Fakeaway Fish Fillet sandwich with Einstok white ale

A Fakeaway is a copy (or maybe an homage) to a fast food dish. The idea of doing this falls into two categories: To get as close to the original as possible or To elevate it to a level way higher than that available to grab on the High Street. At this stage I must point out that I am a huge fan of Fast food and Street food. I am almost unable to drive past the awesome Kebab van in Thame https://www.atalaykebabvan.co.uk of an evening and Fish and Chips is a particular weakness. This dish is based on a McDonald's classic and I think I have elevated it a little from the original.

Sandwich

100 gms white fish fillet

50 gms plain flour

50 gms breadcrumbs

1 egg, beaten with a dash of milk

¼ tsp smoked paprika (optional)

Zest of ½ a lemon

Salt and Pepper

1 Burger bun

1 slice American cheese (optional)

Small handful of lettuce

Oil for shallow frying

Tartar Sauce

1 egg yolk

1 tsp lemon juice or white wine vinegar

1 tsp mustard

130 ml sunflower  / olive / vegetable oil

A few pickled gherkins and / or silverskin onions

½ tsp chopped capers

Small handful of dill or parsley

Dash of Worcester sauce (optional)

Dash of lemon juice

Tartar Sauce

Put the egg yolk, lemon juice (or vinegar) and mustard in a bowl and beat with a whisk until light in colour. Add a drop of the oil and beat it into the yolk mix. Drop by drop, beat in the oil to the mix. Take your time with this and make sure the sauce is thick and glossy. Add all the other ingredients and gently mix. Pop in the fridge.

The Sandwich

Cut the fish to ensure that it will fit in the bun. Square is a good idea. Get three plates and put the flour (with the paprika), egg and breadcrumbs in one each. Pop the fish, first in the flour (to coat), then the egg wash (to create a sticky surface) then the breadcrumbs (with the lemon zest). If time allows, pop this in the fridge for ten minutes to firm up.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and, carefully, slide the fish into the oil. Fry on one side until the breadcrumbs are golden and then turn it over. Fry on the second side for 3 minutes, putting the cheese on top for the last minute (if using).

Cut the bun in half and toast the cut sides, add the lettuce, some tartar sauce and fish on the bottom and top of with the top.

   

The match

Einstock is Icelandic. However, it bears a lot of similarities to a Belgium Wit and that was the first reason I choose it for the match. Something too rich would have overpowered the sweet, delicate fish. I was also looking for a little bit of malt to be in evidence in order to match up with the roll and the breadcrumbs. There are hints of citrus (especially orange) in this beer as well as coriander and these stood up to the strong flavours in the sauce, The crispness of the finish also helped with the fattiness of the base sauce of mayonnaise. I was very pleased with the match. I think it was helped by the facts that the beer was very cold and the fish was of a very high standard.

Panna Cota and Rhubarb with Brick Brewery Strawberry and Cucumber Sour (M&S)

The Rhubarb patch today (10/03/24)

Roobarb and Custard was a cartoon shown from 1974 about a green dog and a pink cat who lived next door and had silly, 5 minute adventures just before the news at 6 pm. I was voiced by the late Richard Briers and was a cherished part of my childhood. Rhubarb, with its merciless sourness has long been paired with ingredients that calm its sharpness: simple sugar, cream and, of course, custard. The combination of rhubarb and custard is clearly a timeless classic and the following recipe is really a version of this glorious combination.

The first plant to go into our tine garden was a rhubarb crown. We planted more out of curiosity than expectation but since then we have had to lift and split the crown four or five times and it has produced enough stalks to completely fulfil our need and leave us with loads to share. The offspring of our crown are now scattered all over the Bucks / Oxon border. 

There are hundreds of recipes for Panna Cota so, over the years I have honed mine down to the following. In short, find a recipe that works for you.

Panna Cota (serves 8)

• 7 or 8 gms of leaf gelatine
• 700 to 750 ml double cream (adjust as to fat content. See note)
• 150 to 200 ml full fat milk (match so that liquid is 900 ml)
• 1 vanilla pod
• 200 to 250 gms white caster sugar (to taste)

Split the vanilla pod in half and scrape out all the seeds. Put the seeds and the pod into a sauce pan with the cream, milk and sugar. Heat gently until the sugar is fully dissolved. Bring the liquid to a boil and then turn down to a very soft simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, put the leaves of gelatine in a bowl with cold water to soften.

Take the pan off the heat and, having squeezed all the water out, add the gelatine; stirring to dissolve.  share the liquid between 7 or 8 small moulds (ramekins work well here). Pop these in the fridge for 3 hours or longer. 

Just before serving, put the moulds in a frying pan with an inch or two of warm water for just a minute. Invert the Panna Cota onto a plate and serve with the rhubarb.

Poached Rhubarb 

• 3 sticks of Rhubarb
• Sugar to taste 

Cut two sticks of raw rhubarb into 2 inch slices, keep any off cuts. Bring a small pan, half filled with water to the boil and add the sugar to dissolve. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add your neat pieces of rhubarb to poach. This will take 5 to 8 minutes depending on thickness. Remove the rhubarb from the water and set aside to cool. Chop the spare stick reasonably finely and add, with the reserved off cuts, to the liquid boil gently for 15 minutes. Strain of the liquid, discard the rhubarb (or serve it over porridge the following morning). Set the liquid aside to cool.

Serve The Panna Cota with a few of the poached pieces of Rhubarb and the poaching juices.

