The British Larder Inspirational recipe diary

The inspiration for this dish came from our visit to Orford, Suffolk. It’s a beautiful sea side village with several smokehouses and the one that I love visiting every time  is Richardson’s Smokehouse. It’s situated in a little alley, down a hill overlooking the sea, you cannot really miss it as the inviting aroma of the smoke greets you as you walk through the village and almost calls you, so you cannot ignore it.

Upon arrival at Richardson’s smokehouse you are greeted by the smoke  that hangs in a pleasant and welcoming cloud, the grill is laden with fresh fish and ready to go into the smokehouse. Inside the shop you are greeted by Steve and Veronica who are both knowledgeable hard working individuals who can definitely teach me a thing or two about smoking fish, ham and other delicacies.

Steve is an interesting character who does not mince

This dish is Spring on a plate. I felt overcome with relief when I finally saw the blossoms covering the trees and the grass growing at the speed of light. I only mowed the lawn last weekend and it’s already peering over the borders. It’s great that summer is on it’s way, preceded by a glorious spring which provided a wonderful array of fresh seasonal produce. It finally all makes sense why we celebrate Easter not only for the religious reasons but also to celebrate and thank  Mother earth for bearing such wonderful gifts.

Cockles and whelks are synonymous with the British seaside, pickled in a vinegary solution, eaten on the pier out of a white polystyrene cup with a plastic fork. Wow I hope these thoughts have just evoked a few good old childhood memories.

I love them for their flavour especially in the way I cook them as

Isn’t this a pretty plate of food? It not only looks good  but tastes absolutely magnificent. You might frown at the thought of raw cod, but take my word  it’s incredibly delicious. The secret is that the fish must be ultra fresh. Only serve fish raw if you know exactly where it comes from and how old it is. Most fish could be served in this carpaccio style. If you cannot find cod try halibut, lemon sole, mackerel or salmon. Another top tip is to serve the carpaccio on a very cold plate.

On the 10th April this year British Larder  joined forces with Food Safari UK for a wonderful catch and cook event. It was a glorious spring day and we went out on the Panther with Mark Fleton to catch cod off the Suffolk coast at Walberswick.

Polly has asked me to prepare something easy and tasty for

I’m a complete fool when it comes to a good macaron. I have watched my good friend Fabien for years making macarons but strangely never had the courage to attempt making them myself. I always said that it’s a specialist skill unique to a good pastry chef. This goes very well  with the other  skill that Fabien has and that is to know exactly how to “butter me up”. Fabien knows there are two petit fours I love one is macarons and the other is Madeline’s or as I call them mini me’s.

The culinary world has gone into a macaron frenzy. It’s macarons wherever you turn your head. So it’s time that I jumped on the macaron band wagon and give it a whirl.

My recent visit to Pierre Hermé’s exclusive macaron boutique at Selfridges confirmed what a true master he is with funky flavour combination’s. My favourite must