Look at my mussels

It changes your attitude, somewhat, to the fish you're eating when you know the name of the fisherman who caught it. Joe caught my bass, out on the stormy seas while I was pottering around my warm kitchen with a cup of tea that didn't throw itself across the room every ten seconds as the house hit a wave That adds a whole new level of respect as I place the fish in the hot pan.

The crew of the day boat 'Le Belhara', owned by Chris Veasey, fish out of Eastbourne, and the catch makes its way to Veasey and Sons Fishmonger, in Forest Row, East Sussex, about 30 miles from the coast. Chris opened the shop, housed in a former butcher's, with son-in-law Dan Howes eight years ago after success at the East Grinstead Farmers' Market.

While the day boat sails from Eastbourne, Dan and his colleagues staff the bright, yet cosy feeling shop on the narrow road that leads out of the village to Hartfield. An elderly man and lady whom I assume to be his wife by the way they argue, looks at me standing over the mussels and says "We're very fortunate to have this fishmongers in the village." I nod back and mumble something about my good luck that they are at the market every Saturday where I live.

I first discovered them when they started their crushed ice-laden fish stall at the Crystal Palace food market four years ago and finally got round to visiting them last week. They now have ten market stalls every week as well as the shop and are spreading their passion for quality fish wherever they go.

It's a privilege to be able to buy such good fresh fish minutes from my house in London on a Saturday morning. One of my great disappointments in life is how much of our amazing seafood gets exported. But that's because The Europeans seem to respect fish more, it's more part of their daily diet than here, where we stretch mainly to cod and chips on a Friday or fish fingers for the children. Fish and chips is all very well, but the chips must be hot, salty and spiky with vinegar, the sea should be no more than 15 metres away while you eat them and the weather should be blustery.

But it's more a state of mind than a meal. In reality that state of mind often becomes a state of disappointment, apart from the very occasional highlight at places such as Lewis' fish shop in very fishy town of Newlyn where it was so good we went a few times on our summer holidays last year.

Sadly, the price of fish is often serious injury or lives lost at sea, Dan explains as he shows me an x-ray from one of the fishermen's hands after an accident with a winch. Bones crushed and crunched out of shape, finger joints at right-angles, like a particularly gruesome skeleton pianist from a travelling horror show.

The cod is particularly good at the moment, Dan tells me as I eye what to buy. Bass, sitting firm on it's bed of sparkling ice crystals as if in a giant jewellery box has to come home with me, it looks too good to resist. I also take a meaty cod loin which a day later is shared with the family in a fish molee, rich with coconut sauce, onion and the hint of cinnamon, cardamon and clove. I'm generous like that. Home made fish cakes also fall into my bag, a quick supper for when we've been out all day.

And last, I also ask for a bag of mussels, which, coincidentally, was the nickname I always wanted. A few large handfuls go in, they clack and knock together as they slip into the bag, looking like shiny black pebbles on the beach as the waves ebb away.

The bass will be dusted in flour and cooked in darkening butter. A squeeze of lemon may be enough, but I'm always a fan of salsa verde or a herb-laced olive oil. One of the best things about fish is that you can have supper on the table in about ten minutes if you get yourself together. The molee I made was ready in the time it took for the rice to cook, and the mussels, which I had for lunch today were ready in less than five. You can't even get fast food that fast. Just remember where it came from as you enjoy it.

Mussels with miso and n'duja broth
Ingredients for two people
A bag of spanking fresh mussels (these keep in the fridge for up to a week if looked after)
2tbsp white miso paste
2tbsp n'duja
500ml hot water
1 shallot or small onion, very finely diced
1 clove of garlic, grated or crushed
A large splash of verjus to steam the mussels (white wine or water as an alternative; I prefer verjus which keeps better and is more interesting than the leftovers of some bad supermarket wine)
Olive oil
Salt to season

Method
Heat a heavy, lidded saucepan and add the verjus followed by the mussels. Put the lid on and steam until they have opened, this should only take a couple of minutes. Remove from the heat.
Meanwhile, sauté the shallots and garlic in a little olive oil until soft, season well. Add the miso and n'duja and a splash of hot water and mix well to a creamy paste. Add the rest of the water, mix well and bring to just below the boil. Remove from the heat and pour into the mussel pan. Stir gently and serve straight away. Possibly with some crusty baguette if you fancy.

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Tom Kha and Harry

I bought a bird feeder from the hardware superstore the other day. Along with a new huge barbecue and quite a few other things you're allowed when you graduate from Dad school.Except it seems to be badly calibrated. In this part of South east London it seems the only birds it attracts are squirrels. And three very shifty looking pigeons. And while I may proudly wear a 'For the many' lapel badge on my jacket, in this situation I am taking a hardline stance on scroungers and layabout animals wanting something for nothing. I threw a tennis ball in their general direction earlier and they retreated to a safe distance, eyeing me with beady contempt.But while the level of seeds and nuts dimishes quicker than my enthusiasm for the new season's hot weather after two days of sneezing my face off, my excitement at the garden grows daily as new things pop out here and there, seemingly overnight. Violets and forget-me-nots appeared from the garden's edge like a very slow jack-in-the-box and the tulips opened wider than I thought possible to soak up the strong, bright sunlight shining constantly on the borders.We cooked outside for the first time this year. In April. Which surely is unheard of. I over-catered in my excitement. Chicken, slender sausages, langoustines with garlic butter, burgers, lamb chops marinated in harissa, za'atar, cumin and rosemary, flatbreads, charring in parts until the edges shatter when you tap them. I roasted aubergines on the coals until soft and blackened then mashed them with olive oil, plenty of garlic and some more cumin and we sat outside stuffing our faces in the late afternoon warmth.After a weekend of overeating and behaving as if we were battery chickens busted out into the freedom of the garden, Monday night called for a calmer supper.I made this tom kha, trying to recreate the one from our local Thai restaurant. And while not quite the same as theirs -- I have a feeling they may lace it with sugar -- it was fresh tasting, spicy (but with a nice heat that sort of punched you in the face then left you alone, rather than one that slowly builds like a kind of gaslighting) and ready in about 20 minutes. Halve the amount of chillies if you like, but I do rather enjoy the rush you get from something that is almost too much.I put prawns in this one, but chicken is equally delicious. As is pigeon or squirrel. Possibly.IngredientsA thumb sized piece of galangal, finely sliced3-4 red chillies (birdseye or finger)2 sticks of lemongrass, bruised and sliced into 3cm pieces1 tin of coconut milk (400ml)6 or so kaffir lime leaves1 shallot, finely sliced2 medium-small tomatoes, choppedAbout six meaty mushrooms (I used chestnut, but would have preferred oyster)300g raw tiger prawnsJuice and zest of a limeA dash of fish sauce and a little pinch of salt to tasteA bunch of coriander, choppedMethodThrow the galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, shallot and chillies into a saucepan with the coconut milk and slowly heat, stirring gently and occasionally.Cook for about five minutes then add the mushrooms and prawns and bring to just below the boil. Cook for another 5-10 minutes, until the prawns are cooked through then season with the lime juice and fish sauce to taste. Try to get the balance between salty, sour, sweet and sharp.Add the chopped coriander and lime zest and serve straight away with more lime wedges and chilli slices on the side.This weekWatched: Swan Lake ballet for children at the theatre. About my level really. I still found the whole thing preposterous though. I mean really...Read: The Leopard, by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa. Sicily, a prince in the 1860s. I mean, it's perfectly readable, but I had no great desire to rush home and pick it up.Eat: Neil from Eugene cooked us great steaks the other night, before he and Linda returned home. Delicious food and great company.Listened: Some new English jazz, would you believe. Ivo Neame featuring Shabaka Hutchings. Good stuff, interesting, and wide-ranging.

