Fish Chowder

This is a really delicious and hearty, thick and fragrant soup - or chowder as it is made with milk and cream. 

You can use a selection of fish here but I think a mixture of both smoked and unsmoked gives such good flavour and prawns are another great addition. I tend to portion up my 'mixed fish' and put into bags in the freezer which will include salmon, cod and smoked haddock - I then defrost and use for this Fish Chowder for my Healthy Fish Pie or even my Simple Fish Stew. 

With the herbs - you can use parsley, tarragon or chives - I like the oniony taste of chives personally but they all work and bring something else to this dish.

The below serves x4 - recommend serving with a ton of fresh, crusty, buttered bread.

Fish Chowder

Here's how:

• 1 salmon fillet 
• 1 cod fillet (approx 200g)
• 1 smoked haddock fillet (approx 200g)
• 1 pack frozen prawns (I use the Lidl Deluxe ones which can be cooked from frozen)
• 2 rashers smoked bacon
• 1 tbsp flour
• 250g potatoes (when peeled)
• 650ml fish stock 
• 300ml whole milk (you can use semi skimmed or skimmed but the final chowder will be thinner)
• 2 tbsp cream (single or double)
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• Pinch nutmeg
• Black pepper
• 1 red onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 5-6 chives
• Drizzle olive oil

Firstly drizzle the olive oil into a large saucepan and place on a low heat.

Finely dice the onion and mince the garlic and add to the pan.

Chop the bacon into small squares and add to the pan.

Chop the peeled potatoes into small diced cubes of approximately 1cm2 and give a good rinse. 

Once the bacon is cooking away and you've turned over, add the potato to the pan and allow it to cook for a few minutes, moving around with a spatula. 

After a few minutes, add the plain flour and mix around - this will act to thicken the soup later on.

Pour over the fish stock, season with black pepper, a pinch of cayenne pepper and a pinch or a little grating of nutmeg. Give a good stir and allow to cook for 15 minutes. 

In the meantime, chop the fish into small, bite-sized chunks and set aside. 

Chop the chives and set aside too. 

After fifteen minutes, test a potato cube, it should be just about cooked through. 

Now add the milk, stir through and leave to cook for a further five minutes. 

Now add the salmon, cod, smoked haddock and prawns and cook for 4 minutes, then stir through the cream and move off of the heat. 

Add half the chopped chives and stir through before ladling into four bowls and then finishing with a few more chives. Enjoy!

Healthy Fish Pie (Slimming World Friendly)

I have tweaked my usual fish pie recipe here to make it more appropriate for Slimming World and it went down so well I had to share this one. It still had the rich and creamy flavour that we love, was packed full of fish, and certainly didn't feel like 'diet food.' It has 1 syn which is for the half fat creme fraiche.

You can use any fish you want inside the pie, I like the combination of smoked and unsmoked fish for added flavour and frozen prawns are a great shout too. I have recently discovered how good frozen fish is too which also works well here.

Usually I would grate cheese over the buttered mash, but here, I just mashed with a few drops of milk (part of Healthy Option A Choice) and brushed the mash potato topping with egg to help it to brown in the oven. 

The below serves a family of four - or four portions. 

Healthy Fish Pie (Slimming World Friendly)

Here's how:

• 1 onion
• 2 sticks of celery
• 1 cod fillet
• 1 smoked cod or haddock fillet
• 1 salmon fillet
• 1 pack frozen raw king prawns
• 1 fish stock cube
• x4 tbsp half fat creme fraiche 
• 1 tsp Colman's English Mustard Powder
• 200g frozen petit pois peas
• 400g white potatoes (any that mash well but I like Maris Pipers) 
• 1 egg
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Fry Light Sunflower Oil

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and fill a large saucepan with water and a pinch of salt. 

Peel the potatoes and chop into small pieces and add to the water, bring to the boil on a medium heat, then turn down and simmer for twenty minutes or until the potatoes are cooked right through. Drain and then return the potatoes to the pan and place back on the heat for a few seconds, shaking, which will help to remove any leftover water in the potatoes so they don't turn to mush. 

Remove from the heat, mash with a little milk and season with salt and pepper to taste then set aside. 

