Glorious August
Blackberries
This is one of my favourite soft fruits, especially when they are in my mum's blackberry and apple pie or in the form of blackberry and apple jam spread on crunchy brown toast.
For August, apple soufflé with a blackberry coulis always sells well, while a popular summer drink is a Champagne cocktail, made with one tablespoon of blackberry coulis and one of crème de mûr to one glass of dry Champagne.
Blackberries, especially wild ones, deteriorate much quicker than any other soft fruit. They should be picked, prepared and eaten on the same day. Remember they are not necessarily ripe when they are black in colour - they must be soft, too, and detached from the plant easily without bruising.
Blackberries have only been cultivated on a commercial scale in the UK for the past decade, although they have been gathered for centuries.
Loganberries
These are a hybrid between the American dewberry and the true raspberry. Although they are not available everywhere, loganberries can be purchased in British markets in August.
When cooking, treat them exactly the same as for raspberries, though in my opinion, because they are bigger, they have a better presentation than the common or garden raspberry.
Nectarines
I prefer the flavour of nectarines to peaches which, incidentally, are good this time of year, too. The earliest ripening variety of nectarines are Cardinal and John Rivers, which can be found at the end of July. In August, look for Lord Napier and Dryden varieties.
In dessert cookery, treat nectarines the same as peaches, but when ripe, they are best eaten raw.
We serve poached nectarines with almond milk ice-cream. To remove the skins, cut a cross on the top and immerse in almost boiling stock syrup for three minutes.
Skin while still hot without marking the flesh. Serve split in two on a pure butter galette topped with almond milk ice-cream.
Tomatoes
At this time of year, English tomatoes are plentiful and I use them in too many dishes to note. The recipe for tomato consommé, which is featured on page 31, is a good way of using up the over-ripe tomatoes that could otherwise go to waste. It makes a refreshing hors d'oeuvre for summer lunches.
A tomato tart made with buffalo Mozzarella layered between puff pastry dabbed with fresh pesto is another of August's dishes.
Courgettes
In my opinion, the smaller the courgette, the better. They are great baked, fried or as a component of soups.
In August, I use them in abundance because I love ratatouille, hot or cold, on its own, or as an accompaniment.
I use courgette flowers - deep-fried or steamed - as a vessel to hold various farces and mousses. Their lack of flavour means they always need a spiced stuffing or a strong sauce. Mousseline of sea bass as a stuffing, accompanied by a Champagne butter sauce, works particularly well.
Runner beans
Although they are not recognised as a top-flight vegetable, runner beans have a lot more flavour than French beans.
Buy them as small as possible so they are tender. The variety I prefer is a fairly recent one - Dwarf Gem. Although it is classified as a runner bean it is a dwarf variety and does not actually "run".
A tip for handling runner beans is never to slice them before cooking as they lose half of the flavour and nearly all the vitamins. If you need to cut them, do so after cooking.
Fruit and vegetable supplier
I get 90% of my fruit and vegetables from CA Belcher. Nothing is too much trouble and I get what I want, when I want it.
CA Belcher & Son, Unit 1, Shepherds Hill, London Road, Earley, Reading. Tel: 0118 9265921.
Grouse
The grouse season runs from 12 August until mid October. It is the earliest game bird in season and apart from woodcock is my favourite.
Avoid buying grouse for at least the first two weeks of the season as it is too expensive. If you have to serve it, ensure it is not a bird that was frozen the previous season.
You can tell new-season grouse by the soft and downy plume on the breast and under the wing. On younger birds the wings themselves are more pointed, and the spurs are smaller and rounded in shape.
Most supplies come from Scotland, Yorkshire and the Pennines, although grouse can be found in Wales and parts of west Ireland. All attempts to introduce grouse to France have failed and there is no name for this bird in any other language.
As with any ingredient, there are 100 different ways of cooking grouse, but for me you cannot beat the most traditional method - roasted, dressed with bacon and straw potatoes and garnished with a wild watercress salad. Don't waste the livers - pound them to a paste to thicken the sauce.
