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

Bzar biz-zalza - Peppers in Tomato Sauce Maltese Style

This recipe is definitely a Maltese classic. A summer classic dish that can be eaten hot or cold and usually eaten with Maltese bread and/or fried fish, mainly Lampuki [Dolphin Fish or Dorado in English]. We love it and whenever we cook it, it reminds Amanda of when her mother used to prepare fried Lampuki and this pepper sauce. My dad love it a lot as well...to be fair, every Maltese person does I guess!! This dish is a relative of the Sicilian dish Peperonata. Give it a go and as I said you can serve it as a side dish or as a delicious vegetarian dish on its own and eat it with some nice crusty bread or tortillas even....preferably Maltese obviously...for 4 people you will need...

• 3 Green peppers, de-seeded & sliced
• 3 Red peppers, de-seeded & sliced
• 700 ml tomato passata
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Handful whole green olives
• 3 teaspoons capers
• ½ teaspoon dried mint
• 4 Fresh basil leaves
• Salt & pepper
• Extra virgin olive oil

How to..

1. In a medium sized pan heat some olive oil & the garlic and fry until golden brown. 
2. Then add the peppers and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Now add the rest of the ingredients and give it a good stir and simmer on low/medium heat until the peppers are cooked through. We left ours simmer gently for about 3 hours (The longer the simmer, the tastier the sauce...gives it more flavour) but you can simmer for an hour on medium heat always stirring occasionally.
4. Serve hot or cold with bread/tortillas or as a side dish.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Pumpkin & Sweet Pepper Soup

Pumpkin season is upon us! Since pumpkins are so cheap and so versatile, my mind starts going crazy in the kitchen to come up with new ways to cook it. So far we used it in 3 recipes. We made the traditional Maltese hearty vegetable soup called either Minestra or Kawlata if cooked with a ham shank. Another recipe we made was a recipe Amanda came across on the net which really intrigued us, Pumpkin pie cupcakes, these turned out delicious, just like mini sweet pumpkin pies. Incidentally today is the first day of autumn and I came up with this delicious soup which is very easy to prepare, as are all soups after all! Our tips for a perfect soup are, not too much liquid and slow cooking. We put bacon to add saltiness and balance the sweetness of the pumpkin and vegetables. If you would like a vegetarian version of the soup omit the bacon and add a couple of tablespoons of light soy sauce instead. Give it a go, you will need…

• 400g Peeled Pumpkin, chopped into cubes
• 2 Potatoes, chopped
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 1 Carrot, finely chopped
• 1 Green pepper, finely chopped
• 1 Red pepper, finely chopped
• ½ Savoy cabbage, shredded
• 8 small tomatoes, skinned and chopped
• 4 smoked back bacon rashers, chopped (use soy sauce instead if vegan or vegetarian)
• 2 litres vegetable or ham stock
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons sunflower oil

How to...

1. Heat the oil in a large pot. Add the onion, carrot and chopped peppers and cooked until soft stirring frequently until soft, about 10 minutes.
2. Add the bacon if using and continue to cook until bacon turns brownish.
3. Add the pumpkin, potatoes, cabbage, tomatoes, thyme, black pepper and stock and stir well. Simmer on medium heat for about an hour or more if you like.
4. When done, blend the soup in a blender or with a hand-held blender even and serve warm.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Couscous & Aubergine Stuffed Peppers

Arabic/Middle Eastern cuisine is one of the best on the planet. It is so full of aromatic flavours and most all it smells so wonderful when you are cooking it. These peppers are stuffed with lots of flavours from very hot [harissa] to sweet [raisins]. We served them with some seasoned natural yoghurt. One of my tricks is to put all the spices in a small jar or small container with a lid and give them a good shake so as when you use them the spices are distributed evenly into the dish. You can call the spice mix Ras El Hanout [which literally means shopkeeper]. This term is used in North Africa [mostly Morocco] to define spice mixes sold in shops/market, every shop/seller has his own spice blend...hence the name! This dish is 100% vegetarian and will  make our vegetarian friends very happy...so please do give it a go. For 4/5 peppers you will need...

For the stuffing

• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 medium sized aubergine, diced into 1cm cubes
• 50g raisins
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon harissa
• Ras el Hanout spice mix *
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Extra water
• 200g couscous
• 200ml boiling water
• 4/5 Bell peppers, top taken off and deseeded

Ras el Hanout spice mix

* ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, freshly ground black pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, pinch ground ginger, pinch ground cloves, sea salt (to taste).

Laban dip

• 250ml natural yoghurt
• Freshly chopped mint [or 1 tablespoon dried mint]
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

How to...

1. Fry the onion in some oil until soft and transparent. Add the diced aubergine & garlic and cook covered for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally adding a little water if necessary. Now add tomato paste, harissa, raisins, Ras el Hanout spice mix and some more olive oil. Cook for a further 10 minutes on low heat.
2. Prepare the couscous by pouring 200ml boiling water on the couscous. Stir with a fork and cover for about 6 minutes. After 6 minutes, separate the grains with a fork and add some olive oil and stir well.
3. Add the couscous to the onion/aubergine mixture and mix well.
4. Put the peppers (with the pepper top) in the microwave for 5-6 minutes on high. Take peppers out and carefully stuff the peppers tightly. Put the stuffed peppers in the microwave again and cook for a further 10 minutes on high. 
5. Alternatively, put the peppers in an oven dish and add some water or tomato sauce at the bottom of the dish. Bake in a 200°C preheated oven for about 40-50 minutes.
6. Mix the laban ingredients together.
7. Serve with the yoghurt and pita bread.

Enjoy!!

R&A