Tom Parker Bowles & Olly Smith: Eating in
Tom enjoys a taste of the ocean this week with wonderfully fresh seafood offerings
The Harbour Café’s ‘fattest, most succulent’ langoustines and The Dover Sole and Crab Thermidor Box from Rockfish.
There are few things finer than a spanking fresh Dover sole, skinned, gutted and ready to grill. And that’s exactly what you get from the Rockfish Dover Sole and Crab Thermidor Box (£87 for two including delivery, therockfish.co.uk). Start with some gently smoked salmon from Brown and Forrest – one of my favourite producers – cut across the fillet in thickish slices. Anoint with a soy, mirin and yuzu dressing that flatters rather than overwhelms the fish, and you have a wonderful Japanese/British fusion.
There’s also a fresh baked sourdough loaf, and a jar of anchoïade sauce (mayonnaise with anchovies, garlic and capers). Cut off a couple of slices, brush with oil and toast in the pan before slathering with a mix of fresh picked crab (sensationally sweet) mixed with luscious thermidor sauce. Place under the grill until it bubbles and browns. The sauce may be gloriously rich, but you can still taste the quality of the crab.
There’s a tin of locally caught sardines, which never actually make it to the plate. Gone within seconds of that lid being peeled back. Finally, those Dover sole, grilled for a few minutes, then lavished with homemade seaweed butter. Simple, and simply magnificent. Chef-proprietor Mitch Tonks may be a friend, but I still think this is some of the best seafood in Britain. A cinch to prepare, too.
Equally great, from the other end of the country, is The Harbour Café Box for Two (£80 plus £10 delivery, theharbourcafe.co.uk). Again, the quality is peerless, the presentation exquisite. And you have to do precious little, save move the food from packet to plate. Half a loaf of chewy sourdough and good, lactic butter. Along with six of the fattest, most succulent langoustines I’ve eaten for years.
Two dressed half lobsters are pert, fresh and beautifully cooked. At their side, a punchy aïoli, and papas aliñas, a vinegary Andalusian potato salad. For pudding, tarta de Santiago, with its gentle almond allure. They even provide big pebbles from the local beach with which to crack the lobster claws. Pure Caledonian class, and a truly splendid blast of Scottish sea air.
Drinks: Olly’s alternative English wines
I’ll be raising my glass to the scaly one this St George’s Day in honour of its rather thankless annual cameo. For English wine, quality is finer, styles more varied and value is there if you know where to look. Established fizz producers, such as Nyetimber, are showing promise and packaging shows innovation with good wine in cans. Homegrown can mean sustainable, so perhaps the dragon’s cycle of destiny isn’t in vain.
