Valentine Seafood - if scallops be the food of love - eat on!

Sautéed Scallops with Lentils and Oaked Chardonnay.

(Rick Stein's Taste of the Sea)

Deep fried Scallop Roes in spicy egg-white batter.

To prepare the sauce;  heat ground pinches of turmeric, allspice, ground cloves, and ground nutmeg along with sweated chopped onion and carrot ad and reduce fish stock and an oaked chardonnay by two thirds, add the double cream as above and again, reduce by two thirds.......

time to set the table........

crumpet for starters.......

prepare a soft meringue for the scallop roes......

dip in rice flour with added paprika and cayenne to spice them up........

a few seconds in the wok with hot oil.......

on with the best Newlyn scallops........

voila! - served on a bed of puy lentils and a few tiny steamed carrots - and a lamb chop to make it surf 'n turf!.

Fish fight for space on the market at Newlyn.

Mini re-fit for Lentern's the butchers - or did they just want to be off for Valentine's night?........

seems the gulls aren't the only ones keen to get hold of the cuttles........

all smiles with Alan and the boys aboard the Golden Harvest........

Sennen lifeboat gets passed by the Silver Spray........

still no sign of the gear going back aboard the Rowney.......

Charisma, one of the Padstow fleet waits under the ice machine after landing.......

battle of the big paws.......

bonus bass shot from the netter.......

with a lonely lobster keeping guard......

good run of haddock on the ground at the moment......

although this guy looks les than impressed the smoothhounds seem to be making good money for the boys aboard the BMC........

pile'em high and get them sorted quick, the auctioneer is on his way.......

not many of these guys to a box........

and a shot of mackerel for a change.......

quality tails from the Lisa Jacqueline.

Braised cuttlefsh with a warm salad, purple sprouting and ink vinaigrette - Chef, Nathan Outlaw.

Warm Salad of Braised Cuttlefish and Purple Sprouting, Ink Vinaigrette

Recipe courtesy of Cornish seafood chef Nathan Outlaw - currently at the St Enodoc Hotel in Roc and recently awarded two Mchelin Stars to boot.

For the Cuttlefish
1kg cuttlefish cleaned, prepared and left whole, saving the ink
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, crushed
6 ripe tomatoes cut into quarters
600ml fish stock
100ml dry white wine


Sweat off the vegetables for 5 minutes in a pan. Add the wine and reduce to nothing and then add the fish stock. Bring the stock to the simmer and add the cuttlefish. Simmer for 1 ½ hours or until tender. When the cuttlefish is ready remove from the stock and allow cooling. Strain off the stock for the vinaigrette and cool. When the cuttlefish is cold slice into 2cm strips and reserve until serving


For the purple sprouting
28 nice pieces of purple sprouting


Bring a large pan of salted water to the simmer and blanch the sprouting for 2 minutes. Refresh in ice water and drain off. If you’re doing in advance place in the fridge. If you’re serving straight away don’t refresh just serve immediately.


Ink vinaigrette
2 finely chopped shallots
75ml red wine vinegar
75ml cuttlefish stock
150ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp cuttlefish ink


Add the shallots, vinegar and stock together and leave to stand for 30 minutes. Then add the ink and whisk in the oil. Season with salt and serve immediately.


Garnish
20g fine capers
4 sprigs of tarragon, picked
Squeeze of lemon


To serve
Warm the cuttlefish up in a bit of the vinaigrette, not to hot. Place the sprouting, capers and tarragon into a large bowl and then gently mix with the warm cuttlefish. Add a squeeze of lemon and season with sea salt and black pepper. Serve in bowl plate with a jug of vinaigrette on the side.

Put together the simple set of ingredients (plumped for tinned rather than fresh toms)........

one cuttle simmering slowly in the sauce........

sliced and ready to serve turned gently in with the purple sprouting (plus a few heads of broccoli)........

the starter was a failure - don't be tempted to pick mussels from Porthmeor Beach in St Ives, they are full of grit - the beach is way too sandy methinks!

Public meeting - Save Falmouth Coastguard!

Add this date to your diary if you are able to make this meeting next month.

In the meantime, spread the word, check out the SOS Coastguard page and get all your contacts to sign the petition:

Be at Tremough Campus, Penryn for a 7.30 pm start on Wednesday 9th March and hear a presentation from the consultancy team charged with evaluating the future of the Coastguard service around the UK coast and in particular Falmouth Coastguard Station.




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To kipper (verb) - to kipper means to cure herring, salmon or any other variety of fish by salting and smoking the fish

BBC1-The OneShow - 2 minutes and 20 secs in:


Food critic Jay Rayner visits kipper man Steve Richardsonand his Smokehouse in Orford, Suffolk and tries to persuade him to kipper sardines and mackerel instead of herring - the fish that only became synonymous with kippering in the mid 1800s.


The sardine proves to be too small and dries out,the mackerel hits the spot but for kipper man Steve, tradition gets the better of him!


Origin of the word from Middle English kypre, from Old English cypera; akin to Old English coper or copper.

Seafood Cornwall Training - making way.

The latest four day navigation underway at Newlyn.

Seafood Cornwall Training's latest navigation course for under 10m skippers is in full swing. Details of this and more courses for fishermen in Cornwall are available from Seafood Cornwall Training - ask to speak to Sarah Crosbie for more information.

All the latest course dates are avialable here. 

Saturday morning around the town and down the quay.

Early signs of the winter nights drawing out.......

as the harbour daffs begin to show their heads.......

it's that time of year again........ 

and  the local shops have their own way of getting involved.......

'ma petite choux'.......

not forgetting the pastries.....

Stevenson's fish shop has taken a lead from chef Jamie Oliver........

or you can let someone else do the cooking up at the Red Lion........

lost something George?........

icing-up time for the biggest netter in Cornwall.......

net setters happy in their work.........

the Old Quay will be transformed on Painting Day......

when it will be full of traditional luggers for the benefit of anyone who wants to come and record the scene in oils, pencil, watercolour, pen and ink or photograph.......

let's hope that by then the less caring members of the dog owning community are hounded out of the harbour, or at least clear up after their canine companions........

Barry gets a hand to clean his gear........

while the twice-daily routine of recording which vessels are in port continues........

heading for home........

a pot of gold for someone.........

at half mast again.......

the early sun was another silver dawn.......

maybe the old Fisherman's Rest will get a new lease of life as the Old Quay is developed.......

Cape Cornwall gig rowers at full stretch........

plenty of live evening events coming up with the music of Roy Orbison........

or Cornish Lighthouses - entertainment for all tastes.