I love dumplings, I was brought up on Hong Kong style dumplings. Continue reading “Cornish Dumplings”

I work in Truro which is a great place for sourcing local ingredients. Continue reading “10 Minute Monkfish Cheeks”

So I love taco’s, my appreciation for them started when I lived in California for a while. Continue reading “Pulled Ox Cheek, Broccomoli and Rhubarb Salsa Tacos”

Times are changing, people are wearing shorts, making eye contact and smiling. Continue reading “First Day Of Spring”

So I still have some remaining supplies that my friend had kindly given to me to try and use in my recipes. Continue reading “10 Minute Mackerel, Borage and Rhubarb”

A Little Reflection …So far

The whole idea of this Blog was to embark on a food adventure, a local adventure that involves discovery, meeting people, adaptation and fun. Continue reading “Probably the first Hong Kong Style Sweet And Sour Pork using 100% Cornish Produce”

After my last post on Social Media I got talking to a friend of mine  who had some spare leeks in her fridge that she had grown in her allotment. Continue reading “Cornish Scallop And Three Cornered Leek”

I have been writing recipes using 100% Cornish produce for 3 weeks now and posting on Instagram whilst procrastinating over writing a blog after getting requests for the recipes. I’m now 3 weeks on and already  there are ingredients that I have used in this recipe that have gone out of season and are not available such as the Prince Crown Squash and Jalapeno sauce which I had already preserved and fermented from late last year. This is the beauty of what I am doing and why it is so compelling to me, its like  ready steady cook using just the ingredients around me that are continually changing. It also requires me to use the old traditional styles of thought in relation to food, that ingredients need to be preserved, stored and relished when they are in season so that you can use them in months to come when they are not.

So this recipe does require a fermented sauerkraut which I will explain how to make it an up and coming blog. For now you could use shredded white cabbage, just the same was as they do in California. I actually like to bash, squeeze and bruise the cabbage a bit after  you have shredded it to break it down a bit and to release the juices.  The reason why sauerkraut works so well with the taco is the fermentation gives the cabbage an almost sour hint and as there are no limes in Cornwall then this works really well to replace it and its good for you.

Squashamole

So this maybe another world first  and i’m sure it will probably get robbed  but remember you heard it here first. ! We don’t get avocados growing in Cornwall but everyone loves a bit of guacamole with their tacos. What works really, really well is this .

Ingredients

• Crown Prince Squash
• Cornish Rapeseed Oil
• Roddas Creme Fresh

I used a Crown Prince Squash as it is really nutty, almost rich and full of flavour but you could use any squash. Roast the squash with some Cornish Rapeseed Oil and Cornish Sea Salt. Wait for it to cool down and mash it up with some Rodda’s Creme Fresh, the result is amazing. A creamy squashamole that is as indulgent as guacamole, I actually had some of my fermented Hungarian Hot Wax Chilli sauce that I added to it which again added that little bit of acidity to it but it doesn’t really need it. Try it its delicious.

The Taco

So far I have found one local flour mill in Cornwall at the Cornish Bakehouse and have done alot of experimenting with their flour. It is really good and I have had some great results making pastries, wraps ,tacos and I will soon be trying to make some sourdough using their flour.  The flour is full of nutty flavour and is ideal for tacos as it gives that wholesome street flavour rather than a bland excuse for a tortilla.

To make the Tortilla I used :

• 500g Cornish Bakehouse Flour
• 150 Ml cold water
• 2 Tablespoons of Cornish Rape Seed Oil

Stir all of the above together in a mixing bowl until it starts to come together. Get your hands in and start to knead the mixture together until most of the moisture and stickiness disappears from the dough. If the dough is too wet then add more flour and vice a versa, if its to dry then add more water but only in very small quantities. Once its in a smooth ball wrap it in cling film and put it in the fridge for 30 mins.

Take the dough out of the fridge and make little balls out of the dough. Flatten these with the palm of your hands and roll out into taco shaped circles. I use a bit of dowel rod for this as a mini rolling pin which is very handy for a number of pastry recipes. Start in the middle and roll out whilst rotating the dough with the other hand to try and make it circular, not like the one below ! Hey these are tacos, street food and more rustic the better 🙂

 

Frying the fish

I like to have a bit of batter on my fish tacos although it isn’t necessary. You can put any type of fish into fish tacos anything from pollock to Lobster. I used Hake .

Ingredients

• Local Hake
• 100g Cornish Bakehouse Flour
• 100 g Milk
• 1 Eggs
• Salt
• 1 tub of Beef Dripping or Cornish Rapeseed oil.

Beat together the flour milk and 1 egg to make a batter and put it in the fridge for 15 mins.  Cut the fish into bite size portions, dip into the batter and fry in hot oil until golden. Drain and put onto kitchen paper or a rack to get rid of any unwanted oil.

The Assembly

If you make your tortillas first you can keep them soft by putting a hot damp tea towel over them whilst you fry your fish. Lay out a tortilla, smother in squashamole, place the fried fish on top with the cabbage or sauerkraut. If you are feeling indulgent then also put a dollop of rodda’s creme fresh on top. Finish with some fermented Jalapeno sauce ideally or a hot sauce of your choice.

Well I hope you enjoyed my first post. This was quite a long one with alot of techniques.  Ill be posting all sorts from simple recipes, techniques, talking points and ultimately having fun adventuring with the food that’s available around us 🙂