The Square: The Cookbook: Volume 1 Savoury

Place a heavy-based pan over a medium heat and add the grapeseed oil. Add the white onion, leek and fennel and sweat until softened but not coloured. Stir in the shiitake and enoki mushrooms, sweat briefly, then add the shredded cabbage leaf and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the sparkling water, bring to the boil and cook at a bare simmer for 5 minutes. Add the chilli, ginger and lime juice and zest and continue to cook for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the coriander, then cover and leave to stand for 15 minutes.

Pass the stock through a fine sieve into a bowl and stir in the soy, mirin, fish sauce and rice wine vinegar. Leave to cool, then chill and store in the fridge until required.

Combine the soy, 100ml water and 150ml of the dashi stock in a pan and bring to the boil. Add the Sosa elastic, whisk vigorously and boil for 30 seconds. Tip the hot liquid on to a completely flat tray or a non-absorbent work surface to a thickness of 1.5mm. It will set incredibly quickly, so must be poured on in one swift movement while hot. As soon as it has set, cut the gel into 8 rectangles approximately 10cm x 6cm and carefully lift them off with a palette knife. Interleave between sheets of baking parchment and set aside in the fridge.

Bring a steamer up to full heat. Place the razor clams onto a dish and then into the steamer. Steam for 1 minute or until fully opened, ensuring you do not lose any of the resulting juice. Drain the clams, reserving the juice, then extract them from their shells. Discard the rather obvious insubstantial section and cut the long, cream-coloured tube into 2mm-thick slices on the diagonal. Place in a bowl and pass the clam juice through a fine sieve on to the clams. Leave to cool, then set aside in the fridge.

Place the breadcrumbs in a bowl and add the melted butter, Beaufort, Parmesan, thyme and a generous pinch of salt. Stir to produce a granular-looking, buttery paste. Lay a sheet of baking parchment on a flat surface and spoon this mix into the centre of it. Place another sheet on top, flatten the mix down with your hand and, with a rolling pin, roll the crust out into a roughly rectangular sheet, 3mm thick (you may have to do this in 2 batches so you can fit it into your fridge). Transfer to a baking sheet and chill for 2 hours or until firm.

Remove from the fridge, place on a flat surface or chopping board and, with a sharp knife, cut the crust into 8 pieces about 8cm square; this should reflect the size of your fish portions. Peel the parchment off and store the crust in the fridge.

Peel the artichokes quickly, cut them into 1cm-thick slices and place in a casserole with the cream and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Place over a high heat, bring to the boil, then cover with a disc of baking parchment and transfer to an oven preheated to 150°C/Gas Mark 2. Cook for 45 minutes, stirring from time to time, until the artichokes are completely tender. It is important to cover the mix with parchment to prevent browning, but do not use a tight-fitting lid, as this will prevent moisture loss, which is necessary for a rich, velvety purée. Remove from the oven, discard the parchment and leave to cool for 10 minutes. Blend to a smooth purée, pass through a fine sieve, then check the seasoning and adjust if necessary. Leave to cool and then chill.

Place a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat. Add the butter, swirl the pan to melt it, then add the onion and a generous pinch of salt. Cook over a gentle heat for about 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and translucent. Add the peas, milk and cream, bring to the boil over a high heat, cook for 2 minutes, then transfer to a blender. Add the mint leaves and blend to a smooth purée. Taste and adjust the seasoning as required. Pass through a fine sieve into a bowl set over ice and set aside to cool, stirring from time to time. Cover and chill.

Scrub the potatoes clean, place them in a pan, cover with water, add a generous pinch of salt and set over a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and cook at a bare simmer for 20 minutes or until they are just tender. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the potatoes to cool in the water. When warm, peel the potatoes by lifting off the skin. Slice them 5mm thick with a fine-bladed knife and lay them out carefully on a flat tray. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and run a pastry brush over them to ensure they are all coated, then cover with cling film and set aside at room temperature.

