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| Recipe of the week... ... Sammy Sea Bass with Crunchy Carrots |
Ingredients:
4 sea bass fillets, 2 carrots, 1 cucumber, 6 radishes, 2 red chillies, 2
tablespoons fish sauce, 4 teaspoons sesame oil, juice of 1 lime, big handful of
coriander sprigs, 70g cashew nuts, low-calorie cooking spray e.g. Frylight,
salt and pepper
Serves:
2 decent portions
Time
taken: Half an hour
Dietary:
Pescetarian (and 14.5 syns per portion on Slimming World)
--
Hi
readers,
How
are we all today? Is your week off to a wonderful start yet? Monday’s firmly
out of the way now as we head on to bedtime. And that can only be a good thing –
the week’s an easy ride from here, I tell you.
And,
has your Monday been that bad, really? Nah, I bet not! We all love to moan
about Mondays, readers, and it’s no joy when the alarm clock sprigs back into
action. But, they’re never that bad in the end. Today it was a bit foggy in
Sheffield, and I cc’d the wrong person on an email, and the shower would not be
warm when it could instead alternate dramatically between hot and cold.
BUT,
also, the weather stayed dry today and so I made it on a lunchtime walk. And the
oven at home has amazingly been repaired and now, for the first time in a year
living here, we even have an oven light. And, on my run this evening, the
shuffle mode on my phone’s music library kindly played me some absolute banging
tunes.
Sooo
great day after all – thank you, universe! And how has your Monday been,
readers? If you were throwing together a highlights reel right now – what would
be the best moments that you’d select from your day today?
--
- Food
for thought -
This
week, readers, even though it’s only Monday I already have much to recommend
for you. Lately, I’ve been…
Listening
To:
I’ll
say no more, readers, but highly recommend each of these tracks which I keep listening
to recently.
Watching
Fleabag
A
friend recommended this show to me recently. The second series has just
finished and, as they’re six-part series with half-an-hour long episodes, it’s
not that much of an undertaking at this point to catch up. And I’d definitely
advise getting in now, readers, before you find yourself on the fringe of a Fleabag
centred conversation, with no clue and twenty series in the way of you joining
in. I’d summarily say Fleabag is random, smart, funny, sweet, and unexpected. And
if you consider yourself to be anything of the sort – then do give the show a
watch.
Reading
The
Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle, by Stuart Turton
My
dad bought me this book for Christmas, presumably based on either a good review
or a prominent placing on a bookshop display. Whatever made him choose it – I’m
glad he did! A real Cluedo-style murder mystery, this whodunnit is set among
the corridors and grounds of a crumbling, grand old mansion, walked by a
ruthless host of characters all enemies to each other and themselves... And,
also, there’s a mind-bending twist on the plot whereby the main character (you)
has eight days to solve the murder which takes place, of Evelyn Hardcastle, that’s
eight of the same day though repeated over and over but in the body of a
different character each time. Yes! What great reading. It’s one to keep your
mind ticking over, readers, with a plotline to rival Inception I’d say. Do read.
Enjoying
Some good old fresh air
Get
out and stretch your legs, readers, if you haven’t recently. Go traipse around
the local shops with a tenner in your pocket, or pick a town you’ve never
visited before and drive there to explore. Or look up routes for walks in some far-flung
corner of your county which you’ve never felt the need to visit. Go there. Or,
be impulsive, set off walking from home and turn left and right at random until
you’re quite lost in your own area. Or think of somewhere that you’d like to go
to and which you deem to be within driving distance, but tell yourself you can
only go if you in fact walk it on this occasion… anything for a good walk, readers.
Wondering
Whether
some people choose to eat quark?
As
opposed to feeling compelled to eat quark, as part of their
gruelling mission towards weight loss, following a diet which insists on this unearthly cross between natural yogurt... and cream cheese. I suspect I’m among the majority on the health
kick bandwagon – but do some people out there genuinely eat quark because they
like it? Or, out of serious fandom, because Nicole Sherzinger eats it, too? I
wonder if non-dieters really eat and, possibly, enjoy quark.
--
-
Feeding a friend -
My
recipe this week, readers, is one with absolutely not quark in it – hurray!
It’s
one I cooked for the Mr on Saturday night after he’d been at work all day –
boo! – as a reward for all his hard work. I thought it was a nice gesture. And
it did seem to improve his mood from the starter to the dessert, in a gin-fuelled
vision of cheer, once he shook off all the cares of the working world.
I
believe my sea bass dinner concoction played a large part in this all, readers –
and it holds great potential to lift the spirits of your date, too! Not that they
wouldn’t be skipping to the front door with kisses on their ready lips, in the
first place. But, say, they’ve had a bloody hard day at work, their lunch was subpar,
and the traffic was terrible… do not fear as you’re armed with a (well above
par) sea bass recipe, which is certainly going to turn things around for your
romantic date night in.
