Cooksister | Food, Travel, Photography

Food, photos & faraway places

  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • About me
    • Contact me
    • Work with me
    • Legal
      • Copyright notice & Disclaimer
      • Disclosure
      • Cookies and Privacy Policy
    • Press and media
    • Cooksister FAQs
  • RECIPES
    • Recipe Index – by course
    • Baking (savoury)
    • Braai/Barbecue
    • Breakfast & brunch
    • Christmas
    • Dessert
    • Drinks
    • Eggs
    • Fish
    • Gluten-free
    • Leftovers
    • Pasta & rice
    • Poultry
    • Pulses
    • Salads
    • Soup
    • South African
    • Starters & light meals
    • Vegan
    • Vegetables
    • Vegetarian
  • RESTAURANTS
    • British Isles restaurants
    • Dubai restaurants
    • France restaurants
    • London restaurants
    • Montenegro restaurants
    • New York restaurants
    • Pop-ups and supperclubs
    • Serbia restaurants
    • Singapore restaurants
    • South Africa restaurants
    • Sweden restaurants
    • Switzerland restaurants
    • USA restaurants
  • TRAVEL
    • All my travel posts
      • Austria
      • Belgium
      • Canada
      • Dubai
      • Cruise ships
      • France
      • Germany
      • Greece
      • Grenada
      • Hong Kong
      • Hotel reviews
      • Italy
      • Israel
      • Jersey
      • Mexico
      • Netherlands
      • Norway
      • Portugal
      • Singapore
      • Ski & snow
      • South Africa
      • Spain
      • Sweden
      • Switzerland
      • UK
      • USA
      • Wales
  • PORTFOLIO
    • Freelance writing portfolio
    • Speaking and teaching
    • Photography portfolio
    • Buy my photos
You are here: Home / Recipes / Breakfast & brunch / Smoked haddock, spinach & egg skillet

Smoked haddock, spinach & egg skillet

by Jeanne Horak on January 21, 2016 15 Comments in Breakfast & brunch, Eggs, Fish, Gluten-free, Recipes

Haddock-Spinach-Skilelt-Title

 

“It’s a new dawn; it’s a new day; it’s a new life for me, and I’m feeling good.” – Nina Simone

There’s something magical about a new year, isn’t there? It’s like a clean sheet of paper in a new notebook: unsullied by past scribbles and doodles, just waiting for a new story to be written. 2015 was not a great year for me in many ways – I had to have two rounds of surgery to get rid of a cancerous mole; I felt distracted from my blog (some months I only managed 2 posts all month!); and I continued to have lingering aches and pains in the leg that I broke in 2014. But in other ways, the year was filled with wonderful things: I travelled abroad 13 times to places including Israel, Canada, Montenegro and Bulgaria; I presented 2 awesome food photography & styling workshops with my sister-from-another-mother; and I got to spend Christmas with my brother and his family for the first time in over ten years. So I think I came out about even!

But however good or bad the preceding year has been, January always provides an opportunity to look ahead for the next 12 months and to try and to try and figure out what you want to do more of; what you want to do less of; and what you want to do just plain different. I used to be a new year’s resolution fiend, making complicated resolutions and writing them down so that I could check on progress later. Even this radical step, however, did not seem to make me any more inclined to stick with them, so I have laughed that off. Instead, I prefer to set looser goals – more like guiding principles for the year rather than a commitment to fulfil a specific task. I rather like what my sister-from-another-mother Meeta does: she sets goals and then chooses one word that she hopes will define the coming year. She asked me a while back about my goals for 2016 and I think I have finally defined them clearly enough to know whether I am achieving them or not. My word for 2016 (which I hope will both curb my current goldfish-like attention span and help me to attain these goals) is FOCUS, and these are my 3 personal goals:

  1. Radically cut down on procrastination. I seem to be getting worse and not better with age! I make to do lists and then procrastinate for weeks before tackling the unappetising items. I read e-mails and think I’ll come back to answer them later – and promptly forget. I left a funny-looking mole to slowly grow for 4 years (!) before going to the dermatologist.  In 2016 I am going to try and form a new habit of dealing with things (whether they be e-mails, filing or making doctor’s appointments) as they arise, not months down the line.
  2. Make a final decision on how much of the hardware in my leg to remove (only screws, or screws and rod), have the necessary surgery, and work on what I hope will be my final rehab. I’m tired of the internal debate that I have about pro- and anti-removal – I need finality so that I can stop devoting headspace to it!
  3. Be kinder to my body with more sleep (nothing under 6 hours, and preferably 7!), more regular weight-bearing exercise (that old chestnut!) and more healthy, nourishing bone-friendly food (even on nights when I don’t feel like cooking). I need to find a way of making exercise a habit this year, and not just on weekends. My old gym is closed indefinitely for renovation, so it’s probably time to join a new one (refer to goal no. 1!). I plan to be around for may years, so best give this body Rolls Royce care!