Clams, potatoes and green sauce

Simplicity is beauty. I've had more pleasure from a ripe and juicy nectarine than I have from a complicated fondant.According to William Morris, things should either be useful or beautiful, and if you mix that with the idea that less is more and apply it to food, you should be OK. It's something the Italians know well with their cooking; start with good ingredients and you're pretty much all the way there. And, the Spanish as well, which is where the idea for this dish came from.Today's recipe is elegant and parsimonious in its ingredients, it uses clams which are at their best at this time of year from the cold waters around the UK. It's much more than the sum of its parts. I've used Cornish ones but this dish would be equally delicious with what the Scottish call 'spoots'. I'd call it Occam's razor clams.Ingredients12 baby potatoes, halved1 small white onionA bunch of parsley200ml garlic oil (made by grating four cloves of garlic into 500ml olive oil and heating until golden. Leave to cool then strain and keep in the fridge for up to a week)1tbsp flourA bag of clamsSherry vinegar to tasteWater for the sauceSalt and pepper to seasonMethodSoak the clams in cold water for about 20 minutes in a few changes of water then give them all a good slosh about until all the grit and sand has been cleaned away.Make the green sauce by blitzing together the parsley, a good load of garlic oil and a generous splash of sherry vinegar. Season well, taste and perhaps season a little more, not forgetting that vinegar is a seasoning and brings out flavours too, so adjust as you like. You may want it sharper, saltier or sweeter with more oil.Cook the potatoes in salted, boiling water until tender. About ten minutes. Drain them and run them under cold water to stop them cooking any more.Heat the garlic oil in a large, heavy saucepan, something like a le Creuset casserole.Finely chop the onion and gently sauté in the oil, well seasoned with salt, until soft and just starting to think about turning golden.Add the potatoes and cook them for a few minutes until they start to catch here and there and colour a little.Stir in the flour and add a splash of sherry vinegar then stir in a good splash of water until you have a thick sauce the consistency of double cream.Add the clams and cook with the lid on for about five minutes, until they've all opened. Or at least until all the ones that are going to open, open. Throw the others away.Add the green sauce to the pan, stir well, warm through and serve with some more chopped parsley and a little bread to mop up the incredible juices. 

Ooh, Saucy fish Pie

Every time someone suggests fish pie to me, or says that's what we're having to eat, I die a little inside. And it's not that there's anything wrong with it, as such. In fact, it's a rather lovely dish. Comforting and rich, and a good way to get lots of fish into people who don't particularly like it.And yet yesterday I woke up with a burning desire, a craving for it. Perhaps Bee, who seems to have a liking of it that doesn't seem normal, has been whispering in my ear repeatedly as I sleep.It is really a very simple dish, and in its favour, you can make it ahead and heat it through for supper, as I did for the children. And, predictably, Noah liked it but tried to pick out the spinach and Maya said she hates prawns (the lunatic). Bee thought it was a bit too saucy and had too much spinach, whereas I, the least enthusiastic fish pie eater thought it delicious. But then I made it.You may squeal with delight at the thought of a fish pie and having made this, I feel a little less antipathy toward it. It's something comforting, tasty and healthy. Do as you will with it. More cod, fewer prawns, not so much spinach, extra scallops, a thicker sauce with a touch more cheese and flour. It's up to you, and that is the joy of cooking, we all like things certain ways and you can't please everyone.This recipe is a good one so I offer it to you to run with. You can even add hard boiled eggs to the mix if you like. And as far as the bonito and kombu go, that's up to you too, as is the golden, warming turmeric and citrussy coriander. But it's little things like that that can make a dish just a little above the ordinary. And actually, looking at the photo reminds me, there's a portion left in the fridge...Serves: 6Prep time: 30-40 minsCooking time: 45 minsIngredientsFor the top:4 medium potatoes such as Maris Piper, skin on, quartered100ml double cream50ml milk70g butterA grating of Parmesan for the topFor the filling:175g Queen scallops250g smoked haddock or cod, cut into chunks250g prawns100g spinachA small bunch of chives, finely slicedA grating of nutmeg1tsp ground turmeric2tsp ground corianderFor the sauce:30g butter30g flour300ml milk25g grated mild cheddarA sheet of kombu (seaweed)A pinch of bonito flakesMethodThe bonito and kombu are optional in this, it's just to give it that extra kick of the sea. But if you're going to use it, heat a little of the milk to just below the boil and pour over them both in a small bowl and leave to infuse while you make the mash.Cook the potatoes in salty, boiling water until soft, but not falling apart. Drain and leave to steam dry in the colander, otherwise, your mash will be to wet.Put the spinach in a heat-proof bowl and pour over some boiling water from the kettle. Stir a little then drain and rinse in cold water. Squeeze dry and chop well.Make the white sauce by melting the butter in a saucepan and mixing in the flour. Season well and gradually whisk in the milk, a little at a time, until you have a smooth white sauce. Add the bonito flakes and milk, leaving out the kombu and then stir in the cheese until melted.Put the fish and seafood in a bowl, add the chopped spinach, turmeric, coriander and the chives (keep back a little for the mash), season well and stir thoroughly. Pour in the white sauce and mix.Heat the butter, cream and milk in a small pan until the butter has melted then rice the potatoes into a bowl and discard the skins.  Add the butter mixture, season well and mix until smooth. Stir in the chives.Put the fish mix in an oven dish and top with the potato and any remaining chives. Give a twist of pepper and sprinkle over the parmesan and cook in a 180c oven for about 45 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbling. Garlic green beans are delicious on the side.

Cod willing

Clearly there is absolutely no need to salt and preserve fish here in South East London in 2017. There is also no need in many of the Mediterranean restaurants you may find yourself in as none of us travel in galleons for months on end with only a goat and a cabin boy for company any more.However, it persists, as do many dishes that were born from necessity. Preserving and fermenting is and has been a way of life for thousands of years, so I'm not going to knock it. A life without pickled cucumbers would be a sad thing to live.I always salt salmon, cod and haddock fillets for at least 15 minutes before cooking to firm the flesh and draw out the proteins that coagulate when the fish is heated. But here, I salted the cod with herb salt and left it for an hour and a half to become as taut and firm as a mountain goat's buttock. It needed a good rinse before cooking, there is a fine balance between salty and inedible.Of course, you could just use fresh cod (or another firm and flaky white fish), but I think the texture contrast against the onion and potato is worth that little extra step. Capers would also make a sharp entrance to the dish if you prefer them to gherkins. Entirely up to you. Whatever you decide, this dish – once the fish is ready to cook – takes less than ten minutes to prepare. Perfect for a lunch on the stormy seas.Ingredients for two2 cod loin fillets, about 150g eachRather a lot of fine salt to cover the fish (you can use table salt or fine sea salt if you must, but the herb salt does add flavour)2 Anya potatoes, thinly sliced - about the thickness of a thick coin1/2 a red onion, peeled and sliced super thin2tsp yuzu juice (or lemon juice)2-3 tablespoons – I assume, having just poured some in – of tarragon vinegar4 or so tablespoons of olive oil (see above)A small handful of chopped parsley. I prefer curly for the textureA tablespoon of chopped chivesA little Maldon saltA good twist or two of pepper (I often use Japanese pepper with fish for its citrus flavour)A couple of sliced large gherkinsA pinch of ground turmeric and chilli powder to finishMethodSalt the fish all over in a wide bowl and cover with clingfilm. Leave for at least an hour, two if you want, but you really must rinse it well after. You could put it under gently running water for about ten minutes if you want to be sure.Pat dry and set aside.If you are organised, you will have done the next bit while the fish was soaking. If not, you can do it now.Cook the sliced potatoes, just covered, in salted, boiling water until soft but still with a little bite. Drain and set aside to cool and dry a little.Mix the onion, parsley, chives, vinegar, oil and yuzu and leave to gently rest a little so the onions become softer and loose a little of their rawness. Season carefully with a pinch of salt and the pepper.Heat the oven to high, I have a gas oven so most of the time I just turn it up to full and pay attention to the food. However, 8 minutes at 180c is about right. You can test the 'doneness' of fish by inserting a metal skewer into the middle then putting it against your wrist. Cold is under cooked, warm is cooked and hot is overcooked, by which point it's too late.Put each fillet on a plate and press it down to separate it into flakes. Mix the potatoes with the vinaigrette and pour over the fish. Top with a sliced gherkin and a sprinkle of the turmeric and chilli powder to serve.

