Recipe kindly shared by Gail @gailsnutrition ….
We make these regularly for us all and let the kids pick the bits they want. They all eat the rice and the girls like the fish sometimes. They use their wraps to scoop everything in.
Adding the beans to the rice makes it a perfect complete meal for kids so even if they don’t want anything else I can rest assured they’ve eaten a good dinner and we get to enjoy the rest!
MEXICAN RICE
1 cup long grain rice, washed well
½ tomato passata
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 white onion, diced
1 heaped tsp cumin
Juice ½ lime
30g coriander – remove leaves from stalks. Finely dice the stalks.
400ml approx. of chicken/vegetable stock
Optional:
1 small tin sweetcorn
½ tin black beans
Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and sweat for 5/6
minutes or until softened and translucent (you don’t want it to brown). Then add the garlic and
coriander stalks, cook through for a minute before adding the cumin powder. Cook for another
minute to release its flavour and coat the onion and garlic.
Add the rice and stir through to combine.
Pour in the tomato passata and chicken/vegetable stock, bring the pot to the boil, then reduce heat
to a simmer and cover for 20 minutes or so.
Stir regularly to avoid it sticking.
Once the rice is cooked through and soft, stir through chopped coriander leaves (sweetcorn and
blackbeans at this time too if you like!) and squeeze in the lime juice. Toss it all through the rice well.
Season with salt and chilli at the end if you like – we don’t use either as the kids all eat this. I also use
low salt stock cubes or our own chicken stock with no added salt.
MANGO AND AVOCADO SALSA
1 large mango, remove skin, dice
3 avocados, remove skin, dice
½ red onion, finely dice
1cup (1/4) red cabbage, thinly sliced and roughly chopped
Coriander, finely chop
4 tbsp jalapenos, dice
Juice 1 lemon
In a large bowl, combine all the above for the perfect accompaniment to any Mexican dinner! This works really well with the lightly seasoned hake, a little Mexican rice and served in soft flour wraps or hard shell tacos.
CUMIN AND LIME HAKE
This is the rub I use on the hake. Coat the fish in this while you’re prepping the rice and salsa. Then at the last minute prepare your fish.
Per large fillet of hake:
1 tsp cumin
Rind of 1/2 lime
Pinch of sea salt
Drizzle of oil
¼ tsp smoked paprika
Squeeze of lime juice
Mix all the above in a small bowl. Smother the fish with it and allow to marinade while you prep the
rest of your dishes. Then, when ready, in a pan on medium heat, drizzle 1 tbsp of oil, place your fish skin side down and time for 3 minutes. (If it’s a very thick piece hake this will take longer)
After 3 minutes, gently turn your fish and continue to cook for a further 3-3.5 minutes. Once the time is up, check that fish flakes off and it should be ready to go. I like to squeeze a little bit more lime juice right at the end and the fish stays so moist.
Serve immediately with the rice and salsa.
We always get our hake in @supervalu, its also one of the cheapest fish to get so great when you’re feeding a big gang! Cooks in minutes too.
