James Martin's Great British Adventure
Page 4
PAN-FRIED COD WITH A WARM TARTARE SAUCE
Large line-caught cod are one of the true delicacies of the cold waters around Britain; the smaller trawler-caught fish are mainly from the waters further north and are used for the fish and chip industry. A nice chunk of cod simply cooked is a delight with a warm tartare sauce. This is simple to make, but take care not to boil the sauce as the eggs in the mayonnaise will start to curdle.
SERVES 2
40g butter
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 x 150-g skinless cod fillets
200g cooked Maris Piper potatoes, diced
50g fresh podded or frozen peas
bunch of asparagus
100g samphire
For the tartare sauce
50ml hot fish stock
100ml double cream
1 tablespoon fresh mayonnaise
1 little gem lettuce, shredded
4 baby gherkins, diced
1 teaspoon nonpareille capers
a few dill fronds, chopped
50g white Cromer crab meat
juice of ½ lemon
Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat until hot then add 15g of the butter. Season the cod and as soon as the butter has melted, add the fillets to the pan and cook for 2–3 minutes on one side. Carefully turn them over and cook for a further 2–3 minutes, until the fish is opaque all the way through. Lift onto a warm plate, then cover and rest. Set the pan aside to use for the sauce.
Pop the remaining butter into a separate medium saucepan and place over a medium heat. As soon as the butter has melted, stir in the potatoes and peas. Cut the asparagus spears in half and dice the bottom half of the stems. Add these to the pan together with the samphire. Season well and cook, stirring everything together, for 2–3 minutes.
To make the tartare sauce, pour the stock and cream into the frying pan the fish was cooked in. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer. Add the mayonnaise, lettuce, gherkins, capers, dill and crab meat. Season well then stir in the lemon juice, mixing everything together.
To serve, divide the potato, pea and asparagus mixture between two warmed bowls, top each with a portion of cod and spoon the warm tartare sauce over the top.
PAN-FRIED PLAICE WITH LANGOUSTINES
If there was one thing I would choose for food heaven it would be this fish and fresh langoustines. For years in this country we’ve mainly enjoyed langoustines breaded and deep fried as scampi. The best scampi, by the way, is at The Stapylton Arms in Wass, Yorkshire – you need to visit and try them. Rob works behind the hobs and Gill works the front of house in this classic pub which also offers good beer and great steak.
SERVES 4
24 langoustines, cooked and shelled (shells reserved)
2 shallots, sliced
½ head of celery, chopped
½ leek, chopped
12 black peppercorns
50ml double cream
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 x 150-g plaice fillets
25ml olive oil
50g butter
juice of 1 lemon
50ml champagne
small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
To make a stock, put the langoustine shells into a large pan, bash them with a rolling pin to break them up a little bit, then pour in 1 litre of cold water.
Cover the pan and bring to the boil, then add the shallots, celery, leek and peppercorns and simmer for 10 minutes.
Strain the stock through a fine sieve into a clean, hot pan, bring to the boil and simmer until it’s reduced by half. Pour in the cream and simmer until the sauce has reduced by half again.
Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat until hot. Season the plaice fillets on the underside.
Drizzle the oil into the pan and add half of the butter. When the butter is foaming, add the fish and cook on one side for 1 minute. Add half of the remaining butter, then turn the fish over and cook for a further 30 seconds. Lift onto a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain and cover to keep warm.
Using the same pan, gently heat the langoustines and lemon juice to warm through.
Finish the sauce by keeping the pan over a low to medium heat and stirring in the remaining butter. Pour in the champagne and stir in the parsley, reserving a little for garnish. Season to taste.
To serve, spoon the sauce onto each warmed plate, pop the plaice on top, spoon the langoustines over and sprinkle with a little parsley.
PLAICE WITH CRAB FRITTERS
This recipe uses the same mixture as a choux pastry for desserts like éclairs but when mixed with crab and deep fried it makes a great snack or garnish to a main course. These fritters go brilliantly with fresh fish roasted on the bone to keep all the flavour and moisture in. Billingsgate Fish Market in London used to sell 30 million plaice a year at the height of the fish’s popularity but it is often overlooked these days. It is available all year round, but I find it is best from summer to mid-winter. It’s an amazing-tasting fish if cooked simply, as here.
SERVES 4
1 large plaice (fins, skirt and tail removed)
vegetable oil, for greasing
15g butter
For the crab fritters
85g butter, diced
115g strong plain bread flour
400g brown crab meat
3 medium eggs
a pinch of sea salt
1–2 litres vegetable oil, for deep-frying
For the sauce
100ml dry white wine
200g white crab meat
100ml double cream
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
75g butter
juice of ½ lemon
For the samphire
10g butter
200g samphire
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan)/400°F/gas 6.
Put the plaice on a chopping board, with the head facing away from you. Carefully cut down one side of the central bone and work the knife against the fish bones to release the fillet, but don’t cut all the way through – it should still be attached. Do the same on the other side. Open out the fillets so they lie flat on either side of the fish. Lift onto an oiled roasting tray, dot with the butter and roast for 15–20 minutes, until the fish is opaque and the central bone lifts away from the flesh. If there is any pink flesh around the bone, continue to cook, checking every 2–3 minutes.
