Mackerel is delicious and versatile and can be served hot or cold, smoked, raw or cooked. Due to the rich oily flesh mackerel works best with strong acid flavours such as saffron, lemons, limes, tomatoes, orange, fennel, chilli, ginger and wasabi. The skin of mackerel is thin and therefore crisps up easily and tastes equally delicious. My philosophy about mackerel is to keep it simple; it’s a humble fish, and over-complicating a recipe incorporating mackerel is doing no one any flavours! The combination of using fresh and smoked mackerel adds a different dimension to the dish.

I usually associate tomatoes with mackerel, it might be from the days when my dad used to eat tinned sardines and tomato salad as a snack. Towards the end of Summer when tomatoes are ripening and plentiful, one might wonder what to do with a glut of tomatoes? Well I have the answer to this dilemma; last year I wrote this lovely post on how to preserve them if you have too many. One of the three recipes on there I use the most is the semi-dried tomato recipe. We use lots and lots of them in the restaurant and semi-dry all shapes and sizes from cherry tomatoes to large ripe plum tomatoes, it works all the same and they are truly delicious – with the intense flavour they work beautifully with the oily mackerel.

I came up with two recipes for the use of our assignment of cod’s cheeks. One is a “cheeky sandwich” and the other is ”crispy cod’s cheek nugget salad”. The salad and vegetables are from Maple Farm, an organic farm a few miles from the British Larder that produces the most amazing ingredients with a very diverse range.

For both these recipes the cod’s cheeks were coated in either a batter or a crust and then deep fried. The crisp exterior biting into the soft flaky interior makes these little gems rather delicious. It’s a challenge for us to sell these dishes as most people find the thought not as appetizing as I find it interesting. However, perseverance, creative thinking and dish compilation made these two dishes a winner here at the British Larder.

Maple farm is a magical place. A farmer’s dream and a cook’s heaven. From chickens that lay fresh eggs to organic spelt and flour, salad leaves and organic pig. If it can or could be grown or produced organically then they will do so.

Their little farm shop that operates on an honesty basis is usually packed with the finest eggs, perky fresh salad leaves and an array of other organic vegetable, flour and spelt grain and last but not least a freezer stocked with pig.

We love baking with Maple Farm eggs; the yolks are such a vibrant yellow colour that one might be mistaken that food colouring might have been involved.

We choose to only buy ingredients from people who care about food the same way we do. The guys and girls from Pinney’s in Orford do care and so does Chris from Maximus sustainable fishing. They both bluntly admit when there is no fish to catch and sell to us due to stock levels, but when it is there we are some of the very lucky few who actually manage to get our hands on this lovely fresh fish. I have never seen a whole skate ray before so when we asked Pinney’s to bring us a whole one they were eager and happy, and the next day George Pinney came with this beauty.

It did urge me to learn a bit more about this delicious fish. Skates are cartilaginous fish belonging to the family of rays. This means they are boneless creatures with two wings. Skate wings are the parts that are eaten and there are always two wings per fish. If you are worried about the huge fishing problem we are facing then do not hesitate to ask your fishmonger or in our case the fisherman direct where they catch the fish, whether they have a quota and to simply ask them what their view is on sustainable fishing. Let’s face it – all fishermen with a conscience will ensure they do the right thing as this is their livelihood, and if they do not help to look after the ocean now then there is no trade to pass on to their children and grandchildren.

As skate is a meaty fish I have chosen to serve it simply with an easy and delicious seasonal homemade anchovy and broccoli pickle made in minutes. It’s very easy and quick for those mid-week suppers.

Our friend Chris from Maximus delivers these beautiful Morston mussels to us and whether we serve this dish as a starter or a main, it’s hugely popular.

This time of the year one almost feels slightly deprived from sunshine and the happiness of the summer sun which delivers brightly coloured foods such as berries, peppers and tomatoes. However, with the earth warming up as we move into spring, seeing beautiful food such as these mussels and leeks is enough to put a gentle smile on ones face, and it’s a soft reminder that summer is on its way.

A few mussel facts:

• Even though mussels have a stigma of being a poor man’s shellfish, they are most probably the only shellfish that is plentiful, not endangered and the most environmentally sound shellfish available to eat.
  
• Norfolk is best known for its mussels with a wide selection from Morston to Brancaster.
  
• Mussels are only good to eat in months with an “R” in it, and it also depends on the sea temperature – the colder the better.

The combination of cauliflower, scallops and apple is not new; no it’s done and dusted by fellow cooks for many years, but let’s face it, it’s rather good, and my old saying is if it is not broken then do not fix it. Cooking is not about re-inventing the wheel, no, for me it’s about doing a job well and doing it right. The execution, presentation and taste is of prime importance.

