Todays recipe is for an easy, yet elegant fish supper that I think everyone will love. Not only is it delicious, but it goes together very quickly and easily.
I was inspired by a recipe I found in a Cook's Country book entitled One Pan Wonders.
I have adapted it to use what I had on hand, to make it a bit less complicated, and also to make it so that you can create as many or as few servings as you require, with quantities today being given for one serving.
I confess I forgot to put the lemon slices on when I was taking the photos, but I know you will forgive me for being remiss.
The end result was something which was quite simple and quick to make and very delicious. Crispy tender pieces of garlicky potato slices topped with a crisp breaded piece of herbed cod fish. I grilled half a tomato and some frozen green beans to serve along side.
I used frozen whole green beans, which I just popped onto the tray with the fish and potatoes. I would not do that again. They were okay, but would have been better had I steamed or boiled them.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE HERBED COD WITH CRISPY GARLIC POTATOES
Just a few very simple ingredients. This is a different, elegant and delicious way to use frozen breaded fish!
For the potatoes:
- 10 (1/4 inch thick) slices of unpeeled russet potato
- 1/2 TBS butter melted
- 1/4 tsp of garlic powder (not salt)
- pinch of dried thyme
- salt and black pepper to taste
You will also need:
- 1 portion of breaded frozen cod (I used Highliner Pan Sear Selects, herbed cod)
- Lemon wedges to squeeze (optional)
For the potato you will need a russet baking potato, unpeeled. Scrub it up really well and then using a sharp knife cut it crosswise into 8 (1/4 inch) thick slices. That's how many you will need for each serving.
If you are only making one serving, just wrap the remainder of the potato and refrigerate. I cut from the center of the potato to get the nicest slices.
You could use fresh garlic if you wanted to, but I was a bit worried it might burn in the heat of the oven, so found garlic powder to be much more handy to use.
The frozen fish that I used was Highliner, Pan Sears Selects, Savory Herbed Cod. It had been on offer at our local grocery store last week for about $5 off the regular price so I picked up a few boxes. The Cod and the lemon pepper Sole.
These are quite nice frozen fish filets. They are breaded and you can either cook them in a skillet or in an oven. For me, as a single person, buying individual frozen filets of fish like this is really convenient as I can take out as many or as few as I want at any given time.
They are also quite nice and come in a variety of types of fish. There are actually 9 different kinds. However, you could use any frozen breaded fish fillet.
HOW DO YOU MAKE HERBED COD WITH CRISPY GARLIC POTATOES
Nothing could be easier. I know I say that all the time, but its really true!
Preheat the oven to 425*F/220*C/ gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with some aluminum foil.
Melt your butter and mix it together with the garlic powder and thyme. Place the potato slices into the melted butter mixture, moving them around to coat them with the mixture.
Shingle the potato slices on the baking sheet. (Make two tight rows and push them together gently so that they are tidy and slightly overlapping.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Place the cod fillet next to the potatoes on the baking pan, presentation side down.
Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Flip the cod over and return to the oven. Bake for a further 8 to 10 minutes. The fish and the potatoes should be pretty much cooked.
Using a spatula, move the cod onto the potatoes, presentation side up.
Pop under a preheated broiler for 3 to 4 minutes just to gild the edges.
To serve, slide a long metal spatula underneath the potatoes and fish and gently transfer it to a heated plate.
I served with some roasted frozen green beans and a grilled tomato*(See recipe notes) that I added to the oven for the last10 minutes of cook time.
This was excellent. I was really pleased with how it turned out. You don't have to grill it under the broiler at the end if you don't want to, but I thought it crisped everything up just nicely.
Crispy tender potatoes with a lovely garlic flavor, crispy coated fish, perfectly cooked?? Yes please!!!
Some other fish recipes in The English Kitchen that you might enjoy are:
PAN FRIED COD - When I am blessed to have fresh cod loins, this is one of my favorite ways to cook it. Fried in butter with herbs, it always turns out succulent and delicious. Cooked to perfection.
BEER BATTERED FISH - Everyone's favorite. Fish dipped in a beer batter and deep fried until the batter is crisp and golden brown, the fish being perfectly encased and cooked to perfection. This is simply beautiful.
Yield: 1
Herbed Cod with Crispy Garlic Potatoes
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 29 MinTotal time: 34 Min
Instructions and quantities are given for one serving, but this can easily be multiplied to make as many as you wish. Crispy breaded cod on a bed of garlicky potatoes. Easy and delicious!
Ingredients
For the potatoes:
- 10 (1/4 inch thick) slices of unpeeled russet potato
- 1/2 TBS butter melted
- 1/4 tsp of garlic powder (not salt)
- pinch of dried thyme
- salt and black pepper to taste
You will also need:
- 1 portion of breaded frozen cod (I used Highliner Pan Sear Selects, herbed cod)
- Lemon wedges to squeeze (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425*F/220*C/ gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with some aluminum foil.
