This last weekend we hosted our fish-themed Bootleg Supper and many thanks to our lovely guests who joined us for our 8-course tasting menu. We had two great evenings and really enjoyed experimenting with all sorts of pescatarian treats.
It was quite interesting putting together a menu in advance when you’re going to be bound on the day by what’s available and looks good down the market. But we did our best to stick with seasonal fish, which meant that although the menu on the night varied a touch from what we’d e-mailed our guests (Hake became Grey Mullet) we were able to do the same menu both nights.
Fennel and tomato broth – seabass
As always, different guests had different favourites amongst the courses (and you can check out the menu in full on our ‘Past Menus’ page) but some of the things we liked/learnt were as follows:
- Cucumber relish rocks, I mean seriously, it’s ace and I must now find more things to go with it!
- You can’t take your eyes off melba toast under the grill ever, not for a second, even on the lowest heat, at all, ever. This lesson was brought to you courtesy of the fourth time of trying (that’s right, eight courses by a cook who burnt toast three times in a row…oh the shame).
- People are surprisingly enthusiastic about eating Asparagus veloute out of mini buckets (with Shrimp dust sprinkles of course).
Asparagus- shrimp- veloute
- Razor clams aren’t fans of being cleaned in fresh water and spit it back at you ….however they do go very well with a warm herby crust….
Razor clam – chorizo – herb crust
- Scallop and Pistachio works well, but the logistics of eating this with risotto out of a scallop shell can be tricky.
- Smoked mackerel and gooseberry is a brilliant combination, we saw it a few years back on the Great British Menu and have been itching to try it ever since.
- Lisa will use any excuse/ opportunity to add crab bon bons to a fish dish – but the guests seemed to love them too!
Hake- caper sauce- bon bons
As ever, to our savoury-inclined palates, pudding was the biggest challenge so we kept it simple, light and seasonal with loads of berries.
Strawberry panna cotta
We’re now gearing up for our vegetarian feasts in July, though at present we’re most challenged by restraining ourselves from putting cheese with everything. Not because we can’t think of other things to do mind, just that we adore all things cheesy - perhaps this is a theme for a future Supper!
