Georgina Hayden

Feeding since 1982

Roasted skate with sherry sauce and crispy capers

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I adore this recipe. I can’t remember when I first had it, but all variations are winner with me (skate often being paired with a burnt butter and caper sauce) – this being my all time favourite though. It isn’t difficult but you’ll need to focus at the job at hand, as the sauce doesn’t sit particularly well.

Roast skate with sherry sauce
Roast skate with sherry sauce

 

ROAST SKATE WITH SHERRY SAUCE AND CRISPY CAPERS (Raya con salsa de jerez)

From Casa Moro: The Second Cookbook by Sam and Sam Clark

Serves 4

  •  4 portion sized skate wings, about 250g each
  • 7 tablespoons olive oil
  • sea salt and black pepper
  • 200ml fino sherry
  • 1 banana shallot or 2 normal shallots, finely chopped
  • a sprig of fresh thyme
  • 2 bay leaves, preferably fresh
  • 5 tablespoons sherry vinegar plus 1 extra teaspoon
  • 10 black peppercorns
  • 200g good quality unsalted butter, cold, cubed
  • 80g capers in salt or vinegar
  • 4 tablespoons finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
  • 1 lemon, quartered

Prepare and fry the capers in advance: Wash the capers in a sieve for 1 minute under running water and then leave in a bowl of cold water for an hour, changing the water a few times. Heat 4 tablespoons of the olive oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat and when hot add the drained capers. Fry, stirring occasionally until they are slightly browned and crisp. Remove from the heat and drain on kitchen paper. Set aside.

To make the sauce, place the fino, shallots, thyme, bay leaves, 5 tablespoons vinegar and the peppercorns in a small saucepan and simmer over a low to medium heat until you are left with roughly 5 tablespoons of liquid. Strain out the thyme, bay leaves and peppercorns. Over a very low heat, stirring constantly, add the cubes of butter, a couple at a time. Add more when the butter has melted into the sauce and continue to do so until all the butter has been used and a light emulsion has formed. Add the remaining teaspoon of vinegar and a little salt and taste. Keep warm over the stove or in a bain-marie while you cook the fish, but do not allow to bubble.

Preheat the oven to 220/ 425/ Gas 7. When you are ready to cook the skate heat a large metal roasting tin on the hob until very hot. Season the skate with salt and pepper on both sides, drizzle the olive oil into the pan to cover the bottom and gently ease each wing into it, shaking the pan as you do so to prevent the skate from sticking. Place in the oven for about 10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the wing, or until cooked through. Remove and serve immediately with the warm sauce spooned over the fish, the capers and chopped parsley sprinkled all over, and lemon wedges on the side. Delicious with braised spinach or chard and new season’s boiled potatoes.

 

Roast skate with homemade bread to mop up the sauce and a radish and rocket salad
Roast skate with homemade bread to mop up the sauce and a radish, rocket and watercress salad

 

Roast squash soup with coconut and pumpkin seeds

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With my fertility chat in mind, my first recipe is a squash and pumpkin seed recipe, of which I can’t take full credit. When we got back from holiday I came home to the new Ottolenghi book ‘Plenty More’, and was over the moon. I love Ottolenghi, I love his restaurants/ cafes/ books/ column, and I don’t think I have ever made a dud recipe written by the man (Jerusalem is our favourite, the fish chapter is already in tatters).

After a trip to our fabulous local greengrocers, where the produce is ridiculously beautiful and the service is rude and grumpy, I came away with a mound of autumn treats including a beast of a butternut squash. So with a little flick through my newest book I came across ‘Squash with cardamom and nigella seeds’, a delicious sounding recipe, which is packed with good stuff (if you ignore the knob of butter at the start).

So I made this for friends, and got thinking, if you omit the yoghurt this would make a wonderful base for a soup, with coconut milk and coriander… So here is a little tweak on Mr Ottolenghi’s recipe, resulting in an incredible soup for Autumn.

Roast squash soup with coconut and pumpkin seeds
Roast squash soup with coconut and pumpkin seeds

 

ROAST SQUASH SOUP WITH COCONUT AND PUMPKIN SEEDS

Serves 4 – 6

  • olive oil
  • 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into 3cm chunks
  • 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds, plus extra for serving
  • 1 teaspoon nigella seeds
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 large cinnamon stick
  • 1 green chilli, halved lengthways
  • 400ml vegetable stock
  • A can of low fat coconut milk
  • Half a bunch of coriander chopped
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 100g feta (optional)

Preheat the oven to 200/ 180/ Gas mark 6.

Place the onion and butternut squash in a large roasting tray, so they are spread out in one layer and add the pumpkin seeds, nigella seeds, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, chilli and a good pinch of salt. Drizzle with a good lug of olive oil and mix well. Pop in the oven and roast for around 30 minutes, tossing occasionally, until cooked through and golden. Transfer the tray to the hob and add the coconut milk and stock and gently bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for a further 5 minutes, then remove from the heat. Discard the cinnamon and chilli and stir in the chopped coriander, stalks and all. Blitz with a stick blender until you have a thick and creamy soup, adding a little extra water if needed. Then serve with the feta crumbled over the top, and a few extra pumpkin seeds.

NB: You can keep the recipe similar to the in ‘Plenty More’ by not turning this into a soup. Ottolenghi likes to serve his with greek yoghurt, or do as I did and serve with crumbled creamy feta.

