Black bream with Jersey Royals, purple sprouting broccoli, samphire and mussels

This is a true late spring dish that these warm, sunny evenings have been screaming out for. After many months of waiting, I was excited to see the first of the newly picked samphire arrive at the shop, but I certainly wasn’t the only one. This marsh grass has a crazy effect on people, and soon I was scraping the bottom of the box, desperate to salvage just one last handful. Samphire, samphierre, sampher, salicorne, seaweed, that green stuff, the names are endless, and I hear new ones every summer. But call it what you will, it does magical things when cooked with fish. And lamb for that matter. 

 
Following the seasons makes dreaming up new ideas a total doddle, and this recipe is a prime example. In the same few weeks that the samphire emerged, we also started receiving the first of the wild black bream that visit Cornwall and the south coast every spring. These deep, darkly-scaled fish are true beauties, with flesh firm with freshness flashing blue and silver in the light. Closely related to seabass, they cook in a similar way, and are best filleted and pan-fried until crisp, or roasted whole in a hot oven. Even if you do decide to go with fillets, make sure that you take the bones as well. It’s always nice to use the whole of an ingredient, and the carcass of the bream will provide a lovely stock.
 
Unlike the samphire and the black bream, the mussel season only has a few weeks remaining. As the weather and seas warm for the summer, their quality really does decline, and it’s best to hold on until September before you plan your next mariniere. But if you’re quick, you will still be able to sneak a bowl or two before this exodus. Although clams tend to get all of the glory with their pretty shells and classy spaghetti alle vongole, I adore the rich flavour of the humble, cheap mussel. In this dish they are cooked and then blitzed into a silky, buttery sauce, that really brings the fish and greens and potatoes together as one. But made in a larger quantity, the same method would make a fantastic soup. Just add a wedge of bread.
 
Serves 2
 
Ingredients:
 
1 black bream, approx. 1kg in weight. Scaled, filleted and pin-boned 
1 large knob of butter
 
For the fish stock:
 
The cleaned bones from the black bream 
1 carrot, roughly chopped 
2 shallots, halved with the skins left on 
The trimmings from the fennel bulb 
1 clove of garlic, crushed 
A handful of fresh parsley 
1 tsp fennel seeds 
1 bay leaf
 
For the mussel sauce:
 
500g mussels, cleaned and de-bearded 
1 fennel bulb, finely chopped 
1 clove of garlic, grated 
½ tsp chilli flakes 
1 large glass of white wine 
A squeeze of lemon juice 
The reduced fish stock 
1 large knob of butter
 
For the Jersey Royals:
 
6-8 small Jersey Royal potatoes, washed
 
To finish:
 
6 stems of purple sprouting broccoli 
A generous handful of samphire


To begin with make the stock. Place all of the ingredients and a good pinch of seasoning into a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes. Strain the liquid through a sieve into a smaller saucepan, then set on a high heat and return to the boil. Reduce the liquid by three quarters.
 
Put the washed Jersey Royals into a small saucepan and cover with well-salted, cold water. Bring to the boil, then simmer until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain and rinse well with cold water to halt the cooking process. Using a butter knife, scrape off the skins and discard. Set the potatoes aside to reheat later. 

 
Fill a saucepan with water and stir in a good pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, then blanch the trimmed broccoli stems for 2-3 minutes, or until just tender. While the broccoli is cooking, fill a large bowl up with very cold water. Transfer the al-dente broccoli to the cold water to shock. Repeat this process with the samphire, boiling for 30 seconds to soften slightly.
 
Bring a large saucepan to a medium-low heat. Add a good glug of olive oil and add the fennel, garlic and chilli flakes, and sweat until soft. Turn the heat of the pan up and tip in the mussels and the wine. Cover with a lid and allow the mussels to steamfor 3-4 minutes, or until all of the mussels have opened. Allow to cool slightly, the remove the meat from the shells with a spoon, discarding the shells. Reserve 6-8 mussels aside to decorate the dish when plating. Transfer the remaining mussels and vegetables to a food processor and blend well. While the motor is still running, pour in enough of the stock reduction to loosen into a smooth sauce. Squeeze in the lemon juice and season to taste. Strain the sauce through a sieve into a small saucepan. 

