Friday Fish by Stephanie Moon and Rob Green

Ten years of boarding school at Summer Fields, Oxford and Cheltenham College I suffered in my youth...it wasn't all bad, though: every Friday lunch we were fed fish and some of it didn't even have batter! However, thanks to the excellent talents of Rob Green of Green's of Whitby, I now know that batter can taste exceptional with our Lime, Black Pepper and Lavender in the mix: surely the most imaginative twist on fish and chips with vinegar.

ROB GREEN'S POLLOCKS

Green's Fish & Chips

  "The Womersley lime, blackpepper & lavender works great on fish and chips. The lavender is not over powering but adds a great fresh, fragrant dimension to the dish that malt vinegar can not deliver.

Ingredients
1x Bottle Womersley Lime, blackpepper and lavender vinegar,
2x Fillets of Pollock, skinned and boned, dredged in seasoned flour
1 can Lager, 250g self raising flour, 1 tbsp of Womersley Lime, black pepper & lavender, whisked together to form a smooth batter. (It needs to be the same thickness as double cream, to thick and the end result will be stodgy)
Lemon, Tartare sauce, Womersley vinegar and mushy peas to serve!

For the Fish
Heat the oil to 190C.
Holding the tail of the fish, dip into the batter and make sure all the fish is covered.
Carefully lay the fish into the oil.
Cook until golden brown, turning now and then as soon as the batter has started to crisp.
Depending on the thickness the fish should take between 4-6mins
Drain on kitchen paper.

Serve your fish with chips and with the lemon, tartare sauce, mushy peas and lashings of the Lime, blackpepper & Lavender.

Rob Green, Green's of Whitby."

The full recipe including the chips is on our website.

STEPHANIE MOON'S MACKEREL

This week, we have been enjoying the North East region of Great British Menu on BBC2 which has showcased two new talents, Colin McGurran and Charlie Lakin, as well as returning chef, Stephanie Moon. For 2012, the chefs' task is to create a menu that captures the Olympic spirit - food that is breath-taking and awe-inspiring. Every great Olympian pushes their discipline on to new levels of excellence and that's the challenge for the 2012 Great British Menu chefs. We particularly loved Steph's podium pudding, what a terrific idea. Our bottles of Lemon, Basil, Bay and Juniper have been very much in evidence in the GBM kitchen and were used by Steph in her dishes. Of course, Steph also got to cook a fish dish this week and this reminded me that she recently did a beautiful Whitby Fish Mackerel dish also using our Lemon, Basil, Bay & Juniper.

Whitby Seafish Mackerel, Forager’s Salad, Pickled Baby Vegetables

The recipe for Steph's dish is available on her Wild Cooks blog page so give it a go and let us know how well it works for you.
This weekend, Steph is presenting the Cookery Theatre at Harrogate Flower Show and I even get to share the stage with her on Saturday afternoon: yikes! Unfortunately, Steph missed out on the final by one point- that Nigel Haworth is a very exacting judge!

Now, if only we'd had fish like this at boarding school all those years ago...

Kingham Plough Annual Market May 6th

A few months ago, I met Miles and Emily at The Kingham Plough for the first time, as I enjoyed a truly delicious supper with the ever-entertaining Mark Glynne-Jones of "Jump to" design agency. We got talking and I soon found out that they hold an annual market for artisan food producers in Spring. So, several months later, I received this note to invite us to join them this year...

"The Kingham Plough’s annual market, featuring some of the finest Cotswolds producers and artisans, promises to attract even more stallholders and visitors this year."

To be held on Sunday 6th May from 10.30am-2pm, in the garden of the Kingham Plough and with a West Country launch by Tom Parker-Bowles and Matthew Fort's new "Mr Trotter's Great British Pork Crackling", this year's event will be more prestigious than ever. Oh, and for the first time, we will be there with our fruit vinegars and NEW CHUTNEYS.

Now in its 5^th year, the market remains a festival of top quality food and drink.  Many of The Kingham Plough’s local suppliers of meats, cheeses, breads, ales, ciders and liqueurs will be hosting stalls.  In addition, for the first time, there will be local artisans selling their products including Serendipity Baking, Wil’s Smokehouse, Boulangerie Valentin, Wanborough Herb Nursery and hand-designed crockery from Bell Pottery.

"We are thrilled that this year's market will be bigger and better than before", said Emily Lampson, Executive Chef and Proprietor of The Kingham Plough. "We look forward to welcoming Tom Parker-Bowles and Matthew Fort as well as all our previous and new stall holders. There really will be something for everybody". 

Some of the producers will be bringing animals to entertain children while parents can relax in a beautiful beer garden being created by the instant gardener, Gilly, who will be displaying his range of furniture and plants for outdoor entertaining. 

There will also be the opportunity to sample some of The Kingham Plough’s delicious food including their famous burgers straight from the barbecue and a range of homemade ice creams.  There will also be local beers, lagers and ciders on offer. 

Once again, there will be a raffle at the event to raise money for the local primary school and nursery with generous and tempting prizes to be won.

For more information about The Kingham Plough, please visit www.thekinghamplough.co.uk

The Green, Kingham, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire OX7 6YD

01608 658327