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Gypsy Tart

07 Tuesday Jul 2020

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Gypsy Tart is a dessert from the Isle of Sheppey in East Kent, in the south-east of England. It comprises a shortcrust pastry base, with a whipped evaporated milk and dark muscovado sugar filling, baked in the oven.

Legend has it that a woman on the Isle of Sheppey took pity on some impoverished-looking gypsy children and invented a tart using whatever ingredients she could find in her home with which to feed them. Whether or not this tale is true, gypsy tart was always popular in school meals.

Although purists might make gypsy tart with regular evaporated milk, condensed milk may be used instead as it is simply evaporated milk that has been sweetened. Whether you prefer to use evaporated or condensed milk in your recipe, always chill the can in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes before you need it, but preferably overnight.

This tart is very sweet and using condensed milk instead of evaporated milk will make it even sweeter with a darker colour, so I would recommend adding less sugar in the mixture. Light muscovado sugar can also be substituted for the molasses-rich dark variety and will also produce a lighter colour.

My version of this tart has a gluten-free pastry case. The flour blend I used already contained Xanthan gum, which acts as a stabilizer, but you will need to add a little extra to ensure the pastry holds together well. If you are not a coeliac or sensitive to gluten, then you may use regular plain flour.

I made a slightly sweet shortcrust pastry which I mixed in a food processor, but the pastry can also be made by the traditional rubbing-in method if you prefer. The pastry case should be baked blind before the filling is added. I brushed beaten egg on the pastry base for the last few minutes to seal it and prevent any leakage from the filling. The rest of the beaten egg can be used in another recipe but I added mine to the mixture and stirred it in thoroughly to combine.

It is crucial to whisk the evaporated milk or condensed milk with the sugar until it thickens sufficiently in order to ‘set’ during baking, otherwise even if it is cooked the filling will go everywhere – although it will still taste delicious either on its own or perhaps with a dollop of crème fraiche. I sprinkled a little cinnamon and nutmeg over the tart before popping it into the oven. The tart is ready once the filling has risen and the surface is tacky. Leave to cool before serving to allow the filling to set.

INGREDIENTS

For the pastry

  • 225g plain (all purpose) gluten-free flour, sifted – I used Dove’s Farm
  • 1 tsp Xanthan gum
  • Pinch of salt
  • 100g unsalted butter, diced
  • 50g icing sugar, sifted
  • 1 medium free-range whole egg, plus 1 beaten.

For the filling

  • 397g can condensed milk or 410g can evaporated milk
  • 250g dark muscovado sugar (300g if using evaporated milk)

First of all, make the pastry. Put the icing sugar and butter in a food processor, add one egg and whizz until combined. Then add the flour and xanthan gum and whizz again until the mixture just comes together. If the mixture still looks crumbly, add a teaspoon of cold water and pulse, repeating if necessary to avoid overworking the pastry.

Dust your clean work surface with flour, turn the dough out on to the work surface bringing it together with your hands and knead lightly, shaping the pastry into a ball or a flat disc. Wrap in cling film or greaseproof paper and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to allow the dough to relax, which produces a lighter, shorter pastry for a good tart base.

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas 4 and grease the base and sides of a 20-23cm tart tin.

If you have made gluten-free pastry, it might be necessary to knead it very lightly before rolling out. Roll out the pastry to about the thickness of a £1 coin and lift it carefully round your rolling pin and into the greased tart tin carefully pushing the pastry into and up the sides of the tin. Prick the base all over with a fork and return to the refrigerator for another 20 minutes to harden.

Line the pastry case with scrunched-up greaseproof or baking paper, fill it with ceramic or glass baking beans (use dry rice, beans, pasta or lentils if you have no baking beans) and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Remove the baking beans, brush the beaten second egg over the base and return to the oven for 3 minutes or until the base is golden and the sides set. Reduce the oven temperature to 170C/150 fan/325F/gas 3.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Beat together the condensed or evaporated milk and the sugar together in a bowl with a hand-held mixer or in a stand mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy. This may take up to 20 minutes. Fold in the rest of the beaten egg, if using and pour the mixture into the pre-cooked pastry base and bake for 15 minutes or until risen and the surface is tacky. The tart is ready when there is a slight film over the surface.