Place a heavy-based saucepan over a low heat, add the butter, swirl the pan to melt it, then add the shallots and a generous pinch of salt. Cook for 3–4 minutes, until soft and translucent. Add the button mushrooms, morels and a pinch of salt and turn up the heat. Cook for 3–4 minutes, until all the moisture released from the mushrooms has evaporated. Add the chicken stock and cream, bring to the boil and cook at a bare simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a blender and blend to a creamy, frothy velouté. Pass through a fine sieve, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Set the velouté aside to cool, then cover and chill.

Place the crab shells in a large pan and crush as best you can (use a rolling pin triple-wrapped in cling film). Add the shallot, celery and leek, barely cover with water, then bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the lemon slices and leave to stand for 10 minutes. Pass through a colander and then through a fine sieve into a bowl. Set aside to cool, then cover and place in the fridge.

Pare away any remaining bones from the eel and cut it into 5mm dice. Cut the core out of the iceberg and pull the lettuce apart into 3 or 4 pieces. Cut any larger pieces of lettuce leaf in half but, as you break it down into individual layers, leave most pieces as they are. Set aside, covered, in the fridge.

Finely chop the chives and set aside, covered, in the fridge. Peel the cucumber, cut it into 5 barrel-shaped pieces and cut 5mm-thick slices off the sides of each barrel – only going as far as the seeds. Cut these slices into batons and then cut across them to yield 5mm dice. Place these in a sieve, salt liberally, mix and leave to purge for half an hour. Thoroughly rinse, leave for 5 minutes, rinse again and then drain. Place in a tea towel, twist into a ball and squeeze firmly to extract excess moisture. Transfer the cucumber to a bowl, cover and chill.

Place the shallots in a small pan, cover with the wine and set over a medium heat. Bring to the boil and simmer until the wine has virtually gone. Add 600ml of the crab stock, bring to the boil and simmer until reduced by half. Turn the heat down and whisk in the butter a little at a time to give a beautiful buttery emulsion. Keep warm.

Set up a large steamer and bring to full heat. Season the turbot fillet on both sides, place on a suitable tray and put in the steamer for 5–6 minutes. Place 2 large, non-stick frying pans over a medium heat and wipe the surface with an oiled cloth. Put 12 small dessertspoonfuls of the pancake batter into each and cook until golden underneath. Turn them over and cook the second side. Lift out the pancakes and keep warm.

Add the crab, cucumber, smoked eel, chives and caviar to the butter emulsion, warm through but do not heat above hand warm or the caviar will cook. Place a large saucepan over a high heat, add 200ml of the crab stock, bring to the boil, then add the iceberg lettuce leaves. Cover and cook for 1 minute, until the leaves have just wilted. Drain through a colander.

Remove the turbot from the steamer. Lay out 8 preheated large plates. Arrange the lettuce leaves in the middle of each plate and put a piece of turbot on top. Coat with a generous quantity of sauce and serve immediately, with the pancakes and any extra sauce on the side.

8 x 120g portions of cod fillet, taken from the upper side of the head end of the fish, skinned

Place a heavy-based pan over a medium heat, add the butter and allow it to melt. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sweat for 5–6 minutes, until soft and translucent. Finely chop the cauliflower florets, add them to the pan, cover with the cream and add another pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, cover and transfer to an oven preheated to 150°C/Gas Mark 2. Cook for 20 minutes, then remove from the oven, lift off the lid and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend to a smooth purée. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Pass through a fine conical sieve, set aside to cool, then cover and place in the fridge.

Place the hazelnuts on a small baking tray and bake in an oven preheated to 170°C/Gas Mark 3 for 8–10 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the oven, set aside to cool and then transfer to a bowl. Crush to coarse crumbs with the end of a rolling pin. Using a microplane, grate the summer truffle into the bowl, then add the Parmesan, grapeseed oil, hazelnut oil, 10 turns of a pepper mill and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine and then set aside, covered, in the fridge.

Remove any tough or damaged outer leaves from the cabbage. Lift off the next 4 leaves, cut them in half by removing the rib running down the middle and store in the fridge. Shred the heart of the cabbage finely, rinse briefly under cold running water and set aside.

