Baked Haddock with Pea Salad

I first saw a picture of this on Pinterest and then the recipe here. I’ve adapted it slightly by adding some sunblush tomatoes to the salad and using haddock instead of sole but otherwise it is much the same.

A nice summery meal - and I cooked it at the height of summer although looking out the window you wouldn’t have believed it and I’d had to shut the windows and put my thick socks on for the first time in weeks.

I also served this with some steamed & buttered new potatoes but to really keep this light you can easily do without.


Baked Haddock with Pea Salad
serves 2

2 haddock fillets
zest & juice of ½ lemon
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
100g frozen peas thawed
salt and pepper to taste
4spring onions, chopped
½ red pepper, chopped
40g sunblush tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped

In a small bowl add the crushed garlic, 1 ½ tbsp of olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk together well then pour over the fish in a baking dish. Make sure the fish is fully coated with the marinade then cover the dish with cling and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Place the fish in the oven and bake for about 15 minutes or until done.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a sauté pan and add the chopped onion and red pepper. Saute for about 5 minutes until the vegetables are softened.

Add the lemon zest, a pinch of salt and pepper, and the thawed peas to the skillet and saute for another 5 to 8 minutes, adding the tomatoes for the last few minutes.

Remove from the heat and add the dill, mixing well.

To serve divide the pea salad between two plates and place a fish fillet on top of each.

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Mutter Paneer

Mutter (or mattar) paneer is the classic north indian punjabi dish of paneer (“cottage” cheese) and peas (mutter) cooked in a spiced tomato-based gravy. This has now been added to my rotation of vegetarian dishes to pull out on a weekly basis, it is that good. That said, the sauce is so delicious that I’m going to cook a meat curry with it as the base: chicken or lamb I think. It really is seriously good so if you want to try something different for a veggie main give this a whirl.


Mutter Paneer
serves 2

225g paneer cheese, cubed
1 tbsp clarified butter (or ghee)
2 tbsp groundnut oil
1 onion, chopped & puréed in a spice grinder
1½ tbsp garlic paste
1 tbsp ginger paste
3 cloves
1 tsp cumin
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
½ tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1tsp coriander powder
400g canned diced tomatoes
1 red chilli finely chopped
250ml water
125g frozen peas
pinch of asafoetida (optional)
1 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
salt, to taste
2 tbsp cream
coriander leaves, finely chopped to serve

Heat the clarified butter in a heavy bottom frying or sauté pan and fry the paneer cubes until they are lightly browned. Remove and set aside.

Heat the oil in the pan, add the onion purée and fry until it turns a pale brown.

Add the tomato paste, ginger and garlic pastes and fry for another couple of minutes before adding the coriander, cloves, cumin, turmeric, garam masala & chilli powder and red chilli.

Fry, stirring continuously till you have a glossy thick paste that has darkened a bit.

This would be the "oil separating phase" often seen in Indian recipes if the usual quantity of oil had been used but I'd reduced the oil substantially so this is what you can look out for.

Add water, bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 20 minutes.

Add the asafoetida and fenugreek leaves plus the fried paneer and peas and bring to a boil again.

Simmer for 10 minutes until peas are tender and the sauce is slightly reduced. Add salt to taste then remove from the heat & stir in the cream.

Serve with plain boiled basmati rice and garnish with the chopped coriander leaves.

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"Spring" Orecchiette with Buratta

I found this recipe on a blog called Feasting at Home - the photos on the blog are lovely and this just looked so very, very fresh and pretty. Plus of course at the time of cooking and eating it was Spring so was a great time for lovely spring vegetables and herbs.

As it turned out I was ill and curled up feeling sorry for myself on the sofa so the bf was chef for the night - as such I have more or less written the recipe here (apart from the conversion of US to metric measures and also scaling down the amounts) as I’m not really sure what adaptations, if any, he made.

