Fish steamed over lentil stew with mascarpone

I've made this a few times with different types of white fish, haddock, cod and pollock. It is very tasty and easy to make. I've substituted quark for mascarpone and it was delicious.

Fish with mascarpone and lentil stew

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 white onion, sliced

1 tsp smoked paprika

2 tsp herbes de Provence (see recipe tips)

250g/9oz dried green lentils

250ml/9fl oz passata

600ml/20fl oz fish or chicken stock

4 skinless, boneless haddock fillets (about 150–160g/5½–5¾oz each)

100g/3½oz mascarpone

½ bunch fresh basil, leaves picked

½ lemon, zest only

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole over a medium heat. Add the onion, season well with salt and pepper and fry for about 10 minutes, until soft.
2. Stir in the paprika and 1 teaspoon of herbes de Provence. Cook for a minute, then add the lentils and mix well. Stir in the passata and stock, season again with sal and pepper, then bring to the boil. Cover the casserole with a lid, or kitchen foil, and bake for 25-30 minutes.
3. Remove the casserole from the oven. Remove the lid or kitchen foil and place the haddock fillets in the lentils, pressing them down with a spoon so they are mostly submerged. Season the fish generously with herbes de Provence, put the lid back on and bake for another 10 minutes.
4. Take the casserole out of the oven and rest for 5 minutes, covered so that the fish cooks through.
5. To serve, put a scoop of mascarpone on each of the pieces of fish, garnish with basil, lemon zest and a pinch of ehrbes de Provence.

 

Plum cake

With a bumper crop of plums I've been hunting for plum recipes, hoping this one is a winner. It was very well received, and eaten at speed, so it seems to be a good recipe. It's meant to keep well, but I'm not sure if I'll find that out anytime soon.

Ingredients

1 cup flour (plus a tablespoon)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup ground almonds

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2/3 cup sugar (plus a tablespoon)

2 eggs

2 tablespoon light vegetable oil

1 teaspoon vanilla essence

4 tablespoon melted butter

2 tablespoon natural yoghurt

1/3 cup milk

12 ripe plums. de-stoned and cut in half

6 tablespoon extra sugar

Method

Preheat oven on fan bake to 180°C. Line a 24cm springform cake tin with baking paper.

Chop four plums into pieces and mix with one tablespoon flour and twoof sugar.

Put the flour, baking powder, almonds, cinnamon and sugar in a food processor and blend briefly.
Add the eggs, oil, vanilla, butter, yoghurt and milk,and process until smooth, a few seconds.

Stir in the chopped plums and pour the mixture into the prepared tin.

Dunk the plum halves in water then into the extra sugar and arrange them on the batter
Bake for 40-50 minutes.

At 40 minutes, test with a skewer. It should come out clean, if not, cook a little longer.
Serve warm or cold with yoghurt, crème fraîche or whipped cream.
This cake is a good keeper – it tastes just as delicious after a few days as on the day you made it.
From NZ Womens Weekly