That's a Different Kettle of Fish!

I used to think about buying fish for dinner but I would change my mind at the last minute, at the fish counter because I was afraid that when I got the fish home I wouldn't really know what to do with it. I hate bones in fish and preparing it at home meant the chances of getting a bone in your mouth was much greater!

I tend to order fish in a restaurant or on holiday to avoid the 'how shall I cook it' syndrome so when I joined Fish Fanatics and was offered by www.fishisthedish.co.uk to be sent some fish and a recipe I was rather nervous to say the least. The package of fish arrived last Thursday and was wild Scottosh haddock fillets (relief I didn't have to play with any bones) provided by Delishfish from Peterhead in Scotland (www.delishfish.co.uk) and a recipe for 'Shallow Fried haddock with French Beans' The fillets were vacuum packed for freshness and when opened smelled lovely and fresh and had not been previously frozen so the extra ones could go straignt into the freezer, and I have to say the recipe was fairly short and looked easy with only a handful of ingredients.

As it happened, my daughter Caroline and 2 1/2 year old grandson were coming to visit on Thursday for the weekend and Caroline loves fish but as her husband doesn't like it at all she is resigned to ordering it in a restaurant or holiday as well. If she visits in the summer I do try to get some fish for her to BBQ as a treat. So armed with recipe and haddock fillets I got to work making supper on Thursday night.

Shallow Fried Haddock with French Beans
(Recipe provided by Chef Allan Pickett, Head Chef, The Plateau Restaurant in London)
Serves 4
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:
1 or 2 haddock fillet per person (depending on size - ours were quite large so we had 1 each)
French Beans
80g butter
10g chopped almonds
20g plain flour for dusting fillets
1 Tbsp vegetable/sunflower oil

How do you do it?
1. Cook your French beans in boiling water and set aside.

2. Dust the fillets of haddock in flour.

Heat vegetable oil in a pan and shallow fry the fillets, you will see the flesh turn to opaque as it cooks, take it out and keep warm on a plate while you do the next part.

3. Add in the butter and allow to brown in the pan slightly then add your cooked French beans (chopped in half) and the almonds.

4. Put the haddock on a plate and spoon over the butter, almonds and French beans.

5. Add a lemon wedge to garnish.

6. Serve with boiled or roast potatoes (sprinkle some chopped corriander on top of the potatoes)

I was really pleased and surprised how easy it was to make this recipe and how tasty as well. I am looking forward to my next fish challenge. If you want to know more about 'Fish Fanatics' and 'Fish is the dish' (www.fishisthedish.co.uk) you can also find them on Twitter (@fishisthedish) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/fishisthedish)