Cucumber Sorbet

Here's a nice way to use a glut of cucumbers - I found several when finally clearing away the summer detritus in the veg patch yesterday.  They will have got tastier with every passing near-frost.

I had the equivalent of about 4 normal-sized cucumbers, but the rest of the quantities below you will have to judge by taste, as I can only give rough guidelines.  Obviously don't overdo the salt or gin,as the mixture will never freeze if you do!

Ingredients

- Creme fraiche:  about 100 ml (and you don't need it if you don't have it)
- Gin :  a tablespoon or so (omit if teetotal) or similar colourless alcohol
- Mint:  about 8 fresh leaves
- Salt: several grinds

Method

-  Peel all but one half of one of cucumbers (the mixture will be too green otherwise)
-  Blitz as you go along, adding the mint in batches
-  Combine with the other ingredients
-  Either freeze using your ice-cream maker, or in the freezer, stirring with a fork periodically to break up the flakes

This is very much a small starter or "intercourse" sorbet - a few small spoonfuls is all you need. If the former, maybe serve it with some hot-smoked salmon and decorated with some thin rings of spring onion (including green bits), more mint, or flat parsley; and a sprinkle of paprika perhaps.  Serve in an egg-cup, rounding the top and re-freezing till you are ready to decorate and serve??

Sea Bass with Ginger, Tomatoes and Prawns

Just been on holiday with my brother's family in Suffolk. There's a terrific fish hut by the Orford sailing club where we mess around in boats. Here's a recipe for sea bass that was based on what I had left by way of other ingredients on the last evening. A very colourful and tasty result.

Ingredients

- One fillet of sea bass per person: the following quantities based on 6 fillets
- For the rub: 1 medium onion, 2 large cloves of garlic, 2 cubic cm ginger, a good handful of chopped parsley, a splash of white vinegar (wine or cider), salt and pepper. If you had one, a small chilli would be good too
- A pint of small prawns with the shell on
- One medium tomato per person, quartered

Method

- Score the skin side of the fillets lightly with a sharp knife - 3 to 4 scores per fillet, depending on the size of the fish
- Whizz up the rub ingredients, peeled as necessary and rub some into the scores. Turn the fillets over and rub the remainder onto the flesh side. Leave to marinate in the fridge for 30 mins or so
- Put the prawns and tomatoes into a grill pan and salt and pepper them. Then grill under a high heat until the tomatoes start to burn a bit. Leave to rest for 10 minutes or so, so that juices from both ingredients run together
- While the prawns rest, heat butter and olive oil to a high-ish heat in a frying pan and fry the fish for a couple of minutes either side (maybe three if thick fillets). Keep warm in a low oven if you need to while other things come together
- Serve with the juices from the pan, with some prawns and tomatoes cast
on top with their juices too

As you eat the fish, shell and eat the prawns as you go. Provide your guests with kitchen paper to clean up.

We ate with freshly made chips - the subject of another recipe ...

Copyright Ian Callaghan 2010

Copyright Ian Callaghan 2010

Runner Bean Stir Fry with Togarashi Seasoning

I just came across Togarashi recently - a Japanese seasoning that's a blend of chili, sesame seeds, orange peel, szechuan pepper, ginger and seaweed and which apparently is usually used in fish dishes.

Runner beans are one of those lovely but over-plentiful crops that you need to find different things to do with, and this bit of improvisation turned out to be a nice stir fry recipe with a bit of heat and plenty of nutty background that seemed to complement the flavour of the beans well.

Ingredients:

• Runner beans, cut diagonally into 2cm strips
• Peppers - either red or yellow if you have them, to provide some colour contrast - about half the quantity of the beans, cut into pieces of similar size
• Onions, sliced, about 1/4 the quantity of beans - or use spring onions
• A good sprinkling of togarashi (it's quite hot)
• A splash of sesame oil

Method:

- Get the wok good and hot with a fair amount of olive or sunflower oil, or whatever you generally use
- Add all the vegetables, the seasoning and the sesame oil and stir over a high heat till the vegetables are getting soft but still have some bite - the onions should be coloured
- Season with salt if you like

Grilled Courgette and Halloumi Salad

• Whatever quantity of courgettes you have to hand, ideally of different colours and no more than 15cm long (i.e. young ones not semi-marrows!)
• About 1/3 to 1/4  that amount of halloumi cheese

- Slice the courgettes lengthways, about half a cm thick.  Salt them and leave to drain for at least half an hour
- Slice the halloumi to the same thickness
- Brush both with oil lightly and grill for a few minutes on each side, either on a barbecue or a griddle, so that you get nice black lines.  The courgettes should be a bit al dente still
- Combine in a bowl and dress lightly with olive oil and balsamic vinegar
- At the last minute, toss in a small handful of basil leaves

Ideally serve still slightly warm

The Dandelion Cycle

I bottled 5 out of my 8 demijohns of fruit wine from last year over the weekend - 30 bottles in all.  Another 18 to go when I acquire some more bottles able to take corks. 

Varieties were Elderberry, Elderberry and Sloe, Blackberry and Sloe, Damson and Dandelion. Easily the most ready was the Damson, already a pleasant rosé when chilled.  The elderberry could be several years before it's drinkable.  All had identifiable fruit flavours, especially the blackberry.

 

Sadly the dandelion had lost much of the vibrant yellow it had when first brewed, now being a pale straw colour rather like a sauvignon blanc.

Meanwhile, the new dandelion heads are suddenly ablaze in the fields, so this weekend's wine task will be to pick the flowers for next year's brew ...