It felt like the first day of Spring the sun was shining and it was Shoreham Farmers Market. I walked to the always busy fish stall and bought a line-caught Sea Trout, a big boy weighing in at around 2kg more than enough for the three of us for supper. The fish itself had a bright eye and deep red gills the best signs of a freshly caught fish and less than a tenner. What a bargain.
At the vegetable stall run by Crumbs of Sussex (http://www.crumbsofsussex.co.uk) I bought some gloriously misshapen Pink Fir potatoes. Naturally I had to make some Hollondaise sauce so the eggs came from the local farm in Steyning and the salt free butter from the Bookham (http://www.bookham.com) cheese & pasta stall. With few suitable local vegetable around I bought some green beans & mangetout from the local Co-op.
Recipes
Sea Trout
Ingredients
Sea Trout
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper
Lemon Juice
Method
Brush some foil with the oil, place the cleaned fish on the foil, season well, sprinkle with lemon juice. Place in an oven pre-heated to 180c. Check after 20 minutes, if the flesh is soft & lifts easily from the bones it’s done, otherwise return to oven for a further few minutes.
Hollondaise Sauce
Ingredients
6 Egg Yolks
250 grams unsalted butter
Salt
Pepper
Lemon Juice
1Tablespoon Wine Vinegar
Method
Fine sauces such as Hollondaise and Mayonnaise hide terrors for some cooks but with care they are both simple to cook.
Ideally you need a double boiler – if you don’t have one place a bowl over a pan of near boiling water.
Place the egg yolks and vinegar in the top of your double boiler, whisking gently. Start adding the butter , roughly a teaspoon at a time letting the butter combine with the egg yolk, keep stirring gently all the time. Once the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, remove from heat. Place the top part of boiler into a bowl of iced water to prevent further cooking. Add lemon juice, salt & pepper to taste.
Cook your vegetables & potatoes to taste – I prefer mine al dente. What a lovely meal, mostly local and almost healthy!