Sea bass, celeriac rémoulade

Two weeks into September and I think we are just about surfacing from the shock of returning to real life after a leisurely August with the children attached to our legs 24 hours a day.While it's great they are back at school with their pals, the Stockholm syndrome we've developed for our captors has left the days quieter and although we are back full steam with work, I miss having them around all the time.Still, it will be half term before we know it, then Christmas, then the summer holidays again, then all of a sudden they will have graduated from University. (Assuming of course we somehow manage to find a million dollars in a jacket pocket to pay for it).But the end of summer brings my favourite season, and while I look happily toward autumn, it has this year somehow managed to bring a fruit fly colony into the house. I suppose this is what happens if you go away having forgot to empty the bin before going away for the week, but honestly, it's ridiculous. It may be necessary to knock the whole place down and rebuild. I honestly don't know where they keep on coming from. Roll on the cold, with hope that'll do for them.I'm also now two weeks into a no carb and no sugar month. And while dutifully making the family a weekly sourdough and other loaves, filling the Saturdays with the smell of freshly baking bread, I'm coping well. The sugar part seems remarkably easy for some reason, but I do really miss the bread. And I'm not counting the bowl of pasta I had at the River Cafe. I mean, you can't go there and not have a pasta dish, but it has to be worth it as an exception, and that was most definitely worth it.So by the end of September, hopefully feeling a little lighter around the middle I will be looking forward to tucking in to a fresh crusty loaf straight from the oven. In the meantime, pearl barley and chickpeas are filling in place of rice and pasta (gram flour flatbreads are excellent with dhal).Last night's supper was this incredibly quick and simple fish with celeriac rémoulade. A fresh and flavoursome dish that just feels summery enough to complement the fading evening light but with the earthy celeriac nodding a quick acknowledgement at the gold autumn knock tapping at the window. And the fish only takes four minutes to cook, which I'm pretty sure makes this even less work than a quick bowl of pasta on a frazzled Wednesday evening.Ingredients for two2 seabass fillets, scored lightly on the skin1tsp turmeric powder1tsp seaweed flakes (such as these)A pinch of herb salt (or Maldon salt if you haven't any)1/2 small celeriac, peeled and cut into matchsticks, preferably on a mandoline, but you could grate them or spend half an hour finely slicing it if you are a masochist.3tbsp mayonnaise, homemade the usual way preferable, but if not Delouis is a good one2tbsp Dijon mustard1 red chilli, slicedJapanese pepper to season (I like this for its slightly lemony flavour. You can buy it online here)Maldon salt (or similar) to seasonJuice of half a lemon1tbsp yuzu juice (optional)1tsp tarragon vinegar (Make your own by sticking sprigs in a bottle of cider vinegar)1tbsp chopped fresh tarragon1tbsp chopped young thyme leavesA handful of pancetta, cooked in a frying pan until crisp, keep the rendered fat in the pan for cooking the fishA little fresh parsley to finishMethodMix together the rémoulade ingredients and leave to sit for half an hour. Don't make it too far ahead or it will be soggy and claggy like a mouthful of wet paper.Heat the pan you cooked the bacon in until nice and hot but not smoking. Season the fish all over with the turmeric, seaweed and salt then gently lay them into the pan skin-side down so they crackle and spit. Leave for a couple of minutes until the skin is golden and crisp then gently flip them over and turn the heat off.Leave to cook in the pan for another minute or two while you put the remoulade onto plates.Top with the fish and serve straight away with a sprinkle of parsley and a sharply dressed butterhead salad.This week:Watched: Arena - 'Death on the Staircase' on BBC iPlayer. Amazing documentary about a man on trial for the murder of his wife. Gripping. Also started series two of 'Top of the Lake' which you have to say in an Irish accent.Saw: Giacometti at Tate Modern. Or "those thin spindly people?" as Bee asked. Great to see so much of it all in the same rooms. Even if they all do look the same and his paintings all look like he's in charge of passport photography. Also, the Rothko room. I remember, back in the mists of time when I was an Art student being able to sit in that room, then at the original Tate gallery, alone and in silence. This time it was packed; a disappointment. I think they are best seen on your own.Read: Finished 'Tale of Two cities. God that was boring. Started 'Death in the Olive Grove' an Italian crime novel set in the '60s, excellent, well written with full characters and a welcome relief from the sludge that was Dickens.Ate: River Café. Faultless, if eye-wateringly expensive. Chit Chaat Chai, fun and bustling Indian street food in a restaurant.  ('Railway' curry, pani puri, okra fries, daal, chilli wings)Drank: White Darjeeling snowbud from Vahdam company. Delicate and rather calming.Listened: The Allman Brothers, 'In Memory of Elizabeth Reed'. The War on Drugs 'Lost in the Dream', The Doors 'The Crystal Ship'.

Scallop risotto with seaweed stock and pickled fennel

It's hard to go wrong with food if you add an indecent amount of cheese and butter to it. Even cheese and butter are improved by the addition of cheese and butter. Notable exceptions to this theory may be ice cream, breakfast cereal, avocados and possibly bananas.And I don't care if people say cheese and seafood are not acceptable plate-fellows. I can name fish pie, lobster thermidor, butter and cheese on bread with a whole crab stuck on top as a few examples. The last one may be made up.This risotto is for summer, when the pangs for comfort food overpower the desire for light meals in the languorous warm evenings. Usually, rich and creamy dishes are reserved for the darkness of winter when all you want is to hole up with a book and candlelight. This version though, with it's sharp fennel, refreshing cucumber and peppery pinches of radish is surprisingly light.The seaweed in the stock and the scallops, caramelised and firm are more like a hot crab-shack summer lunch than a meal eaten wearing bearskins trousers and stoking the wood on the fire. The pickling isn't really pickling as such, more a quick souse in vinegar and a dash of honey and herbs, but it gives this dish the sharpness and crunch it needs against the comforting softness of the rice.I used vialone nano rice here, I prefer its bite, but feel free to use whatever risotto you have on hand. And if you don't like scallops, well, you could use prawns too. Seaweed is easy to get hold of online and in health food shops these days and is well worth keeping in stock. I often use it when cooking fish to give sauces or poaching liquid a little more of the hint of the ocean. It may seem like there are a few bonkers ingredients here, and quite a lot of other ones, but if you get it all prepped, it's a really easy dish that is pretty impressive and tastes delicious.Ingredients200g risotto rice such as vialone nano or carnaroli1 onion, finely sliced1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped850ml water, brought to the boil1tbsp dried seaweed flakes (optional)1 piece dried kombu2tbsp dried wakameA good dash of olive oil1tbsp yuzu dressing (or lemon juice)5-6 scallops per person and butter to cook them inA large pinch of Japanese pepperSalt to seasonA handful of chopped parsleyA bit more butter than you think is necessaryA handful of grated ParmesanFor the fennel salad topping1 bulb of fennel, thinly sliced (keep the fronds for garnish)A few radishes, finely slicedA couple of baby cucumbers, thinly sliced1/2 grapefruit, flesh only, cubedSome more yuzuA few sprigs of dill4tbsp tarragon infused cider vinegar (you really should have some of this in your cupboard. It's the only vinegar to use for vinaigrette)A dash of olive oil1tbsp honeySalt and more Japanese pepperMethodMake the fennel salad first by combining the fennel, radish, cucumber and grapefruit in a large bowl and pour over the vinegar, honey, oil, yuzu, salt and pepper and mix well. Set aside.Put the seaweed in a large jug and fill with the 800ml of boiling water. Leave to steep for ten minutes.Season and sauté the onions in olive oil until translucent then add the garlic and cook for another minute. Add the rice and stir well until coated with oil and starting to ever so slightly toast.Add a ladleful of your hot, homemade sea water and stir until absorbed. Keep doing this until all the stock has been absorbed and the rice is tender and creamy. Taste and season. Add the butter and cheese and stir in while vigorously shaking the pan. Throw in the parsley, pepper and yuzu, stir, add a little more stock to loosen if necessary (it should be fluid, not stiff and claggy). Put a lid on and set aside while you cook the scallops.Heat some butter (yes, more) in a sauté pan and cook the scallops, seasoned with salt and pepper, on high heat on each side for about a minute.Divide the risotto between four bowls, top with the scallops and some of the fennel salad and fronds, pour over some of the pickling dressing and serve immediately with the remaining salad on the side. 

