Month: August 2019

I was inspired whilst browsing Stuart Ovenden’s ‘Orchard Cook’ book, but lacking some of the ingredients I went a little off piste! I started with wonderfully fresh mackerel from the fish man at Kendal’s Wednesday market and, in the scheme of things, I didn’t need anything other than sizzling hot butter and lemon juice. However it was John’s birthday so something slightly out of the norm was required. The liquor was a mix of Eva’s organic Cumbrian apple juice and our medlar vinegar making about 400ml, sufficient for the 6 fillets to steep in. A couple of finely sliced shallots and peeled fresh root ginger, tablespoon of golden caster sugar, teaspoon of sea salt crystals and a good shake of nutmeg lobbed in next, brought to the boil and simmered for a couple of minutes to begin softening the shallots.

I loved Stuart’s idea of adding rhubarb giving texture and an extra gentle layer of acidity, so I chopped up a couple of sticks and popped them in, bringing the mix back to a simmer. Finally I laid the stars of the show, skin side up, on the liquor mix, again bringing it back to heat and simmering for a further couple of minutes, covering and cooling before putting the dish in the fridge to continue steeping. This will happily steep for at least a day but tastes just as scrummy served after only a few hours with thin slices of fruity, rye Donka bread from Hazelmere Bakery in Grange used, not only to accompany the fish, but also to soak up the juices!

It’s that prolific time of year again when the elderberries are beginning to hang in glorious, rich, deep purple, almost black, bunches, unusually ready to use before many of the blackberries. The sharp richness of the berries is a perfect foil for game, so why not try our take on the 17th century Pontack Sauce, created and served at the Pontack’s Head Tavern in Lombard Street by Monsieur Pontack himself.

We sweat 2 finely diced shallots in a teaspoonful of butter, add a couple of cloves (or none if you’re like me), 4 allspice berries, 2 pieces of mace blade (or a good half teaspoonful of ground mace), half an inch of grated root ginger, a teaspoonful of cracked black peppercorns and a good pinch of salt. Finally splash in 250ml of our elderberry vinegar (or 125ml each of our elderberry vinegar and red wine), bring to the boil and immediately reduce to a simmer for 5 minutes. Allow to cool and transfer to a non-metal lidded container to steep for at least 2 days before filtering and bottling. You can thicken with a little arrowroot or reduce it by half to concentrate the flavour when you come to use it.