Spice-crumbed Pouting Fillets with Cumin Minted Peas

I was watching Jamie's Fish Supper (part of Channel 4's The Big Fish Fight) on youtube, and he was introducing new fishes in the British waters that are less popular and known than our usual salmon and cod. I've always supported getting these 'unwanted' fishes, not just because they are a much more sustainable option that's better for the environment, but because they are a lot cheaper, and also because they do taste fantastic. I've tried mackerel and sardines, but there are some fishes that I've never heard of until this show, one of which is the pouting.

Pouting fillets (skin side down, skin side up)

"Pouting is a totally underrated fish. It's way up there quality-wise and is buttery, flaky juicy and delicious, not to mention a wonderful carrier of flavours. It's from the same family as cod so makes a great alternative to its overfished cousin." Jamie believes that if more people start asking for this at the supermarkets' fish counters, these big supermarket giants will start to see a demand for these 'lesser fishes' and start stocking them, reducing the pressure on the overfished favourites. And I think it's working. Because, guess what I saw when I went to Tesco's? (:

Like Jamie, I breadcrumbed my pouting fillets, but tossed in some chilli and spices too, and also made cumin minted peas and baked spicy sweet potato chips (not pictured, because my timing was off, so they weren't ready by the time the fish was done). This is (sustainable) fish and chips with an Indian twist!

Spice-crumbed Pouting with Cumin Minted Peas

serves 2

Ingredients

For the fish

2 pouting fillets

2-3 tbsp plain flour

1 egg, beaten

about 3/4 cup breadcrumbs (I used stale sourdough bread, dried in the oven, then crushed in a ziplock bag)

1/2 tsp chilli flakes

1/2 tsp cumin powder

1/2 tsp garlic powder

pinch of turmeric

sea salt, white pepper

2-3 tbsp ghee/coconut oil (for frying)

For the peas

1 cup frozen peas (I tried this with fresh peas again. AMAZING.)

2 heaped tbsp butter (yes. that's the key to yummy peas, according to marco pierre white)

1/2 tsp cumin

handful of chopped mint leaves

sea salt, black pepper

For the sweet potato chips

I posted this before

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees celsius.

2. Mix the breadcrumbs with the chilli, cumin, garlic, and turmeric.

3. Prep your fish fillets in this order: season, then coat with flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs.

I originally wanted to bake them

4. Over medium high heat, add the oil, and when it's hot, add the fish fillets. Don't be nosy and poke around! Just leave it there till the bottom gets golden and crisp about 5-6 min, before flipping carefully to cook for another 2 min, lowering the heat. Set aside, tented with foil.

5. Add some water to the pan, and throw in the butter to create an emulsion.

I love watching butter foam.

6. Add the peas with the seasoning, cook for 3-4 min, before adding in the mint. Drain, serve.

Start to finish took only about 15-20 min!

The chips though, take about 45 min... so yes, learn from my mistake ): either start them early, or well, deep fry them (in loads of healthy saturated fat, like coconut oil or ghee or lard).

I had my modified fish and chips with malt vinegar sprinkled over of course, and some Indian mint raita instead of tartare sauce.

Verdict: Moist flaky flesh, definitely comparable to cod! I really liked the texture of the fish, and although not exactly full of flavour, the fish carried the flavours of the spices well. Yum. As for the peas, do try adding the cumin and mint, they really bring out the sweetness of the peas, and of course, you must add the butter, butter makes everything better (:

This is part of Mangia Monday, Hearth and Soul Blog Hop, Tasty Tuesdays.

Baked Egg in Jacket Sweet Potato, with Chilli Lime and Coriander Butter

Besides making the garlic and herb butter, I also made a flavoured butter, this time infused with the spice of chilli and the freshness of lime zest and coriander. I had them in the fridge anyway because of the type of food I usually cook, and I really wanted to give my own special twist to the usual herb butter.

