March 2021 The Goods Shed Daily Farmers Market, Food Hall and Restaurant Station Road West, Canterbury CT2 8AN http://www.thegoodsshed.co.uk open tuesday to saturday 9am-5pm & sunday 10am-4pm RESTAURANT:  Buy chef-made “ready meals” from the Kitchen Shop  Rebel Farmer An unusual seasonal treat I don’t know what was on your mind on 14th Most Greek meals start slowly, with a few February this year, but I do know what Ed Kyrke- mezedes and then wind their way happily Smith was thinking about. “It’s a busy time of year through numerous courses.1 for planning: Valentine’s Day is when we start off a lot of seeds”. Ed runs Rebel Farmer, a smallholding Taramasalata is one of those Greek mezedes in Brook (between Ashford and Wye) and packs a which started out as a fasting dish, eaten especially lot into his three acres. At the moment he’s starting on “Clean Monday” the first day of Lent, the tomatoes using seeds from Tomato Revolution, seventh Monday before Easter in the orthodox who grow, save and pack their own seed and, most calendar, which is 15th March this year. importantly, are wholly flavour-driven. Finally, Throughout Lent no meat, eggs or dairy may be something exciting to look forward to! eaten (no olive oil either, for the particularly pious) Rebel Farmer also grows wedding flowers and, so there is added emphasis on seafood dishes. this year, in collaboration with Wild Bread baker When I was a child, crab meat, black caviar, James Thorn, Ed has planted a field of heritage botargo, taramas, taramosalata, halva, date wheat—Miller’s Choice, Kent Red and Old palms and coconuts were the sine quibus Kent Hoary. The resultant crop will be milled at non of the Cretan urban Lenten diet.2 Willesborough Windmill and the straw put back on the land. If successful, Ed plans to establish At the heart of taramasalata is tarama – the literal this as a regenerative crop (no ploughing, which translation is “salad of tarama”. Traditionally destroys the soil structure and releases carbon) tarama (also called botarga) is the salted roe of grey with a permanent understory of clover. mullet, widely produced across the Mediterranean While we wait for that, right now, Ed is and a real delicacy. You can slice it thin and eat producing soil-grown microgreens. “Microgreens” it just with a little oil and lemon, or with some are plants that are harvested in their infancy, bread, or, luxuriously, shaved onto pasta. It has when they’ve just made their first true leaves. a full, strong, rich flavour. The taste, as Claudia Roden notes, “… is an acquired one which can They taste remarkably like their adult versions, 3 but in a concentrated form. Rebel Farmer boxes become a passion”. contain a mix that balances hearty (carrot, red As times and fish stocks have changed, today cabbage) spicy (radish) with sweet and luscious cod’s roe is usually greens (sunflower and pea). They make a bright used, often smoked. addition to a winter salad, give excellent crunch Shane on the Fish march to a sandwich or you could even use a sprinkle as a Stall has recently been chef-y garnish. As the season progresses, there will smoking some Pollock Saturday 27 roe, and this makes a be salad boxes, complete with tomatoes and edible Patrick’s Kitchen flowers. Ultimately (with the new polytunnel) Ed very satisfactory and plans for this to be a year-round offering, a salad successful base. is in the Shed. Taramasalata is easy Enquiries & Orders for every day of the year. 07843 490 944 to make, but there are a bewildering number of Taramasalata, your way. variations on the basic theme. All versions have at their heart cured (or smoked) fish roe beaten Makes a large bowlful. with oil to make a thick, creamy dip. A few use no • 75g smoked Pollock roe, skinned. more than that, but with nothing else in the mix • 100g stale bread, soaked in water for 15 the fish and smoke taste are very strong, almost minutes OR two boiled potatoes, mashed overpowering. So almost all formulae use either very smooth (keep the water). bread or potato to soften the taste and thicken • Lemon juice, to taste – probably one or one the mix. The oil can be all olive, all vegetable and a half lemons. or half-and-half. Most recipes add lemon juice, • Crushed