To make the crab fritters, pour 200ml water into a medium saucepan and add the butter. Place over a medium heat and as soon as the butter has melted, bring to a rolling boil. Add the flour and beat well for about 1 minute over the heat until smooth. Take the pan off the heat and cool slightly, then stir in the crab. Beat in the eggs, one by one, until the dough is smooth and glossy, then stir in the salt.
For the sauce, put the wine, crab meat and cream into a pan, stir together and season. Place over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Add the butter and lemon juice and as soon as the butter has melted, take off the heat and blitz with a stick blender. Cover and keep warm.
Heat the vegetable oil in a deep-fat fryer to 200°C (400°F) or in a deep, heavy-based saucepan until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns brown when dropped into it. (Note: hot oil can be dangerous; do not leave unattended.) Line a tray with kitchen paper. Lower heaped tablespoons of fritter mixture into the hot oil, frying in batches of 3–4 for approximately 2 minutes, until golden and crispy. Lift onto the lined tray and season with salt.
Finally, cook the samphire. Heat the butter and 25ml water in a medium pan until the butter has melted. Add the samphire, season well and cook for 1 minute.
Lift the fish onto a platter, top with the crab fritters then scatter over the samphire. Drizzle with the sauce and serve.
SEAWEED-DEEP-FRIED PLAICE WITH BROWN CRAB MAYONNAISE & LEMON
This was the last dish I cooked on the road trip and it was probably the one I was looking forward to the most. The crew didn’t make it easy for me,
perched on a rock face overlooking Padstow and Rock, but it seemed the right place to cook it, mainly because I had access to incredible fish and the dried dulse seaweed that works as a seasoning in this batter. Using the brown crab meat in the mayo is something I do back in the restaurant; it’s easier to make there, too, but with the help of my mate and great cook Paul Ainsworth (see Sausage Rolls with Crispy Bacon & A Fruity Dipping Sauce), this was one of my and the filmcrew’s favourites.
SERVES 3
6 plaice fillets
1–2 litres vegetable oil, for deep-frying
1 lemon, cut into 6 wedges
For the batter
250g plain flour
1 tablespoon bicarbonate of soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon dulse seaweed powder
250ml sparkling water
For the mayonnaise
3 egg yolks
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
200ml vegetable oil
100g brown crab meat
juice of ½ lemon
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Start by making the mayonnaise. Whisk the egg yolks and Dijon mustard together in a large bowl until smooth. Slowly pour the vegetable oil into the bowl, starting with a little drizzle and whisking well. This is easiest to do with an electric hand whisk. Continue to drizzle in the remaining oil, whisking all the time, until the mixture has thickened. Stir in the brown crab meat and lemon juice and season to taste.
Heat the vegetable oil in a deep-fat fryer to 180°C (350°F) or in a deep, heavy-based saucepan until a breadcrumb sizzles and turns brown when dropped into it. (Note: hot oil can be dangerous; do not leave unattended.) Line a plate or tray with kitchen paper.
Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl. Stir in the seaweed then slowly pour in the sparkling water, whisking well until you have a smooth batter.
Lower 3 of the fish fillets into the batter and toss to coat, making sure they’re completely covered, then use tongs to lift them out and carefully lower them into the hot oil. Cook for 2 minutes, until golden and crispy, then lift onto the kitchen paper and season with salt. Batter and fry the remaining fish.
Spoon the mayonnaise into a bowl and serve 2 fish fillets and 2 lemon wedges per person.
GURNARD & RED MULLET WITH ORANGE-CHARRED CHICORY & CAULIFLOWER PURÉE
I first came across red mullet in French markets and on the menus when I was training over there. It’s a fish that’s mainly caught around the east, west and south coasts, like the gurnard – both have an amazing flavour and can take quite strong garnishes like this chicory. If you want to push the boat out, cooked red mullet liver tastes great spread over toast. The gurnard is an Atlantic and Mediterranean ocean fish; it’s a prehistoric-looking thing with big, red winged gills and is good value.
SERVES 2
2 green chicory bulbs
1 red chicory bulb
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 tablespoon caster sugar
zest of 1 orange, juice of 2
25g sultanas
a few thyme sprigs
200ml chicken stock
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g butter
1 small cauliflower, 6 leaves separated and florets chopped
500ml milk
2 x 100-g gurnard fillets
2 x 100-g red mullet fillets
Cut each chicory bulb in half lengthways. Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat until hot. Drizzle the cut sides of the chicory with oil and pop them in, cut-side down. Cook until charred. Sprinkle over the caster sugar and cook until the sugar caramelises.
Add the orange zest, orange juice, sultanas and thyme and pour over the stock. Season well and simmer over a medium heat until the sauce has reduced by half. Finish with a third of the butter, shaking the pan slightly once it’s melted.
