Fishy pastes inspired by Pirates of the Deep Green Sea by Eric Linklater

The Pirates of the Deep Green Sea is a marvellous book by Eric Linklater. Not a lot of people know that though, so don't worry if you've never heard of it. I never would have known about it if it weren't for my amazing Mum, who has a knack of unearthing some of the best treasures in the book world. 

There's nothing else quite like this book. Until you've read it for yourself you won't quite understand, but it IS amazing. It's a tasty concoction of adventure and fantasy with a healthy load of zany quirk thrown in, and a unique brand of imagination. 

Mum had a copy of this book that was so well-read she had to laminate it to help it survive its countless readings. One of my first deeds as a nearly grown-up was to catch a bus into Exeter and order my own copy from a bookshop (before internet shopping got so normal). Needless to say, it was not on the shop shelves and I had the delightful anticipation of waiting for it to come into store. This was shortly before I even had an email account and I remember the thrill of being phoned to say the book had arrived. 



A brilliant detail of this story is that all the Octopuses have exceedingly long names. To shorten an Octopus' name is quite an affront, unless you know them VERY well, so we all enjoyed the challenge of remembering their absurdly long names. One of the main heroes, and the Octopus with the shortest name, is Culliferdontofoscfoliopolydesteropouf. The others were much longer and I still go over them every now and then to check I still can.


It is often the simplest food within stories that makes us want to eat what the characters are eating. There are many food moments in this book that make you smack your lips. One of them is a mound of sandwiches, eaten on the open sea on a life raft after a ship has sunk, with carefully moderated gulps of lemonade. But one of the more unusual ones is a selection of fishy pastes that are provided in every under-sea 'motel' or "sleeping-shell". Within each of these shells there is a set of bunkbeds and a cupboard containing some whale milk, some rum, and stacks of little wrapped bricks of paste. The usual suspects were Bloater Paste, Shrimp Paste, and Lobster Paste. The cupboards and the sandy carpets are all maintained by Caretaker Crabs who are usually very sleepy and have a reputation for being lazy. Despite the lack of variety and the bare surroundings, something about these little bricks of paste made me peckish every time they were mentioned. I was never one for seafood, but I like the flavour of fish, and have enjoyed fish paste sandwiches in the past. So I thought this was one weird fictional food adventure I had to embark upon. 

I tried Shrimp paste first, but found the delicate flavour of the prawns were best left alone. I don't really have the budget to go out buying lobster on a whim, so I researched a bit about Bloaters. I had assumed that a Bloater was a type of fish, but it is actually the name for one way of smoking a herring. A Kipper is a smoked Herring, butterflied out flat. Whereas a Bloater is a smoked Kipper that is gutted but kept whole. So basically both should have a similar smoked herring flavour. 

I went and had a chat with the fishy van man who visits Cullompton every week, who told me all this, and also recommended I grill the Kippers. So I came home with a gorgeous, deep ochre Kipper, ready to be turned into those lovely tasty bricks of pate. 

If you'd like to see what the recipe entails, here it is:

Kipper Pate (Nearly Bloater Paste).

Kipper Pate

"Nearly Bloater Paste"
from Pirates of the Deep Green Sea by Eric Linklater

If you're wondering why I was inspired to make these fictional treats from a favourite childhood book, click here to read the explanation.

INGREDIENTS:

...................................................
1 whole kipper
2 tbspns half-fat soft cheese
juice of half a lemon
ground pepper
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Put the kipper on a piece of tin foil, flesh side up, under a hot grill, on the lowest shelf. 

Grill for about 5 minutes. The flesh should easily flake apart and retain a soft moistness inside. 

Allow to cool a little. When cool enough to handle, remove the whole spine by lifting from the tail and peeling up towards the head. It should take all or most of the larger bones with it, but you'll be able to clearly spot any that remain and pull them out easily. Don't be concerned about the hair-like bones that you may see between the flakes of flesh. They are very flimsy and unnoticable to eat.


Pull off the flesh, flake it roughly into a food processor and blitz well. Alternatively, put it in a mixing bowl and mash thoroughly with a fork. 

Add the soft cheese and plenty of pepper and mix well. Don't be tempted to add salt, as the Kipper is already pretty salty. Add a tablespoon of milk and gradually add the lemon juice, only adding enough to make it moist, not sloppy. If you prefer less lemon taste, just add a bit more of the milk and less lemon juice.

