Pesto Crusted Fish

Bored of fish pie?  Want something interesting with fish and kid friendly?  This is a way to introduce a different flavour to white fish and great if your kids are less keen on fish without some kind of disguise.  Very quick and thrifty to prepare too.

Pesto Crumbed Fish

Ingredients

2 White Fish fillets, e.g. Pollock, cod, coley.  I use fairly thin fillets around 100-150g each
1 tbsp Mayonnaise
2 tsp Pesto
30g, 1oz Breadcrumbs
15g, 1/2oz Grated extra mature (extra sharp) cheddar
Spray oil or olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC / 400F / Gas Mark 6.

Mix the mayo with the pesto.  Put the fish on a baking dish or tray lined with non stick baking paper.  Spread the mayo mix on the fish.

Mix the breadcrumbs and cheese together and sprinkle on the top.  Spray with oil or drizzle with oil.

Bake for 15-18 minutes or until browned and cooked through.  The thicker the fish, the longer it will take. Mine was only about a cm thick so cooked reasonably quickly.

Make it Thrifty

Using pollock makes this a source of omega 3 (which is pretty much absent in most other white fish), it's also more sustainable than cod and cheaper!  Look out for it in the chiller or the frozen aisle where it's often marketed as 'white fish' (but pollock might be in small writing somewhere on the back); defrost before cooking.

 

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Nasi Goreng for kids

Nasi Goreng is a spicy Indonesian Fried rice dish based on peanuts.  You can do as much of the 'faffing' in this recipe as you like but the basic idea is a paste, rice, some protein and some vegetables.  I've made this to be reasonably mildly spiced so kid friendly but up the chilli if just cooking for adults (if you like, it's still blooming tasty as it is!)

As spring is in the air, I even got outside for my lunch!

Nasi Goreng - Serves 1 hungry adult or 1 adult and 1 toddler

Ingredients

For the spice paste (you will only need half for this, store the rest in the fridge for a couple of days or the freezer)
1 tbsp smooth peanut butter
30g, 1 oz onion
1 tbsp ginger
1 dried chilli - use a mild one if liked (or a spicier one if the family are keen)
Juice of one lime

60g, 2oz Basmati rice
Large handful of frozen peas or French beans
1 Clove garlic
2 tsp Soy sauce

Remainder of onion (not used for the paste)
4 tbsp vegetable oil
1 egg
Coriander (cilantro) to serve

Cooked mackerel or prawns*

Method

Blend the spice paste ingredients in a food processor until blended.

Boil the rice for 10 minutes adding the peas or beans in for the last 3 minutes (if frozen, if fresh, add them for the last 4 minutes).

In the meantime, cut the onion left from making the spice paste into thin slices.  Fry in the oil in a wok or frying pan until browned and drain on kitchen paper.

Empty most of the oil out of the wok, reserving some and put back on the heat.  Whisk up the egg with a little water and fry to make a very thin omelette.  Once cooked, put to one side.

When the rice is cooked, drain.  Put a tsp of the oil back into the wok and fry the paste for a minute with the garlic (remember you're only using half of the paste).  Add the rice / vegetable mix and 2 tsp soy sauce.  Cook it all together for a minute and serve topped with the mackerel or prawns, slices of omelette, onions and coriander (cilantro).

* To cook mackerel fillets, just place on a baking tray and cook in an oven for approx 15 minutes or alternatively fresh or leftover barbecued fish would be awesome with this.

Make it Thrifty

Look out for value or smart price packs of Basmati rice.  Although you often get more broken grains, the flavour is still just as good.

I would be absolutely honoured if you would consider nominating me in the Britmums BIB awards, especially the food category.

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Healthy Fish and Chips for the Whole Family

Healthy fish and chips.  The mark of a good recipe is when you make it twice before posting it!

We should all eat more omega 3.  One of the best sources of it is oily fish but that can be a tough sell to adults let alone kids.  Mackerel can be fantastic and delicious, especially grilled on a barbecue but can be strong tasting and a lot of people aren't all that keen on the bones.

