Creamed Sweetcorn with Chilli and Lime Squid.

 

Prepare your squid and cut into rings or scored pieces or a combination of both and marinade in lime juice, finely chopped garlic, chilli, coriander leaves a little oil and salt and pepper.

Strip the leaves from your corn cob and stand it upright in a bowl.

Using a sharp knife cut the corn kernels from the husk so they fall into the bowl, reserve.

Then drag the sharp edge of the knife down the husk to release the juices left behind, cut the husk into three pieces and place in a sauce pan with a chopped shallot, a couple of bay leaves, a hand full of pepper corns, a chopped stick of celery and water, bring up to heat and leave it to simmer for 15mins to create a corn stock.

Strain most of the stock into a blender and add 3/4 of the corn to it along with good knob of butter and blitz into a smooth paste - you may need to add more stock.

Pour into a saucepan and season with salt and pepper - add a small amount of finely chopped red chilli, a squeeze of lime juice and the rest of the sweetcorn and warm through to cook the corn.

In a hot pan cook your squid for 2 or 3 mins in oil, being careful not to over cook it.

Serve in bowl on top of the creamed cord with a scattering of fresh coriander leaves.

Clams with Chard, Fennel and Celery.

 

Finely slice a couple of celery sticks, a small bulb of fennel and a handful of rainbow chard stalks and leaves.

Place them in a large lidded pan with a knob of butter and a dash of water, season with salt & pepper and heat on low/med heat with the lid on.

In a separate smaller saucepan boil a small glass of white wine for 2-3 mins to burn off the alcohol and then remove from the heat.

When the chard, celery and fennel have softened and are giving off steam, give them a stir and increase the heat slightly and add your cleaned clams.

Cook for a couple of minutes or so until the shells open, shaking the pan half way through.

Decant into a sieve, over a bowl to retain the cooking juices.

Return the pan to the heat and add the white wine, the clams and veg and the reserved cooking liquor from the bowl being careful not to add any sand that has settled on the bottom of the bowl.

Cook on for another minute or so, then add chopped parsley and serve in bowls discarding any clams that have not opened.

Cod with Choritzo and Potatoes.

 

Gently fry slices of cooking choritzo in a casserole, and when they have started to colour slightly on both sides add chopped spring onion and cook on for a few minutes until the onion is soft.

Add sliced green pepper, padron peppers would also be very good in this dish, and when softened add a dash of white wine and some water and turn up the heat.

Add sliced potatoes and a teaspoon of paprika and simmer for ten mins or so until the potatoes are starting to soften and the liquid has slightly reduced.

Pop a seasoned cod loin or fillet on the top and place in a preheated oven with the lid on.

When the fish is cooked through remove and plate up with lots of freshly chopped parsley.

Chortizo and Feta Stuffed Squid with Samphire.

 Chop your cooking choritzo into slices and cook in enough white wine to nearly cover them - flip the slices over half way through cooking.

Drain and allow the slice to cool - then remove the skins and chop into small pieces.

Add the copped feta cheese and mix.

Three quarter fill your squid tubes with the mixture, (the squid will shrink when cooking so don't over fill) and secure the ends with a cocktail stick.

Heat a little oil and butter in a oven proof pan and cook the squid on a med high heat on each side for 20 - seconds to colour, add a small splash of white wine and then place the pan in the oven to cook the squid through - this will be 3-5 mins or so depending on the size of the tubes.

As the tubes are cooing in the oven saute the tentacles and the samphire in a little oil and butter adding a good grind of pepper - no salt as this will make the dish to salty - add a squeeze of fresh lemon juice when cooked and then plate and serve.

Mussels with Garlic and Herb Butter.

First make your garlic and herb butter by finely chopping a selection of fresh herbs - go lightly on very strong flavoured herbs like tarragon and mint and use the softer fine tips of herbs like rosemary and thyme.

Crush a few cloves of garlic in a mortar and pestle with some rock salt and milled pepper - add a little olive oil to help the process along.

When the garlic is pulped add to a pat of softened butter along with the finely chopped herbs and mix thoroughly - a splash of pastis is also good for the flavour.

De-beard and clean your mussels, discarding any that don't close when tapped.

Add half a glass of white wine to a large heavy lidded saucepan and bring to the boil - drop the mussels in and put the lid on.

After 30 seconds or so give the pan a good shake and cook on for a further 30 seconds or so until the mussels open - don;t over cook them at this stage as they will go rubbery.

Remove from the heat and strain - reserve the juices.

When cool enough to handle remove the empty half of the shells and discard.

Add some of the cooking juices to a oven proof dish - make sure the juices only come half to three quarter up the shells, then add the mussels in the shells to the dish.

Spoon the garlic and herb butter into all the shells and put in a very hot preheated oven.

Once the butter has melted remove and serve with good crusty bread for mopping up all the juices.

Walnut and Radish Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing.

 

Crush half a clove of garlic some salt and pepper in a mortar and pestle.

