Mid-week Magic: Haddock baked on a tomato, chorizo and bean stew

During the working week it is very easy to become stuck in a meal rut, cooking the same predictable dishes week after week.

I often draw inspiration from restaurants, cookery programmes, magazines, books and other blogs for some mid-week magic and aim to cook at least one ‘new’ dish each week.

I’ve decided to share some of these recipes in the hope that they inspire others to try something new. These recipes should give readers the idea for a meal that can be pulled together in well under an hour, that requires the minimum of effort on your part and that will be filled with flavour.

This first one takes forty minutes to cook, but after the first five minutes of preparation, pretty much takes care of itself. The bean stew makes a great, healthy carbohydrate substitute, and makes for a great meal on it’s own too. I served my white fish dish with a selection of curly kale, sprouting broccoli and asparagus tips, all steamed, but you could serve with any veg you have in stock. And if you’re after a true one-pot dish rather than having to cook the veg towards the end, you can always bulk up the stew with chopped courgettes, aubergines, carrots or mushrooms too.

After you’ve chopped all of the necessary, fried off the chorizo and bunged the dish into the oven, it’s a perfect opportunity to relax with a glass of wine, have a hot relaxing après work bath, or if essential crack on with any boring household chores.

Apologies for the dodgy bright white light on the fish – I have a new camera and am slowly getting used to it – hopefully this will improve soon!

Here’s How (for 2):

2 fillets of haddock, or your favourite white fish

1 can each of butter beans and cannellini beans

100g chorizo

Can of chopped tomatoes

1 red onion

2 garlic cloves

1 small red bell pepper

1 red chilli

2 tbsp Manzanilla Sherry or a dry white wine

1 tbsp fresh or dried Oregano

1 tbsp fresh or dried parsley

1 tsp paprika

Salt & pepper to taste

Firstly get the oven on at around 180-200 degrees. Next chop the garlic, pepper, chilli and onion up small and add to an ovenproof tray dish.

Chop the chorizo into small, coin-like pieces and dry fry in a hot pan for four-six minutes, until the tell-tale orange-hued oil is exuded.

In the meantime open the beans and tomatoes and add to the dish with the herbs and spices and sherry. Add the fried chorizo, stir and add salt and pepper to taste.

Add to the oven for fifteen minutes, remove and place on top the fish fillets. Sprinkle a little salt and pepper over the haddock, cover with foil and then return the dish to the oven for a further 20-25 minutes – cooking time will depend on the size of the fish fillets but the foil will help to prevent the fish from over-cooking.

Whilst the dish is back in the oven, prepare your vegetables and when you remove from the oven sprinkle with a last flourish of parsley and oregano before serving.