Thai Salmon Patties with Pickled Vegetable Ribbons <250kcal

Thai Salmon Patties with Pickled Vegetable RibbonsI was reminded of these when a member of the 5:2 Intermittent Fasting Diet group on Facebook asked for a fishcake recipe that didn’t require the use of breadcrumbs or mashed potato. I can’t wait for our next 5:2 fast day to do them again! Pickled vegetables are quite a thing now, turning up regularly on Masterchef as an accompaniment. It’s a great way of adding some zingy flavour without a lot of calories.

Thai Salmon Patties with Pickled Vegetable Ribbons

I had always thought that fish cakes needed potato or something to hold them together, but not so, these work beautifully. I like to make them small so that they cook quickly and the centre stays moist and pink. 

I’ve usually done the fish patties with salmon, but they would work equally well with any firm white fish or tuna or swordfish.

As an alternative to rice wine vinegar, try apple cider vinegar. I use maple syrup as it mixes in easily, but you could use coconut sugar or raw brown sugar instead. A little sweetness adds to the complexity of flavours.

Cucumber and carrots are obvious candidates for pickle, but you could use courgettes, beetroot, cauliflower or fennel as alternatives and slices of red onion instead of spring onion.

Serves 2

  • 250g salmon fillets 244 kcals
  • 2 tsp grated root ginger 4 kcals
  • 1 tbsp chopped coriander leaf
  • 1 tsp Thai red curry paste 10 kcals
  • 1 tbsp Tamari soy sauce 16 kcals
  • 1 tsp maple syrup 12 kcals
  • 1/2 tbsp rice wine vinegar 6 kcals
  • 1 carrot 26 kcals
  • 1/2 cucumber 18 kcals
  • 2 spring onions 10 kcals
  • 1 tbsp groundnut oil 120 kcals

Put the salmon, ginger, coriander, Thai curry paste and Tamari into a food processor and whizz until the fish is minced. With damp hands, form into 6 patties. Keep them cool while you prepare the vegetables.

Mix the vinegar and maple syrup in a bowl.

Peel the carrot and cucumber into long strips or ribbons and cut the spring onion into long slivers. Add to the bowl and toss together well.

Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat and fry the patties for a couple of minutes on each side, until just cooked through.

Serve immediately with the vegetable pickle.

Per serving: kcals 228
Carbs 12g Fat 11g 7g

For a main meal, also serve some steamed broccoli and wilted spinach.

Thai Salmon Patties with Pickled Vegetable Ribbons

This recipe is in my book 5:2 Healthy Eating for Life, available on Amazon in kindle or print format.

Upside Down Fish Pie

This is dish I have made lots of times now. It is very forgiving of quantities, of the type of fish, of the herbs in the gremolata. You can peel the potatoes or not, use big or small ones, use red, white or spring onions, use whole small or larger halved tomatoes, or even some tinned or frozen tomatoes… It’s a great dish for preparing ahead, up to the stage where you add the fish for the final cooking time; so it works well for a dinner party with friends, all you need to serve alongside is perhaps a fresh green salad or lightly steamed green veg. I have served it on a fast day by using smaller pieces of fish and being mean with the olive oil and potatoes! It is quite substantial and satisfying. For a lower-carb version, you could swap potatoes for slices of summer squash.

Tip: I keep a bag of frozen breadcrumbs in a ziploc bag in the freezer, which makes it really easy just to grab a couple of handfuls to sprinkle over the top of a dish like this – it adds a great texture and saves the fish from drying out.

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Upside Down Fish Pie with Gremolata

This recipe has evolved from a recipe that I spotted in “delicious” magazine, where the potatoes are on the bottom and there are breadcrumbs sprinkled on the top. I particularly like it with salmon, but it works brilliantly with cod, haddock or for a real treat try it with sea bass.