Add a teaspoon of dijon mustard, a splash of sherry vinegar and some pieces of blue cheese - I used Oxford Blue but any good blue is ok.

Crush all the ingredients into a paste and slowly add extra virgin olive oil as you mix to form an emulsion.

Place your salad leaves in a bowl with chopped radishes, walnuts and pieces of blue cheese and then dress with the blue cheese dressing and serve.

Mackerel with Fennel, Celery and Orange.

 Finely slice a bulb of fennel and refresh in ice cold water.

Slice a couple of celery sticks and add to the fennel.

Cut the skin and pith off an orange and cut out the segments - do this over a bowl to reserve the juice.

In a mortar and pestle pound a garlic clove with a little salt and pepper and a small dash of sherry vinegar until it turns to pulp.

Then slowly add extra virgin olive oil and half the reserved orange juice while continuing to pound so the dressing emulsifies.

In a pan heat some oil and a lillte butter and when hot place the mackerel fillet in skin side down - let the fillet cook 3/4 of the way through and for the skin to become crispy, before turning to finish off the other side.

While the fish is cooking drain, spin and dress the salad of celery and fennel and add the orange segments and any fennel fronds.

Plate up and place the mackerel fillet on top - return the pan to the hob and on a high heat pour in the remaining orange juice and quickly reduce to a syrup.

Drizzle over the fish and serve.

King Prawn and Samphire Bisque.

Remove the heads and shells from the prawns - leave the shell on one prawn per portion you are making.

De-vein the prawns and put to one side.

In a sauce pan fry the prawn heads and shells in a glug of olive oil with the stalks and 3/4 of the leaves from a small bunch of parsley, a bay leaf, a sprinkle of crushed fennel seeds, a stick of chopped celery, a couple of chopped spring onions, a chopped clove or two of garlic and a good grind of sea salt until they are coloured on both sides.

Add a glug of white wine and burn off the alcohol then add water and bring to a boil - turn to a simmer and cook for 5-10mins.

Pour the contents of the saucepan into a blender and blitz - then blitz again!

Pour into a sieve over the cleaned saucepan and allow the liquid to drain through. 

Press the contents of the sieve with the back of a wooden spoon to get as much liquid and flavour into the bisque as possible and then warm through to reconstitute.

In a separate saucepan warm a little oil and add a little finely chopped celery, a finely chopped spring onion - when softened add the prawns, season and cook on both sides until turned pink then sprinkle with a little paprika.

Add the samphire cook on for a minute or so then add the bisque and warm through.

Serve with a sprinkling of the reserved chopped parsley leaves.

Squid and Samphire Linguine.

 While your linguine is cooking slice your squid into rings.

Add a good glug of olive oil to a pan and add some chilli flakes (you can use fresh too).

Heat the oil and when hot add the squid rings (you need to do this a couple of mins before the pasta is ready) and season generously with salt and pepper.

After a minute or two turn the rings and add the tentacles - they take a shorter time to cook.

When the squid has turned white add a knob of butter and the samphire and give it a good squeeze of lemon - give it a minute to warm the samphire through being careful not too over cook the squid.

Drain the pasta and add the squid and samphire - mix and serve immediately.

Chicken, Fennel, Olives and Citrus.

 

In a mortar and pestle pound some fennel seeds, a few peppercorns, rock salt  and a clove of garlic into a paste.

Make a marinade by adding the juice and zest of a lemon and half an orange, olive oil and chopped oregano (dried if possible).

Chop fennel bulbs into quarters and marinade for a day with your chicken pieces.

Place all the ingredients in an open casserole (no lid) along with a few handfuls of large green olives and cook in a moderate oven until the chicken has coloured and cook through.

Remove the chicken, olives and fennel and keep warm while you reduce the liquid by half to a sauce on the hob.

Serve with a little more chopped  fresh oregano.

One Pot Chicken with Lemon and Beans.

 Place the chicken skin side down in a casserole dish  and cook in butter and oil until the skin is coloured.

Remove from the pot and reserve.

Add chopped onion, carrot and celery to the pot (you may need a little more oil), a chopped garlic clove and cook until softened then season with salt and pepper.

Add a tin of white beans the juice and zest from a lemon and place the chicken back on top and cook with a lid on until the chicken is cooked through.

Before serving add a few good handfuls of spinach (or chard) to the pan and cook for 5 mins or so until wilted down.

Clams, Cannellini Beans, Tomato and Wild Garlic Sauce.

This is a delicious tomato and garlic sauce and can also be made when wild garlic is out season with traditional garlic cloves.

Soak the beans overnight in cold water - add a splash of vinegar to the water as the acidicy softens the skins.

Drain the soaking water from the pan and refill with fresh water - do not add salt.

Add some halved and de-seeded tomatoes, a large hand full of wild garlic leaves (if using traditional garlic add a few cloves with the skin on), a small peeled potato, and cook the beans on a low simmer until tender -  this is a long slow process.

When the beans are cooked remove the potato and add to a dish, remove the tomatoes too and slide off the skins, discarding them, (if using traditional garlic squeeze the pulp from the skins into the dish and discard the skins).

