OLD TROUT

The simple joy of two seasonal delights. Sea trout and Jersey Royals. Neither require much in the way of preparation, are easily and quickly cooked, and taste like the month of May on a plate. A marriage heralding summer days.

My wild sea trout came from South Shields at the mouth of the River Tyne. Netted in the mouth of the river a bit of salt and freshwater migratory life makes these strong muscled fish, with pinky flesh. More delicately flavoured than salmon. And more meaningful to eat than anything farmed.

Jersey Royals have become another May delight in recent years. In the mild marine climate they are planted in January and harvested in March. Grown only on the island they are fertilised with seaweed, called vraic. They are handpicked and the farmers try to dash them to the shops with 24 hours. If you never eat another potato, eat one of these first. Flaky skin, yellow flesh and intense tastiness.

Clean the sea trout, lay flat and score the flesh at diagonals on each side. Rub in salt and grate in the zest of a lemon, squeezing the juice on too. Add some olive oil and fresh ground pepper. Put the lemon husks into the cavity along with a bunch of bay leaves.

Now I think the skin of any fish is a bit cloying but is delicious grilled crispy and still retains some of those lovely healthy oils. So pop your sea trout under the grill, turning it over when one side is done.

For the clams. Chop some garlic large, chuck in a pan with olive oil, chopped smoked bacon (pancetta or really any kind of charcuterie will do well), oregano, salt and pepper. More lemon squeezed. Add the clams and seal with a lid, while the shells click open. After a few minutes nicely sizzling, pour over some anise (I use Ricard a lot for risottos and cooking fish generally). When it’s reduced a bit, add quarter pot of cream. Pour the whole around the side of the sea trout.

I never know whether adding mint to potatoes when you are boiling them makes any real difference to the end result. And often prefer to add a bit of chopped mint when they are cooked. Either way the smell in the kitchen is green and reminiscent of childhood, or something. So, boil your potatoes whole in well salted water with mint. Immediately they are cooked just pour cold water over them and empty it out, to stop them further cooking. Chop them into smaller squares, throw in a red onion finely chopped, fresh pepper and some chopped tarragon. Add mayonnaise. Home made. Here’s how. Take an egg yolk, a dash of white wine vinegar, a teaspoon of mustard, pinch of salt and wizz it up with some tarragon. Then slowly add more and more olive oil at a slow drip until it emulsifies. Frankly, if it doesn’t (as it often doesn’t) it still tastes delicious. Generously apply to potatoes and churn.

For pudding we had chesnut ice cream. 1 tin Chesnut Puree (leftover from Christmas), a tub of single cream, two big spoonfuls of honey. Churn it. I used the egg white from the mayo to knock up some meringues to have with, which cooked while we were eating. Ok, they were hugely imperfect but end it all with crunchy, sugary rush.

TENDER WORDS

Tender (2009) tells the story of Nigel Slater's love affair with his garden in Islington and the many seedlings he has raised in his box-hedged vegetable patches. It’s a magnificent volume, like a medieval knightly treatise with pictures of his Eden, its produce and many of the recipes he has created from them.

23 May, 2010

FOOD FROM THE HEART

Cooking is a basic human instinct. We’ve been eating, chopping, shaping, flavouring, enticing ingredients into something delicious since time began. But as the way many of us live has changed, the basic skills we require to cook, are no longer valued and it’s often easier to let others take control of what we eat.

21 April, 2010

IN A RIGHT FISH STEW

This week we had sustainable fish stew. It’s a quick and easy way to feed a gang of hungries on a Friday night and doesn’t need much else but some good bread and wine. Like all stews, you need balance, rich liquid and a range of potent flavours steaming from your pot.

15 March, 2010