- Melt your butter and mix it together with the garlic powder and thyme. Place the potato slices into the melted butter mixture, moving them around to coat them with the mixture.
- Shingle the potato slices on the baking sheet. (Make two tight rows and push them together gently so that they are tidy and slightly overlapping.) Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Place the cod fillet next to the potatoes on the baking pan, presentation side down.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Flip the cod over and return to the oven. Bake for a further 8 to 10 minutes. The fish and the potatoes should be pretty much cooked.
- Using a spatula, move the cod onto the potatoes, presentation side up.
- Pop under a preheated broiler for 3 to 4 minutes just to gild the edges.
- To serve, slide a long metal spatula underneath the potatoes and fish and gently transfer it to a heated plate.
- I served with some roasted frozen green beans and a grilled tomato* that I added to the oven for the last10 minutes of cook time.
Notes
*To grill a tomato, cut in half crosswise. Place onto the baking sheet, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, some balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Top with a TBS of grated parmesan cheese. Cook in the oven along side of the fish for about 10 minutes, including the broil time.
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The recipe I am sharing with you today comes from an old cookbook of mine, The Hershey's 1934 Cookbook. When we were living in Meaford Ontario about 30 years ago now, there was a shop at the edge of town that was filled with nothing but books.
I used to spend hours in it perusing them. You could often get brand new copies of very old books at a very decent price.
I had copied the recipe into my Big Blue Binder when I moved over to the UK, which is why I still have the recipe. The book got left behind when I moved back to Canada. One day I may replace it. I don't know. It all depends on if I think the use of it warrants the purchase.
This is an excellent chocolate cake however. It is one I made in its full form for my family many times through the years. It always turns out moist and delicious.
I hate the way chocolate anything photographs. It is almost impossible to get a really good photograph of a chocolate cake. At least that has been my experience. But trust me when I say that this cake is a lot more delicious than it looks!
It goes together very quickly and easily. You can cook this small batch version in one 9-inch round cake tin, or two smaller six inch round layer tins. I chose to do it in the larger pan and then cut it in half through the middle and sandwich it in layers with some vanilla frosting.
You can also bake it as 12 cupcakes. The choice is yours. I like a layer cake myself.
Simple baking cupboard ingredients.
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar (In the UK use caster sugar)
- 9/10 cup (115g) all purpose flour
- 6 TBS (42g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large free range egg
- 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
- 1/4 cup (60ml) light olive oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120ml) boiling water
- Icing as per your wishes
I am not sure how to measure 9/10 of a cup. Just measure out a cup and remove 2 TBS. That will work perfectly. I bake by weight myself.
Make sure you use unsweetened cocoa powder, not hot chocolate mix or chocolate milk powder. Just the cocoa powder. Here where I live I used Fry's cocoa powder because we don't have the Hershey's.
For the frosting today I used some ready made frosting (Betty Crocker) that I had in the cupboard that needed using up. For this size cake it used half the pot. You can just make your favorite buttercream frosting if you wish, vanilla or chocolate. Either would be delicious.
HOW TO MAKE HERSHEY'S ONE BOWL CHOCOLATE CAKE
Its very quick and easy to make with the aid of a electric hand mixer.
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9-inch round cake tin and lightly dust it with flour. Set aside.
Whisk the sugar, flour, baking soda, sifted cocoa powder, baking powder and salt together in a mixing bowl. Whisk the egg, milk, oil and vanilla together and add to the dry ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes with an electric hand whisk.
Slowly whisk in the boiling water and continue to whisk to combine. The batter will be very thin. Pour into the prepared pan.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Leave to cool in the pan for five minutes and them tip out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
Ice as desired.
For a really good basic vanilla butter cream frosting. Beat together 1/2 cup (120g) of softened butter, 2 cups of icing sugar (260g), 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract and 1 TBS of milk until smooth, creamy, and fluffy.
This is enough to frost and fill this cake or 12 cupcakes.
I really hope you won't let these pathetic photographs put you off from baking this simple but lovely cake. It truly is delicious.
Moist with a beautiful crumb and a rich chocolate flavor. Its a long time favorite! Proof positive that it is the simple things in life which bring us the most pleasure.
Some other chocolate cakes that I have shared in The English Kitchen that you might enjoy are:
BUTTERMILK CHOCOLATE CAKE - This is my all time favorite chocolate cake. It is a large double layer cake however, moist and delicious with a rich chocolate frosting. I need to figure out how to downsize this one methinks!
