Crumbed Ling with Potato Salad

Time for a confession: I think my favourite way to eat fish is battered or fried! Defeats the health benefits but very tasty. This is a recipe using ling fillet, which is similar to perch. With soft, white flesh, it is great for fussy children as well. The recipe can be simplified by using store bought breadcrumbs.

 

The accompanying potato salad is delicious ad a new favourite in this household. I wouldn't really recommend using store bought mayonnaise because the secret to its charm is the homemade dressing.

I use my Thermomix to prepare the crumb for the fish, to hard boil the eggs, steam the potatoes and make the dressing. However, you can complete these steps using your stove top and other appliances.

 

Crumbed Ling with Potato Salad

 

Serves 4-6

 

Fish

 

600g Ling fish (or similar)

6 bread slices

Grated rind of 1 lemon

Salt & pepper to taste

1.5 teaspoons of Mixed Italian Herbs

2-3 eggs, beaten

1 cup flour

 

Potato Salad 

 

1kg potatoes

3 hard boiled eggs

3 trimmed and diced bacon rashers

Handful of chopped chives

Salt & pepper to taste

 

Dressing

 

2 egg yolks

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 garlic clove, crushed

125ml light olive oil

 

1. I always start with the mayonnaise dressing. To make the dressing, place egg yolks, mustard, lemon juice and garlic in the Thermomix (or a food processor). Mix 20 seconds/speed 4.

 

2. Then slowly add oil in a steady stream through top of lid over a period of 1 minute/speed 4. Finally mix for a further 2 minutes/speed 4. Your mayonnaise is now ready and can be set aside in fridge until ready to use.

 

3. Hard boil eggs, peel and set aside.

 

4. Cook bacon over medium heat in a non-stick fry pan until cooked to your liking and then set aside to cool.

 

5. Potatoes can be peeled or left unpeeled if preferred. Chop potatoes and boil or steam until just tender. 

 

6. Once potatoes are cooled to room temperature, combine with chopped hard boiled eggs, bacon and mayonnaise. Sprinkle with chives and lightly mix through.

 

7. Ling is usually sold de-boned and in large fillets. Slice it into serving size pieces and set aside whilst you prepare crumb mixture.

 

8. To make bread crumb coating, combine 6 roughly torn up slices of bread, lemon rind, salt and pepper and mixed Italian herbs in Thermomix and grind 10 seconds/speed 6. Pour into a bowl.

 

9. Coat fish pieces in flour, dip in egg and then coat with bread crumbs.

 

10. Shallow fry the fish in a pan and then serve with the potato salad.

 





Spaghetti Marinara (Spaghetti with Seafood)

Today's recipe is a classic that appears on menus everywhere. It can be made on the stove top or in the Thermomix - both versions are delicious. The key of course is fresh ingredients. Find a seafood store that you trust - one that is busy and has a high turnover is what you are after. Apart from the fish markets in Sydney, I travel to Penrith Seafood at Wetherill Park in Sydney's south west when I want seafood because I know that it's fresh and of a high quality.

The Thermomix recipe is in the Everyday Cookbook that comes with the machine. I use a bottle of Italian homemade sauce in place of the tinned tomatoes and it's wonderful. A copy of the recipe can be found here.
The stove top version is below.

Spaghetti Marinara

Serves 4-5 people

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion finely chopped

3 garlic cloves crushed

1 cup white wine

3 tablespoons tomato paste

2 x 410g tins of crushed tomatoes (or homemade sauce)

salt and pepper

500g spaghetti

500g marinara mix

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

1. Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat, then add onion and cook for 3-4 minutes (or until soft).

2. Add the garlic and wine and simmer for 2 minutes.

3. Pour tinned tomatoes or sauce, along with tomato paste, into saucepan. Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Once it has been boiling for a few minutes, turn heat down and continue simmering for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. When I use homemade sauce, I actually simmer for a few hours. However long you choose to cook your sauce for, just ensure you keep an eye on it so that it doesn't burn. The less sauce, the less simmering time.

4. When sauce is almost done, cook your spaghetti in salted water to your preference. 

5. Meanwhile, add your marinara mix to the sauce, keeping lid on and cooking for 4-5 minutes. Having the lid on will allow any mussels in the mix to open. Discard any that do not open. The actual seafood (marinara mix) doesn't take long to cook so make sure you don't add it until almost ready to serve.

6. Add sauce to drained pasta and stir through fresh parsley.

Pasta con Vongole

 

Deciding which dish to highlight in the very first post of a new food blog was quite the task. In the end, I have decided to go with a tried and true family favourite that I've blogged about before and fed many with - Pasta con Vongole (Pasta with Clams). Hopefully, my iPhone food photography skills will improve as the blog develops. These photos are ones I have previously taken of this dish.

This recipe is adapted from Neil Perry's classic dish and is not only delicious, but also quick and easy! The quantities are also easily adjustable to suit taste and number of people you need to feed.


Pasta con Vongole

Serves 4

400g dried pasta (I prefer fettuccine which is the long, flat pasta)

1kg Vongole/clams  (I've used fresh clams but have found the frozen New Zealand clams the best)

125ml Light Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2-3 cloves garlic (may adjust to personal preference)

1 punnet cherry tomatoes, chopped in half

1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes (may adjust to personal preference)

60ml white wine

Small handful of chopped flat leaf parsley

Sea salt

Fresh ground pepper

1. Start by rinsing the clams under cold water and then set aside. It doesn't take long to go through each individually. I discard any with really broken shells to avoid any grittiness or bits of shell in the dish. I find the fresh clams are more prone to breakages.

 



2. Heat the olive oil on a medium heat in a large saucepan that has a lid.

 

3. Crush the garlic, add it to the oil and fry. Make sure you keep an eye on it, otherwise garlic will burn and dish will be ruined. I've burnt the garlic on a couple of occasions and have just ditched it and started it over.

 

4. Throw in the cherry tomatoes and fry for a couple of minutes, again being mindful of not letting the previously added garlic burn. If need be, turn the heat down.

 

5. Add chilli flakes and white wine and turn the heat up to bring to the boil.

 

6. Add the clams and cover. Steam over a high heat for 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan occasionally until the shells open.

 

7. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until cooked to your liking, then drain well.

 

8. Add the pasta and chopped parsley to the saucepan with clams and toss through.

 

9. Season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Toss through again and serve.

 

 

Have you had a variation of this dish somewhere?