Rice to the occasion

 "I quite like them" said Noah after he'd eaten half an arancini and left the rest on the kitchen bench, wandering off to then hole up in a corner with a book. Bee says she still thinks they're a strange idea (I mean, who wouldn't love a deep-fried rice ball? And Maya, whom I think perhaps ate too many strawberries before supper gingerly nibbled the corner off and then stared into space for a while, dreaming up her next, no doubt cheeky move.The past week has been bonkers, we are longing for some calm evenings in our life, that don't involve falling asleep face down in the soup.After sitting on a chair made of the hardest substance known to man in a howling ice gale at Crystal Palace's outdoor cinema, part of the annual Crystal Palace Festival, my bum is only just getting some feeling back into it. The film, Sideways, will now forever be associated with numbness in the bottom. And lack of any feeling in my fingers and toes. These are some of the problems I have to deal with in my life. It's difficult.Another part of the festival, and in a performance of true Englishness, the spoken word evening we went to was as if Totnes were on LSD. Accordions and typewriters accompanied whispered poetry in a baking hot room again on rocks for seats. The heat had made the room smell very human, like a poetry school changing-room.And in a modern tableau, at the festival itself, while the sun baked down on us, a nun, staring into her phone while walking along bumped into me. Perhaps she thought God would guide her. Perhaps he was on another call.Among all this, there has been good food, especially at one of my favourite restaurants, Alle Testiere from Venice doing a guest night at Polpetto in Soho. That was a real treat. Delicious seafood, spider crab, Venetian snacks and more all came to me in London. Sadly, we couldn't get a  babysitter, so Bee stayed at home. Although she's not that keen on seafood, so it could have appeared to be a little convenient.And that reminded me that I've been meaning to make arancini for ages. Nothing to do with Venice, but I did eat little deep-fried breadcrumbed balls filled with stuff to start. So on Thursday, I busted the children out of after school club and brought them home to ignore me and my cooking. Although, I did catch Maya drinking the vinaigrette straight from the mixing jar. She loved that, at least.Ingredients300g risotto, approx550ml chicken or vegetable stock1 small onion, diced finely1 garlic clove, crushedOlive oilA large knob of butter, be generousParmesan to grate, salt to seasonPanko breadcrumbs for coating1 egg, beaten with a splash of water1 ball of mozarellaA tablespoon of beef ragu per ball (optional, you can just make cheese ones, but I like to make a batch and save it for tagliatelle during the week)Rapeseed oil for fryingMethodMake the risotto in the usual way, until it's creamy and unctuous but with a hint of bite.Shake the pan violently as you stir in a load of butter and cheese at the end then cover and leave for five minutes. Check and adjust the seasoning, risotto needs to be well seasoned.Spread the cooked rice out on a tray and leave it to cool quickly. Stir it around every now and then to help.When cool, take a small handful and put a nugget of cheese in the middle. Add a spoonful of the meat sauce if using and form a ball around the filling. Add a little more rice if you need to. I made the cheese ones into cone shapes after to differentiate them, but that's your choice.Dip each ball in beaten egg then roll in the breadcrumbs until really well covered. Dip and roll again, giving it a second coat if you feel it needs it.Heat a pan half full of the rapeseed oil or use a deep-fat fryer. Fry each ball until golden all over and drain on kitchen paper. Serve with a salad and whatever vinaigrette remains if Maya's been anywhere near it.

Prawn to be wild (garlic)

I'm a busy man, I don't have time to separate my free-range, organic araucana eggs for homemade mayonnaise. In the cut and thrust world I live in I barely have time to put clothes on before I leave the house and take the children to school.*Why not just buy a jar of mayonnaise I hear you ask? To be honest, it's been a quiet couple of weeks here, so I blatantly have more time usual, hence the fresh bread issuing forth from the oven and the children eating proper food on the weekends and after school.The reason I didn't separate the eggs was to see what whole egg mayonnaise was like. And it's pretty good, hardly different to the usual method. It's just a little more liquid to begin with so emulsifying the oil takes a little more time, but in a food processor it's easy. And it tastes so much better than a middle-class posh jar with French words and has the added benefit of having no stuff in it for a year on the shop shelf.I found the remains of some wild garlic, flowers and all, in a still fairly good state in a bag in the fridge. They were starting to become slightly frilly and not quite as fresh as when I picked them. They were certainly good enough, however, for a pesto, sauce or in this case accompaniment to plump and juicy prawns on hot toasted sourdough. If I'm lucky, there may still be some lurking in the garden for the risotto I'd originally planned, but for now, this is a delicious use for them.As far as the monk's beard goes, the season for that is even shorter. If you've missed it, although I suspect it's still available (Natoora and Ocado stock it), samphire works perfectly in it's place. And failing that, some tender British asparagus tips, halved lengthways and lightly steamed will also work.*I do get dressed. And it's mainly because the alarm is such shock to the system I snooze it until the last minute. I'm not a morning person. Getting up earlier is not an option with my lack of discipline.Ingredients, lunch for two8 large tiger prawns, shell and head on2 free-range organic eggs1tbsp Dijon mustardA pinch of saltRapeseed oilA tablespoon or two of olive oil to finishA splash of water to loosenA small bunch of wild garlic, flowers too if you have any (they're peppery)A small bunch of monk's beard or a couple of handfuls of samphireJuice and zest of half a lemonSourdough bread to toastMethodMake the mayonnaise. You can do this in the mini bowl of the food processor or by hand with a whisk.Stir the mustard and a pinch of salt into the eggs. With the motor or your whisk hand running, pour in the rapeseed oil at first slowly drop by drop until it starts to thicken and emulsify. You can then speed up the pour, spinning all the time until thick and 'mayonnaise-y'. Now continue with the olive oil. Add a splash of water to loosen a little. If you're doing this in the processor,  throw in the garlic now and blitz until completely shredded to pieces in the mayo. If doing it by hand, slice, slice and slice again then chop. Now stir it in well. This keeps in the fridge for a few days in a sealed jar so make it ahead if you fancy.Sauté the prawns with the shell on in some olive oil and chopped garlic until cooked, then remove from the pan and leave to cool a little.Remove the tough stalks from the monk's beard. These make good, if temporary weaponsQuickly sauté the leaves in the pan the prawns were cooked in and add the lemon juice and a pinch of salt at the end.Toast the bread, dollop a spoon of mayonnaise on top and spread it around.I shelled the prawns over the toast and mayo, squeezing the heads as I did so to get more of the juices out, giving it an even bigger punch of flavour.A sprinkle of salt and pepper, the still warm monk's beard leaves and perhaps a few chilli flakes and lunch is ready.

