I'm writing this post on the eve of what could possibly be the most highly anticipated ( and most expensive ) meal out I've ever had.
My stomachs making nosies that could be likened to that of a small bear and my pensive thoughts are conjuring up mouth watering delights that lie ahead of us, although a small part of me feels an immense twang of guilt and disloyalty towards the coastal areas in which we are staying.
Tonight's destination is Rick Steins Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall and even though my excitement is building up to a intense climax, the comments and the talk of some of the locals is ringing in my ears and is hard to dispel from my head.
I'm a massive fan of Mr Stein, i become locked in a total engrossment upon watching him cook or listening to him recalling stories from history long passed. When the chance arose to jump on board the Rick Stein train and visit his favourite Cornish town of Padstow, i was elbowing everyone else to get to the front of the queue.
British weather at its best, we arrived in the seaside town at 9.15am on a Saturday morning and unknowingly to us we had parked the car right in front of the bay and on the doorstep of the Rick Stein dynasty.
Our aim was to purchase some freshly caught fish and cook it for our tea, as indecisive as ever we just thought we would pick what looked the best and make up the rest along the way.
It was eerily quiet as we walked into the first fresh fish shop, cold aged tiles of blue coated the walls whilst a bleaching strip light lit the produce underneath it. I have to say it wasn't exactly inspiring, there was no friendly banter with the cold staring man behind the counters, and the produce itself was at a price which made hiring a boat and spending the day catching the fish myself seem like a more viable option.
I didn't need to look at R to know that he felt the same so we casually backed out of the shop and quickly span on our heels, afraid that the man with the cold stare would challenge us. Next door was Rick Steins Deli, amongst the usual Rick Stein based souvenirs and the local produce lay an extremely small amount of fish, although the surroundings were that of a homely farm shop and the freshly baked bread looked to die for, our inspirations were no more heightened than they were in the scary fish mans shop ( although it seemed the prices were).
Feeling a little downhearted by our first experience of our much anticipated trip we decided to get something in our stomachs then perhaps we would not be so picky.
With definitely more dignity than the beach fronts of morcombe, Padstow harbour still had a few cafes that were undesirable - sloppy tomato sauce bottles and sugar covered tables were not what i had in mind when id previously dreamt about visiting this town. Nestled between some of the larger shops, a pretty and more luxurious cafe had squeezed itself in, turquoise and pale pink surroundings with ( not naff ) crystal lighting glistening over their home made cakes and pastries and beaming over a proudly presented banana caramel roulade.
' Thou shalt not be led into temptation' i mumbled loudly as i ordered my muesli, hoping R would over hear me and follow my lead, it was still only about 9.30 even though after our middle of the night start it felt like it was surely time for afternoon tea.
The food was perfect and gave us an opportunity to talk some sense into our selves and decide what we were doing for dinner that night. The Staff were kind and friendly and had been more than accommodating when we asked if we could bring the dogs in so it seemed a good idea to pick their brains over some local knowledge on where to buy fresh local fish ( a question id thought i wouldn't need to ask, i thought we would be literally tripping over the stuff ), ' If you don't mind paying extremely high prices then go down to the harbour' (where we had just been ), ' Theres not many other places as Steins business buys up all the stocks', said the pretty women with a slight bitterness in her tone. She preceded to give us detailed directions to the shop where she buys her fish which she uses in the shop, apparently it was in a town 20mins away with no sign on the front to say that they sold fish - 'should be a doddle top find then', i said hoping not to sound sarcastic.
Window wipers were working overtime as we made the short journey to the unknown fish monger, by the time we'd got out of the car id already decided it was a no hope decision to try and keep my hair dry, we braced the harsh Cornwall storm with a strong stride almost looking as if we knew where we going. I was pretty sure that i had found the right place, no sign swinging in the breeze to advertise its fresh catch just a grubby looking man hanging round the door way with a half smoked cigarette lingering st the side of his mouth.
The shop its self mainly sold fishing tackle but at its counter was an abundance of a variety of seafood all glistening with freshness, the shop was a little less desirable but if you just kept your eyes focused on the mornings catch all your surroundings disappear.
20 plum - sized mussels, a couple of cleaned squid and a Cornish haggle later we disembarked to carry on our swift tour of north Cornwall my mind centered on what i was to prepare for dinner that night.
Mussel, Squid and Prawn Linguine
Enough mussels for two to share
1 squid, cleaned, gutted and cut into rings
6 prawns, shelled and de - veined
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
Olive oil
125ml white wine
Juice of one lemon
One punnet of cherry tomatoes
3 ripe tomatoes - skins removed by placing them into boiling water for 20 seconds then peel the skins off, then chopped
1 large handful of fresh basil
Salt & pepper
Enough linguine for 2
To cook the mussels heat a large lidded pan to medium then add the mussels, white wine and lemon juice, place the lid on the pan and allow to steam for around 5 Min's ( this may take longer depending on the size of your mussels).
All the mussels should be opened but discard any that are not then drain the mussels and reserve the cooking liqueur.
Meanwhile set a pan full of water on to boil and cook your pasta according to its packet instructions.
In another pan make the tomato sauce by gently heating a small amount of olive oil without letting it get too hot. Add the garlic, cook carefully for around 1 minute then add all of the tomatoes and a small amount of your cooking liqueur from your mussels, bring to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer. Place the lid on top and allow the tomatoes to break down and release all of their natural juices - this should take about twenty Min's.( If at this point you prefer a thicker sauce add a tablespoon of tomato puree )
Once softened season with salt and pepper and add the squid and the prawns, these should only take a matter of minutes to be cooked through, whilst they are cooking remove most of the mussels from their shells, keeping a few for decoration then add to the tomato sauce and your cooked squid and prawns.