I love food, and of course eating it is that all important bit I really like. I also get bored of food very quickly, especially if the foods I’m eating combined have one dimensional texture or taste. For me, a plate of food must be exciting not only to look at but also to eat. When designing a dish I’m looking for different textures and tastes; every mouthful must have a little surprise installed; then it’s exciting!

For this scallop dish I serve not only the cauliflower, horseradish and apple puree but also serve apple crisps that add a tangy crispness to the dish.

To season the scallops I dug my old magic curry powder recipe out. The intentions with this salted curry dust is not to give the scallops a curry flavour but to enhance the taste and flavour of the sweet scallops. I use the dust as a seasoning as you would normally season the scallops with salt and pepper. I do not, however, use pepper as I feel the strength of the pepper will overpower it all.

It’s been three weeks since we have opened the doors to the British Larder Suffolk. It’s been hard work and I relied heavily on preparing dishes like this herring escabeche to help me through very busy days. The beauty is that you can make the salad early in the morning or even the day before, and when it comes to serving the dish it’s perfectly pickled. I like the simplicity and pureness of this recipe, it’s not at all complicated. I serve this herring escabeche salad with pickled green beans and plenty of buttered brown bread, and the pickled vegetables are just as delicious.

Herring is a very bony fish and it’s not easy to remove all the bones, however the richness of the oily flesh is perfect for pickling. Alternatively, you can use sardines or mackerel - I buy the really small sardines and butterfly them, but again you end up with a bone problem.

The pickled green beans is a recipe from my mother. When she visited last summer she gave me this recipe from my grandmother’s recipe book and I have been making it regularly throughout the summer. It not only adds the perfect crunch to this dish but also makes a fantastic partnership with a good bit of cheddar on malted brown bread.

This lavish lobster macaroni is the exact dish that we have put on the menu for the opening and will enable me to produce proper costings  I thought it best if I cooked this dish to give all the British Larder readers a look test and once the doors are open you could happily tuck in on the taste test. It’s not going to be the cheapest dish on the menu as you can imagine but it surely will be lavish and cooked with a lot of love.

When I cooked this dish, I so enjoyed every moment as it took me right back to the years when I used to cook lobsters every day for the lobster raviolis on the exquisite  menu of the restaurant where I used to work . It was a daily task performed early in the morning and it was my job to cook the lobsters, pull them apart and prepare the meat for the raviolis. I have a mild allergy when I touch cooked lobsters, my fingers swell up and they itch fiercely. I remember how the boy’s used to call me a “pansy” for wearing the yellow marigolds, they thought I could not stand the pain  when the sharp bits of shell pierced my finger but it was due to the mild allergy. Boys!! I can eat it  which is a good thing because this is one of those dishes I would not miss for the world.

Lobster is still classed as a delicacy with its incredibly high prices. Lobster should not be taken for granted and for that reason I use the whole lobster to make this lavish dish. It takes the average lobster about eight years to reach maturity, hence the strict fishing regulations that ensure a caught lobster must measure at least 10cm from the eyes to where the tail is attached to the body. There are several groups of crustaceans known as lobsters. However, the most commonly known and used by chefs in the UK is the North American or European lobster, with its blue coloured armour. See the one in the picture above, it was brought in from the river Ore near Orford.

One place I cannot resist visiting is Brinkley’s Shed on the quay and run by local fishermen. It’s here that I found this marvelous local caught seabass and when I faced  the sea, I discovered the wonderful sea purslane growing nearby. I like to visit Brinkley’s as each visit has it’s own mystery finds. They sell what’s in season and fish caught on that particular day. It’s wonderful that there are businesses that focus mainly on the seasons.

Other places I love visiting  in Orford are two smokehouses. one attached to Pinneys restaurant and the other is Richardson’s. They both sell the most amazing smoked products however each specialises in their own field. Pinneys also have  a famous oysterage and  sell the most wonderful smoked prawns. Richardson’s treacle cider smoked ham hock is simply mouthwatering and makes my delicious warm treacle cider smoked ham hock and spring barley salad.

For me seabass still remains a special treat but it very much depends on the season. Seabass is versatile and can be  paired easily with a large range of flavours and ingredients. It is also delicious baked whole en-papilotte or tastes   exceptional when pan-fried in this Orford-Landed Sea Bass with Warm Smoked Bacon, Broad Bean and Sea Purslane Salad. The seabass is one of the many species which have suffered from intensive fishing and high demands however the extensive conservation project that has taken place over the past years has meant that we can now enjoy the return of the local caught seabass from our British shores. It’s a true delight and fantastic feeling walking along the beaches and harbours of the Suffolk coast, typically at places such as Southwold, Orford and Aldeburgh and find freshly landed seabass, skate and cod, all of which have benefited from the intensive conservation projects.

