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..

PESTO BAKED COD WITH POTATO AND PEA CRUSH

My health and brain power must be improving with all this fish I have been cooking recently. Arabella is already bored of it but to be honest if she had her way, she would just eat goats cheese for every meal! 

This is a recipe card from Waitrose and it took about 25 minutes in total so perfect for a mid week supper.

Ingredients for 2 people:

Knob of butter
Skinless and boneless cod fillets (about 260g)
2 tbsp of pesto
1 large tomato, chopped
350g potatoes, peeled and diced
150g frozen peas
Finely grated zest and juice of 1/4 lemon

Preheat the oven to 200 C / gas mark 6.

Start by mixing together the pesto and tomato in a bowl and then lightly butter an ovenproof dish. Place the cod inside and then top with tomato and pesto mixture. Cook the fish in the oven for 15-20 minutes - I did 20 as I wanted to make sure it was cooked properly all the way through!

Meanwhile cook the potatoes in a large pan of boiling water for 15 minutes and then add the frozen peas for the last 3 minutes.

Drain and then add back to the pan with a knob of butter. Next lightly crush the potatoes and peas using a masher. Stir in some lemon juice and zest and season to taste.

Once the fish is ready, divide the potato mixture between two plates and top with the cod and tomato pesto mixture.

This was a much more successful meal than expected - Arabella adored the mash as did I - I am not really a potato fan but it tasted so much better when mixed with the peas and a dash of lemon. The tomato, pesto and cod was also delicious - very Mediterranean in flavour. The meal also looked very impressive! This is definitely going to become a regular fixture at our dinner table….healthy, tasty, quick and easy….an all round winner.

Read More..