Drain a little cooking water into the dish and mash into a paste.

Drain the beans, but leaving enough cooking water in the pan to form a sauce when added to the tomato and potato paste, but discard the wild garlic leaves.

You should now have a bowl of beans in a wild garlic and tomato sauce - season with salt and pepper and mix together.

In a pan heat half a small glass of white wine and when boiling add the clams - cook for a few minutes, shaking occasionally until the clams open, then spoon the clams over the beans.

Carefully drain the cooking liquor from the pan leaving any sand at the bottom - and drizzle over the clams and beans.

Garnish with a few finely chopped wild garlic leaves (and flowers if you can get them) and serve.

Marinated Artichokes with Serrono Ham and Parsley Dressing.

 

When preparing the chokes have a pan of water and lemon juice to hand to dip them in after cutting them - this stops them discolouring - you can then use this to cook them in.

Start by pulling off the very tough outer leaves. 

Then cut off the top third and trim the tough flesh from the outside and base of the choke (if using younger chokes you can leave the stem on but peel off the tough outer skin too.
Place in the saucepan with salt and bring to the boil, then simmer until a sharp knife can slide in with little resistance - this will vary depending on age and size of the choke.

Leave to cool until you can handle them and halve or quarter depending on size  - you can now easily remove the hearts if they have formed.

While the chokes are cooking pummel chopped parsley, salt & pepper, a little chopped garlic and a glug of good oil in a mortar and pestle until you have a smooth paste.

Place the cooled chokes in a bowl or container with the oil and parsley paste and leave to marinade.

Serve with salad leaves (using the marinade as a dressing), slices of Serrano or other good cured ham, and some roughly chopped parsley leaves.

Asparagus and Wild Garlic Soup.

 A delicious spring soup mixing bought and foraged ingredients.

In a pan with a little oil and a good knob of butter soften half an onion, a small chopped carrot and a stick of celery.

Season and add water bring nearly to the boil and turn heat down to a simmer.

Take the tips off the asparagus and reserve. 

Cut the woody end off the stalks and discard, shave any tough outer skin from the base of the stalks with a peeler, chop and add to the pan along with a good hand full of chopped wild garlic leaves.

When all the veg is cooked blitz in a blender and pass through a sieve back into the pan, pushing all the pulp through with the back of a wooden spoon - this will get rid of any woody bits left in the asparagus.

Add the asparagus tips back to the soup and warm through until the tips are cooked and serve.

Pickled Mussels with Radish and Apple.

 Bring a thumb of water containing a sprig or two of thyme and a couple of bay leaves to a rolling boil in a large pan.

Drop in the cleaned and de bearded mussels and place the lid on.

After a minute give the pan a shake and cook for a further 30 seconds or so or until the mussels have opened.

Drain over a bowl to reserve the juices and leave to cool.

When cool remove the mussels from the shells and add to a bowl with a handful of toasted coriander seeds some of the cooled cooking liquor, a good dash of sherry vinegar, dill and ground pepper and leave in the fridge to steep.

For the dressing  place a blob of dijon mustard into a bowl add a little pickling liquor and mix - slowly add extra virgin olive oil, whisking all the time to emulsify - season  and add a few sprigs of dill.

Take some french breakfast radishes and half, slice some apples and  rolled in lemon juice to stop them de-colouring - assemble on a plate with fresh radish leaves, the mussels - dress and serve.

Mussels Rockerfeller.

 Blanch a few hand fulls of spinach in salted water for a minute or so drain and stop the cooking process by rinsing with cold water and leave to cool.

In a large saucepan, big enough to hold all your mussels, melt a knob of butter and gently fry a finely chopped shallot and stick of celery, when softened increase the heat and add the mussels- when the pan starts to sizzle add half a glass of white wine and a small shot of pastis, (traditional its dry sherry and pastis, but white wine is fine - if you do not have pastis add a few more tarragon leaves to the sauce later in the recipe to add the extra aniseed flavour), cook for a minute and give the pan a shake - after another 30 seconds or so, when the mussels fully open, remove from the heat and drain over a bowl, reserving the cooking liquor.

Squeeze all the liquid out of the spinach and place in a blender with the cooking liquor, finely chopped parsley leaves, a few sprigs of tarragon - leaves only and few drops of tabasco and blitz.

the mussels should now be cool enough to handle so remove the empty half shells and return to a pan - pour in the sauce and gently reheat and serve.

Roast Butternut Squash, Choritzo and Sage.

 

Peel and de-seed the squash then cut it into large chunks, place in a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, season and scatter over a few ripped sage leaves, a chopped de-seeded chilli and roast in a medium hot oven until 3/4 cooked.

In a frying pan heat a little good quality oil and fry off some slices of cooking choritzo - when the choritzo is releasing its oils and starting to colour add some of the roasted squash and continue to fry, turning occasionally to colour -  a minute or so before serving add some finely chopped sage leaves.

Serve with some good crusty bread for the juices.