The journal

Port Isaac crab, toast and mayo

Port Isaac crab is some of the finest shellfish in the country, and the season runs from spring to autumn. This is the way to treat it: warm garlic toast, sweet white meat barely dressed, lemon and...

Marry me salmon

Marry me salmon is a skillet dish where the fillets sear first, then finish in a sauce built in the same pan from sun-dried tomatoes, cream and parmesan. The sear gives you a gold crust and the sau...

Skillet white fish in garlic lemon butter

Cod and hake both carry big soft flakes under a surface that crisps well if the fish goes into a hot pan dry. The butter goes in late so the garlic softens without catching, then lemon and parsley ...

Grilled salmon with herb butter

Salmon suits the grill because its fat bastes the flesh from inside while the surface takes on colour. A spoonful of soft herb butter melting over the top then carries dill and chives into every fl...

Whole sea bream en papillote

A beautiful Mediterranean centrepiece featuring three whole sea bream gently baked en papillote with lemon, garlic, rosemary and thyme. Cooking in parchment locks in moisture and delicate flavour, ...

Hake in salsa verde with clams

Merluza en salsa verde is the dish Basque cooks judge each other on, hake and clams in a green sauce that is nothing more than garlic, parsley, wine and the gelatine the fish gives up. The trick is...

Cured and scorched mackerel with beetroot

A short cure firms mackerel and seasons it to the middle, then a blast of fierce heat blisters the skin while the flesh stays succulent. Beetroot and horseradish give the richness something sweet a...

Brown crab on toast

Crab on toast is a lesson in using the whole crab. The brown meat from the body is intense and rich, so it becomes the base layer, and the sweet white claw meat is piled on top in loose flakes so i...

Scallops baked in the shell with garlic and vermouth butter

Baking a king scallop in its own shell traps the juices so the scallop essentially poaches in butter and its own liquor, staying plump where a hard sear can tip into chew. The shell goes to the tab...

Dover sole à la meunière

Meunière is the reference point for Dover sole and it earns the reputation, a whole fish in foaming brown butter with lemon and parsley and nothing to hide behind. The sole's tight sweet flesh hold...

Roast turbot with tartare butter

Turbot is the flat fish chefs reach for when the plate has to matter, with dense pearly flakes and a gelatine-rich frame that keeps everything moist. Roasting a tranche on the bone protects the fle...

Salmon fishcakes

Salmon fishcakes bind well because the fish is rich and flakes into the potato, so you need very little else to hold them. Ask the counter for a skinless pin-boned fillet and the fiddly work is don...