According to GoodFood, the bake is perfect for midweek winter nights. Given the weather we have been having lately I figured it was perfect for a midweek winter night in May 2012!
Most of the pasta bake recipes that I've come across have cheese in them. My husband refuses to eat cheese or any sort (apparently it's slimy and they all taste the same - go figure!) so I was delighted when I came across this recipe for a pasta bake with no cheese in it.
Don't forget to remove any bones you find in the mackerel - the recipe doesn't mention this, but it is especially important if you are going to be giving it to small children.
Alterations
The biggest alteration I made was that I used fusilli instead of penne. I used slightly more pasta than the recipe calls for - 200g instead of 175g. I used an extra leek and 3 smoked mackerel fillets.
Using the extra ingredients meant that I had enough to do dinner tonight, a lunch tomorrow and two dinners for the freezer for my baby. I didn't give the baby any capers as I wasn't sure how these would go down. My daughter ate one and was not impressed!!
Cost
It is difficult for me to work out the cost of the bake as I no longer have the receipt for the mackerel. I got it in aldi and from memory it was around €1.70. The leeks were €1.99, the pasta was 30 cent, the crème fraîche was €1.30 and I have allowed 50 cent for the butter, capers and breadcrumbs. The total cost of the bake €5.79.
I picked up a pack of smoked mackerel reduced to €1.10 in Dunnes planning to use it for a lunch but then I saw your blog entry and so I got some leeks and creme fraiche, didn't bother with capers as we aren't fond of them, total cost about €4. Well we had it for dinner tonight and it was very quick and simple to make. Clear plates all round!! Delicious!!
ReplyDeleteI'll be leaving out the capers next time too I think. Glad you found the entry useful and were able to make the dinner so cheaply. I'll be looking out for reduced fish from now on!!
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