For the fish pie sauce, add some Fry Light, just a couple of sprays, to a frying pan on a medium heat. Dice the onion and finely slice the celery and add to the pan to gently soften. Make up the fish stock cube in 150ml boiled water and add to the pan, keeping on a medium heat. Add the creme fraiche, the mustard powder and some black pepper and mix well until combined. Cook for a good ten minutes or until the sauce is quite thick and glossy. 

To prepare the fish, simply chop the cod, salmon and if you are using, haddock, into bite sized pieces. Remove the fish pie sauce from the heat, and add the chopped fish and whole prawns into the sauce alongside the frozen peas and stir well. 

Healthy Fish Pie (Slimming World Friendly)

Now place all of the contents of the pan into an oven proof dish and try to evenly distribute the fish all around. 

Spoon over the mash potato all over the dish, and use the back of the spoon, to spread it a little smoothly, you want the odd peak here and there. I like to season the potato again here with some white pepper. 

Now beat the egg in a small bowl, and use a pastry brush to rub all over the mash potato, which will help it to brown. 

Place into the hot oven and bake for 25 minutes or until the mash has browned a little. Serve with your choice of vegetables. Enjoy!

Healthy Fish Pie (Slimming World friendly)

If you are after other Slimming World friendly family recipes I've included a few below.

• Chicken and Chorizo Penne
• Mini Turkey Koftes
• Simple Fish Stew
• Chilli Crab Noodles
• Adana Kebabs
• Slow Cooker Chinese Pork with Noodles
• Cajun Salmon Tortilla Bowls

Simple Fish Stew

This is a really great Mediterranean inspired family meal, that's delicious, healthy and easily adaptable according to the fish you have available; perfect for lock-down. You can also make the base ahead of time, and freeze or chill until you're ready to cook making it super convenient. 

For anyone following Slimming World, this is a completely syn-free meal. (Glen and I have just joined, so expect to see a few more Slimming World friendly recipes soon.)

Here I served this over pasta, but you could also add cooked rice, orzo or serve with a hunk of crusty bread. I use cherry tomatoes as they have a gorgeous sweetness to them; but you could also use any other tomatoes, even tinned if that's all you have available.

Simple Fish Stew

The below serves four-five.

Here's how:

For the base:

• 6 sprays of Fry Light Olive Oil Spray
• 600g cherry tomatoes
• 1 large white onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 celery sticks
• 1 roasted red pepper
• 1 tbsp capers
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• Pinch of saffron
• 1 tsp paprika
• 300ml fish stock

The fish:

• 2 fillets of cod (or any white, flaky fish)
• 2 fillets of smoked haddock (any smoked fish would work)
• 200g raw prawns

To garnish:

• Fresh parsley

To make the base of the stew, spray the Fry Light into a heavy bottomed saucepan and place on a low heat.

Now peel the onion and finely dice, peel and mince the garlic, and finely slice the celery and place all into the saucepan to gently sweat down.

Once the onions etc. are softened, add the cherry tomatoes, capers and tomato puree. Chop the roasted red pepper and add to the saucepan; season generously, add the paprika and allow to cook down for fifteen minutes or so, gently mixing with a wooden spoon every few minutes. You want most of the tomatoes to be smushed down a bit, but now completely mashed. 

Now add the fish stock and the pinch of saffron and cook for a further five minutes. 

Remove from the heat, and allow to cool a little, before taking out half of the stew, and blending until smooth. I use a Nutribullet for this, but a hand blender or food processor would be great too. Don't be tempted to blend all of the sauce, unless you have fussy eaters, it's nice to have a mixed texture throughout the stew.

When you're ready to cook the fish, bring the stew back up to heat on the hob, it should come almost up to boiling, before being put on a gentle simmer. 

Now cut the cod and haddock into large, bite sized pieces and place directly into the stew, and gently move around with the wooden spoon so each piece is completely immersed in the liquid. 

Cook for a few minutes, until the fish is almost cooked through, then add the raw prawns, and again push them right into the stew and allow to cook for about 3 minutes until they're cooked through (this is easy to tell, they will have turned pink). 

