I'm taking a week's holiday from Wednesday-Wednesday in the sun, see you all when I get back.
Regards
Kevin

In the last few years fresh cod has become more expensive than salmon. One………because of the scarcity of the fish in the wild and the other has been the lowering of the price of Salmon due to increased farming.

The world’s first truly sustainable white fish, organic cod is now being farmed in the Shetland Islands, and recently it has won one of the Scottish food industry’s top awards.“No Catch” Organic Cod, produced by Johnson Seafarms at Vidlin in the north of the islands, has taken the supreme prize in the 2006 Scottish Food and Drink Excellence Awards.

Johnson Seafarms have worked with the Organic Food Federation and the RSPCA on developing organic standards for farmed cod.The cod are reared to the highest standards of welfare leaving the fish free to express their natural behaviour.

The company only uses as brood stock first generation wild cod native to Shetland thereby avoiding genetic manipulation. The Organic Cod is being raised to maturity over a 2 to 3 year cycle.A combination of low stocking densities, pens situated in strong current flows and feed from sustainable sources produces a fish with a milky white flesh, flaky texture and mild sweet taste.

The cod has already won the approval of some top chefs and is now being sold in leading restaurants in the UK and the USA. Another interesting point about farmed cod is that it hasn’t sat in the hold of a fishing boat for several days waiting to get back into port, so it should be fresher.A spokesman for Johnson Sea farms said: “Our fish meet the consumer’s insatiable love of cod but in a way which avoids further depletion of the world’s rapidly diminishing wild stocks.”

I haven’t personally tried this farmed cod yet so I will reserve my judgement until then. I do hope this farmed cod can truly overcomes the problems associated with farmed salmon such as texture (due to lack of space) and flavour. I hope to later this year to sample some cod for myself so watch this space.

I mentioned some months ago how I intended to revisit old traditional British recipes from time to time. I have fond childhood memories of Eccles cakes and yet these little buttery gems seem out of fashion at the moment? Eccles Cakes originated from the town of Eccles in Lancashire, at least 235 years ago maybe longer. Like many sweet pastries & cake recipes they were created for a religious festival and I guess like other food items they became too popular to be made just once a year. Eccles cakes are very easy to make, and are a deliciously different dessert idea for any time of the year. They go particularly well with custard, or clotted cream, I’m even considering serving Eccles cakes in place of mince pies at Christmas!

250 grams Puff Pastry
60 grams currents
25 grams butter
25 grams golden granulated cane sugar
Pinch cinnamon
20 grams white granulated sugar
Zest of 1 orange
1 egg white
*Splash of brandy (optional)
568 ml (1 pint) of custard
1 vanilla pod

Usually frozen puff pastry comes in 500gram blocks so cut one in half with a sharp knife and freeze the rest.

1. Mix the currents, orange zest, golden sugar, butter and cinnamon in a bowl.
2. *Hold your thumb over the top of a bottle of brandy and add a very small splash ( the brandy will help get to mingle the flavours).
3. Preheat your oven 200 C gas mark 6
4. Cut the puff pastry into 4 equal squares then on a lightly floured surface roll each square out until they are slightly larger than 6 inches by 6 inches.
5. Find a suitable saucer or plate that measures 6 inches across to cut around and turn your squares into circles.
6. When you have 4 circles divide your filling between them, making sure the filling is in the centre.
7. Brush the edges of each pastry circle with cold water.
8. Now gather the edges together to create a “beggers purse”, then trim the excess with a pair of sharp kitchen shears or scissors.
9. Turn each Eccles cake over and on a lightly floured surface roll out each cake just enough so you can see the currents through the pastry and keeping the cakes circular.
10. Brush the cakes with egg white then sprinkle lightly with the white sugar.
11. Use a small sharp knife and make 2-3 small cuts in each cake, then transfer them to a baking tray that is lined with buttered baking parchment.
12. Rest the cakes in the fridge for 20 minutes then bake for 25 minutes until they are golden and crispy.
To serve Make 1 pint of custard then enrich it with the seeds from 1 vanilla pod and a splash of cream.
Chef’s tip
Instead of throwing the vanilla pod away after removing the seeds put into a jar with sugar (granulated or castor) and use in recipes that call for vanilla.