How many of us are salivating while dreaming of that potential weekend takeaway?
Yes, they’re just too good to resist sometimes, but then we have to deal with a little bit of guilt and parting with our hard-earned cash. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
Why not have the best of both worlds? Eat a healthy, nutritious takeaway that tastes fantastic and know that there shan’t be any issue fitting into our favourite jeans.
Too good to be true? Never. Adrian Martin, from RTÉ’s Fakeaway and Chef Adrian Eats Ireland, has come to the rescue of many a fast food eater. His new recipe book, aptly named Fakeaway, is packed with delicious bites and treats – easy to make and your dinner will have been an absolute bargain.
The recipes are all so simple and tasty we’ve decided to share yet another with you. After the Pimped-Up Burgers and the crispy Buffalo Wings, this mouth-watering Indian dish is bound to have you feeling famished until you give it a try. Chef Adrian gives us the Tandoori Halibut with Raita.
Enjoy!
My first memory of halibut is a whole fish that was the same height as me, which we had delivered while I was working in the MacNean House restaurant. Three of us had to lift it, but I got to fillet it. Here’s a tandoori version with a classic raita. This paste also works great with chicken.
Serves 4
For the paste:
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons garam masala
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon hot chilli powder
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 tablespoon tomato purée
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
A large piece of root ginger, finely grated
For the halibut:
4 halibut fillets (about 150g each), skinned
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon caster sugar
3 tablespoons natural yoghurt
For the raita:
2 cucumbers, peeled
3–4 tablespoons natural yoghurt
Mint leaves, chopped
Juice of ½ lime
1. To make the paste, start by toasting the cumin and coriander seeds in a frying pan until fragrant. Tip them into a pestle and mortar and grind into a powder. Mix in all the other ingredients and stir until you have a smooth paste.
2. Preheat the oven to 200ºC/400ºF/gas mark 6.
3. Place the halibut fillets on a plate. Mix the curry paste with one tablespoon of olive oil and the sugar. Add the yoghurt and stir well. Coat the halibut fillets with the spiced yoghurt mixture and set aside.
4. To make the raita, cut the cucumbers lengthways, using a vegetable peeler, into long wide strips, avoiding the seeds in the middle. Mix with the yoghurt, chopped mint and lime juice to taste.
5. Heat an ovenproof pan over a medium to high heat and add the remaining olive oil. Scrape off and reserve the excess marinade from the fish. When the pan is hot, place the halibut fillets into it. Sear for 1–1½ minutes on each side until golden brown.
6. Spoon the reserved marinade over the fish and place the pan in the oven for a few minutes to finish cooking the fish. Spoon the raita onto warm plates and then serve the halibut on top. Drizzle with the pan juices and serve.
