Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Breaded or Battered Fish - You Choose

A week or so ago, dear friends from Montreal were in town for the day - a stop on their "Cruise to Nowhere", as they called it, because, due to rough seas, they couldn't stop at Sydney, NS or Charlottetown PE. Fortunately for me, they did get to spend the day in Halifax. And we did the usual tourist tour of Harbour and Historic Properties.

What would a trip to Halifax be without some tasty Fish & Chips. And so the debate...battered or breaded (or as many of my Aussie friends call it "crumbed")? As many a good tourist will do, they asked a local who recommended Fredie's Fantastic Fish House, just outside the city proper in Bayer's Lake. Fantastic it was. Although mostly a take out place, we did sit at tall stools at a counter to munch ours...it was raining, so not the day for sitting at the outdoor table or having a picnic. The verdict...pretty fantastic - crispy crust, juicy fish, not greasy and served with great fries.
And for those of you who like your fish breaded, or crumbed as they say Down Under, then when you visit Halifax you must check out Phil's Fish & Chips, a frequent winner of The Coast's Best Of Awards. It was always our first stop when visiting Joanna and now a frequent stop even when we're not showing tourists around.

The truth is, I like my fish both ways, but when cooking at home, I prefer a healthy baked version like these Pecan Breaded & Baked Haddock fillets.

And because, I'm hosting this week's Presto Pasta Nights, I figured I should do some healthy pasta dish to accompany it. The Risi e Bisi Couscous name comes from one of the magazines I've been culling for our move - SmartCarb Cooking, January 2005, but the recipe is my own. I just couldn't resist the "risi e bisi" that just sings a happy tune (at least it does in my head). I used whole wheat couscous and added lots of fresh mint, lemon juice & zest. It was perfect to accompany the fish and would be equally wonderful as part of a picnic lunch.

So...two questions....1) Are you a batter or breading person? and 2) What pasta dish will you be sharing with Presto Pasta Night this week? Just send your link to ruth (at) 4everykitchen (dot) com by Thursday night so I can include it in Friday's roundup. And if you don't have a blog, just send the recipe in an email, and I'll include it right here.

3 comments:

Kirsten Lindquist said...

I go both ways, batter fried and baked, depends on how my clothes are fitting at the moment!

Valerie Harrison (bellini) said...

Mom and dad have been in the Lake Distruc in Britain for the past 3 weeks and have been served only frozen fries...they are hoping that further inland it get's netter since it is not what they remember.

Ruth Daniels said...

Kirsten, I know exactly what you mean.

Val, it's been ages sinceI've been to Britain and I don't remember frozen either. Fingers crossed they find the real deal.