Parma-wrapped Fish with Mediterranean Sauce #FishFridayFoodies

Add extra flavor to your fish by pan-frying it wrapped in Parma ham, then sit it on a succulent bed of spicy tomatoes and olives, perhaps with pasta underneath, for a beautiful and satisfying meal.

I’m not sure if the two things go hand in hand for everyone, but we are beach people and we love seafood. There's nothing we enjoy more than traveling somewhere where the catch is fresh and putting it straight on the grill or into a pan! In fact, our favorite fish dish, ceviche, doesn’t even require heat!

So when my friend, Wendy from A Day in the Life on the Farm, asked me if I’d like to join a group she was forming, with the aim of putting more seafood on our tables in the name of health, I thought, sure, and yes, please! We do already eat quite a lot of seafood here - easily once or twice a week – so I’m looking forward to seeing all the great recipes my fellow bloggers will share for Fish Friday Foodies.

The Parma-wrapped fish in this particular recipe is so good that we had it twice in one week! Once one its own, and then with this chunky sauce.

Ingredients to serve two
For the fish:
Sea salt
Black pepper
2 thick sustainable white fish fillets, skinless, 7 oz or 200g each
4 slices Parma ham
Olive oil

For the sauce:
1 small red chili pepper
1/2 large purple onion
1 large clove garlic
2 large tomatoes
Olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
1/2 cup, sliced, or 65g black olives
Good handful fresh basil leaves – keep aside the tiniest ones for garnish

To serve:
About 4 oz or 113g dry pasta of your choice, cooked as instructed on package.

Method
Mince your garlic and chili pepper and chop your onions and tomatoes.

In a large non-stick saucepan, sauté the garlic, pepper and onion in a good glug of olive oil, over a low flame, until soft.

Add in the chopped tomatoes and give them a good sprinkle of salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Cook for about 15-20 minutes or until the tomatoes are soft just starting to break down.

While the tomatoes cook, season your fish fillets with salt and freshly ground black pepper, then wrap them in the Parma ham.

Add the olives to the saucepan and cook for another 5 or 10 minutes.

Pile the chunky sauce into a bowl and set aside.

This is also a good time to boil and drain your pasta, according to package instructions!

Drizzle some more olive oil into the saucepan and turn the heat up. Cook the wrapped fish for about 5 minutes on each side or until cooked through on the inside and crispy on the outside.

Actual times will vary depending on the thickness of your fillets.

While the fish is cooking, stack your basil leaves one on top of the other and roll them tightly, then slice them finely. This is what the fancy chefs call chiffonade.

When the fish is done, remove it to a warm place and return the sauce to the saucepan and reheat it till bubbling. Remove from the heat and stir through the basil.

Divide the pasta between two shallow bowls, spoon on some sauce, then perch the fish on top. Drizzle with a little good quality olive oil. Add a bit of the sauce and tiny basil leaves for garnish, if you have some.

Enjoy!

An InLinkz Link-up

Would you like to join Fish Friday Foodies? We post and share new seafood/fish recipes on the third Friday of every month. To join our group please email Wendy at wendyklik1517@gmail.com.

Visit our Facebook page and Pinterest page for more wonderful fish and seafood recipe ideas.

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Garlic Chili Tiger Prawns

You cannot beat the combination of prawns (or shrimp – let’s not debate the genetic and habitation differences, okay?) with garlic and fresh red chilies and loads of butter. Put this on the table and your family will be gathered round, close as a family can get, as they clean the plate.

You can do complicated or you can do simple. But I have found that the most enjoyed meals around a family table are often the ones that take the least prep time, especially if they also involve butter and garlic and everyone dipping crusty bread in same. I’ve made this as an appetizer, but it can also be expanded to a main if you toss some freshly cooked linguine (or pasta shape of your choice – my favorite just happens to be linguine) in the seasoned butter, in lieu of the crusty bread.

Another serving suggestion.

This week, my Sunday Supper group is celebrating the fourth anniversary of the Sunday Supper Movement with recipes that we love, as a kickoff to National Sunday Supper Month. Our mentor and the inspirational force behind the Sunday Supper Movement is Isabel of Family Foodie, who started the group when her eldest left home for the first time. When asked what she missed the most, Isabel’s daughter said it was eating Sunday supper with the family. Unfortunately in our busy lives, family meals are one of the things that often get pushed aside for other obligations. Isabel vowed to do something about that, something that would encourage others to take the time, indeed to make the time to eat together, and the Sunday Supper Movement was born.

