food / drink
RECIPE
Pan Fried Sewin With Red Pepper, Saffron And Crab Sauce
words HARRY SMITH www. scenecuisine. co. uk
PEMBROKESHIRE IS THE PLAICE TO BE
Rebecca Wilson checks out what’ s in store at this year’ s Pembrokeshire Fish Week
Now I know what you’ re thinking, a week-long festival packed with fish-related activities doesn’ t sound like the most appealing of festivals, but listed as one of the UK’ s best food festivals by Conde Nast Traveller, this year’ s Pembrokeshire Fish Week is looking rather good. Taking place between Sat 22 and Sun 30 June, the festival will host a variety of events, including fish cookery lessons with S4C chef Tim Maddams and cookery workshops from students and teachers at Pembrokeshire College. The workshops include Thai fish cookery and a Seafood Safari food trail where you collect your catch from the local fishermen, learn filleting and cooking skills, and end the night with a great fishy feast. With healthy and organic eating constantly being promoted in our media, what better to learn how to source and cook sustainable fish for a healthy
TORRE
Situated directly opposite Cardiff Castle, the newly-opened Torre coffee shop boasts a relaxed and authentic Italian design, a delicious selection of fresh coffee, and a menu bursting with freshly made focaccia sandwiches, flavoursome cakes, seasonal smoothies and regularly changing soups. Ensuring great quality food and drink throughout their menu, Torre make sure that all their produce is sourced locally, whilst their Columbian coffee beans are of the highest quality from Bristol-based coffee company, James. With Torre’ s bread freshly prepared and cooked in store, you can guarantee a wonderful taste of fresh bread with each lunchtime sandwich, as well as the welcome smell of baking which wafts through the cafe. With free fruit for all children, plus a small children’ s area towards the back of the cafe, Torre is also family friendly with plenty of space, a well-priced menu and attentive service. Whilst coffee shops continue to pop up left right and centre throughout Cardiff, this is one independent well worth investigating, even if it is just for a slice of their fantastic carrot cake.
Info: 029 2034 4580 / www. torrecoffee. co. uk diet, than with classes teaching you how to forage and fillet your own food. And beyond all the fish-related fun, there are also many more events to take part in such as learning to surf, kayak exploring, all-day performances on the live music stage( including headline act Paper Aeroplanes), dance workshops from Ballet Cymru, and picturesque costal walks which provide an insight into fishing in west Wales. The festival isn’ t just for foodies, and with a week packed full of events, there’ ll be something for every taste.
Pembrokeshire Fish Week, Milford Haven and Haverfordwest, Sat 22-Sun 30 June. Info: www. pembrokeshirefishweek. co. uk
SEWIN is a great example of Welsh produce which somewhat slips under the mainstream radar. Also known as sea trout elsewhere in the UK, these delicious fish are caught wild around Wales and although not as common or affordable as farmed rainbow trout, taste much, much better! They are seasonal, caught in rivers such as the Teifi from early May until mid-October. Although they are known as sea trout, they are a migratory fish more similar to salmon in appearance. Cooking the fish whole and on the bone may not present on the plate as neatly as a skinless fillet, but it does allow the fish to retain moisture and flavour.
SERVES TWO
INGREDIENTS One medium sized sewin, approx 2lb, gutted and scaled / 2 large red peppers / 2 shallots / 1 / 2g saffron / 1 head fennel / 1 tbsp olive oil / 350ml fish stock / 1 glass dry white wine / 1 small splash Pernod / 1 lemon / 100g white crab meat / 1 tbsp finely chopped parsley
PREPARATION
• Firstly, to make the sauce, peel the shallot and slice finely. Deseed the peppers and slice these and the fennel also. In a thick-bottomed pan heat the olive oil and gently sweat the sliced vegetables for a few minutes. Add the saffron and cook for another minute.
• Add the Pernod, wine and a squeeze of lemon to the pan and bring to the boil. Once boiling, add the fish stock and simmer for 15 minutes or so.
• Meanwhile season the fish with salt and pepper, lemon juice and olive oil.
• Grill under a hot grill for five-six minutes each side or until the skin is golden brown and a knife poked down into the spine comes out hot. Leave to stand for a few minutes.
• To finish the sauce, remove half the vegetables with a slotted spoon, then blitz the sauce in a food processor or liquidiser before returning the vegetables with the crab meat, gound salt and pepper and the finely chopped parsley.
• With a knife, carefully remove each fillet from either side of the sewin, and serve on a warm plate with the sauce and some buttered spinach.
BUZZ 36