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!

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