Remove the tart from the oven and leave to cool and set before serving. Any leftover tart may be covered over and stored in the refrigerator. Eat within a couple of days.

COOK’S NOTES:

When making the pastry base, you may substitute caster sugar for icing sugar or you may omit the sugar completely for a slightly less sweet tart.

If you want a deeper tart, use a deeper 20cm tart tin rather than a 23cm regular tart tin.

Serve your tart on its own, sprinkled with a little sifted icing sugar or any cream of your choice perhaps with a little citrus zing of finely-grated lemon or lime zest which will help to cut through the sweetness.

DAMPER BREAD WITH SEEDS

17 Sunday May 2020

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Damper Bread with Seeds

During Lockdown2020 it has often been quite difficult to source strong bread flour and yeast, due to people’s renewed interest in baking when long days at home are often focused on finding things to do with the kids or perhaps to perform a good deed for an elderly or self-isolating neighbour who cannot get to the shops and deserves a tasty treat. Even bread itself has sometimes been in short supply. When shelves are empty of ingredients and you need bread, what can you do? Making bread with all-purpose (plain flour) with added baking powder or, alternatively, by using self-raising flour mixed with water, a little salt and one or two extra ingredients if you like – whatever you fancy and have in the store cupboard – can produce a wonderful bread with delicious results.

Damper bread, or damper, is one of my favourite soda breads to eat. It is quick and simple to make, fuss-free with no ‘proving’ of the dough and very versatile. You can add whatever extra ingredients you like to vary the taste each time you make it; chopped olives or sundried tomatoes, herbs, seeds, a teaspoon or two of turmeric powder, walnuts, dates, finely chopped onions, even dried mixed fruit, the choice is yours. In this recipe, I have chosen to use mixed seeds from a health food store and I am using light spelt flour as it is lower in gluten and has a wonderful nutty flavour.

Traditionally a wheat-based bread, damper originates from Australia, when it was first prepared by the early settlers – swagmen, drovers, stockmen and a variety of other travellers – and cooked in the ashes of a campfire or in a camp oven in the outback. Back then it was a staple part of their diet. The early settlers travelled in remote areas for long periods of time and had with them only basic rations comprising flour, sugar and tea supplemented by whatever meat was available. The basic ingredients of a damper bread were flour, water and sometimes milk, and baking soda could be added for leavening. The damper was then cooked in the embers of the campfire. The ashes were flattened and the damper was placed on them and cooked for about 10 minutes. The bread was then covered with ashes and cooked for another 20 or 30 minutes or until it sounded hollow when tapped on the base. The damper could also be cooked in a greased camp oven instead, but in any case it was usually eaten with dried or cooked meat or golden syrup.

Today, damper still remains a popular Australian dish and might be served at a special occasion such as Australia Day. The basic recipe remains much the same but will sometimes contain melted butter. Damper is also popular in New Zealand and South Africa, where it is cooked on a barbecue and perhaps served alongside a meaty braai, for example.

As a young child I lived in Zambia in Southern Africa in the late 1960s/early 1970s and when I was 6 years old learned to cook over an open fire and fire, be it campfire or barbecue, is still one of my favourite cooking methods. It is possible to cook almost anything in this way and indeed I do when the weather is kind!

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cook: 30-35 minutes
Serves 8

INGREDIENTS

450g all-purpose (plain) flour – you can also use plain spelt or wholemeal flour.
3 tsp (1 tbsp) baking powder – I used Dr Oetker
1 tsp fine sea salt
8 fl oz lukewarm water
1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

  1. Preheat your oven to 200C (Gas Mark 6).
  2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, place the flour, salt and baking powder and stir together with a spoon or fork.
  3. In a jug, combine the olive oil and the water, make a well in the centre of the dried ingredients and pour in the oil and water.
  4. Add a handful or two of dried mixed seeds and stir in to incorporate. With clean hands, start to knead gently and bring the mixture together into a dough. Add a splash of extra water if necessary if the dough appears a bit dry.
  5. Turn the dough out on to a clean, floured board and knead the dough until it feels nice and smooth and shape it into a ball.
  6. Place the dough on an oiled baking sheet and mark out 8 segments with the handle of a wooden spoon. Bake in the oven for about 35 minutes.
  7. The bread is ready when you tap the underside and it sounds hollow. Leave on a wire rack to cool and enjoy with butter, some balsamic and olive oil, a little syrup or honey and/or as part of a more substantial meal.

