I know lots of you have been growing your own this year whilst in lockdown and by now you should be seeing the result of your hard work. Our allotment is bursting at the seams right now. We are picking raspberries and strawberries daily they are delicious straight from the punnet, served with cream and sugar or even chocolate cake. Our cherry tree is loaded with fruit and ripe for picking too. In the vegetable patch July is particularly good for legumes, with peas at their sweet, snappy best and the first long leggy runner beans dangling from their vines. Thin skinned new potatoes should be around for a little longer too; boiled and buttered they go with almost anything.
Recipe: Couscous with broad beans, mint & lemon, topped with baked fish
Serves 4
Preparation 20 minutes
Ingredients:
For the Couscous
- 1300g (10oz) shelled fresh broad beans
- 200g (6.5oz) couscous
- 2tbsp roughly chopped fresh mint
- Zest and juice of 1 lemon
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil (optional)
For the fish
- 4 Portions (150-175g/5/6oz each) fish, such as salmon, trout, tuna, mackerel, mullet or sea bass. Off the bone, but leave the skin on if you wish (de-scale if it’s salmon, mullet or sea bass)
- Chilli
- Garlic
- Lemon
- Salt & freshly ground black pepper
Directions:
- Mix together the chilli, garlic and lemon juice and pour over the fish.Leave to marinade for 2 hours, or overnight for depth of flavour.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
- Place each fish portion on a large piece of oiled parchment paper or aluminium foil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Then roll up the edges of the paper or foil to prevent the juices from burning and enclose, sealing the edges.Cook in the oven for 12-18 minutes or until the fish is cooked through to the centre (firm to the touch).
- Meanwhile, drop the shelled broad beans into a large saucepan of boiling salted water.Return to the boil and cook rapidly for 2-3 minutes, drain and place the beans in a bowl of cold water. When cold, drain again. Remove the pale green skins from the beans and place the podded broad beans in a bowl.
- Place the couscous in a large heat-proof bowl. Bring 400ml (13fl oz) of water to the boil. Pour it over the couscous, cover tightly with cling film and set aside for 7-10 minutes, or until the water is absorbed.
- Add the broad beans, chopped mint, lemon juice and zest to the couscous and stir through.Toss well to fluff up the couscous. Season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and drizzle with olive oil if you wish (avoid if you are counting the calories!).
- To serve, place the couscous on warmed serving plates with the fish alongside.
Enjoy!
In season now;
Fruit, Nuts & Fungi
Apples, Apricot, Aubergine, Blackberries, Blackcurrants, Blueberries, Loganberries, Peaches, Plums, Raspberries, Redcurrants, Strawberries, White Currants, Cobnuts, Hazelnuts.
Vegetables & Herbs
Artichokes, Aubergines, Beetroot, Broccoli, Cabbages, Carrots, Cauliflower, Chard, Courgettes, Cucumber, Fennel, French Beans, Garlic, Kohlrabi, Lamb’s Lettuce, Onions, Pak Choi, Peas, Potatoes, Radishes, Rocket, Runner Beans, Salsify, Scorzonera, Samphire, Sorrel, Spinach, Sweetcorn, Tomatoes, Watercress.
Meat & Game
Lamb, Rabbit, Venison, Wood Pigeon
Fish & Shellfish
Black Bream, Crab, Signal Crayfish, Grey Mullet, Lobster, Mackerel, Pollack, Prawns, Scallops, Sea Bass, Squid, Trout
Going out of Season
Cherries, Mangetout, Peach, Redcurrant, Strawberries
This article first appeared in the July issue of SE22 Magazine.