I introduced a way of cooking mackerel recently for reluctant adults, now I thought I'd look at kids.  Mackerel is such a well flavoured fish, it can stand up to some really strong flavours and it goes fantastically well with mustard.

The best ideas come to me at 5:30am when I'm lying in bed wondering why I'm not still asleep!  One morning, I had a bit of a brainwave; why not use mayonnaise as a way to adhere a coating?  If I used mackerel I could also mix in some mustard... and so an idea was born!

As I was starting to prepare this I had a sudden thought, why not make this a healthy fish, chips and peas dish?  Why not indeed!

Mackerel goujons with home made oven chips and peas - serves 1 adult with a big appetite or 1 adult and 1 toddler

Ingredients

1 Mackerel fillet, defrosted if frozen (fresh not smoked)
2 tbsp Mayonnaise
1 tsp Dijon mustard
20g, 3/4 oz Rice Krispies or own brand equivalent
20g, 3/4 oz  Plain / all purpose flour
Spray oil

Potatoes
1 medium to large baking potato
1 tbsp olive oil

To serve
Cooked frozen peas
2 tbsp Mayonnaise mixed with 1 tsp dijon mustard (or plain mayo or tartare sauce if you prefer)

Method

Preheat the oven to 200oC, 400F, Gas Mark 6.

Wash the potato then cut (skin on) into thin sticks (to your preference).  Toss in the olive oil and put on a baking tray.  Lining the tray with non stick baking paper will help prevent them sticking.

Skin the fish if liked.  Cut the fish into strips about the thickness of your ring finger.

Mix 2 tbsp mayo with 1 tsp mustard.  In another bowl, crush the rice krispies and mix with the flour.

Put the 'chips' in the oven as they need about 5 mins longer than the fish (depending on the age of the potato and the thickness).

Now it's time to get messy.  Line a baking tray with non stick paper, then dunk each mackerel strip in the mayo mix then the rice krispies mix then lay on the tray.

Once done, wash your hands as you probably won't be able to see them!  Then spray the mackerel with spray oil and put in the oven for approx 15 minutes or until the chips are cooked and browned and the fish is cooked through.  Give the chips a bit of a jiggle now and again to make sure they're cooking evenly.

Serve with the serving suggestions above.  I had mustard mayo, my 3 year old son had "white ketchup" (i.e. plain mayonnaise) to dunk into.  He tried but said my mustard mayo made his tongue tingle too much but he did love the fish.  It was a real hit!

Make it Thrifty

Look out for frozen mackerel fillets; they're often in the freezer section for less than �1 a fillet which is fantastic value.  Also try using own brand rice krispies and value / smart price mayonnaise, mixed with the mustard, you'd never know the difference.

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Fish and Cauliflower bake, great for all ages

I had thought for a while about making something which was like a fish pie meets cauliflower cheese.  Fish pie is great but it would be great to include some more vegetables.

This recipe has two vegetables and is a source of omega 3.  My son described it as 'delicious'!  Although he didn't eat as many peas on the side as I would have liked, can you tell there are four different vegetables on this plate?  Nope?  Neither could he!


Fish and Cauliflower Bake - Serves 2

Ingredients

120g, 4oz Fish, I used a mixture of pollock and smoked haddock
200g, 7oz Cauliflower
400ml. 14floz Milk
1 rounded tbsp Cornflour (cornstarch)
60g, 2oz Chopped frozen spinach
80g, 3oz Extra mature cheddar (extra sharp)

Method

Poach the fish in the milk until cooked.  Take the fish out with a slotted spoon reserving the milk.

In the meantime, boil the cauliflower in boiling water for 3-4 minutes or until almost cooked.  Drain.

Preheat the oven to 200oC / 400F / Gas Mark 6.

When the fish is cooked, reheat the milk, add in the spinach and cook until fully defrosted and cooked.  In the meantime mix the cornflour with cold water then gradually mix into the milk mixture to thicken.  Bring to the boil and add a little extra if you would like it thicker.