Notes

Substitute self-raising flour for all-purpose if you prefer or do not have plain flour in the store cupboard but do not add baking powder.

Instead of adding seeds, why not try finely chopped onion or bell pepper, chopped herbs or walnuts, chopped olives or sun dried tomatoes or perhaps some raisins?

Oven temperatures vary so check your bread after 30 minutes if it smells cooked or you have a ‘fast’ oven.

Enjoy!

Basil Gnocchi with Mediterranean Vegetables

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During the Lockdown period I have seen a few TV programmes featuring celebrity chefs preparing gnocchi.

Now, I have tried pre-packaged gnocchi from the supermarket several times in the past but it was never to my liking. It often has a strange, slimy texture and is under seasoned, tasting of very little at all; an underwhelming dining experience, it must be said.

For me, texture is a very important consideration when preparing meals. If something looks and tastes ‘wrong’ to my palate I am unable to eat it and I am sure many people share my sentiments. Gnocchi has usually had this effect upon me, thus I tend to avoid it.

However, recently having watched TV programmes showcasing tempting plates and inventive recipe ideas with gnocchi, and then discovering that gnocchi is a slightly healthier alternative to traditional white pasta, I did wonder whether I might be missing out on a taste sensation and might perhaps have more luck making my own gnocchi and, at the same time, make it gluten- and egg-free, so I decided to give it a go.

Gnocchi are little Italian soft dough dumplings often made with a blend of semolina or wheat flour, mashed potato, egg and seasoning and can be fried, baked or boiled. Other ingredients might include cornmeal or breadcrumbs, cheese or egg, and flavourings such as vegetables, herbs, cocoa or prunes.

I used Doves Farm plain (all purpose) gluten-free flour which is a blend of rice, potato, tapioca, maize and buckwheat and is also suitable for a Kosher diet. Recipes online suggest baking rather than boiling gluten-free gnocchi but I saw no reason why the little dumplings could not be boiled as long as handled with the love and respect any handcrafted product deserves.

One of the most important things is to use floury potatoes and make sure they steam dry before mashing and that it is well-seasoned with salt and pepper. The potato can be boiled first or baked in its jacket in a microwave oven before mashing A potato ricer, if you have one, makes it easier to get a nice smooth texture with no lumps, otherwise use a conventional potato masher and some elbow grease, but for my recipe do not add milk or butter or any beaten egg. Simply combine the potato with the plain flour, add chopped sage or any chopped herbs of your choice, and season well with sea salt and freshly ground pepper.

Form the gnocchi dough into little balls or lozenge shapes and use the back of a fork to create a crinkle effect, before boiling in a pan of salted water for a couple of minutes. When they are ready, the gnocchi will rise to the surface. Remove them with a slotted spoon on to kitchen paper to drain and then serve with any sauce of your choice – or even a simple drizzle of garlic infused olive oil and torn basil leaves, or a little pesto or sun dried tomato tapenade.

For a heartier plate and to keep this recipe vegan, any tomato-based sauce goes well with gnocchi, whether you roast whole cherry tomatoes in an oven with garlic and balsamic vinegar or use tinned chopped tomatoes. For a vegetarian, gnocchi can be enjoyed with roasted butternut squash and goat’s cheese or perhaps some spinach and ricotta. I decided to serve the gnocchi simply with a side of roasted Mediterranean vegetables – diced aubergine (eggplant), roughly chopped onions, tomatoes, courgette, tomatoes and bell peppers and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar.

I found the gnocchi cheap to make and easy to prepare, and the time taken was worth the effort as the result was delicious. I have discovered a liking for freshly-prepared gnocchi, they are tasty, filling and versatile and I will enjoy experimenting with different flavour and texture combinations.

