How often do your children eat fish? Seafood should be a key part of any young person’s diet, as it contains many of the nutrients needed for work, rest and play – from essential fatty acids to precious proteins immunity-boosting minerals.

Because fish is so versatile, it’s easy and inexpensive to work it into your little ones’ meals. Here are three cheap, tasty fishy meals for families of 4:
1 – Creamy smoked salmon pasta

This is one of the tastiest easy salmon recipes.

• Ingredients:
• 600g pasta
• Splash of olive oil
• Chopped garlic
• Sliced red onion
• 200g smoked salmon flakes
• 200ml cream cheese
• Parsley

Method

Place the pasta in boiling water and drain once it’s soft.
Meanwhile, fry the garlic and onion in the olive oil for around 3 minutes until the vegetables are soft.
Add the salmon to the vegetables then add in the cream cheese. Heat it all through but don’t bring to the boil.
Stir in the pasta and season with salt, pepper and parsley.

2 – Fish pie

It’s impossible to go wrong with a great fish pie. It’s often cheaper to buy the individual fish pieces separately, though sometimes supermarkets will offer discounts on fish pie mix.

Ingredients:

• 500ml milk
• 50g plain flour
• 50ml white wine
• 250g smoked haddock
• 200g cod
• 1 onion
• 2 leeks
• 150g prawns
• 3 quartered hard-boiled eggs
• Peas
• 1 kg potatoes
• Lemon zest

Method

Boil the potatoes in salted water. Drain and mash them with a splash of milk and a little butter. Fry off the onion and the leeks in a pan until they’re softened but not brown.
Heat the milk in a pan then simmer the cod and haddock for 6 minutes until cooked then remove from the pan.
Melt a little butter in the pan then add the flour gently while constantly stirring then add the milk and wine gradually. When it’s all smooth, let it cook for around 5 minutes and add in lemon zest.
Add the eggs and prawns to the mixture then transfer to an ovenproof dish.
Top with the mashed potatoes, season and decorate the mash with lumps of leftover butter and a fork.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until bubbling and serve with peas.

3 – Tuna Fish Cakes

Homemade fish cakes are easy to make and taste loads better than anything you’d buy in the supermarket. Try multiplying the quantities, cooking in bulk and freezing for a rainy day. This recipe cooks for 4.

Ingredients:

• 300g peeled potatoes, chopped into even chunks
• 200g tinned tuna
• Parsley, finely chopped
• 1 egg
• Juice of one lemon
• 1 tbsp plain flour

Method

Bring your potatoes to the boil and cook until soft.
Mash the potatoes with a little butter and allow them to cool.
Put them into a bowl and mix with the flour and the tuna.
Mix in the egg, lemon and parsley as well as plenty of salt and pepper.
Once the mixture is well fused together, divide it into even amounts and pat it into a cylindrical shape.
Cover the cakes well with flour. For best results, wrap them in cling film and allow them to cool in the fridge for an hour.
Then, heat a little olive oil in a frying pan and cook your fishcakes for 4 minutes, or until they’re crisp on the outside and a little golden.
Serve with fresh leaves or steamed summer vegetables.