Top and tail the grelot onions if necessary, ensuring you leave the base where the roots emerge intact. Cut them into quarters, place in a pan, barely cover with water, then add half the butter and a pinch of salt. Set the pan over a medium heat and bring to the boil. Turn the heat right down and cook for 8–10 minutes, until the onions are tender. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

8 x 115g portions of wild salmon, or 1 salmon fillet weighing 1.4kg (skin-on weight)

Scrub the potatoes with a scourer or similar until all the surface skin has been removed and you have pearly-white potatoes. Put them in a saucepan, cover with 1 litre of water, add a generous pinch of salt and bring to the boil. Cook at a base simmer for 20 minutes or until they are just tender. Add the sprig of mint, remove from the heat and allow to cool in the water for 10 minutes.

Cook the peas in a pan of boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain, refresh under cold running water, then transfer the peas to a flat dish and crush with a fork. Set aside.

Drain the potatoes, reserving the water, and transfer them to a shallow dish. Crush with a fork and transfer to a bowl. Add the peas and butter and stir to combine, then add 4 tablespoons of the potato water to form an emulsified, buttery mix. Cut the mint leaves into fine shreds and add to the mix. Stir briefly and set aside, covered, at room temperature. Reserve the remaining potato water for the watercress velouté.

Roll out the pasta dough as described on Rolling Fresh Pasta, taking it to setting 2 on the machine. Cut the sheet into 4.5cm x 3.5cm rectangles and lay them on a plate covered with a tight sheet of cling film. Cover completely with another sheet of cling film and proceed until you have 30 rectangles (you only need 24 but this allows for some wastage).

Spread the raw couscous out over a large tray. Make one ravioli at a time by feeding a pasta rectangle through the machine on setting 1, long side first, to produce an approximate square. Place the square of pasta on a lightly floured work surface, put a generous teaspoon of the potato and pea mix in the centre and then fold one corner over to overlap with the opposite corner. Pick up this now triangular ravioli and press the edges together firmly to seal Place on the couscous and continue until all the ravioli are made. Take care not to let the pasta dry out before working with it.

Let the ravioli dry for 30 minutes. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and add a generous splash of olive oil. Carefully place the ravioli in the water, turn the heat down and cook at a base simmer for 2 minutes. Lift out the ravioli and refresh in iced water. Drain and then transfer the ravioli to a tray lined with a kitchen cloth. Set aside in the fridge.

If you have whole cod fillets, they must be skinned first. Place them on a large chopping board and, holding the tip of the tail end with one hand, run a knife under the flesh, starting at the tail end and using a methodical cutting action, with the blade angled towards the skin. When you have completely freed the cod from the skin, discard the skin. Cut each fillet in half lengthways. As seen at the head end, there is a clear division between the upper and lower section of the fillet. Cut away the thin section and run the knife in a straight line towards and through the other end. This thin section and the tail end can be used for another recipe. You now have 2 thick ‘loins’ of cod, one from each fillet. Cut each loin into 4 portions; they should weigh roughly 120g each. Set aside, covered, in the fridge.

Roll out the pasta dough as described on Rolling Fresh Pasta and make the farfalle as described on Coral Farfalle. Blanch them in a large pan of boiling salted water for 1 minute, then drain, refresh under cold running water for 1 minute and transfer to a tray lined with a kitchen cloth. Cover and chill.

1 bouquet garni, made by wrapping a 6cm length of celery, a bay leaf and a sprig of thyme in a leek leaf and securing with string

2 tablespoons very finely diced mixed shallot, carrot, leek, celeriac and pancetta

If the trotters have any hair on them, it needs to be burned off either with a blowtorch or over an open gas flame. Briefly singe the hair where required. Place a large casserole over a medium heat and leave for 1 minute. Add the grapeseed oil, followed by the vegetables, and sauté for a good 5 minutes, until they are turning golden. Add a generous pinch of salt, plus the bay leaf, star anise, orange zest and vinegar, and continue cooking until all the vinegar has evaporated. Add the trotters, Madeira, honey and soy sauce and bring to the boil. Simmer until the liquid has reduced by half, then add enough water to cover and bring back to the boil. Skim any scum from the surface, cover with a lid and place in an oven preheated to 120°C/Gas Mark ½. Cook for 3 hours or until the meat on the trotters comes away from the bone easily. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 30 minutes.

