steamed sea bass & green beans with a white wine, vanilla, cream & garlic sauce

Steaming is a great way to appreciate how delicate fish can be. You can try this recipe with all sorts of white fish, but for me sea bass is a bit more of an event and really gets me going. I suppose the real twist here is using the vanilla as a savoury flavouring, though in the history of cooking it’s not a new thing. It’s a very simple dish to make, and it sounds, looks and tastes like you’ve been grafting all afternoon.

SERVES 4

Put half the vanilla seeds into a bowl, finely grate in the lemon zest and drizzle in 2 tablespoons of oil. Mix well and rub this marinade over the sea bass fillets and into the score marks. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, then add the clove of garlic and allow to boil for 3 minutes. Lay the fish fillets next to each other in a colander, bamboo steamer or normal steamer and throw the green beans into the water. Place the steamer on top, making sure the fish is not in direct contact with the water — it just wants to get the steam — and cover. When the water comes back to the boil, both the fish and the beans will need 4 to 5 minutes to cook. If the fish fillets are thick they may need a bit longer, so put them on a bit before the beans.

While everything’s cooking, put a separate pan on a high heat, pour in the wine and add the rest of the vanilla seeds and the vanilla pods. Boil until the liquid has reduced by half, then add the cream. Remove the garlic from the beans, mash it up and stir it into the creamy sauce. Carry on reducing the sauce until it coats the back of a spoon nicely. Season well to taste with sea salt and black pepper, then serve the fish and beans with the sauce, removing the vanilla pods. Sprinkle with the celery leaves.

Try this: If you remove the vanilla pods and whiz up the sauce in a blender, you get a thick cappuccino effect to the sauce which visually and texturally is quite nice.

Or this: Sometimes I make this more substantial by scrubbing some new potatoes, boiling them in the steaming water until tender, then carrying on with the recipe as above, using the same water for the beans.

steamed scallops with spiced carrots, crumbled crispy black pudding & coriander

You may think this sounds like an odd combination of flavours, but we put a similar dish on the menu at Monte’s and it was great. I wanted to steam some scallops as they were so big and sweet. My mate Ben had just come back from Morocco and he suggested these spicy carrots. We were both trying to think of something to pull the dish together — something that would give it a bit of texture and make it nice and moreish — and we came up with black pudding. If you can’t get hold of good scallops, you can do exactly the same with medallions of monkfish.

SERVES 4

Preheat the oven to 220°C/425°F/gas 7. Finely grate half the nutmeg into a casserole pan, add the rest of the spices and gently fry with the garlic in 6 tablespoons of olive oil for 30 seconds, then add the carrots. Stir well, add a pinch of sea salt and sugar, then the stock (or use water). Put a lid on, bring to the boil and simmer for 40 minutes, or until the carrots are tender (don’t let the pan boil dry).

Meanwhile, split the black pudding lengthways and tear it open — this will help it really crisp up as it cooks. After the carrots have been cooking for 20 minutes, put the black pudding in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until crispy. Put 2.5cm of water into a pan, then, using a colander, bamboo steamer or normal steamer, place over the heat and get it to a slow steam.

Score the scallops on one side in criss-cross fashion, season with a little salt and black pepper and grate over the orange zest. Steam for about 5 to 6 minutes, depending on the size of the scallops. You don’t want to overcook them or they’ll go rubbery.

Remove the cinnamon, then divide the carrots between plates, place the scallops on top and crumble over a little black pudding. Scatter over the chives (or use basil or coriander). Make a dressing with the orange and lemon juice and the same amount of extra virgin olive oil. Drizzle this over and serve straight away.

chinese chicken parcels

When Jools was pregnant this was one of her favourite things to eat, along with bananas dipped in Marmite!

SERVES 4

Remove and discard the core and tatty outer leaves from the cabbage, then undo the remaining cabbage leaves and place them in a pan of boiling salted water for 2 minutes to soften. Cool them in a bowl of cold water, drain and put to one side.

In a food processor, whiz the garlic, ginger, spring onions, coriander, chilli and fish sauce with a good pinch of sea salt. Add the chicken and water chestnuts, finely grate in the lime zest and squeeze in the juice. Pour in 1 teaspoon of sesame oil and pulse until fine.

Place 1 heaped tablespoonful of the flavoured mince on one end of each cabbage leaf. Fold it up and tuck in the sides, then roll up. Rub a bamboo steamer, colander or normal steamer with a little olive oil and put in the cabbage parcels — they may try to unfold themselves, but once you start putting them next to each other they will hold in place. When they’re all in, sit the steamer over a pan of boiling water, making sure the water doesn’t touch the parcels. Put a lid on top and steam for 6 minutes, or until cooked through. If you’re worried about the cooking time, take one of the parcels out and cut it in half to make sure that the heat has penetrated and that they’re fully cooked.

When they’re done, I like to serve them in the bamboo steamer. I move a couple of the parcels out of the way and put in a dish of sweet chilli jam, jelly or sauce. The parcels are also good dipped in soy sauce and sprinkled with the sesame seeds.