Tear the fresh basil into your sauce, then carefully stir through to gently mix everything together.
To make everything easier to serve i mixed the cooked pasta through the sauce and decorated the dish with the mussels i had left in the shells.
Two very tired, worn out doggies
My stomachs making nosies that could be likened to that of a small bear and my pensive thoughts are conjuring up mouth watering delights that lie ahead of us, although a small part of me feels an immense twang of guilt and disloyalty towards the coastal areas in which we are staying.
Tonight's destination is Rick Steins Seafood Restaurant in Padstow, Cornwall and even though my excitement is building up to a intense climax, the comments and the talk of some of the locals is ringing in my ears and is hard to dispel from my head.
I'm a massive fan of Mr Stein, i become locked in a total engrossment upon watching him cook or listening to him recalling stories from history long passed. When the chance arose to jump on board the Rick Stein train and visit his favourite Cornish town of Padstow, i was elbowing everyone else to get to the front of the queue.
British weather at its best, we arrived in the seaside town at 9.15am on a Saturday morning and unknowingly to us we had parked the car right in front of the bay and on the doorstep of the Rick Stein dynasty.
Our aim was to purchase some freshly caught fish and cook it for our tea, as indecisive as ever we just thought we would pick what looked the best and make up the rest along the way.
It was eerily quiet as we walked into the first fresh fish shop, cold aged tiles of blue coated the walls whilst a bleaching strip light lit the produce underneath it. I have to say it wasn't exactly inspiring, there was no friendly banter with the cold staring man behind the counters, and the produce itself was at a price which made hiring a boat and spending the day catching the fish myself seem like a more viable option.
I didn't need to look at R to know that he felt the same so we casually backed out of the shop and quickly span on our heels, afraid that the man with the cold stare would challenge us. Next door was Rick Steins Deli, amongst the usual Rick Stein based souvenirs and the local produce lay an extremely small amount of fish, although the surroundings were that of a homely farm shop and the freshly baked bread looked to die for, our inspirations were no more heightened than they were in the scary fish mans shop ( although it seemed the prices were).
Feeling a little downhearted by our first experience of our much anticipated trip we decided to get something in our stomachs then perhaps we would not be so picky.
With definitely more dignity than the beach fronts of morcombe, Padstow harbour still had a few cafes that were undesirable - sloppy tomato sauce bottles and sugar covered tables were not what i had in mind when id previously dreamt about visiting this town. Nestled between some of the larger shops, a pretty and more luxurious cafe had squeezed itself in, turquoise and pale pink surroundings with ( not naff ) crystal lighting glistening over their home made cakes and pastries and beaming over a proudly presented banana caramel roulade.
' Thou shalt not be led into temptation' i mumbled loudly as i ordered my muesli, hoping R would over hear me and follow my lead, it was still only about 9.30 even though after our middle of the night start it felt like it was surely time for afternoon tea.
The food was perfect and gave us an opportunity to talk some sense into our selves and decide what we were doing for dinner that night. The Staff were kind and friendly and had been more than accommodating when we asked if we could bring the dogs in so it seemed a good idea to pick their brains over some local knowledge on where to buy fresh local fish ( a question id thought i wouldn't need to ask, i thought we would be literally tripping over the stuff ), ' If you don't mind paying extremely high prices then go down to the harbour' (where we had just been ), ' Theres not many other places as Steins business buys up all the stocks', said the pretty women with a slight bitterness in her tone. She preceded to give us detailed directions to the shop where she buys her fish which she uses in the shop, apparently it was in a town 20mins away with no sign on the front to say that they sold fish - 'should be a doddle top find then', i said hoping not to sound sarcastic.
The shop its self mainly sold fishing tackle but at its counter was an abundance of a variety of seafood all glistening with freshness, the shop was a little less desirable but if you just kept your eyes focused on the mornings catch all your surroundings disappear.
20 plum - sized mussels, a couple of cleaned squid and a Cornish haggle later we disembarked to carry on our swift tour of north Cornwall my mind centered on what i was to prepare for dinner that night.
Mussel, Squid and Prawn Linguine
Enough mussels for two to share
1 squid, cleaned, gutted and cut into rings
6 prawns, shelled and de - veined
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
Olive oil
125ml white wine
Juice of one lemon
One punnet of cherry tomatoes
3 ripe tomatoes - skins removed by placing them into boiling water for 20 seconds then peel the skins off, then chopped
1 large handful of fresh basil
Salt & pepper
Enough linguine for 2
To cook the mussels heat a large lidded pan to medium then add the mussels, white wine and lemon juice, place the lid on the pan and allow to steam for around 5 Min's ( this may take longer depending on the size of your mussels).
All the mussels should be opened but discard any that are not then drain the mussels and reserve the cooking liqueur.
Meanwhile set a pan full of water on to boil and cook your pasta according to its packet instructions.
In another pan make the tomato sauce by gently heating a small amount of olive oil without letting it get too hot. Add the garlic, cook carefully for around 1 minute then add all of the tomatoes and a small amount of your cooking liqueur from your mussels, bring to a boil then lower the heat to a simmer. Place the lid on top and allow the tomatoes to break down and release all of their natural juices - this should take about twenty Min's.( If at this point you prefer a thicker sauce add a tablespoon of tomato puree )
Once softened season with salt and pepper and add the squid and the prawns, these should only take a matter of minutes to be cooked through, whilst they are cooking remove most of the mussels from their shells, keeping a few for decoration then add to the tomato sauce and your cooked squid and prawns.
Tear the fresh basil into your sauce, then carefully stir through to gently mix everything together.
To make everything easier to serve i mixed the cooked pasta through the sauce and decorated the dish with the mussels i had left in the shells.
Two very tired, worn out doggies
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