You need only the top half of the sardine fillets for the vinaigrette. Cut the fillets in half crossways, cover the tail halves and return them to the fridge, ready to be used for the tarte fine.

With so many naturally sweet components on the plate, it is important to have a sauce with some acidity to it. If the finished sauce tastes too gentle, add a drop or two of sherry vinegar to lift it.

Almost everything for this dish can be prepared in advance. The shallot purée and sauce can be made the day before and all the components for the black rice done up to 12 hours ahead. This leaves only cooking the fish, assembling the rice and deep-frying the beignets to the last minute.

Using a meat cleaver, chop the John Dory heads in half. Chop the chicken drumsticks into 3. Place a large, heavy-based pan over a high heat and leave for 2 minutes. Add the grapeseed oil, swiftly followed by the fish heads and drumsticks, and leave to caramelise for 1–2 minutes. When golden, season lightly with salt, turn over and caramelise the second side. Add the butter, stir and continue cooking until all the pieces are golden – you will have to scrape away at the bottom of the pan to achieve this. Stir in the shallots, mushrooms, bay leaf and thyme. Continue cooking over a high heat, stirring occasionally, until the entire contents have achieved a golden colour. Add the vinegar and cook until it has completely evaporated. Add the Madeira and cook until all but a tablespoon has evaporated. Add the chicken stocks and veal stock, bring to the boil and cook at a base simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Pass through a colander and then though a fine sieve into a medium saucepan. Return the sauce to the boil and simmer until it has reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon. Check the seasoning and set aside to cool. It should be a rich, sweet and sour mix of stock and fat in the approximate ratio of 2 to 1. Skim off any fat in excess of this. Transfer to the fridge.

The backbone of this dish is the sauce. Whilst it does have cream in it, it should be thin and taste of the sea. Make sure you lose as little oyster juice as possible when you open them.

Sea kale is not easy to track down, and it is available only from late December to mid-February. Sticks of celery from the middle of the head would make a decent replacement.

A good pasta dough will be a pleasure to work with. Follow the method meticulously, as one that is too hard or too soft will ruin not only the experience of making tortellini but quite possibly your entire day too!

The pasta dough should be made the day before but the tortellini made on the day, no more than 6 hours in advance. Although the roulades could be done the day before too, this is ultimately a dish that will benefit from plenty of attention on the day to give the best and freshest results.

Put the lobsters in the freezer for 1–2 hours to render it comatose. Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Plunge the lobsters into the water for 15 seconds. This is simply to kill them and it also conveniently releases the tail meat from the shell. Remove the lobsters, refresh in iced water for 15 seconds, then drain. Pull the claws off the main body of each lobster and return them to the boiling water for 8 minutes. Remove, refresh in iced water for 30 seconds, then drain and set aside. Crack the claws and knuckles with the back of a heavy knife and carefully extract the meat. This will be used for the tortellini. Reserve the shells. Pull the head and tail apart. Cut the tail in half lengthways and extract the raw meat. Grab hold of the legs on the head section and pull carefully – the entire shell structure of the head cavity should come away. Discard this. Lift out any soft, pale green matter and discard; any blue/black coral should be removed and added to the tail meat. Scrape the inside of the shell with a spoon to try to extract the red pigment lying just on the underside of the shell, then add this to the tail meat. Reserve the shells from the head and tail and add to the claw shells. Put all the shells in a deep stainless steel bowl and crush with the end of a rolling pin wrapped in cling film. Cover and set aside in the fridge, ready for use in the oyster velouté.

Weigh the tail meat – it should be about 300g. Place the tail meat, cayenne pepper and ½ teaspoon of salt in a food processor. Blend for 1 minute, then scrape down the sides and blend for a minute longer. Add the egg and blend for another 30 seconds. Using a plastic scraper, pass this purée through the fine sieve of a drum sieve into a bowl. Set the bowl over ice, then vigorously beat in the cream with a wooden spoon a little at a time, making sure each addition is completely blended before adding more. This is hard work and should take a full 5 minutes to do, giving rise to a thick, unctuous mousse.

