnish

Method
Place the fish chunks in a bowl with the lemon rind and juice.
Set aside.

Spray a large pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Dry fry the onions and garlic until the onion begins to soften.
Add the potato and aubergine chunks and the paprika and stir well.
Cover and allow to cook for 5 minutes.

Add the green beans, the anchovies, cocktail tomatoes, chick peas and tinned tomatoes.
Cook, covered, for 15 minutes, adding a ½ cup of water if required, until the potatoes are cooked.

Now tip in the fish chunks and lemon, and stir to combine.
Cover again, and cook for another 10 minutes until the fish flakes easily.

Serve garnished with lots of chopped parsley.

Salmon and dill spaghetti

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
300gm spaghetti
1 small onion, thinly sliced
300 – 400gm skinless salmon steak fillets, cut in chunks
±18 – 24 small prawns, cleaned
2 cups fat free milk

3 Tblsp chopped fresh dill
1 Tblsp cornflour

Lemon zest to garnish

Method
Put the spaghetti on to cook in lightly salted boiling water.
Drain when al dente and keep warm.

Poach the onion, salmon and prawns in the milk until the fish flakes easily.
Remove the salmon and prawns from the milk.
Thicken the milk with the corn flour slackened with a little water.
Season with black pepper and the chopped dill.
Put the salmon and prawns back into the sauce and heat through.

Serve the fish over the spaghetti, garnished with grated lemon zest and a sprig of dill.
Accompany with a fresh, crisp salad.

Scilly fish

Serves 4 : Very easy : Very quick

Ingredients
450gm skinless hake fillets, cut in chunks
2 anchovies, chopped
2 onions, thinly sliced
3 fennel bulbs, thinly sliced
2 red ‘bonnet’ chillies, deseeded, thinly sliced
2 x 400gm tins chopped tomatoes
200ml dry white wine (optional)
500ml veg or fish stock
100gm couscous

Lemon zest and parsley to garnish

Method
Spray a large pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Dry fry the onion, fennel, chillies and anchovies until the onion begins to soften.
Pour in the tomatoes, stock and wine, and bring to a boil.
Stir in the couscous.
Scatter fish chunks over the top.
Cover with a lid and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, until the fish flakes easily.

Serve garnished with lemon zest and chopped parsley

The couscous is the starch here, but you could serve with crusty bread if you wish.

Salmon Surprise

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
1 x 400gm tin pink salmon in brine, drained
2 cups frozen peas, thawed
4 eggs, hard boiled and sliced

2 cups fat free milk
1 – 2 Tblsp corn flour

400gm potatoes
1 large tomato, sliced
45gm strong cheese, grated
1 Tblsp chopped fresh parsley

Method
Cook the potatoes in lightly salted boiling water.
Once cooked, drain well and mash.

Heat the oven to 200ºc.

Make a white sauce with the milk and corn flour.
Fold in the peas and salmon.

Place the salmon/sauce mix in a deep dish.
Cover with slices of hardboiled egg.
Then spoon the mashed potato over the top.

Decorate the dish with the tomato, cheese and parsley.
Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is browned and the sauce is bubbling.

Serve with a fresh salad.

Hurry fish curry

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
1 onion, chopped
1 – 2 Tblsp curry paste
450gm skinless hake fillets, cut into large chunks
400gm tin chopped tomatoes
250ml veg stock
2 cups green beans

240gm rice

Method
Put the rice on to cook in lightly salted boiling water.
Drain when cooked, and keep warm.

Spray a pan with non-stick cooking spray.
Dry fry the onion until it begins to soften.
Stir through the curry paste.
Add the tomatoes, stock and green beans.
Lastly add the fish chunks.
Bring to a simmer.
Cook for 5 minutes.

Serve the curry with the rice and sambals of your choice.

Tuna Pasta

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
240gm penne
2 small tins tuna chunks in brine or spring water, drained
2 Tblsp pine nuts
1 red pepper, sliced
200gm button mushrooms, sliced
2 courgettes, chopped
150gm cherry tomatoes, halved
2 spring onions, sliced
¼ cup water

Method
Put the pasta on to cook in lightly salted boiling water.
Drain when al dente and keep warm.

Spray a saucepan with non-stick cooking spray.
Toast the pine nuts slightly and then add the red pepper slices, the courgettes and tomatoes.
Add the mushrooms, spring onions and water.
Stir well.
Cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes.

Tip the drained tuna and the pasta into the vegetables.
Stir to combine.

Serve with a mixed lettuce and fresh basil salad.

Cabbage and beans with white fish

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
4 large fillets of hake (skin on)

4 rashers back bacon, all visible fat removed, chopped
1 onion, sliced
2 stalks celery, sliced
2 large carrots, chopped
2 baby cabbages, shredded
1 large potato, cut into small chunks
½ cup dry white wine (optional)
250ml chicken stock
1 x ±440gm tin cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

Method
Spray a large pan with non-stick cooking spray and place over heat.
Dry fry the bacon for a few minutes and then add the onion, celery and carrots.
Continue stir frying until the onion begins to soften.
Add the potato pieces.
Pour in the wine (if using) and the stock.
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Add the cabbage and the beans and lots of black pepper.
Cover and simmer for another 10 minutes. (The cabbage should still have some crunch)

Now spray a large frying pan with non-stick cooking spray and place over heat.
Spray the fish with non-stick cooking spray, too.
Place the fish in the pan, skin side down.
Cook for about 5 minutes before turning.
Cook the other side until the fish flakes easily.
(Cooking time depends on whether your fish is fresh or frozen)

Serve the fish on top of the cabbage and beans.

I cut my fish fillets in half to accommodate them in the pan – they were about 140gm each. Cabbage done this way is really delicious. I left the skin on my potato and par-cooked it in the microwave for a couple of minutes.

Lemon and rosemary fish with chips

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
8 small fillets hake (about 60gm each)
1 tsp dried rosemary
40gm dried breadcrumbs
Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon

4 large tomatoes, halved
2 cups frozen peas
400gm oven chips
1 small pack mixed lettuce

Method
Cook the oven chips according to the packet instructions.
Grill or microwave the tomato halves.
Microwave, steam or boil the frozen peas.

Mix the breadcrumbs, rosemary and lemon rind together.
Brush the fish with lemon juice and coat lightly with the breadcrumb mix.

Meanwhile, spray a frying pan with non-stick cooking spray and heat.
Dry fry the fish for about 5 minutes each side (longer if cooking from frozen), or until the flesh flakes easily.

Divide the chips and other vegetables between 4 plates, with two fish fillets each.
 

Tuna basil pasta

Serves 4 : Very easy : Quick

Ingredients
240gm pasta penne
1 aubergine, chopped
1 cup frozen peas

2 x 170gm tins tuna in brine, drained and flaked
150gm cherry tomatoes, halved
±10 large basil leaves, chopped
½ cup tomato puree
½ cup water

Method
Cook the pasta in lightly salted boiling water for 10 minutes.
Add the chopped aubergine and the frozen peas and simmer for a further 5 – 10 minutes until the aubergine is transparent, and the pasta is al dente.
Drain and set aside.

Using the same saucepan, pour in the tomato puree and water.
Add cherry tomatoes and basil.
Simmer for five minutes.

Tip in the flaked tuna and the drained pasta and vegetables.
Turn gently to combine.
Allow to heat through.

Serve with a crisp green salad.