Ladle the fish stew into a serving bowl, and scatter over chopped parsley. Serve with some lemon wedges over your choice of pasta, orzo or rice. 

Here are 15 other fish recipes you may enjoy:

• Plaice with Mediterranean Vegetables and Lemon Parsley Butter
• Quick and Chunky Cod Tagine
• Jerk Salmon
• Seafood Spaghetti with Saffron and Chilli
• Prawn and Chorizo Jambalaya
• Seafood Burger
• One Pot Coconut Fish Curry
• Pesto Topped Salmon with Half and Half Pasta
• Sea Bass with a Warm Jersey Royal Salad
• Thai Salmon Fishcakes with Quick Chilli Oil
• Quick Thai Salmon Noodle Soup
• Pesto Topped Haddock with Herby Couscous
• Paella Mixta
• Sticky Asian Salmon
• Tuna Fishcakes

Moroccan Fish Stew

As part of my 2019 resolve, I'm trying to step away from the same old meals and recipes that I cook time after time and instead focus on building up a more varied repertoire to stop us from feeling we are stuck in a food rut. 

I cooked this Moroccan inspired Fish Stew as a New Year's Day dinner for the four of us and just had to share. Whilst I leant on my Mum Vicky's Special Seafood Stew for technique in terms of the almonds and brandy which we know work so well together, this is a far more modest dish making the most of cod and flavoured quite heavily with saffron - a favourite for us. It's a really lovely, fragrant but light dish - perfect for January. You could also make with vegetable stock and a few veggies in place of the fish for a vegetarian or vegan meal if you're doing Veganuary. 

I served with toasted pitta, lemony couscous dotted with pomegranate seeds and a little garlic yoghurt dip - simple but tasty.

The below serves a family of 4-5. 

Moroccan Fish Stew

Here's how:

• Four fillets of cod or about 650g in smaller pieces
• Drizzle olive oil
• 1 white onion
• 1 green chilli
• 1 large clove garlic
• Thumb sized piece of ginger
• Generous pinch of saffron
• 12-14 Cherry tomatoes, halved
• 600ml fish stock
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tbsp runny honey
• 3 tbsp almonds
• 2 tbsp orange juice
• 2 tbsp brandy
• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1 tsp dried cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried coriander
• 1 whole cinnamon stick
• Natural yoghurt and fresh coriander to serve

Firstly finely dice the onion, mince the garlic and finely chop or grate the ginger and slice the chilli. Add to an oven-proof and stove-proof dish to gently saute in the olive oil and once softened add the spices (cumin, coriander, paprika) and the tomato puree, stir and allow to cook for a few minutes.

In the meanwhile make up the fish stock or gently heat it then add the saffron to the warm stock and allow to stand.

Now to the pot of onions, garlic, chilli and ginger add the tomatoes, ground almond, brandy, honey, cinnamon stick, orange juice, the cooked chickpeas and finally the stock - give a good stir and allow to gently cook for ten minutes or until the liquid has started to slowly thicken up a little.

Now add the cod fillets in all around the dish, pres down so they are immersed in the stew and cook for three to four minutes. Now very gently turn over each piece of cod, and cook for a further three minutes or until the cod is cooked through. 

Serve at the table with a few blobs of natural yoghurt and handfuls of coriander leaves alongside your choice of accompaniments. Enjoy!

Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant, Deal

I recently spent a couple of days with the girls and my Mum at her caravan in Deal, on the Kent coast.

As this is a fairly new purchase for my Mum, we are still exploring the town and local restaurant scene, however one that keeps drawing us back is the Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant. My Mum has been to this one in Deal one three times now and Glen and I enjoyed a fantastic fish and chips in the Dover outpost of the small independent chain back in March with the girls – you can see below how appetising it looked, and after a day in the cold and wet Betteshanger Park followed by a beach stroll in Dymchurch it really hit the spot.

Fish & Chips at Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant, Dover

In June however, we enjoyed a meal at the Deal branch of Hythe Bay. We know they source their fish locally and it has always been good each time.

We visited early on a Friday evening, which as those with children will appreciate, is an easier time to eat and be served without too much fuss before the witching hour begins.