 
Set a non-stick frying pan to a high heat. Pour in a generous amount of olive oil and season the bream fillets all over with salt and pepper. When the pan is hot, place them skin-side down into the pan and fry for 3 minutes. As the fish is cooking, carefully use a spoon to baste the flesh side of the fish with the hot oil. Add a knob of butter to the pan fry for a further minute, continuing the basting process. Remove the fish from the pan to a warm side plate.
 
Turn the heat of the pan down slightly and add the potatoes, samphire, broccoli and reserved mussels. Cook for 1-2 minutes to warm through, adding seasoning to taste.
 
Reheat the mussel sauce, then finish by beating in the knob of butter until fully emulsified.
 
Lay half of the sprouting broccoli onto each plate and top with a piece of fish. Arrange the potatoes, samphire and mussels around the sides. Finish with a generous amount of the mussel sauce.

Chargrilled octopus with squid ink, winkles, Jersey Royals, wild garlic and samphire

Now that we’re into June the produce is really coming along. The first broad beans are threatening, and I know it won’t be long until my favourite peas start to make an appearance. Expect many a pea love in anytime soon. We’re still clinging on to asparagus, and lovely Jersey Royal potatoes and samphire are back on the menu. Sadly though this time of year spells the end of the wild garlic season, but I think I’ve rinsed it quite enough; using it wherever possible to flavour stuffings, oils and salads. I’ve just about managed to sneak it into this recipe, but from now on I’ll have to slowly build up my anticipation for next spring. 

 
One ingredient that I haven’t rinsed is octopus. I probably on average cook one octopus a year, but that definitely needs to change. A more moreish, delicious thing I struggle to imagine. At work we sell a fair few of these lovable beasts every week, but mostly to Spanish or Italian customers who don’t blink at leaving the shop lugging a 3kg cephalopod behind them. The majority of others squirm, or pull a funny face at a glance! I guess they are slightly intimidating if you’ve never had a go at cooking one before, but you quickly learn how easy and satisfying the results are. Nevertheless, and slightly devastatingly, Katie really isn’t a fan, so I always have to try and steal an evening or afternoon when she is elsewhere before I can quench my octopus cravings. A sunny day last week provided the ideal opportunity…
 
Freezing food rarely improves it, but with octopus (octopi? octopuses? octopus?...) the process performs miracles. Traditionally to tenderise the firm, elastic flesh you would have to bash the living daylights out of it with a mallet, or flail it against the nearest rock. But after a quick stay in the freezer, all of this is done for you. All that is then required is a gentle simmer for just under an hour and it’ll be wonderfully soft. At this point it is ready to eat, and can be tossed through a salad, drenched in marinades or merely sliced and nibbled on at will, but I think that a quick exposure to a fierce heat really gets the best out of it. The deep, savoury, smoky flavour and crispy/soft combination is so addictive. I polished off the lot.
 
This is less of a hot dish, more along the lines of a warm salad; and as I discovered with the leftovers, is equally delicious cold. The longer that the lemon marinade gets to slosh around and permeate into the potatoes, samphire and octopus the better. And it’s a fact that a bit of mayonnaise will always make things better.  

