3. Line up everything you need on the work surface: a plate with the fish pieces, a shallow bowl of beaten egg and a plate spread with the breadcrumbs. Dip a piece of fish into the egg so it’s covered, then put into the breadcrumbs, toss until fully coated and put on the baking tray. Repeat with all the fish and then bake in the hot oven for 10 minutes until it is cooked through.
4. When the cod is done reheat the sauce. Serve the cod nuggets with lime wedges to squeeze over and the katsu dip for dipping.
If you don’t finish the sauce, it’s great with a bag of chip shop chips! You can use frozen cod fillets for this recipe; just defrost thoroughly and pat dry with kitchen paper before using.
SRIRACHA PRAWNS WITH GIANT COUSCOUS
I find this such a refreshing recipe: it’s got a little bit of a kick, but you can easily control the heat levels. Here we’re cooking prawns in a little sriracha hot sauce and serving them with a pile of giant couscous salad and caramelised red onion.
READY IN 25 MINUTES
SERVES 4
350g raw prawns, peeled and veins removed
3 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
juice of 1 orange
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
2–3 tsp sriracha sauce (or to taste)
1 vegetable stock cube
180g giant couscous
1 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
3 tomatoes, halved, seeds removed and diced
½ cucumber, halved lengthways, seeds removed and diced
salt and pepper
1. Put the prawns into a bowl and add 1 tablespoon of the parsley, half the orange juice, the garlic, the dried chilli flakes and 1 teaspoon of the sriracha sauce and mix around to coat fully. If you’re not cooking the prawns immediately, cover the bowl with cling film and chill in the fridge.
2. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and crumble in the stock cube, stirring to dissolve. Add the couscous and cook according to the packet instructions. Drain and allow to cool, then tip into a bowl.
3. Meanwhile heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and add the onion. Cook for 10 minutes until it softens and starts to caramelise, stirring in a dash of sriracha sauce for the last 30 seconds. Tip the onion into the bowl of couscous and return the frying pan to the heat. Add the prawns and marinade to the frying pan and cook for 5 minutes, stirring regularly, until the prawns turn pink and tender.
4. Meanwhile add the tomato and cucumber to the couscous long with another tablespoon of parsley. Squeeze in the juice from the other half of the orange, and mix well. Give it all a good season with salt and pepper then, if you like, add another dash of sriracha for extra kick.
5. Serve a pile of the couscous with a good heap of the prawns on top, the remaining parsley sprinkled over the prawns and a final squeeze of the orange half.
Mrs Barry is not a huge fan of sriracha, so I keep this mild when making it for her, omitting it from the onion step. It’s all about tweaking it to your liking – the recipe allows for a great deal of flexibility so keep an extra bit of orange and the sriracha handy when serving up.
SALMON RÖSTI ISLANDS WITH LEMON HORSERADISH
It looks pretty fancy but this lovely, light, refreshing bite is a doddle to make. A potato rösti island smothered in a lemon horseradish sauce with dill and salmon strips on top – a real feel-good recipe.
READY IN 20 MINUTES
SERVES 4
200g Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp horseradish sauce
zest and juice of ½ lemon
500g waxy potatoes, peeled and grated
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp plain flour
knob of butter, melted
olive oil, for frying
1 x 120g packet of smoked salmon, cut into strips
handful of fresh dill
salt and pepper
1. Make the horseradish sauce first so it can chill in the fridge. In a bowl combine the yoghurt, horseradish, lemon zest and juice plus a good pinch of salt and a grinding of pepper in a bowl. Mix until combined, taste and tweak until you’re happy, then keep in the fridge until you need it.
2. Now for the potatoes: push the grated potato through a colander to squeeze out as much liquid as you can. Tip from the colander on to sheets of kitchen paper and pat dry, then put into a bowl. Add the egg, flour and butter and stir well to completely coat. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Put some olive oil into a frying pan and warm over a medium heat. Using clean hands, shape some potato mixture into a typical burger-sized patty shape – you want to make them quite thin as they are not as delicate as you think. Put two or three into the pan and flatten slightly with a spatula to spread out. Cook for a couple of minutes until golden brown, then flip over and cook the other side. Remove and drain on kitchen paper while you repeat with the rest of the mixture, topping up the oil in the pan as needed.
4. Serve the rösti on a plate with a good dollop of the horseradish sauce on top, a strip of smoked salmon, a little grinding of black pepper and a few dill sprigs. Delicious.
It’s important to keep the rösti thin, otherwise the middle will still contain bits of uncooked potato.
I like recipes that provide maximum taste with minimum effort and this dish is that in a nutshell. It uses superfood sweet potato and turns it into a light hash with kale, shallots and cumin, all rounded off with a little hot sauce (add as much or as little as you like). I really think you’ll love this dish, especially when topped with a fried egg.
READY IN 20 MINUTES
MAKES 4
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into small chunks