 

Spring-Onions

 

Also a couple of weeks ago, my dear friend and blogMamma Colleen asked me on Instagram to list 5 things that I wanted to do more of in 2016. It’s taken me a while to come up with a list, but here it is, from the sublime to the ridiculous:

  1. I want to take more photos of people – my hard drive is full of photos of food but not the people with whom I ate the food. That makes me sad. My hard copy photo albums from the 1980s and 1990s are full of photos of people and not a trace of food, and they are fabulous.
  2. I want to spend more time keeping in touch with my old pre-internet friends, the people who helped to make me the person I am today. I realised the other day that I had no idea what a dear friend (that I’ve known since I was ten) is doing for a living at the moment – and yet I could tell you all about what various online Facebook or blogging friends had for breakfast that morning. I was mortified. So more Skype calls, more phone calls and more e-mails (more visits might be tricky as none of them live in the UK).
  3. I want to read more. I used to be a fairly prolific reader and I seem to have fallen out of the habit (I blame my smartphone!) – but having received a Kindle for Christmas, I am on track to rectify the situation. All book recommendations welcome!
  4. I want to do more decluttering in my house and in my digital life. I have been feeling the effects of stuffocation for a while now and have realised that I can’t properly enjoy or appreciate some of the beautiful things I have because of all the other, not-so-beautiful stuff that clogs up my daily life. It’s a hard process as I am a natural born hoarder to rival any Womble (and Nick is not far behind!), but seeing a clear surface with a single, beautiful item displayed on it makes my heart sing. Similarly, I do not need every photo I have ever taken, and my hard drive is positively groaning under their weight. So 15 minutes of decluttering a day it shall be!
  5. I want to cook more vegetarian meals. I don’t know why we don’t, really. Both Nick and I love vegetables (he is the only man I know who will whip up a salad as a snack!) and they feature in every meal in our house – but in the weekly routine after work, I easily fall back on my mom’s classic combo of meat/fish with a vegetable and a starch. I want to make more warm salads; more vegetable curries; and more shakshuka-style skillet meals with eggs as the star. Watch this space.

In fact, the recipe below (inspired by one I saw in a friend’s copy of from Gordon Ramsay’s Ultimate Home Cooking) is the overture in what I hope will be a symphony of these dishes during the course of the coming year. It’s super-easy to make, even when you come home tired after work, and it’s satisfying without being too heavy – you won’t even miss the carbs!

What are your goals and ambitions for 2016? Let me know in the comments!

 

Haddock-Spinach-Skillet-Final

 

5.0 from 4 reviews
Smoked haddock, spinach & egg skillet
 
Print
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
25 mins
Total time
35 mins
 
This smoked haddock, spinach and egg skillet is so quick to make and so delicious to eat! Perfect for breakfast, brunch or even dinner, it's also gluten-free, low-carb and packed with calcium and Vitamin D for healthy bones!
Author: Jeanne Horak-Druiff
Recipe type: Breakfast
Cuisine: British
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 200g young spinach leaves, washed and drained
  • Olive oil
  • 1 large clove of garlic, minced
  • 4 Spring onions, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • 150g skinless smoked haddock fillets, cut into 2cm cubes
  • 125g crème fraîche
  • 1 Tbsp wholegrain mustard
  • 2 tsp tarragon (fresh if possible, but dried will also do)
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
  2. In a large frying pan over medium heat, sauté the garlic and 3 of the spring onions until beginning to soften. Add the spinach leaves and continue to cook over medium heat until the leaves are wilted – this should only take 2-3 minutes. Drain the spinach mixture in a sieve to get rid of as much moisture as possible.
  3. Transfer the spinach and onion mx to an ovenproof skillet and distribute evenly across the base. Scatter the haddock over the spinach.
  4. In a separate bowl, mix together the crème fraiche, mustard, tarragon and black pepper to taste and smear over the fish and spinach in the skillet. Beware of adding much (if any) salt to the mixture - the fish will have plenty of salt.
  5. Cover the skillet with a lid or aluminium foil and bake in the oven for about 15 minutes or until bubbling. Remove from the oven, make 4 small wells with the back of a spoon and carefully crack an egg into each.
  6. Return to the oven, uncovered, and bake until the whites are set and the yolks still runny. Garnish with the remaining spring onion and cayenne pepper (if using) and serve immediately.
Wordpress Recipe Plugin by EasyRecipe
3.5.3208

