ABOUT ME
Hello. I've been going to Bute St Farmers' Market for about as long as the ten or so years it has been running. I have been buying fish and shellfish from the market since the first day I went.
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It's about time to share what I have been cooking up with what I have been buying...
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ABOUT THE BLOG
CONTACT ME
Seasonal recipes and ideas for local, sustainable and responsibly-caught fish and shellfish.
I started the blog as a way of sharing recipes with my fellow market-goers. This was borne out of the early morning queue of keen regulars at the fish stall in the Bute Street market, waiting for the starting bell to ring, and discussing what each other was going to buy, how they were going to prepare it, what were the right quantities etc., and general chitchat about the state of fishing, fisheries and fish stocks.
It occurred to me that a blog was also a great platform to bring wider attention to the native species of fish and shellfish being sourced by small-scale fishing operations taking responsibility over the health of their fishing grounds and of the sustainability of the catch. All the fish are caught off the Dorset coast and include many species that are less frequently found in the supermarkets (though widely available in good fishmongers) but, bought fresh, are as exciting and tasty as the more commonly available species. They make a great change from what we are inclined to eat so much of and, by eating them, we take the pressure off the stocks of our more well-known varieties. It also occurred to me that I had so many ideas and recipes up my sleeve for what could be done to put these species to delicious use.
And so a blog was born.
ABOUT THE RECIPES
Above all, the recipes are designed to reflect the season – that is, the season being experienced in a local area, the south coast of England. Of course we all know that seasonality is on the shift these days, so the definition of “seasonality” here can be taken as “what’s coming to the market stall at the moment”.
The recipes are begged, borrowed, stolen, invented, adapted, tampered with, simplified etc. Wherever a recipe or its inspiration has come from elsewhere, be it a book, a YouTube video, a website, a TV programme, another blogger… wherever…, the source of that inspiration is given its due credit, and a link to that source is included for further reference.
Most of the time the recipes are precise and can be followed to the letter if wished. Other times they are more like ideas, and quantities (even ingredients) are a guide, so some judgement will be required. The recipes do vary in how easy or more involved they are but hopefully there is something for everyone.
Happy cooking and best fishes!
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