Nourish Me

sweet

Spent the morning making candied grapefruit peel, propped on a stool in the kitchen sipping tea and reading Jane Grigson, a surprisingly enjoyable thing to do on a clocks-back autumn Sunday. The peels - drying on a rack before me - taste of Campari, a medicinal balance of bitter and sweet, a taste I happen to really love. got distracted halfway through by Stephanie Alexander who boils hers in 6 or 7 changes of water, a little worrying when you've done yours in only 2, then I remembered that Stephanie, much like Nigella, likes a lot more sweet than I in recipes. (Stephanie's Lemon Delicious pudding actually hurts my teeth.)

Grigson was writing in 1982, 2 years before I got to high school, and I'm convinced that our collective tastebuds have shifted since then to sweeter and sweeter (and beyond). Mine'll be just fine then. 

Whole fish

I started out cooking a whole fish a couple of years ago using Stephanie Alexander's method in her Cook's Companion. The results were kinda underwhelming, though I'm pretty sure the fault was mine. Somehow, her rules felt wrong. Anyway. My go-to whole fish guide has become AOF's cooking whole fish. The snapper above was cooked from memory a week after she taught me how, one freezing Saturday night mid-winter. AOF rubbed him with a fresh chermoula paste, then roasted him whole on thick slices of potato, tomato and the best green olives I have ever eaten. Radicchio, fennel and orange salad on the side; a really great big red to drink. It served two women who obviously enjoy eating, one cat, and one dog. 

These two silvery fellows- a mere $6.00-worth of bonito - were cooked a couple of weeks ago; slashed, stuffed with lemon and thyme and baked on sliced tomatoes using her ideas. Wonderful. We got three meals over three nights from them and that's hard to argue against for fishy, fleshy value.

English mint sauce

Is what you make with the remaining half of a large bunch of mint.

English mint sauce

From Stephanie Alexander's Cook's Companion (revised ed.). Page 580 if you're interested.

Strip leaves from the stems of 1 large handful (half a bunch or so) of mint. Wash, drain and dry. Finely chop. Mix in 2 teaspoons of sugar. Add 1 tablespoon of boiling water, stirring to dissolve, then stir in 1/4 cup (I used a spoonful more) of really good cider vinegar. Keeps for up to 2 days, refrigerated.

I particularly like Alexander's instruction, '...that one spoons the solids onto the meat and does not just pour out flavoured vinegar'. I think she gives a terrific idea of the texture you should expect and, of course, how one should go about using it. To be spooned over roasted new potatoes tonight, tossed with a dollop of grain mustard, just for good measure.