 

If you are a fan of one-pan meals, you might also like

  • Meeta’s baked eggs with spiced chickpeas and chard
  • Kalyn’s baked eggs skillet with avocado & spicy tomatoes
  • Sam’s Shakshuka
  • Sarah’s baked eggs with avocado
  • Camilla’s chilli SPAM eggs
  • Nazima’s one-pot chickpea & potato curry

 

Let’s keep in touch!
You can also find me tweeting at @cooksisterblog, snapping away on Instagram, or pinning like a pro on Pinterest.  To keep up with my latest posts, you can subscribe to my free e-mail alerts, like Cooksister on Facebook, or follow me on Bloglovin.

More deliciousness for you!

  • Tartiflette – an Alpine treatTartiflette – an Alpine treat
  • Spicy harissa coleslaw with pomegranateSpicy harissa coleslaw with pomegranate
  • Cheesy chicken leek and tarragon pot-pieCheesy chicken leek and tarragon pot-pie
  • Brandy and Coke glazed gammon for a South African Christmas feastBrandy and Coke glazed gammon for a South African Christmas feast

Never miss a Cooksister post

If you enjoyed this post, enter your e-mail address here to receive a FREE e-mail update when a new post appears on Cooksister

I love comments almost as much as I love cheese - so if you can't leave me any cheese, please leave me a comment instead!

« Project 31 cocktails with Plymouth gin & Princess yachts
Review: Bouillabaisse [closed] »

Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Rate this recipe:  

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  1. Chris says

    January 21, 2016 at 4:39 pm

    I love smoked haddock! This recipe looks so good – and super easy too. Thanks.

    Reply
  2. Sam says

    January 21, 2016 at 5:37 pm

    I love this point “I want to take more photos of people….” – it’s not something I’ve thought of, but you’re absolutely right! Good luck on the rest of your resolutions, tackle one at a time and before you know it, you’ve ticked them all off!

    Great recipe as always, but would have to ommit the tarragon…I can’t bear aniseed flavours. It should still work though, right?

    Reply
    • Jeanne says

      January 21, 2016 at 5:40 pm

      I know, right?? I looked at some old albums over Christmas and all the pics were of people (and the ones that were not of people, my family just flicked on by, no matter how pretty they were :o) So I am all about the people this year. By all means omit the tarragon – I did think about making it optional as well because lots of people are a bit dubious about it…

      Reply
  3. Nayna Kanabar says

    January 21, 2016 at 8:05 pm

    What a wonderful and tasty dish, perfect for the cold winter nights.

    Reply
  4. Sally - My Custard Pie says

    January 22, 2016 at 5:46 am

    My word for 2015 was focus too and for many of the same reasons. Hope you get your leg sorted Jeanne – your skiing pics are inspiring. I know exactly what you mean about not having pics of people but hundreds of the food – and stuffocation on hard drive and my life…yep that’s overwhelming me too.
    Anything with an egg on top does it for me!

    Reply
  5. Jan says

    January 22, 2016 at 7:57 am

    Oh my goodness – this looks soooo good and I love smoked haddock and anything with tarragon. I must give this a go.

    Reply
  6. Rosa says

    January 22, 2016 at 10:24 am

    A fabulous skillet dish! I love haddock.

    Great new year resolutions. I hope you’ll get your leg sorted soon. Health is very important.

    Like you, I absolutely have to sleep and read more.

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    Reply
  7. Camilla @FabFood4All says

    January 22, 2016 at 11:00 am

    Oh my Jeanne this dish is just sublime, loving all the flavours here! Good luck with you leg healing and hope you can put it behind you soon!

    Reply
  8. Kavey says

    January 22, 2016 at 4:25 pm

    Sounds (and looks) delicious and can’t beat one pot meals – never a bad thing to have less washing up!

    Reply
  9. Tania | My Kitchen Stories says

    January 22, 2016 at 9:48 pm

    You almost have my exact list of things I want to do in 2016. The digital world tends to take over everything in our lives. Some people aren’t included in that and that is sad. I love this breakfast.

    Reply
  10. Okkie says

    January 23, 2016 at 9:25 am

    Sorry to hear about your problem with the big C. Hope it is sorted out permanently. My wife had one a few years ago but thanks to in time intervention (Mastectomy) and God has been free of it ever since.