‘most cities have a chinatown, so get down there’
‘most cities have a chinatown, so get down there’

steamed prawn wontons with red chilli & spring onion

These are very simple and tasty little darlings to make. They’re really open to variation using different herbs and flavourings. You might find them a little fiddly to make, but once you get the hang of it nothing will stop you!

SERVES 4
(MAKES 16 WONTONS)

Roughly chop the ginger, garlic, coriander, chillies and spring onions, then place in a food processor with the prawns. Pulse until fairly fine, then add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and the soy sauce. Pulse again, then tip into a mixing bowl and season with sea salt and black pepper.

Lay the wonton wrappers out on a clean dry surface and put 1 teaspoon of filling in the middle of each. Brush the exposed wonton pastry with a little water and bring the edges up over the filling, squeezing them at the top so they stick together and encase the filling completely. The truth is, there are lots of different ways to shape the parcels — as long as the filling is completely sealed inside you can make any shape you fancy, so get creative.

Put the wontons into a bamboo steamer, colander or normal steamer in one layer and steam gently over a pan of boiling water for 7 minutes, or until the prawn filling is just cooked (open one up to check if you want to). These are lovely served with little bowls of soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce and sesame oil for dipping.

chinese-style steamed pork buns

I love these steamed buns. Try getting some lime leaves to steam them on — you can usually buy them fresh or frozen from good supermarkets and Asian stores.

MAKES 8 BUNS
FILLING
BUNS

Heat a large frying pan with a splash of olive oil. Season the chops with sea salt, black pepper and the five-spice and fry on both sides until golden and cooked through. Add the garlic, ginger and chillies and continue to fry for 1 minute. Pour in the orange juice, reduce by half, then tip the contents of the pan into a bowl and leave to cool.

Empty the yeast into a second bowl and add 100ml of tepid water. In another bowl, sieve the flours and add 1 teaspoon of salt, then rub in the butter. When the yeast has bubbled up, pour in another 100ml of water, then gradually add to the flour and butter, mixing to form a soft dough. Cover and leave to prove in a warm place, until it has doubled in size. Break it into pieces about the size of a walnut and shape into little round balls.

Put one of the chops into a food processor, together with all the juice remaining in the bowl, and pulse until fine. Cut up the other chop coarsely by hand to give you good texture, and add all the pork back to the bowl with the hoisin, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and the chilli sauce. Mix well to evenly distribute the flavour.

What I like to do for extra fragrance is line the bottom of a bamboo steamer, colander or normal steamer with lime leaves. Take one of the dough balls and flatten it out on the palm of your hand until it measures 6cm in diameter. Press it down in the middle so it’s slightly cup-shaped, and put a teaspoon of the pork mix in the middle. Gently wrap the sides of the dough up around the filling, pinch and seal it up, and place sealed side down on the lime leaves in the steamer. Repeat with the other dough balls. Leave a gap of about 2cm between each bun to give them room to puff up (steam them in 2 or 3 layers, or in batches, depending on your steamer). Allow the buns to sit and prove for 5 minutes before you steam them. Put the lid on and steam over a pan of boiling water for 10 minutes, or until the buns are cooked and the filling is hot (open one up to check). Serve with little bowls of soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce to dip the buns in.

haddock baked in the bag with mussels, saffron, white wine & butter

This is a great way to bake haddock or any white fish — cod, hake, even monkfish. Get your fishmonger to cut you a nice fillet. This method doesn’t make the skin go crispy, but it’s still good to cook it with the skin on as it flavours and protects the fish as it cooks. There’s no real spice that can give such flavour, colour and fragrance to a dish as quickly as saffron. It’s an amazing ingredient — not cheap, but a little goes a long way. The mussels work well cooked like this, but make sure that you debeard them before you cook them.

SERVES 4

Preheat the oven and a roasting tray to full whack (240°C/475°F/gas 9). First you need to make 4 tin foil or greaseproof paper bags. Do this by taking 4 × A5-sized pieces of foil or greaseproof, fold each in half, then fold up the 2 ends tightly, giving you an ‘envelope’.

Put the wine in a bowl, then add the saffron and let it soak for 5 minutes — this will start to bring out the flavour and colour. Divide the parsley between the bags and place the fish on top. Cut the butter into 4 pieces and place one on top of each fish. Divide the mussels between the bags then carefully pour some of the infused white wine into each bag. Make sure you don’t spill any and be careful not to let it ooze out of the bag. Sprinkle in the spring onions, then seal up. Remove the hot roasting tray from the oven and carefully lay the bags side by side on it — ensure the corners of the bags are bent upwards so that no liquid can escape. Place the roasting tray on the hob to get the bags going — they should start sizzling a little bit and steam will begin to build up inside. Place the tray in the oven for 12 minutes — the bags will puff up.

