Trout With New Potatoes, Asparagus And Lemon Butter

Shell Bay!!

This has to be the simplest recipe ever but was one of the best I have ever eaten. Other than olive oil, all of the ingredients that I used are in the title. This weekend we went to Shell Bay in Poole to use Jim's (my boyfriend, I may as well tell you his name now as "Boyfriend" sounds like we are couple of 15 year olds in lust, which incidentally at one point we were) amazing new camping stove. I don't know the statistics or it's advantageous points. I know it uses some sort of white gas and stunk out the kitchen when we tried it out. Camping food for us is usually pasta that we add to a sauce one of us has made the night before. What better time to try something new than when we are not in the wilderness for the rest of the night and when we have a lovely sandwich waiting at home. After this weekend, camping may be a bit different.

Jim frying the trout

I thought it would be a deserted, romantic and glorious time, so did about 200 other people and their kids. However we found a secluded spot just right for cooking up a feast! We are always on a strict budget as we are currently saving up to move to a bigger flat/house. Although in truth the reason is we just want a garden to grow veg and have a little pooch (who even though doesn't exist is called Barnaby/Parsley/Captain John Salty, we haven't quite decided). So on our strict budget we knew we wanted fish and at our peril browsed the fish counter at Waitrose. In all honesty, it is the same price if not cheaper than Co-op. We asked how much a whole trout was, thinking trout is more than delicious than salmon anyway but we may as well see. A whole trout, from Waitrose, was, £2.49. BARGAIN! The lovely gentleman even took the head off for us, which I thought kind and Jim being a repressed caveman was a little disappointed.

Me doing the veg

We boiled our new potatoes before we left and boiled our asparagus for 2 mins before we left as well so we could fry them off later. Jim filleted, extremely professionally I may add, and boned the fish, not quite so professionally as I had a few bones and a bit of fin, and we took it all away in separate containers. When we arrived at the beach (4 miles bike ride, one ferry ride, a very knackered me later) we set up the stove and fried off the trout first. Placing the trout skin side down in very hot oil for 3 mins to crisp the skin, then turning and frying for another 2 mins. After this it was cooked. I was slightly disappointed because it cooked so quickly I couldn't get enough pictures! We put the fish in between two plates to keep warm while we fried the potatoes and aspragus in some butter and lemon juice to heat them through and make a great sauce.To serve put equal amounts of everything on the plates and try not to kick sand on it. This was all it took and all I need to make me very happy indeed.

The dish of the day

N.B. This was the very first time I had ever tried asparagus and am very pleased to announce that I loved it. Not being a great lover of trying new food, which I am trying to overcome, I was more than pleasantly surprised at its soft yet crunchy texture and woody yet fresh flavour.

White Fish With Bacon And Leeks

This recipe is from the Jamie Oliver book "Jamie At Home", or as we call it around here "You know, the Jamie book we always use!!" When I first saw this recipe I thought, OK Jamie, so you need to bulk up your book. Little did I realise what a bloody lovely concoction this is.
Fish and bacon I always thought just didn't work. Then when I thought about it, I realised, that they are both salty and why wouldn't they? So I plodded through the recipe thinking well if it doesn't work I won't be disappointed and also I'll be proved right, which living with a genius mathematician/software developer/awesome guitarist doesn't happy very often. Well on the day of the fish and bacon, drum roll please ... it didn't happen either.

Before baking in the oven

It is possibly my favourite spring meal! Not only is it just the salt that connects them, it's the difference in textures, the way the bacon juices run through little canals in the fish bringing it alive (I imagine not dissimilar to Venice), the sweetness of the steamed leeks, the ready made sauce they produce that you find when you lift them out of their baking tray and the thing that I love the most, the simplicity of a few ingredients whacked in an oven.
I did these cheeky little fillets with some buttery jacket potatoes, just because I am from a family that believe "No carbs! No meal!" Also they are great with some lemon steamed rice! It is a very light meal and also very comforting, like I'm receiving a internal tummy snuggle. The only thing that this meal makes me want to do, apart from nap after I've eaten it, is to go and catch the fish myself! A slight maggot repulsion has stopped me so far but now the weather is nicer I may give it a go. At the very least I can sit quietly at the river reading my book and produce a lovely picnic for my boyfriend who will do the fishing for me. My last fishing attempt did result in an unplanned triple homicide as I didn't pull the line out quickly enough and they swallowed the hook. Took me a while and a few glasses of pinot to make me feel better. Anyway, here is the lovely recipe from "Jamie At Home". A recipe I will be using alot in the coming months! Maybe I'll just tweak it a bit to make it more my own, baked in garlic butter perhaps or swap the rosemary for basil, add a few cherry tomatoes and serve with pasta ...

What you need:

• 16 baby leeks (I used 4 large and hoped for the best, worked out fine)
• 4 x 200g white fish fillets (skin on!!)
• 1 large lemon cut into 8 wedges
• 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary
• 8 rashers of bacon (Jamie used streaky I used smoked, hope he doesn't mind all this ad-libbing)

for the marinade:

• a couple of sprigs each of fresh rosemary, thyme and bay leaves
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• olive oil
• 1/2 lemon

What to do:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees C or gas 6.
For the marinade, bash thyme, rosemary and bay with slat in a pestle and mortar unitl the salt goes green. Put in 2 lugs of olive oil, add pepper and lemon.

