Celia Farrar & Guy Jackson
MACKEREL POKE WITH GINGER AND CHIVE PESTO
“In the spring you start getting some amazing new produce in your vegetable deliveries,” says Celia Farrar of Eat Poke, listing her seasonal favourites. “And it’s the time when you stop craving heavy food and start thinking summer outfits.” Eat Poke’s Los Angeles-inspired take on Hawaii’s fish dish is full of freshness: “It’s zingy, cleansing and crunchy with the pickles.” Serves 4 as a starter
For the rice:
Short-grain brown rice 150g, cooked and cooled
For the pickles:
radishes 1 bunch, stalks and leaves removed, quartered
carrots 2 peeled, cut into ribbons
rice wine vinegar 60ml
sugar 2 tbsp
salt 1 pinch
Combine the vinegar, sugar and salt. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the carrots and radishes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.
For the ginger and chive pesto:
fresh ginger 4 tbsp, minced finely
chives 4 tbsp, sliced finely
rice wine vinegar 2 tbsp
mirin 3 tbsp
fresh coriander leaves 10g
flaked sea salt
Sweat the ginger over a low heat with the vinegar and mirin for 25-30 minutes (until the liquid has mostly evaporated). Cool. Stir through the chives and coriander and season.
For the mackerel poke:
fresh mackerel fillets 4
sesame oil 2 tsp
Pin bone the mackerel and remove the skin before slicing the fish into 1cm cubes. Stir through the sesame oil.
To serve:
furikake (Japanese seasoning) or black and white sesame seeds
fresh coriander leaves 10g
Place the mackerel poke on to the cooled rice and top with the ginger pesto, pickles, and the remaining coriander and furikake.
Anna Hansen
GOAT’S CURD, CARROT, FENNEL AND SPELT SALAD
Blossoming trees signal renewal for Anna Hansen, head chef at the Modern Pantry in central London. “That hint of things to come is beautiful,” she says. Her recipe balances post-winter rejuvenation with incoming delights. “I love fresh cheeses, which become more fruity and grassy as pastures change.” Serves 6
For the spelt:
spelt 300g, soaked in water overnight
cloves 8
whole allspice 8
mace 3 large blades
Rinse the spelt then simmer it with the spices in boiling water until tender. Drain and cool. Pick out the mace.
For the lemon roast fennel:
fennel 1 large bulb, cut into thin wedges lengthways
peel of a lemon
juice of half a lemon
Maldon salt 1 level tbsp – less if using fine salt
pink peppercorn 4 tsp, lightly blitzed
extra virgin olive oil 80ml
Roast the fennel with the other ingredients in foil at 180C for 20 minutes, then at 200C for 8 minutes, uncovered.
For the carrot, ginger and manuka honey dressing:
carrots 6 medium
lemongrass 2 stalks
ginger 45g
turmeric 20g
manuka honey 40g
juice of half a lemon
Juice the carrot, ginger, lemongrass and turmeric. Whisk in the honey and lemon juice.
Pistachios and seeds:
pistachios 100g, shelled
fennel seeds 2 tsp
poppy seeds 1 tbsp
Maldon salt 1 level tbsp
water 1 tbsp
Toss the ingredients together. Bake at 140C for 10 minutes. Cool and gently bash with a rolling pin.
To serve:
goat’s curd 200g (use fresh goat’s cheese if unavailable)
fennel bulb 1 small, trimmed
green eating apple 1, sliced
carrots 3 medium (preferably heritage)
new season’s peas 150g, blanched (use frozen if unavailable)
watercress 1 bunch
extra virgin olive oil to drizzle
Slice the fennel finely crossways. Peel the carrots into long strips. Toss together. Dress liberally with the dressing above. In a separate bowl, dress the spelt and season it. Scatter watercress over a platter, add a third of the spelt, roast and fresh fennel, apple, carrot and peas. Repeat until all are used. Blob the goat’s curd on top, scatter over the pistachios and seeds, drizzle with oil. Serve immediately.
Leandro Carreira
MOREL MUSHROOMS, TOMATO WATER & OLIVE OIL
The scent of young pines in the Portuguese countryside used to mark spring for Carreira, who is currently in residency at Climpson’s Arch in east London. These days he relies on Londoners’ faces. “Everyone seems happier. People get in the mood to go out.” Fond of foraging since childhood, when he would gather morels among other plants, he relishes rotating fresh, found textures on to his menu. “Many things excite me,” he says, “like edible leaves and flowers.” Serves 4 as a side dish.
Marinda tomatoes (or other heirloom) 1 kg
fresh morels 250g
mustard leaves 100g
yellow radicchio 100g (use plain if unavailable)
extra virgin olive oil 150ml
Dijon mustard 10g
sea salt
Blitz the tomatoes in a powerful blender till puréed. Tie a piece of muslin (or thin cotton towel) over a bowl. Drain the pulp overnight to separate out the liquid.
Wash the mushrooms in cold running water, then dry them gently. Pick radicchio and mustard leaves, wash and dry them, then tear them roughly. Blend the mustard with 100ml olive oil and tomato water, and blitz until smooth.
Season with salt. Heat a sauté pan and add the remaining olive oil. Sauté the mushrooms for 2 minutes. Season with salt.
To serve:
Place the tomato and olive oil emulsion into a shallow serving bowl, add the morels, top with leaves.