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the gnocchi

  • 400g   Potatoes, mashed
  • 50g     Gluten-free Plain flour
  • Salt and freshly-ground black pepper
  • Finely chopped fresh or dried basil

For the vegetables

  • 1 Aubergine diced into 2cm chunks
  • 2 courgettes diced into 2cm chunks
  • Whole cherry tomatoes or quartered vine-ripened tomatoes
  • 2 red onions, roughly chopped into chunks
  • Red and Yellow Bell Pepper, deseeded and sliced into strips
  • Crushed garlic cloves (optional)
  • Olive oil
  • Balsamic Vinegar
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Torn basil leaves (to serve)

 

  1. Boil floury potatoes in their skins in salt water, drain thoroughly and return to the pan to steam dry. Alternatively, microwave potatoes in their skins until cooked through.
  2. Wash and prepare the vegetables, drain well on kitchen paper and place in a roasting tin with some crushed garlic cloves if liked and a good glug of olive oil, a splash of balsamic vinegar and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place in a medium oven and roast for 20-25 minutes or until tender.
  3. On the hob, heat a large pan of salted water and bring to the boil.
  4. Meanwhile, as soon as the potatoes are cool enough to handle, peel the skins away with clean hands and either push the potatoes through a potato ricer or mash to remove any lumps. Turn potatoes out on to a large board.
  5. Measure out 50g plain flour on to the board and gently mix into the potatoes, along with chopped fresh or dried basil to your liking and season well with salt and freshly ground pepper. Add a little more flour if you think it is necessary, but only add one tablespoon at a time to avoid the dough becoming too dry.
  6. Carefully knead the dough for a few minutes until pliable and then roll into four thin sausage shapes 2-3 cm thick and cut each sausage into 3cm slices. Then either roll into balls or carefully mould into lozenges, using the back of a fork to create grooves which will help the sauce to stick to the dumplings.
  7. Carefully place the gnocchi in the pan of salted water and boil for about 2 minutes. They are ready when they rise to the surface and they will have puffed up a bit. Cook the gnocchi in two batches of two servings to ensure they do not stick together.
  8. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon, toss with a little garlic-infused extra virgin olive oil and serve with the Mediterranean vegetables and torn basil leaves.


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STIR FRIED SWEET & SOUR SEA LETTUCE WITH RICE AND VEGETABLES

12 Sunday Apr 2020

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Earlier this week my husband Dan and I enjoyed a pleasant stroll on our local beach for our hour’s walk, in compliance with the current Covid-19 Lockdown regulations.

Whilst walking towards the incoming tide, I noticed what looked like sea lettuce growing on the rocks. Dan looked on the internet via his mobile phone to check what we had found and that it was safe to eat, so then we picked just enough of the sea lettuce to take home and incorporate into an evening meal. It had attached itself to the rocks quite firmly so we picked it quite carefully applying light and deliberate pressure so as not to risk tearing the ruffled fronds.

Sea lettuce is a common seaweed found all over the world attached to rocks and other surfaces. It attaches using a small holdfast or sometimes lives in rock pools if it has become detached. The detached fronds will continue growing and are capable of forming large floating colonies, although sometimes sea lettuce will also be found washed up along the beach.

The fronds of sea lettuce are unique; they are ruffled, bright green and translucent as they are only 2 cell layers thick. They are not classed as endangered and are a sustainable food source.

Sea lettuce is an important source of nutrition for grazing marine creatures including crustaceans, molluscs such as sea snails and slipper limpets, and echinoderms such as sea urchins. Brant geese also feast on sea lettuce at low tide.

In recipes, sea lettuce may be eaten raw in salads and cooked in soups or stir fries. It can also be dried and sprinkled on food for a cheffy twist. Although sea lettuce has a thin appearance, it is packed with essential vitamins and minerals. It contains a high amount of Vitamin C, protein and fibre and is a great source of protein.

Having harvested this ingredient and enjoyed our walk, we went home and thoroughly soaked the sea lettuce in fresh salted water to remove any impurities and rinsed it through a colander and fresh running water, before draining and shaking it well and placing it in a covered bowl we transferred to the refrigerator.

The following evening I incorporated the sea lettuce with a few leftovers and store cupboard ingredients into a delicious stir fry for supper. This stir fry is so tasty and healthful and you can chop and change ingredients with whatever you have in the store cupboard. If you don’t have sweet and sour sauce you could use black bean sauce, a tablespoon or two of soy sauce or even a tablespoon of curry paste. You can use cooked rice noodles instead of long grain rice, if you prefer. If you don’t like bell peppers (or don’t have any) you could use diced zucchini instead or include a finely chopped leek instead of the onion. Simply use whatever raw leftover vegetables and whatever seasonings you have.

