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We live on an island. Let’s eat more fish.
This is not the first time I have written these words on this blog. We eat a fairly well balanced diet every day. A few years ago, when the kids were still of toddler status, we decided that we were not going to feed them fishfingers (or fishsticks) but go right to the source and just give them fish; head on, bones in.
In a way this has kind of backfired on us. For starters, the kids now favour wild Irish Salmon and are not to shy about demanding it either. Their ‘Friday favourite’ is smoked mackerel from the Burren Smokehouse served with a slab of the Chef’s buttermilk brown bread.
The fish available to us in Ireland is, quite honestly, the best fish we have ever eaten. We can shop for today’s catch today, and in some cases are able to choose it still flapping off the boat. Trout is one of our favourites.
Fresh from the sea, make dinner for me!
I think that part of the problem with fish is that a lot of people tend to be afraid to cook it. And the really funny thing about that, is that fish is very easy to cook.
It needs very little cooking actually.
Season well and sauté in olive oil for a minute on each side
We season our fish well. Pour some olive oil on it and make sure it has a coating on both sides. Then sprinkle a generous amount of maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper on both sides of the fish. Fire up your sauté pan and wait for it to be smoking hot. Place the fish in the pan skin side up and allow to cook for three or four minutes, max.
Take the fish off the heat and coat it generously (flesh side) with dijon mustard.
Get someone to do the messy work like adding a nice coating of mustard
Breadcrumbs need not be a chore. Stale bread and a grater is all you need. Grate the bread and add a little butter, parsley and raw garlic.
We tend to keep little baggies of this mixture in the freezer. You would be surprised at how many things taste better when topped with garlic and butter breadcrumbs.
You can use a few slices of fresh bread too for breadcrumbs but the stale bread gives a better crunch.
All sauced up waiting for breadcrumbs
Generously top your fish with the breadcrumbs.
Trout with mustard and breadcrumbs placed lovingly atop a bed of roast potatoes
Place the fish on a bed of (yesterdays leftover spuds) potatoes and place in a medium – hot oven for fifteen minutes. Do not let it burn or overcook.
Gather your greens
Whilst you are waiting for the fish to cook, and be fast now, blanche a few greens for the good of your heart-healthy diet please. This takes a few minutes with a pot of boiling water. They should be a beautiful vibrant green (not drab and dull) when you pull them from the water. Then toss gently in a little bit of butter or olive oil and salt & pepper. No skimping here. They need a little seasoning in order to enhance their fabulousness.
Make a quick salad
Get one of your kids to hack up some iceberg lettuce and slice a few hard boiled eggs that were waiting to be eaten in the fridge. If you do not have a blue cheese dressing laying around in the fridge, then make one.
A hunk of blue cheese, 4 tablespoons of mayonnaise, white pepper, 1 tablespoon cider vinegar, a nice dash of hot sauce. Mix together. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Set the table, pour the chilled white wine. Make sure the kids have all washed their hands and wiped their noses!
Ok, Fish is done. Bon Appetite!
Finished in the oven and ready to get in mah belly….
The protein eats in to our budget on this one as the whole Trout cost €6.00.
Broccoli at @1.75 and potatoes €1.25 (1kg)
The iceberg lettuce €0.89 so we are closing in at €9.89 for this meal.
If you add in the tomatoes and the hard boiled eggs and the blue cheese dressing your cost would be pushing €13.
That was an excessive little add on at the last minute that was not part of our original menu plan. But we had the eggs and grow our own tomatoes and always have homemade blue cheese dressing in the fridge.
There were no leftovers with this dinner but everyone, including the kids, all had plenty to eat.
A decent portion of protein, starch and veggies were had by all.
Have you tried to whittle your food budget down to a tenner a day? How is it going? We are enjoying the process and it is forcing us to really watch every penny and has given us a few great ideas of our growing plan next year!
Ok. Those are all the WiseWords I have for today. Enjoy the weekend. We are off to Oldefarm today to take a mexican cookery class with Lily Ramierez-Foran leading the pack. I. CAN’T. WAIT!
WiseMóna
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About MónaI am a native Galway girl that seems to be drawn to professions that rhyme with 'err'. Writer, Mother, Restauranteur, Wedding Planner, Dishwasher, Grass cutter, Cocktail maker. I suppose you could say I am a well rounded entrepreneur.
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About the ChefYou can't find the Chef here.
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Great looking dinner Mona, and it makes me realise how lucky I am to get trout – and other fishies – free a lot of the time from a colleague of Billy’s whose dad is a fisherman.We even scored a bag of crab claws during the summer.
Enjoy your day at Olde farm!
Hey Caroline,
The day at Oldefarm was fab. More on that outing during the week.
I think that if we all tapped I to the amount of free and foraged food that is available
we would all be spending a little less at the grocery shop each week. You are very lucky to have a friendly
fisherman contact. I would be waiting for that boat to dock weekly especially with the crab claws!