Take the tray to the table and let each guest open their own bag. Serve simply with boiled potatoes and nice greens. Place a dish on the table for people to put their tin foil and mussel shells in (discard any mussels that remain closed).

steamed squid

The great thing about this dish is that everything cooks at the same time. Once it’s all in the steamer it only takes about 7 or 8 minutes, so it’s damn quick, too! Dried salted black beans are fantastically tasty and you should be able to get hold of them at Asian food shops, or use a jar of black beans instead.

SERVES 2
DRESSING

Finely chop the spring onions, chilli, lemon, most of the coriander and the mint, mix together and season with a little sea salt and black pepper. Use a teaspoon to stuff the mixture loosely into the squid — they’re now ready to cook.

Put 2.5cm of water into a pan, then, using a colander, bamboo steamer or normal steamer, place over the heat and get it to a slow steam. Line the bottom of the steamer with the pak choi leaves. Sprinkle the sugar snap peas over the top. Gather the yellow beans together in a big bunch, cut the ends off and slice them finely. Scatter these over the peas. Sprinkle over the black beans, followed by the ginger. Place the squid on top, put the lid on and steam for 7 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the dressing. Mash the black beans in a pestle and mortar, then add all the other dressing ingredients, finely chop and add the remaining coriander, and stir well. Place your steamer on a plate, then pour the dressing over the squid and eat it straight out of the steamer. Seriously tasty!

Try this: Flavour and scent the steaming water with things like star anise and other spices or herbs — it makes a really subtle difference.

Or this: Mix a little wok-fried minced chicken in with the vegetables before stuffing the squid and steam for a little longer. Check that the filling is cooked before tucking in.

CHOPPING & SLICING

The most important thing about using a knife is not to take off all your fingers! So here are a few key rules to get you used to your chopper, which can only be a good thing as it makes life easier in the kitchen. Do get yourself a few good knives and make sure you keep them sharp, or you will end up putting too much body weight on to them and you’ll have an accident.

steamed aubergine

This is a great way to cook aubergines, and probably one that not a lot of people would think of doing. Aubergines are usually fried or roasted, which makes them soak up loads of oil, but steaming means they go really soft and tender so that they’re lighter to eat — which means you can eat a lot more! All round the world there are so many different varieties of aubergines — long, round, purple, green — so keep your eyes peeled and try cooking them all.

SERVES 4
DRESSING

Put 2.5cm of water into a pan, then, using a colander, bamboo steamer or normal steamer, place over the heat and get it to a slow steam. Slice the aubergines in half lengthways and place them in the steamer, cut side up. Steam for 10 minutes — to check whether they’re ready, simply squeeze the sides gently and if they’re silky soft then they’re done. Place in a colander and leave to cool slightly.

Now make the dressing. Finely grate the lemon zest into a bowl, squeeze in the juice, then add the remaining dressing ingredients and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. When the aubergines are warm, this is the perfect time to flavour them. Cut them up into rough 2.5cm dice, drizzle over the dressing and toss together. Serve immediately as a salad, tapas dish or as a vegetable next to any simple cooked fish. Trust me, it’s really tasty!

skate baked in the bag with artichokes, purple potatoes, capers & crème fraîche

Potatoes and artichokes are always such a winning combination with fish, so I’ve put them in this dish, using fantastic purple potatoes — if you can’t find them, ask your local store to get some in. They are a great colour and, served in this way, might help in getting your kids to eat fish if they’re not keen. They’re not floury and they’re not waxy, just somewhere in the middle, so they’re great for baking and boiling. Buy the skate as fresh as you can — it doesn’t matter if the pieces are large or small, as you’ll want to cut them up anyway. Steaming skate makes it really soft, so it will just fall off the bone when done. This dish is just as good when eaten cold as a salad.

SERVES 4

Preheat the oven and a roasting tray to 240°C/475°F/gas 9. First you need to make 4 tin foil or greaseproof paper bags. Do this by taking 4 × A5-sized pieces of foil or greaseproof, fold each in half, then fold up the 2 ends tightly, giving you an ‘envelope’. Cook the spuds in boiling salted water, until tender, then drain and leave to cool. Slice them up roughly. Peel back the artichoke leaves, remove the chokes with a teaspoon, then rub the artichokes with lemon juice to stop them discolouring, and slice very finely. Put the artichokes and potatoes in a bowl with the melted butter, thyme, parsley and capers and season well with sea salt and black pepper. Toss together and divide between the bags. There’ll be a little butter left over in the bottom of the bowl, so you can add a little oil to it and use this to rub on to the skate pieces.

Season the fish, then place on top of the potatoes and artichokes. Carefully pour a glass of wine into each bag, add a sprig of rosemary, then tightly seal up. Remove the hot roasting tray from the oven and carefully lay the bags side by side on it — ensure the corners are bent upwards so no liquid can escape. Place the tray in the oven for 15 minutes — the bags will puff up. Serve at the table so that your guests can open their own bag. Serve with a dollop of yoghurt or crème fraîche, seasoned with a little salt and pepper, and a nice green salad.