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.

Whipped goats cheese, onion squash, rye crumb, crispy kale

Onion squashes are such a treasure.
They are sweet, have a beautiful texture and there is zero need to peel them (a definite bonus seeing as most squashes and pumpkins are a nightmare to peel).
Onion squashes have a really thin skin that when roasted either crisps up or just pleasantly adds to the overall texture.
As the name would suggest, the squash itself displays a similar shape to that of an onion. Here is a pic of a box of them from the last yoga & nutrition retreat:

They are widely available in the UK circa October - November so grab one if you happen to see one. They are tasty, fuss-free to prepare and super nutritious.

The recipe featured here is more of a celebration meal rather than an every day one.
Technically if you didn’t bother with the crispy kale and brown butter then it’d be much more of a simple supper.

Ingredients for feed 2:

For the roasted onion squash
1 small onion squash
Rapeseed oil
Sea salt and black pepper

For the whipped goats cheese
1 pack (125g approximately) of soft goats cheese
Olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper

For the crispy kale
A bag of whole leaf kale, approximately 200g
Rapeseed oil
Sea salt and black pepper

For the rye crumb
1/2 loaf of rye bread (check the brand Mestemacher in supermarkets)
Leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme
Leaves from 1 sprig of rosemary, finely chopped
Rapeseed oil
Sea salt and black pepper

For the brown butter
100g of good quality butter

Method:

To make the crispy kale:
Heat the oven to 160 degrees C and grab a couple of large roasting trays.
Strip the kale from the stalk and break it up into 1” pieces.
Wash the kale and dry it well. I would usually use a salad spinner to get the water off the kale.
Pop the kale on the roasting trays, drizzle with oil and mix with your hands to coat the kale evenly.
Roast until crispy, stirring every 10 minutes or so, removing any pieces that have already crisped up. Unless you managed to get them all the same size, some will crips up sooner than others.
Season with sea salt and black pepper and try and resist the temptation to make all of the kale crisps disappear into your mouth. Yes, they are very moreish.
If you want to skip this part, sautéing some kale with garlic is also a good option.

To make the brown butter:
Pop the butter in a small saucepan on a medium heat.
Wait for it to bubble up then whisk gently until you smell “caramel” and the butter has turned a golden brown colour. Remove from the heat and set aside for a few minutes.
You will notice that white/ golden crumb-like textures have dropped to the bottom. Pour the melted butter off the top and discard the crumb bits.
The melted part is your brown butter. Keep this warm (It’ll retain the heat well for around 20 minutes).

To roast the squash:
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.
Halve the squash and scoop out the seeds.
Cut the squash into thick slices.
Pop the squash slices on a baking tray, drizzle with oil and roast in the oven until they are fully cooked through and the edges take on some colour. Approximately 40 minutes.
Season with sea salt and black pepper.

To make the rye crumb:
You can do this part at the same time as roasting the squash.
Chop the rye bread into small cubes.
Put them on a baking tray, sprinkle over the herbs, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper.
Roast in the oven for approximately 15 minutes until the edges of the rye bread have crisped up.

To make the whipped goats cheese:
Put the goats' cheese in a bowl with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and season well with sea salt and black pepper.
Mash together with a fork then “whip it” by stirring and mashing until it becomes fluffy.
It should increase in volume somewhat and take on the consistency of greek yoghurt.

To serve, divide the whipped goats’ cheese between two plates.
Pour around 1-2 tablespoons of brown butter on top.
Top with roasted squash slices and the rye crumb.
Finish with the crispy kale (if using).

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.

Cucumber, sesame and smoked tofu salad

Crunchy cucumber with ginger, creamy avocado, hints of chilli/ coriander, edamame, smoked tofu and a lime, soy and sesame oil dressing.
It’s a tasty one.
Give it a go.

Shopping notes:
Edamame is available frozen and may be sold as soya beans. If you can’t find it, frozen broad beans or tinned chickpeas will do the trick too.

Ingredients to feed 2:

1 cucumber, cut into half moons
thumb size piece of ginger (25g), grated

a large handful of coriander leaves
2 spring onions, sliced
150g edamame beans
8 radishes, finely sliced
2 avocados, peeled and sliced
1 red chilli, finely sliced
1-2 teaspoons of sesame seeds
300g smoked tofu, cubed
sea salt and black pepper to season
rapeseed oil for cooking

For the dressing:
Juice of 1 lime
2 teaspoon of tamari or good quality soy sauce
2 teaspoons of agave or maple syrup
6 teaspoons of sesame oil

Method:
Put the cucumbers into a bowl, season with sea salt and black pepper and squeeze over the juice of the grated ginger. If some of the grated ginger falls in then this isn’t a big deal.
Set this aside whilst you make the rest of the salad.
Put a frying pan on a medium-high heat with a splash of rapeseed oil in it.
Throw in the cubed tofu and cook until crispy on most sides.
Put the frozen edamame beans in a small saucepan and add enough water to cover. Bring to the boil then take it off the heat and drain. Either run it under some cold water or allow it to cool naturally.
In a large bowl, combine the edamame, spring onion, avocado, radish, chilli and coriander leaves. Season with a small amount of black pepper and stir to combine.
Add the cucumber and stir again.
Whisk together the dressing ingredients and tip this over the salad.
Stir to combine then divide between two plates/ bowls.
Top with the smoked tofu cubes and sprinkle the sesame seeds over it all.