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😄

Rainbow trout was my fave as a kid. Or smoked haddock.

Mine love homemade fishcakes with smoked haddock. During lockdowns I discovered the fish van stops right outside our house weekly - bloody expensive though!

kedgeree - just lovely - Also a smoked fish with baked potatoes

I usually keep a few decent fishcakes in the freezer ( so not as good as @UpShutTheFuck for making her own ( though I have done this ) for a half decent meal - some veg / salad - steamed broccoli , peas , possibly coleslaw tartare sauce anyway - this is a staple in this house.

the breaded kind

As other posters said that frozen is cheaper and often fresher that the fish you buy at fish counters in the supermarket fish counter.

I make my own fish fingers or if I am using a very bland fish I do a mustard and cheese topping in it. You could try white fish baked in a tomato,.olives, peper sauce.

My local fish shop do a fish pie pack daily that I often use to make a seafood curry/ seafood lasagne/seafood nuggets. They are inexpensive as it is the trimmings. Maybe try doing deconstructed fish pies for a while. Fish, boiled eggs if you put them in fish pie. Mashed potato with cheese melted on top. Hopefully gradually you will be able to combine and serve fish pie.

Admittedly, I adore shellfish so tend to go for that. My fish shop does good deals on mussels, clams and prawns which I serve in a cream sauce with rice or pasta but you really have to watch the price everyday as it all depends on what they paid at the fish auction.

I was at a cooking class once that made a salmon dish wrapped in pastry where they stirfryed leeks, minced onions, and some other veg (peas I think but cannot remember) Mixed it with stuffing mix. Put it on the salmon and wrapped it on puff pastry. It really stretched the fish and was supper tasty.

Basa is not always a good choice for environmental reasons.

www.mcsuk.org/goodfishguide/search?name=Basa,%20Tra,%20Catfish%20or%20Vietnamese%20River%20Cobbler

There's an awful lot of greenwashing involved re fish. It's not always a better alternative to (eg) free-range meat.

Basa's quite good for soaking up flavours, we use it in fish tacos and fish curry. Although I'll now look up the environmental credentials!

Thank you for all the suggestions!!

I wouldn't eat Basa at all. It's cheap for a reason....like Tilapia.

@DangerMouse17 I agree! I would give coley fish a try if you are looking for a tasty but cheap option. Otherwise sea bass from Asda is usually £2.89 for two fillets. You could also try frozen fish which is always cheaper than fresh or try supermarkets rather than a fishmonger or a fish market?

Get ye to a fishmonger. Mine will often do a side of salmon for £20, I can easily get 10-12 portions out of it and offcuts. Same with cod. Works out so much better than buying pre portioned bits at the supermarket.

Watching with interest. I struggle to get the dc to eat fish

I remember buying a family cookbook from Scandinavia and being absolutely shocked by the amount of fish in the book 😂

My two boys like cod loin fillets, and I make a kind of cottage pie with it in a white cheesy sauce with mash topping. Or I sometimes cook it in foil in the oven with butter.

Sorry, you said alternatives to cod, doh!
I would have thought any white chunky fish fillets would be good. Ours also like squid curry or squid rings. Prawns also?

Also my brother makes a lot of Thai food and gets packs of mixed fish and seafood from Lidl - lots of flavours with coconut milk and chillies and lemongrass etc. My 13 year old nephew loves it (although tbh my two aren't keen!)

I once asked for advice in a Facebook group about healthy fish recipes for the family. I was inundated with pics of frozen breaded Young's fish fillets

Kipper fillets , frozen or vacuum packed are quite cheap and work all in kedgeree style rice dishes.
A small amount of Smoked cod and haddock goes far in a chowder with leeks, potatoes, frozen sweet corn and possibly a little bacon.
Prawns in a jambalaya also go a long way, ideally previously uncooked with peppers, onions, peas if you like , a little chorizo , paprika
Nothing wrong with a fish finger burger or taco
White fish freezes well so when reduced at the fish monger or wet fish counter freeze and use baked with potatoes or make a tomatoey chick pea and paprika stew and bake fish on the top.
I buy big bags of frozen baby squid and they go very well with a tomato sauce for spaghetti or a few rings cut up to make a rice dish more interesting.
Tinned tuna in tomato sauce for pasta or a pasta sauce with tuna and anchovy melted together in a little butter and oil in a saucepan makes a tasty emergency pasta sauce.
Any firm fish works well baked with roast veg eg toms, green beans, potatoes, broccoli. You don't need loads of fish... there is a Jamie suggestion for roast salmon with green beans , tomatoes, olives and anchovies that we have had a variant of almost every week for many years now.
Sardines on toast for breakfast or lunch are also a staple here .
Mussels can work out very cheaply too ; frozen chips and salad on the side and always feel special.

Like this thread! Am often daunted by cooking fish.