Serves 4

  • 500g red skinned potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 352 kcals
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced 44 kcals
  • 2 tsp olive oil 80 kcals
  • 100g cherry tomatoes, halved 16 kcals
  • 25g sundried tomatoes, sliced 64 kcals
  • 4 fish fillets 844 kcals
  • 1 red chilli, seeds removed, finely sliced 4 kcals
  • 8 slices of lemon 16 kcals
  • 60g wholewheat breadcrumbs 144 kcals
  • 1 tbsp olive oil 120 kcals

For the Gremolata

  • 6 marinaded anchovy fillets, chopped 24 kcals
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped 8 kcals
  • 1 tbsp olive oil 120 kcals
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • A bunch of parsley leaves, chopped 4 kcals
  • Preheat the oven to 180c (fan).

Brush a roasting tin with oil, then add the potatoes, onions into a roasting tray, drizzle with the remaining oil, season with salt and pepper and then mix together.

Bake for 15 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and dried tomatoes and cook for a further 15 minutes, by which time the potatoes should be nearly cooked through.

Mix the breadcrumbs with the olive oil in a plastic bag and shake to mix.

Put the fish fillets on top, decorate with lemon and chilli slices and sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture over the top.

Bake for a further 15 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through.

Meanwhile, make the Gremolata by whizzing all the ingredients in a food processor to make a sauce.

Serve with the Gremolata drizzled over.

Per serving: kcals 460
Carbs 51g Fat 21g Protein 20g

If you have started the meal with a salad or a vegetable dish, there is no need to serve anything else with this, but a crisp green salad, some wilted spinach or steamed broccoli make a good visual contrast.

This recipe can be found in my book 5:2 Healthy Eating for Life, available from Amazon in print or kindle format.

Salmon Stuffed with Pine Nuts and Herbs <200 calories

Salmon Stuffed with Pine Nuts and HerbsSalmon is one of my go-to ingredients for a fast day, when I focus on “mainly plants and protein” and I always have some fillets in the freezer. This recipe makes a good change from my usual technique of putting it on a pile of sliced vegetables and wrapping it in paper parcels. I will defrost the fish first.

This recipe is in my book 5:2 Healthy Eating for Life, but as I had included it in this week’s meal plan, and highlighted the photo, I thought I should share it here.

The original idea came from a New Zealand cook, Annabel Langbein, from her excellently-titled 2003 recipe book “Cooking to Impress without Stress”. 

You can use walnuts instead of pine nuts and vary the herbs. I plan to serve it with a spoonful of tsatsiki (greek yogurt with salted, drained, finely chopped cucumber and mint), but it would be lovely with a chilli and tomato salsa or on a non-fast day, a hollandaise sauce would be super.

A rainbow of steamed seasonal vegetables and perhaps a few baked mushrooms add visual appeal, flavour and plenty of fibre. Today we will be having swiss chard and carrots, plus some slivers of raw vegetables – my new kitchen gadget, a super-duper Mandolin, is going to be put to use! 

Salmon Stuffed with Pine Nuts and Herbs
Serves 4
A delicious and simple way to jazz up a fillet of salmon - it's quick too! You can prepare the stuffing while the oven is getting up to temperature.
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Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
8 min
Total Time
18 min
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
8 min
Total Time
18 min
Ingredients
  1. 4 salmon fillets (each about 100g), skinned
  2. Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
  3. 1 bunch flat leaved parsley, finely chopped
  4. 1 tsp capers, roughly chopped
  5. 2 tbsp pine nuts or chopped walnuts
  6. sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
  1. 6 lemon wedges
Instructions
  1. Heat the oven to 220ºC (fan)
  2. Lay the fish onto a non-stick baking sheet.
  3. Cut a diagonal slash in the top of each one.
  4. Mix the parsley, nuts, capers and lemon zest together and stuff some into each piece of fish.
  5. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and squeeze lemon juice over.
  6. Bake for 6 – 8 minutes.
  7. Serve with a wedge or two of lemon to squeeze over.
Notes
  1. Defrost frozen fish before cooking - but you can slice the diagonal while still frozen, which speeds up the defrost time.
  2. Per serving: 186 kcals
  3. Carbs 2g Fat 10g Protein 21g
Adapted from Annabel Langbein
Adapted from Annabel Langbein
Focus on Flavour https://www.focusonflavour.com/

Crustless Asparagus and Salmon Quiche <300 kcals

sparagus and Salmon Quiche

It is really quite surprising how successful a crustless quiche is – you really don’t need the pastry. This is also a useful way to use any leftover cooked fish, or you could use smoked salmon, which gives it a wonderful flavour.