In my growing up family, Sunday Supper was always the midday meal. As my own girls were growing up, it was often the evening meal but, still, Sundays were inviolate. One could spend time with friends all day on Saturday, even sleep away on Friday or Saturday nights, but Sundays were for family. Friends were welcome to join, of course, but I wanted my girls home on Sundays, for family day. Most of the week they ate the evening meal earlier than their father and me, because of their homework and his late hours, but on the weekends we ate together. Fridays were pizza nights. Saturday and Sunday suppers varied but often involved grilled something on the charcoal barbecue pit when the weather was good or roasted in the oven when it wasn't. The important thing was that we were together.

If you agree, and I hope you do, I’d like to encourage you to head over to the Sunday Supper Movement website and sign our pledge to gather round the family table more often in 2016.

Ingredients
3 large cloves garlic (or even more if you are so inclined)
2 spicy red chilies
Olive oil
1/3 cup or 70g butter
9 large or 330g tiger prawns, already cleaned and peeled, tails left intact (Sub more small prawns/shrimp if you can't find the large tiger ones. It's all good.)
Sea salt
Parsley, chopped, to garnish

To serve: Crusty bread, cut in slices

Method
Slice the garlic and mince the chilies.

Put a good drizzle of olive oil in the pan, then add the butter, garlic and chilies.

Sauté until the garlic is softened and translucent. Add in the prawns and give them a good sprinkle of sea salt.

Cook the prawns on one side for a few minutes and then turn them over and cook on the other side till done.

Transfer the prawns to a warm serving plate, then spoon the seasoned butter from the pan over them.

Or toss your cooked pasta in those fabulous juices.

Sprinkle with a little chopped parsley for color and serve immediately with slices of crusty bread for sopping up all that flavor.

Enjoy!

This week we have 60 delicious recipes for you! What an incredible line up for our Sunday Supper Month Kickoff!

Appetizers and Soups

• Borscht from Serena Bakes Simply From Scratch
• Cheesy Garlic Crescent Rolls from Wallflour Girl
• Cheesy Sausage Stuffed Mushrooms from Runner’s Tales
• Creamy Zucchini Soup from Lydia’s Flexitarian Kitchen
• Garlic Chili Tiger Prawns from Food Lust People Love
• Honey Bacon Ranch Boneless Chicken Wings from From Gate to Plate
• Lion’s Head Meatball Soup from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• New England Seafood Chowder from Curious Cuisiniere
• Potato and Carrot Leek Soup from Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Steve’s Crab Dip from Monica’s Table

Main courses

• Almond Breaded Pork Chops from Casa de Crews
• Bourbon Glazed Porkchops from Grumpy’s Honeybunch
• Cauliflower Tetrazzini with Poblano Peppers from The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Chicken Pot Pie from Feeding Big and more
• Cranberry Mustard Pork Chop Skillet Dinner from Momma’s Meals
• Fideua (Catalan Pasta Paella) from Caroline’s Cooking
• French-Inspired Macaroni and Cheese from MyGourmetConnection
• Grandma’s Fried Chicken from The Freshman Cook
• Gluten Free Buffalo Quinoa Vegetable Bowls from Fearless Dining
• Huevos Rancheros from Palatable Pastime
• Indian Spiced Roast Salmon from Soni’s Food
• Italian Style Swiss Chard and Beans with Orecchietti Pasta from Delaware Girl Eats
• Korean Spicy Braised Mackerel from kimchi MOM
• Larb Gai (Spicy Thai Chicken Salad) from Rhubarb and Honey
• Mediterranean Flatbread from Magnolia Days
• Mustard-Crusted Pork Roast from Sew You Think You Can Cook
• New York Strip Roast Dinner from Gluten Free Crumbley
• Red Wine-Mushroom Braised Beef from The Crumby Cupcake
• Rustic Portuguese Chicken Stew from Family Foodie
• Sausage & Pasta in a Quick Tomato Sauce from The Food Hunter’s Guide to Cuisine
• Savory Ham, Cheese and Sage Waffles from Rants From My Crazy Kitchen
• Shrimp and Asparagus Crepes from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Simple, Healthy, Light and Lemony Fettuccine from MidLife Road Trip
• Simple Roast Chicken from Get the Good Stuff
• Slow Cooker Italian Meatball Soup from Food Done Light
• Smoked Mozzarella and Sausage Pizza from Confessions of a Cooking Diva
• Smothered Pork Chops from Cosmopolitan Cornbread
• Spinach Spätzli with Sage and Speck from Tara’s Multicultural Table
• Turkey Cutlets with Sausage Stuffing from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Ultimate Mac and Cheese from Our Good Life
• Vegan Mexican Rice and Lentils from PancakeWarriors
• Ziti with Porcini Bolognese Sauce from Cooking Chat

