Cheap fish recipe ideas please

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Can anyone give me any cheap ideas for cooking fish or fish recipes.

Our disposable income is about to greatly reduce, but one thing we all enjoy is fish, so any ideas greatly received.

Fish cakes? Can be easily bulked out with potato.
Cheaper white fish - pollock and go to a fish mongering at the end of the day

I make a sort of Italian fish bake thing that's cheap, easy and eaten by all of mine. I'm crap at writing recipes so bear with me: there's 5 of us incl a toddler.

Fish - any sort. I use the cheap frozen white pollock. I use about 5 fillets (I think that's what's in the bag)
Tinned tomatoes - I use 2
Good dollop of tomato purée
Garlic - purée, fresh, whatever. We like garlic so I use a lot
Bit of stock - I just shove in a tea spoon of that Marigold stuff Domestic Goddess
Some herbs / pesto
Assorted veg that need eating up
1 big onion

I shove all the ingredients, except for the fish, in a big pan and cook on the stove until nice and rich. I blend it until smooth as DS3 is fussy about everything veg. Then I put the fish (usually part defrosted) in a big ovenproof dish and tip the blended sauce over it. Then cook in the oven for about half an hour. We have it with brown rice. It's lovely. You can adapt the ingredients however you like

Sprats from the fishmonger/market. Alternatively in our Fishmarket in Birmingham you can get cod and salmon offcuts from when they fillet the full fish. These are great for fish pie.

Thanks for your replies. I've made notes and will have a look in Tescos and Lidl to see what fish I can buy cheaper that works with these recipes. Any other replies still welcome!

You can make fish pie out of frozen bags of mixed fish.

They look extraordinarily unpalatable in the bag. But very cheap. Or you can go to the fish counter and ask for a bag of bits and pieces. Again cheap.

Then poach the fish. Make a white sauce. Throw in some boiled eggs if you like, maybe some parsley. Top with mash.

Or use the same mixture in mash for fish cakes (add in some lemon a dollop of mayo, mabe some capers to bolster flavour. Coat in egg and breadcrumbs and fry.

Tinned sardines are nutritious and cheap. Mix with tomatoes, tomato puree and olives and spread on a pizza or puff pastry base and cook in the oven.

Smoked mackerel is also good made into fishcakes and mixed with potato or made into pate.

Tinned tuna is nice in pancakes or risotto. Salmon cooked in tinfoil can be made to go further with noodles and Asian-style slaw.

I often get fish on its sell by date in the 'cheapie counter' in the local supermarket and freeze it for later.

I am making fish pie today with some smoked coley and haddock. I cook the fish then make a sauce with Philly, fromage frais, a little mustard powder and herbs and then add in some steamed broccoli . Topping is mashed cauli and sweet potato because mine don't like mashed potatoes. Bake in the oven til the top browns a bit, it's really tasty and reasonably healthy!

Fish tacos. Get any cheap white fish, cut into goujons, coat in spices, breadcrumbs, and bake in the oven. Serve on tortillas with the usual lettuce/ tomato etc.

I like Thai-style fish curries made with creamed coconut. You can add various veg which 'stretches' the fish further.

Agree re buying fish at a reduced price on its final day, and then freezing it.

Also oily fish has a stronger flavour so is better in dishes where you have to bulk the fish out more.

Anyone for anchovies? Bags of flavour and little tins are quite cheap.

Delia Smith's smoked fish kedgeree - cheap and very tasty.
Frozen fish is cheaper than fresh I'm afraid. I make fish pie and chowder from the leftovers. Aldi's frozen tuna is lovely and tinned tuna with pasta goes a long way. Also my local aldi used to do a bag of mixed (frozen) shellfish which was lovely with garlic, butter and white wine over pasta.

I've got my own tuna pasta dish which varies each time. Basically cook one onion, garlic, add one can of tomatoes and simmer for 10 mins. Frozen sweetcorn, peppers or tomato puree can be added to this depending on what you have or if you're trying to bulk it up for an extra portion. Add pepper and either herbs or chilli. It can be served as it is or made into a pasta bake with cheese and breadcrumbs on top. For us this makes up about three portions - if portion size isn't large enough when served or you want an extra portion you can always add bread and butter which is cheap and filling.

Here's another one that DH makes when I'm working - personally I think it sounds horrid but my boys LOVE it (minor miracle with DS3 who's a massive pain in the arse with food )

Cook pasta
Add tin of mackerel in tomato sauce plus a bit of chopped pepper, spoon of pesto anything else lurking in the fridge
Stir
Add grated cheese
Serve.

I can't bring myself to try it but they all love it

I was just going to add my recipe but nation beat me to it.

Mine is a little more involved, in that I make a tomato, onion and garlic sauce then add canned mackerel (or tuna) after it has simmered a little. Add anchovies if I have some, prawns perhaps and capers.

No cheese though. I don't do cheese with fish.

It's a useful dish to have in your repertoire for when the fridge is empty.

If you see whole salmon on offer it is worth having it portioned up by the fishmonger and frozen. Can work out very good value.

I have had many bargains of whole salmon from supermarkets that have fish counters, last one I had was £7.50, it was bigger than my giant bread board!! >>)))))o>

I took off the two fillets, got four or five really decent fillets from each side, ...similar to the size you pay £2.99 for, two chunky taily bits also, which will be ideal for fish pie

Also recommend the fish pie mix, it never seems much but we make fish pie with a layer of veg, usually peas, sometimes sweetcorn, sometimes spinach, put on the fish (uncooked...no need to cook it, it just stinks the house out), usually a layr of sliced boiled egg too, then make a really thick sauce...add parsley if you wish and pile the mash on top
Into the oven for at least 40 mins and put cheese on top of the mash if you like it.

Def frozen fish. We poach it the individual wrapping it comes in. Then flaked through rice with herbs and veg is nice.

BasA is versatile, very tasty & only £1.49 for 3 frozen fillets at the moment

We like it cooked in tinned toms, with chunks of lemon, peppers, olives, & red onion etc & severed with couscous, but so much more you can do with it

Try coley too. I bought some today £8.00 per kilo from sainsburys.

Good for fishcakes, and pies etc.

Frozen fish - cod, salmon etc - is much cheaper than fresh and makes great fish pies and fish cakes, to whatever is your favourite recipe.

Thanks everyone for your ideas, I'm going to keep all your ideas. I did madmog's version of a tuna tomato bake with herbs and everyone eat it - thank you.

Managed to buy some value frozen white fish from Tescos at weekend - five fillets for £2.50 (well £2 as I had voucher for 50p off). Someone told me Lidls fish is definitely cheaper, so am going to check that out.

Asda do offcuts of smoked salmon which i use in a fish pie or in scrambled egg for a snazzy weekend breakfast. I think it is about ??1 for 100g, which is great as you don't need much.

We eat this a lot and just use whatever fish is cheap at the time. It can be bulked out with veg or we have it with rice or noodles as well

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5939/tomato-and-thyme-cod

Have done Nations Italian fish bake tonight and it's delicious will definitely be doing it again thanks for recipe