Good Friday Fish and Easter Egg Breakfast

Easter, 2014

We are looking forward to Easter this year. The weather has warmed up. The snow – all 10 feet of it – has melted in our front yard. The ground is soggy and wet and just perfect. Everything seems perfect when the sun comes out. The random crocuses popping out make the heart happy. We waited for so long to see the very beginning of summer. This year Easter brought us spring. I hope you have a joyous time too!

I have two suggestions:  a Good Friday supper of fish and an easy Easter Breakfast. Fresh herring is in abundance at present in our grocery stores and I could not pass up using the fresh catch. Herring can be substituted with any other similar fish of your choice. If you have never had herring before, make sure you are armed with a magnifying glass, a tweezer, and at least an hour or two set aside for supper. They are notorious, but once you get past the million bones you are in for a real treat. Trust me.

The oatmeal pancakes were inspired by Meeta K Wolff’s post on her blog, What’s for Lunch Honey?. I loved how she dressed her cupcakes – a perfect Easter-time treat for little ones. My little girl loved playing with the halved peaches and sprinkling ‘pepper’ on her pancake. If you haven’t yet planned your breakfast for Easter, here’s an easy solution that is just too cute to pass up!

Good Friday Fish and Potatoes

• Fried Herring with Basil, Chili and Garlic Oil
• Warm Tossed Potato Salad with Red Onion and Cherry Tomatoes in Hot Mustard and Mayo

For the Potatoes:

• Baby Potatoes: 20, boiled but not peeled, halved
• Cherry Tomatoes: 10, halved
• Red Onion: 1 small, in thick slices
• Olive Oil: 2 Tbsp
• English Mustard Whole: 2 Tbsp
• Mayo: 2 Tbsp

Directions:

• Heat oil in pan. When the oil is smoking hot, take pan off heat and quickly add the mustard and red onion slices. Stir until Onions turn slightly in colour.
• Add the halved potatoes, cherry tomatoes and mayo and stir to combine.
• Serve immediately.

 

For the Fish:

• Fresh Herring: 6, cleaned and washed (or any other similar fish)
• Oilve Oil: 1/4 cup + more for frying
• Fresh Basil: 1 cup
• Red Chilli: 4
• Garlic: 5-6 cloves, peeled
• Salt: 1 and 1/2 tsp
• Lemon: 1, halved

Directons:

• Sprinkle salt on both sides of the cleaned fish and let sit in fridge for half hour.
• Blot the fish with kitchen towel to dry out the skin before frying.
• In a small grinder, add the 1/4 cup olive oil, basil, chilli, garlic and 1/4 tsp salt, and pulse till the ingredients break down but still remain chunky.
• Heat oil in frying pan and fry fish 2 minutes a side.
• When all fish has been fried, set them aside.
• In the same pan and oil, add half of the basil mixture and heat till for a minute or two.
• Now place the fried fish and finish cooking the fish till done.
• To serve, squeeze fresh lemon juice and add more the rest of the basil mixture on top.

 

Easter Breakfast  – Oatmeal Pancakes with Strained Yogurt and Peaches

(Makes 8 pancakes)

Ingredients

• Quick Oats: 1 cup
• All purpose flour: 1/2 cup
• Eggs: 1
• Buttermilk: 2/3 cup
• Salt: 1/4 tsp
• Sugar: 2 Tbsp
• Baking soda: 1/2 tsp
• Baking powder: 1/2 tsp
• Vanilla: 1/2 tsp
• Butter: 2 Tbsp melted
• Butter/Oil: for frying

Topping

• Vanilla/Plain yogurt: 3 cups
• Canned peaches: 8 halves
• Crushed Vanilla Bean, or black sugar or crushed black liquorice: for sprinkling to mimic ground pepper

Directions

• Strain yogurt for an hour to thicken. Reserve the liquid if you prefer using it instead of buttermilk for the pancakes.
• In a food processor all all ingredients for pancakes except for the oil/butter for frying and mix until very smooth.
• Let the mixture rest for 15 minutes.
• Heat butter/oil in pan, and pour 1/4 cup batter and let fry in medium heat till bubbles form on the pancakes. Flip and fry till done.
• Whip the strained yogurt till smooth.
• To prepare the peaches, drain the liquid and slice a portion from top, the size of a yolk. You might be able to find small canned peaches.
• To assemble: Spread a few tablespoons of yogurt on top of a pancake and place a sliced peach half on top.
• Sprinkle some crushed vanilla bean, or black sugar or crushed black liquorice on top and serve.

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