Prepped squash, ready for the oven
Prepped squash, ready for the oven
Served as a starter instead, with crumbled feta
Served as a starter instead, with crumbled feta

Easing into breakfast

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Ok, so I’d be lying if I said I didn’t start everyday with a coffee. I try and eat well, I don’t eat ready meals or fast food but I’m not a health food aficionado – I need caffeine and I need it within half an hour of waking up. And I’m not even a coffee snob; I adore good freshly ground coffee and living in east London there really is no shortage of amazing coffee roasters and cafes – see below for some of my favourites. However I’m Greek Cypriot and I also have a real love for instant coffee. Nescafé especially, as it reminds me of being a kid. (If you have ever been to Greece or Cyprus you’ll know how much the locals love a frappé).

So this morning was a Nescafé morning. The small caffetiere was dirty and being morning and me being lazy I hit the instant stuff. Heaven.

However anything other than coffee in the morning is a struggle. Weekend brunch is a winner, weekday mornings however just feels a little too early. And at the moment, where I am at home a lot of the day it’s quite easy to skip this all-important meal. I am trying to get into a routine though and this morning I wanted to go for a swim and knew I had to eat something first: cue the breakfast smoothie. I’ve really taken to smoothies over the last few months – it’s ‘something’ as opposed to eating nothing and is easy on the digestion for this breakfast-avoider. But most importantly, it’s the 5-a day thing. Actually consuming your 5 a day is hard work and takes dedication, so knowing I’m getting some nutrients feels like a bloomin’ good reason.

So for today’s breakfast I made a ‘raspberry milkshake’, which was incredibly delicious, nutritious and way better than a crusha down the Wimpy.

And the best tip of all? Chop up any ripe fruit you have lying around and freeze in sandwich bags, always ready for a smoothie attack. Reduces waste and makes smoothies lovely and thick – especially bananas, which give you a gorgeous creamy texture.

Here are a few of my favourites. All recipes serve 1. And if you haven’t got frozen bananas, use fresh and add a couple of ice cubes to chill.

 

Raspberry Milkshake

  •  A small chopped and frozen banana
  • Handful of raspberries
  • 8 grapes (or just use a few more raspberries)
  • Large spoonful of organic black cherry yoghurt (also be delicious with Coyo – dairy free coconut yoghurt)
  • Freshly pressed apple juice

Place all the ingredients into a blender with about 250ml of apple juice. Blitz until you have a smooth and creamy smoothie, adding a little more apple juice till you have your desired consistency.

Raspberry Milkshake

 

Breakfast on the run

  • Heaped tablespoon of rolled oats
  • 1 medjool date, stone removed
  • A couple of good pinches of ground cinnamon
  • A small chopped and frozen banana
  • a teaspoon of chia seeds
  • Full fat cows milk or almond milk (or any milk of your choice – hazelnut, soya, rice etc)
  • A drizzle of honey (I only use honey if I am using cows milk, as the others tend to have a sweetness to them already)

Place all the ingredients into a blender with around 250ml of your preferred milk and leave to sit for 3-4 minutes, to give the chia seeds time to swell up and do their thing. Blitz until you have a smooth creamy texture, adding a little more milk if you think it’s a bit thick.

 

The Popeye

This is based on a favourite of ours where I work, the kermit juice, an absolute winner of a breakfast smoothie. The twist being a squeeze of lime and milled flaxseeds, for optimum iron intake and a hit of omega 3.

  •  A small chopped and frozen banana
  • 1 small kiwi, peeled and chopped
  • Large handful of baby leaf spinach, washed
  • A squeeze of lime
  • Fresh apple juice
  • A tablespoon of milled flaxseed

Place all the ingredients in the blender with around 250ml of the apple juice. Blitz until super smooth, adding a little more juice if needed.

 

Coffee coffee…

So, if you’re ever in London town and want to hit some top coffee spots check out the links below for some of the best beans around.

Monmouth Coffee – Founded in ’78 Monmouth really has been around longer than a lot of these places put together. Expect to queue for what is exceptional coffee and totally worth it (it moves quickly). One of my favourite things? Curling up with a coffee in the Borough Market branch and digging in to the bread, butter and jam in the middle of the large table. All from the market and around £3 for as much as you can eat.

Climpson & Sons – a pioneer in the East London coffee roasting trend, Climpson’s has been around for 9 years and is still one of my favourite brews around. Their Broadway market no-nonsense cafe is always worth a visit, and great value for money.

OZONE – Old St based coffee roasters, this place does an exceptional flat white and some of the best brunch in town. The kedgeree is out of this world.

Caravan Exmouth Market and Caravan Kings Cross – Small batch coffee roasters, the blends are delicious along with superb food. Personal fave is the ham hock hash with poached eggs and mustard hollandaise. Be prepared to queue for a long time on the weekends though.

Allpress – Based in the heart of hipster central, Shoreditch based Allpress do great coffee and simple but delicious food. A perfect mid-shop caffeine hit.

TAP – I have a real soft spot for Tap, their laid back approach and delicious coffee make this an approachable contender. You don’t need to queue for hours or eat anything, you can sit and read and just drink delicious coffee. I spent many hours in there before or after the numerous hospital appointments we have had over the last year. And the staff are always nice.

Workshop – One of the largest of the coffee shops, Workshop Clerkenwell do great coffee and good food. Their corn fritters with halloumi, poached eggs and chutney are dreamy. The other branches have great reviews too.

Flat white at Ozone Coffee Roasters
Flat white at Ozone Coffee Roasters
Omelette with smoked haddock - Ozone Coffee Roasters
Omelette with smoked haddock – Ozone Coffee Roasters