Seafood Recipes

The other day, I bought (shame on me) four salmon fish cakes - they cost £2.50 - about $5 - they were 'on offer' as a buy one get one free.

They were OK, but I thought 'I can do better than that' and to be honest, they were only just enough for a snack for two of us - they were so small.

Here's my answer - don't know why I was so lazy! This took no time at all.

Salmon Fish Cakes
smoked salmon - I used a 200 gram pack from my freezer
small can of salmon - sort through the skin and bones
2lbs potatoes, mashed with a little milk and butter
1 egg - beaten with a little milk
seasoned flour - plain flour, salt and pepper added

Mix together the salmon and potato.

Allow it to cool.

Divide the mixture into 8.

Make into patty shapes - these are a really good size, very hearty meal for four.

Dip in egg mixture, then into the flour.

Now - you have a choice for cooking - depends on your health attitude.

Personally, I fry them in vegetable oil - it gives a lovely crispy crust - I do them for 12 minutes, turning every 3 - just set your timer every time you turn - 3 minutes goes real quick :-)

You could bake in a medium oven for about 25 minutes or grill - but unfortunately, they will stick to the pan.

The mixture of smoked and canned (you could use cooked fresh) salmon adds an unexpected flavor.

You could add some chopped fresh parsley to the mixture as well - I didn't as I haven't got any in the garden, and I didn't want to wait - I wanted to do my experiment quick.

I served them with some cooked frozen peas and tartare sauce - homemade naturally - you really can't beat it recipe here


You know what, there's a further 'cheat' time saver here - I've done it and the texture is smoother and the taste is probably more suited to your kids.

Wait for it - use packet potato - you know, dehydrated flaked - you'll need a pack about 250g that needs 2 pints (just over a litre) of water to rehydrate it.

It makes fantastic fish cakes and saves you the trouble of peeling, boiling and mashing potatoes.

Just go easy on the seasoning - taste before you add salt.

Don't forget, canned salmon is high in Omega 3s which are good for everybody.

click here for the health information about Omega 3s

This is one versatile dish - you can use it with any canned seafood, cooked chicken, ham, a variety of vegetables - it can be whatever you want it to be.

Shrimp Rice Recipe
2 tbspns oil
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 1/2 mugs white rice
1 can 14 oz (400g) peeled and chopped tomatoes
1 tbspn tomato puree
2 mugs fish stock or water and fish stock cube
2 tbspns worcester sauce
8 oz (250g) frozen mixed vegetables
2 small cans shrimp OR
8 oz (250g) defrosted cooked and peeled shrimp

Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 5, 375F, 190C

Heat the oil in an ovenproof dish and fry the onion until softened. Add the rice and stir quickly to coat.

Add the tomatoes, puree, stock and worcester sauce and bring to the boil.

Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Add the mixed vegetables and return to the oven for 25 minutes - until the rice is cooked.

Stir in the shrimp - this will be enough to heat through and serve.

Delicious and easy and it looks after itself - one pot to wash up as well :-)

There are more ideas on using canned fish here

The slow cooker or crockpot is great for this mixed seafood recipe. It cooks itself practically. If you pre-cook the rice, you will get a better finished dish - rice has a tendency to 'blow' and become sticky if it's cooked too long.

Jambalaya
1 onion - peeled and chopped
1 green pepper - cored and chopped
1 clove garlic - peeled and crushed
8 oz (225g) slice of gammon ham - diced
14 oz (400g) can peeled plum tomotoes - chopped
1 tbspn tomato puree
1/2 tspn chilli powder
1 tspn dried basil
1/4 pint (150ml) chicken or fish stock
4 oz (100g) cooked diced chicken
1lb (450g) cooked peeled prawns (shrimp) defrosted
1 lb (450g) cooked rice

Put everything bar the chicken, prawns and rice into the slow cooker, stir thoroughly and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours.

Stir in the chicken, prawns and rice and cook a further 45 minutes on HIGH.

It's that easy - serve garnished with some fresh chopped parsley and a green salad if you want - it's a lovely hearty meal for four people without though.

TIP Rice - Easy cook rice is the best if you want to cook from raw - it will stand an hour or two maximum before it becomes sticky and blows - add it UNCOOKED to this mixed seafood recipe two hours before you serve if that's what you'd prefer to do.

There are more ideas on crockpot seafood recipes here
This is my own website, www.find-a-seafood-recipe.com there are hundreds of free recipes for fish, advice on buying and preparing.

Here's the famous Rubios fish taco recipe.

For the beer, I would use a dark beer, Guinness or similar - I would open a pint bottle and exercise cook's privileges to drink what you don't need for the recipe...

Batter is best made in advance and left to stand before use - about 1 hour or so.

I don't live in the US but I see that you can get two tacos for $2.99 - that's probably OK for a work day lunch, but if you're taking the family out, you're looking at $12 plus drinks - spend the $20 on yourself and make Rubios fish taco recipe at home :-)

Get a couple of fillets of white fish and cut them into even shaped sticks - 12 -one for each tortilla - wash them in water with a little lemon juice added. Make sure they are dry before going into the batter by dipping them into seasoned flour.

Rubios Fish Taco Recipe
12 sticks of fish - prepared as above
12 corn tortillas
oil for deep frying

Batter
1 cup flour
1 cup beer
1 tspn garlic powder
few twists pepper

Sauce
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup plain yoghurt

Salsa
1 garlic clove - peeled and finely chopped
6 ripe tomatoes - diced finely
Small red onion - peeled and diced
2 tablespoon cilantro leaves - chopped finely
2 jalapeno chillies - seeded and chopped finely
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Salad
Finely shredded hard cabbage
limes - cut into wedges - you'll need 12 pieces

First make your batter - whisk the ingredients together until they're well blended and then beat a little longer to make the batter full of air bubbles 'airy'. Set aside for an hour.

Mix the sauce ingredients together and put into the fridge.

Mix the salsa ingredients together - if you can't get cilantro leaves, use fresh chopped parsley, coriander, chives or similar to your taste - I used shredded basil leaves.

Have everything ready to assemble before you cook the fish.

Before you start cooking, give the batter another whisk - this will make it airy again - vital for crispy batter.

Heat the oil in a pan - when a cube of bread floats to the top, it's ready.

Dip each piece of fish into the batter and fry until the batter is golden and crispy.

Cook the fish in one layer or it might 'steam' and the batter may go soggy.

Heat the tortillas in a lightly oiled pan until they are soft and hot.

Assemble as follows:-

Lay the tortilla on a plate and layer the fish, sauce, salsa and cabbage - squeeze the lime juice over it all and then fold the tortilla over the filling.

There are more fried seafood recipes here