Marmitako Euskera - Basque Fresh Tuna Stew

Marmitako in Basque means 'from the pot' and is also the name for this tuna and potato based stew. Using the freshest tuna possible this stew will turn into a gorgeous unique stew. In this recipe I use Choricero peppers which are dried red Spanish peppers that come from Spain but if you do not have them do not worry just omit them. I also made my own fish stock but you can use any fish stock cubes or stock pots you have available. I must admit that both Amanda and myself loved this recipe and will definitely give it another go. Fresh tuna is one of my favourites when it comes to fish and being the main ingredient in this wonderful dish made this an instant favourite!! Just because I love flags, here is the Basque flag :) For six people you will need...

• 500g fresh tuna, cut into chunks
• 500g potatoes cut into chunks
• 1 red or yellow pepper, diced
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 2 choricero peppers, soaked in boiling water for 1 hour, flesh scraped (optional)
• 2 tomatoes, peeled, deseeded and chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 small onions, finely chopped
• 1.5 litres fish stock
• A pinch of cayenne pepper
• 75ml white wine
• 240ml (1 cup) tomato passata
• Salt & pepper, to taste
• Olive oil, to serve

For the fish stock...

• 2 litres water
• 1 large fish head or 2 small ones
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• A pinch dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf

How to...

1. If making your own stock, put all the ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. When it boils, skim the foam that will float on top of the stock. Simmer for 20-25 minutes. Turn off the heat and strain through a fine sieve.
2. Now onto the stew. In a saucepan, add onions, garlic, red pepper, green pepper and tomatoes, cook until soft about 10-15 minutes on medium high heat stirring occasionally. Now add the wine and when the wine has evaporated, add the passata and choricero pepper flesh (if using). Turn off the heat and blend with a stick blender or in a blender and set aside.
3. In the meantime, in a large pan add the strained stock, cayenne pepper and salt & pepper. Bring to boil and add the potatoes. Cook for 15 minutes. Add tomato/pepper mixture and stir well. Simmer for a further 10 minutes.  Add tuna chunks, stir once and simmer for about 5 minutes. Do not overcook the tuna as it will crumble and ruin the stew. Turn off heat and set aside to sit for about 15 minutes before serving.
4. Serve warm with crusty bread.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Beer Battered Fish & Chips with a Cherry Tomato Salad

Fish & Chips is the heart of Britain, a dish that is ever so popular in Britain and all the British colonies including Malta. Myself personally am not a big fan of deep fried foods and in fact I have fish and chips maybe once a year and Amanda does not like it all. Having said that I decided to make our own delicious fish and chips. I decided to do this because we bought a whole dogfish from my friend Ash at Penny's Fisheries and got some beer as a Xmas so fish, beer, flour...Eureka! Home-made fish and chips!! The secret to a good crispy, not soaked in oil fish is the temperature of the oil and by using cold beer. I used John Smith's Extra Smooth bitter but any beer will do in my opinion! I use a thermometer to get the perfect oil temperature but if you do not have a thermometer, the easiest, and safest, method is to stick the end of a wooden spoon into the oil. If you see bubbles form around the wood and they start to float up, your oil is hot enough to cook with. It is also important not to overcrowd the frying pan and also make sure the temperature is high again before deep frying the next batch. The following recipe is enough for 4 medium fish fillets. You will need...

For the batter

• 220g self raising flour
• 330ml John Smith's Extra Smooth bitter

For the cherry tomato salad

• A handful of cherry tomatoes, cut in half (we used yellow and red ones)
• 2 tablespoons green olives, roughly chopped
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 1 teaspoon capers, roughly chopped
• 2 spring onions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon mint sauce
• Salt & pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

• 4 boneless dogfish fillets (you can use other fish like cod, haddock, pollock etc.)
• Extra flour for dusting
• 1 litre vegetable oil

How to...

1. Start by preparing the tomato salad. To do this just combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Set aside.
2. Heat the oil to 180°C (see note in bold in the description above).
3. Prepare the fish by dusting the fillets with flour, shake any excess. 
4. Prepare the batter by adding the beer to the flour in a medium sized bowl and whisk gently until you get a thick batter. Dip the fish fillets into the batter and cover in batter completely. 
5. Deep fry into the hot oil for 6-8 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish) until golden and puffy. Using tongs or a slotted spoon take the fish out of the oil, making sure you drain any excess oil and put on absorbent kitchen paper. Keep in a warm place until you cook the other fish. Always make sure that the oil is back to 180°C as if the oil is not hot enough the fish and batter will absorb a lot of oil. You do not want that.
6. Serve the fish hot with some tomato salad and chips.

Enjoy!!

R&A 

Aljotta - Maltese Fish Soup

This Maltese soup obviously comes to be because of Malta's geographical location, that is, an island in the middle of the Mediterranean sea. Originally this soup was made by fishermen's wives to use up any small fish that would have gotten into the fishermen's nets. Most of the time this soup is made using these very famous Mediterranean small fish called Vopi (in Maltese). Funnily enough, these fish in English are called Boops Boops or Bogue, which is a species of small sea-bream. These fish are available in any Mediterranean fish market from Spain to Turkey but since I cannot find them over here in England I usually use either sprats or sardines. The soup will turn out equally delicious. This soup needs to have liquid consistency, like a broth and usually rice is added to it. Also, Amanda and most of the Maltese people leave this soup as it is but if you do not like small fish bones (which are completely edible) all you need to do is put it through a sieve before you ladle the soup into your serving bowl. It can be served as a starter or even as a main meal on its own when bread with crusty bread (preferably Maltese bread). Give it a go and if you want let us know if you like it or not. For about 6 portions as a starter you will need...