CHOCOLATE MAYONNAISE CAKE - Another small batch recipe this one bakes in a loaf tin. It comes with a lush brown sugar fudge frosting ad cuts into 6 perfect slices. Mayonnaise works like magic to make it nice and moist. Don't worry, you cannot tell that there is any mayonnaise in it at all.
Yield: 6 - 8
Hershey's Perfect One Bowl Chocolate Cake (small batch)
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 45 Min
A simple delicious and moist chocolate cake. Frost as per your own tastes.
Ingredients
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar (In the UK use caster sugar)
- 9/10 cup (115g) all purpose flour
- 6 TBS (42g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp bakin gsoda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large free range egg
- 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
- 1/4 cup (60ml) light olive oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120ml) boiling water
- Icing as per your wishes
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9-inch round cake tin and lightly dust it with flour. Set aside.
- Whisk the sugar, flour, baking soda, sifted cocoa powder, baking powder and salt together in a mixing bowl. Whisk the egg, milk, oil and vanilla together and add to the dry ingredients. Beat for 2 minutes with an electric hand whisk.
- Slowly whisk in the boiling water and continue to whisk to combine. The batter will be very thin. Pour into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 30 to 35 minutes until the top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Leave to cool in the pan for five minutes and them tip out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.
- Ice as desired.
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One thing that I have always enjoyed is Spaghetti & Meatballs. It is something which my children always enjoyed when I was bringing them up as well. It was a real family pleaser full-stop!
Whilst I am not always very fond of Spaghetti Bolognese (its a texture thing), I don't seem to mind meatballs. I think it all goes back to my childhood when my mother would make what she called Italian Spaghetti.
Mom was very thrifty and didn't buy really good quality ground beef. It would be filled with lots of bits of gristle, etc. I could not stand the feeling of it in my mouth. It actually made me gag. To that she would add a can of Catelli spaghetti sauce. That was Italian Spaghetti, or at least her version of it.
To be honest, both my sister and I were very happy to just have a plate of the spaghetti noodles with a knob of butter and some cheese.
As an adult, making my own Bolognese sauce, I have come to like it much more, as I do use a quality ground beef. But the texture can sometimes still kick in my gag reflex. Oddly enough, this doesn't happen with meatballs.
My mother really didn't enjoy cooking. Whereas I love it. She had a cookbook in her bookcase, Martha Logan's Meat Cookbook. Every time I would come home to visit after I left home I would spend some time copying out the recipes from that book.
Although the book was published in 1952, most were very sound and reasonable recipes. Other than some cooking times things had not changed all that much.
It was very easy for me to adapt the recipes to modern techniques and tastes. So it was with this recipe, which in the book was called "Italian Meatballs on Spaghetti."
I added a few herbs to the meatballs themselves. And I added some flavors to the sauce. Other than that I left it all pretty much the same. Today I have small batched the recipe to make only three servings, but I can certainly give you the full recipe if you want it. Just message me. I am happy to help out!
The sauce is quite plain actually, all of the herbs are in the meatballs, which in turn help to flavor the sauce. I think if you highly seasoned the sauce it would be too much.
Certainly you could use a jar of good quality tomato marinara sauce instead of making your own from scratch if you wanted to, but I love the texture of the homemade sauce myself.
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS (SMALL BATCH)
It looks like a rather long list, but most of it is spices and herbs. It really very simple and uncomplicated.
- 1/2 pound (225g) ground beef
- 1/4 pound (114g) ground pork
- 1/4 cup (25g) fine dried bread crumbs
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- pinch black pepper
- 1 large free range egg yolk
- 1 TBS oil
For the sauce:
- 2 TBS tomato paste
- 1 cup (240ml) water
- 1 cup (161g) chopped tomatoes in juice (freeze the rest of the tin)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 TBS good quality balsamic vinegar
- 1 bay leaf, broken
- salt and black pepper to taste
To serve:
- Hot cooked spaghetti
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- garlic bread
Use the best quality of meat that you can afford to buy. Using a mix of beef and pork helps to keep the meatballs nice and moist. You can use all beef if you wish, but make sure you don't use extra lean. The fat in the meat will help to keep them from drying out. 80% lean is the best option.
I opted to use onion and garlic powders (NOT salts) because it gave the meatballs a smoother texture and you know what children are like when it comes to finding chunks of stuff, like (specifically) onions, in their food.
You can leave the crushed chili flakes out if you don't want things too spicy.
I keep the sauce pretty plain. The meatballs serve to season it. You could chop some onion up and soften it to add, and certainly you could do the same with garlic, but to be honest, its really nice just as it is.
The balsamic vinegar is my addition to the sauce. If you have some good red wine you could add a splash of that in it's place. I just never have wine in my house, but I always have Balsamic vinegar. Don't worry it is sweet enough that it won't make your sauce sour and in fact gives the sauce a nice richness along with everything else.