Take the bisque, cuit

They say it's what's on the inside that counts. I'm not so sure with lobster, although that is usually the kind of thing you say to an ugly child. A good, spicy, deep and rich bisque made with the ground shell and claws gets me more excited than the sweet flesh inside. And it's quite often the best thing to do with the cheaper and less wonderful ones that you may get from your backstreet fishmonger or supermarket freezer. The kind where the meat tastes and feels like it's just been ten rounds with Frank Bruno.I used one lobster to make this, but I often will have a bag of prawn carcasses in the freezer for such an occasion. Not this time though, as I've recently cleaned out the drawers, unearthing such things as a permafrozen woolly mammoth, a small choc-ice from 1984 and many, many loose peas.It's a good was to use up some of those sad looking celery stalks and the joke shop bendy carrots in the fridge drawer that have seen better days only to be left deflating behind the half lemons and sad lettuce. What nutrients they have left in them can be wrung out, along with the flavour in the lobster carcass and inner bits that remain.It's a really wonderful, powerful soup, absolutely full of flavour. I like mine with a little more of a Cayenne pepper kick than is strictly necessary. It's great with a little tarragon creme fraiche stirred through at the end and even nicer with a fat tortellini stuffed with crab meat and spring onion in the middle.One thing to be careful of when making this, is the claws are really hard work to blitz and you can easily break your blender blade, especially if you're using a stick blender, so after cooking it, try and smash them up a bit with the back of a knife into easier chunks and take your time. It's worth it.Ingredients 1 lobster shell, claws and inside bits after you've used the claw and tail meat1/2 fennel bulb, choppedA knob of ginger, chopped1 shallot, chopped1 carrot, chopped1 celery stick, chopped2tsp smoked paprikaA handful of uncooked basmati rice1tbsp ground cumin1tbsp ground coriander1 bay leaf1/2tsp ground cloves2tsp Cayenne pepper1tsp ground turmeric2tsp Swiss bouillon powderTarragon vinegar or white wine to deglaze the panA few tablespoons of double creamOlive oilSalt to seasonMethodHeat some olive oil in a deep, heavy-based pan and add the shell and vegetables. Stir well, roasting for a few minutes until things start to colour and stick a little.Deglaze the pan with the vinegar.Add the remaining ingredients, season and stir well. Cook for one minute.Cover all the ingredients with water and bring to the boil for ten minutes.Put the lid on, turn down the heat and simmer for 45 minutes-1 hourCarefully blitz until as smooth as possible, although I like mine with a little grittiness to it. I use a stick blender for this, but it's a pretty heavy duty one. The standard kitchen ones may not be able to cope. Use a food processor if necessary, and be careful.Strain the mix through a fine sieve and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Stir in the cream, garnish with a few strips of fennel and thyme and serve.

Don't be so shellfish

 I found a lobster in the freezer yesterday. Cooked and frozen solid. I'd forgotten about it, languishing there like an extra in Quincy. I gave it a hot bath, and a little shine up before taking it apart, post-mortem.Not having been able to establish a cause of death, and I know it was dead when it went in under some Vienetta, I'll have to leave an open verdict. Frozen lobster is obviously not a patch on fresh. And I'd far rather some plump tiger prawns anyway, unless I'm sitting on the shore watching the fishermen haul them up from their lobster pots and bring them clattering to the shore while singing sea shanties and talking of the sea as a 'capricious mistress'. Seeing as we live in London, this is not a fantasy I can often indulge in and I'm certainly not going to turn down this treasure from the deep-freeze.One of my favourite things to do with shellfish is keep their shells and bits for bisque. You can freeze them after cooking to do this at a later date, although in this case, I just used the one shell and made the soup straight away. I love the grittiness, the deep spiciness of the soup and it also makes a great sauce for pasta. The recipe is here.I would recommend using fresh lobster where possible, this simple dish really sings and zings so the better quality you can get, the better the end result. To state the obvious.The sweet lobster tail, the delicate claws. The quick pickled apple salad, sharp and crunchy with the aniseed hit of fennel. The warmth and freshness of ginger and the cooling cucumber, mixing among the crisp potato (let's call them chips, for that's what they are) and the punchy garlic aioli dressing that will breathe fear into your neighbours. This is a lunch worthy of any table from the city to the huts in Cadgwith or white sandy beaches in Sri Lanka. And all from the freezer and the fruit bowl.Ingredients for two1 medium lobster per person1 Maris piper potato, finely sliced into matchsticks1 apple, cubed1 small fennel bulb, sliced1/2 a cucumber, deseeded and cubed1 thumb of ginger, peeled and finely chopped50ml cider vinegar1tbsp caster sugar1 large garlic clove, crushed2 egg yolks150ml olive oil1tbsp Dijon mustardA little squeeze of lemon juice or sherry vinegar1tbsp chopped chives2tsp fresh thyme leavesSaltRapeseed oil for fryingMethodMake the aioli by whisking the ingredients (apart from the oil) together and slowly drizzling in the oil as you whisk, until it makes an emulsion. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Cover and set aside.Do what you need to do to the lobster. Cook it and cool it in iced water (probably about 12 minutes cooking depending on size) or defrost it. Carefully remove the tail and claw meat and keep the shell if you're making bisque.Mix the apple, fennel, cucumber and ginger with the vinegar and sugar and let sit for 15 minutes.Meanwhile, heat about four centimetres of oil in a heavy-based saucepan andfry the potato until crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen paper and season well.Serve the salad topped with the lobster and chips, a good dollop of the aioli and a sprinkle of cress and fennel fronds.

Sea aster time

    It's STILL the Easter holidays.The children have not stopped talking to me for two solid days. I think they must breathe through their ears. It's been a stream of consciousness/relentlessness that James Joyce would have struggled with.And from Joyce to Danté. We've just taken Charon's ferry to the new and as yet undiscovered circle of Hell called Gambado, a soft-play torture centre.While the sadistic and at the same time surely masochistic staff feed the crazed children sugary snacks, doubtless aware of the aftermath, all I can do is try and find a quiet corner (unlikely) and hide from their incredible energy levels like out of control hybrid chihuahua-mosquitoes.The children are having a complete riot. I still smell of prawns underlayed with a kind of lingering seaweed scent. No amount of aftershave can mask the possibility that Poseidon is decomposing under my chair.The reason for this is my need for an early lunch to fortify myself. I'd been to the Crystal Palace market on Saturday to visit my favourite fishmongers and support my friend Roberto of trufflestories.co.uk.The prawns wouldn't keep until today, so I'd frozen them when I got back. They were magnificent, and at £7 for two, while not cheap (and why should they be?) they are so much nicer, in my opinion, than lobster. I'd rather four of these, cooked in garlic butter than one small lobster any day.I'd also picked up a large handful of sea aster, reminiscent of samphire crossed with spinach. I bought a bag of truffle taglierini to go with them and that was all I needed. Cooking amazing food really can be this simple. Great ingredients and this dish was ready in about ten minutes, not taking into account the boiling of the pasta water. Make sure you wash your hands well after peeling the prawns and rootling about in the sea aster. Unless you like being chased by cats.Ingredients for two4 huge prawns, shell on50-60g truffle taglierini. If not, normal taglierini or angel hair spaghetti will do the job. God forbid, but you could possibly add a dash of white truffle oil if you were desparate for the funkiness of truffleA handful of sea aster1 large clove of garlic, crushedA pinch of chilli flakesA grating of nutmegExcellent quality olive oil. It really does make a difference hereMaldon salt to seasonMethodBring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and toss through with some olive oil.Meanwhile, cook the prawns in some olive oil with a little salt in a very hot sauté pan, then when done, add the garlic and cook for about a minute more on a slightly lower heat so you don't burn it.Throw in the sea aster and wilt it for a minute, give a good twist of nutmed and a pinch of salt to taste then mix through with the pasta. Serve immediately with another little drizzle of oil. 