Mix in approx 20g of the cheddar into the milk mix and take off the heat.

Flake the fish and mix the fish, cauliflower and sauce together.  Pour into a baking dish and top with the remaining cheese.

Bake for approx 15 minutes or until browned and bubbling on top.  Younger babies could have some of this mashed or pureed depending on their age.  Avoid the cheese on top if feeding to under 1's to limit the salt intake.

Make it Thrifty:

Try using frozen fish to keep costs and risk of waste down.  Pollock is often sold as 'white fish' in freezer compartments and, although in a lot of ways it's better than cod because it's a source of Omega 3 and cod isn't, pollock is often far cheaper and more sustainable.  Look out for smoked pollock too which is becoming more common.

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Smoked Mackerel Fish Cakes

I may worry (probably unduly) about my child's nutrition but it can be difficult to encourage kids to eat oily fish. Oily fish is an excellent source of Omega 3 oils.  Omega 3 are a group of oils which, although the jury is out on the specific health effects; it's generally believed they're pretty good things to have in your diet.  Sources include things like salmon, herring, sardines, mackerel, fresh tuna, pollock (at lower levels) etc.  There are other sources but oily fish is the most concentrated.  This might not look like a lot of mackerel in the recipe but there's about five times more omega 3 in mackerel than there is in cod.

So how to get this goodie into your child's diet?  A challenge and I've linked some other oily fish recipes at the end if you'd like some more ideas!

Smoked Mackerel Fish Cakes - made 6

Ingredients

1 Potato (mine weighed just over 200g, 7oz before peeling)
85g, 3oz Butternut squash (peeled weight)
1 tsp mild, grainy mustard
25g, 1oz Hot smoked mackerel (i.e. the type which is ready to eat)
Spray oil

Method

Peel the potato and cut the butternut squash into chunks and then boil together in water for approx 20-25 mins or until fully cooked.  Drain well then mash together using a potato masher.  Allow to cool.

Flake the mackerel into the mash mix and add the mustard.  The mix might be a bit soft but once you get your hands in it should be pretty mouldable.

Mix well then shape into fishcakes and put on a lined baking tray.  Cover and chill until ready to cook.

When ready to cook, preheat an oven to 200oC, 400F, gas mark 6.

Uncover and spray the tops with spray oil.  Bake for 25-30 mins or until brown.

My 3 year old ate 4 of them (he asked for seconds).  I think that's a hit!

Make it Thrifty:

Try using leftover vegetables to make this to keep costs down and why not cook something else in the oven at the same time?  Like sweet potato wedges to have on the side (or roast carrots and radishes like I did if you're feeling more adventurous) or a crumble for pudding?

Here are some other great oily fish recipes for your family:





Tuna Meatballs

Fish Pie











Herb crusted Salmon

Baked Salmon Fishcakes







January's Family Foodies challenge is all about 'hidden goodies' and this recipe has hidden veg and Omega 3.  I've submitted this along with a few other recipes to Bangers and Mash and Eat your veg's challenge:

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Child friendly Prawn Laksa

Laksa isn't an obvious choice for a preschooler but why not?  Most kids I know are fans of prawns and noodles.

I've toned this all down a bit to make it friendly for kids who aren't big fans of spice.  Although my son does have more spice in his food than he sometimes realises, last time his Dad cooked him a curry, he was less then keen and apparently ended up eating fish fingers so I went gentle (but noticeable) on the spicing here.

He looked at it.  Said "I don't think I like that"
I said "Have you tried a prawn?"
He said "Ooh, no"
Has a couple of bites, then starts eating the mushrooms and noodles.  I'm trying to photograph my portion while my stomach is rumbling because it smells pretty good (I'm not one of those food bloggers who cooks to photograph, I cook to eat.)
"Mummy this is yummy"
And indeed it was :-)
A touch too mild for me but there was spice there and a real depth of flavour.  You can do as I did and slice up a little raw red chilli to put on top for a bit of zing.  It's great to be able to make a dish that you can adapt for everyone in the family without feeling you're having a huge turkey twizzler compromise or reaching for the pack of emergency fish fingers...