You do not need to add prawns and/or egg if you are vegetarian or vegan, instead you could add a few tablespoons of protein-packed crunchy nut butter instead of a Chinese sauce or curry paste, or you could add a liberal handful of cashew nuts.

Whatever you do, have fun experimenting! This recipe is a cheap and nutritious “freestyle” meal you can make again and again.

Ingredients (Serves 2)

  • 50g-100g Foraged sea lettuce, rinsed well and drained
  • Half yellow or red bell pepper
  • 1 medium red onion, peeled and chopped
  • 25-50g red cabbage finely sliced
  • 1 medium carrot sliced into batons
  • Handful of cold cooked prawns (if liked)
  • 1 egg (optional)
  • 3 tbsp rapeseed, sesame or sunflower oil
  • Leftover cooked long grain rice
  • 3 tbsp sweet and sour sauce from a jar or sachet
  • 1 tsp ginger puree (or 1” piece of chopped fresh ginger)
  • 3 finely peeled and chopped garlic cloves
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Chilli flakes or freshly chopped chilli (optional)

 

Method

  1. If including the egg, put 1 tbsp oil in a small non-stick skillet (frying pan) and put it over a high heat. Crack the egg into a cup and whisk well with a fork, turn the heat down to medium and pour the egg into the pan, swirl round and allow to cook through on one side until set. Flip egg over and cook through on the other side. Turn out of skillet on to a clean board and allow to cool.
  2. When cool, roll up the egg omelette and slice into strips. Reserve.
  3. Put 2 tbsp oil in a wok and place on a medium-to-high heat. Add the onion, cabbage, carrot, bell pepper, ginger and chilli and stir well to combine. Allow to cook through for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure the onion does not char. Adjust cooking heat if necessary.
  4. Add the chopped garlic cloves, black pepper and salt to taste and stir well to combine.
  5. Add 3 generous tbsp. of sweet and sour sauce to the mixture and shake/stir well to combine. Continue cooking for a couple of minutes, then add the rice and the prawns if using. Add the egg strips. Stir or flip all ingredients in the pan until thoroughly combined and leave on the heat for another minute or two.
  6. Finally, add the sea lettuce and combine well to cook for a further minute.

Serve immediately.


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CULLEN SKINK

18 Tuesday Apr 2017

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Earlier last month, Dan and I attended the International Women’s Day lunch at The Ramsgate Tandoori, in aid of local MENCAP services. We were all invited to dress up in our national costume (I don’t have one) and bring along a dish to share.

The dish I chose to prepare was Cullen Skink, because my paternal grandmother was Scottish, and fish and vegetables in their many forms are also my favourite things to eat. Okay, it might have been more convenient to pop down to my local Waitrose and buy a tin of Baxters’ Cullen Skink but although it has a wonderful flavour, it is never quite the same as homemade.

Cullen Skink is a thick Scottish soup similar in look and consistency to a chowder but with a gutsier flavour. It usually comprises smoked haddock, potatoes and onions. Traditionally, a Cullen Skink uses finnan haddie, but one may use any other undyed smoked haddock – and let’s face it, if you live south of the border, undyed smoked haddock is probably the best and closest you are likely to get to the real thing. On no account should you used the bright orange-yellow dyed fish often found in the supermarket, as the ‘smoke’ and the flavour are artificial and bear no resemblance whatsoever to the real thing.

Finnan haddie is also known as Finnan haddock, Finnan, Finny Haddock or even Findrum speldings. It is cold-smoked haddock in accordance to a regional method of smoking in the north-east of Scotland, using green wood and peat. Its origin is not entirely certain. Some believe that the delicacy comes from the hamlet of Findon, or Finnan, near Aberdeen, whilst others insist that the name represents a distortion of the name of a village, Findhorn, which lies at the mouth of the River Findhorn in Moray (which today encompasses the Highlands and Aberdeenshire). This dispute is rooted in the 18th century but with little trace, as adherents refuse to acknowledge even a grain of possibility of the alternative view. An early 20th century cookbook gives testimony to a fire in a fish-curing house in Portlethen, very close to Findon. Whatever the truth, Finnan haddie may have been a popular Aberdeenshire dish since the 1640s.

