Sunday 13 February 2011
Legal position on killing gulls, pigeons and crow.
Saturday 12 February 2011
Eating Seagull. (or KFSeagull...)
Vermin with wings? Chicken of the sea? Or just an opportunity missed?
First and foremost, before we all go on a mad seagull killing frenzy. In the U.K it is against the law to kill seagulls or interfere with their nests under the countryside and wildlife act. Some Councils are allowed to cull them however, and usually do this by either poisoning or shooting them.
How to catch your seagull. Remember this is against the law in the U.K. I don't want the Men in Blue knocking at the door because someone said that Foodimum told them it was okay to catch and eat seagulls. It isn't...
Put some bait on a hook on a fishing line. Fling the bait up in to the air so that the seagull goes for it and reel it in. Break its neck as you would a chicken.
Someone also tried an interesting technique here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWuyKPGxhFo
I haven't tried any of the recipes below but if you do live somewhere where catching seagulls is legal and you have a go please let me know!
Seagull Recipe 1: Sautéed Seagull
(adapted from http://everything2.com/title/Dutch+Seagull+Recipe):
Pluck and prepare the seagull as you would a chicken and joint or quarter.
Soak the meat in heavily briny water in a cold place (the fridge?)for 12 hours. This is to try and remove the fishy taste. Do this again at least 3 times, each time throwing away the old salty water and replacing it with fresh briny water.
Lightly sauté the meat in butter, onions, lots of garlic and herbs and then add stock. Simmer for 3 hours. After 3 hours throw the liquid away. A voilà.
Recipe 2: Fricassee of Seagull
(Inspired by the cookbook "Cooking by Marguerite" (1999, published by Benedict Jacob))
Boil the seagull carcass for 2 hours in lightly salted water. Mince the flesh, and add to a hot pan of sesame oil, sliced beetroot, beansprouts, white wine or cider vinegar and vermouth. Serve with raisins or melon.
I would imagine that this would be a rather intense experience with hot oil sizzling and perhaps the vermouth igniting.
Recipe 3:KF Seagull
I found references to Seagulls being referred to as 'Sea going chickens' in the Channels Isles and that inspired this recipe.
I think that as with rooks the younger birds would be more succulent and if I had a choice I would like to feed the young seagull squab on oatmeal and cooked vegetables for a bit before dispatching it. I also think that you would need more than one bird to make a decent meal.
INGREDIENTS:
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon basil
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 tablespoon celery salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
1 tablespoon dry mustard
4 tablespoons paprika
2 cups plain flour
Dried breadcrumbs
2 eggs
Diced Seagull
Vegetable oil
Preheat your oven to 190 degrees Celsius.
Place everything in a bowl except the breadcrumbs, eggs, diced seagull and oil. Dip the meat into the beaten egg then the breadcrumbs then the herby floury mix.
Place all your pieces on an oven tray and cover with foil. Cook for 30 min’s then uncover and cook for another 30 min’s uncovered. Baste with the oil and cook for 5 more minutes. Allow to stand and serve.
As I say, I haven't tried any of the recipes so the timings might be out....
Well, I think the challenge is complete. I wonder if any of the recipes work......? If I find a way of legally obtaining a seagull I'll let you know.
Friday 11 February 2011
Crabbing, edible shore crab bisque and Thai style coconut crab bisque.
Now, I've seen this recipe a few times. First from the well know piscine chef Rick Stein then in John Wrights book The Edible seashore. Controversially I think Mr Wright may have um ....how do I say this..I think he may have 'allegedly' copied and pasted this straight from Mr Steins book.
Method
- Bring a large pan of well-salted water to the boil, drop in the crabs then bring them back to the boil and cook for 2 minutes. Strain and let the crabs cool a little, then chop with a large knife.
- Melt the butter in a heavy-based pan and add the chopped onion, carrot, celery and the bay leaf. Cook without browning. Stir once or twice then add the crab. Stir, then add the cognac. Allow to boil off then add the tomatoes, tomato purée, wine, tarragon and stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Remove the tough claw shells from the soup before liquidizing in a liquidizer or food processor in two or three batches. Process in short bursts until the shell is broken into small pieces about the size of your finger nail. Avoid producing puréed shell, the aim is to extract all possible flavour from any meat left sticking to the shell, particularly in the body section, rather than to extract flavour from the shell itself. Strain the soup through a conical strainer pushing as much liquid through as you can with the back of a ladle to extract all the juices.
- Then, pass the soup through a fine strainer before returning to the heat. Bring to the boil, add the cream then season with cayenne pepper, lemon juice, salt and black pepper. Reduce the volume by simmering if you think the flavour needs concentrating.
Wednesday 9 February 2011
One man and his Campervan
Tuesday 20 July 2010
All Hail Sea Kale
Some people find it surprising that I love the taste on anything cabbagey. I know a lot of people shy away from brassicas and indeed any green vegetable but I really think they are missing out on a treat.
Moroccan style burgers
4 cups bread crumbs
2 cups chickpea flour
1 medium sized onion finely chopped
1/2 cup rice flour
Ground cumin.
Ground Coriander
1 bulb garlic (squashed and finely chopped)
1 tablespoon parsley
1 handful fresh mint
4 eggs
500g Lamb mince
Mix the chickpea flour, onion, rice flour, cumin, coriander, garlic, parsley, and mint together with 100 ml cold water. Stir well and leave for five minutes.
Add to the raw 500g Lamb mince and mix. Add the breadcrumbs and mix. I like to use my hands for this. Beat up the 4 eggs and add them to the mixture making sure they are well mixed in. The beaten eggs bind the mixture together. Leave for 10 minutes then form into burgers using your hands and drop into a hot frying pan. Brown on both sides then turn the temperature down to half way (number 3 on my electric hob) and allow to cook through. Serve with yoghurt, warm pittas and a salad.
Saturday 17 July 2010
Candied Alexander stem
This is a recipe that I made up and tried in early April when the Alexander’s were shooting up their beautiful new stems. All the children I offered these 'homemade sweets' to loved them and I even used them in them in the same way to decorate cakes as you would use candied Angelica.It went especially well with lemon icing.
I neglected to share the recipe with you then so here it is.
Alexander’s have a fragrant taste not unlike myrtle and this candying process works really well with the younger stems. Try not to use the really new stems. They have to have a bit of 'substance' to them or they will disintegrate in the candying process.
How to make Candied Alexander stem.
Cut the stems into sections about 6 inches long then soak in cold water for about 8 hours.
Add the stems to boiling water with 1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda (per Gallon). The Bicarb helps the Alexanders retain its colour. Boil until the stems have softened. Cool in cold water and soak in syrup of 1 cup sugar to 1 cup water. Do this for 24 hours.
After 24 hours drain and heat the syrup to 110 degrees Celsius. It helps if you have a cooking thermometer for this.
Pour the Syrup over the Alexander stems and repeat the syrup process for the next 3 days. On the fourth day cook the syrup to 120 degrees Celsius and then pop the stems in. Boil and then lift the stems out and drain them on a cake rack.
When they are cooled eat! I found them a little sticky so rolled them in icing sugar then stored then in a kilner jar. I don't know how long they would last like this. Quite a long time I feel. I never got the chance to find out as Oskar and his school friend ate the lot. I was extremely popular :)