Meat and game supplier
Wm Vickers & Son, 20 West Street, Reading. Tel: 0118 9572904.
Sea bass
This is my favourite fish. It is available from May to August and is at its best in August at the end of the spawning season, so it features on my menus throughout the summer in one form or another.
It is versatile and can be braised, steamed or roasted. I like to serve it marinated and grilled on dried fennel sticks.
Salmon
Wild salmon is first available in the New Year when the rod season opens on the River Tay on 15 January and salmon can be net caught from 4 February. For more regular supplies, and better prices, wait until the summer.
The best-sized salmons are the most common - between 8-12lb. They generally offer the best quality and flavour. Experts argue that hen fish provides the best meat as they have smaller heads and a thicker, fleshier neck.
When buying salmon, look for firm flesh, shiny, bright scales and deep-red gills.
Wrapped in smoked bacon, steamed as for a hot smoke, and cooked carefully - don't undercook wild salmon - the recipe brings out the true flavours of the fish without overpowering it.
Fish suppliers
For sea bass: Cornish Fresh Fish, Trelyn Farm, St Keverne, Helston, Cornwall. Tel: 01326 280029.
For salmon: Agar Fisheries, Inholmes Estate, Woodlands St Mary, Hungerford, Berkshire. Tel: 01488 71169.
John Burton-Race is chef-patron of L'Ortolan restaurant, Shinfield, Berkshire. Tel: 0118 9883783.
Fresh salmon steamed with bacon in a herb butter sauce
INGREDIENTS
950g wild salmon fillet
250g smoked streaky bacon
90ml olive oil
1/2tsp fennel seed
For the herb butter sauce:
2 shallots
60g butter
1 sprig thyme
1/4 bay leaf
1/2tsp crushed white peppercorns
60ml white wine vinegar
1/4 clove garlic
20cl whipping cream
1tsp water
210g butter, best unsalted
salt
lemon juice
Pinch of cayenne to taste
1/2tsp blanched, chopped fresh tarragon
1tsp fresh, chopped chervil
1tsp fresh, chopped chives
1tsp parsley, chopped
For the garnish:
2 tomatoes, diced
1 sprig basil
METHOD
Skin the salmon, remove any bones, and cut out bloodlines or discoloured flesh as it is bitter and will spoil the flavour. Slice into six pieces.
Slice along the length of a whole piece of bacon - not rashers. If the bacon is as cold as possible, you should be able to slice it so thinly you can see through it.
Wrap the salmon in the sliced bacon ensuring no flesh is visible. Sprinkle with fennel seed. Cover with clingfilm and refrigerate overnight. The salmon needs to be in the bacon for a minimum of 12 hours, preferably 24, to impart the smokiness of bacon into the fish.
Once you've allowed the flavours to mingle, you can either serve the fish with or without the bacon "wrapping".
If you don't intend to serve the fish complete with the bacon, moisten both sides of the salmon pieces into olive oil to create a film around the fish. This eases the removal of the bacon from the salmon flesh after cooking.
HERB BUTTER SAUCE
Make a beurre blanc sauce in the traditional way. Add fresh herbs after straining the sauce.
The quantity and variety of herbs you use is a matter of personal preference. I like this combination because none of the herbs overpower the delicate flavour of the salmon.
For the garnish:
Blanch, peel and dice the tomato. Melt 20g of butter with 60ml water, salt and pepper to taste, a sprig of basil and half a garlic clove. Add the diced tomato. Keep warm for serving.
COOKING THE SALMON
This takes a mere 11 minutes in a Chinese bamboo steamer over a saucepan of continually boiling water. Steam the salmon on a plate until cooked. If you prefer serving the salmon without the bacon wrapping, carefully peel off the bacon. Whisk in the cooking juices trapped on the plate into the prepared butter sauce.
A little steamed, shredded spring cabbage underneath the salmon makes an ideal accompaniment as do steamed or boiled new potatoes.
