Loving Lyme Regis

Just back from a relaxing weekend at Lyme Regis in Dorset, camping of course and for the first time this year sunny weather all weekend plenty of walking and BBQd fish

It definitely began well the pub down the hill from the campsite The Talbot Arms was having a beer festival in the paddock ,

We got chatting to a lovely couple from Norway who were on their was to the members celebration at River Cottage HQ , this area of Dorset is Hugh Fearnley- Whittingstall country , apparently he is big in Norway too thanks to the Discovery Channel . We had a fantastic evening talking about food, ethics and music festivals tasting some of the 20 ales and a few local ciders including 7.4% Lyme
Bay scrumpy cider . I also had one of the most delicious 100% beef burgers so dense it could have been steak .

We had a lovely walk through meadows and woods in a roundabout way towards Lyme Regis , which I was delighted to discover had a fishmongers ,

it was getting a little late to go out on mackerel boat to catch our own , Nick eyed up two massive sea bass and the fishmonger threw in a couple of sardines which made a quick starter on the BBQ

The bass needed a gutting , it was my first time very easy and I scraped off some of the larger scales stuffed it with a few slices of lemon in the chest cavity and a little thyme pushed into slashes in its skin .,

The bucket BBQ crisped both fish to perfection we ate the bass served with a little rocket mixed with barcecued english asparagus dressed with lemon and pepper simple perfection .

On Sunday we took another route towards and coast path and Lyme Regis , this coast path runs through woods with some quite foreboding notices , we were armed with more fish in smoked salmon sandwiches but eventually turned back to Lyme Regis for Ice Cream here Hive Honeycomb

Whilst in Lyme Regis we took the opporunity to pick up more fish this time riverfish, freshwater Brown Trout from the River Ax

After a cheery glass of Pimms and to complete three nights of BBQ we barbecued the Brown trout and served with a bulgar wheat tomato and cucumber salad .

Watching the sun go down over the Lym valley I was very happy for now though bye bye Lyme Regis .

Orecchiette with wet garlic , broad beans ,rocket and feta salad

Maybe I should call this blog Girl Eating Garlic it certainly features quite heavily, pretty much every savory recipe and trust me I am working my way up to Garlic Ice Cream

The vegebox has a nice suprise this week Wet Garlic ,I confess I thought they were giant spring onions . It is the new season garlic fresh from the ground and still green less pungent and more easily digestable

Also from the vegebox some delicious broad beans which I adore . Popping them out the pods if fun the fleecy pod lining ,however I was surprised there is a new trend to peel the individual beans , removing the skin to reveal a brilliant green pod, I blame poncy chefs and Marks and Spencers salads.

So to peel or not to peel , well the great English cook Prue Leith once famously remarked “Life’s too short to stuff a mushroom” . Personally my lifes to short to peel a pile of broad beans ( for the record summer salad gurus Sam and Sam of Moro reckon if they are larger than you thumbnail i.e. late seeason. Actually I really like the texture of of a broad bean sliding out of its skin in my mouth.

This kind of pasta salad is a great way of using up wilted salad here rocket acts as a green herb rather than a salad leaf and quickyl cures in the salad .Such fresh and seasonal ingredients deserved a slosh of fancy olive oil

Orecchiette with wet garlic , broad beans rocket and feta salad

Per person
75g of dried pasta orecchiette is good becuase it forms little cups that the beans slip into
2 tbsp crumbled feta cheese
2 tbsp finely chopped wet garlic
Handful of rocket
Handful of fresh broad beans
Half a lemon for squeezing
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Boil the orichette and broad beans in salted water for 10 minutes
2. Drain while warm drizzle with olive oil , garlic and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice
3. Mix in the feta cheese rocket ( or other peppery leaf)
4. Grind over fresh black pepper

Morroccan Fish Stew

After the indulgence of the weekend in London a bit of nourishment was required . There was some fish in the reduced section of the supermarket which I have taken to treating as my own little farmers market , makes me sad that ingredients shipped half way round the world can be thrown out .

