Simon Stallard - The Hidden Hut - Irresistible Recipes from Cornwall’s Best-kept Secret

200ml coconut cream

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

TO SERVE

4 tbsp flaked almonds

a handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped

a handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely sliced

2 limes, quartered

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan oven) gas mark 6. Put the sweet potatoes on a baking tray and add the onions and garlic. Add the oil and toss to coat, then season with salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.

Put the lentils in a heavy-based saucepan and add the stock and chillies. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, then blend with a hand blender.

When the roasted vegetables are ready, add them to the lentil pan. Pour in the coconut cream, then return to the boil and simmer lightly for 15 minutes until the vegetables have broken down with the lentils.

Turn up the oven temperature to 220°C (200°C fan oven) gas mark 7 and put the flaked almonds on a baking tray. Toast them in the oven for 2–3 minutes, watching them carefully, until they just start to colour. Take them out and leave the tray one one side.

Serve in soup bowls topped with the fresh herbs, chilli slices, toasted almonds and lime quarters.

SALT COD AND TOMATO STEW WITH SOURDOUGH TOASTS

Although salting cod sounds technical, it’s so easy and can be done at home overnight. It makes the fish firmer and more versatile to use in dishes where unsalted cod would just disintegrate. It also intensifies the flavour. Tomato and salt cod is a classic combination.

Serves 4–6

350g fine sea salt

3 rosemary sprigs

350g cod fillet, skinned and pin-boned (see tip)

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, diced

1 large carrot, diced

1 fennel bulb, diced

3 celery sticks, diced

125ml white wine

1 garlic clove, crushed

400g tin chopped tomatoes

800ml fish stock

¼ tsp smoked paprika

freshly ground black pepper

dill fronds and 4–6 tsp aioli (see here), to serve

FOR THE CROUTONS

10 slices of sourdough bread with crusts, cut into 1.5cm cubes

olive oil, for drizzling

sea salt

Start by salting the cod the day before. Put a good layer of the salt in the base of a shallow dish and add the rosemary. Lay the cod on top and sprinkle over the remaining salt, making sure the fish is completely covered. Cover with cling film and leave for 12 hours in the fridge. (Don’t leave it for longer than this or you will need to soak the fish for longer when you come to use it.)

The next day, thoroughly rinse the salt from the cod. Put the cod in a large bowl and cover with plenty of fresh cold water, then leave it to soak for 10 minutes before draining. Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan oven) gas mark 7.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and cook the onion, carrot, fennel and celery. Add the wine and garlic, then simmer to reduce the liquid slightly. Add the tomatoes and bring to the boil. Pour in the stock and return to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Stir in the paprika and season with pepper. Add the cod and leave it to cook and start to break up in the soup — this shouldn’t take more than 2–3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and leave it to stand for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the croutons, spread out the bread on a baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and a light sprinkling of salt. Put them in the hot oven and bake for 3 minutes. Remove from the oven and toss them so that they brown evenly. Return to the oven to bake for a further 3 minutes or until golden. Serve the soup with the croutons and dill fronds on top and a teaspoon of aioli per bowl.

Pin-boning

Tiny bones, known as pin bones, will spoil your experience of eating fish if they are left in. To remove them, use standard tweezers or special fish tweezers. First run your fingers over the fish to locate the bones, which are hidden just beneath the surface. They lie at an angle, so you’ll need to grab the end with the tweezers and pull the bones upwards and sideways to remove them.

GREEN PEA SOUP WITH LEMON AND RICOTTA

Fresh peas are best in the late spring and early summer, though by using frozen peas this soup can be enjoyed at any time of the year. The recipe is very simple and takes less than 15 minutes to make.

Serves 4

750ml vegetable stock

700g fresh podded peas (or frozen peas)

4 tbsp ricotta cheese

zest of ½ lemon

75ml double cream

20g mint leaves, shredded

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the vegetable stock in a large saucepan over a high heat and bring it to a rolling boil, then add the peas. Simmer for 8–10 minutes, or until the peas are tender. (If using frozen peas, cook from frozen and simmer for about 5 minutes).

Meanwhile, mix the ricotta and lemon zest together in a small bowl.

Once the peas are cooked, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream and most of the mint leaves. Blend the soup in a blender or food processor, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide the soup between four bowls and serve each topped with a tablespoon of the lemon ricotta and a few of the reserved mint leaves sprinkled over.

ST MAWES SMOKED HADDOCK CHOWDER

There is nearly always a pan of St Mawes Smoked Haddock Chowder cooking on the stove at the Hidden Hut, come rain or shine. More substantial than a soup, this chowder will serve up to six people with a good helping of bread on the side.

Serves 4–6

400g smoked haddock, with skin, pin-boned (see here)

1 bay leaf

1 litre whole milk

2 tbsp light olive oil

6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, sliced

50g butter

2 onions, diced

3 celery sticks, diced

½ fennel bulb, diced

4 garlic cloves, crushed

50g plain flour

400g waxy potatoes, peeled and diced

300ml fish stock

165g tinned sweetcorn

3 tbsp chopped dill fronds

zest and juice of 1 lemon

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 spring onion, finely chopped, to garnish

FOR THE CROUTONS

80g bread with crusts, cut into 1.5cm cubes

2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan oven) gas mark 6. First prepare the croutons. Spread out the bread on a baking tray. Drizzle with the olive oil and add a light sprinkling of salt. Bake for 3 minutes then remove from the oven and toss so that they brown evenly. Return to the oven for a further 3 minutes or until golden. Put to one side.

Now for the chowder. Put the haddock and bay leaf in a roasting tin and pour over the milk. Cover with foil and bake for 12 minutes. Discard the bay leaf, peel the skin from the haddock and flake the flesh into a bowl. Set aside and reserve the cooking milk.

Add the oil to a large saucepan over a medium-high heat and get it really hot. Fry the bacon until golden and crispy. Turn the heat down, add the butter and let it melt. Add the onions, celery, fennel and garlic, and sweat them in the butter until tender and translucent. Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, to cook out the taste of the flour. Then, bit by bit, add the reserved cooking milk, stirring to make a thick sauce. Leave to cook over a very low heat.

Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a saucepan, add the fish stock and bring to the boil. Cook for 8 minutes, then transfer the potatoes and stock to the gently simmering chowder base.

Finally, add the smoked haddock, sweetcorn, dill and lemon zest and juice and season to taste. Cook for 2 minutes more to let the flavours combine. Garnish with the croutons and chopped spring onion, and serve immediately.

A LITTLE LOBSTER GOES A LONG WAY