Easy cheap fish recipes

 

 

If you’re thinking about eating seafood (yep, I said, thinking about, but even non-Christians sometimes go meat-free on Good Friday. Ok, vegetarians will have to leave out the fish…), you can knock up a mornay dish or creamy pasta with just a few everyday ingredients.

Or if you’re really skint, zoom down to the servo & grab a can of tuna or salmon, bit of cheese &/or or tub of cream if you can be bothered  (yep, they’re usually open, & last minute slackers can get a few bits & pieces from most).

Half an hour or so & voila! Fish on the table.

Easy. Cheap. Simple.

 

 

Tuna mornay

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice or pasta (like penne, spirals or bows)
• 2 tbsn butter
• 2 tblsp plain flour
• 2 cups milk
• drained can of tuna (largish, about 400g)
• 1 cup grated cheese
• salt & pepper

Optional:

• 1 cup mixed frozen vegetables
• small tin of creamed corn
• bit of mustard

Method

• Preheat oven to moderate (180C/ 350F)
• Put the rice or pasta on to boil.
• Melt butter in a pan, then take off heat & stir in flour. Put back on heat, stirring for 2 mins (don’t burn it).
• Take off heat & add milk gradually, stirring constantly until a bit thicker. Add cheese. Add tuna. If using, add the creamed corn.
• Season. If using, add frozen veggies to almost cooked rice or pasta.
• Cook a few more minutes until rice or pasta & veggies are cooked, then rinse them & put into an oven dish.
• Spread the tuna mix over the top. Sprinkle with grated cheese & bread crumbs if using and bake a half hour or so until browned.

 

 Salmon pasta

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 2 cups pasta
• 1 1⁄2 cups cream
• 1 (largish) can salmon, preferably red & skinless/boneless
• 1⁄4 cup grated or flaked parmesan or tasty cheese
• salt and pepper
• chopped spring onions or chives if you have them

Method

• Cook pasta then drain well.
• Bring cream to the boil in a big pot until thickened a bit (about 3 mins).
• Stir in drained can of salmon , cheese and pasta.
• Season and toss.
• Sprinkle with chives or spring onions and serve with extra cheese.

 

 Fish cakes or burgers

 

 

 

 Ingredients

• 2 medium-large potatoes, peeled and halved
• about 450g or so chopped fresh fish fillets, or canned fish, or leftover cooked fish
• Tbspn butter
• Tblspn grated onion
• 1 egg
• oil for frying
• chopped fresh herbs if you have them

Method

• Boil potatoes in a pot of water until almost cooked.
• If using fresh fish, add the fish and cook until they are both soft, then drain. If using cooked or canned fish, add it after the potatoes are cooked.
• Add butter, onion, egg  & herbs if using & mash it all together.
• Shape the mixture into patties.
• Heat oil in a frypan over medium heat then fry the patties on both sides until golden brown.
• Serve with sweet chilli or lemon juice or whatevs, or in bread or buns, with salad and mayo. Yummo.

Thai option:

• If you have them, you could add a little fish sauce (tspn or so), red curry paste (2-3 Tbspns), lime juice (Tbspn or so), bit of garlic or fresh chopped coriander to spice things up.
• Stir together some peanut butter, coconut milk or cream, soy sauce, lime juice & sweet, hot or chopped fresh chilli over a medium heat until blended for a tasty sauce.

 

Crumbed fish

 

 

 

Ingredients

• Fish fillets (no skin)
• lemon juice if you have it
• salt & pepper
• plain flour
• eggs (beaten)
• breadcrumbs (cut & crumble up some leftover bread finely)
• oil for frying

Method

• Squeeze lemon juice over fish if using
• Put flour in a shallow bowl, put the beaten eggs in another one, and the breadcrumbs (seasoned with salt & pepper) in another.
• Dunk both sides of the fish in flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs.
• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and shallow fry the fish for about 2 minutes each side until cooked through (check the fish flakes away from your knife).
• If you’re cooking a fair bit, keep the fish warm in a low oven while you cook the rest.

Enjoy!