Gordon Ramsay's Menu -- Light and Healthy - Pan-Fried Hake with Tomato Relish -- Blueberries with Honey, Almonds and Yogurt

This menu was entitled "Light and Healthy" by Ramsay . And you know, it was. It was a very nice summer dish. I had a few glitches, however.

Does anyone know where to buy Hake? This was another dish where I needed to make a substitution. According to internet research, two suitable substitutions for hake are Boston Ling and Cod. I didn't have time to travel all around the city of Cleveland looking for reputable fish mongers, though I believe there are a few. Not to mention, I do have a budget. One that has been seriously put under stress by three vet visits in three months (one of them to an emergency room) for my cat, a fallen tree, my new gym membership, and the upcoming school-year tuition for the boys. [** sigh **]

So, I opted for the cod. Big mistake.

Can you see in the photograph of the book the beautiful fillet of fish? -- Keep that image in your mind when you get to the bottom of this post.

Cod, salt and pepper, olive oil, scallions, cilantro, thyme, white wine vinegar, and grape tomatoes (his recipe called for cherry tomatoes, but believe it or not -- the sucky Giant Eagle didn't have any and my tomato plant just isn't bearing fruit yet) .

This was actually very nice cod.

The tomatoes were tossed with the scallions, cilantro and thyme.

Then sauteed in a bit of olive oil and finished off with a splash of white wine vinegar

The fish. Hrumph. Place the oil in the pan and put the fish on top. Then heat the pan slowly. Gradually increase the heat. Well, I forgot to compare my fish to his. His was a nice thick slice. Mine were little skinny things. I didn't adjust my cook time. I was distracted by the boys playing in the backyard.

My fish overcooked and stuck to the pan.

I was very disappointed in my presentation to say the least.

Spoon the tomato relish on the plate and top with the fish. Or rather, scatter the fish all over the plate and serve.

My fish looked crappy, but it didn't affect the flavor one bit. It was light and refreshing. I didn't think I'd like the tomatoes (I'm not a big fan of cooked tomatoes), but it really went well together. I wish I had made more. Even my almost 4-year old twins liked it. They finished all of their fish and about half of the tomato relish. They just didn't like the skins on the tomatoes.

And then there was dessert.

Blueberries, honey, plain yogurt, toasted almonds.

Carefully toasted almonds. (I have a bad track record when it comes to toasting nuts. I always end up burning them - but not this time.)

Actually, there wasn't much to take pictures of. Mix the honey and yogurt together. Fold in blueberries and chill while you eat dinner. Put in serving bowls and top with the toasted almonds.

I should have had more blueberries in there, but while I was at work that day, my in-laws watched the kids and opened up my blueberry clamshell and let the boys snack, not knowing that those blueberries were for dinner. Oh, well. The dessert was really nice. The honey mixed into the plain yogurt was the perfect touch.

This dessert seemed like it could be the base of something more, though. The crunchy almonds were good, but a brown sugar and oat crumble would have been really good. Even a sprinkling of granola. Ramsay suggests this dessert could be a very good breakfast, as well. He's right. This dessert certainly caused our dinner to end on a high note.

From beginning to end? 35 minutes. Now, that's what I'm talking about.

"Pan-Fried Hake with Tomato Relish, and Blueberries with Honey, Almonds and Yogurt ... Done."