Roll out the pasta dough as described on Rolling Fresh Pasta, taking it to setting 2 on the machine. Cut out 10 discs from the sheet of pasta (you will need 8, but it’s useful to have a couple of spares), 8cm in diameter, and cover with cling film so they do not dry out. Mix 100g lobster mousse with 125g of the claw meat and add a few drops of lemon juice. Spoon 8 dessertspoons of this mixture on to a plate and set aside in the fridge.

Tip the raw couscous on to a tray and spread it out in an even layer. Run one of the pasta discs back through the machine on the narrowest setting. Take the resulting oval of pasta and sit it across the fingers of one hand. Working quickly, place a spoon of lobster mix in the centre of the pasta sheet. Fold the sheet over and carefully but firmly seal the lobster mix inside the semi-circle of pasta. Place this in your hand with the curve of the pasta running with the curve of your fingertips. Place your thumb gently on the centre of the bulge of lobster mix and use your other hand to take hold of the lower point, wrapping it around your thumb and overlapping it with the other end. Press the overlapping ends firmly to seal. Place the finished tortellini on the couscous and make a further 7.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Lift the tortellini off the couscous and drop them into the water, then turn the heat down and cook at a base simmer for 4 minutes. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and refresh in iced water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside on a tray lined with a cloth, then cover and place in the fridge.

Using an oyster knife, open the oysters, ensuring that a minimum of the juice is lost in the process. Discard the shells and place the oysters and their juice in a stainless steel bowl. One by one, jiggle the oysters in the juice to rinse out any fragments of shell, then transfer the clean oysters to a fresh bowl. Cover them with cling film and set aside in the fridge. Pass the juice through a very fine sieve or a piece of muslin into a measuring jug. You should have approximately 200ml. Set aside, covered, in the fridge.

Place a large, heavy-based pan over a medium heat and leave for 1 minute. Add the grapeseed oil, followed by the vegetables, spices and a generous pinch of salt. Cook for 2–3 minutes to soften the vegetables, then add the crushed lobster shells. Cook for a further 2–3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add enough water barely to cover the shells, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove from the heat, add the lemon slices, cover the pan and leave to sit for 30 minutes. Pour through a colander, then through a fine sieve and set aside.

To finish the velouté, if you have less than 200ml of oyster juice, make it up to this quantity with the lobster stock. Now add 300ml lobster stock and the crème fraîche, whisk briefly to combine and add the lemon juice. Check the seasoning – it should taste briny but not overly salty. Season with more salt if needed, then set aside, covered, in the fridge.

You should have 8 pieces of sole, each consisting of 2 fillets joined together in the middle. Trim the ends of each piece to leave 15cm of sole. Lay one of them out a 30cm length of cling film, running away from you (this is easiest if you wipe the work surface with a damp cloth first). Place a sole fillet on the cling film at the end nearest you. Pipe a 1cm-thick line of mousse down the middle of the fillets and roll the near fillet over the mousse away from you. Roll this up tightly until you have 3 layers of cling film wrapped around the sole. Holding each end, roll the roulade over the work surface; this will twist and tighten it. Tie a knot at either end to secure. Repeat for the remaining 7 fillets, then set the roulades aside in the fridge.

Cut the tails off the soles and use a sharp pair of kitchen scissors to trim the frill off each side of the fish. Rinse the fish under running water and set aside on a tray lined with a kitchen towel, then store in the fridge. Reserve the trimmings for the sauce.