• 500g small fish like vopi, sprats, sardines, gutted but left whole
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 4 tomatoes, de-seeded & chopped
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon dried mint
• ½ teaspoon dried marjoram
• 100ml dry sherry or dry white wine
• 2 Knorr fish stock pots or stock cubes
• 1.5 litres boiling water
• Salt & pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Lemon wedges, to serve

 How to...

1. Heat the oil and cook the onion & garlic until golden brown.
2. Add the tomatoes, fish, mint, marjoram, salt, pepper and stir slowly, so as not to break the fish. Cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.
3. Add the sherry or wine, give it a stir and cook until all liquid has evaporated.
4. Now add the stock pots or cubes to a measuring jug and dissolve them in some boiling water, about half a litre or so. Now add to the fish in the pot, add the remaining litre of boiling water. Stir carefully, add the tomato paste and stir again.
5. Bring to the boil and simmer on low to medium heat for about 30 minutes.  Now if you do not like munching on the edible tiny fish bones, just pass the soup through a fine sieve before serving.
6. Serve hot with lemon wedges.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Baked Cod with Sweet Peppers & Cherry Tomatoes

Recently my parents and youngest brother visited us and my dad wanted me to cook something for them so I thought why not cook some local fish with a Mediterranean touch for all of us. So, whilst we were at Doncaster market, I visited my friend Vince of Penny's Fisheries and got a good deal on some fresh cod. Then on our way home I browsed the net  for ideas whilst thinking what I had in our pantry at home and I found a recipe on the BBC Food website and adapted it to our own taste. So, off we headed to the supermarket to buy the rest of the vegetables that I was missing at home. Since cod is not everyone's favourite fish as some might say that it is quite bland on flavour I decided to add some natural flavour enhancers that made this dish super tasty and flavourful. I added some more herbs and capers. As you might imagine this amount of ingredients fed all five of us so feel free so adapt the ingredient amounts. Give it a go, you can use any fish you like and also vary/omit the vegetables to your liking. For 5-6 people you will need...

• 1.2kg fresh large cod fillets
• 4 red sweet peppers, chopped into medium sized-pieces
• 3 yellow sweet peppers, chopped into medium sized-pieces
• 2 red onions, diced into 8 pieces
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
• 250g cherry tomatoes
• A large handful of green olives
• 2 tablespoons capers
• 500ml (2 cups) tomato passata
• Fresh basil leaves
• Fresh or dried mint leaves
• Some dried oregano
• Dried parsley
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

How to...

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/Gas Mark 7.
2. In a large bowl put the chopped peppers, onions, garlic, cherry tomatoes, olives, capers and some olive oil and mix well. Divide the mixed vegetables between two large oven dishes and put in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes.
   
3. In the meantime cut the large cod fillets in two pieces. When the vegetables are done, leave the oven on, take the vegetables out of the oven and pour 250ml (about 1 cup) of passata on top of the vegetables. 
4. Now, put the cod fillets on top of the partially cooked vegetables. Drizzle with olive oil and scatter with some fresh basil leaves, mint, oregano and parsley. Freshly grind some black pepper and put into the hot oven for a further 20 minutes until fish is flaky and falling apart. Serve hot!
   
   
   

Enjoy!!

R&A

Baked Whole Trout with Lemon & Coriander

Trout and salmon are the most famous river fish here in the United Kingdom. In my opinion river fish such as trout have a more delicate taste than saltwater fish and coming from the Mediterranean, Amanda and myself do prefer saltwater fish. Although as all cooking, if the fish the cooked well you still can enjoy it! Always make sure that you choose fresh fish, you can tell that a fish is fresh by checking what we call the FES :) which basically translates into Firmness, Eyes & Smell. Always check that the fish is firm (this means that the fish has been recently caught), the eyes are clear and that the fish does not smell (fresh fish does not smell). We prepared this trout by baking it al cartoccio which means wrapped up in a parcel. You can also use this method and cook it on a hot BBQ! We served with with a delicious Bleu d'Auvergne cheese & Broad bean salad (recipe to follow). Obviously you can cook any fish you like using this method. Give it a go!! For two people you will need...

• 2 fresh whole trout, cleaned
• 6 fresh lemon slices
• fresh coriander leaves
• Extra virgin olive oil
• Salt & pepper
• Lemon wedges, to serve
• Aluminium foil or grease-proof paper

How to...

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Wash the fish under a running cold tap. Pat dry and put on a large sheet of aluminium foil or grease-proof paper. Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt & pepper. Put the three lemon slices in each fish and stuff with the coriander leaves.
3. Close the foil or paper around the fish, package-like, always making sure that it is tightly sealed. Leave some air for the steam to go around in the package whilst cooking.
4. Place on an oven tray and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes.
5. Serve with lemon wedges and a good side salad.

Enjoy!!

R&A