We had this for dinner last night – what a lovely change after all the festive overindulgence….

This recipe is great with fillets of lemon sole or monkfish.  You could also use cod or hake though these do have a tendancy to break up more easily (so don’t stir during cooking or they will go to mush).   Thai Curry paste from Western companies like Sharwoods is less hot then that from Asian shops so choose whatever you prefer.   This recipe is also good made with shelled king prawns which can be cooked from frozen (but don’t cook for more than a few minutes or they will become tough!).

For two:

2 medium white fish fillets (about 130-150g each), skinned and cut into bite sized cubes
1 large onion, roughly chopped or a bunch of spring onions, cut in 2cm lengths
200g frozen peas (for alternative, using courgettes, see below)
2 cloves garlic, crushed or chopped
2-3 teaspoons Thai green curry paste (or yellow/red if you don’t have green)
1 small tin coconut milk (165ml tin from Asian shops/good supermarkets)
Juice of 1 small lime (or use the juice of half a lemon)
2-3 heaped tablespoons chopped fresh coriander if you have it
Optional: 1 dsp of Thai fish sauce

1. In a wide bottomed saucepan or frying pan on a medium heat mix the coconut milk, curry paste, and fish sauce if using, and stir until smooth
2. Add the onion and cook, covered, till softened (about 8-10 mins for white onions, about 3 minutes for spring onions).
3. Add the garlic, peas (breaking the lumps up), courgette if using, and fish to the mix in the pan and stir well to coat everything in sauce.  If the mixture looks a little less saucy then you would like or looks like drying out, add a tablespoon of water (the fish will give off liquid during the cooking too).
4. Cover with a lid or a plate simmer for about 5 minutes until the fish is opaque.
5. Squeeze over the lime (or lemon) juice, and sprinkle on the coriander.

Serve with:
Low carb or SC Diet: https://annacollins.ie/cauliflower-rice/
OR
Grains (not suitable for SC Diet):
Brown basmati or long-grain rice cooked with ½ teaspoon of turmeric to give a beautiful golden colour.
100% buckwheat noodles (Health stores/Asian shops)

Variation:
We ran out of peas the other night and used a couple of large courgettes instead.  Sliced into 1cm disks and added 5 mins after the onions, they are delicious too.

Ketogenic diet option:
Avoid using the peas and instead use courgettes, and don’t use rice or noodles instead.  As a cheat, you could use “zero” or “slim” noodles from Asian shops or health stores, which are made from konjac.  Konjac helps feed good bacteria in your gut, which can aid weight loss.  Konjac is not absorbed or digested by your body, so they effectively have zero calories!!

Why this is good for you:
Herbs, spices (in curry paste) and garlic give a huge boost to your health, helping detoxification, reducing inflammation and delaying ageing (great news for any of us over 30!).  If you want beautiful, clear skin and a healthy digestive system, cooking daily with herbs, garlic and spices is a winner.  All green vegetables are rich in magnesium, which also helps us to relax, sleep well and feel upbeat.  Coconut milk is high in good fats called medium chain triglycerides which are great for energy, being burned off by your body instead of being stored in fat cells.  Coconut also contains lauric acid and caprylic acid, both of which help prevent excessive yeasts and “bad” bacteria in your gut.   Coriander helps bind (and safely remove) toxins in your digestive system, especially mercury which you ingest (every time you eat) if you have old-fashioned silver-coloured dental fillings.   Cooking at low temperatures like this (100C or less), instead of frying or roasting, keeps more nutrients in your food too.