Whitstable

A bit of a different post from me today. A while back,  my mum decided that it would be a good idea, to to something special for her birthday, so she quickly reserved a place, at one of our favourite seafood restaurants.

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As its the oldest restaurant in the town, its very popular, and the queues for a spare table, often come out the door!

The fish is always delicious, and usually caught in the morning, before being cooked there.The menu also regularly changes depending on whats in season.If you want to view the current menu, check it out here. 

For starters my mum had Roasted scallops,sticky glazed pork belly, baby carrot puree, crackling and smoked apple sauce(excuse her hand she just couldn't wait!).

My dad, had the classic seaside starter of 1/2 dozen rocky oysters with lemon.

My sisters and i, all ordered the wheeleers mezee, Wheelers home smoked prawns with lime, chilli and garlic. Wheelers smoked and hand carved salmon with warm walnut bread, potted curried crab, slip sole goujons, crispy squid with chilli, spring onion and coriander with a sweet chilli dipping sauce.It was AMAZING. I can almost guarantee myself, ordering this again, if they didn't change their menu seasonally.

The restaurant is very small, and simply decorated with mismatched chairs, and sea related objects.

For her main, my sister ordered, Sea bass baked with a piquiu pepper purree and parma ham, chorizo and salt cod bon bons served with a roast pepper and gazpacho mayonnaise, smoked paprika crisps and textures of sweetcorn.

My mum and dad both ordered, pan fried sea trout, silky horseradish mash, sweet and sour beets, goats cheese and courgette flower tempura, tender stem broccoli, avocado and wasabi puree and breakfast radish salad.

I ordered the cod, roasted with a tomato and basil pesto crust, with a sweet pea, broad bean and goats cheese salad finished with tempura of stuffed courgette flower and drizzled with mint oil. Delicious, especially the courgette flower, and which was partly why i chose it, as i love courgette flowers, but can't do them myself, so always have to order them when i see them on the menu.

After lunch we wandered around (quite slowly as our bellies were so full). Whitstable has some very pretty independent shops, not to mention an independent old sweet shop, which unfortunately was closed this time, but when its open is usually filled with children and adults alike. 

We then headed down to the sea, and dipped our toes in the water and, admired the view and calmness of the whole area.

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Blackberry, Lime and Elderflower drizzle slice

For me the harvest of blackberries, usually signals the end of summer. As the the blue skies disappear, and the grey skies filled with rain, arrive.To be really honest, all i really feel like doing is snuggling into bed, but when there is a break in the weather i try to make the most of not being at school, or now college(man that sounds so weird!), and create something summery, to at least convince my taste buds that its still summer.

 

This was sooooo delicious, that i ate 6 slices in one day, and i never normally eat that much cake in one day. Its an interesting alternative to lemon drizzle, and doesn't dry out, due to the water content in the blackberries. Its a great edition to a picnic, as the sugar on top glistens in the sun, and is a lot easier to transport than a normal sized cake.

This recipe uses polenta, which gives it an interesting texture, that is quite crumbly, but moist at the same time,and lets the blackberries evenly disperse through the sponge. The drizzle part is the best, and marries everything together with the early spring flavours, from the elderflower, and the autumnal flavours, with the blackberries.

Ingredients
225g self-raising flour
75g polenta
250g butter
250g caster sugar
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 limes, zest and juice
2 tbsp milk
150g blackberries
100ml elderflower cordial
6 tbsp granulated sugar

1.beat butter and sugar together 
2.beat in eggs one at a time, adding in flour if it starts to curdle
3.fold in dry ingredients alternatively with the liquids.
4.place in a pre lined tin
5.scatter with blackberries
6.place in pre-heated oven at 180°, for 30mins
7.mix together the elderflower cordial, granulated sugar,and the zest of a lime and juice of half of lime. spoon over hot cake, cool in tin before serving.

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Sarlat - Dordogne

So, apparently i haven't been blogging for over a month now. Apologies, though since i went on holiday i thought, i would share some pictures of a beautiful town, Sarlat.  

We went on market day, i recommend getting there early, like with most markets as the good stuff is the first to go! I also love the atmosphere french markets, with all the locals selling their fresh produce, yelling out their specialities for the day.