A couple of points that I will make however is that in my experience orecchiette pasta always need slightly longer cooking than the package will state (it is way too chewy otherwise in my opinion) and also that it is wise to assemble your ingredients in such a way that it allows you to cook this quickly as it seemed to cool down extremely quickly otherwise.

Burrata, that gorgeously creamy adulterated mozzarella is great here but I know that it isn’t the easiest of cheeses to get your hands on so sub with normal mozzarella if necessary.


Spring Orecchiette Pasta with Burrata
serves 2

200g 16 oz Orecchiette pasta
125g peas
100g sugar snap peas
125g asparagus tips
1 onion, finely chopped
100g mushrooms, sliced
1½ tsp olive oil
sea salt & freshly cracked black pepper
1 egg
25g Parmesan, freshly grated
½ ball burrata cheese
lemon zest
1 tbsp fresh mint, chiffonaded

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the orecchiette according to the package instructions (see note above).

In a large frying or sauté pan heat half the oil over a medium heat and sauté the onion until softened but not coloured. Add the mushrooms, turning the heat down a little and sautéing until golden and softened. Set aside.

Whisk the egg in a small bowl and set that aside also.

When the pasta is nearly cooked, reserve some of the cooking water and set to one side then add the peas, sugar snaps and asparagus tips to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes. Drain the pasta and vegetables and remove them to the pot with the heat off.

With a fork, stir in 1½ tablespoons of hot pasta water, half a tablespoon at a time, gradually, to the eggs, to temper them. Stir well.

Pour the egg mixture over the pasta and with a wooden spoon, gently stir to coat the pasta. Stir in about 15g of Parmesan, some black pepper and a pinch of salt. You may also need a little more pasta water to loosen.

Divide between 2 plates or bowls and scatter each with the mint, lemon zest and remaining Parmesan. Finish each plate with a dollop each of burrata and serve.

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Smoky Bacon & Pea Pasta

A ridiculously simple recipe here adapted from the stable of super easy, super tasty Jamie Oliver pasta dishes. He makes it with mini pasta shells, and to be fair that would cut down the cooking time, but it’s pretty quick as it is. I used, as you can see, linguine.

For me this is pretty much a store-cupboard dinner given that I will always have pancetta or lardons in the fridge or freezer and of course peas in the freezer too.

Honestly there’s not a great deal else that can be said - it’s good and tasty and it’s quick. What’s not to love?

Smoky Bacon & Pea Pasta
serves 2 (with maybe some leftovers for a light lunch)

olive oil
200g pasta
100g smoked bacon lardons
1 fat clove garlic, crushed
85g fresh peas
1 heaped tbsp crème fraîche
50g freshly grated parmesan
½ lemon
1 egg
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook pasta according to the packet instructions.

You actually only want half the egg so whisk it up in a small bowl and pour or spoon out half of it. Mix in the crème fraîche, along with some salt and pepper and set aside.

Get a large frying pan over a medium heat and add a good lug of olive oil. Add the bacon to the pan, sprinkle a little pepper over and fry until golden and crisp. Add the garlic and cook for a minute or so more.

Add the frozen peas to the frying pan and give it a good shake. Cover the pan and leave to fry gently while the pasta finishes cooking (add a tablespoon of water from the pasta pan if necessary).

Drain the pasta in a colander over a large bowl, reserving some of the cooking water.

Add the pasta to the frying pan and squeeze over some lemon juice: stir well so that the bacon and peas are well mixed.

Now add the eggy crème fraîche mixture, take off the heat and mix everything together: the sauce should be silky & smooth. If you need to thin it out a bit add a little of the reserved cooking water. Add the grated Parmesan and give it all another few stirs.

Divide between bowls and serve.

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Potato, Pea & Spinach Curry

A really lovely vegetarian main here that is pretty quick to cook as long as you are parboiling the spuds.

A quick note about cooking with yoghurt which can often curdle when cooked. The trick is to make sure you have brought it to room temperature, whip it lightly with a fork and then add it to the curry off the heat.

