Sealective Perspective

I'm not crazy about fish, possibly on account of growing up in a fishing town permeated with the smell 24/7. I would certainly never ever order fish in a restaurant. But what with its Omega 3's and my goldfish memory (ha!) I've been trying to incorporate it into my diet somewhat.

Fabs bought a fishtank and a couple of fish. Same style, one medium one large. Now I'm not one of those that consider fish to be pets. To me a pet requires some interaction. Fish burp and gulp and ogle but that's about it. Not pets. But I kinda liked these fish, especially the big one. It had a dead cool piranha look, in fact, I could swear it was growling at me.

It got me wondering. There are lots of fish owners out there. People who obviously consider fish to be pet-worthy. Some have guppies and some have chinese fighters and the ones that are really chuffed with themselves have koi. Some even give their fish names. And yet, I bet most of them eat fish and don't even think about it. I'm sure they don't even see the connection. Those scaly things in the tanks have nothing to do with the buttered sole on the plate. Right?

They're both the same animal so just because one breed tastes better than the other doesn't make it OK. Cause in that case I have a Husky. But I eat Labradors. I particularly like them drizzled with olive oil and lemon. You see what I'm saying? NOT cool. You go to a restaurant, have some trout, come home and breath your fishy breath over your goldfish. How is Nemo supposed to feel? WAY. Not. Cool.

So you fish owners out there - stop eating your pets' people. Or get a cat.

xx

J

SALMON AND CHILLI CONCHIGLIONE 

250g Conchiglione (or cannelloni if you can't find it)
1 Tin Red Salmon (around 200g - drain, remove skin and bones)
1 Tin Pink Salmon (around 400g - drain, remove skin and bones)
1/2 Red pepper chopped
1/2 Onion chopped
1 Chilli seeded and chopped
1T Dried dill
250ml Full fat cream cheese
250ml Low fat chunky cottage cheese 

(or you could use 500ml ricotta instead of the cream/cottage cheese)

250ml Cream 

1/2c Parmesan 

Fry the red pepper and onion until soft. Mix together with everything except the pasta, cream and parmesan. Season to taste. Cook the pasta until it's almost done. Fill with the salmon mixture and put into a baking dish. Pour over the cream, season and sprinkle over the parmesan. Cover with foil and bake at 360F for 20 minutes. Remove and bake for another 15 minutes or so until golden.

SALMON AND CREME FRAICHE PIZZA

75g Smoked salmon chopped
125ml Crème fraiche
1T Lemon juice
1T Capers
125ml Lukewarm water
1/2T Dried yeast
275g Flour
1/2t Salt
1/4t Black pepper
1t Honey  

1T Olive oil  

Pour 75ml water into a bowl, sprinkle over the yeast and give it a stir. Leave it to rest for 10 minutes to make sure the yeast starts working. Add the honey and olive oil. Sift the flour into a bowl and add salt and pepper. Pour in the yeast mixture and mix, then start adding the rest of the water bit by bit until you have a soft, sticky dough. Knead for 5 minutes until it's smooth and pliable. Cover and leave to rest for an hour.  

Divide the dough into two pieces and roll out into a pizza shape. Mix together the crème fraiche and lemon juice and season. Spread onto the pizza, sprinkle over the salmon and the capers. Bake at 400F for about 10 minutes.

TARTARE SAUCE

1/2c Green olives stuffed with pimento peppers chopped

2 Gherkins chopped

1T Capers chopped

1T Parsley chopped

1c Mayonnaise or make your own

For the lazy version mix all of the above together, season to taste. For the I'm-awesome version make your own homemade mayonnaise. It's really not that hard you just have to be patient. If you rush you'll screw it up. It's way easier with an electric mixer than with a whisk.

2 Egg yolks

1t Dijon mustard

1T White wine vinegar

250ml Vegetable oil

1T Lemon juice

Mix the eggs, mustard and vinegar together for about 5 minutes until light and creamy. Now you need to add the oil very slowly. Start with a teaspoon and mix until it's completely incorporated. Then another etc. Remember, trickle don't pour. You have to make sure the oil you added is completely mixed in before you add more. Once you have a thick smooth mayonnaise add the lemon juice and seasoning.