Piccalilli, Yes it's that time of year!!

Click here to buy my new book Ham, Pickles and Jam

So even though it's still technically summer I am already feeling the urge to get into the kitchen and start pickling. It's the same every year, some thing I guess I owe to my post war childhood when the end of summer signalled a round of preserving that filled the house with the smell of vinegar for months.
There really is no need for any of us to make our own pickles and chutneys these days and folk that sell on Farmer's Markets are only to happy to shift their preserves. But as with much home cooked food, not all, you didn't meet my mother-in-law, home made is best.
I find no difficulty in passing over jam making as I have almost no sweet tooth but pickles really appeal.
I was at the Red Market in Shoreditch , before it was closed down, and was trying out Piccalilli at Tom Dixon's Shorditch Smoke stand. One was made to my recipe and one he got from a friend who used some whole spices and fresh chilli so I though to adapt mine and update it.
The Farmer's market yielded fresh veg and so today I'm back in the pickling swing.

Piccalilli


1 medium cauliflower cut into tine florets
2 medium courgettes chopped into 1cm cubes
3 medium onions, peeled and cut into 1 cm cubes
1 green pepper de-seeded and cubed
about 300gms runner beans cut into 1cm cubes
Prep all the veg and put them into a big china, glass or plastic bowl.

Now make the brine by dissolving 250gm salt in 1/2 litres of water and pour this over. It's best to weight the vegetables down with a plate so they stay under the brine.

Put the bowl into a cool dark room and leave for about 24 hours.

Next make the sauce for the piccalilli You need to do this in a large stainless steel or enamelled pan.

Mix :

30g (1oz) plain flour

60g (2oz) mustard powder

225g (8oz) white granulated sugar

1 tbsp turmeric

1tablespoon crushed fennel seeds

Together then make them into a paste using part of 750 ml distilled or white wine vinegar

I've found if you mix the dry ingredient well the tend not to "clump" when the vinegars added.

Put this over a medium heat and cook, stirring often. until the mixture thickens. Now turn the heat to low and simmer the sauce for 4-5 minutes . Again you must stir well as it can catch on the bottom but you need to cook the flour to avoid a raw taste.

Meanwhile drain the veg and rinse under running water. Shake as much water off as you can then tip these into the pan with the sauce.

Cook the vegetable in the sauce, simmering for 2-3 minutes then pot into jars and store in a cool dark place for at least a month.

Are you eating lesser known fish? I am.

Click here to buy my new book Ham, Pickles and Jam

Dabs, fresh from the boat on Aldeburgh beach. Such an inexpensive luxury, the seven fish shown above cost me £3.00. Yes, amazing value. I know I had to buy them fresh from the boat but that was no hardship. It gave me a chance to catch up with Dean, one of our local inshore fisherman. He was feeling gutted that day as his gear had snagged on some rocks and he'd not only lost his nets but most of his catch. Dabs it was then but whilst I'd set out for sole I'm really pleased I tried these fish again, after a long absence, as they were delicious

New potatoes and a butter sauce seemed perfect so I picked up some samphire on Chapel Market to blanch and to the burre blanc.

My only problem was then should I cook the fish whole, pan fried or should I fillet them? The fillet option will leave less fish but make for easier eating. Dabs do have a lot of bones or rather the bone to flesh ratio is rather too high. The obvious thing to do when serving bony fish: kippers, trout etc is simple to put a bits plate on the table to take the detritus and keep the plate you're eating from relatively clean.

In the end I filleted them. Not difficult, but a bit time consuming. Dipped in seasoned flour then pan fried with the Samphire sauce they were sensational.

Seven were way to many to eat at one sitting so I froze 3 of them raw for another time. Supper for two people for two quid, not bad!!

Burre Blanc

1shallot , finely chopped

1 small glass white wine

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon double cream

170gm 6 oz butter, cut into small dice

sea salt and black pepper

lemon juice

In a heavy saucepan cook the shallot in the wine and vinegar until the liquid has reduce to about 2 tablespoons. Add the cream and as soon as it boils remove the pan from the heat. Using a balloon whisk beat in the butter cubes, whisking until you have a smooth amalgamated sauce. Season to taste with salt pepper and lemon juice .

Easy and delicious! Add the lightly steamed samphire and serve with your fish and a glass of chilled Suffolk cider.

My lovely new book!!!

This is the cover of my new book due to be published on September 30th . I love it but can only take some of the praise for it as so much hard work was done by the photographer Diana Miller and the publishers Pavilion Books.

