Perhaps cooking will someday become just a part of the boring daily routine for me, but right now there’s nothing more relaxing than spending a couple of hours tinkering with a fascinating recipe, taking photos, and tasting the result of our culinary adventures. I couldn’t go to the seaside today because I had to work on a website design (it started to rain in the afternoon anyway), but the time I spent cooking dinner with my Mom was a perfect break from work. We tried Italian-style fish from a book titled “Fast, Fresh and Delicious: 150 Quick and Healthy Family Favorites”. The directions given in the book were very straightforward and correct – we just substituted fresh basil leaves for dried and added one extra tomato for a “tomatier” version. If you use haddock fillets, this flavourful, rich dinner can be made in no time – the slices of zucchini turn tender in 10 minutes and the small pieces of fish cook in another 10-15 minutes. I loved the strong and bold smell of basil leaves and garlic in the sauce, and of course the mild taste and texture of haddock. Haddock is definitely a type of fish where quality exceeds price; I can’t wait to try it in a Russian Ukha!
Oh and guess what we have? Rhubarb! Finally! It’s here! Something tells me we’re going to have a rhubarb dessert tomorrow 😉
Adapted from “Fast, Fresh and Delicious: 150 Quick and Healthy Family Favorites”
Ingredients
750g haddock fillets, cut into pieces and sprinkled with salt
3 medium-sized tomatoes, diced
2 tsp tomato paste
2 small zucchini, peeled and sliced
8 leaves spring onions, chopped roughly
3 cloves garlic, mashed or finely chopped
½ cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
¼ tsp black pepper
Olive oil
Salt
Fresh parsley leaves for decoration
Serves 4
In a large skillet, heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil. Add spring onions and garlic and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring.
Add tomatoes, tomato paste, and basil leaves. Season with salt and pepper, close the skillet with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes until large bubbles appear.
Add slices of zucchini and another pinch of salt. Stir and sautee the vegetables on a medium heat for 7-10 minutes.
Add pieces of fish fillets to the boiling vegetable sauce and cook for 15 minutes. Try to keep stirring to a minimum, as haddock quickly becomes very tender and breaks into smaller pieces easily. You might want to remove the lid of the skillet at the end of cooking and let the excess liquid evaporate.
Serve with finely chopped parsley leaves.