Fried Fish Sticks with Broccoli and Okra Recipe | You've Got Meal!

Super easy recipe for fried fish in beer batter, served with a healthy vegetable side dish.

Do you hate fish? Really? Why? Doesn’t matter, you will love this way we cook it, in an airy and fluffy beer batter. Actually we’ve covered the recipe before here, so I won’t insist too much on it. It is one of the best recipes for us, because the nutmeg give it a nice flavor and the batter is always very fluffy and it does not get very oily. So, go on, check the recipe, don't be shy!

Needles to say that it worked perfectly again, but this time with a little spin on the side dish. Fish wise, we used black cod, can’t say that it was better than perch, but it did the trick.

For the side dish, I have to confess that I was lazy. Not  “lazy so I cook something terrible” (that doesn’t happen in the YOUVEGOTMEAL kitchen – a touch of modesty there), but “lazy so I will use frozen veggies”. 

• So, I pack of frozen broccoli, 
• 1 of frozen okra, 
• 1 chili, 
• 1 onion, 
• 2 cloves of garlic, 
• cardamom, 
• all spice, 
• curry leaves, 
• coriander seeds, 
• lemon juice, 
• salt , pepper and olive oil. 

You probably realized that the differences from the post above are the spices and the okra. About the latter, it is a vegetable that is used in Lebanese cooking, but I’ve seen it as an ingredient in Mediterranean dishes as well. The thing about it is that it gets gooey when cooked if not treated with an acidic ingredient (say vinegar or lemon juice). Traditionally, I’ve cooked this by boiling it with salt, vinegar and various spices and added the okra at the end.  But, considering that a lot of lemon juice was already being used for the broccoli, this wasn’t the case. Start of by sautéing the onion, chili and garlic in the olive oil on medium heat for a couple of minutes, until the onion gets nice and shiny. Add the broccoli, okra and the spices. Cook this mixture for 5 minutes, then add a couple tbs. of water and the juice of 1 lemon, cover the pan and cook for another 7 minutes . 

As a last touch, increase the veggie power in your dish and get “lazy” again by getting a small can of baby carrots and peas and mix them with the other greens after turning the heat of. The spicy fish and this health bomb (be it even from frozen/canned veggies) of a side dish will make your day.

Enjoy,

PS: why give your liver a break ? Get a nice bottle of sauvingnon blanc and turn this into an adult menu *wink.

Oven Baked River Trout With Peas, Carrots And Yoghurt Sauce

This recipe is an incredibly easy one to make and prepare as it uses some very interesting ingredients that you just mix together for delicious results. It doesn’t take much time and you can prepare the side-dish and the sauce while the fish is cooking, making this a life saver when you’re  short on time.

• For 2 fish, about 250 grams each, I used 
• 1 lemon, cut into slices, 
• some thyme branches, 
• salt, pepper and olive oil. 

Clean and gut the fish, then place inside it some lemon slices and thyme branches. Place the trout in an oven tray with some ovenproof paper and sprinkle on top of the fish salt, pepper and olive oil. Let the fish cook on high heat for around 12 minutes.

The sauce really elevates this whole dish and it’s ridiculously easy to make. You’re going to need about 300 grams of creamy yoghurt (I used a combination of cow, sheep and buffalo cow with 10% fat), 3 cloves of garlic, crushed, 3 tbs of chopped mint, 3-4 small radishes, sliced thinly, salt, pepper and olive oil. Mix all the ingredients together and leave the sauce in the fridge.

For the peas and carrots I have to admit that I cheated and bought a can of pre-boiled veggies. That only needed one minute to heat up in a pan with some olive oil, no other fuss required.

Enjoy,

Hummus

Ah, hummus, one of those foods that I just love to have around. It’s so versatile and keeps for long enough to be savored along side meats, vegetables or just plain and simple with some olive oil and pita bread. And seeing as I always keep in our fridge some tahini paste, that proved to be rather handy when we decided to have a nice hummus meal. This recipe is so easy that, literally, anyone can do it. 

Honestly, I think that hummus is one of those basic world-wide famous recipes that can be cooked, at different levels, of course, by both experienced or novice foodies (avoided to say chefs/cooks here because they can make hummus in their sleep). The main things that you need here are a food processor and tahini paste, which is basically a thick sesame paste that gives the flavor to the mashed chickpeas that make the body of the hummus: my idea is the more the better, and I love that slightly nutty, maybe a bit heavy taste to a tahini rich hummus. 

Of course, you need to balance that, and you use 2 things: garlic and lemon juice. For the chickpeas, you can either go with the canned, pre-boiled ones, in which case you can pop them straight into the blender/food processor, or you can boil you own. In this case, I suggest leaving the beans to soak in cold water over night, it really helps the boiling. You’ll know the chickpeas are done when you take one out and you can easily mash it with your fingers (I have to say here, I honestly don’t think chickpeas can be over boiled or that would be bad for hummus). So, chickpeas in, add the tahini paste (for 500 grams of boiled beans I put in 6 big tbs. of paste), the juice of 1 and a half lemon, 3 crushed garlic cloves, 4 tbs. of olive oil, about 2-3 tbs. of salt and water (you can use some of the water you cooked the chickpeas in).

Blitz everything together and taste frequently for taste and check for thickness, adding more water if necessary (you want it to have a thick oatmeal consistency). The way I like to eat this is with a lot of sumac, which also has a light sour note and gives a beautiful color and with some good quality olive oil, and pita bread. Feel free to add some extra ingredients to the mix or on top, after (mint, paprika, parsley, some fat yoghurt, etc., go crazy and try different combinations).

Also for this meal, we decided to make some salad, also inspired by another Levant classic, fattoush. You’ll love this dish it has intense taste, a good level of sourness and some nice crunch, and it all mixes incredibly with the hummus. Details in the next post.

Enjoy,