Just a quick note to let you know that I'm off for a week's skiing tomorrow, so the blog will be quiet while I'm on the slopes. It's my first time skiing, so wish me luck!
There's still plenty of time to enter this month's In the Bag event event; I've had lots of fantastic entries in already and I'll be doing the round-up when I'm back.
Take care, and happy cooking!
The January newsletter is on it's way to all subscribers now! If you'd like a copy simply enter your email address in the box below and I'll get one sent out to you.
Lay seasonal salad leaves on a plate.
Slice some smoked cheddar cheese and place on the leaves.
Cut a pear into slices, core and halve each slice and soak in lemon juice to prevent browning. Place the slices over the salad.
Scatter over a handful of roughly chopped walnuts.
Mix lemon juice and olive oil in equal parts and drizzle over the salad.
This is my entry for this month’s In the Bag event. How are you getting on with the challenge?
When I first came across sea bass cooked this way I have to say I wasn't sure about it. I imagined it being salty, a waste of salt and, well, a bit of a gimmick really. But then I saw James Martin cook it on his Christmas Feasts show. He talked about how the fish steams in its salt crust and raved about the taste. He caught my interest. Then I found a recipe for cooking fish this way in ‘The River Cottage Fish Book’, and when I watched Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall demonstrating it on YouTube my mind was made up. I had to try it.
James Martin's Recipe uses lemon zest, thyme and rosemary in with the salt and I love that idea, but this first time I was keen to taste the fish itself and didn’t want to complicate it with too much else, so I kept the flavourings to a minimum, using just lemon zest mixed with the salt and a few bay leaves in the cavity of the fish.
Hugh suggests mixing water with the salt to dampen it thus making it easier to pack around the fish. You need to place a thick layer of the salt onto a baking tray and then place the fish on top of it. Next make sure the cavity is closed as much as possible - to avoid salt going inside - and cover the fish (except for the head and tail) with the salt and pat all around it to ensure it's fully covered.
With the sea bass tucked up in its blanket of salt it was ready to go into the oven – I cooked it at 200c for 45 minutes. As the bass cooks the salt hardens, forming a crust, which you need to break off once the fish is cooked through - you'll probably need a knife for this.
And finally the moment of truth. The first thing I noticed when I carefully pulled back the skin was how tender and succulent the flesh was. This method of cooking really does keep all those juices inside the fish, instead of running out as they usually do. And this is the key to the success of this dish. It was really noticable in the all important taste test - all those beautiful juices were full of the beautiful flavour of the sea bass; and the fish tasted absolutely wonderful. It didn’t taste salty at all; I just tasted a little salt around the edges of the cavity. I couldn’t really taste the lemon except for maybe a hint of it - and I do love lemon with fish so next time I’d like to try putting slices of lemon inside, as James Martin does. But really, with fish tasting this good, you could get away with using no flavouring at all.
I adore the wonderful flavour of sea bass, and this way of cooking concentrates and enhances it in a way I didn’t think possible. I have to say it's the best sea bass dish I've ever tasted. It would make a stunning dinner party dish and would certainly be a talking point. Expensive in salt, yes, but it really is spectacular - both visually and in taste - so for a special occasion when you want to impress I really don’t think you can beat this way of serving this glorious fish.
Watch Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall cook sea bass this way:
It's a brand new year and we have a brand new bag for you to start it off with. I hope you're looking forward to the challange!
But firstly let me tell you about a couple of changes. Cherry has decided to move her food blog over to her main blog, Tales from Pixie Wood, as she doesn't blog about food as much these days. She has therefore decided that it's best if she withdraws from hosting the 'In the Bag' event, so Scott and I are going to take it forward, taking it in turns to host. On behalf of both Scott and myself I'd like to thank Cherry for all her hardwork on this event, and for helping to make it possible.
Secondly, we found that by making sure that all 3 of our ingredients in each bag were seasonal we were coming up with some mixes that were rather difficult to put together in one coherent dish. We've therefore decided to choose 1 seasonal ingredient with 2 others that are likely to be 'staples', such as potatoes or rice. Having said that, there may be months where we find 2 or 3 seasonal ingredients that we think will work well together, in which case we'll put them in the bag. We hope you like this change and that it means more of you feel able to participate.