Chop the fish heads in half and rinse well under running water. Drain and pat dry. Place a large, shallow heavy-based pan over a high heat and leave for 1 minute. Add the grapeseed oil followed by the heads and a light sprinkling of salt. Colour the heads for 1–2 minutes, until golden, then turn and repeat for the second side. Add the fish trimmings and cook over a high heat for 2 minutes. Add the butter, turn the heat down, allow the butter to foam up and then add the shallots and button mushrooms. Stir thoroughly and cook for 4–5 minutes, until the vegetables are starting to colour. Add the red wine and port, bring to the boil and cook until the liquid has all but disappeared. Add the stocks and bay leaf, bring back to the boil and cook at a bare simmer for 30 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Pass through a colander, discard the solids and pass the stock through a fine sieve into a clean pan. Bring to the boil over a high heat and boil until reduced to 300ml, by which time the sauce should be thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Leave to cool, then set aside, covered, in the fridge.

Peel the celeriac and grate it into a medium saucepan. Cover it with the milk, add a generous pinch of salt and the bay leaf and bring to the boil. Cook at a base simmer for 30 minutes, stirring frequently, then take off the heat and leave to rest for 30 minutes. Pass through a colander, discard the celeriac and then pass the milk through a fine sieve. Transfer to a shallow dish.

Assemble a food smoker, add some smoking chips and set over a medium heat. Once smoking, turn the heat down, place the celeriac milk in the appropriate compartment and smoke for 5 minutes. If you do not have a smoker, place the smoking chips in a roasting tray, set it over a medium gas flame until they start smoking, stirring once or twice, then place in an oven preheated to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Put the milk in a bowl above the smoking chips and leave for 5 minutes.

Remove the milk from either the smoker or oven and measure out 500ml. Transfer to a saucepan, add the agar agar and bring to the boil. Cook, whisking continuously, for 2 minutes, then pour into a shallow dish and set aside to cool. Once cool and fully set, transfer to a blender and blend to a smooth, velvety purée. Adjust the seasoning if necessary and transfer to a bowl. Cover and place in the fridge.

Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and roast in an oven preheated to 170°C/Gas Mark 3 for 8–10 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oven, cool, then transfer to a bowl. Using the end of a rolling pin, crush the hazelnuts finely.

Use a nailbrush to scrub the truffle gently under warm running water. Dry the truffle and grate it on a microplane into the hazelnuts. Grate the Parmesan into the bowl, season lightly with salt and a few twists of pepper, add the oils and stir to combine. Cover and set aside.

SUSTAINABILITY, SEASONALITY, HUSBANDRY AND PROVENANCE

So much has been written on these subjects that I have no intention of overdoing it here. It is a simple matter: if we were all to pay more attention to these four factors when devising menus and purchasing food, the plight of so many animals and the planet in general – contributed to by our insatiable and often oh-so-ignorant appetites – would be massively lessened.

SUSTAINABILITY

A species can only reproduce at a certain rate. If humans consume that species at a level that exceeds this rate, the outcome is clear. That leaves two options: we can either consume less or ease the strain by supplementing its natural reproduction through farming. The former is the simpler solution, but manipulating the consumption of one species will heighten the pressure on another. With an ever-increasing global population, farming will have to make a greater contribution to what we eat.

The subject of sustainability is primarily concerned with fish. It has become apparent to me that, in one sense at least, we humans are not so stupid – it is generally the fish that are most delicious to eat that we have plundered the most, and not surprisingly these therefore are the species that have become the most vulnerable. If we wish to eat such fish in the future, it is imperative that we not only source them ethically but also commit to consuming fewer of them. There are plenty of other fish types out there that are absolutely delicious, and we should turn some of our attention to these. Farmed fish offer one possible solution (though the practice is in itself open to debate) but it is also possible to reduce your impact by buying selectively from a reputable fishmonger. There are many different fishing methods and some are infinitely more damaging than others – both to the seabed itself and to the stocks of fish. Ask your fishmonger for day-boat or line-caught fish, the former being small, less intrusive vessels and the latter fish caught by rod and line. The ‘rod’ is the important word here, as ‘long’ line fishing is a shocking practice involving trawling lines up to several kilometres long. Of course, there are natural fish stocks that are managed carefully to reduce over fishing and these are favourable sources too.

These are all huge areas of potential debate but the bottom line is this: if you avoid eating endangered species or buy only from a sustainable source, you will certainly lessen your personal contribution to what is becoming an enormous problem. If you want to know more about the complex issue of fish sustainability, there is much to read on the internet – a valuable source of information on this huge subject.