garlic and/or grated onion – if you some include onion or garlic. So you have total use these (I don’t) start with just a little, their permission to make this just as you like it. If you flavours deepen on standing. want a softer, subtler taste, add more bread: I’ve • A large tablespoon of English mustard. seen a recipe that uses as much as a loaf of dry • 300ml oil. Using all-vegetable lets the taste bread to 3 ounces of roe (which seems hardly of the roe shine, any proportion of olive oil worth the bother); if you want a stronger taste, add adds richness. more roe. It you want it thinner add extra water Cube the roe and put it in the freezer for an hour. or lemon. The only thing you won’t find is that Squeeze the bread very dry. Put the roe, bread (or the final mix is pink, which seems to be a product potato) mustard, lemon juice (with garlic or onion of the supermarkets’ imagination. Homemade if you’re using them) into a food processor and taramasalata is a more-or-less gentle beige, blitz until very smooth. Then, motor running, depending on the roe and the amount of smoke slowly add the oil. The mixture will emulsify it’s been exposed to. into a smooth creamy paste, like mayonnaise. While we don’t eat mezze in the same way as (The chemistry is, in fact, the same as in making it starts a Middle Eastern meal, modern British mayonnaise with the roe substituting for the hen’s chefs have been rather taken with the idea of egg). Adjust seasoning to your taste, it’s unlikely taramasalata, and you can find it on several to need salt, but may take more lemon or garlic: fancy menus, usually as a snack or starter, usually I wouldn’t mess about with the consistency at this described as “whipped cod’s roe”. There are some stage. Especially if you’ve used breadcrumbs, it will good things to learn from them. thicken quite a bit on standing. Thin it, if need be Firstly, two excellent tips from Dan Smith at the (with reserved potato/bread water) when serving. Fordwich Arms.4 The first is to cube the skinned This keeps well for several days in the fridge. roe and put it in the freezer for an hour before You can eat this as casually as from a using; insurance for making a good emulsion. supermarket tub. It’s good with radishes and cold The second is to add a large spoonful of strong boiled potatoes. Or you can fancy it up. Try it English mustard, a genius addition that gives a alongside grilled vegetables dressed with a lemon new coherence to the mix: not entirely the same, vinaigrette. Tomas Parry (another whizzy chef) not entirely new, a “half English” dish. spreads fingers of grilled, almost charred, bread 7 Another good tip is from Shaun Searley of the with fennel butter and tops with whipped cod’s Quality Chop House.5 He garnishes the roe. This looks (and tastes) very lovely garnished roe with grated cured egg yolk with Rebel Farmer Microgreens. (surprisingly easy to make6) which adds a complementary salty richness.

1. Theodore Kyriakou, The Real Greek at Home: Dishes from the Heart of the Greek Kitchen, Mitchell Beazley, 2004 2. History of Greek Food A buffet of Greek food history & food stories, Mariana Kavroulaki https://1historyofgreekfood.wordpress. com/2010/03/06/fish-roe/ 3. Claudia Roden, The New Book of Middle Eastern Food, 2000 Knopf Publishing 4. Via Stephen Harris’ food column in The Telegraph, 4th April 2020 5. Will Lander, Dan Morgenthau & Shaun Searley The Quality Chop House: Modern Recipes and Stories from a London Classic, 2019, Quadrille 6. Mix 150g sugar with 150g salt. Put half in a container and carefully place up to 6 egg yolks on top. Don’t let them touch. Top with the other half of the cure, cover and leave in the fridge for 2 days. Then gently remove the yolks and rinse them. Pat dry and put on a tray lined with baking parchment. Leave in a warm place to dry for a few days. Once dry, they will keep for 2 weeks at room temperature. 7. Sweat half a chopped fennel bulb with a teaspoon of fennel seeds and a pinch of chili flakes. Put in a slug of Pernod and let it evaporate. Put in a bit of water, just so nothing burns. When it’s boiling, add 150g butter. Let it all amalgamate, then strain out the fennel and cool. Chill until firm. (Observer, 9th December 2018)