Sea Bass with a warm Jersey Royal Salad and Garlic Sauted Asparagus

Having visited Jersey at the weekend, and picked up some Jersey Royals fresh from a hedge veg honesty box, I was excited to get cooking with them.

The Jersey Royal season is a favourite in our house and serving them cooked, simply drizzled in butter with a little sea salt and either a few chopped chives or mint is always a winner; but I fancied trying something different.

Whilst in Jersey, we enjoyed several beautiful fish dishes amongst our group, and what I noticed was, whilst everything tasted great, there was a real simplicity that reminded me of Italian cookery. Rather than lots of complexities, instead, only a few, really good quality ingredients were used, and would be cooked well and did all the talking.

So for this dish, I simply created a warm Jersey Royal salad to go alongside pan-fried sea bass fillet and served with some sautéd asparagus and cherry tomatoes. Simple but it worked really well and we'll certainly enjoy again.

You could of course use an alternative potato such as Charlotte or simply New, but there is something extra special about the fudgey, sweet flavour that’s just better than the other varieties.

Bridget enjoyed this dish too so it's a great option for a family meal and the below serves three.

Sea Bass Fillet with a warn Jersey Royal Salad and Garlic Sauted Aspargus

Here's how:

• 3 sea bass fillets
• Bunch asparagus
• Handful cherry tomatoes
• 1 garlic clove
• Olive oil
• 350g Jersey Royals
• Three spring onions
• Handful radishes
• 3 tbsp peas
• 1 tbsp sour cream (could use crème fraiche or cream cheese)
• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard (I use Maille)
• Sea Salt
• Black pepper

Firstly rinse the Jersey Royals well. Remove the excess dirt but don't be too vigorous. Place in a deep saucepan and pour over recently boiled water and place on a medium heat with a pinch of salt.

Now finely slice the spring onions and radish and set aside to dress the potatoes once cooked.

Place a drizzle of oil into a frying pan on a medium heat with a peeled clove of garlic. Once warm, add the asparagus and cherry tomatoes and cook for 8-10 minutes. Now remove from the pan and wrap in foil to keep warm.

Cook the peas and also place into the foil.

Now check the Jersey Royals - if almost cooked, then leave the frying pan on and season the sea bass. Omit from using salt for any children's portion.

Place skin-side down into the pan and cook, on a timer for five minutes. This should allow a lovely crispy skin.

Whilst the sea bass is cooking, drain the Jersey Royals and shake out any excess water. Return to the saucepan and add the sour cream, Dijon and a generous drizzle of olive oil and stir through gently to evenly coat the potatoes in the quick-dressing. Now add the radish and spring onions, stir again and place the lid on the pan to retain the heat.

Once five minutes is up, use an egg slice turn over the sea bass fillet in the pan and cook for a further 30 seconds then remove from the heat.

Dish up how you wish, but to do as I have done in the picture, simply add the Jersey Royal warm salad to the centre of the plate first. Then add the cherry tomatoes, dotted around the potato salad. Now add a layer of asparagus and finally add the sea bass fillet on top of the asparagus.

Sea Bass with a warm Jersey Royal Salad and Garlic Sauted Asparagus

Enjoy!

Baby Bites Lightly Spiced Salmon Fishcakes

These salmon fishcakes are delicately spiced with a little turmeric - almost like an introduction to bolder flavours to come. The soft, fluffy middle with the crunchy breadcrumb exterior make for a fun two-textured finger food.

The amounts below make 7-8 small fishcakes and I give Bridget two with some cucumber or red pepper battons for a meal. One is probably enough if this is one of the first finger foods or you are just starting on solid food.

These freeze well too - just pop into sealable food bags once made and before frying and defrost fully before using next time.

• 1 large jacket potato or two smaller ones
• 2 spring onions
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 small salmon fillet
• 1-2 slices granary bread
• Drizzle olive oil
• 1 egg

Firstly bake the potato in the oven for 30 minutes until the centre is soft and fluffy. You could of course boil or steam the potatoes but I prefer to bake as they can go straight into the oven and it's one less piece of equipment for the dishwasher!

For the last ten minutes of the potato cooking, place the salmon into the oven in a small ovenproof dish with a little foil over.

Meanwhile finely chop the spring onion and crush the garlic clove into a small frying pan with a tiny bit of olive oil and just soften then remove from the heat.

Remove both and firstly scoop out the potato, discarding the skin and with a fork mash it up. It should still have some texture and not be too smooth.

Flake the salmon into the potato and mix through, also adding the spring onion and garlic. Add the turmeric and evenly stir through.

In a food processor blitz the bread into breadcrumbs and place into a bowl.

Crack the egg into another bowl and beat.

