Baked Potato, Fish & Onion Rounds With Crispy Salad

Hello again honeys,
OK, you know the tab for recipes, at the top of my page is labelled "My Kitchen Adventures" well, this post absolutely sums up why :)

So, last night I was making chicken fajitas & a crispy salad for dinner for hubby again, what can I say he loves them and that's what he said he wanted :) Well, as I said before I'm just so NOT a spicy food person and so after making a start on hubby's dinner as well as cooking a little plain chicken for our baby Jade, I got to thinking "what am I going to eat with my salad?"

Off to the fridge I went and after throwing a few ingredients together, for dinner I had this.......

On opening the fridge I saw a little container of mashed potato left over from last night's dinner. Cool, I thought and put it to one side, to that I added frozen fish,  and a couple of spring onions, also known as scallions or as they're known in Scotland "sybies" pronounced "si-bees"

Interesting ingredients assembled, lovely crispy salad already prepared, I set about my little experiment :) Before sharing details, can I ask, how do you make a side salad for dinner? I know there are as many methods as there are people who cook them, shall I share mine?

Rosie's Crispy Salad

1 Whole Iceberg Lettuce
1 Whole Cucumber
6 - 7 Large Spring Onions/Scallions/Sybies :)
6 Large Fresh Tomatoes

1. Using a clean basin in the sink, half fill with cool water & add 1 - 2 teaspoons of white vinegar.

2. Using a knife carefully remove the stalk of the lettuce as well as any wilted or dirty outer leaves.

3. Place Lettuce into your basin of clean, cool water for a few minutes.

4. Roughly chop your lettuce on a clean chopping board. Remember it's important not to use the same chopping board as you would use for meat products & NEVER one used for raw chicken.

5. Place chopped lettuce into a colander, rinse thoroughly under running cold water, allow to drain on your draining board. As with all food products it's really important to make sure work surfaces are clean.

6. While your lettuce is draining, wash your basin and then repeat process of half filling with cool water & adding a little white vinegar.

7. Add your tomatoes & spring onions to basin and leave to soak a little.

8. Use a couple of sheets of kitchen paper and place on top of your lettuce in colander, gently press on paper to remove surface water and shake. Alternatively you can use a salad spinner.

9. Place lettuce into your salad bowl and set to one side.

10. Remove spring onions from basin rinsing well under running water. Using a knife carefully slice off very end or root & any damaged or wilted looking ends of the greens. Roughly chop entire spring onion and add to your salad bowl with lettuce.

NOTE: I've read before in recipes of people never using the green parts and/or similar with the white bulbs parts of spring onions, I can only tell you this is how they're prepared and eaten in Scotland :)

11. Wash cucumber under running cold water. Using a vegetable peeler carefully remove skin. Chop cucumber into smallish pieces (again a personal choice honeys, chop into size to suit yourself) and add to salad bowl.

12. Rinse tomatoes thoroughly under running water.  Chop roughly and add to your salad bowl. I always add my tomatoes last because it adds a burst of colour & looks so pretty when taken to the dinner table :) Using salad tongs mix salad at table before serving.  Yum! Any leftover salad can be stored in the fridge to be used within a day or two. Hubby takes salad to work with him next day to use in wraps/sandwiches with his favourite fillings or I'll make him a baked potato for lunch.

I adore salad! As does hubby so we have it often all through summer :) So, back to my little experiment then :)

Having assembled interesting ingredients which were as follows:

Rosie's Baked Potato, Fish & Onion Rounds

1 small bowl of left over fluffy mashed potatoes - I pride myself on the fluffiness of my mash :)
1-2 spring onions
1-2 small pieces of white fish (I had whiting in the freezer)
a splash of lemon juice (I always have a bottle of lemon & 1 of lime juice in my fridge)

1. Take small bowl of leftover mash from fridge. It's fine (probably better) if it's chilled.

2. To a small saucepan add your fish, add a small amount of milk, place onto a medium heat and simmer till fish is cooked, approximately 10 - 12 mins.

It's really not important what type of fish you use honeys, you can even use canned/tinned fish such as a small tin of (drained) tuna?  Because I had it in the freezer, I used two small slices of this.....

Image found here





 3. Clean & chop 1 - 2 spring onions, add to the bowl with your mashed potato.

 4. When fish is cooked (soft & flakey) drain & dispose of milk. Add your fish to the bowl with potato & onion and mix through thoroughly with a fork. Add a tiny splash of lemon juice, bottled is fine.

5. Now you have a choice honeys, either form into small round patties and gently fry by adding a tiny amount of olive oil to a frying pan, turning after 4-5 minutes on a medium heat until browned on both sides OR you can do as I did which is to fetch a silicone muffin tray, lightly wipe inside with a little olive oil and then fill compartments.....

6. Place silicone muffin tray on a baking sheet and place in the middle shelf of a warm oven (160C/310-320F) until crispy & lightly browned on the top. Serve with your crunchy salad. When you remove them from the silicone muffin tray (I used a spoon) they'll look like this ....



Oh my were they delicious! Next time I try this I'll try adding some herbs, maybe dried oregano & basil.

So, that's it :) That was my little experiment in the kitchen. Any thoughts honeys? Have you made anything similar? If so, do let me know in the comments section below.  What's your favourite salad preparation method? What ingredients do you use? Is it a basic salad like mine or do you add extra goodies?  Have you a recipe on your blog? please leave a link? I love to cook and love trying new things.

Well, It's a little after 8am & time to go start my day. I hope you're having a great week & enjoying the sunshine. Till next time dear ones, sending heaps of hugs xx