Category Archives: Burgers, Tacos, Sandwiches

Crispy polenta crusted fish tacos

Our new favorite week-night dinner.  Crispy polenta crusted fish tacos!
These are going to become one of your favorite tacos too. Easy to make but still feel like  a special dinner.
Firm fish morcels are seasoned and coated in fine (instant) polenta. Then pan fried. Stuffed into corn taco shells and topped with a yummy  sauce. I topped them with some hot pineapple too.

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 cup instant polenta
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/2 cup all purpose flour lour
  • 1 tbsp. Cajun seasoning
  • 4 firm fish fillets (tilapia), cut into pieces
  • 1/2 cup fresh or frozen pineapple chunks
  • 1/4 cup oil for frying
  • Taco shells, 2 or 3 per person
  • Shredded lettuce
  • 2 avocados slices
  • Grated cheese optional
  • Sauce:
  • 1/2 cup mayonnaise
  • 1/4 cup plain greek yoghurt
  • 2 tbsp. Ketchup
  • 1 tbsp. sweet chili sauce
  • A few drops tabasco
  • 1 tsp. garlic powder
  • 1 tsp. onion powder

INSTRUCTIONS:


For the sauce, mix all the ingredients and set aside. 
For the fish, prepare a bowl with polenta, and an other bowl in which you beat the two eggs.
On a work board, season the fish and coat with flower by sprinkling the flour over the fish.
Dip each piece of fish, first in the beaten eggs and the roll thru the polenta, gently pressing to cover completely. 
When all the pieces are done, heat a frying pan with the oil anf fry the fish for about 4 to 5 minutes, turning once gently. Remove one piece to test if its done.
In the meantime place your pineapple in an oven proof dish and heat in the oven alongside the tacos shells, as per the instructions on the box.
To serve, place some shredded lettuce in each taco, pile on fish nuggets and warm pineapple and dollop some sauce on top. Serve with avocado wedges.
Enjoy.

P.s. Any leftover sauce is great on sandwiches the next day, it will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator. 

Advertisement

Roasted red bell pepper jam

Get ready for the new sauce of Summer ’22.
The perfect sauce for Mexican Corn Jalapeño Burger, Jamaican Jerk Chicken Kebabs, Beef burger filled with Onions and Crispy Bacon, Madras Salmon Burger, etc etc… basically all kinds of hamburgers, grilled meats, salmon, fish and sandwiches.
The jam is sweet, a little tangy because there is a little vinegar in there, and a hint of spice in the form of chili flakes. You can adjust that to your liking of course, but for us, 1/2 teaspoon is enough. This sauce will keep for about two weeks in the refrigerator,  you can also process the jars (canning) for a longer shelve life, but do consult a canning website or source for that procedure.
This roasted red bell pepper sauce takes five minutes to make and is so easy. I used a jar of roasted peppers like I did in my 5 minute Romesco Sauce, cheats version because, why not? Sometimes it’s okay to take a shortcut.

Makes 1 jar

INGREDIENTS:


1 jar of fire roasted red peppers, drained
80 grams of special jam sugar/gelling sugar
1/4 cup plain vinegar
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
1/4 teaspoon table salt

INSTRUCTIONS:


Place all the ingredients in a blender.
Puree until smooth and transfer to a large pot.
Cook for 5 to 7 minutes until bubbly and slightly thickened.
Pour into sterile jar, let cool a bit with the lid off, for an hour or so.
Then close with a lid and keep in the refrigerator. Like I said earlier,  it’s good on everything.


Enjoy!

Vegan meatballs, amazing texture.

These vegan meatballs are the perfect base for all your favorite dishes. This recipe is without sauce or gravy  because they are meant to be as a base for other recipes, like Spaghetti and meatballs,  Swedish meatballs,  meatball Curry with rice or a great meatball sandwich for instance.

A vegan meatball that has the texture of actual meat. Holds together, not mushy like most, but firm and with bite. I made these one night with mashed potatoes in Swedish meatballs style and the next night I poured a sticky honey chili maple glaze over them and served them over rice.  They freeze well too, you could easily make a double batch and always have a supply for a quick dinner fix.
So whether you’ re a vegetarian, a vegan or simply trying to eat more veggies,  these are a  great option and you really need to try them.

Makes around 24 meatballs.
Serves 4-6. Double if needed.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup red lentils
1/2 cup tvp* see not (I use pea tvp)
1/4 cup  chopped dehydrated vegetables (mix for soup)**see note
1/2 onion chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 vegetable stock cube, crumbled fine
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup quick oats
2 tbsp pine nuts (optional but delicious)
A dash of liquid smoke
A dash of franks hot sauce
1/2 tsp vegan Worchestershire sauce
Pepper
2 tbsps ground flaxseed plus 3 tablespoons water, or 2 eggs

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cook lentils and tvp in a bit of salted water for around 5 minutes, or until almost soft, but still semi firm. Drain in a colander and return to the pan, add the dehydrated veggies, they will absorb the excess water.  Set aside and let cool.
Cook onion and garlic in oil for 5 minutes until soft. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl mix, lentil-tvp-veg mixture with onion and garlic.
Add all the remaining ingredients and let sit for 5 minutes,  now grab a ball of the mixture with your hand and gently squeeze to see if it holds.  Add a splash of water if it seems too dry or add a bit more flour if it seems too wet.
Shape into balls, the size of a ping pong ball approximately.
Place in refrigerator for two hours before baking to firm up.
Pre heat oven to 220C/450F.
Place balls on a silicone baking sheet and spray with oil (or drizzle over).
Bake 15 minutes turning halfway.
Use straight away with your favorite sauce or let cool and store in ziplock bag in the refrigerator or freezer for later use.

Enjoy!

  • tvp stands for texturized vegetable protein
    ** Amazon sells a Deluxe Vegetables Soup Blend.

5 minute Romesco Sauce, cheats version

Romesco Sauce is a Spanish pepper and tomato based sauce from the region of Cataluña, that dates back to the 15 th century, thanks to Christopher Columbus who brought back the Romesco peppers from his travels in the America’s which are the base for this sauce.
You can find Romesco sauce everywhere in Spain, it’s very popular and can be eaten with everything from just bread to grilled fish, grilled meat or vegetables.

The original version is with dried peppers, almonds, some times hazelnuts as well, bread, garlic etc…
I have come up with a cheats version that can be done in 5 minutes and it is addictively delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

6 tbsp. Olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 jar roasted red bell peppers (15 oz. jar / 500 ml), drained
1/4 cup almond butter (the roasted kind)
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
1/3 cup parsley, roughly a handful
1-2 tsp. red wine vinegar
3/4 tsp. salt
fresh black pepper
1 tsp. smoked paprika (preferably the Spanish kind)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place the sun dried tomatoes in a bowl and cover with very hot water. Let sit for five minutes then drain.
On medium heat, fry onion and garlic in two tablespoons of oil, until light golden and just soft. Let cool a bit.

In a food processor, add the pepper, the onions and garlic, almond butter, drained sun dried tomatoes, parsley, vinegar, salt, pepper, paprika and the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil.
Turn on the food processor and blend until smooth. That’s it!

I use only one teaspoon of vinegar but you can add more depending on how acidic you like it.

The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about five days in a glass container or jar, but I can assure you, you will be putting it on everything.

Enjoy!