Serves 4
 
Ingredients:
 
For the octopus:
 
1 Mediterranean octopus, the double sucker variety, about 1 kg, cleaned 
2 shallots, sliced 
1 fennel bulb, sliced 
2 garlic cloves 
1 bay leaf 
½ a lemon 
1 large glass of white wine
 
For the squid ink mayonnaise:
 
2 sachets of squid or cuttlefish ink 
2 egg yolks 
1 clove of garlic, grated 
1 tsp Dijon mustard 
250ml olive oil 
1 lemon, zest and juice 
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
 
For the jersey royal potatoes:
 
4-6 medium-sized jersey royal potatoes, washed 
2 lemons, juice only 
1 large clove of smoked garlic, thinly sliced 
3-4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
 
For the winkles and samphire:
 
2 handfuls of live winkles, purged in salted water for at least 20 minutes 
2 handfuls of samphire 
1 lemon, juice only
 
To finish:
 
12 wild garlic leaves, washed
 

Start by braising the octopus. Put the octopus in a large saucepan along with the shallots, fennel, garlic, bay and lemon. Pour in the wine and top up with an equal amount of water. Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer very gently for 45 minutes, or until the octopus is very tender. Remove from the pan to a side plate and allow to cool, then remove the head and chop the tentacles into individual pieces.
 
While the octopus is cooking, boil the potatoes. Put the washed jersey royals into a saucepan and cover with cold, salted water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until cooked through. Drain well, then cut into thin slices and arrange in a bowl. Make the dressing by squeezing the lemon juice into a small bowl and adding the smoked garlic. Slowly but thoroughly whisk in the olive oil until emulsified, then season well with salt and pepper. Pour two-thirds of the dressing over the potatoes while they are still warm, then set aside. 

 
Put the egg yolks for the mayonnaise into a small food processor along with the vinegar, mustard, salt, pepper, garlic and lemon zest, then blitz together well. With the motor still running, drizzle in the olive oil very slowly, until it is all poured in and the mixture has emulsified into a thick mayonnaise. Squeeze in the squid ink and the lemon juice and combine well again so that the dark colour permeates the whole mixture. Taste and adjust the seasoning, and loosen the texture with a splash of water if needed. Spoon into a plastic squeezy bottle and set aside.
 
Bring a small saucepan of well-salted water to the boil. When hot, add the winkles and boil for 3-4 minutes. Drain well, then use a fork to pick the meat out of the shells. Remove the dark stomach sacks and hard feet from each winkle. Heat a generous amount of olive oil up in a large frying pan until it reaches a low-medium temperature. Add a good splash of water, then add the winkle meat and the samphire. Warm through for a couple of minutes. 

 
Heat a griddle pan up until smoking hot. Coat the octopus tentacles with olive oil, then cook for 2-3 minutes in total, turning once or twice, until lightly charred.
 
To plate up, arrange two of the octopus tentacles onto each plate, along with a few slices of the marinated potatoes. Dot on a good amount of the squid ink mayonnaise, and spoon some of the samphire and winkles on top of the potatoes. Finish with some of the wild garlic leaves and a drizzle of the reserved lemon and garlic dressing.

Seared onglet with slow-braised oxtail, white sprouting broccoli, Jersey Royals and wild garlic and tarragon emulsion

In Britain we have been blinkered with what cuts of meat we buy and cook. When it comes to beef, the only steaks that you’ll find lining most supermarket aisles are the same old sirloins, rib-eyes, rumps and fillets. It’s only fairly recently that cuts such as the bavette and onglet have had some much deserved publicity. They pack such an amazing amount of flavour and are only a fraction of the price. Traditionally these unfashionable cuts were butcher’s favourites and would be kept back for them to take home, but more and more they are replacing the usual suspects on pub and restaurant menus. And about time too; this is all old news for bistros on the continent. 

I was amazed at quite how far the onglet that I bought went. For less than the price of two decent rib-eye steaks I got a whole kilo, which serves Katie and I for a good 4-5 meals. After I made this dish the meat ended up in a curry, a Vietnamese soup and a salad. This versatility continues in the cooking, and you can either flash fry for very rare and tender or stew it slowly for a few hours until soft and sticky. As you might guess, I cannot recommend it enough. Onglet is slightly less forgiving than the prime cuts though, which is fine if like me you like your steak still mooing, but it can quickly become very tough as it gets towards medium. 

