Herby Roasted Fish - IHCC A Pinch of This, A Dash of That!

This week's theme at I Heart Cooking Clubs is dishes that are flavoured with our favorite herbs and spices. Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is our featured chef until October and as I leafed through his book River Cottage Every Day, I was struck by how many recipes included some of mine (but I'm partial to quite a few). I finally settled on the herby variation of Roasted Slashed Fish with Aromatic Paste.

Preparation was minimal (after the fish monger dressed the snapper for me), a few slashes and a rub made of garlic, lemon zest, parsley, dill, and chives (instead of the book's rosemary and thyme) and it was ready for the oven. 

We really enjoyed this. The flesh was moist and tasty and though slashing the fish made serving a little trickier, it ensured the flavours were in every bite. Simple and delicious.

Rhubarb-Lime Meringue Tart - Tuesdays with Dorie

It's time for another tart from Baking Chez Moi for Tuesdays with Dorie and I was very happy about this choice. It was a perfect way to showcase the star ingredient and one of my spring favourites, rhubarb.

It started with a pre-baked tart crust that was filled with sweetened rhubarb and custard and baked again. I used Dorie's bonne idée and topped it with my go-to Italian meringue instead of streusel. 

I loved this tart. Both the rhubarb and lime flavours came through clearly in the filling and it was tart enough to withstand the sweetness of the meringue. I did notice that the tart shell wasn't as crisp as it should have been (and usually is since I've used this recipe several times) and wonder if this was a case for shellacking the hot baked crust with egg white to protect it from the moist filling. I'll try that next time because I'm definitely making this again.

Fiddlehead, Goat's Cheese and Pancetta Frittata - IHCC Fresh From The Field!

It's that time of year when fiddleheads are available so I had to feature them in a dish, of course. I don't have many recipes that call for the pretty unfurled fronds of the ostrich fern but they work in dishes that feature asparagus or leafy greens. My inspiration this time was Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Spinach, Bacon and Goat's Cheese Frittata from his book River Cottage Every Day.

I replaced the bacon with 75g pancetta, a little less than the recipe calls for, and precooked the fiddleheads (for food safety reasons) before adding them to the egg mixture but otherwise made no changes to the recipe. The method of partially cooking the frittata stove top, then finishing it under the broiler worked perfectly.

The shallots, Parmesan and pancetta worked well with the fiddleheads and the mild chèvre didn't overwhelm the delicate flavour of my star ingredient. I will definitely make this again. 

I'm linking this post to I Heart Cooking Clubs for this week's theme of Fresh From the Field.

Smoked Salmon and Scrambled Egg Toast - IHCC Potluck

I missed the "Bready Things" theme a few weeks ago at I Heart Cooking Clubs so I'm bringing this open-faced sandwich from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall to this week's Potluck.

Comprising scrambled eggs and smoked salmon piled high on a slice of toasted sourdough - yes, it really is that simple - I don't know that I actually needed a recipe for this but I did need a reminder of how good it is. The recipe is in the breakfast chapter of Hugh's book River Cottage Every Day but with a side salad it makes a delicious light lunch or supper too.

Visit here to see what everyone else brought to the potluck.