Still searching for the elusive Chipotle

Tried Sainsburys this time but still no sign of the elusive Chipotle Chillies which have previously featured on the Giraffe ingreedients list and did so again today in Smoked Haddock & Salmon Fishcakes with Chipotle Veggie Slaw - Page 126.  Not liking the inclusion of difficult/impossible to find things - thats chipotle chilli and mouli that I'm on the hunt for now.  Please let me know if and where you spot them!

So on with the fishcakes...  I was in a bit of a rush to make these which wasn't a good start as it meant the mash and fish were still warm when I was trying to make the cakes.  Would have been much easier to work with if I'd planned ahead a bit and been able to let the mix cool and/or let the formed fishcakes cool before cooking.  Again I used my trusty Burger Maker from Lakeland to form the cakes - I got 9 from the mix. (and have 2 left to have with a poached egg for my breakfast tomorrow!)

Clearly my Chipotle Slaw wasn't ever going to live up to its name given the elusive vital ingreedient.  So I kinda gave up on their whole coleslaw recipie and did my own thang with mayo, cabbage, carrots, iceberg, corriander and bog standard red chilli.  I did add a splash of  the specified Worcestershire Sauce which gave it a nice kick.

The instructions said to saute the cakes until just browned then finish off in the oven for 20 mins to heat through.  I just cooked them completely in the frying pan which worked just fine.  Some did fall apart/crack a wee bit as a result of the lack of cooling. Girl cleared her plate and asked me to make them again - clearly she didn't even contemplate trying the coleslaw but had hers with baked beans and her own special mixture of mayo/ketchup/BBQ sauce!  Boy and Mr made suitably appreciative noises.  I thought they were a bit middle of the road.  Quite heavy on the lemon and sweetcorn but I could be co-erced into making them again.

I feel a wee bit guilty about doing a recipie with both salmon and cod having watched and been shocked by Hugh's Fish Fight last week.  If you watched you'll already know that Half of all the fish caught in the North Sea are thrown back overboard DEAD.  This is an insane waste so please sign up to help try and stop it http://www.fishfight.net/  In my own personal defence I was inspired by HFW to cook Mackerel for the first time ever last night and will definately be doing so again.  Give this recipie a try Devilled Mackerel with Potatoes & Spinach its nicer and less faf than the fishcakes!

Marinate overnight if possible - doh!

I should really read recipies more carefully beforehand as this isn't the first (and will undoubtedly not be the last) time that I get caught out with this. Oh well the Grilled Chicken Tacos with Fresh Orange Salsa - Page 103 - had nearly 2 hours of marinating time.  I'm sure thats overnight in some time zone. 

The marinade called for chipotle chillies and Tesco didn't have them - apparently they have a more gentle smokey flavour.  Will keep an eye out for them for future but for now bog standard red chilli.  As for the salsa it called for an orange seperated into segments.  Now me and segmenting oranges clearly don't go and I now have a fetching Peppa Pig plaster on my middle finger - cut finger & citrus juice & chilli - OUCH!  Even Peppa & George aren't managing to kiss it better.  If only it were as simple as the tap and unwrap of Terry's.  There's none of that pith and membrane when Dawn French tucks in.

So here's the finished article. There was supposed to be gucamole in the bottom of the taco (but I didn't make any/forgot/couldn't be bothered) then iceberg, then chicken, then salsa.  Girl had taco and chicken (with the bits of chilli picked off).  Boy refused the salsa but ate the rest. Mr ate it all (he knows which side his bread is buttered on)

Not sure I'd bother making it again.  Chicken itself was nice - basically marinaded in OJ, honey, chilli, S&P then grilled.  But the salsa wasn't all that special although the oranges did cut nicely through the chilli - or perhaps that was the blood!  Gucamole might have helped - seemed a bit dry. I served it with Jamie Olivers Rice & Peas from the 30 minute meals book. Its quickly become one of my staple side dishes and the leftovers are fab cold - it I will be making again and again.