Unlike onglet, oxtail has been around for donkeys years and has never really been that fashionable, especially with the younger generations. That’s fine by me though as the prices have stayed low and it always makes for a satisfying and hearty supper. In this dish it adds another texture and reinforces the savoury, beefy flavour. The cooking stock is also reduced down into a thick rich sauce. It is pretty impractical to cook small amounts of oxtail, so I have made a bit more here. The leftovers are great in anything from a sandwich to soups, stews and pies, so it is sure not to go to waste. 

The rest of this dish is another celebration of seasonal vegetables. But these play as big a part as the meat in balancing the richness and flavour. And they’re downright delicious to boot. Wild garlic is still about and it is so tempting to include it in absolutely everything. Spring is well and truly in the air now and Jersey Royals are back in the shops. These stunning potatoes are best without too much interference, so I have simply parboiled them before quickly sautéing in the steak juices. Finally the beautiful sprouting broccoli adds some much needed iron to freshen everything up. 

Serves 2 

Ingredients: 

For the onglet: 

200g onglet steak, trimmed 
Olive oil 

For the braised oxtail: 

800g of oxtail pieces, on the bone 
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped 
1 onion, roughly chopped 
1 leek, roughly chopped 
4 cloves of garlic, halved 
5 sprigs of thyme 
2 bay leaves 
2 glasses of red wine 
1.5-2 litres of good beef stock 

For the white sprouting broccoli: 

6 stems of white sprouting broccoli 
1 small knob of butter 

For the Jersey Royals: 

3-4 Jersey Royal potatoes, washed 
1 knob of butter 
5 sprigs of thyme 

For the baby shallots: 

3 baby shallots, peeled and kept whole 

For the wild garlic and tarragon emulsion: 

1 bunch of wild garlic 
1 bunch of tarragon, leaves picked 
200g butter 
2 egg yolks 
1 shallot, finely sliced 
1 garlic clove, peeled 
5 peppercorns 
2 bay leaves 
3 tbsp white wine vinegar 
½ a lemon, juice only 

To finish the sauce: 

The reserved cooking liquid from the oxtail 
1 tbsp caster sugar (optional) 
1 knob of butter 


Start by cooking down the oxtail. Bring the meat to room temperature then coat with a little oil and season well. Heat a large saucepan to a high temperature and quickly brown the oxtail all over and then remove to a plate. Add the chopped vegetables and herbs and lightly colour before pouring in the red wine. Bring to the boil, then return the oxtail to the pan and cover with the stock. Turn the heat down to a simmer, partly cover and cook for 4-5 hours, or until the oxtail falls off the bone. When cooked, strain the liquid into a saucepan and reserve. Discard the vegetables and shred the meat into a bowl. Set aside for finishing later. 

While the oxtail is cooking, prepare the other elements of the dish. 

Put the Jersey Royals into a small saucepan and cover with cold, well-salted water. Bring to the boil and simmer until just cooked, about 10-15 minutes depending on the size. Drain and rinse well under cold water to stop them cooking, then cut into quarters and set aside. 

Heat a small saucepan to a medium-low temperature. Pour in a little oil and slowly cook the baby shallots with a bit of seasoning until golden and tender. Remove from the pan, slice in half and allow to cool. 

To make the emulsion, fill a saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Blanche the wild garlic and tarragon leaves for 20 seconds and then transfer to a bowl of cold water. Drain the herbs and pat dry. Make the vinegar reduction by putting the white wine vinegar into a small saucepan with the sliced shallot, garlic, peppercorns and bay and reduce over a moderate heat until only a tablespoon of liquid remains. Strain the liquid and allow to cool. Melt the butter in a separate saucepan, then also cool slightly. Put the egg yolks into a food processor with the cold reduction, a little seasoning and a splash of warm water and blitz well to combine. With the motor still running, very slowly pour in the melted butter until all of it is incorporated and the sauce is thick. Finally add the dried herbs and a squeeze of lemon and blend again until they are well chopped. Pass the sauce through a fine sieve and set aside. 