However, despite its popularity in Scotland, the dish took much longer to catch on south of the border and only caught on in London during the 1830s. In the old days, due to the light smoking of the fish, it only had a short shelf life of between one and three days. Therefore, although the fish might travel from boat to the Aberdeen table within 12 hours of being caught, the distance to London made it almost impossible to avoid the fish spoiling and so began its debut in London only once it could be shipped by mail coach and then more widely available once the railway link between Aberdeen and London was constructed in the 1840s.

The authentic preparation of Finnan haddie is to roast or grill whole pieces of fish over high heat, but it is often served for breakfast lightly poached in milk until just opaque. It is also an important ingredient of kedgeree and omelette Arnold Bennett, as served at the Wolesley in Piccadilly.

Cullen Skink is a popular starter at formal Scottish dinners – which perhaps might be complete with tartan, bagpipes and haggis and more than a few ‘wee drams’. The dish is a popular everyday meal across the northeast of Scotland but can also easily be found in some of the Edinburgh eating houses and pub restaurants. A few years ago, my friend Lorraine and I travelled to Edinburgh on a family history research expedition, and on our last evening we dined on a wonderful Cullen Skink followed by a calorie-busting Cranachan.

Like many local recipes, there can be several slight variations. Some cooks use milk instead of water and others add single cream. Traditionally, Cullen Skink is served with a good bread, but it can be eaten just as it is; at the March event we ate ours with curry!

Curiously, the word ‘skink’ derives from the Middle Dutch ‘schenke’ meaning ‘shin, hough, knuckle’ Over time, of course, the word has developed the secondary meaning of a soup, especially one containing meat – although there is no meat in a Cullen Skink, only fish!

I locally sourced my undyed smoked haddock from Cannons fishmongers on Ramsgate Harbour. The family have two boats and have been in the fishing trade since 1887 and their produce is always fresh, of high quality and very reasonably priced. Their cod and haddock cut through like butter and are easy to skin. The piece of haddock I used in my recipe cost around £9 for well over a pound in weight. If you don’t like skinning and boning haddock then ask your fishmonger to do it, but I undertook all preparation myself. Mine is a lower fat version of the original.

INGREDIENTS

  • 500g fillet natural smoked haddock, skinned and boned
  • 500ml semi-skimmed milk
  • A few peppercorns
  • Small knob of butter
  • 2 leeks, finely chopped
  • 2 onions, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 700ml vegetable or fish stock
  • 3 large white potatoes, cubed
  • Splash of dry white wine (optional)
  • Bay leaf
  • Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • Squeeze of lemon
  • Good handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
  • 2 spring onions (scallions) or chives, finely chopped

 

  1. Place the smoked haddock in a large pan with the milk and the peppercorns and lightly poach over a low heat until just opaque. Carefully remove haddock and set aside, also retaining the poaching juices.
  2. In a separate large pan, heat the knob of butter taking care not to burn it and add the diced potatoes and the onions and leeks and cook until softened. This is best done over a low heat and a piece of tin foil placed directly on top of the vegetables, allowing them to sweat rather than colour and prevent any charred bits.
  3. Add the garlic right at the end and stir for a moment or two and then add the stock, the reserved milk, bay leaf, wine (if using) and chicken stock, bring to the boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Remove the bay leaf and then season the soup with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Stir through and set aside. You may, if you wish, put the soup through a blender and then through a sieve to thicken before returning to the pan but I keep mine rustic! Some of the liquids will have reduced down in the cooking process so the soup shouldn’t be very runny. If the soup is a little runny and you don’t have a blender, simply mix a tablespoon of cornflour with a drop of milk and stir it through the soup over a low heat, to thicken. Add the cornflour mixture little by little until the soup has the consistency you require.
  4. Meanwhile, carefully skin and flake the fish, removing any bones, and season with lemon juice. Finely chop the parsley and the spring onions or chives.
  5. Add the fish to the soup pan, return to the heat and reheat for a few minutes until piping hot. Sprinkle over the parsley and spring onions or chives and serve immediately with some good soda bread or sourdough.

