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The New Inn on the island of Tresco |
Why visit Tresco? Scilly question!
Clare Latimer heads for the West Country and the idyllic island of Tresco to experience its exceptional pub grub and quirky characters
ON the idyllic island of Tresco there is only one shop and certainly no cars or traffic lights.
You are met off the boat or helicopter by a tractor and trailer and yes, you jump in the trailer. This “local bus” will then drop you either at the only hotel, the only pub or one of the cottages dotted around this little jewel of an island.
If the weather is good you can pretend that you are in the Caribbean. If it’s bad you can nip into the New Inn pub or smarter Island Hotel and cosy up with a stiff drink, good food and very friendly local company – and perhaps a game of Scrabble.
I think this experience is a must and this is a good year to choose. No euro to slap your spending down, a very exciting 15-minute helicopter ride (or a rather lumpy boat trip) from Penzance and there are some very good deals at the moment at the New Inn pub which has sweet little bedrooms and a jolly good breakfast.
The other real treat on the island are the amazing Abbey gardens and, if you are really lucky, you may catch Andrew Lawson, the head gardener, whose almost identical brother Robin runs the New Inn pub. His knowledge was second to none – I came away feeling I was a gardener, not a cook!
Monkfish tails wrapped in Parma ham
I had this dish in the New Inn, but have just added a few extras as I did not get the exact recipe. Just make sure the fish is really fresh and you can’t go wrong. I have not added salt to this dish as the ham and black olives are salty, but if you wish you can crush over some sea salt just before serving more for the crunch factor.
Ingredients
Serves 4
2 monkfish tails, about 150g each, filleted
8 slices Parma ham
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 handful fresh parsley, chopped finely
Few twigs fresh oregano, stripped and chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste
8 pitted black olives, chopped very small
Freshly ground black pepper.
Method
Preheat the oven 200C/ 400F/gas 6.
Skin the monkfish tails, removing all the membrane so as not to leave stringy bits. Put the parsley and oregano in an oven-proof dish with the olive oil and crush well to release the flavours. Put the monkfish tails into the dish and rub well all over. Leave to marinate.
Crush the sun-dried tomato paste and olives together in a small bowl. Lay out four slices of Parma ham overlapping and spread over half the tomato olive mix. Then place over one monkfish tail and roll up so that the ham wraps up like a parcel. Repeat with the other tail. Place back in the dish the tails were in and coat with the remaining oil herb mix. Cook in the oven for about 10-15 minutes or until the monkfish is just cooked. Serve immediately and grind over some fresh black pepper.
West Country new potato salad with asparagus
Cornish new potatoes are now coming into the shops and to my mind they are one of the gems of the year. This salad would go very well with the monkfish. Try and buy the Cornish Yarg cheese wrapped in garlic leaves as it is creamier than the one wrapped in stinging nettles. I try and buy a mixed salad bag with herbs included as it adds more flavour. If you are catering for a larger number then buy the individual salads and mix yourself.
Ingredients
Serves 4
450g Cornish new potatoes, washed well
2 sprigs fresh mint
1 desp cider vinegar
2 tbsp virgin olive oil
1 teasp French mustard
1 desp runny honey
1 small pinch curry powder
1 bunch English asparagus, thin stemmed if possible and cut into mouth-size lengths
100g Cornish Yarg, cut up into small squares
1 bag salad leaves.
Method
Cut any large potatoes up so that all pieces are the size of the smaller whole potatoes. Put into a saucepan with salted water and bring to the boil. Add the fresh mint and then simmer covered for about 15-20 minutes or until cooked. Drain and set aside.
To make the dressing, put the oil, vinegar, mustard, honey and curry powder into a jar with a lid and then shake very well.
Bring another pan of salted water to the boil and plunge in the asparagus spears. Bring to the boil and cook for two minutes and drain. They need to remain slightly crunchy.
Cut up the now coolish potatoes and put into a salad bowl, pour in the dressing and toss well. Add the asparagus spears and gently stir in the salad leaves and Cornish Yarg and then serve. |
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