Salmon to watch over me

 A small package, wrapped in a brown paper mushroom bag arrived for me from Eugene, Oregon the other week. Inside, thanks to my friend Linda Schindler, was vanilla salt. She said the people that make it promise it will change your life. Unsure whether I wanted my life to be changed, it's been on the shelf in the kitchen, winking at me since like a gateway salt. But I knew what I wanted to use it for, and just needed a little time to unleash the magic. It was either going to be cod or salmon with vanilla beurre blanc, and I chose the salmon so I could crisp and char the skin for crunch.Vanilla and fish is nothing new, The French Laundry is known for it's vanilla poached lobster. And on the island of Comoro near Madagascar, it has been a combination since the 1890s. Still, it's not that often seen on menus here in London, at least not in the kind of places I eat, which admittedly are these days more likely to be a cold shipping container in a car park on a rare date night, or our local Indian 'street food' canteen with the children. Although, how something can be called street food when you eat it inside at a table under a roof and in a room is beyond me.When summer wheezes it's way over the horizon for ten minutes this July and the barbecue is dusted off, hosed down, thrown away and a new one bought, a pan of this vanilla infused butter sauce will be on standby to pour over the grilled lobsters or langoustines. For now, I'll content myself with burning charring the salmon skin and the onions on the cast iron griddle for that smoky flavour.The first time I had fish with beurre blanc I thought I'd never eat again. And to an extent, I don't think I've had a more memorable dish since. It was like a scene in a '6os parody after smoking a jazz cigarette. Angels started gently singing and the world melted into the swirling background. How could food taste this good?We were at Brasserie des Cappucines in Paris, a large family lunch for my Great Aunt's 85th birthday. It was one of those historic meals where you even remember how amazing the loos were. And in three weeks time, we will be off again to celebrate her 100th, although God only knows where we'll be going this time, I imagine we'll be eating at the Elysée Palace or on top of the Arc de Triomphe. One is not often 100 years old.The rich sharpness of this most simple sauces suits the sweet, flaky and creamy texture of fish; it's the most elevated comfort food, so simple to make yet so luxurious seeming. In essence, it's just hot vinegar and cold butter.I used tarragon vinegar and the finely chopped stems of the onion flowers as the base for the beurre blanc, finishing it with a pinch of the vanilla to give it the extra luxury. A little cream would turn it into beurre Nantaise if you fancy a little more richness. And cooking the salmon seasoned with the most gentle of vanilla twists, the heady aromatic comes through without being overpowering. It's a little like a cuddle from Yvette Carte-Blanche in the cellar of Café Artois. But listen very carefully, I shall say this only once: salmon must be cooked medium rare.You can make your own vanilla salt by scraping the seeds into the salt and mixing it well. Chop up the pod a little and throw it in then leave, sealed for a few days to infuse. It goes equally well into caramel as it does onto salmon.Ingredients for two2 salmon fillets, about 200g eachA bunch of onion flowers (if you can't get these, use spring onion)75ml tarragon vinegar150g salted butter, cold and cubedA few good twists of vanilla saltMethodHeat a griddle pan to foundry level furnace hot and season the salmon all over with the vanilla salt and let it sit for a few minutes before cooking. This will help firm it and stop the proteins leaking out and forming unsightly white bits.Reduce the vinegar by three quarters in a saucepan with a handful of finely sliced onion stems.Slowly whisk in the butter, a little at a time until it's emulsified and smooth. Taste and season. Keep gently warm until the fish is cooked.Cook the salmon skin-side first until its crisp, then flip it over and cook for a minute or so more until slightly translucent in the middle. Leave to rest while you char the onions on the griddle.Serve the fish with the onions and beurre blanc, a final little twist of the vanilla salt accompanied with a Jerusalem artichoke gratin or purée.   

Polenta, lobster and squid ink tomatoes

Tinned fish is one of life's simple pleasures, and for me tinned sardines have become a gateway drug to other, more eye-watering products. As well as coming in all kinds of lovely design, they make a healthy and immediate snack or light meal served with some good, dense toast.A tin of scallops in 'Viera sauce' was the inspiration for this dish. That may not sound appetising or even real (no one I know has ever heard of Viera sauce), but not being one to shy away from trying things, I plunged in. It was inky and rich, like a loaded Mills and Boon hero and every mouthful was a delight. As long as you don't imagine for a second it's going to taste anything like a beautiful plump Scottish scallop and possibly don't question too deeply the provenance, this is a tin worth investigating.I wanted to make this at home and turn it into something more substantial and I happened, as you do, to have a couple of frozen, cooked lobster to hand. (If you're not going to eat it fresh, then you can treat it a little more like frozen prawns, and not with the reverence that most people seem to attach to this grumpy bastard of the ocean.)This, with the rich, silky polenta -which I see as a vehicle for holding together melted butter- and the deep iron sweetness of the sauce is an amazingly tasty dish and the liquid smoke adds a great hint of winter cosiness. Just make sure that for the sauce you use good sweet tomatoes like these. It takes little time to make (if you use instant polenta) and is very impressive when you've got people round for dinner. Or for when you eat it standing up at the kitchen bench wondering if it's going to snow. Not bad for a miserable January lunchtime.Ingredients1 small lobster per person300g Datterino tomatoes100g polenta (I used instant polenta with a 5:1 ratio to water)50g butterA large pinch of saffron strands1tbsp liquid smoke500ml water2tbsp squid inkOlive oil2 banana shallots, sliced thinly1 clove of garlic, roughly choppedSalt and pepper1tsp grated nutmegSome lemon thyme leavesMethodCook your lobster if fresh (this should take around 12-15 minutes in boiling water), plunge into cold water then gently take out the meat from the body and claws. Save the shell and innards to freeze for making bisque at a later date. For this I get into trouble. Part of our freezer is like Quincy's lab, except with animal parts.Cook the polenta with some saffron and five parts water. Soak it first for about fifteen minutes then season and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and stir often. When it's cooked (and you may need to add a little more water if it's getting too dry) whisk in the butter and taste to check the seasoning. The whole thing should be smooth, rich and not grainy.Meanwhile, make the sauce by gently sautéing the shallots and garlic in olive oil, then add the tomatoes, nutmeg and balsamic. Simmer gently until the tomatoes break down and lose their rawness, about fifteen minutes. Taste and season.Serve by smoothly dolloping the polenta on a plate, topping with the sauce and lobster and some of the thyme leaves. Finish with good olive oil.

