Seafood Chowder

Delicious seafood chowder on the menu today. Onion, leek and celery gently sautéed, then simmered in milk and stock. Thickened with potatoes and finished with smoked coley and cooked prawns.

You could easily substitute the coley for haddock or cod. You could also add some mixed seafood like clams, mussels or even calamari. 

Smoked Trout with Creamy Pasta

Smoked trout is a great standby product to have in the fridge. It's fully prepared and can be added to cooked pasta or rice to make a great dinner or simply added to salad or served with Wholemeal Bread for a filling lunch. It's also very good for you as it's a great source of Omega 3 oils and is full of vitamins.

Supper Satisfaction was out and about yesterday at an event for the Irish food blogging community organised by Bord Bia - Irish Food Board & The Good Mood Food Blog- Donal Skehan. They very kindly arranged some samples from Irish food producers including the fantastic smoked trout used in today's recipe which was provided by Goatsbridge Premium Irish Trout.

Salmon Quiche

A quiche needs a crust! Many recipes for low fat quiche advocate making one without a crust resulting in a soggy eggy mix with no base. This recipe does have a crust, albeit a thin one. To keep the calories down, the base is made with a mix of plain and whole meal flour that's bound together with low fat butter and cold water.

The secret to making good pastry is work quickly and don't over handle the mix!

Prawn Massaman Curry with Brown Rice

Massaman curry is a delicious Thai style curry that contains potatoes. When ordered in a restaurant or takeaway, this dish will be made with gallons of coconut milk hugely increasing the calories and fat content. (Even 'low fat' or 'reduced fat' tinned coconut milk contains pots of calories and should be avoided!).

This recipe replaces the coconut milk with a cornflour/milk mixture that maintains the consistency and mirrors the taste.

You could omit the prawns and chicken stock and add some butternut squash or sweet potato (and vegetable stock) for a veggie version of the curry. Alternatively, some chopped cooked chicken would also work, but take this into account when counting the calories.

Salmon Mousse

This salmon mousse is a great way to make smoked salmon go a bit further. Salmon and low fat cream cheese are combined to make a creamy mousse.

Fantastic served on crackers, Ryvita crisp breads, or even on Butternut Squash Scones it would also work well as a sandwich spread or a topping for a baked potato. 

Smoked Mackerel & Coriander Fish Cakes

These fish cakes are fantastic for a starter on their own, or served with a side salad or Spicy Potato Wedges to make a great midweek dinner. The ingredients can be combined beforehand and then simply shaped and fried when you need them. 

The recipe uses Panko breadcrumbs which are Japanese dried breadcrumbs available in most Oriental supermarkets. Home made bread crumbs would work well, but remove the crusts before blitzing for a lighter crumb.

You can also substitute the fish if you prefer. Any other cooked fish would work well including tinned tuna or salmon.

Prawn Masala Curry with Brown Rice

Most Indian curry recipes call for gallons of butter, needless to say not this doesn't, yet still maintains the base flavours! This delicious blend of onion, garlic and spices can be as hot or mild as you like.

The recipe asks for onions to be liquidised to a pulp. The easiest way to do this is with a hand blender or food processor. If you don't have this equipment, simply grating them would also work.

Lunchtime Salmon

Tinned salmon is tasty lunchtime filler that can be teamed with lots of different things. It's also a great standby cupboard item that goes great with a pasta and rice. Available in standard pink or red varieties, it's another great source of Omega 3 oils that sort you out! Both are great, but keep an eye on the salt content when deciding.

Smoked Coley with Butterbeans & Lemon Breadcrumbs

Smoked coley is a robust flavoured fish that goes great with tomato based sauces. Often available for a very reasonable price, I find it goes better when cooked in sauces, rather than just grilled on it's own. In this dish, the coley is combined with butter beans, onion, celery and courgette to form a delicious tomato based stew. The dish is topped with toasted breadcrumbs, parsley and lemon zest which really gives it a lift. I often think the dish has a faintly French feel to it, but I'm not sure why.

You could also use smoked haddock or cod for this recipe.

Spicy Citrus Prawns

Prawns, spicy tomato and lime zest make a delicious combination served over warm pasta.

This dish is a great midweek (or after pub!) meal as it can be on the table in no time and is really easy to make, once you have everything chopped and ready to go.

Timing wise, get the pasta on and after 2-3 minutes or so, get the sauce going.

Lunchtime Tuna

Tinned tuna is tasty lunchtime filler that can be teamed with lots of different things. I recommend going for tinned tuna steak, rather than flakes, as they tend to be less processed and generally contain less salt. It's also much healthier to buy tuna in spring water or brine, rather than sunflower oil, but you still need to make sure it's well drained before eating.

Smoked Salmon on Crumpets

Smoked salmon is a great standby item to have in the fridge. Tasty and versatile, it's lean and if full of Omega 3 oils that are recommended to keep a wet nose and shiny coat! This recipe is one of our regular weekend lunches. Crumpets are very low in calories and saturated fat, yet it really feels like you're eating something substantial which is ideal to keep you going on a busy weekend.

Smoked Haddock

Smoked haddock is a dish we have every now and again, as it's on the pricey side. Any time I pass through Marks & Spencer, I briefly mooch at the fish shelves to see if they have any offers or reduced priced fish looking for a home. Smoked haddock is available in dyed or un-dyed varieties. Many foodies always seem to encourage you buy un-dyed but I've never had any problem with the dyed and it's usually a little cheaper. The faint smokiness goes very well with creamier sauces and we always have it with pea & mushroom risotto.

Rainbow Trout

Rainbow trout is a delicate flavoured fish that doesn't taste 'fishy' or like the sea. (A colleague of mine only liked fish that didn't taste fishy!) This fish is simply floured and pan fried in no time, so it's a great midweek meal. It would also work well if entertaining, though I'd reduce the portion to one fillet per person if serving between a starter and dessert. 

Spicy Vegetable & Prawn Risotto

This risotto recipe is main dish in itself. Warm and spicy flavours await your taste-buds. Veg teamed with prawns and spices make this another great midweek meal. Don't forget to use your wide flat spoon/spatula to ensure the rice doesn’t stick to the base of the pot.