Food & Drink
Seafood recipes from former Masterchef winner Jane Devonshire, plus Rose Murray Brown’s wineries to follow
As a parent, I know it can sometimes be a challenge to get your children to try new fish dishes. These recipes are the perfect place to start. They’re quick and easy and are packed with delicious flavours for all the family to enjoy.
There’s access to some truly delicious seafood in Scotland. Fish is a great, versatile, fast food option and there are so many dishes that can be quick to prepare and easy to cook – it’s also a lot more affordable than many people realise, making it ideal for families.
Children love colourful dishes so I’m always looking for ways to introduce a bit of colour into our dinners at home. There are also many health benefits associated with eating more fish and experts recommend we eat two portions per week. The multitude of benefits include stronger bones, increased brain function and healthier hair, nails and skin as well as helping to prevent serious health conditions such as coronary heart disease. n @janecdevonshire Jane Devonshire and Seafish have
joined forces with the launch of the ongoing Back to School campaign teaching parents and children how to cook simple seafood suppers, www.fishisthedish.co.uk/health/back-to-school. It’s part of Seafish’s wider Fish 2 a Week campaign which aims to encourage the public to eat two portions of fish each week, as recommended by health experts, www.seafish.org
Cod and green lentils
Fish is just the perfect instant food. This dish takes 30 minutes from start to finish and is a real mid-week favourite. It’s also a one-pan dish so there’s hardly any washing up. If you want to cook your own lentils, puy lentils are the ones I use.
Serves four 1 tbsp olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 250g cherry tomatoes, quartered 4 x 150g cod, haddock or coley fillet 2 x 380g packs of green lentils in water, drained and washed 75g olives from a jar, chopped 250ml hot vegetable/fish stock 15g flat leaf parsley, finely chopped. 1 tbsp white wine vinegar black pepper, optional a few chopped spring onions to garnish, optional
1 Heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan. Add the onion and gently sauté until translucent and cooked through. Then add the tomatoes.
2 Clear a space in the pan. Add the fish fillets and cook with the tomatoes and onions over a medium heat, flipping the fish carefully once, for around 5 minutes in total. Keep the heat on medium – you don’t want the fish to brown. It’s done when you can easily pierce it with a cocktail stick and the flakes are no longer clear.
3 Once cooked, remove it from the pan and place on a warmed plate. If there are bits of fish left in pan don’t worry, they will add to the flavour.
4 Add the lentils, chopped olives, stock and chopped parsley to the pan and stir well.
5 Heat through then add the white wine vinegar. You don’t need to add salt as the olives are salty enough, but if you wish, a grind of black pepper is nice.
6 Divide the lentils among four bowls or plates, top each with a piece of fish and garnish with chopped spring onions.
Monkfish medallions with Mediterranean vegetable stew
This is a tray bake dish, so it saves on the washing up and once the veg is chopped, it pretty much takes care of itself. I love to use monkfish in this recipe but other white meaty fish, like halibut, works well too. You can serve it on its own, but it is also lovely with a chunky of crusty bread and accompanied with a fresh salad.
Serves four to six 450g-500g monkfish medallions 300g cooked new potato with the skin on 250g or 1 medium aubergine 250g cherry tomatoes 200g or 1 large courgette 4 garlic cloves (I grate mine at home but finely diced is good too) 1 medium red onion 50ml olive oil 1 pack tomato passata (390g) salt and pepper juice of ½ lemon 1-2 tbsp Italian mixed dried herbs
1 Chop all the vegetables including potatoes to a little smaller than the size of your cherry tomatoes and add to a large roasting tray with the olive oil and lemon juice and tomato passata. Chop the aubergine last and make sure it is tossed in the oil and lemon to stop it browning.
2 Add the grated garlic, dried herbs, salt and a good grind of black pepper
3 Mix together thoroughly and put into an oven at 200C/gas Mark 6 for 30-40 minutes, turning once. The veg should be cooked through but still retain its shape.
4 Add the monkfish medallions and cook for a further 10 minutes until the fish is cooked through, but still juicy.
5 Remove from the oven and toss all the ingredients together making sure everything is coated in sauce (you may need to add a little water at this stage to bring it all together). Taste, then add lemon, salt and pepper as required and serve immediately.
Spicy prawn frittata
On those busy nights when you are rushing around, this dish is perfect. My tip would be to always keep frozen prawns in the freezer and to always cook extra new potatoes, even just for frying up as they save so much time if you have them to hand in the fridge. It’s a perfect family winter warmer too, and was a real hit with my kids growing up – the older they get, the more chillies were added – teenagers love the heat in this dish.
Serves 4-6 400g cooked North Atlantic prawns – frozen or fresh 3 tbsp chilli oil or olive oil 300g peeled and cooked new potatoes, cut into bite size chunks 1 medium onion, chopped 1 red chilli chopped (if you like spicy flavours add more or use a birdseye chilli)
15g coriander, chopped 15g basil, chopped 8 large eggs 125ml milk 1 tbsp fish sauce (if you don’t have any, use a good pinch of salt) a knob of butter (about 25g) or 2 tbsp rapeseed or vegetable oil salad leaves, to serve
1 Add the oil, potatoes, onion and chilli to a frying pan, fry until the onion is cooked through and the potatoes just starting to brown.
2 In a big bowl put the eggs, milk, fish sauce and chopped herbs, then stir until it’s all combined.
3 Add the butter to the frying pan and allow to melt and start to bubble.
4 Add the egg mixture and all of the prawns and using a spatula start stirring, making sure to bring in the mixture from around the edges. Keep stirring until the mixture really starts to thicken then flatten out on the top and if possible cover with a lid, or large plate. If not turn heat down low and wait until the top of the frittata has set. If you have a grill place under a hot grill for a few minutes.
6 Check the sides of the frittata – if it comes away easily and you can begin to see a golden colour and very little juice, remove from the heat and turn out onto a large plate; I use a pizza plate.
7 Serve immediately with a large salad. Some of mine like to sprinkle extra chopped chilli over the top, but that is up to you.