August | 2008 | Gastroplod

Archive for August, 2008

one fine day

Posted in recipes, Summer, wine, tagged whitebait, wine on August 31, 2008| 4 Comments »

With hot sunny weather forecast for Saturday all other plans went on hold so we could seize the chance to soak up every available ray of sunshine on the deck of our new penthouse apartment. Thanks to the frankly not great British summer it was our first opportunity to bask under an open blue sky since moving in at the beginning of August, so in holiday mood I hauled out the deep fryer from deep storage and tossed in a shoal of whitebait for a nautical treat.

Resurrecting my darling porcelain fish platter was sheer delight, and as it received the rustling cascade of tiny crisp fishes I think I may even have seen it crack a smile: or was it the combination of French rosé and UV rays going to my head? I think not.

Deep-fried Whitebait

454g frozen whitebait
200ml milk
4 TBS plain flour
1 tsp paprika pimentón
4 litres oil for deep frying

Defrost the whitebait in a bowl, with the milk poured over, overnight in the fridge. Drain well and discard the milk. Heat the oil to 190C. Mix together the flour and pimentón in a large bowl and toss in the whitebait. Shake the bowl about to coat the fish then transfer them to a colander and gently shake off excess flour.

Tip the whitebait into the fryer basket, lower carefully into the oil and fry for two to three minutes. They’re done when they float so keep a close eye and don’t cook them any longer than necessary. Served with lemon quarters and green tabasco: briny heaven on a fish plate.

This bottle of Domaine Grand Milord organic rosé was a perfect accompaniment, made from 10% Syrah and 90% Caladoc. It’s not every day I come across a grape variety I’d never heard of: a quick google reveals that Caladoc is a disease-resistant hybrid of Grenache and Cot, both respectable southern French varieties, and being deep coloured and with ageing potential a tasty choice for making into rosé: and organic to boot: cin cin!

Domaine Grand Milord organic rosé

Marks and Spencer £5.99

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blue cheese & butternut bread

Posted in artisan bread, packed lunch, picnic, recipes, vegetarian, tagged butternut squash, olive oil dough, packed lunch, pecan, picnic, Stilton, stuffed bread, Waitrose on August 13, 2008| 7 Comments »

This stuffed bread makes wonderful picnic food as the filling holds itself in place allowing you to eat it with just hands – and a napkin for the fastidious. We took it for a packed lunch while decorating our new apartment and it was much more sustaining than the bag of Doritos (T’s choice, not mine) we’d munched on the day before: it didn’t stain everything orange either, which is a bit of a bonus when you’re trying to paint everything in shades of white.

It’s a handy vegetarian addition to my picnic / packed lunch recipe repertoire.

Butternut squash and blue cheese bread

100g crumbled Stilton*

100g diced cooked butternut squash

a sprig of fresh sage, chopped

1 TBS chopped pecans (optional)

a handful of olive oil dough

olive oil

*Any creamy blue cheese such as dolcelatte, gorgonzola etc. will do just as well; here I happened to have some Stilton left over from Christmas haunting the freezer.

Gently stretch out the ball of dough on an oiled swiss roll tin – or toaster oven tray – coaxing it towards the edges. It will relax and stretch further so don’t be anxious about this.

Strew the cheese and squash over the surface of the dough, padding the filling towards the edges. Scatter with the shredded sage, then make a papoose by bringing the long edges of the dough to meet over the top and press them together to seal so the cheese doesn’t leak out when it melts in the oven. At this point it will not look at all promising, but have no fear. Sprinkle chopped nuts, if using, across the seam and press them lightly into the dough so they stick.

Bake in a hot oven (450F, 200C, Gas 7) for about 30 minutes, basting halfway through with a little olive (or hazelnut/walnut if you have it) oil for a delicately crunchy crust: cover the nuts with a strip of foil if they’re browning too fast (or blackening in my case, one hazard of using a toaster oven).

Cool, loosen the bottom with a palette knife, then cut into slices or wrap the whole in foil to slice later.

The sage makes a delicous ménage à trois with the blue cheese and squash, which the richly nutty pecans turn into a veritable orgy of flavours, or for an enjoyable alternative you could try swinging with rosemary and walnuts instead: a bit of gustatory promiscuity can produce some pretty interesting offspring.

For a punchy packed lunch just add a handful of rocket leaves and for a picnic add whatever you like, but the way this British summer’s been shaping up you’ll be needing a blanket, windbreak, hot water bottle – and your head examined: it’s blowing a gale as I type this.

A note to British readers: some branches of Waitrose sell frozen butternut squash, which is pretty darn handy for this recipe as it’ll cook in the microwave in 4 minutes – and there’s no skin to deal with!

This post is my first-ever entry for the WTSIM… summer picnic blogging event.

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