There was great excitement in our household this weekend when- after a mere three years of trying- my husband at last managed to catch a trout in the river Loddon. While he was busy celebrating this pinnacle of angling achievement, I was- naturally- thinking about how to cook it…I made three easy salads. They all have quite punchy flavours which offset the delicate taste of the trout to great effect.
The angling marvel…
Lentil Salad
Lentils 250g
Isle of Wight cherry tomatoes, quartered
Spenwood cheese – this is our most locally made hard sheep’s cheese, which is made in Riseley. It has the flavour and texture akin to Manchego.
Olive oil
Parsley
Boil the lentils in water until tender.
Then toss them with the finely diced onion, olive oil and salt and pepper. Leave to cool.
Add the tomatoes and shave the Spenwood using a vegetable peeler over the salad (you can use any hard salty cheese or even a goat’s cheese).
Toss with finely chopped parlsey and serve.
Green Salad with Pine Kernels
Lettuce (I used Lola Rosa and Green Leaf)
Cucumber
Isle of Wight yellow tomatoes
Pine kernels
White Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil
Wash salad and break leaves into half or quarters depending on size. Combine with ribbons of cucumber, pine kernels and quartered tomatoes. Add a tsp of white balsamic, a tsp of olive oil and a pinch of salt and toss.
Butter Bean Hash
Butter Beans 250g
Thyme
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Soak beans the night before, or use from a can discarding the liquid.
Mash slightly with the back of a fork adding a tbsp of olive oil, salt, pepper and the chopped up thyme leaves.
This weekend we saw the first glimpse of what promises to be a “Great British Summer”, or so we hope…
To celebrate the sun making a rare appearance, we opened the BBQ, put on sunglasses and -shivering a little - started cooking. Pete, our Head Butcher, had spatchcocked a chicken for us (by flattening it and removing the main bones of the body). We rubbed this with a bit of salt and some of our Spanish olive-oil. I started it in the oven 170oC (which prevents it from burning too much on the outside) for about 45mins and then finished it off on the BBQ for about 15mins on the lowest heat. Keeping it on a low heat is essential to stop it from burning too much and ending up shrivelled and charred.
I also made some fresh bread. I cheat by using a bread machine, but this recipe is so easy to replicate without one: you just have to give it some elbow grease, by kneading it by hand!
¾ tsp of dried yeast
400g of Wessex Cobber or similar grainy wholemeal flour
2 ½ tsp salt
2tsp of sugar
260ml of water
2 tbsp of olive oil
I start this at breakfast. Put it in the bread machine on a basic dough setting. It should take around 2 ½ hrs. When it is ready, knead it on an oily surface for 30 seconds and then shape it. Next, put it onto a floured surface and cover – with a plastic bag or something that doesn’t touch it – before putting in the airing cupboard until it doubles in size.
Meanwhile, pre-heat oven to 180o C. (I have a pizza stone that lives in my oven. I find the bread bakes best when it goes onto a hot stone, I bought mine on Amazon.)
When the dough has finished “proving” and is the right size, slip it off the floured surface and onto the stone and bake for 30 mins. You’ll be able to tell when it’s ready by knocking on the bottom – if it sounds hollow, it’s cooked.
I like to start this process at 8am, when I am drinking my tea. The dough is ready to come out of the machine at 10:30 and into the airing cupboard until 12pm, I turn on the oven at 11:30 and it’s cooked by 12:30.
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