    As far as targets for 2016 goes my only one is to be more me.

    As far as cooking vegetarian, I am game, as long as chicken is classed as a vegetable

    Reply
  11. Sam says

    January 25, 2016 at 8:33 am

    What a great post Jeanne and certainly inspiring. You travelled to some amazing places. I started a huge decluttering mission towards the end of last year and it has revolutionized my life. I still have lot of stuff to get rid of (Im also the worlds biggest hoarder) but the feeling of liberation I get when I look at empty space is wonderful. Do it in stages as it can be overwhelming. I also want to read more and take more photos of other things (people) and then get fit, lose weight and all those dreadful things one must do. lots of love xx

    Reply
  12. Charlie @ The Kitchen Shed says

    January 27, 2016 at 8:12 pm

    3 of my favourite things, eggs, spinach and haddock. I need to try this, looks fantastic!

    Reply
  13. Tanja says

    February 7, 2016 at 1:31 pm

    You’re so right: I want to read more too. I used to read so much and now thanks to my smart phone I stopped. Well, I’m back, because I have to for my studies 🙂

    I love that you want to take more photos of people – years later you have such a great memories.

    My goal is also to visit all museums in my city, try new foods as always, have dinner in the sky 🙂 etc.

    Keep up the good work with your blog. Love, T.

    Reply
  14. Melissa Novotny says

    February 26, 2017 at 3:54 pm

    Love this recipe. It has become a weekly staple in our house! I use frozen smoked haddock instead of fresh, I just cook it and drain out the liquid before adding all the other ingredients. I have made this with kale rather than spinach and actually prefer the flavor of the kale. Although the kale needs to be cooked rather than just wilted. As my husband is coeliac I leave out the breadcrumbs and top it with crushed up crisps instead 🙂 a really gorgeous pie that goes perfectly with mash!

    Reply
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Never miss a Cooksister post!

Get my latest recipes delivered by e-mail!

Search over 500 recipes

Recently on Cooksister

  • Perfect broccoli and Stilton soup [keto, low carb, GF]
  • Masalchi by Atul Kochhar – Indian street food in Wembley
  • Barbecued salmon with blood oranges and capers
  • Roasted Brussels sprouts with feta, pomegranate and pine nuts [GF, V]
  • Love Yourself healthy meal delivery [Review]
  • Antillean
  • Festive roast lamb with pomegranate glaze
  • Rustic blood orange and pistachio galettes

Archives by month

Archives by category

Popular posts

Peppermint Crisp fridge tart - a South African treat
Oxtail and red wine potjie
Nigella's Bakewell slices & the Big Bakewell Taste-off
Gem squash 101: how to find them, how to grow them, how to eat them!
Roosterkoek - a South African braai essential
Jan Ellis pudding - a classic South African dessert

Featured on

Also available on

The wonderful Museum of the Moon installation - a The wonderful Museum of the Moon installation - a 7 metre diameter scale model of the moon suspended in the Painted Hall at the  @oldroyalnavalcollege in Greenwich this week, by @lukejerramartist. A surreal and fabulous sight!
Do you enjoy free art installations? Then you need Do you enjoy free art installations? Then you need to get down to @canarywharflondon between now and Saturday 28 Jan to catch the free Winter Lights 2023 event, back for the seventh year.

My favourites include @lukejerramartist ‘s Floating Earth; Tom Lambert’s Out of the Dark; Fluorescent Firs; Toroid by This is Loop; and the surreal and mesmerising Anima by MEATS - a tunnel filled with hundreds of thin optical fibre lights that change colour and move in the breeze 😍 

Have you been to Winter Lights? What was your favourite?
“When we look down at the Earth from space, we s “When we look down at the Earth from space, we see this amazing, indescribably beautiful planet. It looks like a living, breathing organism. But it also, at the same time, looks extremely fragile.” - International Space Station astronaut Ron Garamond

To experience the “overview effect” (a phenomenon experienced by astronauts viewing the earth from space), head down to Canary Wharf in the London docklands this week where you can see @lukejerramartist ‘s beautiful Floating Earth installation as part of the Winter Lights event. 

This giant 10m diameter installation is created using high resolution NASA images to create a floating scale model of the Earth, lit from within so that it glows from its current home on the Middle Dock, surrounded by the headquarters of international banking and finance corporations.

The artist hopes that viewed in this context, the installation will make visitors and the bankers working in surrounding buildings question how their money in savings and pensions is invested, and whether investments can be greener.

