Stocking a Freezer – and a Fish Recipe – Smoked Cod

Smoked Cod with Dill, Peas and Potatoes – a simple supper recipe:

Moving house, with a plethora of things to remember, it was easy enough to overlook the fact that my normally well stocked freezer would end up needing a complete refill. Normally I have a good supply of fish, something that can be cooked quickly to make a healthy supper.  The rest of the space is usually taken up with batches of recipes which are old favourites like bolognese sauce, venison casserole and greek lamb stew.   Actually in many ways I’m rather enjoying the fresh start.  I’m planning a mini series of ‘what to put in your freezer’ – those ‘easy to make in bulk’ dishes that I keep in stock for evenings when I simply don’t want to cook from scratch.  I am sure it saves money and it definitely ensures I have food that is healthy, tastes good and can be re-heated to make dinner in minutes rather than hours.

What else goes in my freezer?  I buy frozen peas and (for moments of weakness) frozen oven chips.  I freeze individual chicken breast portions.  And I really love having a supply of fish.

John from DelishFish in Scotland is a great source of local British fish.  While I could buy from the supermarket, what I get delivered to my door from him is always super fresh (usually not pre-frozen) and beautifully packed in portions that make enough for 1-2 people.  So, one of the first things I’ve done since the move has been to call him and order a case of mixed fresh and smoked fish.  He runs his own smokehouse too and I love some of the more unusual smoked fish that I can get from him.

Smoked cod is something I haven’t tried cooking with before.  If you think bloggers ‘make it up’, well, that’s true to a certain extent in my case.  I was keen to make a wintery dish with cream and I’d planned to make something very close to this Nordic smoked haddock recipe from Nigel Slater.  As it happens, I was joined by a friend for dinner, one who doesn’t eat meat. And that forced me to experiment.

I was delighted with the result so I am sharing my recipe for Smoked Cod with Dill,Peas and Potatoes.  And, I’ll certainly be making it again.  One of the best ‘instant meals’, it takes 15 minutes to cook and about 5 minutes to prepare.

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Smoked Cod with Dill, Prawns and Potatoes

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

Course: Lunch

Cuisine: European

Servings: 2

Author: Adapted from a recipe by Nigel Slater

Ingredients

• 300 g Smoked cod Cut into two portions
• 50 g Green Prawns Shelled and deveined
• 150 ml Double Cream
• 75 g Frozen or Fresh Peas
• 1 handful Fresh Dill
• 1 tablespoon Rapeseed Oil
• 2 Medium Potato
• 6 Peppercorns
• 2 Bayleaves

Instructions

1. Cut the potatoes into small 'chips' - about half the size of a normal chip. There's no need to peel the potatoes
2. Heat the rapeseed oil in a large pan and add the potatoes. Fry on a medium heat turning occasionally so they don't burn. Cook for a total of 15 minutes till soft on the inside and crisp and golden on the outside
3. Add the cream, bayleaves, peppercorns and cod to a shallow casserole. Bring to just below simmering and cook for 12 minutes
   
   
4. Stir through the dill, prawns and peas and bring back to just below simmering. Cook for a further 3 minutes
   
   
5. Add the potatoes to the pan and stir through
6. Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Serve garnished with a few dill sprigs and a simple green vegetable

This isn’t a diet recipe – the cream and potatoes make for rich, comfort food for winter.  But, in my mind, it’s worth the calories.  Delicious