Boil leeks in salted water for 3 mins just to soften, drain and let steam dry.

Put the fish, lemon and rosemary sprigs into a bowl with the marinade and toss to cover eveything. Put the fish skin side down into a preheated roasted tin and put the marinade and bacon on the top of each fillet. Roast for 15 mins until the bacon is crispy.

Put onto a platter and pour all the juices over the top and dig in! I hope you like this dish as much as I did!

The finished article

Sweet Potato Soup With A Kick

In our house, Sunday's are the days of making things for the week such as, bread, a big stew or large roast so we can use the left over meat on a pizza (trust me, especially shredded chicken wing meat!), curry pastes and soups for lunch in the week. This is my boyfriends favorite and great comfort food! I have only lived on the south coast for six months and was at one time, after the initial high of freedom of university and parents had worn off, quite lonely; homesick some may say. This soup kept me going, as did roast beef monster munch and diet coke but hey! I am allowed a junk food binge every so often.

Even though it is a winter/autumn soup I find it delicious all year round. It is only a few basic ingredients and takes around 30 mins. This includes all preparation. 

Peel your potatoes and chop quite small. This is just so they cook quicker and you're not waiting around. Also do not be alarmed and storm off to your veg man if your sweet potatoes aren't orange. White ones are quite common and taste just as nice. Peel and chop the veg into roughly the same size so the cook evenly. A small tip is push up with your peeler if it is blunt as the top blade doesn't get used as much and is really sharp. 

Fry the onions, carrots, celery, chilli and curry powder till onions are soft, around 5-10 mins. Add in the sweet potatoes, chorizo and stock and simmer for about 15 mins till everything is lovely and soft. If you don't have chorizo or are vegetarian use paprika. When I forgot the chorizo I put in paprika as it is the main spice of the sausage. The soup was still beautiful and addictively slurpy! When it is all cooked blitz until all lumps are gone and you are left with amber nectar. I realise this is some sort of Australian beer but the soup is amber in colour and pretty much nectar like, for me anyway. If you want to add a little extra special "Good Lord!!!", fry off a few cubed pieces of chorizo and plonk on top for an explosion! This soup is best served piping hot with lashings of bad T.V and blankets. 

What you need:

4-5 large sweet potatoes

2 sticks of celery

2 carrots

2 medium onions

A quarter chorizo ring, diced (optional)

2 teaspoons mild curry powder

Half chilli with seeds

Sprinkle of paprika 

2 litres of stock (veg or chicken and preferably organic)

Spicy Meatballs In An Even Spicier Tomato Sauce

I have so many recipes and dishes that I want to write about I have no idea where to start, so I have started with one of the first things I ever learnt to cook which then lead to it being the only meal I cooked for about two months. Now I have perfected the recipe and added some more of my favourite things! Even though, four years later, I have learnt to cook so much more my boyfriend will still joke this is all I cook.  This is until I threaten to never make my sexy potatoes, roast dinners or white fish with bacon again. Oddly enough all mocking stops then.
The main thing to remember with this dish, and with so many others, is that garlic is your best friend and who cares about the smell. One taste of this and no-one will care about a mild garlic breath. To make the balls I use about 500g of mince beef for four portions. I'm afraid I cook in portions rather than for people as I rarely cook for more than two people. Also when it comes to meat I never use exact amounts as I always use our local butcher, who thank the lord does not mock me for that time I went in ordered three chicken breasts only to remember that I just bought so turkey ones on sale at another place, who doesn't sell in prepackaged weights. I mix this with two garlic cloves, a quarter of a chilli (with the seeds, always with the seeds!), some parmesan cheese and a touch of dried oregano/fresh basil depending on how my green fingers have coped with fresh herbs. Before we continue, I must mention, never use dried basil! It is the dried herb of the devil, tastes nothing like basil and will add nothing to your dish apart from the feeling of "what the hell have I just put in my mouth" through out your meal. However dried oregano is perfectly lovely and in some cases better than fresh. I mix all this with my hands till it is a glorious meat mush. Shape and roll to however big you want them. Every time I end up with a different amount but I try make sure everyone gets the same amount.
For the sauce, heat some oil and add a couple of crushed garlic cloves and another quarter chilli and seeds. Fry gently for a few mins and then add a little spanish wonder that goes by the name of chorizo. Chop it quite small and fry for about 30 seconds before adding your balls. You'll find that when you eat, you get little bursts of salty, porky, paprika-y heavenliness. Now that your base is ready and your balls in add around half a carton of passata, a splash of balsamic vinegar, some fresh basil and a squirt of tomato puree. Let this all bubble away while you put your pasta, spaghetti, tagliatelle, etc on to cook in salted boiling water. I know I shouldn't use salt to cook but it does bring things alive, plus if you add it to the boiling water you're throwing most of it down the drain! When the pasta is cooked add it to the balls with a touch of the pasta water. The starch will thicken your sauce nicely. Mix together, throw in a bowl and grate some parmesan over that!
When I first cooked this it was a very basic version of this that included soy sauce. I have no idea why but it wasn't bad. Now it is perfected and I hope you like it. Here the listed ingredients for you so it's easier to write your shopping list!

Ingredients:
500g mince (beef or pork)
4 cloves of garlic
Half a chilli
1 carton of passata
Tomato puree
Dried oregano
Fresh basil
Balsamic vinegar
Parmesan cheese
A quarter of a chorizo ring