Russell Lambert of M and O Fish, Darwen and Chorley Markets

This month's foodie is Russell from M and O Fish who have a stall on Darwen market and also on Chorley Market on Tuesday, they have also set up a website and trade with the public and supply fresh fish to many pubs and restaurants in the area. 

M & O Fish is a family run business.Russell has worked as a fishmonger for over 20 years over a variety of markets over the North West.

A question which we are asked by many is why are we called M & O Fish?
The business is named after our two daughters Megan and Olivia.

We sell a large selection of fresh fish and seafood.We also stock Game when in season and offer a local delivery service and also offer UK courier delivery service.

What is your favourite cookery or food book or publication?

I don't use cookbook's. I use my own inspiration or my wife's with fresh food and

fresh ingredients.

What sentence sums up Lancashire Food to you?

Showcasing great local traders as businesses.

If you weren’t doing what you do now, what would you like to be?

I left school two weeks early to work on Blackburn fish market and I can't see myself changing my job from a fishmonger. I wake up everyday and I am glad to go to work,Not a job for many but I enjoy it. I get a real kick that our customers are happy with our quality.

Which piece of kit could you not do without?

Knifes and Pin-boners.

Who would join you at your ultimate dinner party and why?

Have to say local chefs as they don't get enough recognition.

What advice would you give to your younger self?

Run a business as its your own, as it maybe one day.

Describe your style in three words

Hard-working, determined and imaginative.

What was your latest foodie gadget purchase?

Have to say our vac - packer at work and home.

What is the worst mistake you have made?

Not setting up for myself sooner and being self-employed.

Tell us a secret about yourself? May be something we wouldn’t expect!

I have never been fishing in my life.

Prawn, aubergine and green bean curry

After all that rich festive food, has you got a craving for something a little different, well I have just the recipe for you. A delicious prawn, aubergine and green bean curry, rich in tasty vegetables ideal to serve with rice for an informal supper.

Its so darn easy as well, and can be on the table in about 30 minutes start to finish, if you want to impress your guests why not whip up some roti or naan to serve alongside this dish.

What you need

• Bag of frozen raw king prawns - defrosted or fresh prawns
• 1 onion - peeled and roughly chopped
• Good handful of chopped green beans (I used frozen homegrown)
• 1 aubergine - topped tailed and cut into chunks
• 2 tomatoes- chopped
• Squirt of tomato puree (or you could use passata)
• Fish stock or coconut milk if you like a creamy finish (I do)
• Salt and Pepper
• Curry paste (from a jar or make your own)
• A little coconut oil or vegetable oil

What you do

• Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and fry until softened and translucent
• Add the curry paste to the pan and cook for a few minutes to release the flavours, add the aubergine to the pan, stir fry adding a little more oil if necessary.
• Once the aubergine is starting to soften add all the other ingredients to the pan except for the prawns
• Cook until the sauce starts to reduce and the vegetables are cooked, add the prawns and simmer until they are cooked through.
• Serve strewn with fresh coriander and the accompaniments of rice and roti
• Enjoy

Keralan King prawn curry

Now that finally we have some warm weather I have a craving for a creamy fishy curry, this Keralan inspired curry is aromatic rather than hot hot spicy and is wonderful with any white fish or king prawns, using coconut oil and coconut cream or milk it tastes tropical and is ideal served on a warm summers evening in the garden. Quick to pull together and mostly from store cupboard ingredients it's a favourite in this household. The recipe is inspired both by a Nigella recipe and also Anjum Anand's Spice Tailor coconut curry.

Ingredients

• Firm white fish (hake or similar) or raw king prawns (1 large fillet or about 20 prawns)
• 2 tsp curry powder or tumeric ( I prefer curry powder)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 large onion, sliced very finely into half rings
• 1 large fresh red chilli - de seeded and very finely sliced
• small piece of fresh ginger - peeled and grated
• Good pinch of freshly ground cumin
• Coconut milk or coconut cream ( I have used both and both work fine ) - 1 tin
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste (I got mine from Foxs Herb and Spices)
• Fish stock powder - about 1 good tsp ( I use Essential cuisine)
• Fresh coriander leaves to finish
• Sea salt
• Lemon or basmati rice to serve with

Method

• Firstly chop your fish into chunks if using and then marinate in some of the curry powder
• Melt your coconut oil in large frying pan and gently cook without colouring (tip sprinkle with a little salt as this makes the onions sweat rather than browning) until softened.
• Once the onions are softened add the finely chopped red chilli and the grated ginger, cook for a few minutes, then add the remaining curry powder, cumin and tamarind paste and cook for a few more minutes.
• Now add the coconut milk or cream to the pan and fish stock powder, if necessary add a little water to get your desired consistency of sauce, stir and simmer , taste for seasoning.
• Add the fish to the sauce and cook for a few minutes until cooked or your prawns are pink , do not over cook your fish, it only takes a few minutes to cook.
• Serve with rice and roti and serve sprinkled with fresh coriander.

