Plaice stuffed with Pancetta and Spinach

Here's a nice easy recipe for you. The Bloke wanted fish and chips after coming home from the pub on Friday night and I wanted healthy so I decided a on plaice.. stuffed, rolled and baked (not fried!). A very simple recipe that takes the fish to an almost Mediterranean feel - with a healthy and delicious punch of flavour.

Ingredients:     (Serves 2)

2 plaice fillets
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, peeled & chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
4 slices pancetta
150g fresh spinach
parsley for garnish


Method:

Fry the onion and garlic in the oil gently for 5 minutes until soft. Add the pancetta slices, ripped into pieces. Fry for another 5 mins until pancetta crisp.

Put the spinach in a colander and pour over a kettle over boiling water to wilt. Drain well (I cooled the spinach and put in a clean tea towel and squeezed out the water). Add to the pan with the spinach and onion. Put the mix into a bowl and crumble over a slice of bread. Mix well and season with salt and pepper.

Put the plaice fillets flesh side up on a board and put half of the filling in the middle of each fillet. Roll up the fish and place seam side down in a ceramic dish. Cook in the oven for 20 minutes until cooked.

Sprinkle with a little dried or fresh parsley and serve with chips and peas. Enjoy!

Celeriac, Salsify and Roast Onion Soup

Yes, it does sound a bit odd but I was doing my usual peering in the fridge at what needed to be eaten and I had a stick of salsify and a half a celeriac. I knew it needed something to give it a sweet twist so I roasted two onions. Ahh the smell was amazing. And the soup was so moreish.. really worth a try.

I love soup. During these cold months its just so easy to make and not only does it use up vegetables you need to eat before they go bad...its easy. And good for you. And comforting. Give it a go..

Ingredients:

2 large onions, peeled & left whole
1 tsp. olive oil
120g salsify, peeled & chopped
1/2 head celeriac, peeled & chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
1 litre vegetable stock
salt & pepper


Method:

Put the two onions in a small ceramic dish. Drizzle with the oil, sprinkle with salt & pepper and roast for 1 hour at 200 C.  Leave to cool and remove the tough blackened outer skin (You can leave a few browned bits in) and chop roughly.

Put the vegetables(salsify, celeriac & garlic)  in a large saucepan and boil for about 30 minutes until soft. Add the roasted onion and blitz with a hand blender. Season with salt & pepper and serve hot with crusty bread. Its that easy!