Fishy fish with lemony mash

Hi there!

Yesterday I found myself in an abrupt need for fish. I not only craved it, but every part of my being screamed for it. So I pushed through the wintry darkness that’s already fallen over Sweden, and the crushing tiredness that comes with it, all the way to the freezer in a hunt for fish. I was hoping to find salmon fillets that I could just put in a pan with lemon juice, some pepper and herbamare and leave it in the oven to take care of itself. But, alas, no salmon was to be found. Instead I found cod, lots and lots of cod. So, I went online in hunt for an equally simple, taking care of itself recipe for cod. And I found one! Wohoo! In a happy daze I whipped it up in my normal exact way of following the recipes to the letter… Eh, right. But almost, I followed the idea, the pillars, we just happened to be lacking one of the main ingredients and measuring stuff is not something I normally do when I’m full of energy and not driven by a consuming need for fish.

Anyways, lets get to it! Okay, so I relieved our fridge of a packet with four cod fillets, but you could use any white fish, I’d suggest hoki or alaska pollock, that’s what I normally use as a substitute. The recipe called for 4 dl (0,4l) crème fraiche but we only had a bit of garlic crème fraiche that had expired and wasn’t that appetizing anymore. So, sadly I chucked the crème fraiche remains and instead took a bit of cream cheese a smidge of double cream and a bit of milk and created a crème fraiche substitute! Well, maybe it’s not the most optimal or crème fraiche-y but it worked fine, so there.

To your crème fraiche or your crème fraiche-y substance add dill, lots and lots of it, the recipe calls for 2 tbsp of dill, but I used more. Then in goes a squish and a half and a smidge more (yet again the recipe calls for 2 tbsp) of Swedish kaviar. (If your not in Sweden then you can definitely find it at IKEA, and possibly somewhere else, here’s a link to the wikipedia article explaining it all for you, possibly.) Okay, to season it all, add lemonpepper and herbamare, or lemon zest, pepper, and herbamare if you prefer. Pour it over the cod fillets which you have placed in an oven safe dish, did I mention that? And you should have already turned on the oven to 200*c as well, because now you’re putting the dish into the oven. The recipe claims that it takes 25 min, I didn’t take note of the time so I’ll leave it at that.

I served it with some potato mash seasoned with lemon juice: boil potatoes and mash them. Add a smidge of cream, a bit of lemon juice, accidentally pouring a bit more lemon juice than you originally intended but ignoring that and pretending that it was the exact amount that you had originally intended. Season with lemonpepper and herbamare. Mix it all together and serve!

My mom fixed some pomegranate seeds to serve with and I quickly chopped up some carrot coins, because carrots are made to be served with this dish. Then we devoured! It was delicious. Fish need fulfilled.

I guess if you can’t get a hold of kaviar you could get sort of the same kind of salty-ness with a fish stock cube that you chop up and disperse in your crème fraiche and I’d season it a bit more with the dill and pepper and more herbamare as the stock cube is more bland.

I found the recipe on the Swedish blog Linnéas Skafferi, she adds in her recipe that if you have the energy you could put the mash in the fish dish and make a fish gratin, and she’s not wrong. It does make real sense, is mouthwatering and looks nice, but serving it separate is just fine.

‘Til next time, have some simple and delicious fish 🙂

Almond and coconut breaded fish

Okay, so this is obviously me in the woods thinking, yes thought bubbles are blue, as we all very well know. In the thought bubble, you very clearly see the foundation of this dish, that is fish, a lemon, a coconut and some almonds. I mean the illustrations on this site just keeps on improving right? xD Doesn’t this just simply make your mouth water…

On a stroll through nearby woods a magical dish was thought up. Fish breaded with almond flour and coconut. When eventually stumbling out of the forest and reaching home the dish was made real. Just the smell of it was mouth-watering, a tropical waft of deliciousness. Okay, enough gushing and building it up, but seriously, it was beyond scrumptious. I’ve just had to come to accept the fact that I’m the last one to finish meals, compared to my family I’m the slowest eater in the world. Which, just so you know, I’m not, I’ve always considered myself a fast eater, so my world has changed you know. But even I devoured this within the blink of an eye or at least as close as  I nowadays get…

So, we’ve now reached the point where I’ll share with you the recipe, but, as this doesn’t originate from a recipe with measurements, don’t expect there to by any exactness at all, none what so ever is what should be expected. We had frozen salmon and cod cubes that got halfway defrosted in hot water whilst prepping the breading and the egg, so get some half defrosted fish, not frozen solid and not defrosted. Mix ground almonds, with desiccated or shredded coconut or somewhere in between 😛 add the zest of a lemon, we had quite a big one so depending on size maybe one and a half,  to the almond coconut mixture. And to top it of a splash of herbamare and “citronpeppar” that is lemon pepper, a pre-made mix of ground black pepper and granulated lemon zest so if you don’t happen to be in Sweden or can’t find it just add pepper and a splash more of lemon perhaps. Crack an egg in a small bowl, add a bit of the lemon juice and whisk it a little just so it all mixes. Dry the fish cubes with a bit of kitchen roll, drop them into the egg and then roll them in the almond mixture. Once coated they can be dropped onto the frying pan in which you’ve already melted some butter, of course 😛 Fry them until they’re done, yes the breading mixture might fall off some but overall it sticks and don’t worry it’s absolutely marvelous. The taste will still be great no matter any breading loss.

We had a green salad from yesterday that we ate with the fish but I can imagine serving it with bulgur boiled with roasted vermicelli and some pomegranate and perhaps some nectarines as well.Yes, my mouth is watering again as I’m spinning out of control with the whole serving with issue. Or, you could just devour it straight from the pan and worry about the rest later xD Anyways, enjoy!

‘Til next time, spend some time getting lost and completely turned around in nature whether it’s in a forest or someplace else, it’s worth it!