A potted fish story

Kevin, our plumber, has buggered off to France on the proceeds of our unfinished boiler. This has, however, led to the discovery of an unopened tin of ghee beneath the fuse box in the cupboard. It may not be quite the same as finding a Rembrant in the attic but still, it's a nice surprise.For many years I've been bored senseless by potted shrimp. And recently in Devon I swore that if I were to ever have another crab sandwich it would be under circumstances of extreme duress. And as for fish and chips, there is only one acceptable situation to eat them, and that is in winter on a cold and blowy beach. There, and only there, can you eat hot, salty, vinegar laced chips and pearly, soft white flaking fish. Even then it's still rubbish.However, I believe most things can be improved by the judicious application of spice. I'd add spices to anything, possibly even my toothpaste to pep it up and excite me. Wars and empires have been fought and forged over them, so the least I feel I can do is use them. And this recipe is proof why. I've swapped prawns for crayfish, clarified butter for curry leaf infused ghee and replaced nutmeg, Cayenne pepper and mace with garam masala. (The nutmeg, Cayenne and mace have, in a nod to the original, gone into the bread).It's a pretty quick dish and a real flavour hit. Serve with the butter still slightly soft but deep yellow and translucent.Ingredients160g crayfish tailsA small handful of curry leaves, ideally fresh, the dried ones are a load of rubbish1tbsp garam masalaA pinch of salt and pepper2 spring onions2 green finger chillies, slicedA load of ghee (about 250g)2tbsp coconut oilA few coriander leavesFor the bread2tbsp chickpea (gram) flour2tbsp wholemeal flour150ml waterA good grating of nutmeg1tsp Cayenne pepper1tsp powdered maceA pinch of saltA few twists of pepperMethodMelt the ghee and coconut oil and add the curry leaves, garam masala and season well with salt and pepper. Leave to cool a little and skim the surface of any impurities.Divide the crayfish between two pots and add the spring onions and chilli.Pour the butter over the crayfish and leave to chill in the fridge until fairly set, but still spoonable, a bit like a melting mango sorbet. If serving later, you'll need to remove them about half an hour in advance to soften unless you want to practice your spoon bending.Make the bread (although it's more like a sort of pancake-type affair) by mixing the ingredients together to form a fairly thick, spreadable batter.Heat a cast iron pan until very hot then spoon on half the mixture and start to spread it around the pan, almost as if you were painting it on. As it cooks, this will become easier and you should be able to form a circle, but don't worry, make it whatever shape you like, as long as it is an even thickness.Leave it to cook until golden on one side, then flip over and finish it off. Repeat with the remaining mix.Serve the bread with the pots of crayfish, a sprinkle of coriander leaves and some Bombay mix, which I suggest you buy. If you think I'm making my own, you can think again.

Taco Chance on Me

We've recently started taco evenings with the children and they've been a roaring success. I suppose it's the spread of food in front of them and the feeling of building your own meal that appeals to them. We're sharing everything together and I think it means they feel quite grown up and part of the fun.Usually, I'll just make a chicken dish seasoned with cumin, oregano, chilli and other bits and pieces (we call it taco seasoning, it could be called adobo spices), but this time I got the heavy guns out and went a bit nuts. There was plenty left over which went in freezer bags for next time, so it wasn't as crazy as it looked when I lay it all down. I'd suggest picking one or two dishes depending on how many people you're feeding and depending on how long you want to spend in the kitchen. I was in a food frenzy, you may not want to be.Whatever you do, you must serve the tacos with guacamole, sour cream, chopped tomatoes and grated cheddar.The dishes we had are as follows (deep breath):Homemade corn tortillas, guacamole, pico de gallo, adobo sauce, chicken with taco seasoning, red onion pickle, sour cream, slow cooked shredded pork cheek with barbecue sauce, fried prawns with Old Bay seasoning, lime and coriander mayonnaise, shredded gem lettuce,spring onions, coriander leaves  and lime wedges.All this for an early evening supper with the kids. Totally bonkers and never again on such a scale, unless someone pays me.The children loved making the tortillas though, and if you don't have a tortilla press (they're cheap and available on mexgrocer.co.uk along with almost everything you may need for mexican receipes) you may want to save yourself the bother and buy corn tortillas ready-made. Of course, they're not as good and often have wheat flour in but if it saves your nerves from becoming as shredded as the pork, then it's probably a good thing.The pickled red onion recipe is here, but for the rest (apart from guacamole, I'm not going to bother giving a recipe for that) hold your breath and keep reading.Corn Tortillas:One part masa harina (corn flour) to one part warm water and a pinch of salt.Simply mix the ingredients together until they form a dough much like 'playdoh', leave to rest and then form into small balls and press between sheets of plastic (I used a cut up ziplock sandwich bag) on the tortilla maker. Cook on a volcanic cast-iron griddle pan until both sides are tortilla-like then throw on a plate and continue until you have a pile of them. Cover and leave until you're ready to eat.Pico de Gallo:This is essentially a fiery tomato salsa, but here, I've left the cherry tomatoes quite large so it's a little like a salad. Just mix together a load of chopped cherry tomatoes, some finely sliced onions, a chopped serrano chilli, some fresh coriander, salt and a good squeeze of lime juice. Leave to rest for about twenty minutes before serving.Adobo Sauce:I soaked a large dried ancho and chipotle chilli in hot water for about half an hour then blended it with a thumb of ginger a tablespoon of ground cumin and a pinch of salt. That's it. It's pretty intense and sharp, but goes really well with the other dishes.Chicken with Taco Seasoning:Take one chicken breast and slice it thinly across. Toss it in a bowl with as much as you feel of paprika, pepper, onion powder, oregano, cumin, garlic powder, salt, chilli powder and ground coriander. Why don't you start with equal amounts of each, see what you like and adjust it from there. Then, as I have done, you can make a big jar of it and you've got tacos a-go-go hey presto!Sauté the chicken in a hot frying pan with some olive oil until cooked. Add a splash of water at the end to deglaze the pan and pour everything into a bowl.Shredded Pork in Barbecue Sauce:This is a slow-cooker winner. I now buy all my meat from the incredible Anne Petch at Heal Farm in Devon. It's close to the supermarket prices and miles above in quality and welfare. She sends it by courier the next day and I cannot recommend her highly enough. I discovered her in Jane Grigson's 'English Food' and was delighted to find she's online and thriving. I felt I knew the pigs I was eating, and being in London feel much more connected to the food as is possible in a city.Take one onion, two cloves of garlic and 500g of pork cheek (diced) and brown them in a pan with some olive oil. Season well and add to the slow cooker.Add one sliced green chilli and some dried thyme sprigs and turn the slow cooker onto high. If you don't have one, you could cook this in a casserole in a low oven for the same amount of time.Make the barbecue sauce by stirring together: 1tsp tomato purée, a pinch of coconut sugar (or brown if you don't have any), a good squeeze of lime juice, probably about a lime's worth, a large pinch (depending on the size of your fingers) of garlic powder, some chilli powder, Cayenne pepper, thyme leaves, dried oregano, ground cumin, finely diced onion, chipotle paste, a good splash of Worcestershire sauce, a spoonful of Dijon mustard and some tabasco sauce. As for exact amounts, just trust your nose and instincts. I make mine with varying pinch sizes every time and it's always delicious.Add the barbecue sauce to the pork cheeks, stir well and cook with the lid on on high for four hours. Cool a little and shred with a pork. Pour into a bowl to serve. This one's a winner the next day in a sandwich too.Fried Prawns with Old Bay Seasoning:Or shrimp, as the Americans would have it, is a version of the famous fish taco. You can buy Old Bay here and I'd recommend a box for the packaging alone. I made a quick batter with flour, sparkling water and a good few spoons of Old Bay then deep-fried them until crisp. Easy as that.Lime and Coriander Mayonnaise:Make some mayonnaise and stir in some lime juice, lime zest, pepper and chopped coriander. What else do you want to know?And that's pretty much all you need for a taco party. Just make sure you're wearing elasticated trousers and have no plans for the evening. Even if you're having these at lunchtime.

