Tag: fish

Fish Stew – Sexy Is As Sexy Does

You often hear people describe food as “sexy,” but I’ve
always believed it’s really more the occasion and company that makes a meal
sexy. Put your Valentine across a candlelit table, pour a couple glasses of
wine, and no matter what you serve up, sexiness will ensue.

Having said that, it certainly doesn’t hurt to hedge your
bets and serve up a naturally sensuous dish like this simple, but
sophisticated fish stew. This is great for you less than confident cooks, since
your timing doesn’t need to be that precise. Did I mention there’d be wine
around?

You can actually do everything ahead, up until adding the
fish if you want. Since the pieces will cook in between 5 and 10 minutes, when
you’re ready to eat, simply bring the mixture to a boil, add the fish, and
simmer until done. You can also hold the stew over very low heat for a good
15-20 minutes without major problems, in case, well, you know.

By the way, make sure you check and see if your dining
partner likes fish and wine, as this would be a horrible choice if they don’t.
If they do, you’re in business. Almost any type of fish or shellfish will work
in this, as well as any small, cute potatoes. Just don’t forget to peel the middles, as it’s kind of a big deal. I hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 4 portions:
2 tbsp butter

1 large leek, chopped

1/2 cup sliced shallots

1/2 tsp salt, more to taste

3/4 cup white wine

1 1/4 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup sliced fennel root

1 pound small red potatoes

cayenne to taste

1/2 cup cream

1 pound boneless fish filets

1 tbsp chopped tarragon

Incoming search terms:

Curried fish in yoghurt

This is a really terrific fish curry that I found in Guardian Weekend by Vivek Singh, via Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Watch out for the chilli in this – the way I use chillies is to buy packs of non-descript chillies from Waitrose and then let them sit in a jar until I need to use them. Of course, while they’re sitting around they famously get very hot. I used one large one in this curry, no seeds, and it was fucking spicy. I mean, I don’t really mind because I’m rock hard like that (I was especially tough and cool when I GOT SOME IN MY EYE!!!).

But the thing is, because you’re not going to cook the chilli much here, you need to have a care for how hot your chilli might be whatever stage in its life it is and you might, perhaps, only put half in.

Anyway I really recommend this, it was delicious and doesn’t take long. Like all curry recipes, the ingredients list doesn’t seem to half go on for bloody ever, but it’s worth buying everything in if you don’t have it, especially the cinnamon sticks, which really make this extra yummy, in my opinion.

Even though I’ve always thought that cinnamon in curry is a bit gross, like fruit in leafy salads. But it’s nearly Christmas for god’s sake!!! You ought to have cinnamon sticks poking out of every drawer.

Curried fish in yoghurt
enough for 4

300g plain whole-milk yoghurt (I used Greek yoghurt, which was fine)
2 tsp grated fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, grated
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp chilli powder
salt and pepper
500g white fish – haddock or similar, cut into chunks
oil for frying
1 bay leaf
2 cardomom pods, squashed with the flat of a knife blade
1 cinnamon stick
3 cloves
1 large onion, or three tiny ones, chopped or finely sliced
chilli, de-seeded and chopped or sliced
Fresh coriander and black onion seeds to scatter over the top if you fancy although on reflection, what with my rodent issues, onion seeds look a lot like mouse poo. This did not occur to me last night as I was eating this, which is a good thing. Sorry I’ve really ruined the whole thing for you now.

1 Mix together the yoghurt, ginger, garlic, turmeric, chilli powder and large pinch of salt. Turn the fish out into the marinade and leave for 30 mins.

2 Heat the oil in a pan then add the bay leaf, cardomom, cinnamon and cloves. Cook these for 2-3 minutes until you can smell the cinnamon and cloves. Add the onion and chilli and turn the heat right down. Cook these, turning often, for 10 minutes (use a timer).

3 Add the fish and its marinade and cook for 10 minutes. Turn it once carefully during cooking as you don’t want to smash up the fish. Cooked yoghurt always ends up looking a bit grainy and gross, so don’t worry about that.

4 Add more salt if you think it needs it (it probably does) and then scatter over coriander and onion seeds if you want to.

In fact, with all these cinnamon and cloves it’s really quite a Christmassy dish.

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Shrimp Ceviche Cocktail

Shrimp cocktail is fine, but when I want something special, I like to have my shrimp ceviche style!

Tossed with avocados, cucumbers, tomatoes, cilantro and fresh lime
juice… and sometimes I add a serrano pepper for zing. Served in
martini glasses, it’s the perfect appetizer for any special occasion and
perfect for the Holidays.

I do have a few variations of this, zesty lime shrimp^[1]
can be served as a side dish, but I wanted this to be more of a
cocktail appetizer. You can easily make this ahead, but I would add the
avocados right before serving so they don’t get brown.

If you want to make a larger dish to bring to a party, this Mexican Shrimp Cobb Salad^[2] in a trifle dish is quite impressive and delicious.

Note: For food safety reasons, I used cooked shrimp. While the citrus juice “cooks” the fish, it doesn’t kill the bacteria. This isn’t an issue with raw fish, but it is with shellfish like shrimp it is. If you have access to fresh shrimp off the boat, then raw shrimp would be fine.

Shrimp Ceviche Cocktail
gordon-ramsay-recipe.com
Servings: 9 • Size: 1/2 cup salad + 1/4 cup lettuce • Old Points: 3 pts • Points+: 3 pt
Calories: 100 • Fat: 4 g • Carb: 5 g • Fiber: 2 g • Protein: 11 g • Sugar: 1 g
Sodium: 135 mg (without salt)

Ingredients:

1/4 cup chopped red onion
2 small limes, squeezed
1 tsp olive oil
1 lb large cooked shrimp, peeled and deveined*
1 medium hass avocado, diced into chunks
1 medium tomato, diced
1 cup diced English cucumber, not peeled
1 serrano pepper, seeds removed and minced
2 tbsp chopped cilantro, plus more for garnish
salt and fresh black pepper to taste
1 lime cut into wedges for serving
2 1/4 cups shredded iceberg lettuce

Directions:

In a small bowl combine red onion, lime juice, olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper. Let them marinate at least 5 minutes to mellow the flavor of the onion.

In a large bowl combine shrimp, avocado, tomato, cucumber, serrano pepper. Combine all the ingredients together, add cilantro and gently toss. Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Fill nine martini glasses with shredded lettuce. Top each with 1/2 cup shrimp salad and garnish with a sprig of cilantro. Serve with a wedge of lime.

Makes 4 1/2 cups.

*Weight after shrimp has been peeled.

References

^{^} zesty lime shrimp (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)
^{^} Mexican Shrimp Cobb Salad (www.gordon-ramsay-recipe.com)