Side dishes

• Gramma Buckholt’s Yeast Rolls from The Weekend Gourmet
• Lager and Rye Bread from What Smells So Good?
• Parmesan Roasted Cauliflower from Nosh My Way
• Sweet Potato Crescent Rolls from Wholistic Woman
• Winter Salad with Citrus Vinaigrette from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks

Desserts

• Bacon Buttermilk Biscuit with Chocolate Gravy from Brunch-N-Bites
• Caramel Apple Rice Krispies Treats from Pies and Plots
• Chocolate Cupcakes with Kahlua Buttercream Frosting from Flour On My Face
• Chocolate Hazelnut Tart from Taste And See
• Death by Chocolate from Desserts Required
• Fudge Frosted Brownies from Party Food and Entertaining
• Gluten Free Tropical Banana Pineapple Coconut Muffins from Sue's Nutrition Buzz
• Layered Mousse Cake from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Peanut Butter Cup Flourless Chocolate Cake Roll from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Pistachio Macaron with Apricot Ganache from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures

Mini Party Crab Cakes

Heavy on the crabmeat with a few toasted fresh bread crumbs and an egg to hold them together, these mini party crab cakes are seasoned lightly with just green onion, salt and pepper, so the crab shines through.

Way back in the Sixties, my husband’s grandparents made a decision that blesses us to this day. They sold up their home in England and retired to the island of Jersey in the English Channel. They bought a house that is square and solid and will probably outlast us all. It’s not fancy but it is comfortable and we like to head here every chance we get. 

Yes, even as you read this, we are preparing to celebrate Christmas in Jersey and the refrigerator is full of special treats, like Jersey cream, butter and milk from genuine Jersey cows! Man, I love this place! I mean, just look at it! This view is a two-minute walk from our front door. And down below, it's a gorgeous white sand beach.

Since Jersey is an island, fresh seafood is plentiful. One of our favorite lunches is simplicity itself. There’s salad and bread, sure, and there must be chilled white or rosé wine, but the focus of the meal is large brown crabs or as they are known on the island, chancre crabs. Everybody gets one to hammer and pick at. These are large guys and they have a lot of meat in them!

Their meat is also perfect for making crab cakes. I must confess that I am a crab cake purist. A little toasted breadcrumbs, some green onions, salt and pepper, plus an egg for binding. That’s it. No dipping them in stuff and adding more breadcrumbs to the outside. No frying in a lot of oil. And definitely, definitely, no Old Bay spices! 

I know those are traditional in a lot of places but I want to taste the CRAB, not mustard, paprika, celery salt, bay leaf, black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, mace, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger. What a mouthful. Go ahead, leave me a comment about how fabulous Old Bay is and I’ll surely thank you for stopping by, and I hope we can still be friends, but I say bring on the crabby tasting crab cakes!

These little guys are perfect for serving as an appetizer, straight, just as they are. Or pop them on to some pretty greens tossed with a light vinaigrette for a salad starter, perfect for any dinner party. They can be pan-fried ahead of time and rewarmed in the oven, or just formed into cakes and chilled, then cooked as guests arrive and passed 'round hot.

Mini Party Crab Cakes

Nowadays pasteurized fresh crabmeat can be found in the refrigerator section of most supermarkets and will last for ages unopened. Since the other ingredients are staples in almost any kitchen, last minute guests can pop by and you can have these babies ready to serve in very little time.

