mwnch

I love dessert wine and this pudding is a great, simple excuse to open a bottle.

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One of those traditional classics that many have lost and deserves to be refound. A great piece of British lamb will be offended unless at least accompanied by a tangy home-made mint sauce.

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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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The Italian classic, which in my house serves as a sauce for fish or white meat as well as a snacking accompaniment to crusty bread, crackers, crisps … pretty much anything.

Plenty of parsley is essential so get one of those bunch of flowers sized bunches from a green-grocer rather than those puny supermarket plastic wrapped packs.

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I sometimes think I’m taking this simplicity thing a little too far. But regardless of that here is my latest minimalist listing, barely sufficient to be called a recipe.

No need for messing about - let’s keep it simple. [And this is the way that the fishmonger I buy them from cooks them.]

You need raw frozen prawns for this. Serve them piping hot with lemon juice and home made mayonnaise (perhaps with a little garlic) - great!

Whilst this recipe uses mushrooms, you can use many vegetables as this basis of this - jerusalem artichokes, pumpkin, squash, leek and so on.

For an evening meal, I like to serve it with a nice piece of grilled meat, sausages or chorizo.

When thinking of a salad to have with fish, this is hard to beat.

You can vary the herbs, use mint, parley, coriander or marjoram (or any other soft herb) in combinations driven by taste or availability.

Tangy and fresh!

Using everyday seasoning, this is a great, quick way to eat fish when in a rush.

Eat with salad and some rice.