And speaking of which, you can use coconut milk or yoghurt if you like rather than both. I was experimenting with using both so as to be a little less calorific (coconut milk can be a bit of a shocker).

Therefore neither Thai or Indian really but rather a delicious fusion of both


Potato, Pea & Spinach Curry
serves 2

400g new potatoes, halved
200g frozen peas
2tsp groundnut oil
2cm piece of ginger, chopped
2 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 banana shallots, chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
3 cardamom pods, seeds only, crushed
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 red chilli, deseeded & finely sliced
1 green chili, deseeded & finely sliced
200ml coconut milk
125ml yogurt
100-150ml veg stock
1 tsp medium curry powder
juice of ½ lime
large handful of spinach, roughly chopped
2 tsp fish sauce
pinch sugar
small handful coriander, finely chopped

Boil a kettle & when it has boiled pour over the peas in a colander: drain them and set aside.

Meanwhile parboil the potatoes for about 10 minutes (until just tender to the point of a knife but not cooked through).

Whizz the ginger, garlic, shallots and 2 tbsp of water to a smooth paste in a grinder.

Heat the oil in a heavy based pan and when hot add the paste, cumin, turmeric, curry powder and crushed cardamom seeds. Fry over a medium heat for about 10 minutes until fragrant and the paste has thickened.

Stir in the chillies and potatoes so they are coated with the paste and spices.

Add the stock, a pinch of sugar and fish sauce and gradually add the coconut milk, stirring all the time. Cover and cook on a low heat for 20-30 minutes.

Remove the lid and if necessary increase the heat until a hard simmer for up to 10 minutes to thicken the sauce a little.

Add the peas and lime juice and cook another 3-5 minutes, then add the spinach and most of the chopped coriander.

When the spinach is wilted, remove from the heat and carefully and gradually stir in the yoghurt.

Serve with the chopped coriander leaves sprinkled over and, if you like, some lime wedges on the side.

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Beef & Pea Tagine

I do love tagines: not least of all as I love the fact that you chuck it all in, forget about it and come back to something deliciously fragrant and warming. It’s just a shame that I don’t have my tagine at the moment (as naturally it is still in storage somewhere or other) but a cast iron lidded casserole can work just as well.

I’ve used culinary Argan oil here as I picked some up (as well as saffron) on our trip earlier last year to Marrakech but feel free to use olive oil. And on the subject of saffron, a tip I read somewhere on the interweb was to carefully warm it up in a dry frying pan over a fairly low heat before crumbling it with your fingers. Apparently this method will help to release the best fragrance and flavour.

To be honest you could use any veg you wanted - or meat for that matter. I’d actually wanted to get sweet potatoes but the rubbish little Sainsbury near work didn’t have any so normal spuds it had to be. I’d love to try fresh artichoke and peas as although it would undoubtedly be a bit of a faff I bet it would be luscious.


Beef & Pea Tagine
Serves 3-4

1 tbsp Argan oil
400g stewing beef, cut into 1.5 in chunks
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
20g knob ginger, finely shredded
1 cinnamon stick
2 tsp ground coriander
¾ tsp cumin
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ras el hanout
¼ tsp saffron threads, lightly toasted & crumbled
500g potatoes, peeled and cut into 5cm chunks
Peel of ½ orange
200g peas
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped
1½ tbsp flaked almonds, toasted
handful of coriander leaves, chopped

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Pour a good splash of oil into a heavy based casserole dish, heat it then add the beef and brown on all sides.

Add the onion, ginger and garlic to the meat (add a little more oil if you need to) and cook for 10 minutes or so until the onion is softened then stir in the spices (bar the saffron).

Cook for about 30 seconds before chucking the potatoes, orange peel, and tomatoes into the pot.

Season well then pour over enough water to just cover everything, giving it a gentle stir before bringing to the boil.

Take off the heat, cover with a lid and pop in the oven.

After about 1½ hours both the meat and potatoes should be tender so add the peas and saffron (and top up the water if necessary) and cook for 30 minutes longer.