The Match

Strawberries and Rhubarb are often paired together in pudding and jams. The boisterous sweetness of strawberries balancing the savage sourness of the rhubarb. Cucumber is a cool calming flavour with both subtlety and gentleness. But it is also worth remembering that a huge part of this dish's charm is the shock of the sour!

The beer is made by Brick Brewery in South East London and sold through Marks and Spencer. They specialise in sour beers. These are made in various different ways, in this case by the addition of Lactobacillus during the brewing process. This one also has Strawberry purre and Cucumber juice added.

The beer tasted a bit like fizzy sweets and, strangely, a little like watermelon. However, many of the flavours worked really well together and the acidity levels did not prove to be overpowering. The Strawberry and Rhubarb balanced each other very nicely with the cucumber offering it's balm in the background. There was a hint of malty flavours, though very much in the background, which made me think that a sprinkling of toasted oats would lift the dish to another level.          

Note. Not all double cream is created equal. Super market creams will contain less fat than those bought at the farm gate. Cream from Jersey or Guernsey cows will be more full of fat and probably have a more yellow hue. I used cream from the lovely Lacey's farm. Their double cream is so thick that it needs persuading out of the bottle, hence the need for a little more thinning.

Roast Pork Dinner with Kernel Sour Cherry Saison

 About twenty years ago I was drinking in a pub in North London, it was a very well run establishment and was making every effort to be both up to date and embedded in the community. I instantly became a huge fan. No effort was made to be a "gastro pub" though the food it served was delicious and well priced. It was simply that the team really cared about food, but without any swagger. I was drinking one of my first ever draught pints of Hoegaarden and, as I glanced across the room I saw a sign that has stuck with me ever since-

Second best Sunday roast in the world! (you don't expect me to compete with your mother , do you?)

This gets to the truth of the Sunday roast, its full of nostalgia: For my parents, Sunday lunch was sacrosanct; the four of us would sit down to my mothers excellent cooking and talk, sometimes for hours. I credit those afternoons with my parents for my broad general knowledge and my love of rich, engaging conversation.

Incidentally, I thought that I had always known how to put together a Sunday Roast until I realised that I had learned by watching my mother. I used to do my homework on Sunday morning, sitting at the table in the kitchen. I simply soaked up the knowledge by being in the room with a highly competent cook.

This entry is not written as a standard recipe just a set of hints and tip as to how one should get the Sunday roast to the table.

The meat - Lamb and beef can be served as rare as you are comfortable but remember your guests tastes may not be the same as yours. Lamb without the fat well rendered can be a bit of a challenge for many people. Chicken should be cooked until there is no redness in the meat. Modern pork can be served a little bit pink but this will drive most people away so the challenge is to keep it moist and cooked through. Check regularly and go with your own sense of what is right for you. My only key suggestion would be to start the meat off at a very high temperature for ten minutes or so then turn the temperature down to about 170 fan.

Roast potatoes - I have been called quirky (and some ruder things too) for the way I produce roasties. I maintain that it is pure science. Primarily this method only works on cold, dry day. The potatoes should be main crop (Maris piper or King Edwards perhaps). Peel the spuds and cut into golf ball size chunks (just with sharp edges). pop them into cold water with a big pinch of salt, bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes. Drain the potatoes (capture the boiling water for later). Now for the quirky bit: Pop the colander with your spuds in it outside of your door to steam fast, this should take about 10 minutes. The outside of the potatoes will crack and ruffle, give them a gentle shake to help this. Your meat should've been roasting for a while by now, lift the roasting tray out of the oven and surround the meat with the spuds. roll them over to coat with fat. Pop back in the oven turning once during the cooking.

Gravy - If you are lucky enough to have some fresh or frozen stock use this but should you need to use a stock cube (like most of us without shame) this is where the retained potato water comes in. When you have taken the meat out to rest, pop the spuds in a different dish and put the roasting dish onto the hob and heat up. Add a tablespoon of plain flour and stir to create a loose roux. I like to add a splash of dry sherry at this point but id booze is not your bag then leave it out. Stir in the stock and ensure there are no lumps. boil gently till thick and shiny. If you really want to jazz it up, add a couple of teaspoons of redcurrant, apple or even quince jelly.

Vegetables - I am prepared to be attacked for this statement but I like carrots for a roast to be soft the whole way through. Also they do not need to be glazed for this meal. It's often worth cooking the greens before the meal and refreshed under cold water. This helps to keep a lovely green colour. Simply reheat in a frying pan with a little butter. Parsnips can be roasted with the potatoes (but do not need par boiling first). Please don't feel the need to add honey or such  - parsnips are naturally sweet (after they have had a frost on them) and the sugary additives will burn and ruin your gravy.

For the photo I roasted a kg of rolled pork loin.

The match

The Kernel brewery is one of London's gems. Its beers with their understated labels have become the stuff of legend. The quality of brewing is present in everything they produce. This "sour" is no exception. It is a Saison with a sour cherry flavour through it. I have a huge soft spot for Saisons. They are traditional, hybrid beer with a history wrapped up in the agricultural seasons, having been made as part payment to itinerant workers at the harvest. Saisons often have a hint of sourness and the cherry lifts this to total palate cleansing freshness. I thought this would cut through the pork and the general fattiness of the roast, after all, we regularly serve apple with pork. The sad truth was that the match was a bit too much. This is entirely my fault. Truly delicious beer, totally delicious food, just not made for each other. I felt a little bit like the person who had set up his two best friends on a blind date only to find out that they simply didn't like each other!