COD WITH OLIVES CAPERS TOMATOES

I have mentioned in previous posts that I follow the 5:2 diet / the fast diet - it is the first time I have ever managed to stick to an eating plan which makes it impressive as I have been on a diet on and off since I was a 10 years old! My family used to very kindly tell me it was "puppy fat"!

Thankfully my daughter has a completely different body type to me (tall and skinny) but still I do not like to talk about diets, calories or fat in the house so when I have a fast day (500 calories) I need to be very careful about it. 

Last night I cooked this fish dish for myself but for my daughter I topped the fish with pesto and she had the olives and tomatoes on the side (she is not a fan of capers). It took about 15 minutes maximum and was very simple.

Ingredients for 2 people:

200g green beans
2 pieces of skinless cod or haddock (around 300g)
Olive oil or fry light 
1 tsp rosemary, chopped
30g green olives, pitted and quartered
2 tsp capers
8 cherry tomatoes, diced
Half a lemon, juiced

Preheat the grill and season the fish. Cook according to the instructions - mine took 12 minutes under a medium grill.

Prepare the tomatoes, capers, rosemary and olives.

About 5 minutes before the fish is ready, boil the green beans and then drain.

Then either spray some fry light (or if you are not counting calories add a tablespoon of olive oil) into a frying pan and add the olives, rosemary, tomatoes and capers for a couple of minutes. Season.

Squeeze in the lemon juice and let it bubble for a minute.

Then serve with the fish sitting on the beans and spoon over the sauce.

Such a pretty plate….and it was extremely fresh and tasty too. Very surprising as it is only 185 calories. I think the capers were the secret ingredient, they go so well with fish. Next time I might add some extra vegetables like peas and add some new potatoes for Arabella or Pascal although it is pretty perfect as it is!

Read More..

BRAISED PORK WITH TOMATOES CHORIZO THYME BLACK OLIVES

I love to cook a proper lunch on a Sunday although unlike most English, I dont like to do a traditional roast and instead like to mix it up a bit! Here is a Spanish pork recipe I found in a Waitrose magazine and it is from the London based chef Jose Pizarro who has a tapas bar and two restaurants around the city. It took around 2 hours to make.

Ingredients for 6 people:

1kg diced pork shoulder (I couldnt buy diced pork so ended up buying pork loins which I diced myself). 
4 tbsp olive oil
150ml red wine
2 onions, chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
200g chorizo, skinned and chopped
2 tsp sweet smoked paprika
2 tbsp tomato puree
400g can of chopped tomatoes
300ml fresh chicken stock
3 thyme sprigs, leaves picked
2 tbsp chopped oregano
4 bay leaves
3 tbsp sherry vinegar
2 tsp caster sugar
100g pitted black olives

Season the pork. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large, flameproof casserole dish and sear the pork in batches, until browned, then set aside in a bowl.

Add the wine to the pan and as it bubbles up, scrape down the base of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the caramelised juices. Pour over the pork and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the pan with the onions, cover and fry gently for 15 minutes, stirring now and then until they are very soft.

Add the garlic and chorizo and fry for 2-3 minutes.

Stir in the paprika and cook for one minute.

Add the tomato puree, tomatoes, stock, herbs, pork and juices. Season and simmer for 1 hour with a cover on for half the time. I made the mistake of not checking or stirring mine and managed to burn it a little so I advise you to keep an eye on it! Although I expect mine burnt because I just cooked half the recipe.

Boil the vinegar and sugar in a small pan until it reduces to about 1 teaspoon.

Stir into the casserole with the olives and simmer uncovered for another 20 minutes until the pork is tender.

Season and serve with some fried potatoes (if you like).

This was way better than I was expecting and we all really enjoyed it - the chorizo in it made it much more appealing to Arabella than she thought and I adored all the flavours. It was very warming and so tasty…..I have now added Jose Pizarros restaurants to my list of places I want to eat! This worked really well as a family lunch with fried potatoes and I think it would be dinner party worthy as well.

  

Read More..