Mum and I shared a fritto misto di mare between us – basically a selection of fried seafood including whitebait, cockles, calamari and prawns in a deliciously light batter and served with a garlic aioli. One of our favourites and reminded us of our recent trip to Kefalonia where we had a similar dish often.

Whilst we enjoyed our starter, the girls meal arrived – cod goujons with chips and peas. One children’s meal is sufficient to share for children of their age (3.5 and 1) and they really enjoyed their meal too. A far cry from pub-grub fish fingers, these are delicious and fresh fish goujons, and I would have happily eat them myself.

Although we were in a seafood restaurant, Mum couldn’t resist one of the specials on the menu – calves liver and bacon, she’s a stickler for the old school classics and she enjoyed it immensely. It came with creamy mash and a red wine jus and she said if there were any complaints it would be that the liver was over-cooked a little to her taste, and there could have been more of the red wine jus, but she ate it happily.

Calves Liver & Bacon, Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant

I opted for half a lobster cooked with a garlic butter and served with chips and salad. The lobster meat was cooked perfectly; sweet and tender and complemented greatly by the garlic butter which acted as a great dip for the accompanying chips. A rather decadent meal for a modest price of around £15.

Lobster in Garlic Butter with Chips & Salad, Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant

The girls’ meal came with two scoops of ice cream, which the restaurant staff were more than accommodating enough to put into two bowls so we had two very happy little girls who enjoyed a great two course meal.

Ice Cream @ Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant, Deal

Bea enjoying her ice cream at Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant

Mum and I had a bottle of the Chillean Sauvignon Blanc, which was a lovely light and crisp wine with the meal and really complemented the lobster.  

The full meal was around £70 for the four of us with drinks and two courses a piece, which was well worth it.

I’m sure we’ll be getting to know the staff at The Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant in Deal more as the season wears on. It’s a great restaurant, with friendly and knowledgeable staff. The décor is very much seaside chic on the upscale side, but with comfortable and reasoning price points. A great location for family meals.

Hythe Bay Seafood Restaurant is situated on 41-45 Beach Street in Deal and is open 10am-9:30pm seven days a week.

Pesto Topped Haddock with Herby Couscous

This is another quick-fix that I can barely count as a recipe, and is more of an assembly of great things but it works wonders in the summer months for a fast-dinner that can be on the table in less than 20 minutes from start to finish.

I use my Walnut and Basil Pesto of which I can almost always be sure to have some in stock in the fridge or freezer over the summer, but you could equally use any jarred pesto or your own variety and I’ve used haddock here, but you could use any white fish and in fact in works well with salmon fillets too.

For the couscous, again another summer staple in this household due to how quick it can be turned around – play around with the herbs you like, I just particularly love the freshness of mint and parsley here.

The below serves my family of four.

Here’s how:

The fish:

• X4 haddock fillets
• 2 tbsp Walnut and Basil Pesto
• Handful breadcrumbs or panko
• 20g or so grated parmesan or other hard, strong cheese
• Salt and black pepper

The couscous:

• 150g couscous
• Juice of half a lemon
• 225ml boiling water
• Drizzle of olive oil
• 2 spring onions
• 1 yellow pepper
• Handful mint leaves
• Handful parsley leaves

Firstly pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and fill and boil the kettle.

Once the kettle boiled pop the couscous into a heat-proof bowl and top with the 225ml boiled water. Place a plate or a lid over the bowl and set aside for ten minutes.

Now organise the haddock fillets onto a baking tray, flesh side up and season well. Spread over a generous heap of the pesto onto each fillet. Then scatter over breadcrumbs over each one and finally, grate over a little parmesan onto each – which will act as a great additional seasoning.

Place the topped haddock into the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes, depending on the size and thickness of the fish. The fish should flake with ease when cooked through and be a pure white colour inside – not opaque.

Now prepare the bits and pieces that will make for a delicious couscous. Firstly finely slice the spring onion, and chop the yellow pepper into small pieces. Roughly chop the mint and parsley and halve the lemon.