SEASONALITY

From a food perspective, there is absolutely no logic in cooking any other way than seasonally. Not only should seasonal ingredients be the most delicious but they should also be the most abundant, and therefore the cheapest.

Maintaining a truly seasonal menu requires forward thinking and constant action. So many talk the talk but so few actually walk the walk. Serving an ingredient outside its season is not only lazy but insulting to the repertoire of ingredients that are actually in season!

At The Square we carve the year into five periods. We humans have deemed the annual cycle to fall into four neat seasons – appropriate on a climatic basis but nature does not quite work that way. I consider that we have produce born from our autumn and winter seasons, each three months long (october/november/December and January/February/March respectively). The changeover from autumn to winter is not so marked. Feathered game comes to a close and white truffles are replaced by black, but the repertoire of fruit and vegetables is pretty much constant. The remaining six months of the year, spring and summer, are better carved into three periods of eight weeks each rather than two three-month periods. Very few plants bear fruit or vegetables for a continuous three months. Most, however, can be produced for eight weeks. Furthermore, a week or two of spring is lost for the simple reason that the human mindset for spring tends to be activated by the arrival of the first warm days of the year. These, however, merely awaken nature, which will take a few more weeks to start to deliver!

HUSBANDRY

If we consider it right for humans to consume fish and meat, it is surely morally acceptable on one proviso alone: that we ensure any animal we kill, be it farmed or wild, has a pleasant existence while sharing the planet with us and as swift and stress free a departure from it as possible.

It therefore becomes the responsibility of each and every one of us to make sure we buy our meat and fish not only from sustainable sources but from farms that focus on the welfare of their animals. In many ways, it is far easier to select meat responsibly than fish. For the most part, meat is a farmed product, which gives us complete control over the exact source of what we buy. We can choose to focus on meat from farms that practise outstanding animal husbandry. Organic standards ensure the meat has come from an animal that has led as fine a life as a farmed animal can, but terms such as free range can be misleading. It is well worth making the effort to talk to suppliers, butchers or farmers to satisfy yourself that the meat you are buying has been farmed responsibly and humanely. Poultry farming is perhaps the area where the most suffering occurs and where your efforts could be best focused. Spend time researching a fine source for a bird and stick with it.

A NOTE ON FOIE GRAS

Over the years foie gras has featured on most menus at The Square. It has to be acknowledged that there is an ever-increasing body voicing concern over its production. This debate is too extensive to get into here but suffice to say that, as with all farming methods, there are extremes of practice. On the one hand, there is the mass production of foie gras that equates to the battery farming of eggs. It is barbaric. On the other are small, artisanal producers who love their flocks as so many other farmers love their animals. I have seen for myself waddling ducks crossing fields to volunteer themselves for the force-feeding process. This behaviour, I believe, demonstrates that the birds are not suffering sufficiently to cause them to attempt to avoid the feeding – or gavage, as it is called. As it happens, we now use very little foie gras, mainly as an acknowledgement that the process does involve force feeding, but when we do use it we source it from farms that practise fine animal husbandry.

If you decide to use foie gras, I would encourage you to buy it from a responsible supplier.

PROVENANCE

The provenance of an ingredient refers not only to its geographical origin but its genetic origin too. Knowing where an ingredient comes from enables you to address the issues of seasonality, sustainability and husbandry. It can also empower you to make a choice that will help minimise the global haulage of foodstuffs just because we want them where we happen to be. The subject of genetic modification is too large a can of worms to open here but the provenance of any ingredient will ultimately shed light on exactly what it is and where it was produced.

In summary, the UK has clearly defined seasons and some of the most fertile land on the planet. This provides us with a constantly changing selection of ingredients, which should simply negate the need to shop for fresh produce from further afield.

This is not about being perfect but generally trying to be better. Attempting to marry food ethics with the quest to serve the most delicious food possible presents a chef with many challenges. At The Square we are far from perfect but we do maintain a conscience about the appropriateness of all the ingredients we buy.