Friday Night Take-away - Filet-o-fish

I realised recently that, although we have been keeping to the tradition of the Friday Night Take-away for a couple of years, there is one take-away establishment that has escaped a mention.  Tonight we have set that straight by knocking up a couple of fish burgers for me and Z.

There was a time in my life when I was a regular visitor to the burger bar with the golden arches.  As a 6th form student I had a Saturday job as a till monkey in a supermarket.  Every lunchtime, for two years, I wandered across the road to McD's and ordered the largest burger on the menu*.  This trend came to an end when I went to university.  A combination of no Saturday job, not having much disposable income and there not being a McDonald's close to my flat meant that my burger intake wained.

If we did treat** ourselves, normally in a moment of drunken abandon, I would stick to my guns and get as much meat as my wallet would allow and Z would usually order a filet-o-fish.  This left us with a problem.  For some reason, no matter which branch of McD's we staggered into, there were never any filets ready to eat.  This meant I had to either; A) wait for Z's filet to arrive, while my burger went cold, or B) eat my burger then sit there wanting a second burger watching Z eat hers.  Due to this, I have resented the filet-o-fish for years.

I do however love a fish finger sandwich.  The fact that they are on almost every pub menu is testimony to their greatness and, possibly, our inability to let go of more innocent times.  They do vary in quality, from reformed "white fish" in basic sliced white bread to monkfish goujons on ciabatta, and every thing in between.

To my mind a fish finger sandwich is a lunchtime treat and not an evening meal so tonight, I let bygones be bygones, set my resentments to one side and set about recreating the filet-o-fish.  Like the hyper-global-fastfood-chain I based my filet on 100% fish fillet.  To keep costs down I opted for coley but you could use any fish you fancy.  The fish fillets were coated in flour, egg and bread crumbs before being shallow fried and served in a bun with home made tartar sauce, cheese and lettuce.  This was every bit as good as I thought it would be and we didn't have to wait half an hour for it to be ready.

*washed down with a diet coke.  I am well aware of the irony of a greasy burger and a diet drink but I honestly prefer the flavour of diet coke to the full fat version.
**some treat!

Olympic Food Challenge: Libya - Herbed Rice with Cumin Marinated Fish

After yesterday's hangover induced comfort food, I am back in the saddle and raring to crack on with the Olympic Food Challenge.  I was surprised when researching my previous nineteen countries that I hadn't found more fish dishes.  This time around my countries seem to be more interested in their fishing grounds, which suits me fine.

The first fish dish is actually billed as the accompaniment to a traditional Libyan rice dish of Ruz Hoot bil Kusbur or Herbed Rice with Cumin Marinated Fish.  The fact that this is a fish dish is not the only reason that I picked it.  It was the main factor but not the only one; the flavours in the rice were really tempting.  The deciding factor was the marinade for the fish.  I don't think I have ever used a tablespoon of cumin in anything.  It is a spice that can overpower other flavours if not used judiciously, but I went along with the recipe

I am very glad that I trusted Libyan Food because the finished dish was superb.  The cumin, garlic and lemon juice in the marinade combined really well to flavour the fish*.  I don't know if the breadcrumbs tempered the flavours but the result was great.  The rice was also really good.  I didn't have any fish stock so used vegetable stock instead but again the combination of flavours and the addition of whole roasted corriander seeds gave the dish an extra bite.

This is without a doubt one of the best meals we have cooked during the Olympic Food Challenge.  I would go as far as saying it warrants a gold medal.  Libya didn't get any medals during the Olympics and they only have a team of two entered in the Paralympics.  I hope they do well, I'll certainly be cheering them on after this dish.

*I chose coley, you can choose what you want.

Pepper topped Coley

There are positives and negatives to living as far away from our parent as we do.  My Mum is in Edinburgh while Z's Mum is in Windsor and her Dad is in deepest Shropshire.  At around four hours in the car to see any of them we don't meet up that often but when we do we always have a good time. 

One of the real bonuses of visiting family members that live miles away, is that you get to dip into a new local food scene.  Visiting Z's Dad gave us a day out in the foodie Mecca of Ludlow.  A recent trip to Edinbugh let us eat at The Dogs* and no visit to Windsor is complete without a farmers market or a trip to the Windsor Farm Shop which sells produce from the Royal farms.

Tonight's menu was inspired by the discovery, at the back of the fridge, of spoils from one of our visits to the Windsor Farm Shop.  A jar of caramelised peppers.  Z wanted the peppers smeared onto the top of a piece of white fish and baked and who am I to argue.  The peppers are sweet and sticky with a nice background kick but they are not so strong that they over powered the coley. 

We chose coley in the end because there is no reason not to.  It's a well flavoured white fish and usually costs half the price of cod or haddock.  If looks are that important to you, fine, but preserving the fish stocks and saving pennies are higher on my list of priorities.  The more pennies we have the more chance we have of going on family visits and picking up more fun food.

*a must if you get the chance

Friday Night Takeaway - Fish and Chips

Fish and Chips. This, above all things*, is the most quintessential British meal.

I know there are arguments about where it started.  People will tell you that the Belgians made chips first and that Polish Jews were the first to batter fish.  But it was here, on these sceptred isles, that the wonderful British mind brought the two together, doused them in acid and wrapped them in yesterdays newspaper.

There is something about the ritual of Fish and Chips that I adore.  Peeling back the paper to let loose the steam and the intoxicating smell.  I'm always disappointed, and seldom go back to a chippy, if my takeaway is served in a polystyrene tray.  In an ideal world, every portion I eat would be by the seaside.  Particularly, on a harbour wall when the boats are in.  No cutlery, just ripping at the battered fish with my hands.

I'm not at the seaside, I'm in Leeds, about as far from the coast as you can get.  Neither am I opening a paper parcel.  It's Friday so I'm cooking the takeaway meal we would order at home.  I have tried to get a deep fat fryer for some time but all of my requests have been vetoed.  I can think of numerous things to do with the fryer of my dreams; samosas, wontons, Mars bars.  I would of course use it for fish and chips but alas, no.

Thanks to Joe and Jo, I can now make home made oven chips.  Shallow fried fish in breadcrumbs is lighter and just as crispy as batter.  The finale is mushy peas.  Z didn't understand / like mushy peas until we hit the North.  Now she's a convert.  I will take the dried pulse challenge one of these days but tins are so convenient and soaking veg over night just seams a bit odd.

*with the possible exception of Sunday Roasts and Chicken Tikka Massala.