Perfect Al Fresco Summer Dining

by admin on June 7, 2012

All the hubub around the Jubilee of the last week or so  may, depending on your leanings, have you feeling all nostalgic and/or patriotic. With the better weather now firmly here -  hopefully to stay -  our thoughts have been turning to making the most of the weather by taking every opportunity possible to dine out of doors this summer.

And what would make the perfect British al fresco meal? In our view it’s really hard to see past wild salmon or sea trout,  both of which are bang in season at the moment.

Not only is this the quinessential British summertime meal, it could not be easier to prepare. If you are thinking of cooking a whole fish, then the ideal receptacle is a fish kettle. Place the fish in the kettle, fill with cold water to which you should add a few slices of lemon and a couple of sprigs of herbs. Slowly bring the water to boil, then as soon as it reaches boiling point, turn the heat off. Simply leave the fish to cool and it will be perfectly cooked. If you don’t have a fish kettle you could do the same thing with a large pot of water, failing which bake a medium sized fish slowly in the oven for around 25 minutes for the same result.

You can use a similar techique for cooking fillets of salmon or sea trout. Pleace them in a pan of gently boiling water into which you have added some aromats as above, then cover with a lid and turn the heat off as before.

The perfect accompaniment to poached salmon is, off course, mayonaisse. Either make you own using organic eggs yolks or if this seems like too much trouble, go for a good quality shop bought version.

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