Baked Fish and Kale that doesn’t suck!

Gluten-free | Sugar-free | Dairy-free 

Serves 2

Why it’s delicious

Hot off the heels of my live cooking video so aptly entitled- how to cook kale so it doesn’t suck, I decided to dive deeper into the depths of cooking kale to see if we can take this kale thing one step further into the realms of deliciousness. 

Introducing mashed kale. Before I go overboard on how awesome kale is when mashed through another mashable vegetable, I will just say for the record, Try it. You will not be disappointed. 

Helpful hints and tips

In this recipe I introduce my healthy furikake seasoning, which is a popular Japanese rice seasoning that comes in many flavours , usually including lots of sugar. In my recipe I keep it simple, full of healthy goodness and very easy to make. Sprinkle it on fish, vegetables and salads to give a HUGE flavour boost. 

I used an air fryer to cook my fish to perfection, but you could also bake it in the oven set on 180C (350F) for 8-14 minutes or until the flesh naturally flakes away when prodded with a fork.

This recipe requires Bridget's Sticky Sauce, a healthy cooking sauce I use in many of my recipes. It's simple, healthy and packs a lot of flavour without adding unnecessary calories. If you need the recipe, you can get it here.

Ingredients

Furikake Seasoning 

• 2 nori sheets
• 4 tbsp white sesame seeds 
• 2 tbsp black sesame seeds or poppy seeds
• 1 tbsp wakame pieces
• 2 tsp mineral salt like Himalayan

• 400 g (14 oz) sweet potato, swede (rutabaga), celeriac, cauliflower or broccoli, cut into small cubes or florets
• Mineral salt like Himalayan 
• 1 large bunch of kale, washed and leaves removed from the stalks
• ½ tsp baking soda
• Freshly milled black pepper
• 2 x 150 g (4.4 oz) firm white fish fillet like snapper, barramundi, cod or perch
• 2 tbsp Bridget's Sticky Sauce
• 2 tbsp Furikake seasoning, ingredients above 
• 4 tbsp coconut milk

Method

Furikake seasoning

1. Heat a heavy bottomed frying pan on medium to high heat. When you can see a light haze coming from the pan add a sheet of nori and cook for a minute or so, flipping often until it darkens in colour and becomes crispy. 
2. Repeat with the other nori sheet and then using clean hands, break up roughly into smaller pieces. 
3. Turn the frying pan down to medium and add 2 tablespoons of sesame seeds and toast until golden, keeping an eye on them as they can burn quickly. 
4. Into the bowl of a small food processor add the toasted sesame seeds, broken nori, raw and black sesame seeds, wakame and salt and grind until the mixture is broken down into small sprinkle-like pieces. 
5. Allow the mixture to cool completely before storing in an airtight container or jar in the pantry for up to 1 month. 

For the mash

1. Place the sweet potato, swede or your chosen vegetable into a large pot and add enough warm water to cover the vegetables. Sprinkle with a teaspoon of salt and bring to the boil. Reduce the pot down to a gentle boil and cook until almost tender. 
2. Add the baking soda to the pot along with the kale and cook the kale for 3-5 minutes or until very soft. Drain the water from the pot well and season with salt and pepper. Using a handheld stick blender or food processor, mash the vegetables together until well combined but not a puree. You want a little bit of substance in the mix, so not too smooth. 
3. Taste the mash for flavour, adding more seasoning if required and set aside and keep the mash warm while you cook the fish. 

For the fish

1. Preheat your air fryer on 180C (350F) for 2 minutes or see above for oven instructions. 
2. Brush the sticky sauce onto the top of the fish fillets and lay the fish onto the air fryer rack and cook for 7-10 minutes or until the fish is golden on top and flakes easily when prodded with a fork. 
3. Add mash to a plate and make a swirl in the mash with some of the coconut milk. You don’t have to mix the milk, it's nice when it's gently swirled through. Top with the fish and sprinkle over some of the Furikake seasoning before serving.