Natural selection
These next few weeks are some of the most interesting and probably simplest periods in the year as far as menu planning is concerned. There's such an abundance of fresh produce in season in July we are spoilt for choice.
May's weather was less than kind to our market gardeners, with the result that many crops are in short supply. For those chefs fortunate enough to have their own vegetable garden, it's a slightly different story. To be in the fresh air early in the morning and pull sweet, tender and "ever so pretty" YOUNG ROOT VEGETABLES just as they are ready is a delight. BEETROOT, CARROTS and TURNIPS are probably the earliest. These young roots cook in the blink of an eye and taste equally good hot or cold.
Alternatively, it can be cost-effective to persuade a local market gardener to supply you at a reasonable price. With a stable price structure, menu costings are much more accurate and a fresh daily supply is guaranteed.
One of my all-time favourite dishes using these root vegetables is lamb, rolled rack of LINCOLNSHIRE LAMB being particularly good.
Following the reorganisation of county councils, Winteringham has recently moved back into Lincolnshire. I can't say the former county name - Humberside - ever appealed to me, after all who has ever heard of Humberside lamb?
Our supplier appreciates the importance of animal welfare in respect to quality of meat, grazed on the Lincolnshire Wolds. The lambs are reared in a natural environment, an important factor in the production of tasty meat.
The cold weather has affected the price and size of lamb currently on the market. An old Lincolnshire wag once told me: "Lambs need to be cooked twice, once in the field and once in the oven" and this year is certainly proof of that as prices are up and size is down. A whole carcass weighing about 38-45lb will cost about £1.70 per lb, trimmed loins are £3.45.
A great deal of home-produced lamb is exported. The demand is for a smaller carcass of 25lbs, as they are cooked whole on the spit. Consequently, this export market controls the price at which lamb is sold in the UK - we are unfortunately being controlled by the EU!
Living a few miles from the fishing port of Grimsby, fish features strongly on our menus. This makes us conscious of the changing seasons as far as fish is concerned. It is always beneficial to have a chat with our fish wholesaler when in the throes of menu compilation. He's on the dockside every day and is more than happy to relate approximate future prices and prime times for locally landed fish.
Recently, rod-caught SEA TROUT has been selling at a high price, about £5 per lb, but the next few weeks will see the price drop until it reaches about £2.80-£3.50 per lb. Prices should stay stable until the end of the season in September.
It is a seriously good fish, delicate but with robust flavours, and its versatility is endless. It will stand up to red wine or the heaviest of white Burgundies with no problem.
A great partner to this fish is MARSH SAMPHIRE, which is also plentiful right now at about £5 per kg. Blanched, then tossed in a dressing of balsamic vinegar and olive oil, the samphire makes this dynamic duo a veritable powerhouse as far as the zest of the sea is concerned.
Superb quality BRILL and DOVER SOLE are also plentiful throughout July, all fetching reasonable prices, about £3.50 per lb for gutted fish.
I prefer to serve clean-cut flavours with these fish and the new season's CELERY fits the bill perfectly. Slightly browned to give a little interest, the scent alone makes the taste buds tango.
Our customers prefer fish that is not hidden by complex sauces, simple cooking methods such as pan-frying, steaming or oven-baking are much more in vogue, and demand the freshest of fish.
Early summer always reminds us of Switzerland. Germain originated from the Jura hills where his grandparents were cheesemakers. It was a regular occurrence for the family to arrive back at their chalet, backpacks full of the day's finds, before setting to work producing a wonderfully aromatic croute of wild mushrooms and herbs for supper. Even now throughout early summer, Germain goes off with his four-legged friend William, searching through the undergrowth for pied bleu, trompette, false morilles and many others. Providing we have a few more damp mornings, he will continue to do so for a good while yet.
SORREL and WILD GARLIC are also prolific in the woodlands. They make an ideal early summer soup, pungent yet delicate.
WILD ASPARAGUS, too, is growing well and makes a great garnish for fish dishes.
City-based chefs don't have open countryside close at hand but there is an excellent supply of all these products through Wild Harvest, which delivers overnight to any part of the UK. It reports an abundance of summer truffles from the south of France and northern Italy. They were a little under ripe when they first appeared on the market, but are now in full flood. They will, it is hoped, go right through until September and at about £120 per kg, now would be an ideal time to splash out.
There are also lots of SHIITAKE, PIED BLEU, OYSTER, ST GEORGE and GIROLLES mushrooms arriving from Scotland, unfortunately a little later than usual due to the cold, dry weather, but they should be priced at about £20 per kg.
Home-grown FRESH BERRIES are only just appearing on the market. Again, the bad weather means we will have to wait a little longer than usual for our own outdoor berries, but I can see the summer puddings on the horizon.
Elder bushes are growing in every hedgerow and their flowers are worth their weight in gold. The infusion of the strongly scented ELDERFLOWER into sorbets and ice-creams creates a delicately perfumed dessert and marries perfectly with all the new-season fruits. A few flowers added to summer puddings gives them an individual taste.
Use sparingly, though, as the perfume is concentrated and can overwhelm the fruit. When the flower drops and the berries ripen, they can be dipped into a light batter and deep-fried to make an excellent garnish for any meat dish.
Think seasonal
As the public has become much more educated as far as food production is concerned, there is an ever-increasing demand for restaurants to use seasonal ingredients.
To be frank, I find it off-putting to discover "out of season" dishes on menus. Part of a chef's skill in today's competitive catering industry is to know their seasons and design menus accordingly.
Something else I believe we should watch is that we don't become too dependent on the one-stop specialist food supplier who can supply anything and everything in or out of season.
For dry goods they are undoubtedly essential, but for fresh produce you can't beat the individual specialists.
The excuse we all use is that the time factor doesn't allow us to spend all morning on the telephone sourcing produce. It doesn't have to be so demanding. I now have a system in place where my suppliers fax through the day's prices first thing in the morning. After a few scribbles, it's faxed back and, hey presto, the order arrives the same day as fresh as a daisy.
The point of working this system is elementary: the individual wholesalers are on the spot buying often local produce which has probably been picked or caught the same morning, prices are competitive and produce is in prime condition.
You also gain a personal contact with the individual at the helm, who undoubtedly is proud to be one of your suppliers, thus ensuring that your order is always top quality.
I don't need to remind anyone of the difference that freshly harvested produce can make to the chef's job of creating the perfect dish. In this respect it is good to see that more restaurants are aware of the importance of being flexible with menus; having daily specialities and daily set-menus as well as the à la carte are a necessity in today's successful restaurants. With the technology we have at hand, menu printing poses no great problem and the daily variation of ingredients makes the brigade's task a great deal more interesting, as well as keeping everyone on their toes. n
Annie and Germain Schwab run the 46-seat Winteringham Fields restaurant, Winteringham, Lincolnshire.
Tel: 01724 733096