Don't be scared by the long list of ingredients, this is a piece of cake.

Laksa - Serves 1 adult and 1 child

Ingredients
Paste
50g, scant 2oz Onion, chopped (half an onion)
2 Garlic cloves, chopped
1 heaped tsp smooth peanut butter
2 slices of green chilli, seeds removed (approx 1/4 of a chilli, use more if liked)
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp chopped ginger (see 'make it thrifty' below)
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp water

For the Laksa
1 tsp vegetable oil
150g, 5oz raw prawns (see 'make it thrifty' below)
100g, 3.5oz mushrooms
Half of a tin, approx 200ml, 7 fl oz canned coconut milk
1/2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
1 tbsp fish sauce
Juice of half a lime
1 tbsp fresh coriander (cilantro) plus more to serve
150g, 5oz straight to wok rice noodles (see 'make it thrifty' below)
Additional lime and chilli to serve if liked.

Method

Chop the onion and garlic and put into a jug or small blender with the remaining paste ingredients.  Blend until smooth (I use a stick blender and a jug which I find which is the best way to make a spice paste as in a large blender, you often find bits get stuck).  You can make this earlier in the day and leave it covered in the fridge if you like.

When ready to cook, devein the prawns if liked (I prefer to if I have time) and quarter the mushrooms (or halve if small).

Heat a tsp of oil in a wok, add the paste and heat through.  Add the coconut milk (make sure if you're using half a can you use half of the thick stuff and half of the thin) and another tbsp fish sauce and bring to the boil.  Add the mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes.  Add the prawns, after a minute add the cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with a little water before adding.  Bring to a bubble and put in the noodles.

Heat through then add the lime juice and chopped coriander (cilantro) then serve sprinkling with extra coriander (cilantro) leaf, lime and sliced red chilli if liked.

Make it Thrifty:

I buy frozen ginger as it means it doesn't go off.  It's not that different in price to fresh ginger and it's frozen in portions of about a tbsp.  For this, just allow it to defrost before making the paste.  I also buy raw prawns frozen.  The great thing about buying them frozen is you can be sure of the freshness and again you're not going to have the waste.  Or you could make it with vegetables instead.

In general I'm not a fan of the straight to wok noodles (sorry manufacturers), I find them too soft.  The only reason I used them here was because I couldn't get any dried rice noodles but you can make it far cheaper by using dried noodles and cooking as per pack instructions.

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Tuna 'meatballs' for babies, toddlers and grown ups

Fish can be a hard sell for a lot of kids.  Partly it's flavour, then there's the bones and the look of it.  I was lucky though and for some unknown reason as soon as I had the chance to try fish, I loved it and ate it as much as I could.  I remember peeling prawns at the age of about 6 or 7.  I only hope I encourage my son to do the same because people who say "I don't like fish" are missing out.

We all know nowadays how important Omega 3 oils are in our diets and fish is a great source, especially oily fish like tuna.  Unfortunately unlike some other fish, tinned tuna doesn't have much in the way of Omega 3 but fresh or frozen does.  The great thing is about tuna is it does taste so meaty so if you really do have a reluctant fish eater on your hands, this could be the dish for you!

Tuna "meat"balls - serves 2 adults and 1 toddler

Ingredients

For the Meatballs
200g, Raw tuna (defrosted if frozen)
1 Clove garlic, grated finely
70g Fresh bread made into breadcrumbs
25g, 1 scant oz Extra Strong (sharp) Cheddar
1 tsp Pesto
Olive oil for frying

For the sauce
500g Passata
1 tsp Pesto
1/2 tsp sugar

Method

Cut half of the tuna into a small dice, about 1/3 inch or a cm dice.  The remainder process in a food processor with the breadcrumbs, cheddar, garlic and pesto.

Mix the fish mix with the small chunks of tuna.  (By not processing it all it has a bit more texture.)  Form into balls and chill for a few minutes until they're all ready.