Before the fish comes out the couscous will have absorbed the water and will need fluffing up and having some flavour popped into it. Use a fork to fluff the grains up and give a good mix then pour in a good drizzle of olive oil and squeeze over half the lemon and mix again. Now add all of the other things – the spring onions, pepper and herbs and mix well. Give a final seasoning of salt and black pepper and this is ready to dish up.

Serve with a side salad or some seasonal vegetables – I’ve used asparagus here. Enjoy!

Here are some other lovely fish recipes:

• Asian Wrapped Fish
• Plaice with Mediterranean Vegetables and Lemon & Parsley Butter
• Haddock Fishcakes
• Cod in a Mediterranean Tomato & Garlic Sauce
• Sea Bass with Warm Jersey Royal Salad and Garlic Asparagus
• Salmon and Jersey Royals Traybake
• Fish Pie
• Jerk Salmon
• Quick & Chunky Cod Tagine
• Carb Free Salmon Rissoto
• Mexican Style Salmon Fishcakes
• Pesto Topped Salmon with Half & Half Green Pasta
• Stuffed Plaice
• Colcannon Mackerel Fishcakes

Haddock Fishcakes

Fishcakes are incredibly versatile; you can make so many different variations, whether it's the fish, the filling or the flavourings, and my family just love these haddock ones that use some smoked and unsmoked haddock. They're also a fantastic way to use up any leftover mash potato - we hate waste.

For these ones, I use Asian flavourings of chilli, ginger, garlic and coriander, but these are also great with chopped capers, parsley and a little mustard too.

These are a lovely meal to make with your children, they can get involved with chopping, mixing, making breadcrumbs, shaping the fishcakes and then the fun of dipping into egg, flour and breadcrumbs. Bridget helped me throughout making these yesterday, and was so proud to present her cooking to Daddy and her little sister (who devoured the lot). Children are always more open to trying things when they have been involved in the cooking process and my two never turn their nose up at fish - I just love cooking with my children.

I used a green chilli here as Glen and I love some spice in these fishcakes, however I make the girls fishcakes first, to avoid them getting a big hit of spice; but you make up your own mind. If you're not keen on spice, omit the chilli.

I served with a side salad, a handful of chunky chips and some sweet chilli sauce and the below makes four generous ones, or eight smaller ones.

Haddock Fishcakes

Here's how:

• 200g haddock
• 175g unsmoked haddock
• 200g mash potato (I used Maris Piper here, but any will work)
• 3 spring onions
• 1 clove garlic
• 3cm piece of ginger
• Half a bunch of coriander
• 1 green chilli (optional)
• 1 egg
• 3 tbsp plain flour
• Sea salt and black pepper
• Bowl full of breadcrumbs (I blitzed 2 slices granary bread in a blender)
• Drizzle vegetable oil

Firstly pre-heath the oven to 180 degrees and then prepare the flavourings, finely slice the spring onions, mince the garlic clove and grate the ginger and add to a large bowl.

Roughly chop the coriander and add to the bowl. Finely slice the chilli and set aside if preparing for small children, or throw in the bowl.

Add the prepared mashed potato into the bowl too.

Now chop the haddock into bite sized pieces and throw into the bowl. Mix everything together until everything is well combined.

Now get three bowls and add to the first, the flour and a generous seasoning. To the second bowl crack in the egg (give a quick whip) and into the third and final bowl add the breadcrumbs.

Now is time to make each fishcake and there is no other way than with your hands. Take a generous handful and shape with your hands into thick rounds. Once you are happy with the shape, place onto a plate or a piece of parchment paper, and repeat the process until happy with all of the fishcakes. 

Haddock Fishcakes

Now drizzle the oil into a non-stick pan and place on a low heat to allow to heat up before a quick browning of each fishcake.

Now to complete the fishcakes, take one and dip into the flour first and turn around so it becomes coated in the seasoned flour, then dip into the egg mix, and then finally the breadcrumbs so they are fully coated, then return to the plate or the parchment paper and repeat until each fishcake is coated.

Now wash your hands - by now they will probably be duly coated in an eggy, breadcrumb mix. 

The pan should now be warm enough for you to quickly fry the fishcakes for a few minutes on each side, until golden brown. 

Then place onto a baking sheet and into the oven for 15 minutes to cook through. Enjoy!