I’ve discovered Ali’s fish shop in Barna, not too far from you. Everything they recommend is super, but especially their sea trout. I must try it your way.
Hi Mise,
You know, you are the second person that has told me about Ali’s in Barna so now I feel like a visit
is on the cards. I will lunch at An Bullín Blasta, I will slide in silently to the snug at Donnelley’s and work for a few hours
then stop in to Ali’s on my way home to pick up a piece of fish for supper.
Thanks for the heads up!
Yum! Just yum! Where do you buy most of your fresh fish, Mona? That trout looks particularly fresh and has put the fishy longing on me!
I must say the 10euro challenge has thrown up a few questionable items in my own shopping bill and the uber expensive luxury brand granola is about to get the homemade make-under.
We buy from a guy down in New Quay, we buy from The Galway Bay seafood company and we buy from The Fisherman
and from Gannett seafood. They all carry great products, all priced fairly and will send you a text when they get something
special or different in. Now, though, Mise from PFW has just informed me (as has Margaret from Oldfarm) about a fish shop in
Barna named Ali’s and I am curious to check it out and see how their prices hold up compared to others. A little jaunt is on the cards
Amee. Care to join?
How I wish I lived closer to the sea but unfortunately the quality of the fish we can buy here is really not that fantastic. We have a fishmonger but it’s very expensive and looks less then fresh in a lot of cases. Having said that I actually have four whole trouts in the freezer right now. Caught by Tom a couple of weeks ago and I love the look of that breadcrumb topping. Yumm!
Simone,
You should try it and how lucky for you that Tom is such a great fisherman!
Trout takes virtually no effort to cook and the flavour is fab every time as long as you do not
let it overcook. We were landlocked in Ohio for years and always felt the pinch when buying fresh fish.
I think assuming it comes from a trusted source, having access to good frozen fish is not a bad thing at all.
Enjoy the trout!
Oh I love trout! when I grew up we had a lot of them on our dinner or lunch tables. It was easy to get them in the countryside but now it is harder to get good quality in the city that does not eat your budget.
Maybe I’ll get Mom to buy one when I am home next month… great recipe too! love it!
Thanks Astrid. It is a lovely easy dinner. I know it is hard for you to get good fresh fish Astrid but
you should give this a try when you do! Have fun at home with your Mum!
It’s early here, just time for breakfast and now I’m craving some trout with breadcrumbs with a side of greens. Looks sooo good. And I love your use of the word fabulousness – if there are two of us, soon it will actually grow and be put in the dictionary!
Funny to want fish for breakfast but I could see it maybe with an Eggs benedict style of presentation ;0)
I am so there with you on fabulousness.,,,I will email the folks at Oxford dictionary tomorrow and get the ball rolling.
The word says so much! Thanks for the visit Barb. Just winding down here on a Sunday evening by the fire.
Kids in bed, dog walked, hot port in my glass ;0)
I never would have thought to add mustard to the fish, nor the bread crumbs. This really does look lovely, no wonder there were not any leftovers.
I remember the first time I tried this. My husband told me what we were having for dinner and I was a little
Nauseated by the idea of mustard with fish. It did not appeal to me at all. I still remember
how shocked I was when I put that first bite in my mouth. It is delicious. Trout loves mustard. The end.
Thanks for popping on for a visit Paula and I love your cookies!
Davvero una ricetta gustosa, ciao
Grazie, contento che ti piaccia! E grazie per la lettura e il commento!
Fishing in Barna it is! Got to get me some crab to teach the french how to cook! When are we off?
Sweet! I will email you some possible dates and times and we will check it out.
I need a bit of a distraction this week! And yes Amee, you do need to prepare for your cooking lessons.
Mmmmm we do not cook or eat enough fish and this is enough to get me to change this now! Anything drenched in mustard and dredged in seasoned breadcrumbs is heaven! Gorgeous meal, Mona!
Thanks Jamie,
It is not terribly exciting but the raw garlic in the breadcrumbs with the mustard really gives it a nice zing
and it is a crowd pleaser for sure. I read a report recently that a large percentage of our shellfish gets exported to France
so next time you are shopping for oysters try the Irish ones. Apparently they are spawned in France and given an Irish upbringing
and then sent home to be sold as ‘French Oysters’ at the market! It is kind of like we are the Foster parents of your shellfish Jamie.
I love it!
Hello Mona!…….I eat a lot of trout. Have often spread alioli on it, but never tried it with mustard. Also love the idea of the breadcrumbs. As I use garlic in everything (except my tea…lol) I will make them as you suggest and freeze in portions. Thanks for the tips. Cheers
When we had our restaurant in the US we used to serve Sea Bass with aioli and fresh breadcrumbs on it. It was a bestseller!
I think the first time heard my husband talking about putting mustard on the trout I turned my nose up at it. I did not like the sound of that combination at all.
All that needs to be said about this is the proof is in the pudding. Try it, you will love it. We use A LOT of garlic here at this house too. Enjoy!