So, onto the goodies in the bag this month. They are
Pears - in season!
A lemon
A selection of nuts - pick a handful of whichever ones you fancy
All you need to do to enter is to create a dish using these ingredients, then post about it on your blog or website and drop me an email.
Rules
Here are the loose rules - but ultimately remember the objective is to have fun whilst highlighting seasonal food:
1. Participants should attempt to use all the ingredients 'in the bag' for that particular month, but may leave one out if they prefer. The dish should be based around the seasonal ingredient, rather then just including it as an afterthought.
2. Participants can include any "extra" ingredients that they see fit.
3. Entries should include a link back to the host for that month, and the post should be tagged "In the Bag".
4. Entries can be written any time during the month, as long as the URL is emailed to that month's host before the closing date.
5. Particpants from outside of the UK are most welcome to join in and substitute an item from their own local seasonal produce if necessary.
That's all! Any deviations from the above are at the discretion of the host. Have fun!
'In The Bag' is a food event run monthly by 'A Slice of Cherry Pie' and 'Real Epicurean'.
I’ve always loved clear broths, whether they be a noodle soup, a vegetable broth or even chicken stock just as it is. I find them incredibly soothing and full of flavour. After the richness of the Christmas food I’m, like most of us, craving lighter, fresher food with a cleaner taste and less fat content, and an oriental broth is just the thing. I was on the lookout for a base for such a soup in the supermarket yesterday and picked up a box of instant miso soup sachets. I normally avoid anything ‘instant’ in the supermarkets but these looked pretty good – no artificial additives and a produce of Japan.
I knew very little about miso (pronounced mee-so) soup, so did some research. I found that it’s eaten daily by most Japanese people, being an important part of most meals; it’s even eaten for breakfast. The base of the soup is miso paste, made from soy beans, and a stock called dashi. The ingredients added to the base are chosen according to the season and provide contrasting colour, texture and flavour. Common ingredients used include tofu, shitake mushrooms and seaweed.
For my soup I used pak choi, spring onions and oyster mushrooms. I made up two of the sachets with hot water in a saucepan and then added a small handful of the mushrooms, a few pak choi leaves roughly torn and a spring onion, snipped with scissors diagonally. I simmered them for just a few minutes (the vegetables shouldn’t be soft) and then garnished the soup with more spring onion. EDIT: Thanks to the people who left comments telling me you shouldn't boil or simmer miso soup, noted for my next one!
This soup has a deep flavour, quite earthy, and the spring onions lift it nicely. Not only is it delicious and healthy, but it’s so quick and simple; I’ll definately be buying more of those sachets for my store cupboard.
Looking back over 2007 I can see much happiness and much to be thankful for. Like every year there were ups and there were downs, but all in all it was a good year.
I’ve been busy with ‘A Slice of Cherry Pie’ and I’m finding it more and more enjoyable and rewarding as time goes on. I particularly love the new level of interaction that I can now enjoy with my readers, made possible by the
newsletter and discussion forums I introduced last year, and also by the regular food blogging event 'In the Bag'. Through these things, and through all the comments and emails I receive, I’m getting to know people from all over the world who share my interest in food. I’m also making friends with fellow bloggers and discovering new blogs all the time – have you visited the wonderful blogs in the list of those who link here? They really are quite remarkable.
In March last year I started the UK Food Bloggers Association, so that my fellow British bloggers would have somewhere to chat, share ideas and offer help and support. The association now has over 80 members and is growing all the time. In June I met some fellow bloggers and food writers on a very memorable tour of Borough Market, and in September I celebrated a year of blogging. In 2007 I wrote a total of 183 posts! I really hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them.
On the home front there were lots of good things happening too. In particular Rob and I were given the wonderful honour of becoming God Parents to my cousin’s adorable little girl and just before Christmas we became an Aunty and Uncle for the first time when Rob’s brother’s beautiful baby girl was born. I’m already dreaming of the time when I can bake cup cakes with these gorgeous children.
And now to 2008 - a new year full of promise. I’m excited about this year and I’m raring to go. I hope you’re having a good start to the year and I wish you love, health and happiness. Happy New Year.
The blog has moved!!! Please visit my blog at the new address www.asliceofcherrypie.com and don't forget to update your bookmarks and links! See you over there x