Start to form the sauce by pouring a small layer of passata into a saucepan.  Gently fry the tuna balls then once browned put them onto the layer of passata.  Once you've added all the balls, add in the rest of the passata, cover and simmer for 15 minutes or so.  Check the tuna balls are cooked then add the sugar and remaining pesto to the sauce.

Serve with pasta.  My son was initially reluctant then once he tasted the balls, they all went!  Definitely a hit!

Make it Thrifty
Buy frozen raw tuna rather than chilled.  Although it should say on the pack or display if raw tuna has been defrosted, it almost always has been frozen and defrosted if bought in the UK.  By buying frozen you save yourself a small amount of money but perhaps more importantly it has a huge shelf life meaning if you don't get round to cooking it immediately it's not wasted.

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Sweet and Sour for the Whole Family

Ok, I'm going back on my normal principles here.  There is no cutting out sugar in sweet and sour.  Well not unless you want to go down the sweeteners route which I don't.

That said, this is slightly lower sugar than a normal sweet and sour and full of fruit and vegetables.  It's all credits and debits, i.e. the hidden additional veg kind of offsets the sugar and much better than those nasty balls that you can get; you know the ones with the frighteningly thick batter.  Ewww.  I'm justifying it...

So I've written a recipe for the sauce and a couple of ways to use it.  The great thing is you can make the sauce in advance then use a few spoonfuls for your child's tea then use the rest for yours when you're ready for it.  I know in our household my son is ready for tea around 4:30/5pm which is a stretch for me.

Sweet and Sour - serves 2-3

Ingredients

5 tbsp White wine vinegar
3 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Tomato ketchup
1 tsp Soy Sauce
1.5 tsp Cornflour (cornstarch) mixed with 1 tbsp cold water
1 tsp sweet chilli sauce

To make into a dish
Green peppers
Pineapple
Carrot
Prawns or chicken (or tofu if you prefer)
Oil for stir frying

Method

Put the vinegar, sugar, ketchup and soy into a saucepan and bring to the boil and bubble until the sugar dissolved.  Mix in the cornflour paste and chilli sauce stirring all the time.  Stir well until thickened.

If you're not using immediately, put into a bowl and chill.

To cook stir fry the carrots and chicken if using.  When they chicken is nearly cooked if using or when the carrots are starting to cook, add the sauce and a few tbsp of boiling water (add more throughout cooking if it gets too thick before everything is done or it's looking like it's going to burn).  Add in the green pepper and prawns if using, stir fry for a few minutes.  When nearly done add in the pineapple and when everything is cooked through and hot and the sauce coating everything, serve with rice or noodles.

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Rarebit Fish for the Whole Family

The cooking time on this will vary depending on the size of your fish fillets (particularly the thickness) and whether you are cooking fish fillets from frozen or fresh.  Just be aware of this and keep an eye on them.

This came to me while lying in bed at 3:30am wondering why I couldn't sleep.  The answer came to me that I was a bit disorganised.  This happens to me, if I have something on the following day, I have to get things ready the night before, otherwise I'm a mess.  Anyway, sleeplessness is bad but it is surprisingly good for creativity.  That moment between sleep and awake is where your mind wanders and finds new ideas.  So this is my new idea while thinking "I've not packed up the car", "will I have time to go for a run in the morning?" "Where is my sports bra..."

Rarebit Fish - Serves 3

Ingredients

Three fish fillets, I used pollock (approx 150g, 5oz in weight)

Rarebit topping

100ml, 3.5oz Ale
100g, 3.5oz Extra Mature (sharp) Cheddar
2 tsp Cornflour (cornstarch)
1 egg yolk
1 rounded tsp mild French Mustard

Method

Heat the ale in a saucepan, when warm, mix the cornflour with a little water to make a paste and gradually mix it into the warm beer off the heat until it's thickened slightly.  (Traditionally you'd make a roux for this but the cornflour method is easier.)

Grate the cheddar and put it in the saucepan with the mustard and egg yolk.  Whisk constantly over a low heat until smooth.

Ideally if you have time, allow to cool.  Stick it in the fridge if it's going to be any significant time.

