Baked Indian fish pilaf

Take time out after a busy day to whip up this quick and tasty Baked Indian fish pilaf for a weeknight dinner.

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 3 teaspoons chicken stock powder
• 3 1/4 cups boiling water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup tikka masala curry paste
• 1 1/3 cups basmati rice
• 450g frozen barramundi fish fillets, thawed, cut into 2.5cm pieces
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 100g baby spinach
• Pappadums or naan bread, to serve

 

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190ºC/170ºC fan-forced.
2. Combine stock powder and boiling water in a jug. Heat oil in a large, heavy-based, non-stick flameproof casserole dish over medium heat. Add onion. Cook, stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes or until softened. Add curry paste. Stir for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add rice. Stir to coat. Add 3 cups stock mixture. Bring to the boil. Cover. Transfer to oven. Bake for 20 minutes.
3. Stir in fish, peas and remaining stock. Cook, covered, for 10 minutes or until fish is just cooked through. Gently stir in spinach. Cover. Set aside for 3 to 5 minutes or until spinach has wilted. Serve with pappadums or naan bread.

 

Notes

Super saver: By using stock powder instead of liquid stock, we’ve saved you around $2.76 in total.

Chargrilled harissa fish

Cooking Time

8 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 1/2 tablespoons harissa
• 4 x 200g blue-eye fillets, skin removed
• 1 red capsicum, cut into quarters, deseeded
• 2 x 400g cans chickpeas, drained, rinsed
• 1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced
• 1 lemon, juiced
• olive oil cooking spray
• 1/3 cup low-fat natural yoghurt

 

Method

1. Combine harissa and 1/2 cup cold water in a shallow ceramic dish. Add fish fillets and turn to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes, if time permits.
2. Preheat a barbecue grill on high heat. Place capsicum, skin side down, on grill. Cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until skin turns black. Transfer capsicum to a plastic bag. Twist top to seal and stand for 5 minutes. Peel and discard skin. Roughly chop capsicum and place in a bowl.
3. Add chickpeas, parsley and green onions to capsicum. Drizzle over 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Toss gently to combine.
4. Reduce barbecue grill to medium heat. Spray both sides of fish with oil. Cook for 3 minutes each side or until cooked through. Place fish and salad on plates. Top with yoghurt. Season with pepper and serve.
   

Notes

Note: Harissa is a Tunisian spicy paste available in jars or tubes from supermarkets or delis. Made from a blend of smoked red chillies, olive oil and spices, it teams well with lamb, couscous, casseroles and bean salads.

Baked fish with pea puree

Frozen white fish is a handy standby and when cooked in a paper bag, the buttery, lemony juices are locked in for full flavour. 

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 tsp finely grated lemon rind
• 1 tbs fresh lemon juice
• 4 (about 600g) frozen white fish fillets, thawed
• 2 shallots, ends trimmed, coarsely chopped
• 1 tbs butter, cut into 4 pieces
• Sea salt flakes, to serve
• Lemon wedges (optional), to serve

• Pea puree

• 250ml (1 cup) hot chicken stock
• 1 x 500g pkt frozen baby peas
• 2 tsp dried chopped onion
• 1 tbs butter

Method

1. Preheat oven to 220°C. Rub 4 brown paper bags inside and out with oil to grease. Rub the lemon rind and lemon juice over the fish. Divide the fish among the bags. Top with shallot and butter. Place the bags on a large baking tray. Fold in the ends and tuck under to seal. Bake for 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, to make the pea puree, bring the stock, peas and onion to the boil in a medium saucepan. Cook for 5 minutes. Drain, reserving the stock. Return the peas to the pan. Add the butter and use a stick blender to process, adding a little of the reserved stock if necessary, until a coarse puree forms. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Divide the pea puree among serving plates. Top with the fish and drizzle over the juices. Sprinkle with sea salt flakes and serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

Notes

Cook's tip: Paper bags are porous, so to seal in the cooking juices, you need to grease them in step 1. If the bags have a side seam, place seam-side up to prevent juices escaping. Storage tip: Store leftover reserved stock in the fridge for up to 1 week. Use in soups.

Zesty Lime-Fish Tacos

INGREDIENTS

 

1         lb tilapia fillets (about 4)

1/2      cup fresh lime juice (2 to 3 limes)

3         cloves garlic, finely chopped

1/4      cup Pillsbury BEST® All Purpose Flour

1/4      cup yellow cornmeal

1         can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® Homestyle refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (8 biscuits)

6         tablespoons Crisco® Pure Canola Oil

1 1/2   tablespoons chipotle chiles in adobo sauce (from 7-oz can), finely chopped

1/2      teaspoon salt

1/4      teaspoon McCormick® Black Pepper

1/2      cup salsa

1/2      cup sour cream

1 1/2   cups shredded cabbage

 

DIRECTIONS

 

1 Heat oven to 200°F. Cut each fish fillet lengthwise into 4 strips. In shallow glass dish, mix 7 tablespoons of the lime juice and garlic. Add fish; turn to coat. Let stand while preparing biscuits. 2 On work surface, mix flour and cornmeal. Separate dough into 8 biscuits. Press both sides of each biscuit into flour mixture, then press or roll into 6- to 7-inch round. 3 In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat 1 1/2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Add 2 biscuit rounds; cook about 1 minute on each side or until golden brown and cooked through. Place on cookie sheet; keep warm in oven. Cook remaining rounds, adding 1 1/2 tablespoons oil to skillet for each batch. Wipe skillet clean. 4 Heat same skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish and lime juice mixture, chiles, salt and pepper; cook about 5 minutes, turning fish once, until fish flakes easily with fork. 5 In small bowl, mix salsa, sour cream and remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice. 6 Using slotted spoon, remove fish and divide evenly among biscuit rounds. Top each with cabbage and 1 to 2 tablespoons salsa mixture. Fold biscuit rounds in half over filling. Serve with any remaining salsa mixture. Garnish with lime wedges, if desired.