It took a while to write as I had to try and work out if there was truly a place for a larder in today's busy world where many of us can only dream of having a larder and the cool, calm feelings such thoughts evoke. The book was written in my home in central London where every cubic centimetre of space has been put to use, with no room left for what might seem an extravagance, a larder and I was pleased to find I was still was able to create and recreate the many virtues of this style of cooking

Writing made me remember so many things about my childhood, living without a fridge, the food we ate and my earliest food memories.

I hope I've brought such recipes up to date and so allowed you to experience some of the taste of foods that I love as well as many I've discovered more recently.

Planning ahead is very much what larder cooking is about. Thinking what will be needed tomorrow, next week, next month. Also thinking about how best to use the foods that scream out to you to be bought: the punnets of strawberries, the wonderful meat from a country butcher , the vegetables from a market stall or your own garden.

I am a compulsive food shopper. My cupboards are stacked high with both staples and treats so I know how difficult it is to pass by an opportunity to purchase a bumper batch of cod fillets from the beach or a whole belly of rare breed pork when it all looks just so good. My family despair of me but thrift can go hand in hand with greed as I hope this book shows.

I'm really pleased with it and hope you will be too.

Click here to get my book

Brawn

Last night I went to Brawn for supper. We walked along the canal and then twice along Columbia Road looking for the restaurant. It still surprises me that along with a passion for small plates, few restaurants now have signs outside to alert hungry eater to the fact that they've arrived!

Still arrive we did and we were warmly greeted by the hostess. The menu was so full of tasty things that I wanted to order them all and eat everything.

Quails eggs and a chunky terrine started us with a delicious bottle of cidre, a lovely touch after our walk, thirst quenching and light in alcohol and such a good match for the celery salt that came with the eggs.

The shellfish was a treat too, prawns with chilli and clams with lemon and coriander. The plaice was the only disappointment. Rather a small fish for the money and too rich a sauce. The piece of Tome de Montagne was also on the small side but the slice of almond and cherry tart quite wonderful.

The Picpoul de pinet was well chilled and so was I.

Brawn 49 Columbia Road London E2 7R 020 7729 5692

Soup for lunch

In recognition of my new iphone 4 and my enjoyment of Twitter I'm back to blogging. The phone was need for the pictures, I'm not even "No David Bailey" so I wanted a simple camera that couldn't go wrong and that I'd carry with me everywhere.

So far I'm very pleased. I'm not looking to win prizes just try and take a few snaps and then share them.

The soup I made at my daughter Jade's house. She wanted some help tiding the kitchen and throwing out stuff that was no longer any use. Her daughter Maisie has had a grumpy day and, at only 9 months, it's quite tricky to work out why.

So I made soup believing that chicken soup especially makes everything better.

Maise ate most of the bowl pictured here, from my spoon! Jade had a big bowl too and now they're both asleep.

Job done I'd say.

Chocolate Biscuit cake fit for this Prince!!

I hear William is having one of these cakes as a Groom's cake at his wedding. My childhood favourite was this cake too, so here is my mother's recipe: Enjoy!!

Chocolate Biscuit Cake

200g broken biscuits

85g blanched slivered almonds

85g glace cherries, halved

4 tablespoons orange juice

2 tablespoons caster sugar

200g butter

200g plain chocolate

2 tablespoons Grand Marnier

Break the biscuits into 1cm pieces and place in a bowl.

Add the cherries and nuts, beat the orange juice with the caster sugar and pour over the biscuits, then toss everything together. Melt the butter and chocolate over a low heat, stirring well.

Pour the hot liquid over the biscuit mixture and mix thoroughly. Spoon the cake into a loaf tin, level the top and place in the fridge for about three hours to set.

To unmould, dip the tin into hot water for about 15 seconds, then turn onto a plate. Cut into thin slices and serve.

Three days at the Thalassa spa in Le Touquet and I’m a new woman. We ran away from the builders and the rot and the plaster dust and booked into the Novotel. It sits right on the beach, has a huge pool. The Spa is run by severe, white coated women who administer a variety of treatments with aplomb.

They also speak no English so booking can sometimes lead to a surprise.I chose things that roughly translated and avoided at all costs anything that had the word “ re-education” attached!

The food at the hotel was excellent but we were tempted into the town where , on this visit, we discovered several lovely places to eat. On our final night we went to Le Paris and I ate a sole Meuniere bigger than my plate. I’m reading My Life in France by Julia Child and she speaks so glowingly of that dish I longed for it

The Thursday market was filled with wonderful produce and the sequels of Kentish school children learning how to shop in their beginners French.

Cherries and tomatoes featured along with early stone fruit. The heritage tomatoes from Provence caught my eye and when home I made a simple salad dresses with some of my Sicilian oil and some coarse sea salt. Delicious