When the oxtail is cooked, use the cooking liquid to make a sauce. Transfer the strained stock into a large frying pan or skillet and reduce right down until thick and sticky; about 15-20 minutes.

When you are ready to finish everything off, heat a heavy frying pan over a high temperature and boil up some salted water in a saucepan. 

Season the onglet steak all over and rub with some oil. When the pan is smoking hot add the meat and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side for rare, a touch longer for medium. When cooked, remove to a board to rest for 5-6 minutes. 

While the meat is resting finish the other elements of the dish off. 

Reheat the sauce and whisk in the butter and sugar (if needed). Put the shredded oxtail into a separate small saucepan and add 2-3 tbsp of the finished sauce and warm through, making sure all of the meat has a nice coating to it. 

Add a knob of butter and a little oil to the pan with the steak juices and add the boiled Jersey Royals, thyme sprigs and baby shallots. Season well and cook on a medium heat for a couple of minutes.

Finally boil the sprouting broccoli in the water for a couple of minutes until just tender, then drain and transfer to a bowl. Season and toss with the butter. 

To plate up, spoon some of the oxtail meat, potatoes and onions onto the plate. Dollop some of the emulsion on top and then place on some of the sliced onglet. Arrange the broccoli around the meat and spoon over a little of the reduced sauce.

Porterhouse of Dexter beef with bearnaise sauce, Jersey Royal potatoes and greens

After cooking loads of fish recently, it is definitely time that I tackled a piece of meat. I was inspired recently by reading an excellent article by Jay Rayner about his favourite eating experiences. His choices ranged from dining at el Bulli and the St John to more personal meals such as crab on the beach and a big piece of steak at home with his wife. It was this last example that hit a chord with me, and got me thinking about the best things that I have eaten. Holidays scoffing carpaccio in tucked away Venetian restaurants and fresh seafood off a Cornish campfire sprung to mind, but certainly the best thing that I have eaten recently was chomping through a steak as big as my head at Hawksmoor in February.

So beef it was, and instead of buying a standard ribeye, I wanted to try something a little more special. One of the greatest meals that Katie and I never had was when we paced the streets of Florence a few years ago, frantically looking for somewhere decent that would offer us one of it’s famed slabs of t-bone. After hours of searching we got impatient in the humidity, and settled in a rubbish tourist restaurant for rubbery gnocchi and tough veal. I’ve been keen to settle that one ever since. Still, I was slightly hesitant about ordering a porterhouse (which has more fillet attached than a t-bone), as frankly it is an expensive piece of meat and I wanted to do it justice. I have cooked conventional steaks loads of times but my experience of cooking larger joints of meat is quite limited, so I would have to be very careful.

Cuts of meat such as t-bone, porterhouse or even bone-in ribs or sirloin are only really available from good independent butchers. I am lucky enough to have some great ones a cycle ride away, but last week I was really short on time, and there was no way that I would get the chance to visit my favourite Ginger Pig. Whilst researching cuts of meat I stumbled upon the website for the East London Steak Co, which instantly impressed with easy functionality and a great selection of produce. I would never normally order meat or fish online, as I like to see the quality before buying and I try and support local supplier as much as possible, but thought that I would give it a go. I have to say that the service and quality were excellent, and I was very happy with what I received. If I ever need meat at short notice and can’t make it to the shops then I would definitely buy from them again. 

The only surprise that occurred from ordering online was that when the meat was delivered, I discovered that the cattle breed was Dexter. Dexter cows are much smaller than average, and as a result my 1kg porterhouse was much smaller and thicker than I was expecting. I was happy with this though, as Dexter meat is considered to have great flavour and tenderness, so was excited about trying it. My only concern was that my initial cooking timings would be thrown with this much thicker piece of meat. 