OPTIONS:

You could if you wish lightly poach a few free-range eggs or quails’ eggs and lay one atop each bowlful of soup, to serve.

If poaching and skinning haddock feels like too much of a chore, try using ready-cooked kipper or smoked mackerel fillets but do try to remove the skin and any visible bones before flaking. It’s not authentic but will still be delicious.

 

As for the fundraising event, it was a great success and we raised £500 for local MENCAP services!

Catherine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FISH FOR FREE

07 Tuesday Mar 2017

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Recently Dan and I have been out foraging a couple of times for shellfish along the part of the Thanet coastline that faces the North Sea, east of the Thames Estuary between Herne Bay and Margate. Once Iron Age settlements, the coastline is flatter than the beaches around Ramsgate and Broadstairs (which lie on the far eastern tip beside the English Channel and are only 30 miles or so from France) and are muddier too. Be prepared for your feet to sink into the sand.

Until around 200 years ago, the Isle of Thanet was separated from mainland Kent when the channel between the two became silted up. Formerly part of the channel, the area to the west of Birchington village, between Birchington and Herne Bay, is now low-lying marshland. To the beaches east of Birchington are chalk cliffs and cliff stacks at Grenham Bay, Beresford Gap and Epple Bay, and a sea wall along the foot of the cliffs inhibits further erosion. The geology of the Isle of Thanet mostly consists of chalk, deposited when the land lay below the sea. The Isle became exposed above sea-level once the English Channel emerged between Kent and France and the sea-level declined. Today, the entire north-east Kent coast is designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

I guess you could say I belong to the Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall School of cuisine, in that I believe that foraged food when it is wild and in season is food at its best, and once prepared in a dish one can really taste the difference and the freshness of the ingredients.

Two or three pieces of equipment and attire are absolutely necessary when out foraging. Firstly, a pair of wellies as you should expect to get caked in mud; secondly, a waterproof jacket in case of wind and rain; thirdly, a bucket of seawater for shellfish and/or a trug for gathering edible plants such as samphire and Alexanders; and lastly, if you enjoy oysters exactly as they come, an oyster shucker with which to open the oysters so you can savour their salty freshness straight from the sea. As you pick the shellfish, and if you are not eating any oysters immediately, pop them straight into your bucket of seawater and be careful not to spill or tip over your bucket on the way home.

The best time to forage for shellfish is at low tide and, whatever you do, never forage during the summer months from May to August as this is their main growing season. It is safer to harvest your mussels, oysters, winkles and slipper limpets from the rockpools rather than on the beach itself and take only the larger, more mature mussels and oysters, leaving the little ones to continue growing. The beards of the mussels should be visible and the shells closed, and the oyster shells should also be closed. If they are ‘resting’ and slightly open touch them gently to check that they are alive; their shells should close. If this does not happen then they are dead and are to be avoided.

Always forage at a low or receding tide, as if the tide is coming in you can very quickly be cut off from the mainland and stranded, putting yourself at risk of drowning and in need of rescue. Remember that the sea is as merciless as she is beautiful and takes no prisoners with her power. If you are unsure or something doesn’t feel right, head back to shore immediately for your own safety and that of others.

Also remember not to forage during a ‘Red Tide’, which is when the algae bloom can taint bivalves – such as clams, oysters, mussels and scallops – and is highly toxic if consumed. The surface of the water will have a red or brown tinge.

Once we had gathered sufficient oysters, mussels and slipper limpets in our bucket of seawater we made our way back to the car and home.

The preparation of wild seafood is a lengthy one. Oysters, mussels and limpets, for example, will need to be left to soak in a large bowl or bucket of fresh water for at least 30 minutes, in order to ‘purge’ themselves and filter out some of the sand. Wild mussels in particular are very sandy and bearded and they and oysters are normally covered with mini barnacles. If one fails to soak mussels for sufficient time, sand will still be trapped in the mollusc once it is cooked and will be unpleasant to eat. However, do not keep mussels or oysters in fresh water for a prolonged time otherwise they will die.

If you do not wish to eat mussels and oysters right away, you may store them dry in a single layer in the refrigerator, placing a damp kitchen towel over them. Alternatively, you may store them in a perforated tray OVER ice in the refrigerator but never IN ice, or they will die and will be unsafe to eat. Discard any that have cracked shells. Remember, if shells are slightly open, tap gently and they should close. If they do not, then they are no longer alive.