This is a lovely summery stew can be served with a little cooked cous cous, rice or flat bread

Morrocan Fish Stew

200g of white fish , cut into inch cubes
400g tin of plum tomatoes
1/2 pint of boiling water
400g cooked chick peas
1 large onion finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 tsp crushed fresh ginger
1 tbsp of preserved lemons
1tsp crushed coriander seeds
1 tsp of paprika
1 chopped fresh red chilli
1 handful of fresh flat leaf parsley

1. Gently fry the onions , garlic & spices in a little oil til soft
2. Add the tomatoes , chick peas and boiling water
3. Simmer for 10 minutes , stir in the fish and preserved lemons for the last 5 minutes
4. Scatter over the parsley.

Guinea Fowl with Lentils

Not only am do I need to empty my own freezer but the lovely boyfreind has informed me there is a preponderance of fowl in his freezer , a mallard duck and a guinea fowl . Stowed by after my trip to Borough Market back in March.

Guinea fowl , I really liked this when I cooked it before with smoked sausage and butter beans , I was a bit worried that roast or casserole would be to heavy in June, luckily the changable British weather obliged and after a sunny Saturday BBQ , on Sunday clouded over.

Now Guinea Fowl I have heard can often be dry so I opted for a casserole rather than roasting and adapted a recipe I had used for chicken with lentils

Guinea Fowl with lentils

Serves 4

1 medium guinea fowl
200g of green lentils
2 pints of water
Salt and Pepper
Bunch of thyme
1/2 glass of red wine

1. Season the guinea fowl with salt and pepper
2. Place the guinea fowl and lentils in an oven proof dish
3. Pour over the water , wine , thyme leaves
4. Cover a bring to a boil on the hob
5. Place in a medium oven / 200degC for approx 1 hour.
6. Check half way through and add more water if it has all been absorbed by the lentils
7. On serving taste the lentils and season with salt and pepper

Once cooked this can be mixed with seasonal green vegetables in this case I used steamed fresh broad beans and spring cabbage

Lamb Koftas and Mackerel on the BBQ

While the weather has been threatening to chuck it down all weekend last night we did manage a BBQ so nice to sit and eat dinner outside even if I did have to wash my hair at the end of the night because it smelt so much of smoke

I wanted to try some new things on the BBQ , Mackerel & Lamb Koftas both things I don’t think we could manage when camping , the koftas because they need some refridgeration to ensure the don’t fall apart on cooking and the mackerel because fish needs to be refridgerated full stop

Lamb Koftas

makes 4 kebabs

250g of Lamb Mince
1 large onion finely diced
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
Handful of fresh flat leaf parsley finely chopped
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp dried red chilli
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tbsp of paprika

1. Mix together all the ingredients
2. With wet fingers press the mince around the skewers
3. Refridgerate for at least an hour
4. Barbecue or grill for 10 minutes turning regularly

Delicious served with home made houmus and tomato salad

Hummus
300g of chickpeas
1 tsp of tahini
juice of a lemon
2 cloves of garlic

Pureed together

Tomato Salad

2 large ripe tomatoes , roughly chopped
1 small red onion , roughly chopped
Fresh parsley finely chopped
1 small red chilli finely chopped
Squeeze of lemon

Mix together the ingredients

BBQ Mackerel

Grilled Mackerel

2 large mackerel
Bunch of fresh parsley finely chopped
Lemon juiced and zest

1. Mix together the parsley juice and zest
2. Slash the mackerel to form diagonal slits in the flesh
3. Stuff the slashed with the parsley and lemon mixture
4. Season with salt and pepper
5. BBQ or grill for 10 minutes each side.

Asparagus Roasted in Parma Ham

Its still the Asparagus season in the UK lasts just eight weeks from May to June so says British Asparagus which also contains a trove of recipes
So the gorging must continue so far

Steamed with Wild Garlic Butter
Courgette , Asparagus and Wild Garlic Pasta Salad
Tricolor Tomato Asparagus & Goats Cheese Salad

However it was the BBQ grilled spears than prompted a suggestion from a Flickr Buddy – Nature Adrift whose beautiful photos of nature will leave you stunned . He suggested wrapping the spears in parma ham , now I am not sure if he meant wrap with parma ham before or after cooking but wrapping each spear with a single strip of parma ham before roasting worked for me

I am sure I have also seen TV chefs wrap form bundles of several spears of asparagus wrapped in ham but these chunky English spears each a thick as my thumb would have formed much more than a mouthful if bunched

Once cooked I drizzled balsamic vinegar over them to serve but I think lemon juice would have worked too lemon juice would have worked too .