Some other fishcake recipes that might be of interest:

Spiced Tuna Fishcakes
Mexican Style Salmon Fishcakes
Thai Salmon Fishcakes
Lightly Spiced Salmon Fishcakes
Colcannon Mackerel Fishcakes

Paprika Grilled Sea Bass with Creamy Saffron Peppers and Spinach

As you'll know, earlier this year I had my second child, another lovely little girl (Beatrice). I gained around 3 stone during pregnancy and managed to shift two stone of that pretty sharpish, the last stone, is being a little more stubborn. I lose a few pounds, and then being the foodie that I am, will indulge with a few nice meals, a meal out, a bottle of my favourite Malbec, and I'm back at that 1 stone over where I want to be. This has been going on for a couple of months now, so I've decided to try to overhaul my (and Glen's) lifestyle somewhat, and for the past 8 days have been adhering to The Body Coach or Joe Wick's philosophy. This is largely making smarter and healthier choices with food, cutting out the alcohol as much as possible, and most importantly introducing exercise, 4-5 sessions a week. I managed it last week, and am on track this week - I'm also a couple of pounds lighter, so will be attempting to stick to this and see where we land after 30 days, before I make a decision as to whether to continue. 

Joe's mantra is that you have to 'work for your carbs', so aside from if you've just carried out an intensive HIIT workout, the idea is to have 'reduced carb' meals. We've tried a selection of Joe's fantastic recipes, and certainly have our favourites, but me being the cook I am, I can't follow recipes continually, I like to get creative myself, and this dish was born off the back of that. We've had several Lean in 15 sea bass dishes, and I came up with this dish as I had a glut of peppers in the fridge.

It's a lovely light dish, takes no time to prepare and the sauce is rich and creamy, but low calorie. The below is for two adults, and a single portion comes in at around 500 calories.

Paprika Grilled Sea Bass with Creamy Saffron Peppers and Spinach

Here's how:

• x4 sea bass fillets
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp garlic salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• Drizzle olive oil
• 1 red pepper
• 1 green pepper
• 1 red chilli
• 1 spring onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tbsp reduced fat creme fraiche
• Few strands of saffron steeped in hot water
• 2 handfuls spinach

First drizzle a tiny bit of olive oil into a frying pan and pop onto a low heat to warm up, while you prepare your vegetables. 

Slice the spring onion, garlic and chilli and place into the pan to flavour the oil and the pan. Whilst they are sauteeing, slice the peppers and throw into the pan also. 

Rip off a sheet of tin foil and cover the grill tray, so no fish sticks to the grates. Now in a small bowl, add the paprika, garlic salt and black pepper and mix. Take each sea bass fillet flesh side up, and drizzle with a tiny bit of olive oil, then scatter over some of the spiced salt mix. Now place each fillet flesh side down onto the foil-covered-grill, and scatter the remaining spice mix over the top. Place the grill onto a medium heat and cook for seven minutes. (You may need to adjust this if you have particularly small fillets to avoid over-cooking). 

While the fish is cooking, the peppers should have softened a bit. Throw in the steeped saffron strands, including the water you steeped them in and allow to cook off for 30 seconds. Now add the creme fraiche and allow to cook down. 

Finally as the fish is almost cooked, add the spinach and just allow it to wilt in the peppers and sauce. Use a wooden spoon to move around, as it shouldn't take too much for the leaves to wilt. 

You'll know the fish is ready once the skin is crispy (the salt will help to make a beautiful crispy skin), and the flesh is a pure white colour, rather than opaque. Serve the fish fillets on top of the peppers. Enjoy!

Cod in a Mediterranean Tomato and Garlic Sauce

In a bid to shed some remaining baby weight, I have been trying to limit some of my carbohydrate intake and devised this lovely dish as a summery evening meal. My other half Glen, and my eldest, Bridget had the same with some crusty fresh bread to dip into the sauce.

You could use any white fish, such as haddock or coley, but I had some cod in the freezer and this worked perfectly. 

