Anya Bell
BAHons, Prekure - Health Coach, Nutritional Science
Ingredients
- 4 x Sea trout fillets (or swap for salmon or fresh water trout)
- 5cm fresh ginger root
- 4-5 garlic cloves
- sea salt
- 1 large fennel root including leaves
- juice of 2 lemons, slices of 1 lemon
- fresh wakame/seaweed
- butter
To Serve
- Baby potatoes
Instructions
1. Prepare the marinade
Crush the garlic cloves and peel and grate the ginger root. Combine the garlic and ginger in a small bowl with a large pinch of sea salt and approx 2 Tbsp lemon juice. Add oil to cover the ingredients and stir well to combine.
2. Baste the fish
Place a piece of fennel (leaves and stalk) on the bottom of an oven tray. Lay the fish fillets on top, skin side up. Baste the fish fillets on both sides generously with the marinade. Lay lemon slices on top. For best results leave for half an hour before grilling.
3. Prepare the fennel root
Slice the fennel root lengthwise into thin slices. Baste the bottom of an oven dish with the marinade and lay the fennel slices on top. Baste the top side of the fennel with more marinade and dot with butter. Transfer the lemon slices from the fish onto the fennel.
4. Roast the fennel
Place the fennel in a medium hot oven to roast for 20 minutes or until a sharp knife slides through the root easily.
5. Cook the Fish
The fish will take 5-10 minutes to cook so only start when the fennel is nearly done. Place in a medium hot oven to roast, allowing the last few minutes to be under a grill to crisp up the skin.
6. Ready to Serve
Serve the fish and roast fennel with steamed baby potatoes and wakame salad, or fresh green salad. Fresh, finely chopped fennel and parsley, and a little lemon dressing will make a great addition to this meal.
Recipe Notes
- Involve your children with basting the fish and veggies! Older children or adolescents can be in charge of making a salad.
- Family Style service: make all the components of the meal available to everyone to serve themselves in any order or quantity they prefer. Serving meals family style is a proven method for children to learn to eat a wider diet through positive mealtime experiences and autonomy.
- Both the fennel and the fish can be cooked on a BBQ.
- If you have left over marinade, turn it into a fresh, zesty dressing by adding a little apple cider vinegar and a generous pinch of finely chopped herbs.
Trout contains polyunsaturated fats — Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) which are known to have anti-inflammatory properties that can help protect against some neurological diseases.
To learn more about the different types of fats and understand the connection between our brain and fat, please see Diet and the Brain — Fats.
Anya has been feeding hungry learners for many years and her focus is on developing healthy, informed, responsible and positive relationships between children and their food and eating.
Anya has studied Nutrition, with a focus on children and adolescents, and through her work as a cook and nutrition advisor in the early learning space, she has been able to practice and teach positive eating relationships (University of Idaho and Ellyn Satter Institute) through a lens of Reggio Emilia and Te Whariki.
With a family of five, Anya focuses on humble, nourishing and sustainable family meals that are satisfying, tasty and don’t break the budget. Just as our great-grandparents once did.
Anya is currently developing menus and food education for Libelle Group. When she is not in the kitchen, browsing food ideas or reading cookbooks, Anya loves wandering in nature with her dog, Charlie.
You can find Anya at Anya Bell.
