Cornish Delights

I’ve just come back from a lovely, relaxing, mini holiday in Cornwall; a beautiful place with its own fascinating history.

My particular interest in Cornwall, (as you may have guessed) was in its delicious and unique foods! I successfully stuffed myself for 4 days, eating fish, cooked breakfasts, pasties, scones and much more. The delicious choices are endless, there are so many places to eat, and snack. Definitely do not go there on a diet!

Here’s a few of my favourites from our little indulgent trip:

Fresh Fish

Having a long coastline and plenty of fishing villages means that there is a substantial selection of fresh fish and seafood restaurants. Rick Stein has even opened 4 restaurants in Padstow, Cornwall, as well as a fish & chips restaurant and seafood bar in Falmouth. The flavour of the fresh fish was absolutely delicious, the tastiest I have ever had in England.

From top left cockwise: fish pie at Polpear cafe, The Lizard. Rick Stein's fish & chips in Falmouth. Fresh fish sign at The Lizard. Traditional English Breakfast of smoked haddock and poached egg at the Camilla House, Penzance. Crab, prawn and smoked salmon risotto, East Looe.

Cornish Pasties

Although there are some earlier mentions of pasties (dating as far back as 1200), the most known history of pasties is that they were designed for the tin miners to eat at work, so that their dirty hands would not touch the food. The delicious beef, onion, potato and swede filling and main pastry casing would be eaten and the hard crimped pastry crust would be discarded. The traditional Cornish pasty even has Protected Geographical Indication in Europe, so that you cannot label it Cornish if it hasn’t been made there. These days you can get all sorts of fillings, I had a chicken and vegetable pasty in Falmouth, but there are also vegetarian, wholemeal, and cheese ones. As a tourist in Cornwall, the pasty is pretty exciting! I passed many pasty shops in every town, even the small villages seem to cater for the pasty craving visitor!

A selection of pasties from all around Cornwall

Clotted Cream

Clotted cream is made from the fat from full fat milk, boiled off and then cooled. For my non British friends – it is a delicious, thick, sweet cream which is traditionally eaten on a scone as part of a cream tea, with jam and tea. If you haven’t tried this yet, it really is the most scrumptious English treat in existence! There’s plenty of recipes online if you want to try and make it yourself.

In Devon, they spread the clotted cream first and then the jam, however in Cornwall they do it the other way around! I have to agree with the Cornish way!

Selection of cream tea from all around Cornwall

Other

And here’s a few extras I just couldn’t resist posting, plus a few pictures of the beautiful Cornish scenery.

Left: Summer fruit brioche pudding with Cornish ginger ale custard. Right: Beetroot and pear bruschetta with feta and pine nut salad. Both at the Old Sail Loft, East Looe

From top left clockwise: The Lizard, the Lizard cliffs, East Looe at night, St Michael's Mount, East Looe at sunset, The Lizard blackberry bushes, The Lizard cliffs, East Looe boats.

The Food of Love

Last week I cooked a special birthday dinner for Lewis, my boyfriend. It’s become a bit of a tradition that we cook each other a special meal on our birthdays and always try something a bit more excited and difficult than the time before. I already posted about the homemade crab ravioli he made me here.

I spent a whole day researching recipes looking for ideas and 3 hours actually making the meal. I cooked 3 things I’ve never cooked before: crab, monkfish, and meringues. I really enjoyed making it and luckily it went down a charm!

If you’d like any of the recipes please let me know and I’ll write them up!

The starter: Crab salad with avocado and prawns served with crostinis

The main: Monkfish tail with butter bean mash, sautéed fennel, grilled courgette and a roast cherry tomato sauce

Dessert: Rose water meringues in Eton mess

Here’s a few pics! Let me know what you think.

Crab salad starter

I roasted the cherry tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, dried chilli and parsley, and a pinch of sea salt

Monkfish tail with butter bean mash, sauteed fennel and grilled courgette, with a roasted cherry tomato sauce

Rose water meringue eton mess