These few nights have been a mad rush for deadlines, and I haven't had much time to spend fiddling with complicated recipes or those that need me to be hands on. There's been a lot of "throw vegetables and meat and herbs into the slow cooker", and of course, "throw things into the oven". But while I may compromise on effort, I don't compromise on taste or nutrition. A baked sweet potato is simple, yet oozing with sweetness (and vitamins), and topped with an egg, and of course, that yummy butter, I've got a hearty delicious supper ready.

Baked Egg in Jacket Sweet Potato, with Chilli Lime and Coriander Butter

serves 1

Ingredients

1 sweet potato, washed and scrubbed, but skin-on

1 egg

2 coins of chilli lime and coriander butter (see below)

a bit more butter (plain)

coarse sea salt

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees celsius.

2. Pat the sweet potato dry and prick all over with a fork. This allows the steam to escape and prevents it from exploding. Rub melted plain butter over the skin and season with coarse sea salt to get crispier skin.

3. Bake for about 30-45 min (depends how big your sweet potato is!), till tender. Remove, and lower the heat to about 170.

4. Cut the baked sweet potato, but not all the way. Drop one thin coin of chilli butter in so it melts into the soft sweet flesh, then crack an egg over.

Might be a good idea to transfer to an (oven-safe) dish you plan to eat from (if not already), because the egg will probably ooze all over. It's messy, but I don't really mind, I like it when the liquids (egg white, sticky sweet potato juices and spicy zesty butter) all intermingle and caramelise around the sweet potato. Alternatively, you can slice a bit off the top of the sweet potato, scoop out a bit of the flesh, then crack the egg into the hole. That'd be a lot classier, but a pretty dish wasn't really my top priority then.

5. Return to oven for about 10 min more till the egg is set. Serve with another coin of chilli butter and some lightly dressed greens.

Chilli Lime and Coriander Butter

makes 1 little log

Ingredients

1/4 block of butter

2 tbsp chopped coriander leaves (i.e cilantro)

grated zest of 1/2 a lime

1 tsp chilli flakes (to taste)

sea salt (to taste)

Method

refer to my post on making your own flavoured butter!

I love this butter melted on fish (again, see previous post), but particularly on roasted root vegetables or tubers, because the spicy salty nutty melted butter just complements the concentrated sweetness of the root vegetables, and the lime zest and coriander helps to bring some freshness to counteract that stodginess.

This is part of Full Plate Thursday, Pennywise Platter Thursday and Slightly Indulgent Tuesday, and Herbs and Flowers in my Platter- Coriander, (started by Seduce your tastebuds).

Curried Roast Chicken Leg with Spicy Sweet Potato Chips

I love curry, I cook curry a lot, I eat curry a lot, I hope my sister marries an Indian one day. I don't know why I've not been posting more curries. This is still not a curry, but those wonderful aromatic spices and flavours help to add the much-needed kick to a standard roast chicken (leg) recipe. Together with sweet salty spicy sweet potato chips it's a really easy roast dinner. (When I came to the UK, I learnt that chips aren't the thin wafers in a can of Pringles. Those are crisps. A chip is a fatter fry/ skinnier wedge. Well, at least according to the British).

Curried Roast Chicken Leg with Spicy Sweet Potato Chips

Serves 1

Ingredients

1 chicken leg, skin-on, bone-on

1 medium sweet potato, scrubbed clean and cut into fat sticks

1 large banana shallot, halved, not peeled (you can use a normal shallot. or even a small onion.)

2 cloves garlic, smashed, not peeled

1/ 2 tsp coriander

1/4 tsp cumin

1/4 tsp turmeric

1/4 tsp cinnamon

sea salt, chilli powder (to taste, about 1/2 tsp)

1 tbsp melted coconut oil + 1 tsp butter (you can replace the oil with evoo, or unrefined palm oil)

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees celsius.

2. Make the spice paste/marinade/rub.

For the chicken: cumin, turmeric, and half of the coriander, chilli powder, salt and coconut oil.