When you're ready to cook, preheat the oven to 200oC.  Spread the now thick rarebit onto the top of the fish.  Bake for 10-20 minutes (check how it's cooking and gauge it by the thickness of your fish.  Thin fish will cook quickly, thicker fish or using frozen fish which is suitable to cook from frozen will take longer, maybe even longer than 20 minutes.)

Serve with vegetables.  A big hit with my son.  This is heavy on the cheese so perhaps not for the smallest babies unless you take a small amount and mix it in with a non salty food.

If you've liked this recipe, please could you nominate me in the Food category of the Britmums Brilliance in Blogging (BIBs) awards?  The URL of my website is http://mamacook.blogspot.co.uk/ or http://mamacook.blogspot.com/ and my twitter handle is @Mamacook_blog.  Last year I was honoured to make it to the finals.  Thank you kind readers!

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Prawn and Potato Soup for the Whole Family

It is soup season.  Although the snow has gone, it's still brrr.  That said, I don't want all of my soups to be stodgy and heavy, this is a sunshine of a soup.  Also my poor little man needed some cheering up and he loves prawns.

Prawn and Potato Soup - Serves 2 adults or 1 adult and 1 prawn obsessed little boy

Ingredients

2 Cloves of garlic
1 tsp olive oil
1 Carrot
90g Chorizo, diced
200g New or waxy potatoes, diced
500g Passata
300ml Boiling water
1/2 tsp Smoked paprika
1 Bay leaf
A sprig of rosemary
10-12 or so raw king prawns (I do spoil my boy)

Method

Warm the oil in a pan and saute the carrot and garlic for a minute or so.  Add the chorizo and fry until the red oil starts to run.  Add in the paprika, stir for a few minutes.  Add in the rest of the ingredients apart from the prawns.

Bring to the boil and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes and carrots are just done.  Add in the prawns and simmer for another 3 minutes or so or until the prawns are done.

Once the soup is done, fish out the bay leaf and serve with crusty bread or garlic bread.  My son loved this and enthusiastically ate his whole portion.

Although this does have raw prawns in which aren't cheap, look out for them in the freezer section as they're quite often on offer.  Just defrost before cooking.

I've linked this up here.

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Oodles of Noodles for toddlers

An 'OMG what am I going to feed him' moment came upon me a few days ago.  Not that the fridge wasn't groaning but it was groaning with all the high fat foods for the festivities to come.  So I came up with this.  A delicious (if I say so myself) slightly sweet sauce which worked well with the noodles and would also be great with some chicken.

Oodles of noodles (aka Prawn noodles with honey and 5 spice sauce) - serves 1 toddler

Ingredients

1oz, 30-35g dried noodles
1/3 Red pepper (capsicum)
4 Mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp Oil
1 tsp Soy Sauce
1 tsp Honey
a large pinch of 5 spice powder
2 tsp water
1 tsp Cornflour (cornstarch)
A handful of cooked prawns (defrosted if frozen) or cooked chicken

Method

Cook the noodles following pack instructions but cook them for a minute or two less than recommended as you will be stir frying them.

Heat the oil in a wok and start to stir fry the mushrooms for a minute or so.  Mix the soy, honey, 5 spice, water and cornflour together.  Add the pepper to the wok and stir fry for a further minute.  Add the drained noodles, prawns and sauce and stir together until everything is hot through and the sauce is clinging to the noodles.

Allow to cool a little and serve.  Very popular with my little man.  He had a face covered in sauce afterwards!

Not one for babies this because of the honey.  Honey is a lovely, natural, safe food for kids over 12 months but before that age, it's possible they can contract botulism from it.  This is because honey often contains botulism spores.  Normally it's not the spores that make people ill but a toxin (poison) which is formed in the food.  The spores can't germinate in the honey and make the toxin so it's completely safe to eat if you're not really young but in the immature gut of a baby, the spores can germinate there and cause illness.  Cooking does not kill the spores either so steer clear of honey if under the age of 1.  After that, it's completely fine.

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