Check out an earlier post for a roti recipe 

Haddock Gratin

We love fish here at Lancashire Food and like to experiment with different ways of cooking it. I currently have a great store of fish in my freezer (from Delish Fish) so we love to come up with new easy ways of cooking it.

 

This dish requires no great skill and is a great standby recipe made with store cupboard ingredients which is suitable for all the family, ideal if you need a quick supper dish, what's all important is the quality and freshness of the fish. Your supplier or fishmonger should be able to skin and de bone your fish for you.

Ingredients

• Fillet of fish per person, I used haddock (skinless and boneless)
• Cheddar cheese grated - 100g per fillet
• Dijon mustard - 1 tsp per fillet
• Crème fraiche - 2 tbsp. per fillet
• 6 Baby cherry tomatoes per fillet - sliced in half
• Freshly picked thyme
• Freshly ground black pepper

Method

• Preheat your oven to 170c
• Very lightly oil a baking dish the appropriate size for your fish fillets
• Place the fish fillets in the bottom of the dish
• In a separate bowl, toss the tomato halves with the thyme and some freshly ground pepper
• In another bowl mix the Dijon mustard, crème fraiche and grated cheese, spoon this on top of the fillets in the baking dish and spread out
• Serve with a fresh green salad or green vegetables.

 

Healthy Fish Pie

Comfort food for a cold winters day and healthy too, what more could a girl want hey ! The pie also freezes fabulously too, so you can make double and freeze for another day , its fab served with broccoli or garden peas. Make sure when you are choosing the fish for in the pie you get a nice mixture of oily fish (salmon / trout), smoked and white fish. Pollack and number of other sustainable fish work fine in pies.
Its British pie week this week, so a very opportune posting this one, after all pies don't have to be all pastry ! 

Ingredients

• 1 packet of fish pie mix or ask your fishmonger for a mixed selection of fish suitable for a pie (white, oily and smoked),
• 100g prawns if using
• 1 large white onion - finely chopped
• Fish stock
• A little white wine
• Creme fraiche - 1 tbsp
• Parsley - dried or finely chopped fresh
• Dill - dried or finely chopped fresh
• 3 large white potatoes - suitable for mashing, peeled and chopped in to large chunks
• Vegetable oil
• Freshly ground black pepper
• cornflour - for thickening sauce (1 tbsp mixed with a little water to make a smooth paste)

Method

• Put the potatoes onto boil in a large saucepan
• Heat a little oil in a large frying pan, gently seal the fish until just coloured then remove to plate
• Cook in the large frying pan the onion gently until softened, now add a little wine to de-glaze the pan of the lovely fishy juices
• Add fish stock and bring to a gentle simmer, now add the herbs and slaked cornflour to bring the sauce to the desired thickness
• Simmer and add the fish back to the sauce, reduce the heat and add the creme fraiche
• Stir and remove from heat
• Pour into your pie dish and allow to cool a little
• Now on to the mash, by now the potatoes should be tender, remove from the heat and drain and mash adding a little butter and pepper if so required
• Once you have a smooth mash, top the pie with a generous layer of mash
• Bake in a pre heated oven at 180c for approx 30 minutes until lovely and golden and bubbly
• Serve with a green vegetable.

Smoked haddock, leek and pea risotto , using DelishFish

I recently placed my first order with DelishFish on the recommendation of a number of other food bloggers, its a delightfully easy website to find your way around and gives good information about the different types of fish available,  So I chose a variety of fish, all which arrived really quickly at the peak of freshness right to my door,the courier even called first to check I would be in to receive my delivery and John the owner tweeted me to check everything had arrived Ok.

The quality of the fish was second to none, lovely large fillets, all individually packed and labelled so its easy for the cook, the packaging was great too, so everything arrived lovely and cool and intact. The fish was very good value for the quality of fish so I will be ordering again from John at Delish Fish.

I love smoked haddock and John's is reputed to be the best in the country ( as per River Cottage website) so I wanted a recipe that would really show off this ingredient to its full, I make smoked haddock chowder a lot but wanted a more evening meal dish so I thought risotto, peas for a sweet hit to contrast with the smoky fish and a soft oniony backnote coming from the leeks. 

