Time for another operation for my husband, he was booked in for another couple of stents to be fitted on Friday, but when in theatre, five were fitted. So recovery is going to be a little longer than expected. So thankful to the amazing cardiac team at Royal Bournemouth Hospital for their care. 

Hubby is naturally not feeling very hungry and only fancies gentle food, his request was fish and rice.

I wanted to use basmati rice as it has low glycemic index and better than white long grain and hubby isn't keen on brown rice, so I did some research and developed the following recipe.

Waitrose Frozen hake fillets are amazing, they are perfect for this dish.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 banana red pepper, finely sliced

3 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 cup basmati rice

1 chicken stock cube

Water to cover by 1/2 inch

1 cup frozen peas

4 hake frozen fillets

Salt and pepper

Method

Heat oil in a large sauté pan (make sure you have a lid for it).

Add onion, garlic and peppers, gently sauté for 1 minute add tomato and cook until soft.

Add the rice and fry gently mixing for about 1 minute. Add the stock cube and water and bring to the boil. Season. Add the frozen peas, stir, then lay the hake over the top pushing the fillets just under the liquid. Cover and simmer very gently until all the liquid has evaporated. Don't stir, just leave the pan to steam. Carefully serve onto plates, fluffing the rice slightly with a fork.

Lunchtime Dilemma

I'm used to cooking lunches for my daughter and me, but not for hubby. Yesterday it was salad, but today I thought I'd cook a little something.
What did I have left, 1/3rd tin tuna (well I did leave for daughter yesterday, but she didn't get back until tea time), also had a box of cooked pasta left from yesterday?
I didn't want to waste this and came up with the following dish and whilst it was cooking, I could nip outside into the garden to grab the fresh flat leaved parsley.

Pasta with tomato, courgettes and tuna sauce

Ingredients (serves 3)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
1 clove garlic finely chopped
1 courgette, cut lengthways into quarters, then chopped along the length
1 tin tomatoes
1 tablespoon capers
1 tablespoon fresh parsley finely chopped
1/3 tin tuna

Method

You need to cook the pasta if you haven't got any ready to reheat.
In a small pan, heat the oil gently and fry the onion until soft, add the garlic and courgette, fry for 2-3 minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes and break them up with a spoon as you cook (I prefer tinned tomatoes as they don't have as much water). Add the capers and parsley. Cook for 5 minutes. Just before serving carefully add the tuna, but try not to mask it, a couple of stirs will do. If using precooked pasta, add it to the sauce and heat through. If fresh cooked pasta drain and toss through sauce.
Serve