mwnch

From a wide variety of sources from Elizabeth David to an old Sunday Times cook book, I’ve adopted a fast then slow method of cooking meat.

To begin with, smear your turkey with butter then clothe in a layer of fatty bacon.

Then in an oven preheated to 220C / 425F / Gas 7, sear the turkey for 50 minutes.

Then baste the bird with the juices from the pan and cover with foil.

Return to the oven, with the heat reduced to 170C / 325F / Gas 3 for the amount of time as follows depending on the size of the turkey:

Baste every 20 to 30 minutes. The end result will be the tastiest, juiciest turkey!

I’ll start with some honesty - some of the things that I make seasonally from our own produce are not things that I especially relish … jars of chutney that remain gathering dust or that blackberry jelly that is just a bit too ‘thick’. This is definitely not one of those. I prefer using vodka to gin, but the recipe will work equally well with either.

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I’ve been a great drinker fan of Tomos Watkins ales for a few years so I was intrigued to see that they’ve sold out (in real ale terms) and introduced a Lager to their range.

I’ll happily drink any style of beer so personally, I wasn’t repulsed as some beer drinkers may be and thought I’d give it a go.

This is a light, in both colour and taste lager with a pleasing amber glow, a mild and gentle fizz and a pleasant and not overpowering flavour of hops and malty body. Certainly not as sweet and sugary as many modern lagers (no bad thing) and so it’s a thinner more refreshing drink, albeit still packing a 5% punch.

Nice … roll-on the Summer I think there’s work for magic lagyr to do…

An easy method for poaching a whole fish such as a salmon or trout given the correct equipment. You’ll need a pan big enough to accommodate the fish without touching the sides. A fish kettle (pictured) is perfect.

Place the fish in the pan.

Add cold water to cover the fish and add whatever stock ingredients you have to hand or prefer. Any of: Onion (quartered), parsley stalks, chopped carrots, bay leaves, celery, whole peppercorns. Don’t add salt.

Cover & place the pan and its contents over heat.

Bring to the boil then immediately remove from the heat.

Leave covered and allow to cool to almost cold - the fish will be cooked.

Okay, so I better put the record straight, this is not a sospan (sauce-pan), neither is it rusty (just a bit aged), but it is my favourite kitchen utensil. I believe it belonged to my Grandmother, then my Mother and now me - so a family heirloom. Made completely from cast iron and certainly not non-stick, it is great for pan frying and then finishing in the oven.

Nice hey?….

I’d love to hear of other peoples favourite pieces of kitchen furniture…

The sea-trout (locally known as sewin) from the River Tywi between Carmarthen and Llandeilo in West Wales is the tastiest most flavoursome ‘pink’ fleshed fish that I’ve tasted. I’ve never been a fan of shop or restaurant bought salmon and I think that’s because of been spoilt by the sewin my mother cooked for us when I was younger.

I’ve tried various methods of preparing it, but simply poached in it’s own simple stock of carrot, onion, pepper corns and herbs seems the easiest, tastiest and most fool-proof option.

A long thin fish kettle is best: place the fish along with a accompaniment of a large chopped carrot, a quarter onion, a sprinkle of pepper corns and some parsley stalks, sage or rosemary in the kettle, then fill with cold water. From here it’s easy, place the kettle on heat, bring the water to the boil, leave on the heat for 1 minute, then remove and allow to cool to tepid - the fish will be cooked. Remove the skin then the fish from the bone and Serve!

Alternatively, as in the picture, oven bake in foil. Garnish the fish with a selection of fresh herbs and lemon slices placed in the stomach cavity, add a few blobs of butter and seasoning then give 20 minutes for a small fish such as the one pictured or 30 minutes or so for a large specimen in an oven heated to 180C.

I like to accompany with a cauliflower puree. Roasted cherry tomatoes also go well and provide a great contrast.

Great with poached fish especially a whole sea-trout (sewin) or salmon, this is a really easy yet classy recipe that makes a change from smothering your cauli with cheese sauce.

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Of all the cooks that I’m writing about in this series, Keith Floyd is probably the one whose televised work has had a greater influence on me than his written work. In fact it wasn’t until I came to write this piece on Keith, that I even gave his books much thought.

It’s his joie-de-vivre that makes him such a charismatic figure and TV conveys that far better than print. There can’t be many red-blooded drinkers & cookers who don’t secretly desire trading places with Keith, knocking together some frankly knocked together food in a sultry corner of Italy whilst keeping cool with copious quantities of Vino Verde. Or frying reindeer hocks in butter in some dusky Scandanavian tundra whilst pickling oneself with a vat of vodka.

After all that his books are bound to pale by comparison.

Another thing about Keith which one must admit is do we really care about his recipes ? Is it really Keith we turn to for a Chicken Korma recipe and jugged or Royal Hare Stew, blood and all is perhaps a minority pursuit. His best stuff such as Irene Cleaves’ southern fried chicken or Evander Preston’s crabmeat fritters are really someone elses. Surely Elizabeth David is a better source for let’s say Southern French recipes and we’ll leave North African food to Sam and Sam Clark… let’s make a resolution to enjoy Keith for what he’s best at - making damn fine, entertaining TV prog’s with backing music by the Stranglers!