Fish soup-stew

Now is the time that many varieties of fish and shellfish are at their best. You can choose whatever you like here. Experiment with ingredients & try things you’ve not had or haven’t cooked before.

You can adapt this easy fish stew to suit your guests - use whatever seafood you want to put into the pot.

Ingredients

• 1kg/4lb 8oz mixed fresh fish fillets and shellfish, such as red mullet, small sole, gurnard, monkfish, sea bass, cuttlefish, baby octopus, prawns, mussels, squid or scallops
• 4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 1 garlic cloves, finely chopped, plus an extra clove for the toast
• 1x400g/14oz tins of chopped tomatoes
• 60ml/4fl oz red wine
• chopped fresh chilli, to taste (1/2-1)
• 1 tbsp finely chopped flatleaf parsley
• ¼  tsp fennel seeds
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• good bread, slightly stale or toasted (to serve)

Preparation method

1.  If your fishmonger hasn’t already done so, clean and prepare your chosen fish and shellfish. Cut fish fillets into large chunks and seafood into manageable pieces.

2.  Put the oil, onion and garlic into a large pan and fry briefly.

3.  Add the tomatoes, wine, chilli, parsley and fennel seeds and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 15 minutes.

4.  Start to add large pieces of fish to the sauce first and those that will take the longest to cook such as monkfish, then add the more tender fish such as red mullet or sole and the shellfish, ending up with the mussels if using. Cook for five or so minutes, or until the fish is cooked and the mussels have opened. (Discard any mussels that haven't opened.)

5.  Rub the bread with garlic, drizzle with olive oil, and put each slice in the bottom of a deep soup bowl. Pour over the soup and serve.

 

Note: I like to pan fry some fish like seabass and serve on top of the stew. This gives a nice crispy skin and an interesting texture to the dish.

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Flapjacks

Flapjacks are a chewy biscuits made from oats. You can add other ingredients too, like, coconut, dried fruit, chocolate, nuts and seeds. Above all they are chewy and gooey and great to make.

 

 

Ingredients

• 200g unsalted butter
• 200g demerara sugar
• 200g honey
• 400g porridge oats
• (Optional) 50g nuts, dried fruits desiccated coconut, seeds, chocolate…
• You will also need a 20cm x 30cm (8in x 12in) cake tin, greased

Preparation method

1.   Put the butter, sugar and honey in a saucepan and heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Add the oats (and nuts, fruit, coconut etc. if using), and mix well.

2.   Transfer the oat mixture to the prepared cake tin and spread to about 2cm (¾in) thick. Smooth the surface with the back of a spoon. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C/350F/Gas 4 for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden around the edges, but still slightly soft in the middle. Let cool in the tin, then turn out and cut into squares.

 

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Burns Night Friday 25th January

 

Whether you are Scottish or not there is no reason why you can’t join in the festivities for Burns Night. A celebration, a tribute to the poetry of the legendary Robbie Burns, the haggis is the beast which is slain and eaten as part of the meal. If you’ve not tried it before, give it a go, you might be surprised. The taste is savoury, peppery and meaty. I suppose similar to the flavours of a sausage. Traditionally served with buttery neeps and creamy tatties, I like this with a whisky, pepper sauce. If you’re not inclined to make your own a very fine ready made alternative is The Sauce Queen’s ‘Peppered Private Reserve’, order online http://www.thesaucequeen.co.uk/shop/meat-sauces/  You will not be disappointed!

Of course you need a tipple to wash it down with. The number one choice of course is a fine single malt. For those of you who like earthy, peaty whiskys then Ardbeg is a delicious choice. An easier, softer flavour can be found with Aberlour. An oily, subtly orange flavour can be found here. There are many whiskys though, some far more expensive, so if you have a favourite, now is the time to crack it open.

The cooking of the haggis is another topic of interest. Some prefer boiling (low and slow) and others prefer to wrap in foil and roast in the oven. If boiling the guidelines are around 35-40 minutes per 450g/1lb. There are some varieties which can be microwaved. However you choose to cook your beastie, remember to be careful with the casing. This should not be broken until you are ready to serve and stab your beastie whilst addressing it correctly using the words of Robbie Burns. This, I am reliably informed should be done humorously and not seriously! However if I have offended anyone’s seriousness of the occasion, I apologise.

Your haggis CANNOT be hunted as often suggested but must be bought from a good butcher. Only a good butcher will ensure, like their sausages that it is made correctly, from quality ingredients and flavoured to perfection. Contact http://pimlotts.co.uk/ without delay!

 

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