The verdict – absolutely divine a could have eaten a bunch to myself the saltiness of the ham is a wonderful complement to the grassy creamy aspragus .

If you wanted to bulk these out once the spears had been roasted in the ham they could be cut into quartered and mixed with some dressed leaves

Or for pure luxury dipping parma ham wrapped spears into a soft boiled egg would probably hit a pretty high mark

Asparagus Roasted in Parma Ham

Asparagus
Parma Ham
Balsamic Vinegar
Freshly ground black pepper

Wrap each spear of asparagus in a strip of parma ham
Roast at 190deg for 5 minutes
Turn the asparagus over half way through to ensure the ham crisps on all sides and the asparagus does not burn
Serve with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and black pepper

Chinese Spiced Pork Loin with Cucumber and Coriander Salad

A few months ago it was all over the news that Pig Farmers in the UK were in crisis the increase in grain prices meant that were losing £20 on every animal they produced , A Save our Bacon campaign was launched and I dutifully bought a loin of pork at the local slow food market

I then left in in the freezer pork is just one of those foods I have just never got into cooking , it often seems to go dry and mealy. However I have made a vow to work my way through my freezer to at least make room for some ice cube trays so for Saturday night I was determined to use up the large pork loin.

On Thursday night I made up a chinese marinade for the pork which left overnight permeated the meat which once roasted gave a tasty sticky coating

I really like cold noodles in salad so while the pork was roasting it was no effort to make a light noodle cucumber and coriander salad takind advantage of the oven being on to toast some seeds and buts to add a little crunch .

I think this would work mixing cold pork or chicken into the salad too p
it certainly had plenty of zing.


Chinese Spiced Pork Loin

750g boneless pork loin

Marinade
4 cloves of garlic , finely chopped
1 tbsp of dried chilli flakes
1 tbsp of brown sugar
5 tbsp of sake / rice wine
1 star anise , crushed
1 tbsp of coriander seeds crushed

1. Mix together the marinade ingredients
2. Rub over the pork loin
3. Seal in a plastic bag or box
4. Leave refridgerated for at least 24 hours
5. Preheat the oven to 200deg C
6. Place the pork fat side down in a roasting tray , cook for 30 minutes
7. Turn right side up and roast for a further 30 minutes
8. Leave to rest for 10 minutes
9. Slice to serve

Cucumber and Coriander Salad

1 handful of coriander roughly chopped
Half a large cucumber sliced into ribbons
1/2 fresh red chilli , finely chopped
1 tbsp of white sugar
3 tbsp of rice vinegar
100g of dried rice noodles
2tbsp of peanuts , crushed
2 tbsp of sesame seeds

1. Place the seeds and nuts on a baking tray , grill or roast at 190degC for 5 minutes
2. Simmer the rice noodles in boiling water for 3 minutes.
3. Rinse the noodles under cold water, drain.
4. In a large bowl mix together the rice vinegar , chilli and sugar
5. Add the noodles , cucumber and coriander.
6. Sprinkle over the peanuts and sesame seeds

Greek Salad and Three Seed Rolls

If I keep ranting on about it I am sorry but it’s so definitely summer the vegebox had tomatoes, cucumber , lettuce and I became wholly overexcited and made greek salad – the true taste of summer

Many years ago I went to Crete with my mum and brother, it was during my 10 years as a vegetarian and over the two weeks I ate close to 30 of these babies in various places. I became something of a conne connoisseur. The standard recipe in Crete was iceberg lettuce , cucumber sliced tomatoes, sliced green peppers, red onions feta cheese, olives capers , mixed herbs lots of black pepper and a slosh of olive oil and white wine vinegar.

