Bream Fillets with White Bean Puree and Bulgar Wheat

This was lovely! It was a bit of a faff to make with lots of different elements and timing wise, but totally worth making, absolutely delicious.

Bream Fillets with White Bean Puree and Bulgar Wheat
(from Grains by Molly Brown)
(Serves 4)

120ml oil
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves
2 400g tins cannellini beans, drained
150ml chicken stock
180ml extra-virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
2 tbsp lemon juice, plus lemon wedges
1 fennel bulb, diced
50g tinned anchovies, drained and chopped
2 tbsp chopped mint
2 tbsp capers, rinsed
2 tsp white balsamic vinegar
1 red onion, finely chopped
100g bulgar wheat
200ml chicken or veg stock
75g pitted black olives, chopped
1 1/2 tbsp chopped parsley
700-800g bream fillets
seasoned plain flour

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a saucepan over a low-medium heat and cook the white onion until soft but not coloured. Add 1 of the garlic cloves (crushed), the beans, the chicken stock and salt and pepper. Cook over a medium heat for about 4 mins. Blitz the beans and the cooking liquid in a blender with 80ml of extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tbsp of lemon juice. Season.

To make the relish, fry the fennel in 2 tbsp of oil over a medium heat until just softening. Add 2 of the garlic cloves (chopped) and cooked for 1 min. Transfer to a bowl and add the anchovies, mint, capers, vinegar, pepper and 90ml of the extra-virgin olive oil. Stir and season. Set aside.

Saute the red onion in 1 tbsp of the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. When soft and translucent add the remaining garlic (crushed) and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the bulgar then pour over the chicken stock and season. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 15 mins or until all the stock has been absorbed. Ensure the bulgar doesn't catch on the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat, cover and set aside for 10 mins. Add the olives and fork through the bulgar with the parsley, the remaining extra-virgin olive oil and the remaining lemon juice. Season.

Dip the fish fillets in the flour and shake off any excess. Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and cook the fish, skin side down, over a medium heat for 3 mins until brown. Turn over and repeat.

Put a portion of bulgar onto each plate and spoon over some bean puree. Put the fish fillets on top and top with the relish.

Jamie's 15 Minute Meals: Ratatouille with Saffron Rice

The original of this recipe has fillet steak included in it too but I was in the mood for vegetarian, veg and lots of it. I had a cold and I was definietly craving Vitamin C!  I loved the flavurs coming out of this, it's amazing the difference an anchovy and a bit of balsamic can make!

 

Ratatouille with Saffron Rice (from Jamie's 15 Minute Meals)

(Serves 4)

 

1 courgette
1 small aubergine
2 mixed-colour peppers
1 red onion
1 heaped tsp harissa
2 anchovy fillets
2-4 cloves of garlic
700g passata
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
½ bunch fresh basil
2 tbsp fat-free natural yoghurt

For the rice
1 mug (300g) 10-minute wholegrain or basmati rice
1 good pinch saffron
½ lemon

Halve the courgette lengthways, slice the aubergine 1cm thick and place both on the griddle pan, turning when charred. Put 1 mug of rice, 2 mugs of boiling water, the saffron, lemon half and a pinch of salt into the small pan, cover and cook until fluffy, stirring occasionally. Tear the seeds and stalks out of the peppers, then roughly chop with the peeled red onion and put into the casserole pan with the harissa, anchovies and 1 teaspoon of their oil. Squash in the unpeeled garlic through a garlic crusher and stir regularly

Remove the charred courgette and aubergine from the griddle pan, leaving it on the heat, and roughly chop them on a board. Add them to the casserole pan along with the passata and vinegar, and boil with the lid on for about 5 mins. Serve with the yoghurt and saffron rice.

Tuna, Anchovy, Sun Dried Tomato and Cannellini Beans

I've tried a few combinations of beans and tuna salad and this one is really lovely, it looks like it should be really oily but it's not at all. The dressing is actually really lovely and light.

Tuna, Anchovy, Sun Dried Tomato and Cannellini Beans

(from Grains - Molly Brown)

(Serves 4)

1 250g tin tuna in spring water

2 400g tins cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

75g sun dried tomatoes

16 anchovies, chopped

1 red onion, finely sliced

40 black olives, pitted and halved

3 tbsp parsley, chopped

salt and pepper

180ml olive oil

juice 1 lemon

2 tsp Dijon mustard

Put the tuna, beans, tomatoes, anchovies, onion, olives and parsley into a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Mix together the olive oil, lemon juice and mustard in a small bowl. 

Pour the dressing over the bean and tuna mixture, being careful not to squash the beans. Season if necessary.

Pasta with Peppers, Anchovies and Pine Nuts

This was a delicious pasta dish, the anchovies really pack a punch and the peppers were a little bit spicy but not overly so. This doesn't look like much but it's really worth making.

Penne with a Peppers, Anchovies and Pine Nuts (from Waitrose Weekend)

(Serves 2)

100g dried pasta shapes

1 tbsp olive oil

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

4 anchovy fillets, chopped

2 pimiento red peppers, drained and sliced

15g pine nuts

1 tbsp chopped fresh oregano

finely grated Parmesan

Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the pasta and cook according to packet instructions.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a frying pan and add the garlic. Cook for 30 secs or until golden then add the anchovies and mash down into the oil. Add the peppers and cook for several mins until heated through. Stir in the pine nuts, oregano and season,

Drain the pasta and toss in the pepper sauce. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan.

Miso Brown Rice and Chicken Salad

I still love anything Japanese, I just don't get around to making too much Japanese food any more. This was a revival of the miso and it was delicious, it's healthy with the brown rice and broccoli and very tasty too.

Miso Brown Rice and Chicken Salad (from Good Food Magazine August 2010)
(Serves 2)

120g brown basmati rice
2 skinless chicken breasts, cooked
140g sprouting broccoli
4 spring onions, cut into diagonal slices
1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

For the dressing
2 tsp miso paste
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp grated ginger

Cook the rice following the pack instructions, adding the broccoli for the last 3 mins, then drain and cool under running water.

For the dressing, mix the miso, rice vinegar, mirin and ginger together.

Divide the rice  and broccoli between two plates and scatter over the spring onions and sesame seeds. Slice the chicken breast and place the chicken slices on top. To finish, drizzle over the dressing.