Ingredients for about 20 crab cakes
1.1 lbs or 500g crab meat
1-2 slices fresh brown bread
Large bunch green onions
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg
Drizzle olive oil – for the pan

Method
Toast your bread in a warm oven to dry it out, then use a food processor to make it into bread crumbs. Ideally, you’d like to end with about 2/3 cup or 60g of crumbs. Bread slices vary in size so use your judgment about how many to toast.

Pick through the crabmeat carefully to remove any bits of shell that might have been missed.

Chop your green onions – just the green bits – into small pieces.

Combine all of the ingredients – except the oil - in a bowl and mix well.

Cover a large plate with cling film. This will make it easier to remove your crab cakes because you can lift the cling film to tip the cakes up so you can get under them, if necessary.

Dampen your hands with water so the mixture doesn’t stick to them. Scoop a couple of tablespoons of the crab into your wet hands and mold your crab cakes, setting them on the cling film covered plate. Keep your hands damp or the crab will start to stick!

At this point, you can chill them, covered with more cling film to cook later.

Or warm a non-stick pan over a medium heat and drizzle in a little olive oil.

Fry the crab cakes a few at a time for just a few minutes on each side, until they are golden on both sides.

Get two pans going if you need them done quicker and you can multitask!

If you aren’t passing them right over to your waiting guests, remove the cakes to a foil-lined baking pan and keep them warm in a very slow oven. They can also be chilled at this point and rewarmed later in a medium oven.

Twenty little crab cakes all in a row. 

Enjoy!

Pin these Mini Party Crab Cakes!

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Piri Piri Grilled Whole Baby Grouper

This piri-piri whole baby grouper is marinated first in homemade piri-piri sauce and then grilled to succulent perfection over hot coals.

As I mentioned in my last post, Piri Piri Grilled Chicken,  the sauce is great on fish or pork or prawns or pretty much whatever you want to grill.*  The original grill guy was also grilling fresh sardines but any fish will do!  I won’t repeat the making of the sauce again but here’s how to prepare the fish.

Ingredients

2/3 cup or 160ml piri piri sauce – made from this recipe – 1/3 cup or 80 ml for marinating, 1/3 cup or 80ml for basting while grilling.

2 small Grouper about 1 lb each or one larger fish of 2 1/4 lbs.

Sprinkle of flakey sea salt for serving

Fish holder/grill basket

Method

Get your fish guy to gut, clean and scale the fish but leave it whole.  Once you get it home, make sure it is really clear of scales by giving it a quick scrape all over with a sharp knife - from tail to head.  Rinse it well.  Refrigerate.

About half an hour to an hour before you are going to grill, cut three or four nice scores in each side of the fish.

Pop them in a bag and pour over 1/3 cup or 80ml of piri piri sauce.  Massage the bag a little to make sure the sauce is all over both sides of the fish.  Put the bag on a plate and put it back in the refrigerator.

When you are ready to grill, light your charcoal fire and transfer your fish to the fish holder.  This handy item will make turning the fish a breeze.  We actually own four of these.  Two larger fish-shaped ones and two like the one you see pictured here, which work great for small fish or even burgers.

Our fish were about 1 in or 2.5cm thick so they didn’t need to cook long - about 5-6 minutes each side.  If you have one 2 1/4 lb fish, it will need to cook it a little longer, depending on the thickness.  Grill, turning occasionally and basting whenever you turn, until it is done.  We used another 1/3 cup or 80ml for basting.

You can check for doneness by sticking a knife in at the thickest part and making sure that the fish is white all the way to the bone.  Any grey left and you need to cook it a bit more.  Gently ease the fish out of the fish holder, using a sharp knife. 

Give it a light sprinkling of flakey sea salt.  Serve with some extra lemon or lime for squeezing onto the fish. 

The full meal:  grilled grouper, baby zucchini sauteed with garlic
and arugula/rocket salad with roma tomatoes and blue cheese.

Enjoy!

For those of you who are printing out the instructions, make sure to print this link as well - for the sauce. 

*And for those of you keeping track, there was about a 1/2 cup or 120ml of piri piri sauce left after the fish.  It is currently marinating a small pork roast that will be put on the oven rotisserie tonight.  Can't wait!