Category: Seafood

A pack of fish fillets is one of the best freezer staples to keep around. I always have a few in my freezer. You can have dinner on the table in 15 minutes if you’re in a pinch and it will be delicious to boot.

Incorporating fish into your diet also has many health benefits and this is a very cost effective way to do so.

Let’s get cooking…

Fillets of fish would be ideal here but if you don’t have that you can use the whole fish or whatever cuts you have and just adjust the cooking time accordingly. As a rule of thumb, fish should always be cooked in under 15 minutes so that it remains tender regardless of the thickness.

Rinse and pat the fish dry then season very liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. While you do this heat up a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan. Once the oil is hot, gently place the fillets in skin side down. You want to hear a sizzle.

My fillets are quite thin so I fry for 4 minutes on the first side, then flip it carefully and fry for a further 3 minutes. The fish should just begin to flake then you know it’s done.

I served it up with pan fried potatoes and minty peas, drizzled with a little lemon, butter sauce.

A good, spicy prawn curry is one of the most delicious and prized Indian dishes. Due to the hefty price of prawns, it is often reserved for special occasions. I made this as a pre birthday celebratory dinner for my hubby.

The key is to use raw prawns so that it can be cooked with the spices so that flavours meld together beautifully. Also be very careful not to overcook the prawns they will most certainly turn rubbery, it is a very delicate meat and the taste will be destroyed.

This recipe is a must try for your next family celebration, it’s one that will surely impress.

Let’s get cooking…

First up prep your prawns, if you need to peel and devein them I often find the easiest way is to use a pair of kitchen scissors. Insert the blade in between the head and shell and cut straight down towards the tail. This will open up shell and just expose the vein so that it can be easily removed and the shell will peel away.

Marinate the prawns and allow it sit for a few minutes while you start to braise the tomato chutney. Once the chutney is cooking away melt the butter in a separate pan over a medium-hot flame. Thrown in the prawns and allow them to turn slightly pink then turn over and cook on the other side.

The tomato chutney should be at a stage now where you can add in the prawns and any pan juices. Stir and allow it cook together for 5 minutes. You want to prawns to be well coated in the tomatoey gravy. Finally garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve with fluffy rice or paper thin rotis.

We had a huge reason to celebrate… my husband found out he passed his degree so I, being the foodie I am, booked us a nice fancy dinner to celebrate. A little thing to know about my dearest hubby is that he does not eat red meat so any celebration is generally focussed around restaurants that have a good selection of seafood dishes as this feels a bit fancier than the usual chicken.

Having recently moved to London I have found that there is a limited selection of seafood restaurants that serve the type of seafood we like to enjoy. By this I mean warm, richly flavoured cooked seafood and not the towers of shellfish served over ice in the dead of winter.

Never the less I found a quaint little place in central London that had great reviews so off we went. We were definitely not disappointed. The seafood was fresh and cooked to perfection but the star of the evening was by far the scallops started. Served in the shell, delicately flavoured with Pernod (an anise flavoured liquor) with a crisp crumb topping, this was just the type of dish we had been looking for.

However, after paying an arm and a leg for a seemingly simplistic dish I set out to come up with my own scallop dish.

Scallops are surprisingly easy to find in the UK although they vary quite a bit in price dependant on how big and if they are diver caught (these are premium quality) or not.

I bought fresh scallops and decided to keep things simple.

Let’s start cooking…

The first step to get a lovely crust on the outside of the scallop is to dry them off really well before cooking. Once dry, season liberally with salt and pepper and add to a screaming hot pan that’s got a little bit of melted butter in already. Sear for 2 minutes per side the remove scallops from the pan.

Lower the heat a bit then add in more butter, lemon juice and lemon zest. Return the scallops to the pan for a final bathe in the delicious juices, baste for 1 minute then switch of the heat and plate up.

I served it as a started salad on top of a bed of lambs leafs lettuce that had been dressed with some of the lemony pan juices.

I was raised on the most delicious Indian food. Often Indian meals use spices, starches and pulses to stretch meals in order to feed larger families more cost effectively.

Chutneys and curry gravies made up of braised tomatoes, onions and spices provide a base for proteins or vegetables that can be enjoyed with an assortment of breads or rice. The flavour punch packed by the sauces make it easy enough for a single chicken to feed a family of 8 when cooked into a lush chicken curry.

Hearty biryanis are another easy way to bulk up meals using lentils and rice, served with a few simple salads. Even a simple can of tinned fish, that’s traditionally known as peasant food, gets transformed into a feast when cooked into a biryani.

I often use methods of combining these ingredients taught to me by mom to liven up the blandest of dishes.