Double check seasoning and adjust carefully as necessary. The amount of sauce at this point should be fine but again, if necessary, reduce the liquids until a rich sauce has formed.

Serve with steamed couscous with the almonds and chopped coriander sprinkled over.

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Korean Keema

I’ve mentioned gochujang (Korean spicy red pepper paste) in a couple of previous posts (namely here and here) but I’m honestly extremely surprised that I’ve never posted this recipe before as it is one that falls into my stable , so to speak, of things oft cooked.

This is adapted from Nigella’s Kitchen, not to be confused with the more traditional, although also very good keema found in Feast.


Korean Keema
serves 2

250g turkey mince
3 fat spring onions, finely chopped
125g frozen petis pois
1 tsp groundnut oil
2 tbsp shaoxing wine
2 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
150g sushi rice
For the sauce

3 tbsps gochujang
1 ½ tbsp honey
1 ½ tbsp shaoxing wine
3 tbsp light soy sauce
1 clove of garlic, crushed

In a bowl whisk together the sauce ingredients.

Stir in the turkey mince and set aside to marinate while you get on with the rest of the preparation.

Rinse the rice in a colander until the water runs clear then place in a medium saucepan with the same volume of water plus about 10%. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover with a tight fitting lid and cook for around 20 minutes on the lowest heat possible (a simmer mat may be handy here although sadly mine doesn’t work too well).

After the rice has been simmering for about 10 minutes, heat a wok over a high heat. While it's heating up pour boiling water over the peas in a colander. When the wok is hot, add the oil and stir in the onions and peas (be aware that it may spit a bit because of the wet peas). Stir fry for 3-4 minutes.

Add the turkey and sauce and stir fry until the mince is coloured and no longer pink. This will take about 5 minutes.

Add 2 tablespoons rice wine with 4 tbsp water to the marinating bowl, swirl around to get all the residue and add to the wok. Continue to cook for a couple of minutes.

Serve the rice in a bowl with the sauce spooned over and top with some chopped coriander.

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Fennel, Goats' Cheese & Pea Risotto

I’ve mentioned before that there tends to be a bit of a lag with my cooking things and then blogging them. This recipe brought to home just how much of a lag as when I cooked this I recall that it was a lovely dish for a late summer evening. And here I am posting it in January. Oh well.

Pernod goes exceptionally well with fennel, as you would imagine as they both have an aniseed edge to their flavour and aroma. Luckily this is not enough to overpower the goat’s cheese (do try and get hold of this Capricorn cheese if you can, it’s from Somerset and it bloody rocks!) and the whole remains light yet comforting. Very, very tasty.

I adapted this recipe from one found here. In retrospect this is *quite* similar at first glance to another fennel risotto that I previously posted which may be one of the reasons I was drawn to it but really it is quite different in taste.


Fennel, Goats Cheese & Pea Risotto
serves 2
1 small onion - finely chopped
1 medium fennel bulb - halved then finely sliced (reserve the fronds)
150g risotto rice
4 tbsp pernod (60ml)
750ml hot vegetable stock
100g frozen peas
100g goats' cheese
½ lemon, juiced
40g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
sea salt & freshly ground black pepper

Melt half the butter along with the olive oil in a heavy pan then add the onions and fennel and saute over a low heat until soft but not coloured. This may take up to 20 minutes.

Turn the heat up a little and add the rice, stirring it around so all the grains get coated with the buttery vegetable juices.

Tip in the Pernod and let bubble down until all but evaporated.

Add the stock a ladleful at a time, stirring and letting the rice absorb each ladleful of stock before adding the next.

When the rice is nearly ready (remembering that when it is finished you still want it to have a little bite) add the peas & lemon juice.

When you have finished adding the stock and the rice is ready (as per the above), stir in the goats cheese and remaining butter.

Remove the pan from the heat, cover with a lid and set aside for five minutes.

Divide between 2 bowls and with the reserved fennel fronds.

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