Quick Pickled Red Onion

The eye-watering sharpness of a pickled onion from the fish and chip shop feels like they've been steeped in jet fuel or paint stripper. It appeals to me in the same way sour sweets or extra-hot chillies do, almost a test of endurance. But there is pleasure to be had in bitterness. The sharpness of pickles cuts through the richest meat and it's no wonder jalapenos in vinegar are a staple with nachos, or chutneys and sharp fruits go so well with roasts or cold leftovers.I often get these ideas in my head that it would be greatly frugal and Mrs Beeton-like if I made a ton of apple chutney or a vat of pickled courgettes and so on. But in truth, these jars sit at the back of the cupboard slowly softening and melting until I need the jar for something else.Knowing myself better, I find it much better to make small quantities of quick pickles for immediate use and occasional using up over the coming fortnight. Radish and mushroom for example to go with a quick poached salmon fillet for a light supper. Just a small bowlful, covered with vinegar and sugar and rested for about twenty minutes is perfect.Here, I've made half a jar of red onion slices in white wine vinegar. Perfect for our weekly tacos with the children as a final topping and also finding its way into the occasional sandwich.It's still important to sterilise the jar. But this is as easy as giving it a quick wash with hot soapy water and blasting it in the microwave for two minutes. Don't forget to remove the metal parts beforehand though.Ingredients2 red onions, peeled and finely slicedEnough white wine vinegar to cover2tbsp salt2tbsp coconut sugar or unrefined golden caster or brown sugarAbout ten peppercornsOne or two red chillies1tbsp allspice berriesA sprig of thymeA couple of fresh bay leavesMethodPut the onions in a sieve and pour over a kettle-full of boiling water to soften and blanch them.Dissolve the sugar and salt in the vinegar and add the remaining ingredients.Put the onions in a glass jar and pour over the vinegar mixture. Leave for at least half an hour before eating but it tastes even better the next day. This keeps well for about five days. And goes brilliantly with fish and seafood as well as tacos.

Claws is Coming to Town

My freezer is sometimes an Aladdin's cave, sometimes a forgotten morgue. I've found pigs trotters, prawn and lobster shells, strange soups and chicken bones bagged and labeled under Thai broths, strange soup experiments and well intentioned litre upon litre of stock.

While it's great for fish fingers and other things for the children, I really need to be better at keeping it organised. I need a chest freezer in the shed for the bodies  more experimental stuff that I will use, just not on a daily, home basis.On one of the semi-regular inventories, I found a bag of crab claws, cooked and still with the tip attached. While nowhere near fresh crab, it's still a good back up for a quick snack.Defrosted, pepped up a little with spice, topped with the crunch of hazelnut, the fresh mineral zing of spinach and dipped in this lemony piquante mayonnaise, it made a great surprise lunch. Not that lunch was a surprise, it usually happens, more that is was better than the limp lettuce I had in the salad drawer. And that's another story...Ingredients:A load of cooked crab claws, frozen or fresh1tbsp Cayenne pepper1tsp chilli flakesA handful of chopped baby spinach leavesA handful of chopped hazelnutsSalt and pepperMayonnaise made in the usual way but with:1tbsp ground fenugreek1tbsp lemon juice2tbsp olive oil1tbsp Dijon mustardMethod:Make the mayonnaise, stirring in the extra ingredients and tasting to check the seasoning.Put the crab claws in a bowl and toss around in the spices, spinach and nuts. Season well.Serve the crab with the mayonnaise and some ice cold ginger beer.

Gooseberry with Mackerel, Chilli and Galangal

It's been such a long time since I've eaten gooseberries. Perhaps since childhood, picked from the bushes in friends' gardens. Maybe once in jam at Badger's Tea House in Alfriston. A really toothsome Victoria sponge with elderflower buttercream.We rely on supermarkets so much these days that it's easy to miss short seasons, food we all knew. If you're lucky enough to have a good farm shop (I have Franklin's near me), market or grocers nearby you should be able to get gooseberries. And for that matter lots of other stuff the big shops can't be bothered with.This recipe is a semi-classic, (in fact, 'groseille à maquereau' is French for gooseberry) but I've added a hint of spice to it to give it a little zing. You don't need a million ingredients to make a great meal, and as well as being incredibly quick to make, I'd be more than happy if I was served this in a restaurant.Use the freshest mackerel you can get, and if gooseberries aren't available, try rhubarb or grapefruit instead.Ingredients:2 mackerel fillets1/2tsp coconut oil2 green chillies, sliced1 thumb-sized piece of galangal1tbsp raw honeyA handful of gooseberries (depending on your hand size, about 160g)1/2tsp ground coriander2 cloves1tbsp double creamMustard cressA drizzle of lemon oilSaltMethod:Add the coconut oil to a saucepan and put in the chillies and grate in the galangal. You could use ginger root if you don't have any, but the flavour will be stronger.Add a pinch of salt and the spices, then the gooseberries and honey. Stir well and cook on a medium heat until the berries begin to soften and collapse a little.Stir in the cream and remove from the heat.Heat a cast iron sauté pan, score the fish skin and season well. Put the fillets in skin side up. While they are cooking, use a blowtorch to cook the top of the fish, charring it well so it turns black and gold. If you don't have a blowtorch, finish the fish under a hot grill.Let the fish rest for a minute, then serve with the sauce, a few raw, sliced gooseberries, the cress and lemon oil. A crisp green salad with hazelnut oil dressing and some charred baguette slices finish this off perfectly. 

Root One

I suffer from low curry levels if I go more than four days without one. This clearly quite serious situation can result in either a delivery, a trip to Ganapati in Peckham or  a whole, and very enjoyable afternoon crafting a feast of Moghul wedding proportions.Saturday night, however, and I was like the walking dead with tiredness and while we fancied an 'Indian', we weren't really hungry enough for any of the above. This is where my ten minute curry comes in. Freezer and storecupboard combining in perfect symmetry. I even surprised myself with how quick this was. The rice took the longest to cook here, so it's quicker than a delivery too. And you're not left with that slightly dirty feeling afterwards...The fresh turmeric here gives an amazingly vivid flavour. Mush better than dried. And it's so good for you, apparently. This curry is slightly sweet with a nice chilli kick and plenty of spices. Feel free to adjust he chilli as you need. You'll be able to make this quicker than the time it takes to phone your order through.So with normal levels restored we could face the crowds and mud at Glastonbury from the comfort of the sofa. Perfect.Ingredients:Coconut oil1 onion, sliced1bsp ginger puree1tbsp garlic puree3 small green chillies (or fewer)250g shelled tiger prawns1tbsp ground cumin1/2tbsp ground coriander3cm grated fresh turmeric (or 1tbsp dried)1tbsp ground fenugreek1tsp poppy seeds1tsp yellow mustard seeds (I was just throwing things from the spice boxes in by this point, so feel free to stop if you like)1/4 tin of coconut milkSalt and pepper to seasonA squeeze of lemon juiceChopped coriander to serveMethod:Heat a frying pan and soften the onions in some coconut oil then add the purees, chilli and spices. Cook for a few minutes.Grate in the turmeric and add the prawns. Turn the heat up and cook the prawns for a minute until they start to turn pink. Add the coconut milk, season and stir well. Bring the sauce to the boil and reduce the heat to a simmer for about four minutes.Serve with a squeeze of lemon juice and some fresh coriander leaves and a big portion of fluffy basmati rice.