Put the cauliflower florets into a medium saucepan with the milk. Cook over a gentle heat until the cauliflower is soft, then blitz in a liquidiser or use a stick blender to whizz in the pan until smooth. Season and add half the remaining butter. Pour into a clean pan over a very low heat to keep warm.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan and add the last of the butter. Once the butter has melted and starts to foam, place the gurnard fillets in, skin-side down, season and cook for 2 minutes. Add the mullet fillets, again skin-side down, season and cook for another minute then flip all the fillets over. Add the cauliflower leaves and cook for another minute.
To serve, spoon the cauliflower purée onto 2 plates, then 3 halves of the chicory onto each. Top with a fillet of each fish and the cauliflower leaves and drizzle over the sauce.
DOVER SOLE WITH BROWN BUTTER & WATERCRESS
Simply, simply, simply is the way you need to cook Dover sole. It is one of the best fish out there and sadly, like so much other fish we catch in this country, it gets immediately exported. Best caught off the south coast from Dover round to Hastings, it’s a delicate fish that we should enjoy more often. It is delicious cooked whole and on the bone and eaten with brown butter to add a touch of bitterness to the dish. This is a real chef’s favourite to eat, I promise.
SERVES 2
2 tablespoons plain flour
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 Dover sole, filleted
3 tablespoons olive oil
200g butter
juice of 1 lemon
small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
To serve
small bunch of watercress
Line a sieve with muslin and rest it over a bowl. Spoon the flour into a shallow dish and season well. Dip the fish fillets into the flour and coat well, then shake briefly to dust off any excess.
Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over a medium heat until hot. Add the oil, swirl it around to heat it, then lay the sole fillets into the pan. Cook the fish for 1–2 minutes until golden (you may need to lower the heat slightly at this stage, so the pan doesn’t become too hot) then flip the fillets over and cook on the other side for 1–2 minutes more. Pop onto a warmed plate.
Put the pan back over a medium heat and add the butter. Cook until the butter turns nut brown – it’s ready when it smells nutty – then take the pan immediately off the heat and strain through the muslin-lined sieve. Stir the lemon juice and parsley into the butter in the bowl, then spoon over the fish and serve straightaway with the watercress alongside.
MARLOES SANDS SEAFOOD PARCEL
Just a stone’s throw from St Davids, Marloes Sands was one of many places I hadn’t been before I started this trip and, like the others, it didn’t disappoint. The coastline here in Wales is beautiful and looks even better from a sea canoe, bobbing up and down in search of rock samphire. This stretch of beach is owned by the National Trust, though, so don’t go picking any – it is always best to go foraging with a guide who can run through what you can and can’t eat. It is really fascinating to see what is out there along our shores and in the countryside.
SERVES 4
100g smoked back bacon, cut into 1-cm strips
600g haddock, cut into 4 pieces
1 teaspoon dried dulse flakes
1 teaspoon dried kelp flakes
50g cockles in their shells, cleaned
4 whole medium raw prawns
1 medium courgette, cut into batons
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
a few sprigs of dill, leaves picked
25g butter, cubed
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
crusty bread
Light your BBQ. When the coals are silvery in colour, it’s ready to start cooking.
Heat a medium frying pan over a medium heat and dry-fry the bacon until crispy. Lift onto a plate and set aside.
Tear two large squares of foil, approximately 30 x 30cm, then tear the same sized pieces of baking parchment and lay on top of each square of foil.
Put two pieces of haddock into the middle of each square and sprinkle over the dulse and kelp seaweed. Add all the other ingredients, dividing them equally between the two squares, and season well. Pour 1 tablespoon of water over each then bring the foil up and around the ingredients and seal well.
Place the parcels onto the BBQ and cook for 8–10 minutes, then open each parcel to check everything’s cooked – the haddock should be opaque, the cockles should have opened and the prawns should have turned pink.
Unwrap each parcel and divide each between two plates. Serve with plenty of crusty bread to dip in the delicious juices.
BLAIR CASTLE SALMON WITH SAFFRON SAUCE
Salmon fishing with Tom Kitchin was a must on this trip but, like my days of fishing on Scottish rivers in previous years, it had the same result: nothing. We had just driven back from a massive trek up the glen and spent the afternoon on the Tay in search of one of Scotland’s elusive (to me, anyway) wild salmon. Still, there can be few things more uplifting than a day in the Scottish Highlands when the weather is stunning.
SERVES 4
25ml rapeseed oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 x 200-g salmon fillets, skin on
1 shallot, diced
1 medium fennel bulb, sliced
1 garlic clove, diced
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
50ml dry white wine
250g mussels, cleaned and debearded (see my tip)
100g langoustine tails
100g crayfish, shelled
100ml double cream
pinch of saffron
small bunch of chives, chopped
small bunch of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
Heat a large, flat griddle pan over a medium to high heat until hot, then drizzle with half the oil. Season the salmon fillets all over and pop on the griddle, skin-side down. Cook for 3–4 minutes then turn over and cook for a further 2 minutes. Set aside on a plate and cover to keep warm.
In a separate large, heavy-based saucepan, heat the remaining oil and add the shallot, fennel, garlic and tomatoes and sauté for 4–5 minutes, until softened but not coloured. Season well then pour in the wine. Add the mussels, langoustines and crayfish, then cover the pan and cook for 2–3 minutes until the mussels have steamed open. Discard any that remain closed.