Moules Provencale

There has been much in the Foodie news recently about eating 'sustainable' fish. This means cutting down on your cod, haddock, and salmon intake, and instead, finding recipes for mackerel, trout, mussels, and sardines, and many more of the ignored fish in the sea. If you feel guilty about running down fish stocks and feel the need to east something sustainable, then mussels are a great place to start. Mussels are delicious but are also low in calories, low in fat, and high in protein. They also cook very quickly.

The risk of food poisoning often turns people off cooking or eating shellfish. But if you are careful in the preparation and cooking process, the risk is low so do not let it deter you from enjoying a wonderful meal of mussels.

In this recipe, the mussels are cooked in the classic French Provencal sauce. This is a lot lighter and healthier than the creamy sauces often used to cook mussels.

Serves 2


36-40 mussels, debearded

1 tbsp olive oil

3 shallots, chopped finely

2 cloves garlic, chopped finely

1 (400g) tin chopped tomatoes

1 tsp tomato purée

1 tbsp chopped basil

1 tbsp chopped oregano

5 cherry tomatoes, halved

Salt/Black pepper


Begin by cleaning and debearding the mussels. Find any mussels with open shells. Tap the shell, if it closes then keep, if it does not then discard. Once all mussels are clean and checked, set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large pot over a medium heat. Sweat the shallots and garlic in the oil for 5-10 minutes, until soft. Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, basil, and oregano. Season and cover. Simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes.

Add the mussels and the cherry tomatoes. Cover, and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Shake the pot once or twice during cooking. Check the mussels and discard any that have not opened their shells. Check the seasoning - add salt and black pepper is necessary.

Using a slotted spoon, place mussels in bowls and pour sauce over the top.

Serve with crusty bread to dip in the sauce.



Simple Teriyaki Salmon

Every new year I make a resolution to eat more fish and take advantage of all the health benefits fish offer. This quick recipe is one of my favourites and makes for a simple and delicious dinner. 

Serves 2

2 Salmon fillets

For the Teriyaki Marinade

4 tbsp of Soy Sauce
2 tbsp Chinese rice wine
2 tsp brown sugar
2 tbsp boiling water
Salt/Ground Black pepper

Put the sugar in a small bowl or cup. Add the boiling water and mix well.

Add the Chinese rice wine and Soy sauce. Mix well and season.

Place the salmon in a deep bowl or roasting dish. Spoon the teriyaki sauce over the salmon and then turn the fillets over in the bowl to make sure all sides of the salmon are covered in the marinade.

Cover and put in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celcius. Cook the Salmon fillets for 15 minutes. Serve with stir-fried vegetables and noodles or rice.

Halibut Steak with Tomato and Garlic

I need some variety when it comes to white fish, I usually go for haddock but halibut makes a great alternative (although a little bit more expensive...but worth it). Halibut has a meatier texture but like all white fish it is great for cooking alongside lots of delicious flavours. See the recipe below.

Serves 2

2 Halibut steaks
About 25-30 cherry tomatoes on the vine
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp good olive oil
1 tbsp chopped basil
Salt and ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 190C

Keep about half the cherry tomatoes on the vine, as in the picture above. Remove the rest from the vine and cut into quarters. Place in a bowl along with the garlic, oil, and basil, and season with salt and pepper. Mix well.

Place the halibut steaks in a roasting dish and spoon the tomato mixture onto the top of the steaks. Place the remaining cherry tomatoes on the vine alongside the halibut.

Cook in the oven for 15 minutes.

How to Cook Scallops

Scallops are possibly my favourite shellfish but they can be tricky to cook. Overcooking is the biggest problem with scallops but following the instructions below should improve your chances of getting that perfect texture.

Serves 2

180g King Scallops (about 6 individual scallops)
Olive oil

Before you begin cooking, pat the scallops with some kitchen tissue. Make sure you remove all excess moisture, as this is important for proper cooking.

Heat the pan to a very high heat. When the pan is very hot (it should be uncomfortable to hold your hand above the pan for a few seconds), add some oil and swirl it around the pan.

Place the scallops on the pan and leave for 2 minutes. Do not touch or move them in any way- this ensures they will get that nice seared, crispy texture. After 2 minutes, turn the scallops and cook for a further 1 and a half minutes.

Remove from the hot pan and serve as you like! I love scallops with pasta and a light tomato sauce (see pictures above).

Salmon with Shallot and Garlic Crust

This recipe is a delicious way to enjoy salmon. The flavours from the shallot and herb crust are quite strong so are best served with some simple sides, such as roasted potatoes. Find a recipe for roasted new potatoes here.

2 fillets salmon
1 shallot
1 fat clove garlic
1 tsp good olive oil
1 tsp rosemary (or some other herb)
Salt and Black pepper

To make the shallot and garlic crust, roughly chop the shallot and garlic and place in a blender with the olive oil, rosemary, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Blend until the mixture becomes a paste and then spread evenly over the top of each fillet. If you have time, leave the salmon for a few hours to let the flavours seep in.

Preheat oven to 180 C if a fan oven, if not a fan oven, preheat to 200 C

Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Serve with roasted new potatoes and asparagus.

Herb Crusted Cod

This will work with any white fish but I like to use it to dress up cod, which I find blander than other white fish. This is very simple to do but looks quite impressive...It also makes for very tasty, but low-fat meal.



2 cod fillets
20g breadcrumbs
1 lemon rind, grated
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped rosemary
Salt and black pepper

Serves 2

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius

Season the cod with salt and black pepper.

Place the breadcrumbs on a plate, add the lemon rind, parsley, rosemary and some black pepper

Press the cod fillets into the breadcrumb mix. Then move to a clean plate. Press more of the breadcrumb mixture on top if you need to but make sure only one side of each fillet is bread-crumbed.

Place on a pre-greased dish and bake in the oven for 8-10 minutes.

Serve with some creamy mash and green veg. Also serve with tartar sauce if you feel this is a little dry.

Haddock with Lentil and Bean Stew

This delicious fish stew is made with haddock but any white fish such as cod or hake will do just as well. The stew is hearty enough for winter dish but light enough to enjoy in summer too.


Serves 2

2 fillets of haddock (or other white fish)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
400g tin tomatoes
400g tin cannellini beans
40g green lentils
1 tbsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
3 handfuls of spinach
6 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 tsp of sugar
Salt and Black pepper

Heat oil in a pot on a low heat and sweat onion and garlic for 10 minutes

Add the tomatoes, lentils, sugar, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes, uncovered. Stir occasionally.

Add the spinach and stir well until the spinach has softened. Add the beans and leave to simmer for another 10 minutes.

Add the cheery tomatoes and stir. Add the fish - place the fillets in the pot but leave the top of the fillets peeking out of the sauce. Cover and leave for 3-5 minutes.

Serve in bowls, piping hot, with some crusty bread.


**For a lighter option, leave out the lentils

**For a vegetarian option, leave out the fish and and double the lentil portion

Thai Salmon

Allow time for the salmon fillet to soak up the flavours from the marinade. That's the key to making this a truly delicious dinner!

Serves 2

Marinade


4 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chili flakes
2 cloves garlic, chopped into chunks
1 inch cube of ginger, chop into chunks


2 fillets of salmon


Put the salmon fillets on a plate. Pour the soy sauce over them and rub them around until covered. Sprinkle chili flakes over the fillets. Place the chopped garlic and ginger around the fillets. Cover and put in the fridge for 2-3 hours.

Preheat the oven to 190 C.

Bake the salmon fillets for 15 minutes. Turn the fillets over half-way through cooking.

I recommend serving the fillets with some stir-fried vegetables and noodles. Super dinner!