What fish for family meals??!!

[Blimeyoreilly2020]

Am trying to get the family eating less red meat this year and would like to increase the amount of fish we eat. Currently do salmon once a week....when I look at other stuff it seems prohibitively expensive. Kids all like meaty white fish like hake/cod....does anyone have recommendations of alternatives that are less £££? Sorry, bit of a dull subject😄

Pollock is cheaper than other white fish.

Basa fish is cheaper than cod, I use it for 3 or 4 meals a week and it substitutes for cod pretty well

yy Basa is cheap!

Whatever fish you buy, frozen is cheaper than fresh. Maybe also mix it with vegetables in a curry or paella type dish so you can serve smaller portions than putting a piece of fish on a plate as the main part of the meal.

Fish pie is a good one as it's all off cuts

I use a pack of frozen prawns (£2) and a frozen fish pie mix (£2.50).

Have made it with frozen basa (£1.50) and smoked haddock (£1) too.

Makes a large fish pie. All aldi/lidl prices

I'm rubbish with fish unless it's prepared and coated with something! Once a week we have Lidl basa fillets with a herby crust (2 packs of 2, DD has fish fingers) . Still works out quite expensive for a meal as they are around £2 for 2, so those plus the fish fingers about £5.

I am a great cook except for fish, I have a bag of white fish (pollock?) in the freezer, plus tuna steaks, from when I wanted us to eat more fish, but no idea what to do with it and probably wouldn't like it if I did!

I find coley one of the better cheap white fish. It looks a bit greyer than cod or haddock but has a decent texture.

I get the frozen blocks, cut them up into bits about the size of a french fry while still frozen and do Chinese stir fry with veg and a sauce.

@netflixandmixedgrill

Fish pie is a good one as it's all off cuts

I use a pack of frozen prawns (£2) and a frozen fish pie mix (£2.50).

Have made it with frozen basa (£1.50) and smoked haddock (£1) too.

Makes a large fish pie. All aldi/lidl prices

Ha ha. Your post reminded me of something I was going to mention in my previous post about a comment on one of those 'home cooking is too expensive' threads where someone claimed that fish pie was too expensive to make from scratch because their idea of fish pie started with buying prime cod from the Waitrose fish counter at over £20 a kilo.

Of course it had never occurred to her to buy frozen from Aldi at about a quarter of the price.

www.countrylife.co.uk/food-drink/recipes/a-serious-fish-pie-recipe-with-some-fabulous-extra-surprises-for-extra-texture-and-taste-213895

This is so good. You can sub any of the fishes suggested for whatever's reduced at your shop. Leave out prawns. Use any old grated cheese on top. I mix in frozen peas rather than green beans, too.

Coley is cheap. I recommend cooking it in a coconut curry sauce (make the sauce then pop the fish in for 4-5 mins and serve with rice and sauté spinach)

@CatVsChristmasTree

My favourite thing to do with tuna steaks is marinade in ginger, soy and chilli and fry for a minute or two on each side so that it is cooked on the outside but not in the middle.

Then serve with noodles either as a vegetable stir fry, or if you are a classy bird like me, just prepare your favourite packet instant noodles and plonk to the seared tuna on top. Garnish with spring onions if you are making at least some effort.

@BarbaraofSeville Ha! It's a family favourite in our house and I quite enjoy cooking it. Even with my cheapskate frozen fish!🤣

Bag of frozen white fish, wrapped up in a baking paper parcel with lemon, dill and salt and pepper. Bake and serve with new potatoes and green veg. Easy peasy and one of my kids favourite meals.

Smoked haddock in a gratin or kedgeree goes a bit further.
Or Lidl chunky smoked salmon cooked with pasta and a sauce. We splash out on decent prawns every month or so.

If only they’d eat fish pie!!! Despite all eating fish, cheese sauce and baked potatoes putting the 3 together is the work of Satan in their eyes🙄🤬🙈.... Thank you for all the responses - will get check out the frozen section and try pollock/Basa/coley. Hadn’t thought of kedgeree but they all eat jambalaya and it’s not too much of a leap from that, will definitely give it a go!

Cod parmigiana is really tasty. Goes down well in this house - could trade out the cod for any white fish (I do) just follow the same recipe.

www.skinnytaste.com/baked-chicken-parmesan/

I put frozen white fish into Thai green curry, bulked out with whatever veg is to hand (usually broccoli, pepper and courgette, maybe sugar snap peas, spinach or baby corn if I'm feeling fancy ), goes down a treat.

Sardines are my favourite fish and also pretty cheap. We often have them with spaghetti or grilled (fresh sardines, not tinned although I like those too). We also often have clams which are not too expensive (at least where we live, not sure in the UK!)

Ooh yes, sardines! Tinned sardines mashed with cream cheese and black pepper stirred through pasta or on toast. Yum!

Fish soups are a good way for using cheaper types of fish, as the soup ingredients add flavour and colour.

Try a Provençal style soup with tomatoes, grated carrot, chopped peppers and a few olives to garnish, or serve with warmed olive bread.
Or a hearty fish chowder with potatoes, leeks and sweetcorn (or left over broccoli or green beans) is tasty and warming on a cold winter day.

Fish and rice are a great combination, serve fried or baked fish on top of a simple pea or broad bean risotto, or make a colourful mixed fish paella and pretend that you are in Sunny Spain!

Tinned tuna, sweet potato and chilli fish cakes are cheap and delicious.
Also tuna pasta bake.

Fingers.
Obviously they're the best.
I like them in a wrap with salad. Like the crispy chicken wraps McDonalds do but with fish fingers.
Mmmmm....

Have you tried giving them fishcakes?

Dead easy to make and you can vary the ingredients (tinned tuna, mackerel, frozen white fish, prawns, salmon) depending on your budget.

Use up any leftover bread and make your own breadcrumbs.

An easy way to sneak in some veg too.

This fish, tomato and pasta one-pot recipe is a hit in my house. It's very quick. www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/20minute-seafood-pasta

I buy fillets of flat fish (sea bass or sea bream), dip them in seasoned cornflour and fry them until they are crisp and golden. Served with steamed veg and sweet potato fries. About £10 for 6 fillets at Waitrose or £7 for the same at Aldi.