Fish is good for you right???? Well, the truth is that not all fish is good for you - if the fish has high mercury levels, was farmed destructively or appears on the red list, it is definitely not good for you or nature.
Hake is still on the green list here in South Africa and if you can lay your hands on fresh hake, it still is for me one of the nicest nicest fish to eat.
Quoted from the Green Guide: "Fish provide essential nutrients and fatty acids—especially for developing bodies and brains—and make a perfect protein-filled, lean meal whether grilled, baked, poached or served as sushi. Yet overfishing, habitat loss and declining water quality have wreaked havoc on many fish populations. Furthermore, many are contaminated with brain-damaging mercury and other toxic chemicals. Make sure therefor that you eat fish from the green list and if you must s0metimes off the orange list!!!"
Back to today's recipe......
I wanted something warm and filling to go with the hake, but we had starches 3 nights in a row now and I thought we needed something different. I consider myself to be one of the lucky moms, because my children love beans and I do not have to sneak it into my food just so that they can get the nutritional value thereof. In this case, I think the warm beans salad even stole the show!
Despite their beautiful differences in color and taste, all the legumes have similar nutritional value. A serving (1/3 cup of cooked beans) contains around 80 calories, no cholesterol, lots of complex carbohydrates, and little fat. In addition, beans are a good source of B vitamins, potassium, and fiber, which promotes digestive health, relieves constipation, and may even help prevent colon cancer and reduce blood cholesterol (a leading cause of heart disease).
Pan-Fried Hake with Warm Bean and Fennel Salad
For the salad
Ingredients
2 cans of 4 bean mix - rinsed
1 fennel bulb, sliced
1 onion - sliced
1 clove of garlic - crushed
fennel leaves chopped
juice of a lemon
olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Heat about 3 tbsp olive oil in a pan and sweat the onion and garlic until cooked. Add the fennel and toss the pan slightly to coat everything with the oil...add more if needed. When the fennel is just cooked, but still crunchy, add the beans and warm through. Add the chopped fennel leaves and season to taste with the salt/pepper and the lemon juice.
Quick, easy and SO good for you!!!!!
16 comments:
Nina, I love bean salad and adore fennel: what a lovely combination. I'm going to make this today if I can find fresh fennel.
juno - If the fish was not so delicious, I would be happy with a bowl full of this salad!!!
So true about the mercury levels in fish. We get a lot of farm raised fish in our market because we are land locked and it's not so healthy in many cases either, as you pointed out.
We miss the Bahamas where we caught our own fish, but we had to be careful there and not get too big a grouper, for instance, because it could have cigitara.
Thanks for this great recipe. I love beans so I know this is great.
Sam
Wow! beautiful plate..looks like a perfect dinner to me...
Beautifully presented Nina. I love fish.
Love the salad with fennel, bean and capers too.
That looks absolutely delicious!
You always make everything look so pretty and tasty. This looks delicious.
It's so interesting how different fish are available in different locations - this fish I grew up with on the east coast are so different that what we've got here in California. I don't think I've seen Hake on either coast here!
Wow...it looks so delicious.love the bean and fennel combo.
Perfecto...both the Hake and fennel are delicate so they complement each other well.
What a great rust and sear you got there.
Love the fish dish, look so tasty and the salad is just perfect with it. Great pictures!
Never seen that fish before. I love the way you plate your food. Delicious pics.
Hake and bean salad sound like a great combo.
I don't recall seeing hake here in SoCal, I will keep my eye out for it. Thanks for the tip.
LL
Fennel has become one of my favourite ingredients - it just adds such a special flavour. Your fish looks perfect!
Post a Comment