The Scandi fish stew

A simple Scandi-inspired dish with oodles of flavour that’s perfect for those wintery evenings with a cooking time of circa 30 minutes.
The stew itself is a combination of trusty root veggies with a few herbs, topped with a piece of fish, creme fraiche and a dill infused fennel slaw for added crunch.
Change the fish as you see fit or swap it for an alternative protein.
I have previously used the base and added leftover roasted chicken to it. It’d also work with some smoked tofu or a few chickpeas if you are looking for a plant-based version.
It’s a versatile dish so make it your own.

Ingredients for 4 portions

For the stew:
1/2 medium celeriac, peeled & cubed (300g approximately)
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced (220g approximately)
400g new potato, washed and cut in half 
Leaves from a sprig of rosemary, finely chopped, (1 tablespoon approximately)
Leaves from 3 sprigs of thyme, (1 heaped tablespoon approximately)
3 heaped tablespoons of tomato purée
1 stock cube, any kind
Oil for cooking
Sea salt and black pepper to season

4x fish fillets of any kind, I used lightly smoked salmon
1 pot of full-fat creme fraiche

For the fennel slaw
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
1/2 bunch of dill, leaves only (substitute for parsley if dill isn’t your thing)
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Sea salt and black pepper to season

Method:
To make the stew, heat a tablespoon of oil in a large pan on a medium heat.
Add the celeriac, potato and carrot and saute for 5 minutes, until the veggies are beginning to colour.
Add the herbs, stock cube and tomato purée and cook for a further minute, stirring occasionally.
Season really well with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Pour in enough water to just cover the veggies and allow it to simmer gently, without a lid, until the veg are cooked through. This will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
The sauce will thicken up as the stew cooks. Give it a stir every now and then to stop the bottom from catching.
Taste the stew and add more sea salt and black pepper if needed.
Whilst the stew is cooking, make the fennel slaw.
Simply combine all of the ingredients, season with salt and pepper and set aside. This won’t taste of much by itself but it does come into its own once combined with the rest of the dish.
Cook the fish fillets either by pan-frying them or by preheating the oven to 180 degrees C and baking them for 10-minutes or so. Season with sea salt and black pepper.
If you are unsure how to cook fish, there are a lot of tutorials on YouTube and elsewhere on the tinterweb. Give it a Google.

To plate, add 1-2 ladles of the stew to a pasta bowl. Top with a fish fillet, a tablespoon of creme fraiche and a tablespoon of the fennel slaw.

Note: this dish doesn’t freeze well, but the stew will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days and the fennel slaw for up to 2 days.

A fantastical super salad

Ingredients for 2:

For the beetroot “hummus”
2 large beetroots
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon of tahini
Juice of half a lemon

For the grain layer
60g quinoa, cooked according to packet instructions
1 tin of chickpeas, drained but reserve the liquid
zest of 1/2 lemon

For the toasted seeds
2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons of sunflower seeds
1/4 of a teaspoon of cumin
1/2 a teaspoon of black onion seed
Tamari or soy sauce

A handful of blueberries

8 cos lettuce leaves
2 handfuls of watercress
1/2 small fennel, finely sliced

2 large Clarence Court eggs, boiled for 7 minutes
A handful of walnuts
A tablespoon of alfalfa

For the dressing
1/3 of a bunch of parsley
Leaves from 3 sprigs of mint
Leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Juice of 1/2 lime
1 teaspoon of wholegrain mustard
1 teaspoon of honey, agave or maple syrup
50ml of good quality olive oil or rapeseed oil

Method:
To make the beetroot “hummus”, pop the beetroots on a small roasting tray, cover with tin foil and bake at 180 degrees C until soft (approximately 1 hour).
For the last 20 minutes, add the garlic.
Allow both to cool then peel them.
Pop the garlic, beetroot, lemon juice, tahini and a good pinch of sea salt in a blender.
Pour in 1/3 of the tin of chickpea water and blend until completely smooth. Add more chickpea water if needed (i.e. if it isn’t blending).

To make the grain layer, combine the quinoa and chickpeas in a bowl. Add the zest of 1/2 lemon and season well with sea salt and black pepper.

To make the toasted seeds, pop all of the ingredients apart from the soy sauce in a pan. Heat on medium until the pumpkin seeds start to pop. Remove from the heat, add a splash of soy sauce and stir.
The soy sauce will evaporate, leaving the seeds crunchy but with a hint of umami.
If you’ve added too much soy, just pop everything back on a high heat until it evaporates.

To make the dressing, put all of the ingredients in a blender cup and blend until completely smooth and well combined.

To assemble:
-Grab two plates, pop a heaped tablespoon of the beetroot hummus on the bottom.
- Divide the grain mix between the plates.
- Sprinkle on a tablespoon or so of the seed mix.
- Now add the blueberries.
- Pop the lettuce, fennel and watercress in a separate large bowl. Dress with the salad dressing, stir well then divide between the two plates.
- Top with 1 egg, walnuts and alfalfa
- Season each salad with sea salt and black pepper.
- Eat immediately.