When our shellfish had been soaking for 30 minutes, Dan removed them from the fresh water and scraped and scrubbed off the barnacles under running water and removed the beards from the mussels by grabbing the brown threads between his fingers and pulling them firmly but carefully back and forth and from side to side, easing them away from the hinge. He then returned the cleaned mussels and oysters in a separate container of cold water to continue filtration.

Native to the East coast of North America, Slipper limpets are a kind of sea snail and are an invasive species in the UK and Europe, known to damage oyster beds, thus providing even more of an excuse to eat them. They must not be used as bait or thrown back into the sea because of the damage they cause. Their Latin name is Crepidula Fornicata, but they have many other names including common Atlantic slippersnail, boat shell, fornicating slipper snail and Atlantic Slipper Limpet, and they fasten together in stacks. The smaller shells at the top of the stack are male and the ones at the bottom are female. As the stack grows, the males transform into females and can thus be defined as sequential hermaphrodites. Shells vary in size from 20mm to 50mm, and the maximum recorded shell length is 56mm.

The slipper limpet sea snail has an arched, rounded shell, inside of which is a white “deck” making the shell look like a boat or slipper. Some shells are more arched than others. If you see a single slipper limpet on the shore it will more than likely be dead.

The slipper limpet has almost no predators in Europe and can flourish on several types of hard bottoms and shellfish banks. Thankfully, further expansion to the north is most likely inhibited by low temperatures during the winter which can slow down its development. There have been attempts in France – notably at Mont St Michel, Brittany – to harvest and market the snail, as it is nutritious and versatile and is similar to a cockle in taste and texture. They have a high protein, yellow disc of meat approximately one inch wide and can be eaten raw or gently cooked.

After their filtration Dan removed them carefully from their shells and set them aside. I put them on top of a cheese and tomato pizza, along with some mussels, and finished the pizza with coriander, chilli, tomatoes and a drizzle of garlic-infused olive oil and some freshly ground black pepper, and baked the pizza in oven at 200C fan for around 8-10 minutes, by which time the dough and toppings were cooked through and the mussels had opened.

Slipper limpets and mussels can be gently steamed and their liquor boiled down into stock or broth and the liquor itself can be used as a substitute for clam juice.

Be careful when preparing oysters and, whatever you do, never use a sharp knife to open, or ‘shuck’, their shells as it is dangerous to do so and you will probably break off the tip of the knife. If you do not possess an oyster knife, or shucker, use a screwdriver instead. An oyster knife is short, thick and blunt and a good one can be bought via. Ebay for under £12.00. It is also advisable to wear an apron, to avoid getting dirty.

Hold the oyster curved-side down on a chopping board, keeping a folded tea towel between the shell and your hand, to help you get a good grip and protect your hand. Locating the hinge between the top and bottom shell, insert the knife tip into the crack, push hard and gradually prise off the top shell. This may take a little while and patience may be needed, but just take your time to avoid getting flustered. Once you have prised the shell open, discard the top shell. If there is any seawater in the bottom shell with the oyster, endeavour to keep it there and pick out any fragment of shell. If you are eating the shellfish raw, place the oysters on a plate around a heap of rock salt or crushed ice, season it with a little freshly ground black pepper, a dash of lemon juice and Tabasco sauce, for example, and tip the oyster into your mouth, savouring its salty freshness.

Another good way of eating oysters is by baking them. Dan doesn’t like raw oysters, likening them to ‘swallowing snot’. After shucking the oysters, we placed them on a baking tray and I garnished them with some freshly chopped chilli, grated cheddar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, tomatoes, chopped coriander and a drizzle of garlic oil and popped them into a fan oven at 200C for about 15 minutes until they were cooked through and the cheese was bubbling. Served with some good granary spelt bread from the local baker’s they made him a hearty, nutritious supper.

You could also top the oysters with some chopped smoked bacon or pancetta, or simply some breadcrumbs and perhaps a little pesto or tapenade. The possibilities are endless; all you need is a little imagination and courage to experiment.

As for us, we shall be foraging again and trying out some new recipe ideas.

 

Catherine