This
week’s recipe, readers, for Sammy Sea Bass
with Crunchy Carrots is one from the dashing Joe Wicks’ ‘Lean in 15’ recipe
book, which I’ve recently been gifted. And if you’d like to give this recipe a
go yourself, readers, then here it is in just ten simple steps…
--
- Sammy
Sea Bass with Crunchy Carrots -
Ingredients:
4 sea bass fillets, 2 carrots, 1 cucumber, 6 radishes, 2 red chillies, 2
tablespoons fish sauce, 4 teaspoons sesame oil, juice of 1 lime, big handful of
coriander sprigs, 70g cashew nuts, low-calorie cooking spray e.g. Frylight, salt
and pepper
1. If you’re
cooking this for a date night in, like myself, then you’re going to want to prep
heavily before your date arrives. Leave a good 45 mins for the prep (that’s not
taking into account any additional graft required for the starter or dessert).
ChefBeHere Top
Tip: To make this less stressful – crack open a window for some fresh air, pour
yourself an alcoholic drink, and set Smooth Radio playing.
2. Then,
have a good wipe around so you’re beginning with a tidy kitchen, set your
table, light a candle, and make sure the glasses for drinks are nicely clean. Is
dessert prepped and chilling in the fridge? Is starter either ready to cook, or
ready to eat?
ChefBeHere Top
Tip: I went for the full three course dinner, but the starter was simply olives
from the cupboard – which I drizzled with olive oil, then seasoned with salt,
pepper, and mixed herbs. Any excuse to get out my special olive dish from
France! And I opted for a shop bough dessert – fresh cream yoyos – so no prep
work at all. That, I highly recommend.
3. Now,
time to move on to main course prep. First, begin by slicing the carrots and
cucumber into ribbons, using either a vegetable peeler or a cheese slicer.
De-seed and finely slice your red chillies (be careful not to touch your eyes,
during). Top, tail and slice your radishes. Roughly chop the cashew nuts and
the coriander, too.
4. Next,
put the carrot in a large bowl with the cucumber, radishes and chilli. Pour
over the fish sauce, sesame oil, and squeeze the juice of your lime into the
bowl. Mix the whole lot together until all your ingredients are well coated.
5. Then,
lay the sea bass with the skin still on, skin side up on a baking tray lined
with baking parchment. Squirt liberally with Frylight and season the fish with salt.
ChefBeHere Top
Tip: At this point, pause to freshen up and then greet your date. Enjoy your
starter course together before proceeding onto Step 6… and wowing them with
your culinary skills in-action.
6. Begin
by heating the grill to maximum – don’t be afraid. Slide the fish that you’ve
prepared under the hot grill. Cook the fish, without turning, for about seven
minutes, by which time the skin will have crisped up and blistered in a few
places.
ChefBeHere Top
Tip: While the fish is cooking, use this time to top up both your drinks. Why
not share a joke, if you have one? Compliment your date on their sharp outfit /
glowing tan / how well they look.
7. Make
sure the sea bass is done by checking that the flesh has turned from a raw pale
colour to a cooked bright white, then switch off the grill.
8. While
the fish is sitting under the turned-off grill, keeping warm, take out two
dinner plates and spoon the carrot salad out evenly between the two plates.
9. Safely
remove your tray of fish from the oven (no matter how drunk you are – do use oven
gloves here) and, with a spatula in hand, slide the fish out over the salad so
that there are two fillets of seabass on each plate.
10. Scatter
over some coriander and garnish with cashew nuts to finish, then season with
salt and black pepper, before serving up dinner to your lovely date.
--
- Recipe
round up -
And
that’s all there is to it, readers! What do you reckon? Could you pull this off
under the hot spotlight of a date night-in scenario? With your hair big, your
outfit small, and the drinks flowing?
Just
think, readers, if you can pull this off and dazzle throughout, then all that’s
left to do afterwards is retrieve the desserts from the fridge and triumphantly
sink your spoon into something chocolatey, while your date reels off the
highlights of the meal for them on a course-by-course basis, proffers never to
have tasted fish like it before, and generally overwhelms you with outrageous
compliments in favour of your cooking…
Whether
these are entirely true or not, whether they’re a device aimed to encourage you
to feed your date more often, whether it’s all part of an effort to spur you
into digging out that Baileys (yes! it’s in here somewhere) still left over
from Christmas… Who cares, readers, you’ll feel pretty good all the same while
you’re deservedly tucking into dessert.
And,
who knows? Your date might even tackle the dishes for you! A chef can always
hope.
If
you take on this recipe, readers, inspired by all that you’ve read here today,
I wish you good luck in the kitchen. Go forth and be lean. Have fun, remember, while
cooking. Dance around a bit and sing along to all the best songs. No improv on
the night – even if you’re tempted – do stick to the recipe no matter what, and
follow all the steps as they’re written from start to finish. It’ll work out
for the best, trust me. I believe – you can do it!
Go,
grill safely,
Hayley
--
-
Closing thoughts -
If
you’ve been inspired to give this recipe a try, readers, whether I’m speaking
to you on the day of this post or you’re reading some far out time in the
future... please drop me a line to let me know whether it went okay. I’d love
to hear how you got on in the kitchen and your thoughts on this dish. Plus,
it’d be fab if you’re able to share any tips you have for success, or your
suggestions to improve the recipe? Please send your wisdom my way.
Thank
you for reading!