Equally, if you're trying to disguise some extra vegetables for your little ones, a tomato based sauce is an easy way of doing so - grate in some carrot, and the other vegetables below can be grated in too if it helps get more down them. Luckily Bridget is past her recent fussy phase - for now at least! If you're serving this to under 1's then please remember to omit from adding the salt - and it may be worth doing a separate batch without the olives - as these can be quite salty too.

This is a really quick and easy meal so is perfect for midweek when the pressures of work, school and extra curricular activities may take the brunt of your energy - it can be prepared in ten minutes, and on the table in 30. I served with some steamed sprouting broccoli topped with a little shaving of Parmesan. 

Cod in a Mediterranean Tomato and Garlic Sauce

The below serves 3

Here's how:

• 3 fillets of cod or other white fish
• 1 white onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 sticks celery
• 2 large tomatoes
• Handful fresh green olives
• Jar passata
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp oregano
• Pinch sea salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil

Add the olive oil to a heavy bottomed pan and place on a low heat. 

Peel and dice the onion and mince the garlic and add to the pan to saute.

Finely slice the celery and add to the pan. 

Dice the tomatoes, and once the onion, garlic and celery has softened add the tomatoes and olives to the pan and cook for five minutes. Add the paprika, oregano and seasonings to the pan and pour over the passata, stir well and cook for 25 minutes. 

Cut the raw cod into bite sized chunks and add to the pan for the last ten minutes of cooking. Stir with a wooden spoon to ensure each piece of cod is immersed in the sauce and allows for thorough cooking. 

Prepare the green vegetables and any other accompaniments of your choice and ladle the dish into bowls. Enjoy!

The London Sea Life Centre Aquarium with Toddlers

A week back, I ventured in from Essex to The London Sea Life Centre Aquarium with Bridget and my friend Tatum and her little boy Cruz for a lovely afternoon out in the capital. Bridget and Cruz are 19 and 18 months.

Whilst there are plenty of museums and attractions in London for older children, I've yet to find much indoor entertainment, for this toddler age but the aquarium did tick the boxes and is perfect for a rainy day and really good family fun.

With plenty of fish, sealife, such as sharks, and turtles there's plenty to see, and with clear tanks from floor up high, the two tiny terrors were able to do so at their own pace. There’s also a glass tunnel to walk through, whereby you can take in shoals of fish, Green Sea Turtles and the likes of Bonnethead sharks passing overhead. 

Green Seat Turtle at the London Sea Life Aquarium Centre

Shark at The London Sea Life Aquarium Centre

We chose this day, thinking it would be quiet after the half term, not realising some children were still on holiday, so it was quite hectic running after the pair, whilst navigating all the other tourists and manning our respective Bugaboos, but it was good fun too.

Bridget has been in a few aquariums now, including the Sea Life Centre at Southend and Ocean Park in Hong Kong, and is really fascinated by them. I love that it's something fun for her to enjoy whilst also being educational. Both her and Cruz have been learning about lots of different animals and their attempt to both say 'fish' had my friend and I giggling.

Fascinated by the fish

Happy toddlers

Annoyingly, the penguin section of the aquarium was shut for some refurbishments, which was a shame to miss out on, so I’ll definitely return with Bridget at some point once it’s re-opened.

The aquarium is priced at £25 per adult, but you can get discounted entry for £19.50 if you pre-purchase your tickets online. The toddlers go for free, but aged 3-15 are priced at £17.55.

There's plenty to do and see at The London Sea Life Centre Aquarium, with several little activities and games for older children, which could keep you entertained for a couple of hours at least.

Family Fish Pie

This is a really delicious, wholesome and comforting dish, perfect for cold winter nights for all the family.

The below makes enough for x3 adult portions and two smaller toddler portions which I make in ramekins and for Bridget's smaller portions I add some frozen sweetcorn too for extra veg (Glen hates it so can't include it in the adult version).

Some people poach their fish first, but I chop it all up raw and allow it to cook inside the pie - 30 minutes is more than enough time for it to cook through.

This is a great, nutritious toddler meal and a good way of encouraging them to eat fish - Bridget absolutely loves fish pie. 

Family Fish Pie

Here's how:

For the mash topping:

• 800g white potatoes (I use Desiree) 
• Pinch salt
• 3 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp butter or margerine
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 50g hard cheese such as Grana Padano, Cheddar etc.) 