We also popped into the church there, which we didn't last year, and is a beautiful peaceful spot in comparison to the market, with the locals saying their prayers, away from all the tourists. 

One stand which i am always tempted by, is a local lady selling fresh vanilla pods, and they are the freshest looking vanilla pods i have ever seen. Unfortunately, i don't often use vanilla pods therefore, by the time i end up getting round to using them they won't be at their best.

Many small areas have several local specialities, and at the local bakeries and markets you'll find walnut caramel tart made with fresh walnuts grown near Perigueux. I would recommend it, as fresh walnuts are hard to beat and i love caramel, and with crisp pastry, it's very nice.

Very near Sarlat is the foie gras region, which is always highlighted in the local towns, with several market stalls and shops full of it. Although its not to everyone's taste, but many of the local producers do a mix with around 25% foie gras with the rest duck meat which is cheaper, and just as delicious, if not more. I recommend if you like duck but not too fond of foie gras.

Then there's the shop my Dad hates... Its a pottery shop which has beautiful, and very different plates and bowls, which my mum and i (i have to admit it!!), got drawn to last year, and in my Dad's eyes probably spent too much (but as generally our holidays fall after her birthday, she likes to treat herself).

 

After we did a full circuit of the town we spotted a stall, which drew us in by the smell, then looks, to delicious moist whole chickens and saute potatoes, which we took away and ate later ate by the Dordogne river for our lunch. Unfortunately, we had to agree that with a whole chicken and a large chip portion was enough, and the beautiful paella had to be left behind.

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Spicy Carrot Relish

It was about a year ago, when i re discovered chutneys: Before, i found them either to sweet or sour, disgusting for my young taste buds. The great chutney, that completely changed my mind is the carrot and cumin chutney, which you can find here. I was immediately was on the look out for a replica, that was slightly easier to get hold of. Here it is, with slightly different spices and a lot more time consuming (obviously), but well worth the effort for the feeling of accomplishment, and it makes a beautiful birthday gift.

To mimick the delicious chutney, i decided to grate half of the carrots, and chop up the other half finely, to create a nicer texture. If you want a less tiresome option,  i recommend getting a mandolin, unfortunately i haven't got one, so prepping the carrot took a really long time, but even if you don't have a mandolin, i still totally recommend making this.And you never know you might make a profit out of your hard work, like i did, as my uncle wanted to buy a jar.

 Also to make my life easier i decided to leave in the cinnamon sticks and star anise in, but also to let the flavours infuse even if they are no longer cooking together.  By accident i left the coriander seeds whole, but i think they look pretty as little dark brown speckles throughout, feel free to lightly or fully ground them if you don't like large husks.

This makes a great accompaniment to a cheese board, with perfect warming flavours in the cooler months, around Christmas. Its also great on a picnic in a simple cheese sandwich. Or something which i am yet to try, and honestly can't wait is stirring it through Greek yogurt to make a dip for tortilla chips.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons yellow mustard seeds
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2kg carrots coarsely grated
100g fresh root ginger,peeled and grated
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
4-6 red chillies, deseeded and very finely sliced
3 cinnamon sticks
2 star anise
2 bulbs of garlic, cloves separated, peeled and gently bashed( i only used about 1 bulb, and it was  still totally fine)
800ml malt vinegar
500ml water
1kg granulated sugar
200g light soft brown sugar
50g flaky sea salt

1. Put the mustard and coriander seeds in a dry frying pan over a low heat and toast until the mustard seeds start to pop. roughly crush in a pestle and mortar. tip into a large bowl.
2. add the carrots, ginger, lemon zest and juice, chillies, cinnamon, star anise, garlic and vinegar.cover and leave to macerate overnight.
3. pour the mixture into a large heavy based saucepan or preserving pan(i used a large le creuset casserole pan).
4. add the water, both sugars and the salt.
5. pop on a low heat and cook, stirring constantly until the sugars have dissolved. increase the heat, and boil the mixture for 30-40 mins until it starts to become jammy,(when i made it, i cooked it for about 1hr).
6. remove from the heat and spoon into sterilised jars. seal and allow to cool. The relish is ready to eat straight away, but it will keep in a cool dark place for up to 6-8 months.

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