Next, with your hands, shape the salmon and potato mixture into small rounds until you have 7-8.

Drizzle a little more oil into the pan and place on a medium heat.

Meanwhile take each fishcake, place into the egg, turning over to ensure it's fully coated then place into the breadcrumbs, doing the same to ensure each fishcake has an even coating.

Next fry each fishcake for around 4-5 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown.

Remove from the heat and place onto a plate with some kitchen roll to draw out any excess oil.

Then allow to cool, break into halves and serve with some vegetable batons and let little one enjoy this tasty fishy supper.

Applewood Spreadable Challenge: Creamy Pea, Courgette and Mint Risotto

This is the second of three recipes I’ve devised for the Applewood Spreadable #SpreadStirShare challenge to create delicious family recipes using Applewood Spreadable. My first was Cheesy Pea, Leek and Pancetta Gnocchi Bake and this time it’s a Creamy Pea, Courgette and Mint Risotto. Perhaps a little summery and certainly a classic combination – but with the addition of crème fraiche and Applewood Spreadable it makes for a rich, luxurious, creamy tasting risotto – and that for me, never goes out of season.

I served this with a portion of rocket and some homemade garlic toasts (French stick sliced diagonally, rubbed with a halved garlic clove all over and drizzled with a tiny bit of olive oil then griddled on a high heat for 1-2 minutes on each side) and it served four of us.

Here’s how:

5 spring onions

1 large garlic clove

75g fresh peas

2 small courgettes

2 tbsp fresh mint

1-1.5 pints chicken stock

1 glass dry white wine

2 tbsp crème fraiche

1 tbsp Applewood Spreadable

250g Arborio rice

Salt & pepper to taste

2 tbsp olive oil

Firstly crush your garlic and chop the spring onions and add this to the pan on a medium heat with the olive oil until starting to soften.

Slice the courgettes on a diagonal and add to the pan and allow to fry until a little crisp and golden on each side, then remove the courgettes and keep to the side, covered to keep warm.

Next add the rice to the pan and use a wooden or plastic spoon to move around to ensure all rice gets coated with the oil. Allow to cook for about five minutes and then add the wine to the pan with a good pinch of salt and pepper.

Once the wine has been almost completely absorbed, add a ladle full of the chicken stock, keep stirring and continue the process for the next fifteen minutes or so, adding more stock as it is absorbed. (My Dad and I have an ongoing argument about whether or not the stock should be heated before adding to risotto – I say it doesn’t matter, he disagrees – if anybody has any thoughts do feel free to share!)

Once you have used about a pint of the stock, taste the rice to see if it is beginning to soften enough to your particular taste. Different rice seems to respond in different ways and needs varying amounts of stock, so continue to taste until the rice has become soft enough throughout.

Now you need to add the peas and stir through and then return the courgettes to the pan too and cook for a further few minutes, stirring all the while. Now add the Applewood Spreadable and as much of the crème fraiche as you fancy – 2 tbsp makes for a rich and creamy texture which I adore, but if you don’t want it to creamy, then just reduce the amount.

Taste once more and add seasoning accordingly. Chop up the mint and stir through about half to the dish, then once it’s been dished up, add a final flourish of mint leaves to each portion for some added zing and freshness. Enjoy!

To find out more about Applewood Cheese, Applewood Spreadable and the #SpreadStirShare challenge as well as keeping up with the other recipes from some fabulous other bloggers check out the Applewood news blog: http://applewoodcheese.co.uk/blog.php

Asian-inspired Fish

This is a healthy and frankly delicious way of preparing white fish. Sea bass is usually used when making this dish, bit recently I have taken to buying River Cobbler, it's an economical choice and I've picked up two fillets for £2.00 before, not only is it a frugal choice, it picks up the flavours beautifully.

Serve with some steamed or stir fried vegetables for a nourishing and tasty meal.

Here's how:

2x white fish fillets
3x spring onions
50g fresh ginger
1 red chilli
Small bunch fresh coriander
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
Juice of 1/2 lime

Firstly place the fish fillets on some tin foil in an ovenproof dish on top of some foil. 

Drizzle over the soy sauce and rotate the fish so both sides are coated. Cut the spring onions in half then place on top of each fillet. 

Peel and slice the garlic and ginger and place on top of each. Then slice the chilli and do the same (if you don't like it too hot remove the seeds). Finally squeeze over the lime juice and add the coriander then pull the foil up and around the fish to protect it.

Place into the oven at 180 degrees for about 10 to 12 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through and enjoy!

Friday Fish Dish

Baked Anchovy-Stuffed Plaice Fillets

This was a very quickly thrown together meal a couple of weekends ago, just before payday, which cost very little yet tasted amazing. The picture doesn’t do it justice, and displays my serious lack of finesse at putting together a plate of pretty food, however I felt I should share this delectable dish.

