Seared Plaice with Spicy Butter Beans

Saw this on the telly, so thought I would give it a try,

You'll need a couple of good size plaice fillets, I asked the chap on the fish counter just to de-skin them for me to save time, they are always happy to accommodate.

Also to save time I used tin butter beans too, cuts down on the cooking time (and the scum - never like scum when cooking)

So;

1/2 a red onion sliced and diced
1 red chilli almost de-seeded (the recipe on the telly called for de-seeded- but this is my version)
Rind of half a lemon
1 garlic glove crushed
4 teaspons of grated ginger
Sprig of Thyme
3  Table spoons of chopped Dill
2 tins of butter beans
1 or two tablespoons of creme fraiche
400 ml of chicken stock


Prepare your herbs 

Cook your butter beans with a sprig or two of Thyme and I drain and wash the tinned butter beans and  cook them in the chicken stock 

Just before the butter beans are cooked, add the onion, chilli, ginger and garlic to a good sized pan with a couple of table spoons of vegetable oil and cook gently for a couple of minutes.  Don't let the onions garlic brown. 

Add the butter beans and the stock to the pan and stir to combine the beans with the herbs. Add two table spoons of the chopped dill to the pan and stir.

Add the creme fraiche and stir and allow to gently cook through 

 Add a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil to a non stick pan and add the plaice fillets.  As yo can see I cut the fillets down to more manageable sizes, and sear on one side for two minutes.  Use a pallet knife to turn over and squeeze the juice from a half a lemon on top, remove from heat after 1 minute







Spoon the butter beans and sauce onto a plate and serve the plaice fillets on top sprinkle with more chopped dill

Enjoy

Don't forget to clean the hob afterwards 

original recipe; BBC Saturday kitchen 

Atlantic Cod in Butter and Lemon

A quick fish recipe for you, for two:

1 Large Cod Fillet

2 tablespoons of olive oil

1/2  a Red Chilli de-seeded and thinly sliced

1/2 a Yellow Pepper, thinly sliced

50 grams unsalted butter

Juice of half a lemon

Salt and Pepper

Add the butter, lemon juice, chilli and pepper to a good sized pan.  Soften the chilli and pepper.

Cut the lemon after squeezing, into quarters or slices and add to the pan

Cut the cod fillet in two and add to the pan and spoon some of the liquor over the fish cover and steam for 10 minutes occasionally spooning the liquor over the fish. Season with salt and ground white pepper.

Serve with vegetables of choice and for us it was Asparagus, green beans and crushed new potatoes with spring onion.

Enjoy

Chilli, Garlic and Ginger Seafood Medley with Pasta

Seafood, we all love this in the family Ishbel and I, the kids and the grand kids, whether it is fish shrimp or crustacean, can't get enough of them at times.  Paella, curried, with sauce, without sauce, Fish Pie with mashed tatties and some melted cheese on top , with salsa and salad, with pasta, with new potatoes, serve it any which way and it will be devoured.

So, today is my wee easy recipe for seafood medley or 'fruit de mere' with chilli, garlic and ginger and tossed in pasta.

You need a good quantity of fresh seafood, need to sort that out depending on how many you are serving, but this recipe is for two, when the grand kids arrive the quantities go up from two to six around the table but when it is Mollie, you always need to add a wee bit more for miss piggy particularly the squid and scallops!

I like to prepare my pasta early and then when cooked plunge it into a pan of ice cold water, and then all you need to do is reheat it when the seafood is ready. So with that out of the way I can concentrate on preparing my herbs, etc.


1 red chilli
1 good sized piece of ginger
2 good sized garlic cloves
1 Lemon un-waxed
Tomatoes
Courgette (Zuccini) and Olives are optional
1 large glass of good white wine
Big bunch fresh parsley
Salt and Black Pepper
500 grams of assorted seafood from the fish counter (if you can't get fresh I do use frozen but thoroughly thawed out before using it)



Slice and de-seed the chilli, but if you like a bit of heat keep some of the seeds
Peel and grate the ginger
Slice the tomatoes in half
Grate the lemon peel
peel and crush the garlic
Chop the parsley finely

                                                                             

If using the olives, slice in half
Lop of the ends of the courgette and discard slice into circles then 1/4 the circles into decent sized chunks

Sweat the olives courgettes and tomatoes down in a little unsalted butter, these take the longest to cook. Medium heat for about 5 to 7 minutes but don't over cook don't want to the courgettes to turn mushy, still like them firm but cooked.

Add the glass of wine to a second hot pan  and add the seafood.

Stir in the ginger, chilli and garlic and the grated lemon  reduce the heat.   Squeeze in juice from half the lemon.  Remember seafood only takes a few minutes to cook.  It needs to be cooked through but not turning to rubber.  Add most of the chopped parsley, you could also have used fresh coriander instead for this, but keep some back for sprinkling over the finished dish

Oh, just before you add the seafood you should have drained the already cooked pasta and have another pan of boiling water on the go.

The seafood should just be about ready as the shrimp change colour to the nice deep pink that you all know.  Take it of the heat it will continue to cook

Drain the pasta and add to the seafood.  Take your pan with the courgettes, olives and tomatoes, and add this to the pasta and seafood.  toss the whole lot, using utensils in the pan and not literally and serve  with crusty bread.

Enjoy






Total Prep and cook time Time: 20 - 25 mins

Pasta first Cook: about 12 mins

Pasta reheat: in boiling water 1 - 2 minutes, no longer. You can of course just cook the pasta as you are prepping every thing as long as you time it right to drain and get  it into the pan with the seafood before  it turns to rubber and remember the hot pasta added to the seafood will add to it continuing to cook, that's why it is important as well not to over cook the seafood in the pan.

herb prep time: 10 minutes

Seafood cook time: depends on quantity and size of pan, so always use a large pan so that the seafood is not piled on top of itself so that the heat gets to every morsel evenly and at the same time.  My rule of thumb is as the shrimp just begin to turn pink - heat off  and let if finish in the hot liquor and when the hot pasta is added.

Glass of white wine added to pan

Chopped chilli

Ginger to be grated 

Crushed Garlic and grated ginger 

Lemon rind and courgettes