HOW TO MAKE SPAGHETTI & MEATBALLS (SMALL BATCH)
I like to keep things fairly simple. You could also choose to brown the meatballs in the oven if you wished. About 15 minutes at 400*F/200*C will do the trick, but I like the flavor that the browned bits in the skillet add to the sauce. This is really a very streamlined recipe, perfect for a weeknight.
Crumble the meat into a bowl. Add the bread crumbs, all of the seasonings and herbs, the garlic powder, onion powder and egg yolk. Mix well together and shape into 1 inch balls. (If the mixture seems dry, then you can add a touch of milk or cream.)
Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat.
Once the oil is hot add the meatballs and brown them all over, turning them frequently.
Add all of the sauce ingredients to the skillet, stirring everything together. Season to taste with some salt and pepper as required. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a slow simmer.
Simmer, half covered, over low heat for 1 hour, until the meatballs are nice and tender and the sauce is thickened nicely.
Spoon the meatballs and sauce over hot spaghetti. Serve with a grating of cheese on top and some garlic bread on the side.
This really is delicious. When the children were growing up I often doubled the recipe and we would enjoy it again the second night, fried in butter. (I know so naughty!)
I have always enjoyed a generous dusting of Parmesan cheese on top of mine. I think the reason I like meatballs more than ground meat in the sauce is because I can just eat the meatballs on their own if I want to. I know, quirky, just like me!
Some other spaghetti recipes on here that you might also enjoy are:
SPAGHETTI FRANCISCO - The recipe for this delicious casserole comes from a 1976 paperback book entitled The Sunset Cookbook of Favorite Recipes. Dependable and unusually appealing it is a real store cupboard favorite!! Creamed corn, tomato soup, onions, mushrooms, peppers, streaky bacon and tomato passata (tomato sauce) . . . cheese and spaghetti! Don't knock it til you try it!
STOVE TOP SPAGHETTI - The pasta actually cooks in the sauce. I like to use leftover cooked pork or beef or both to make this. If you don't have any leftover roasted meat you can always use browned ground beef. It is delicious either way. Cheap and cheerful and very tasty!
HAM AND SPAGHETTI CASSEROLE - A hearty casserole with a delicious sauce. This is an excellent way to use up leftover cooked ham. Rich and cheesy!
Yield: 3
Spaghetti & Meatballs
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 1 H & 15 MTotal time: 1 H & 20 M
An old, old recipe I saved years ago from one of my mother's cookbooks. I adapted it through the years to suit my family's tastes. The original recipe made 12 servings. This version serves 3.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound (225g) ground beef
- 1/4 pound (114g) ground pork
- 1/4 cup (25g) fine dried bread crumbs
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp dried oregano
- 1/2 tsp dried basil
- pinch red pepper flakes
- 1/2 tsp salt
- pinch black pepper
- 1 large free range egg yolk
- 1 TBS oil
For the sauce:
- 2 TBS tomato paste
- 1 cup (240ml) water
- 1 cup (161g) chopped tomatoes in juice (freeze the rest of the tin)
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1/2 TBS good quality balsamic vinegar
- 1 bay leaf, broken
- salt and black pepper to taste
To serve:
- Hot cooked spaghetti
- Grated Parmesan cheese
- garlic bread
Instructions
- Crumble the meat into a bowl. Add the bread crumbs, all of the seasonings and herbs, the garlic powder, onion powder and egg yolk. Mix well together and shape into 1 inch balls. (If the mixture seems dry, then you can add a touch of milk or cream.)
- Heat the oil in a deep skillet over medium high heat.
- Once the oil is hot add the meatballs and brown them all over, turning them frequently.
- Add all of the sauce ingredients to the skillet, stirring everything together. Season to taste with some salt and pepper as required. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a slow simmer.
- Simmer, half covered, over low heat for 1 hour, until the meatballs are nice and tender and the sauce is thickened nicely.
- Spoon the meatballs and sauce over hot spaghetti. Serve with a grating of cheese on top and some garlic bread on the side.
You can of course use the ready made garlic butter from the shops, but I like to make my own. For each slice of bread you are going to create use 1/2 TBS of softened butter. To that add 1/4 tsp minced garlic, 1 tsp of dried parsley flakes and if you like it spicy a pinch of red pepper flakes. Mix that all together and spread it on one cut side of your bread.
Place into a hot oven (425*F/220*C) and toast until heated through, the butter has melted and the edges are crispy and golden brown.
You can also add cheese if you want, but add it to the butter before you spread it on. I like to use finely grated Parmesan cheese and I would add 1 teaspoon per slice.
This is gorgeously moreish. You will want more than one slice for sure!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com
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