For me the secret of being able to make these really tasty salads when the fresh ingredients land at your feet is a bit of preperation for me that means maintaining a large preserving jar of olives steeped in olive oil and mixed herbs ( oregano thyme marjoram ) I buy large packets of olives in brine which I drain and top up the jar when stocks run low . These olives are delicious for snacking and for making salad .

The crumbly goats cheese which seems to feature in a large number of my recipes comes from a can but will keep it for a good few months also remains under oil in a preserving jar in the fridge . You can see it here with some home made borscht and bread

Beckys Not So Greek Salad

1. Simply mix together cubed cucumber , cubed tomatoes , black olives , capers crumble over some feta cheese or other crumbly goatse cheese
2. Grind over black pepper a pinch of mixed herbs
3. Dowse with olive oil and white wine vinegar .

This salad is so good even when shaken up the ingredients become coated with dressing and small pieces of feta .At the end you definitely need bread to mop up the tasty dressing this lead me to make some bread rolls.

Three Seed Rolls

Makes ten big rolls

250g wholemals flour , plus extra for dusting
1 tsp salt
2g sachet fast-action yeast
175ml water
4tbsp of pumpkin seeds
4tbsp of sunflower seeds
4tbsp of sesame seeds

1. Mix the flour, 2/3 of the seeds , salt and yeast in a large bowl and water, and mix well.
2. Mix well knead on a lightly floured surface place it in a lightly floured bowl Leave to rise for 1 hour
3. Divide into portions and form into rolls , rolling in the remaining sees. Place the rolls on a baking tray & return to a warm place for 30 more minutes
5. Heat oven to 220C
6. Bake for 25-30 mins & cool on a wire rack.

A delicious lunch of greek salad and home-made rolls was eaten on the Kennet and Avon Towpath where we had a lovely 9 mile walk dreaming about living on a boat while I got to say hello to lots of river dwelling cats. Here undoubtedly my favourite boat straight out of Lord of the Rings

Elderflower Jelly

Having made some lovely Elderflower cordial last weekend after a long walk along the Kennet and Avon Canal towpath these were a delicious cool taste of summer , a look incredibly pretty .

Jelly is one of those minimum effort maximum impact dishes You could definitely eat these with some fresh vanilla ice cream.

Elderflower Jelly

1/2 pint of elderflower cordial
1/2 pint of water
1 sachet of gelatine
A handful of elderflowers removed from stalks

1. Bring the water to a boil in a pan
2. Scatter over the gelatine and whisk well
3. Add the elderflower cordial and allow to cool for 3 hours he jelly should have begun to set
4. Mix through some elderflower
5. Fill champagne flutes or wine glases
6. Refridgerate for at least 12 hours

Other Jelly Recipes

• Champagne Jelly
• Elderflower cordial

Butternut Squash , Buckwheat , Watercress , Walnut and Goats Cheese Salad

Oh dear whole day of meetings today but there was cake so not all bad .Got home and spent the evening doing more work writing up my notes and putting together
a presentation for a colleague .

However I was still determined to have put
together some lunch for tommorrow since heading on up to London above was the result I know it tastes good cos I ended up having some when working this evening . I think if sold in M&S this would be some kind of superfood seasonal salad for me it was just delicious and even the colours made me happy. Might even take a picture in the office tommorrow

Butternut Squash , Buckwheat , Walnut , Watercress and Goats Cheese Salad

Roasted Butternut Squash
Buckwheat cooked
Toasted Walnuts
Watercress
Goats Cheese

Method

The butternut squash was roasted this weekend while the cake was baking , thickly sliced , placed on a baking tray & drizzled with a little oil . Roast for 30 minutes at 190degC
Buckwheat another amazing grain to add to my ever expanding collection , lovely fluffy grains . It doesn’t need any soaking , just simmer for 20 minutes and drain. Once cooked it keeps for a good few days to
Who doesn’t love walnuts and like all nuts extra delicous sublime if you toast them , just five minutes in a medium oven , I chucked them in the oven with the butternut squash
Crumbly white goats cheese I think completes this dish but you could omit for a vegan spectacular
Mix together all the ingredients and dress with just a squeeze of lemon and some black pepper