I guess you are wondering what sea purslane is, well I only discovered it last year myself when I went on a Food Safari Seafood in a Day event. Sea purslane is a fantastic wild coastal foraging find with its matt green colour and slightly swollen leaves. The taste is interesting and is almost a reminder of salt and vinegar crisps. When the leaves are freshly picked early in the morning they are still crispy with a lovely salty taste of the sea. Sea purslane is mainly found on salt marches, which are flooded at high tide. It is particularly delicious used as an ingredient with seafood dishes served raw or cooked as per this recipe.

Granddad only knew farming and  how to drive a bus, but due to severe diabetes he had to give them up and consequently the illness took him away from us. He was a firm man with very strong morals and beliefs, however he had a heart made of one giant marshmallow.

They had a half an acre of land to the side of the house and granddad tried to grow nearly everything. From paw paws, mangoes, avocados, pecan nuts, tomatoes, cucumbers, plums, peaches, physalis also know as Cape Gooseberries, he tried them all. The house bordered onto a river and amazingly there was enough space on the bank for nasturtiums to grow in abundance. I remember visiting during the summer school holidays and picking these pretty little flowers and putting them in a vase for my gran.

These are the fantastic memories I have of my grandparents, amazingly one does not realise how fortunate you are when your actually living the dream but how invaluable those memories are today.

What is Borage? Borage is a edible plant and both it’s flowers and leaves are enjoyed throughout Europe and the Mediterranean. The flowers are traditionally used in Pimms drinks as it has a ‘cucumber’ taste which can  be substituted with fresh cucumber and mint. The leaves are commonly used in Germany for making a green sauce. In Liguria ,the northern region of Italy, its  used to fill raviolis. Borage is also known for it’s medicinal and cosmetic uses.

I have a bit of everything in my garden and the main aim is to have a large percentage of plants that are edible or have edible fruits. It’s not all successful, however gardening gives me great pleasure. I was suprised when the horseradish re-appeared this year, it’s going wild alongside the lemon balm under the olive tree, which  also bore fruits last year. I planted the borage and nastirtium into pots to liven the patio up and to disguise the very ordinary wooden panel fence.

Last year I also grew carrots but this year I simply ran out of time and did not get round to sow the seeds. So I have to do with carrots from our local farmers market. This dish is made up of two elements, the recipe is mainly about the pickled carrots and the use of the borage flowers and not so much about the gravalax, so I would not be offended at the slightest if you  substituted the gravalax  with smoked salmon.

I’m a pickling and jam making fan, so I  pop anything into a jar which is good for me to keep. These pickled carrots are great, the chillies provide  a bite, which means it’s spicy but nice. It keeps for a long time and comes in ever so handy when you are short of time and need to rustle up an amazing lunch in minutes. I even used the pickled carrots to spice up a stir fry which is unusual but it adds that absolute unexpected and exciting element to the dish.

My motto is ‘make the most of the season’…… happy pickling and jam making!

A few of my other favourtie pickled recipes:

• Sweet & Sour Pickled Green Beans
• Star Anise and Cinnamon Pickled Beetroot
• Cauliflower and Shallot Piccalilli

I have chosen to use mackerel today as it’s a very under used fish and we should enjoy it more often at our dinner table. Mackerel is a exceptionally good looking fish with its shiny blue and silver skin but is classed as a humble creature from the sea. The oily flesh is packed with nutrients and iron and is a perfect ingredient and it remains at it’s best right through the summer. Mackerel is delicious and versatile and can be served hot or cold, smoked, raw or cooked. One of my other “cheffy tricks” is to serve very fresh mackerel raw, finely sliced, seasoned with coarse sea salt and a wasabi vinaigrette, it’s an acquired taste and your fish must be super fresh.

I’m not a great lover of eating the skin of the fish, however there are a few varieties that are delicious if the skin is cooked until crisp. The skin of seabass, mackerel, herring and salmon  can be tasty and could be considered as a treat if cooked well. The skin of mackerel is thin and therefore crisps up easily and due to the natural oily content of the mackerel it renders down well in a hot pan.

I have chosen to serve this saffron orange soused mackerel with a crisp raw slaw style salad, the crispness and freshness cuts through the oiliness and compliments each other very well.

This dish makes a pretty starter or could be served as a main course with warm buttered new potatoes on the side. You could serve this dish either hot as I did or chilled, if you chill the fish in the saffron orange vinaigrette the flavour will become more intense.