Herring Escabeche

• 6 herring fillets, pin bones removed
• ½ bulb of fennel, finely sliced
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 1 carrot, finely sliced
• 1 clove of garlic, lightly crushed
• 2 star anise
• Pinch of saffron
• 3tbs olive oil
• 1tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed
• Malden sea salt
• 1tsp caster sugar
• 1 sprig of summer savoury
• 1 bay leaf
• 75ml cider vinegar
• 200ml white wine

Prepare the fish; remove the pin bones, wash and pat dry. Cut the herrings to the desired size and lightly score the skin. Place the herrings in a wide, shallow container and glaze the fish with half the oil, add the bay leaf and summer savoury, set aside.

Heat a medium saucepan and toast the coriander seeds and star anise in the warm dry pan, remove from the heat.

Return the pan to the heat with the remaining oil and sweat the onions, fennel, garlic, carrot and toasted spices until it turns transparent with no colour, lightly season and add the sugar and saffron.

Add the white wine and vinegar, bring the mixture to a gentle simmer, reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Let the mixture cool for 5 minutes.

Season the herrings with the Malden sea salt and ladle the pickling liquid over. Allow the herrings to cool completely. It’s best to leave them in the fridge for 12 hours for the flavour to develop.

Pickled Green Beans

• 300g green beans, sliced
• 115ml malt vinegar
• 2tsp curry powder
• 1tsp turmeric
• 115g light brown sugar
• 115g onions, diced
• 1tsp salt
• Freshly cracked black pepper
• 1tbs corn flour
• 1tsp Coleman’s English mustard powder
• 10g golden syrup
• 1 clove of garlic crushed

Top and tail the beans and slice at an angle.

Bring the salted water to the boil in a large saucepan and blanch the beans for 1 minute, refresh in icy cold water.

In a separate medium saucepan mix the malt vinegar and cornflour till smooth. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring the mixture to the boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the refreshed blanched beans; bring the mixture back to the boil for 1 minute.

Transfer the pickled beans to a sterilised clean container, cool and refrigerate. Refrigerated they will keep for up to 2 months, if unopened.

To Serve

Serve the herring escabeche and pickled green beans on a plate, garnish the plate with some of the pickled vegetables and juices, and add a few sprigs of watercress.

Serves 6