Baked fish with potatoes and onions

Super easy is one way to describe this. Delicious is another. I have very strong and fond memories of my mum making this when we lived in Puerto Rico when I was a child.  I heard a friend of mine who does not like fish, utter a soft "mmmmmm" when she ate this.

1-2 Potatoes (any at hand, I used Yukon) cut into rounds
Fish: white fish is best such as cod or sea bass, but use what is fresh and what you like. Cut the fish into the serving sizes. This is a great way to make a clean, de-boned side of fish go further too by cutting across and then in half.
1-2 yellow onions (red would work too) sliced into rounds
Bay leaf for each piece of fish being prepared
Optional: Tomato, sliced. Make sure at least one slice per serving

Pre-heat oven to 375. Butter a pyrex or ceramic baking dish. Line the bottom with potato rounds. Loosely scatter the onion rounds over the potatoes. If using tomato slices, layer them next. Place a bay leaf per fish piece on top. Sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Place each piece of fish on top. Salt again lightly. Drizzle with olive oil. Whack in oven for 20-25 minutes until fish is cooked or even starting to brown on top.  Potatoes should be cooked through from the moisture of the onion, tomato and fish juices being absorbed in.  Serve with salad or other veggies such as beans or peas.

You can be inventive with this dish: sprinkle fresh herbs such as oregano, chives, sage in the layers of potato and onion. You can add a dash of stock or milk to add flavour into the potatoes that will absorb the liquid. Or you can go balls out and make a bechamel sauce enough to just cover the potato layer.

Turmeric potatoes with sweet chilis and onions

This dish is such a comfort food for any meal. I've had it as a stand alone for dinner with a salad, as a side with fish and it makes a great breakfast with eggs. It reheats well too, so it can be made the night and reheated stove top the morning of a brunch.  As always, servings and quantities vary based on taste and numbers eating, so don;t be afraid to embellish or adjust to your taste.


1-2 lbs Organic fingerling or yukon gold potatoes, washed and cut into 1/2 inch chunks. You can peel them, but I don't.
8-12 sweet chilis (from Asian or Latino markets. They are about 4" long), sliced crudely across the width
1-2 onions (Vidialias, sweet, white, whatever you fancy)
2-3 cloves chopped garlic
1 TBLSP ground turmeric
salt to taste
olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a heavy cast iron (or whatever you have) skillet pan. Add the potatoes, stirring to coat them with the oil. Cook and stir occasionally over a medium heat, keeping the potatoes from sticking to the pan, or of they do, make sure to scrape the browned bits off.  Potatoes should cook through in about 25 minutes.  You can put a lid on to trap the moisture and accelerate the cooking.

Add the onions, peppers and garlic. Incorporate well into the potatoes. When the onions are cooked through, add the turmeric and salt. Ready to serve!

Sweet potato, eggplant and chick pea tagine

I love meat but I don't eat it often and mostly when I go out. When I do, I try to eat organic. The smell of the ranch/slaughterhouse off I-5 near Pleasanton was enough to turn me off most everything available in the shops.

The kicker is that my boyfriend is mostly a vegetarian with fish the only critter he'll eat. 90% of the time he prefers all manner of salads, reluctantly tucking into cooked vegetables (he fears the loss of nutrients and benefits with cooking). So, that doesn't leave a lot of wiggle room if I am getting my cooking groove on, but this tagine evoked lots of "mmmm's in its eating, not just from him, but from other carnivores at a recent dinner party.

When it comes to savouries, I rarely stick to quantities as I rely largely on my palate and intuitive sense of balance, so take these quantities in stride and adapt to your taste.

4 sweet potatoes, cubed into 1/2" pieces
4 Japanese eggplants (no need to salt to drain liquid) cubed into 1/2" pieces
1 large white onion, chopped
2 cups chick peas. Prefer to use dried, soaked overnight, then boiled in salted water for 30-40 mins
2 carrots, chopped into 1/4" pieces
4-5 cloves (or more!) of minced garlic fresh ginger root, minced
1 TBsp cumin
1 stick of cinnamon
6-8 cardamom pods, toasted in pods, then seeds removed
10 coriander pods, toasted in pods
vegetable stock-up to 1 litre but may not need all of it
6- Chopped dates (use less if you're not so keen in them or replace with dried/fresh apricots)


In a large iron pot over heat enough olive oil to coat the bottom. Add sweet potatoes, onion and carrots. Saute till soft and onions cooked through. In a mortar and pestle, grind the cardamom and coriander seeds. Add to the pot with the garlic, ginger.Toss in the cinnamon stick (I have also used turmeric-optional). Add 3 cups of stock, but if depending on how many sweet potatoes and carrots you used, you may need to add more such that it is thick 'soup' vs. overly runny. Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes over medium heat.

Add the eggplant, chickpeas, dates, then simmer until it thickens and the liquid is absorbed forming a hearty thick stew consistency. I like to cook it early in the day until 10 minutes shy of done, so that it can take a few hours or even overnight, for the flavors to settle and come together. Then before serving, I finish it either on the stove or in the oven if I am also serving something that requires baking/roasting.

Optional: toasted almonds slices/pieces before serving. Great with couscous.