It's ready to eat now, but if you don't plan on eating it straight away, tip the mixture into a tub, or if you want to serve it prettily for a party, or just because, spoon it into a small pudding bowl or mug, lined with cling film. Press well down and seal over the cling film. Place the other half of the lemon, (wrapped in cling film so you can use it for something else) to weight it down. Leave in the fridge for a couple of hours then unfold the top of the cling film, turn onto a plate, and remove the bowl and cling film. Serve with crunchy toast or crackers, and whale milk or rum! ;) 

Use within 5 days. 

If you want a more authenticly Pirates in the Deep Green Sea little brick of paste, use an icecube tray, or mini silicon loaf moulds, but really, it's about the eating, and it's mighty tasty!


If you have moggies, ask them to do a preliminary clean of your fishy bowls for you. If you ask nicely, they should be happy to oblige. 

The Start of Things

Hello. 

This is my new blog. 

It's for foody stuff. 

Last year, ending in August 2015, I completed a challenge that I set myself upon turning 30. To read all the childrens' books and make all the recipes they inspired, within a book my friend gave me that birthday, called Turkish Delight and Treasure Hunts, by Jane Brocket. And blog about each one. 23 books and over 25 recipes. In one year. I did it and I loved it. I should probably have given it its own blog from the start, rather than posting it all on my illustration blog, Susie and the Pencils. Since then, my love of cooking has been deepening and I've been enjoying making up my own recipes and trying out all sorts of yummy things.

I'm more in love than ever with my kitchen and the recipes are spilling out all over the place so I am riding that wave and letting it happen. I plan to make a book, but for now, here is my place to share some recipes and foodish thoughts, or link to nice things that other people are doing with food. I love cookery books, so I'll also let you know which books I've been reading and which recipes I've been trying. 

If you do try or share any of my recipes, please let people know where they've come from. It's a wonderful creative process, making new recipes, but it's like writing a song or a book or painting a picture. Thanks. 

Susie's Savoury Rich Shortcrust Pastry

To use with Cheddar Cheese Pies

I have been using this recipe for several years now, and it never disappoints me. I also use a sweet version of it for my Raspberry and custard tart, my Brambly Hedge pies and mince pies. I just add a tablespoon of icing sugar to the butter and flour at the beginning. It's strong enough to work with but wonderfully crisp and crumbly when cooked, seeming to just dissolve in your mouth.

175g plain whole flour

100g chilled salted butter

1 large egg yolk

approx 5-7 tspns cold water

Shortcrust pastry recipes always tell you to use chilled butter. I used to always dilligently obey, until one day I was making it in a hurry and only had the butter we use on bread, sitting in the cupboard, quite soft, and none in the fridge. I used it as it was and couldn't discern any difference whatsoever in either the end result or it's workability. So now I just use whatever I have available no matter how hard or soft. As I usually use a food processor to mix my pastry anyway, I don't handle the ingredients until I have a dough assembled, so no risk of over-melting the butter whilst rubbing it into the flour.

Put the flour and the butter in the food processor.

Whizz until thoroughly combined and looking like breadcrumbs.

Tip in the egg yolk and 5 tspns of the cold water.

Whizz again for a few seconds, until the mixture all starts to stick together.

Don't wait until it forms a ball itself or it will be too moist to work with.

Touch the mixture to feel whether it needs another teaspoon or two of water.

When you are happy with the consistency, tip it all out onto your work surface and use your hands to bring it all together into a ball.

Knead it for about 30 seconds, dusting with a little extra flour if sticking to the surface too much. You will end up with a lovely smooth ball of golden dough.

Pat it out into a thick disc and wrap it in cling film or a sandwich bag then pop it in the fridge for 30 minutes before working with it. If you leave it longer than this, give it a little bit of time out of the fridge before working with it as it may need to soften a little before you roll it out. You'll get used to how you like it to feel to work with. 

Usually, baking between 180C - 200C for between 12-20 mins is fine, dependent on the filling too. Check details in the Cheddar Cheese Pies recipe. 