For the pie filling:

• 1 small onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 50g butter
• 50g plain flour
• 400ml milk
• 2 tbsp white wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 heaped tsp mustard powder
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 100g frozen peas
• Handful fresh parsley leaves
• Handful fresh tarragon leaves
• 1 large salmon fillet
• 1 large cod fillet (or other white fish)
• 1 large smoked cod or haddock fillet (approx 200g) 

Firstly peel the potatoes and rinse well. Then coat in water and a pinch of salt and place onto boil. Once they've come to the boil simmer for a further 15-20 minutes, or until a fork easily goes through the potato. Drain, and return to the pan on the heat to absorb any retained moisture then remove.

Add the milk and butter and firstly mix a bit with the fork. Now mash well with a conventional masher and season well with white pepper. Remove enough mash for any child or toddler portions, then add another pinch of salt for the adults and set aside.

Now pre-heat the oven to 180.

It’s now time to make the fish pie sauce or roux. Place the butter in a non-stick pan on a medium heat and allow to gently melt.

In the meantime finely dice the onion and mince the garlic, then add to the melted butter for a minute or two.
Now add the flour using a wooden spoon to mix as you go so it all combines well.

Now add the wine and use a balloon whisk to gently mix which will avoid the sauce becoming lumpy. Add the bay leaf and mustard powder at this stage and season to taste.

Next add the milk a little at a time, mixing in with the balloon whisk as you go once all combined mix with the wooden spoon and allow to cook for ten minutes or so. Now add the frozen peas, and sweetcorn if you are using and stir through then remove from the heat.

Rough chop the parsley and tarragon and add to the sauce and stir. 

Family Fish Pie the Roux or Sauce

Now cut all of the fish fillets into fairly similarly sized cubes. Add to sauce mix and stir well, then spoon into the pie dish or dishes. 

Family Fish Pie pre-potato topping

Baby Bites Portion of Family Fish Pie

Now spoon over the mash potato to cover all, then use the back of the spoon to smooth it down a little. Now use the back of a fork to make a crimped finish and complete by grating over the cheese.

Place the dish onto a baking tray and pop into the oven for 30-40 minutes or until the potato topping is golden brown. Enjoy!

A London Lunch No 12: George's Portobello Fish Bar

From July to October I had the pleasure of working with a lovely team over in Westbourne Park – an area that was completely alien to me in terms of food spots.

Being amongst fellow food-lovers, I was happily introduced to a number of great lunch spots whilst working there and George’s Portobello Fish Bar was one such venue.

A local chippie that has stood the test of time, having been open since 1961, George’s avoids the almost ‘yuppified’ version of what I think of as a chippie in central London and at any given lunch time you can find queues out of the door, which are alone testament to the food on offer.

Both Jamie Oliver and Victoria Beckham have been photographed/quoted as being fans of the food here, and I am happy to join them in their appraisal of this fish and chip mecca.

I have to say I must have picked up lunch time food from George’s at least six or seven times in the mere three months that I worked in the area – whether it be a hungover Friday, a miserably cold and wet Monday or just a bored Wednesday, I needed no excuse to partake in the deliciousness George’s has on offer.

Thick cut, crisp on the outside, soft and fluffy on the inside chips are a constant here and topped with a flurry of vinegar and salt, they are quite frankly perfection.

Now during my Westbourne Park stint I tried a number of accompaniments, from saveloys, sausages in batter and other, less traditional, fare, however, the crème de la crème here really is the fish. The cod is just fantastic, again perfectly cooked to flaky deliciousness, full of fresh flavour and coated in a crisp, light batter with just the right amount of grease. They claim to collect their fish daily from Billingsgate market, and this really does show.

Fish and chips will set you back around £7.00 which is reasonable, especially considering the quality of the fish and the decent size of the portion – so what are you waiting for?

Aside from George’s Portobello Fish Bar, here are three other chippies worth a try in London:

1.    Fryer’s Delight, Theobald Road, Holborn

2.    Golden Union, Poland Street, Soho

3.    Poppies, Hanbury Street, Spitalfields