For the sweet potato: cinnamon, half the coriander, salt and chilli powder, salt and coconut oil.

Rub the spice paste all over the chicken and sweet potato, lifting up the chicken skin a bit to rub some onto the flesh too.

3. In the middle of a roasting tray, place the halved shallot cut side down, and the chicken leg on top of it. Scatter the sweet potato and garlic around the chicken, be careful not to overlap!

4. Put into the oven and roast for about 45 min, or until the chicken skin is brown and crisp, and the chips are tender on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Cucumber and Mint Raita (optional, but just do it.)

serves 4 (save the extra or quarter the recipe)

Ingredients

250 ml plain whole yogurt

1/2 cucumber, peeled and chopped very finely

handful of mint leaves, chopped very finely

pinch of cumin powder

pinch of salt

Method

1. Sprinkle salt over the cucumber and then leave to sit and drain and squeeze out all the water from the cucumber.

2. Mix all ingredients together.

Finally, garnish the dish with fresh coriander, and serve with a dollop of cucumber and mint raita.

This chicken is just oozing with juicy spicy savouriness, and the shallots and sweet potatoes are bursting with sweetness, all balanced by the refreshing yogurt and cucumber. Yay now go wiggle your head bollywood-style.

This is part of Seasonal Sunday.

Two more ways with nettles

The sheer mettle of nettles. They are taking over the garden: cropping up in the vegetable patch, dominating the borders and creating no-go zones in the middle of the lawn.

But revenge comes in many forms – all of them tasty.



Nettle soup is a well-worn classic: virtuous and brilliantly evocative of Spring but hardly exciting and there are a thousand and one recipes for it washing around the Internet. In short, it needed re-mastering.

Sweet Potato, Nettle and Chickpea Soup



This is a soup with substance; a filling bowlful of hearty satisfaction. Pepped up with the warmth of some aromatic spices it is perfect for those evenings when the sun dips a little too fast leaving the seven o’clock air with a surprising, biting chill.

Two large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
A baking potato, peeled and diced
Two white onions, peeled and sliced
As much garlic as you wish
Spices: cumin, cinnamon, coriander, cloves, star anise – take your pick
Lots of fresh nettle tops
A tin of chickpeas
Vegetable stock, about 3 pints

I’m fairly certain you know how to make a soup so forgive me if I patronise.

Fry off your chosen spices in a little oil until they in turn start to release their oils. The smell will change, just take care not to burn them else you will add a bitter note to the soup. Crush them in a pestle and mortar then add the garlic.

Fry the onion until soft then add the potato (both sweet and regular). Give it a little colour then add the spices and garlic before covering with stock. Leave to simmer until the potatoes are cooked then blend and pass through a sieve to remove and rogue crunchy spices.



Wash and pick over the nettles removing any thick stems and inevitable creepy crawlies. Cook in plenty of rapidly boiling, salted water then leave them to drain in a colander or sieve. Chop the nettles then add to the soup along with a can of drained chickpeas. Heat through and serve with bread or cheese straws anda big jumper.

Nettle Aloo

As an accompaniment to Indian food, aloo saag (potatoes and spinach) is a firm favourite. Here the spinach is replaced with blanched and chopped nettles which gives a wonderfully fresh, almost grassy flavour. It works.

A large white onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
Teaspoon of mustard seeds
Two teaspoons black onion seeds
Two teaspoons methi (fenugreek seeds)
Salt and pepper
2-3 potatoes, depending on size, peeled and diced into c.2cm cubes
Nettles, lots.

Blanch the nettles in boiling water then drain in a colander. Finely chop them and set them to one side.

Boil the potatoes in salted water until just shy of being cooked. About 10 minutes should do it

Fry the spices in oil, lower the heat then add the onion and cook until it softens. Add the garlic then the potatoes. Cook until they begin to colour and are soft throughout then add the chopped nettles. Let down with a little water if necessary, season and serve with whichever curries you desire.

Photos by @photolotte (flickr)