Good Friday Fish Supper

Since this is the first year that I can recall not having spent Easter with my family and thus planning a large Easter supper, wife and I decided to mix things up a bit and have a very small Good Friday supper with one other friend and a Holy Saturday brunch! Yes I know it's not time to celebrate yet, but it definitely is becoming something like a long food vigil of cooking my way towards Easter.

Friday's fish supper ended up including: Newfie salt fish cakes (salt fish, mashed potato, & onions fried up in delectable patties) courtesy of M., roasted cauliflower tossed with lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic and Cajun spices, fish in spicy coconut cream sauce, bakes, and homemade mango cardamom ice cream. Suffice to say, the meal started around 6pm and didn't end til about 11:45pm. And yes we could have fed about 6 other people.

I'm most excited to share about the fish in spicy coconut cream sauce because a) the sauce is amazing and b) it came in the most lovely homemade cookbook that one of our friends sent us as a Christmas present last year. Although this dish is made with fish, this sauce would be incredible served over any assortment of vegetables, tofu, and/or rice! I also have to share about the bakes because a) they're Guyanese and b) they're a type of fried bread - who doesn't love fried bread?? Thanks N. for introducing me to bakes! oh yes and c) because I'm afraid of frying things in lots of oil, so I am working on conquering this particular fear!

Bakes (makes about 30-40 bakes; cut the recipe in half to serve 2-3 people)
4 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 c. sugar (can reduce down to 1/4 c. sugar)
1/2 tsp salt
3-4 Tbs margarine
1/4 - 1/2 c. water
canola oil

1. Mix the dry ingredients together and cut in the margarine (can use your hands if you want).
2. Add water, starting with 1/4 c. and mix. Continue adding water until you have a stiff, soft dough that sticks together. (if you end up adding more than 1/2 c., it's probably okay. I just kept adding water until it seemed dough-like).
3. Knead the dough for a couple of minutes until smooth, but not too soft.
4. Let sit for 30-45 min.
5. Roll out on a floured surface into a rectangle 1/2" thick.
6. Cut into squares, rectangles, or triangles, as your heart desires. Piece size should be no bigger than 2" x 4".
7. Heat canola or veggie oil in a cast iron pan on med-high heat (~ 1/4" deep). Fry bakes til dark golden brown on each side.

Fish in Spicy Coconut Cream (serves 4-6)
2 tsp canola oil
3-4 cloves garlic, crushed
2- 3 Tbs minced fresh ginger
2 small red chillies, thinly sliced (can use dried chillies)
1 1/2 c. veggie stock
400 mL can coconut milk
1 tsp - 1 Tbs fish sauce*
1/2 tsp turmeric*
1 stick fresh lemon grass, beaten, and chopped into pieces
Juice of 1 lime
1 Tbs tamarind paste*
1/4 c. panela (or palm sugar, raw sugar, etc. even brown sugar)*
4 - 6 white fish fillets (a firm fish like cod or tilapia)
2 green onions, thinly sliced 

*all starred ingredients were added to taste but not carefully measured. Remember you can start small and always add more but you can't undo too much turmeric or fish sauce!

1. Heat oil in a big wok or frying pan (BIG). Add garlic, ginger, and chili, frying until fragrant.
2. Add stock. coconut milk, fish sauce, turmeric, lemon grass, lime juice, tamarind paste, and panela, bringing to a boil. Let simmer for 10-15 min, tasting and adjusting as flavors as needed.
3. Add fish fillets, reduce heat and simmer, covered, until fish is cooked (about 6-10 min depending on the size of the fillets). Don't overcook the fish!
4. Add the green onions to the sauce (or just add as garnish on top) and serve the fish and broth over rice.