Pescado a la Veracruzana (4)
- a glorious amalgam, and works well with most white, flaky fish, which can be poached from frozen if necessary.  Terrific with plain boiled rice.  If for some reason you have leftovers, take the bay leaves out of the sauce and don't be tempted to throw the limes in the sauce for extra flavour.  I made that mistake once - the olive oil will extract the bitter oils from the pith and spoil the flavour.

4-5 large white fish fillets
800 g tomatoes, fresh or tinned
1 large onion, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
125 g olives
2 tbsp pickled capers
1-2 chiles, finely chopped
2 tsp mixed herbs
2 bay leaves
1/4-1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
4-5 whole black peppercorns
2 cloves
2 tbsp parsley, chopped or dried
1-2 limes, cut into eighths

          Fry garlic and onion in oil until softening, and add capers and olives.  Heat briefly to drive off vinegar.  Add chiles, then tomatoes.  When the tomatoes are well cooked, add other spices and herbs, and stir through.  Turn heat down low, slip fish into sauce and poach gently until cooked.  Serve with limes for squeezing.
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800 g fish steaks
8 tbsp dry white wine
tsp grated lemon zest
2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp chile powder
2 small garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp olive oil

          Place the steaks in a dish and sprinkle half the wine and the other ingredients over.  Prick the fish well with a fork.  Marinate, turning frequently, for a few hours.  Sear steaks well in a frying pan and keep warm in an oven.  Rinse the dish with the remaining wine and deglaze the pan with the combined marinade and wine.  Heat through, and pile/pour onto steaks.
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400 g trout fillet
3 egg whites
500 ml double cream
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

          With a strong knife, remove the skin from the fish, and retain it.  Puree the flesh in a food processor, with the egg, then add salt and pepper and repeat.  The fish should become clumpier and more absorbent.  Add the cream in two or three stages, making sure any unblended bits of fish are mixed back into the whole.  The result should be a rich, pink mousse.  Brush individual ramekins well with butter, and line each one decoratively with fish skin, however takes your fancy.  Fill each ramekin about three-quarters full with the mousse, and cover each one with a greased foil or paper lid.  Poach in a covered, well-watered bain-Marie in a 130 C oven for about 30 minutes or until set. 

400 g coley, cod or other whitefish fillet, can be frozen
300 ml milk, can be sour
1 shallot
350g mature cheddar cheese
185g (about 12 sheets) dried lasagne
200 g frozen prawns
tbsp wholemeal flour
salt
pepper

          Chop the shallot finely and poach in the milk with the whitefish (which can be cooked from frozen).  Fish the fish out, and flake.  Grate 200 g of the cheese and melt into the milk on a gentle heat, deglazing the pan.  Take off the heat, add the frozen prawns, and immediately stir in the flour.  Stir until smooth, but don't cook, unless the mixture becomes lumpy, in which case cook on a low heat and/or add a further tsp flour.  Layer fish and sauce with the lasagne in a flat ovenproof dish, and top with the remaining grated cheese.  Bake in the centre of a 150 C oven for about 40 minutes, or until the pasta is al dente, taking care to press it down every now and then if it sticks out of the sauce.
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