Roasted red pepper & chicken pasta

Ingredients for 4:

2 free-range or organic chicken breasts
, diced
1 onion
, peeled and sliced
1 stick of celery
, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 jar of sun-dried tomatoes (in oil), drained
2 large peppers (or 3 smaller ones), 1 red and 1 orange/ yellow

rapeseed oil for cooking
sea salt & black pepper to season

one small bunch of fresh parsley

100g of pasta per person - suggested fusilli or conchiglie

Method:
Cook the pasta according to packet instructions, reserving 2-3 tablespoons of the water.
Put the grill on.
Cut down the side of each pepper so you end up with 4 flat pieces.
Lay the pepper pieces on a large roasting tray.
Put the roasting tray under the grill and grill the pepper pieces until the skin starts to blacken and blister.
Set aside to cool.
Once cool enough to handle, peel off the charred skin and discard.
Put the pepper pieces in a blender with the tomato and sundried tomato.
Season with black pepper and a generous pinch of sea salt and blend until completely smooth.
Add a splash of oil to a large frying pan and put it on a medium heat.
Add the onion and celery to the pan and sweat for 3-5 minutes, until they start to soften, adding a splash of water if it looks like it may be browning.
Add the chicken and garlic to the pan and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Season with sea salt and black pepper.
Pour the sauce over the chicken and cook for 2-3 more minutes, ensuring that the chicken is completely cooked through.
Stir in the pasta and the pasta water if needed.
Check the seasoning.
Ladle into bowls and serve with a generous sprinkling of parsley on top.

No bake carrot cake flapjacks

Ingredients for 5 flapjacks:
1-2 tablespoons of maple syrup, agave or honey
2 tablespoons of coconut oil
1 carrot, grated
80g of oats
1 tablespoon each of pumpkin, sunflower, chia and sesame seeds (if you don’t have one, use double of another)
3 tablespoons of desiccated coconut
A handful of Brazil nuts, roughly chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons each of goji berries & raisins
1 scoop of whey protein (optional)
3 tablespoons of any milk
1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon & vanilla essence

Method:
Line a lunch box/ Tupperware with greaseproof paper.
Melt the coconut oil in a small pan.
Add all of the ingredients to a bowl.
Pour in the coconut oil. Stir really well. I mean really well.
Taste to see if you like the flavour & adjust if necessary (i.e. add more honey if it isn’t sweet enough or perhaps a bit more cinnamon).
Press the mixture into the Tupperware and smooth out the top.
Freeze for 30 minutes to firm it up.
Cut into bars and store in the fridge.

Chinese-style beef noodles, sesame cucumber, 7-minute egg & sprinkles

Oriental cooking isn’t my forte.
But I was researching tasty things to make with beef mince and came across a tasty looking beef noodle recipe. It used a lot of pre-made sauces like hoisin and oyster sauce but in the name of research, I decided to give it a go and see what happens.
The recipe wasn’t terrible but it left me feeling really lethargic, super thirsty and just a bit meh.
I knew I could do better and above all, I knew I could create a bowl of food that will leave you nourished and full of energy.
I took out the sugary sauces, added tonnes of flavour with 5 spice, ginger and garlic and topped the bowl with pretty greens and an egg for extra goodness.

This delicious bowl of food will give you 5 of your 10-a-day (hiya vitamins & minerals), lots of protein and lots of feel-good vibes (because it’s so comforting). 

Plus it’s super tasty, so make it.

Fyi - it’s pretty easy to make this with veggie mince too

Ingredients & method to feed 4:
320g of organic beef mince
1 pack of medium egg noodles cooked to packet instructions

1 red onion, sliced
1 teaspoon of Chinese 5 spice 

2 carrots, chopped into matchsticks 

1/2 head of broccoli, chopped into matchsticks

A large handful of beansprouts
4x Clarence Court eggs, boiled for 7 minutes then peeled

Pop a large frying pan (or wok) on a medium-high heat.
Fry the mince and onion until browned.
Season well with salt & pepper.
Add the carrots, broccoli and 5 spice, cook for a further minute. Season everything again with salt & pepper.

In the meantime, make the flavour paste. 


For the flavour paste:

1 thumb-sizes piece of ginger, peeled

2 large cloves of garlic, peeled

1/2 stock cube (veg, chicken or beef)

2 tbsp of soy sauce or tamari (I used Kikkomanuk tamari)
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
100ml of water

Blitz everything in a blender until smooth.
Pour over the beef & veg.
Swirl a splash of water in the blender to remove any “stuck” flavour paste and pour this over the beef too.
Add the noodles & beansprouts and cook for a further minute. 


For the cucumber

1 cucumber, made into ribbons with a peeler

Juice of 1 lime
1 teaspoon agave or maple syrup
2 tbsp sesame oil
Pinch of sea salt & black pepper
1 tsp sesame seeds
Combine everything and set it aside to marinade whilst you make the rest of the dish.

To sprinkle on top:
3 spring onions, sliced 

1 bunch of fresh coriander

Divide the beef noodles between bowls.
Top with an egg, a handful of fresh coriander, some spring onion slices and a large tablespoon of cucumber.