Plaice is one of those delicate tasting white fish that can be served with a simple drizzle of lemon to become quite lovely, but with the odd uplifting flavour addition can be quite wonderful.

I prepared a stuffing to fill and roll the plaice fillets which was made up of 3 slices of white crusty bread – zapped in the food processor, a heaped tablespoon of chopped parsley, a tin of anchovies chopped up finely, 4 spring onions, 1 red chilli, salt and pepper, a teaspoon full of paprika and the juice and zest of 1 lemon. I mixed this together well then laid out each fillet and spread the filling over generously then rolled.

This was then baked in the oven for just over fifteen minutes. The result really was splendid (even if I say so myself), the salty flavoursome anchovies really brought the plaice to life and the gentle spicing and smoky paprika made for a really tasty fish dish. The crumb was nicely crisped on the outside which made for a good texture too.

I served this dish with New Potatoes, wilted, buttered spinach and some parsnip puree. These gentle vegetable flavours only enhanced the flavoursome fish dish.

Fish Friday

Colcannon Mackerel Fishcakes

A simple but delicious take on the humble fishcake.

I've used mackerel in these as their moist, rich flavour goes perfectly with the colcannon-style base. I've also added a little heat to the dish, but this can be omitted if you're not a spice fan.

I served this as lunch for myself and my brother and we had homemade chips and a little sweet chilli dipping sauce as accompaniments.

I prepared the chips by simply slicing some Charlotte potatoes (skin on), par-boiling for ten minutes, draining then placing in a pre-heated oven for 20 mins at 200C.

I enjoyed my lunch with a generous glass of Gallo White Zinfandel, a deliciously zingy Californian rose, after all it is Friday - let the weekend begin.

200g (approx) Smoked Mackerel Fillets
150g White Potatoes
2 Large Spring Onions
50g Spring Greens
2 Slices of Bread (white or brown)
1 Tbsp Creamed Horseradish
1 Tsp Hot Pepper Sauce
1 Tbsp Cayenne Pepper
Salt and Pepper to taste

First peel the potatoes and boil till soft, then mash, season and place in a bowl to cool (I used a knob of butter to mash).

Chop/mix the bread in a food processor to create breadcrumbs and place into a bowl.

Chop the spring onions and put into the bowl with the mashed potato.

Remove the skin from the mackerel fillets and break up the fish into small pieces and also place in the bowl.

Finely shred the spring greens then put in a pan of boiling water and simmer for 4-5 mins, drain and place on a hopping board. Use a clean tea towel or some kitchen roll to absorb any excess water then also place into the bowl.

Add the horseradish, hot pepper sauce, cayenne and a good sprinkling of salt and black pepper and mix well. Add a heaped tablespoon full of the breadcrumbs and mix again.

Get a tablespoon full of the mixture into your hands and form a round with it, place in the breadcrumbs till it's covered, then put onto a plate, and repeat to make similar sized fishcakes.

Heat a pan on a medium heat with a little oil, I used grapeseed oil as it's very light in flavour, however any oil would work. Once the pan is hot add the fishcakes and cook on each side for 3-4 minutes or until lightly browned and crispy.

Serves four.

Green Fingered Pursuits

I recently read a survey that claimed us Brits are getting into gardening by the age of 31, a whole 10 years earlier than generations before. I'm a good four years away from this age yet I must admit, of late I've developed a new found fondness for growing things.

With a nod to my greedy self, everything I've planted is edible.

I'm a complete novice in this area so would welcome tips from any green-fingered readers who have successfully grown fruit or vegetables before.

I'm not going to turn this into a gardening blog, so won't be constantly updating on the progress, however I'm sure you'll find a recipe or two using the produce from the garden here, if and when it happens.

I've planted carrots, courgettes and marrows in one bed and have another with spring onions, Mohawk sweet peppers and Scotch Bonnet chillies.

Separately I have a patch for spinach and lettuce, a tomato plant, a rhubarb plant and a flourishing blueberry and redcurrant plant.

I've been lovingly tending to some parsnip seeds I've planted too and am keeping my fingers crossed these are going to see it through to December and make an appearance on our Christmas lunch.

Finally I have an array of different herbs which are already making regular appearances in dishes and particularly salads - my first success.


So far the most exciting occurrence has been the Mohawk plant which has sprouted a little green pepper this week, with several buds which I'm hoping will follow suit shortly. The blueberry bush is already full of fruit too, it's just not quite ripe enough yet.

As I mentioned words of wisdom on growing fruit and vegetable are more than welcome - otherwise wish me luck!