Serves 3

  • 1/2 tsp vegetable oil 20 kcals
  • 3 large eggs 225 kcals
  • 10 green or white asparagus spears 40 kcals
  • 175 ml soya or dairy milk 130 kcals
  • 50g Cantal or other well-flavoured hard cheese, grated 193 kcals
  • 150g salmon fillet 237 kcals
  • 1 tbsp flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 160c (fan).

Snap the asparagus as near to the base as possible and discard the ends.

If using white asparagus, peel off the outer skin with a peeler or sharp knife.

Steam the asparagus spears for 5 – 6 minutes, until just tender.

Drain and leave until cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, wrap the fish in baking parchment and bake in the oven for 15 minutes, or grill until just cooked. Separate into large flakes. If using smoked salmon, cut into strips.

Brush or spray a little oil on the inside of a quiche dish.

Distribute the salmon over the base of the dish.

Trim the asparagus to fit the radius of the dish and lay evenly around with the points towards the centre.

Use any trimmings to fill the gaps.

Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the top.

Break the eggs into a jug, beat well, stir in the milk and season well (you will not really need any salt if using smoked salmon).

Pour over the salmon and asparagus, then garnish with the chopped parsley.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 30 – 40 minutes, until lightly golden brown and set in the middle.

Serve hot, warm or cold.

Per serving: kcals 282 Carbs 4g Fat 12g Protein 20g

This is really excellent if served with a good drizzle of Gremolata (page 96).

I’ve served it here with some mashed cauliflower and steamed green beans.

Crustless Asparagus and Smoked Salmon Quiche

 

For the Gremolata 

serves 4

  • 6 marinaded anchovy fillets, chopped 24 kcals
  • 2 cloves garlic, chopped 8 kcals
  • 1 tbsp olive oil 120 kcals
  • Zest of 1 lemon
  • A bunch of parsley leaves, chopped 4 kcals

make the Gremolata by whizzing all the ingredients in a food processor to make a sauce

Per serving: kcals 40 

These recipes are taken from 5:2 Healthy Eating for Life

Salmon Teriyaki with steamed vegetables

_MG_3207  This Salmon dish is baked in the oven on a bed of shredded leeks. Ideal for a Fast Day dinner, served with some steamed vegetables.

Total Calories < 250 (for 80g portion of fish) including steamed veg.

Salmon Teriyaki

I’m going to bake this in paper in the oven, to avoid using any extra fat (and calories)!

For two people:

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  • 1 leek, washed, trimmed and finely sliced
  • 2 salmon fillets (80g for me, 100 g for him)
  • 1 tbsp teriyaki sauce
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 slices of lime, halved
  • a little chopped coriander leaf or parsley
  • I also added a couple of sliced mushrooms and 4 tomatoes, to cook along with the fish inside the parcel

Heat oven to 180c. Put the leeks in the centre of a piece of baking parchment with the salmon on top. Spoon over the teriyaki sauce and sprinkle with spices.  Top with the slices of lime. Bake for 20 minutes. Unwrap and sprinkle with herbs. Serve with a nice heap of steamed vegetables (e.g. broccoli, carrots, spinach, celeriac, mange tout).

Teriyaki Sauce

For 4 people

  • 1 tbsp tamari soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp Hoisin or Plum Sauce (if not available, add 1tsp honey or maple syrup and a little Chinese five spice powder)
  • 2.5cm root ginger, peeled and finely chopped or grated
  • 1 clove of garlic, crushed
  • 4 tbsp water

Mix all ingredients together and simmer in a small pan until the garlic and ginger have softened.

Leftovers can be stored for a few days in a covered container in the fridge. You can use this as a marinade for chicken, fish or tofu, or as a sauce in a vegetable stir-fry.

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This recipe submitted to At Home with Mrs M! Mrs M’s Recipe Link Party – February