After a lot of prodding and checking during the cooking process, I was extremely pleased with the results. The sirloin side was perfectly cooked for me, pink and tender all the way through without being raw. I have to say that the fillet was a little overcooked, and only slightly pink. But I’m not sure if cooking the two parts evenly is all that possible given the tiny size of the fillet, but it was still very tender and juicy. The flavour of the meat was extraordinary, and I only have the quality, aging and hanging of the meat to thank for that.

Pairing the steak with simple Jersey Royals and greens complimented the flavour of the meat perfectly, and turned it into a complete meal. Albeit a very meat heavy one. Jersey Royals and broad beans are bang in season right now and should be made the most of.

Serves 2 very hungry people

For the beef:

1 x 1kg dexter porterhouse steak

10 sprigs fresh rosemary

10 sprigs fresh thyme

5 garlic cloves

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the bearnaise sauce:

4 egg yolks

1 small banana shallot, very finely chopped

4 tbsp tarragon, chopped

3 tbsp white wine vinegar

250ml clarified butter

1/2 lemon, juice only

3 tbsp cold water

Salt and pepper

For the Jersey Royals:

12 small jersey royal potatoes, washed and scrubbed lightly

50g butter

1 garlic clove, sliced

2 tbsp tarragon leaves

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

For the greens:

1 large handful broad beans, podded and shelled

250g baby spinach leaves

50g butter

2 anchovy fillets, finely chopped

1 clove of garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp thyme leaves

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Take the steak out of the fridge a couple of hours before cooking to allow it to get to room temperature. 

Next make the bearnaise sauce. Pour the white wine vinegar into a small saucepan with three quarters of the tarragon, some seasoning and the chopped shallot. Reduce by half over a low heat then take off the heat and allow to cool. If clarifying your own butter then do this at this point too and cool slightly. When the reduction is cool add the egg yolks and whisk well. Return to a very low heat and carry on whisking continuously and making sure that the mixture doesn’t get hot enough the scramble. After about 10 minutes the eggs will have emulsified with the reduction and formed a thick frothy texture. Take off the heat and very slowly add the butter, whisking still until all the butter has been incorporated into the sauce. Pass through a sieve then add the remaining tarragon and taste. Squeeze in the lemon and season if necessary. Cover and set aside.

For the Jersey Royals, put the washed potatoes into a medium saucepan and cover well with cold water and a good pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and plunge into a bowl of very cold water to stop the cooking. Drain again and set aside to finish at the end. 

Heat the oven to 200ºC.

While the oven is heating up make the flavoured butter for the greens. Mix the butter with the chopped anchovies, garlic, thyme and seasoning until fully incorporated.

When the oven is hot heat up a heavy griddle on a very high heat until smoking. Season the steak well and rub with a little oil. When the pan is really hot, put the steak fat side down in the pan to render for a minute, then sear on all sides until well coloured. Transfer to an ovenproof dish with the rosemary and thyme and put into the oven. Turn the oven down immediately to 180ºC, and cook the meat for about 30-35 minutes. Use a thermometer to check the middle, which will be 58ºC for medium-rare. Take the meat out of the oven and allow to rest in a warm place for at least 15 minutes.

While the meat is resting, heat up two large saucepans to a medium heat. 

In one pan, melt the butter with a little olive oil for the potatoes. When hot, add the sliced garlic and cook for a minute or two. Add the potatoes, season well and toss in the butter and garlic to cover. Cook for about 5 minutes, then finish with the tarragon leaves. 

Cook the greens in the other pan. Melt the anchovy butter and 2 tbsp of water and add the broad beans. Cook for a couple of minutes then tip in the spinach. Stir well until the leaves have just wilted, then taste and season. 

Transfer the potatoes, greens and bearnaise into serving bowls. To serve the meat, take the sirloin and fillet off the bone and slice thickly. Pour over the cooking juices, season and transfer to a board and tuck in.