Ingredients

• 1 large fillet Smoked haddock - undyed DelishFish's preferably
• 1 Leek - cleaned and cut into fine rings
• Risotto rice - 
• Frozen petit pois - handful
• Fish stock - I used Essential cuisine
• Parsley or dill to garnish
• Olive oil

If feeling especially decadent you could top with a poached egg 

Method

• In a large frying pan warm a little olive oil, gently softened the leeks without colouring
• Next add your risotto rice and stir gently to coat the grains in the olive oil and cooking juices from the leek
• Next add a small quantity of your fish stock, stir and gently simmer until absorded
• Keep adding stock in small quantities and stirring until the rice is tender
• Microwave your fish on a plate covered with cling film and a couple of drops of water - a couple of minutes should do the trick.
• Once the rice is pretty much cooked add the frozen peas and little more stock , simmer for a few more minutes then stir in the flaked cooked fish and any juices on the plate
• Sprinkle with parsley and serve

This is lovely dish creamy in texture but with no added diary and light but satisfying, great if you are watching your figure too.

Hake with parmesan and parsley crust

I love fish and had recently picked a fabulous piece of Hake at my favourite fish stall on Chorley Market, this recipe is for a quick and easy topping which ensures that you fish stays nice and moist. Its also great as in most cases you will have the required ingredients in the cupboard and fridge.

Hubby declared this yum so next time you are cooking fish give it a go.

Ingredients

• Fresh breadcrumbs, I used stale sourdough blitzed in the foodprocessor
• Fresh lemon zest
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese
• Grind of pepper
• Parsley - fresh or dried
• Little olive oil
• Vegetable oil spray
• Fish fillet - I used hake but you could use cod, salmon, etc just make sure its sustainable

Method

• Blitz your bread crumbs in food processor or blender
• Grate in you parmesan, lemon zest
• Add parsley , pepper and blitz a little more
• Add enough oil to just moisten
• Lightly oil spray your tray
• Place your fish fillets on the tray and press the crumb topping on to them
• Lightly spritz with oil spray
• Bake in 180c oven for approx 15 mins, but vary this depending on the thickness of your fillets.

Delicious, easy recipe

Lancashire Pasty Company

What do you get when with classic flavour combinations are encased in pastry, = "The Lancashire Pasty Company".

The company established by Barry Woods specialises in using local quality ingreduients to create a classic pastie with a twist. I have been fortunate enough to sample the Caramelised onion and Black Pudding Pastie, a delicious combination which could have been heavy and fatty, but it wasn't, amazingly tasty, juicy and with a hint of mustard.

The "fish, chips and mushy peas" is a revelation, just like a classic chippy tea even with the vinegar. And for those of you with a sweet tooth apple, sasparilla and custard". Again a classic, the best that old parish Lancashire has to offer wrapped in pastry.

Genius !

Oyster & Otter

Today we visited the Oyster and Otter seafood restaurant in Feniscowles near Blackburn, on the way back from picking up some of foody prizes from Blackburn market. The restaurant is a former pub site that has been extensively refurbished into a chalet style building, interestingly as well as the restaurant, there is a fish and chip shop on site for take aways.

Eventhough we arrived just on noon, there were already a couple of cars on the car park, always a good sign. We were warmly greeted and quickly seated with menu's to peruse, lots of choice and plenty of seafood dishes obviously. We both plumped for the great value lunchtime menu of two courses for £15.95 including a drink. Thwaites "Wainwright" was one of the beer options which won hubby over immediately.

Twice baked Lancashire cheese souffle with a walnut and apple salad was my choice for starter, hubby ordered the Potted Goosnargh duck and mushroom country pate, toasted onion bread, shallot and mustard seed relish. The souffle was very light and a lovely contrast to the crisp fruity salad and very tasty. The pate was served on an attractive wooden platter, hubby's only criticism was the onion bread was a bit over crisp to spread the chunky pate on. Still very tasty though.

On to the mains, Malaysian seafood curry, coconut rice, lime pickle for me, beautifully presented with pea shoots, delicious with scallops, king prawns amongst other fish. The rice however was served cold, but I didn't really need it as the curry also had spring onions and butternut squash in it. Classic fish and chips with a twist for Mr B , black peas rather than the usual mushy, parched peas for those in the know. Fabulous fresh fish, yummy chip shop style chips, what more do you want.

Overall very nice restaurant, the decor is nice too all driftwood tones, very cosy. We will be visiting again.