Mrs Mouseling's Cheddar Cheese Pies

from Angelina Ballerina by Katherine Holabird

Invented by Susie Tyler, 26^th March 2016

Makes 12

Bake for 12-15 mins 

180C

7.5 round scalloped-edge cutter

Standard Patty Pan

Ingredients

225g Vintage/Extra Mature Cheddar

3 tbspns plain flour

6 egg yolks

75ml milk (semi-skimmed/whole)

Pastry (use my 'Savoury Rich Shortcrust Pastry' or shop-bought shortcrust block or pre-rolled sheet)

Extra egg yolk for brushing

Grate the cheese on the finest setting, into a large mixing bowl.
Spoon over the flour, flicking lightly through the cheese with a fork until thoroughly combine, keeping the strands loose and avoiding clumping together.

In a mug, beat the yolks with the milk. Add a few twists of pepper then pour into the bowl with the cheese.
Still using the fork, loosely beat together until completely mixed, making a thick, sticky consistency, but not too sloppy/liquid.

Grease and flour a 12-dip patty-pan. Preheat the oven to 180C.
Roll pastry to about 3-5 mm thickness.
Cut circles and place in dips of patty-pan, pushing well in.

Spoon the filling into each pastry case.
I find it easiest to use 2 soup spoons, one domed full of mix, the other to push it off into the pastry cases.
Then use the back of the spoon to pat the mixture down so it rises almost to the edges. The criss-cross pastry decoration is not essential if you don't want to do it. It's a bit fiddly but it's very prettily pleasing and gives an extra bit of bite.

Roll out the pastry offcuts thinner than before and cut thin strips (about ¾ cm), two per pie. Using a large knife is the easiest way to get a straight edge.
Check the length required across one pie first and then you can use it as a guide for all the others.
Brush the ends of the strips with beaten egg yolk.
Bake at for 12-15 minutes, rotating the tray after 10 minutes for even browning and checking every minute after 12 minutes to avoid over cooking.
My oven is a powerful beast, so tends to cook quite quickly, but all ovens differ so make a note of what works for you once you've baked them.
The filling should be puffed up and domed, and the the pastry should be golden brown. Eat whilst warm, or at room temperature, or cold from the fridge.
You can also pop them in the oven again at 180 for a few minutes to refresh them, or freeze them.

Despite their littleness, they are really quite filling. Even one will do as a tasty lunch with some fresh salad or ham and chutney. Ideal for picnics!

Inspired by Angelina Ballerina

I always loved Angelina Ballerina.

Long before the days that she would prance across television screens or become a brand, she was that dear little, slightly plump mouse, with sweet little mousey toes, who adored dancing so much that the yearning to learn ballet was affecting everything she did and getting her into all sorts of trouble for daydreaming and clumsiness. 

Within the well-thumbed pages of my book, she twirled and leapt through her house and through life. One of my favourite pages is the one where Angelina spins through the kitchen and knocks a plate of her Mother's best cheddar cheese pies to the floor. Mrs Mouseling was obviously very irked, and something would just have to be done about Angelina.

Mum and I read this together countless times, and its familiarity was a delicious comfort, along with all the other books about Angelina. Long after I was a confident reader, Mum and Dad would still read to me at bedtime. Being read to is one of the most devoted acts in families. I love it when Andy reads to me now, and I know Dad still delights in reading to Mum. It is not an age-related benefit. So, Angelina was read to me often and over a long time span. 


As a young girl who loved pink tutus and ribbons for a while, these books delighted me, but they were so much more than just girly books about ballet. Katharine Holabird's illustrations are so detailed and beautifully homely. That plate of cheddar cheese pies was endlessly enticing. I always thought those little individual pies sounded amazing but til now they lived only within the covers of Angelina Ballerina. I remembered them the other day, and suddenly wanted to make them into a reality. 

There are a few options for what to add into these. Along with the basic CHEESE, milk, and eggs, you could add a bit of flour, or breadcrumbs, and maybe herbs, mustard, onion, or ham. Their texture and flavour could vary endlessly. However, the image in my head is one that looks like a mince pie, with perhaps a latticed top. When I looked back at the illustration, they were JUST as I had remembered them. The mixture inside looks wonderfully yellow and judging by the amount of cheese that Mrs Mouseling is grating, they must be superbly cheesy. Perhaps not so much an omelette or a quiche, but a bit less eggy, and not so light. 

I finally decided that I wanted something soft but slightly firm and dense, so I came up with this recipe, and I am so chuffed with the texture, the flavour and the look, so here they are for you to try. Small children and adults alike have happily munched their way through them, and they don't last long, so double up on the pastry ready to make another batch soon! 


Click here for the recipe.