Fish and Pecorino lasagne

 

Fish and pecorino lasagne

 

It might sound odd, but it tastes absolutely delicious. If you like fish pie and you like lasagne, you will love fish lasagne. It was supposed to have cheddar and parmesan, but I picked up pecorino cheese by mistake. Not one to trudge back to the shops, I decided to give it a go, and it worked brilliantly. The cheese sauce gives the whole dish an extra kick, and the crunchy cheese topping is the icing on the cake, so to speak! Use whatever combinations of fish and cheese takes your fancy.

Recipe for Fish and Pecorino Lasagne

1 pint skimmed milk
2 bay leaves
1 garlic clove
40g butter
50g wholemeal plain flour
1 tsp English mustard
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 fresh lasagne sheets
100g smoked haddock
150g cod fillet
200g prawns
50g sweetcorn
50g wholemeal breadcrumbs
300g cheddar cheese, grated
200g pecorino cheese, grated

Heat up the milk, bay leaves and garlic in a pan over a medium heat and warm to just before boiling point, then remove from the heat. Then slowly melt the butter in a separate pan and stir in the flour carefully, stirring all the time. Take the bay leaves and garlic out of the milk, then gradually add a little of the milk to the flour and butter mixture. Add the milk bit by bit, stirring all the time until you have a thick, smooth sauce. Once all the milk is added, bring the sauce to the boil, add the mustard, salt and pepper and then turn the heat off. Put enough of the cheese aside for a generous topping, then add the rest to the sauce and stir until it’s melted. Add all the fish and the sweetcorn to the sauce, then put a quarter of the mixture into the dish, followed by a sheet of lasagne and so on. Mix the breadcrumbs with the remaining grated cheese, and cover the top of the lasagne. Cook at 180°C for 45 minutes, or until the top is golden and the sauce is bubbling. Serve with garden peas and garlic bread.

© Katheryn Rice 2008

Warm salad Nicoise with tuna steak

It’s sometimes quick and easy to make yourself a tuna Nicoise with tinned tuna, and often a half decent meal out will even offer the same, but the best kind of tuna Nicoise involves fresh, meaty tuna, preferably from a renewable source.*

Mr Rice loves his Nicoise salads, so I thought it only fair to treat him to a special version to remind him how much I appreciate his husband skills. This recipe is based on Simon Rimmer’s version – the dressing and vegetables are warm, as well as the freshly griddled tuna, so it’s perfect for a chilly day.

Recipe for warm salad Nicoise with tuna steak
100g green beans
100g new potatoes
12 cherry tomatoes
2 eggs
2 fresh tuna steaks
1 tbsp olive oil
Dressing
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
30ml white wine vinegar
150ml olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
salt and pepper

Scrub the new potatoes and halve if necessary, to make them all bite-size, then put them on to boil for about ten minutes. Put the two eggs onto boil for ten minutes.Then trim the green beans and steam for 7-8 minutes. Meanwhile, for the dressing, whisk together the mustard, vinegar, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

When the dressing is mixed, transfer it to a frying pan and warm over a low heat. Drain the potatoes and them, the steamed beans, potatoes and tomatoes and toss them in the warm dressing. Remove from the heat.

Brush the tuna steaks with a little olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook the tuna steaks on a hot griddle pan for about 30 seconds on each side. To serve, pile up the dressed vegetables and place the tuna steak on top, with the halved hard boiled egg on the side.

*The salad can also work with tinned tuna. Just drain it and add to the vegetables and dressing at the last minute. 

© Katheryn Rice 2008

Healthy Fish and Chips

 

I love fish and chips but these days it feels so unhealthy to eat a whole battered, deep fried fish. In any case, I prefer to make it myself at home, because I know what’s going into it, and of course for the fun of it too.

This is a really delicious version of fish and chips that you can make yourself, safe in the knowledge that it is reasonably healthy. I made this for the other Mrs Rice, my gorgeous sister-in-law when she came over one evening and we had a lovely, chilled out time, free from the Rice brothers’ showing off.

Recipe for Health Fish and Chips
2 fish fillets (I used plaice, but choose whichever fish you like)
1 egg
100g breadcrumbs
1 tsp paprika (smoked or plain)
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp sea salt
¼ tsp black pepper
50g wholemeal flour
100g wholemeal breadcrumbs
50g butter
2 potatoes

Preheat the oven to 200ºC and line 2 baking trays with foil, and a tiny bit of oil. Wash the potatoes thoroughly and cut into wedges. Separate the eggs and put the yolks to one side. Whisk up the eggs whites until they are light and fluffy, then quickly toss the potatoes in the eggs until they are all covered and pour it all onto one of the baking trays and put it into the oven immediately. This is a trick a friend told me about that I thought sounded barmy, but it really helps to give the chips a crunchy coating without having to deep fry them. They will take about an hour to cook, and make sure you turn them at least twice during this time to get the best coating.

The fish takes about 7-10 minutes to cook, so when you think the chips have about 20 minutes to go, start preparing the fish. Gently beat the egg yolks and pour onto a medium-sized plate. Put the flour onto another plate, and mix the breadcrumbs, spices, seasoning and zest together and the stir in the melted butter.

Arrange them in this order: flour, egg, breadcrumbs. Take each piece of fish and coat the flesh side with flour, then the egg, then the breadcrumb mixture, and place it skin side down onto the baking tray. Cook for 7-10 minutes, until the breadcrumbs are crispy and golden.

© Katheryn Rice 2007

Weird but tasty snack – Oatcakes with cream cheese and anchovies

I used to eat anchovies on hot buttered toast, but I don’t eat much toast these days. This is a slightly healthier, low GL version. Oat cakes have a wholesome, rough texture, so slather on some smooth cream cheese and then blast it with the tang of the anchovies. A delicious post-pub snack.

© Katheryn Rice 2007