Jamie All Week

My mum’s a seafood gal. I hardly see her crave any other type of protein. As a child, my fantasy was always to eat a giant bloody steak with plenty of A1 instead of the steamed fish staple that always ended up on the dining table. In the same way I rebelled against her and got a tattoo, I tried to reject her influence over my culinary habits. Consequently, my body is permanently inked but devoid of necessary omega-3 fatty acids.

For her birthday, I decided that I’d indulge her with something oceanic for dinner. The least I could do considering she’s dealt with my bad attitude and bratty tantrums for almost 25 years now. The Jamie at Home cookbook had the perfect recipe: Roasted White Fish with Leeks, and Incredible Smashed Peas and Fava Beans on Toast to start.

I picked up some fresh fava beans and peas from the farmer’s market. Fava beans are in season now as they start to thrive in late spring, and the ones I purchased were robust, with each pod looking like the arm of a tiny, muscular man. The peas were just ok. Both of these podded beans have such distinct flavors that I was concerned about mixing the two, especially uncooked.

Jamie says to purchase a “white fish” and only suggests the “North Atlantic Cod” as an option. Seafood Watch told me to avoid the Atlantic cod (like whitefish or scrod) as it’s currently an endangered fish. I guess I could have just tried it’s brutha from anutha coast, but I naively purchased monkfish instead. I figured that since I’d be roasting the fish, a steakier variety would stand up to the cooking method. Little did I know that monkfish was also endangered. My conscience suffered a beating once I found this out later in the evening.

The recipe calls for a marinade that consisted of pulverized thyme, rosemary, bay leaf, sea salt, fresh lemon juice, and olive oil. It’s an incredibly easy way to dress fish, shrimp, chicken, and even pasta. I tossed the fish in the marinade, and surrounded it with steamed leeks, bacon, fresh rosemary, and thinly sliced lemons. Sitting in a pre-heated roasting dish, the fish sizzled slightly before I popped it in the oven and the fragrant citrus aroma wafted through my kitchen. While the fish was roasting, I dressed slices of toasted sourdough with the smashed peas and fava beans–which after being mixed with olive oil, lemon juice, mint, salt, and pecorino– tasted just like Spring or maybe just raw falafel.

Overall, this meal was fun and easy to put together, especially with all the right ingredients on hand. My mum was a bit confused by the smashed beans/peas and suggested that it tasted like “farm”, whatever that means. She liked the fish, but she’s genetically engineered to, remember? Kind of the same reason why she loves me no matter what–even if I drive a brand new Volkswagon Jetta into a transit bus (yes, that did happen but I was 16). This means, I can’t confirm if this was a successful attempt or not.

I guess mum and I will never really agree on everything but I’d say our contrasting palates is the least of my worries.



Shelled fresh peas and fava beans from the farmers market. Kind of a pain in the ass to shell.


Assorted herbs for lemony marinade and 7 oz. monkfish from Whole Foods.


Marinade after mauling (not the correct culinary term) the herbs with sea salt and drenching all of it in lemon juice and olive oil. Jamie says to do this until the salt “turns green”. I’m a very literal person and the salt never did get as Crayola green as I expected.


Monkfish getting ready for it’s hot tub soak.


The finished product in all it’s juicy bacon fat + lemony marinade glory!



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