Cod, Cabbage & Peas

Something simple for a Monday evening ...

We both enjoyed an intermittent fast through the day, having last eaten on Sunday evening, and so a low-carbohydrate dinner was in order. Simply, protein and fat.

Ingredients

Cod, cabbage, peas, asparagus, chicken stock, goose fat and coriander.

Controversy?

I expect the first raised eyebrow and furrowed brow will be over the peas. Yes, peas are legumes, but I would encourage you to read Mark Sissons' article on green beans and peas: Are Peas and Green Beans Healthy?

So, to work ...

Cod

Roast the cod in the oven at 200C (400F?) for about 20 minutes.

Veggies

Meanwhile melt some fat in a heavy-based skillet. I used goose fat. Use your favourite paleo fat. Melt some fat and saute the cabbage for a couple of minutes.

Pour over some chicken stock, sufficient to cover and reduce until it is fully evaporated and the flavours imbued into the cabbage. This, conveniently, takes about 20 minutes too.

Maybe five minutes from the end, toss in the peas and asparagus.

If the stock evaporates too quickly, just add a little more until all the veggies are cooked through to how you like them.

Serve

Serve out: cabbage down first, cod on top and garnish with herbs; coriander, for me, well chopped. Black pepper and sea salt to taste.

Seafood & Cabbage Curry

Thanks, Mom! Paleo Mom!

I have some tilapia ... and I have a white cabbage ... and carrots ... and prawns .... and I have some spinach! It's almost as if Paleo Mom and I cook the same things and have the same things to use up.

What better than a curry?

Like Paleo Mom, I began with a good amount of coconut oil in a heavy based skillet into which went shredded cabbage (half a white cabbage) and grated carrots (one large) to stew away in their own steam for a few minutes. This is for two people. I could have made enough for leftovers, which would be gorgeous re-fried with a fried egg on top for breakfast, and may well do next time.

At this point, I sprinkled over my favourite spice combination: ground coriander, ground cumin, turmeric, asafoetida and fenugreek. Black pepper and celery salt. More: four cloves of garlic, some ginger and half a Scotch Bonnet pepper.

Mix well - you do not want a Scotch Bonnet surprise!

Once the veggies are starting to soften, pull them to the edges of the pan and drop in your tilapia (cut into strips) and prawns. Add more fat if you think it necessary. Pull the veggies over to cover and after a couple of minutes fold together.

Any seafood will do, naturally, firm-fleshed is best to keep together in the pan.

Cook on until the seafood is all cooked through and fold in some spinach just to wilt. If you like coconut, drop in some creamed coconut here - it'll give the dish a real depth.

Serve out, accompanied with a good helping of Piccalilly alongside.

What a lovely dish! We both agreed that some cauliflower would really boost this dish and I'll be putting that in next time. Neither of us like coconut, so we left out the coconut cream - very South Asian. We're much more used to Northern Indian/Pakistani cuisine up our way.

Thanks, Mom!

Salmon Tagliatelle

Tagliatelle? Yes, that IS pasta!

There's nothing like a break from the old routine. I have been re-reading the Jaminet's 'Perfect Health Diet', a book I find absolutely inspiring, and was reminded of rice noodles.

Shopping, I found a pack of really good noodles, quite wide and the ingredients simple listed as: rice flour, tapioca flour and water. PHD-friendly, then. Living in the Ice Age-friendly.

If "safe starches" are not within your ancestral template then this is not for you ...

Ingredients

Let's just take a moment to spin round the food we're going to cook: salmon, rice noodles, double cream, watercress, pecorino cheese and broccoli. Sea salt and black pepper, too.

Salmon and broccoli is a no-brainer. Perfect partners. Salmon and watercress is a no-brainer. Perfect partners. This is looking good!

Cream sauces do need a little salt lest they leave the dish tasting a little flat. I pepped up my cream sauce with cheese - pecorino, an Italian sheep cheese which has a lovely salty tang and less of the pungency of parmesan which I find overpowering.

So, to work ...

Salmon

First, poach your salmon. Place the salmon is a pan and cover with boiling water. Add some sea salt. Leave it there for around 10 minutes, perhaps with a gentle flame underneath.

Watercress Sauce

Meanwhile, the cream sauce. Somewhere around 100ml per person is good. I use double cream which, I believe, is akin to heavy cream that folks in the US will be used to. British double cream is slightly creamier (around 48% fat compared to around 40% fat for heavy cream), but it doesn't matter - we're going to reduce it anyway.

Blend the cream with watercress. How much? However much you like. Use a lot if you want a really vibrant green sauce (like I did), or a little if you just want a hint. Blend a lot or blend a little - your choice.

Pour into another pan and gently reduce by a third. Just a gentle flame is good. If the cream becomes too thick, add a dash of the poaching liquor to let it our again - you really won't need much as a teaspoon will make a thickening cream sauce quite wet again.

Once the fish is poached, retrieve it, set it aside and steam or boil the veggies. You can use more than broccoli if you like, but I kept it quite simple.

After a couple of minutes of steaming, set aside. I like broccoli to retain its firmness and after even only a couple of minutes, the florets will be soft.

Tagliatelle

Drop the noodles into the water and follow the instructions. Mine suggested three minutes.

Meanwhile, grate some cheese into the sauce and add a little black pepper. The heat will melt the cheese, but do assist with with some stirring.

Serve

Noodles ready? Drain and pour them out into a wide-brimmed bowl.

Pour the sauce over, salmon on top and veggies alongside.

I'm sure you've noticed that if an egg was dropped in, this might make an interesting carbonara, of sorts. I still have some noodles, so that will no doubt be my next adventure.