Recently I was challenged by BritMums and Cool Cookery to create a meal using frozen ingredients. Using frozen foods is a great way to reduce food waste as you simply take what you need and return the rest to the freezer. Food waste inevitably costs us money. Research has shown that the average family could save up to £250 a year by by using frozen foods!
When foods are frozen from fresh they are able to retain a lot of the goodness which fresh foods start to loose after harvesting, catching or slautering. Frozen vegetables are often frozen just hours after harvesting. There are so many frozen foods available, they go way beyond just chips, peas and fish fingers! With so many different vegetables, herbs, meat and fish available you really can create delicious home cooked meals using frozen foods.
For this weeks Family Favourites I am going to show you an easy fish pie that is made using frozen ingredients.
Here is this weeks Family Favourites recipe...
Family Favourites Easy Fish Pie
Ingredients serves 8
150g frozen sliced leeks
100g frozen sweetcorn
100g frozen petit pois
200g frozen mixed mushrooms
800g frozen fish pie mix
270g jumbo raw king prawns (defrost before use!)
2 x 650g bags of Aunt Bessie's frozen mash potato
1tsp dried parsley
1/2tsp ground black pepper
400mls milk
Method
Pre heat the oven to 180C fan/400F/gas mark 6
1 - Place the frozen fish in an oven proof dish, pour over the milk, add the parsley, black pepper, cover with either a lid or some foil and place in the centre of the pre heated oven for 20 minutes
2 - Heat 1tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan and over a medium heat gently fry the leeks for 5 minutes
3 - Add the mushrooms to the pan and cook for a further 10 minutes
4 - Drain any excess liquid from the leeks and mushrooms and return to the heat
5 - Pour over a drizzle of olive oil and add the raw king prawns and cook for 3 minutes
6 - Add the leeks, mushrooms and prawns to the fish pie mix and return to the oven for 20 minutes
7 - After 20 minutes add the frozen peas and sweetcorn, cover and continue to cook in the oven for a further 20 minutes
8 - 10 minutes before the fish pie base is ready place the mashed potato discs into a large non stick saucepan and cook over a medium heat, stirring continuously to prevent sticking
9 - Once the mash potato is cooked and smooth remove from the heat
10 - Remove the fish pie base from the oven and drain off any excess milk don't throw the milk away add it to the mash potatoes to give them a creamy fish finish
11 - Spoon the mashed potatoes on to the fish pie base and grill for a couple of minutes to crisp the top
This meal will be loved by all, adults and children alike. Frozen fish is often cheaper to buy than fresh fish which makes it a more affordable way to add more fish to your diet.
Pouring the excess milk from the poached fish to the mash give the potatoes a depth of flavour and it prevents wasting the delicious milk that is full of flavour.
Enjoy x
Disclosure: I’m working with BritMums and Coolcookery.co.uk highlighting the versatility, economy and nutritional benefits of cooking with frozen food. All opinions are my own. For recipes and ideas visit http://bit.ly/coolcookery