Aside from being a thought provoking piece, it is also mesmerising and surreally beautiful, so make sure you visit the free Winter Lights event before ends on Saturday 28 Jan.
Happy lunar new year! [Invited] To celebrate the Happy lunar new year! 

[Invited] To celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Rabbit, why not head over to @mamachensdumplings currently doing a residence at the @thegantrylondon in #stratford where you can feast on prawn & chive dumplings; pork, Chinese cabbage and shiitake mushroom dumplings; pork & prawn wontons with Mama Chen’s chilli oil; vegetable dumplings; smacked cucumber salad; and spicy noodles coated in garlic and Szechuan pepper oil.

And afterwards, make sure you head up to the @unionsocialoc bar for a cocktail - I loved the Moreish Fashion with bourbon, PX sherry, chestnuts and mandarin orange bitters!
Got leftover Stilton (or any blue cheese) from Chr Got leftover Stilton (or any blue cheese) from Christmas? Turn it into this super simple and super indulgent broccoli and Stilton soup! So easy to make and soooo delicious to eat - and it is low carb and GF. What more could you want?! Click the link in my bio for the full recipe. What’s your favourite soup?
CELEBRATE. So the fireworks are over, the champag CELEBRATE.

So the fireworks are over, the champagne is finished and the leftovers are all eaten. We are one week into 2023 and I have had some time to think about what my intent is for the year. 

In 2022 my brother had a life saving kidney transplant. Since the operation, he has had a Peanuts cartoon as his WhatsApp profile pic, where Charlie Brown and Snoopy are sitting on a pier talking. Charlie says “Some day, we all die Snoopy.” And Snoopy replies: “Yes - but every other day, we will live.”

Waking up in the morning is a gift, every day, and it is so easy to forget this. The last few years have been difficult for so many people and the coming year promises its own challenges. But every day that we don’t die is a day to live, to celebrate life in some small way.

So my intention in 2023 is to celebrate. Celebrate our achievements however small. Celebrate our friends and family. Celebrate small things. Celebrate life.

Did you make any resolutions or goals for 2023? I would love to hear them in the comments! Wishing you all the very best for 2023 🥂
Happy new year, everyone! Here are some scenes fro Happy new year, everyone! Here are some scenes from last night with friends in Deptford. My deconstructed avocado ritz; @twinkleparkstephen ‘s bobitie; Giles’ Ottolenghi tomato salad; and Jean’s clementine trifle - and the London night sky ablaze with fireworks!  How did you spend your evening? 🥂🎇🎆
Merry Christmas to all those celebrating - I hope Merry Christmas to all those celebrating - I hope your day was merry and bright, filled with family, friends and love 🎄🥂. Mine was spent alone at home - my choice and the result of a combination of Covid (not mine!) and rail strikes 🤦‍♀️ but very relaxing and indulgent!
Looking for a stylish and easy Christmas starter y Looking for a stylish and easy Christmas starter you can make ahead? Look no further than my individual smoked salmon terrine! Hot smoked salmon, cream cheese and chives wrapped in cold smoked salmon in a ramekin. Still one of the most popular Christmas recipes in my blog, it looks cheffy but is soooo simple to make - and will save you time and effort on the day! Get the recipe by clicking on the link in my bio.

How is your Christmas meal prep going? Are you entertaining at home or going to friends or family? 🎄🥂🎄🥂🎄
Load More... Follow me on Instagram

Follow Jeanne Horak-Druiff's board Recipes by Cooksister on Pinterest.

Cooksister

The South African Food and Wine Blog Directory

The South African Food and Wine Blog Directory

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

Latest Recipes

Bowls of broccoli and Stilton soup
Salmon with blood oranges dill and capers
Brussels sprouts with feta and pomegranate
Roast lamb with pomegranate glaze
Blood orange & pistachio galettes
Cauliflower topped steak with melted cheese
Plate of potted smoked salmon with slaw and a glass of champagne
bowls of pistachio pomegranate bircher muesli

SITEMAP

Home

Contact

About me

Recipe Index

Restaurant Index

Copyright & Disclaimer

Cookies & privacy policy




blog counter

© 2004 - 2023 · Jeanne Horak unless otherwise stated - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. You may not reproduce any text, excerpts or images without my prior permission. Site by RTW Labs

Copyright © 2023 · Cooksister on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Cooksister cookie consent
We use cookies to ensure you receive the best experience on our site. If you continue to use this site, you are agreeing to our terms and conditions. Accept
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT