I made pan fried barramundi for dinner the other night. I had it with white and brown rice, and lots of vegetables. Barramundi is one of my favourite fish to eat (salmon is my absolute favourite) and it was on special at Woolworths this week so it was the perfect opportunity to eat it. To those who are not familiar with this fish, (such as my spell check...) it is a white fleshed fish which is also know as Asian sea bass. It lives around South-East Asia and Australia so I can see why many people might not know of it. I've used a mix of white and brown rice in this dish because the brown rice provides texture and a nutty flavour and the white rice kind of softens it out. I really like the combination.
Pan Fried Barramundi with Rice and Veggies
Ingredients:
One fillet of barramundi
200g mushrooms
200g cherry tomatoes (I used perino)
butter
olive oil
salt
1 capsicum
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
white rice
brown rice
Start by cooking your rice as it will take the longest. I used a rice cooker so I followed those instructions, but if you're doing it on the stove: 1 cup of brown rice, 1 cup of white rice, 3 cups of water, take to the boil then leave to simmer for 15 minutes, turn off the heat and wait 10 minutes. When you're rinsing your rice, make sure the water runs clear.
Heat butter and oil in a frying pan at high heat. Salt your barramundi fillet on both sides and then place skin side down in the pan. Flip after 6 minutes or until the skin is nice and crispy. Cook for another 6 minutes and then set aside.
Place your cut onions and minced garlic in the pan. Once softened, add the diced capsicum. Follow with sliced mushrooms. Cook until moisture from the mushrooms has evaporated and the vegetables are starting to brown. Add the whole cherry tomatoes and make sure the pan is at a high heat so they blister a bit. Then turn the heat off and add the baby spinach. The residual heat from the pan will wilt the spinach.
Hope you like it! Are you a fan of fish? What's your favourite?
The other night I made cottage pie for dinner! Actually it took two nights! That's just me though - sometimes making things over a longer time frame actually makes me less stressed haha. You could probably stew the meat for an hour and it would be fine, but I like to try for three. This recipe also makes a lot! I will freeze it and I can get around three cottage pies from it. I only freeze the meat mixture though, and I make the mashed potato fresh. Just in case you're wondering (I'm pretty positive that you aren't haha) cottage pie is made from beef and shepherds pie is made from lamb. But I'm pretty sure no one cares...
Cottage Pie
Stew ingredients:
1kg oyster blade steak
5 carrots
5 onions
3 cloves of garlic
2 tablespoons of plain flour
salt and pepper
herbs of your choice (I used mixed Italian herbs)
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
200mL red wine
2 cups of boiled water
2 bay leaves
Worcestershire sauce
3 anchovies
Mashed potato ingredients:
500g potatoes (I used 8)
butter (as much as you like... haha...)
3 tablespoons of milk
Handful of grated cheese
Cut your beef into small chunks, around 1cm cubes. Toss in flour, salt, pepper and herbs. Cook at high heat with oil and a teaspoon of butter. While the meat is browning, cut the carrots and onions to a similar size to the beef. Mince the garlic. Once the meat has browned, add the carrots, onions and garlic and put the lid on to allow it to sweat. Once the vegetables have softened, add the red wine and make sure you scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Once the wine has evaporated, add the tomato paste and cook it out a bit. Add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce and a couple of anchovies. Add the bay leaves and the hot water. Simmer for a minimum of 1 hour, but up to three. It's a good idea to cool it down a bit before you put the mashed potato on top so they have a more defined layer.
Cut the potatoes into quarters and place in a pot with cold water and salt. Boil until tender. Drain well and mash with butter and a bit of warm milk. Salt to taste.
To assemble: Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Put a layer of the meat mixture on the bottom of an oven safe dish. Put the mashed potatoes on top and rough up the top. Add the cheese on top. Put in the oven until the top is golden, around half an hour.
Hope you like it and give it a go! What's you're favourite pie? I think mine is chicken and leek. I'm definitely more into the savoury pies.
Last weekend I got a ragdoll kitten! I am so obsessed with him! His name is Theodore and he is 11 weeks old. I have always wanted a cat, but my parents always said that I could have one when I moved out. The day finally came! Ragdolls are super affectionate cats - often being called 'dog-like cats'. Theo is the best kitty ever! He follows me everywhere and loves to cuddle. I feel very blessed to have such a sweet cat!
If you'd like to watch him, he's on my YouTube channel!
Have you guys heard of ragdoll cats before? Do you have any pets? Cat or dog person?
