A sea farer (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

A sea farer

3:33pm Wednesday 1st September 2010 in Food & Wine

The scent of the sea fills the air as Rob Green makes light work of peeling a lobster. He adds the normally tricky blighters to a steaming, ruby-rich stock as fillets of sea bass and scallops bubble ferociously in a nearby iron skillet.

Rob doesn’t just cook fish, he lives it, and the owner of multi-award-winning Green’s Restaurant in Whitby was in York to share his skills at Luke Norbury’s Cooking Rooms, Clifton Moor.

Now it’s our turn, and Rob scurries around the kitchen, guiding us through the intricacies of his signature dishes.

The secret of filleting, he says, is having a go. “Don’t be afraid of getting some fish and practising. Get a knife that you feel comfortable with – and that doesn’t necessarily mean the most expensive one. Personally, I only use two or three knives in the kitchen but I’ve been filleting for 15 years so I’m very comfortable with them.”

The recipe Rob demonstrated appears intricate but once the scary task is achieved, it’s surprisingly easy to cook. And that is something that fits well with Rob’s approach to food.

“You need to keep it relaxed, keep things simple and use good-quality local ingredients. For me, 90 per cent of good cooking is about good shopping and I’m fortunate because the fish from Whitby is outstanding. The trawlers only go out on short trips so everything is really fresh.”

Times are good for Rob; he’s the national seafood chef of the year, was asked to represent Yorkshire at April’s Enjoy England awards and Green’s was named best restaurant in the 2010 Northern Hospitality awards.

So what’s his secret?

“I think consistency is the keyword and there is an honesty which runs throughout our business. Yes, there’s always a bit of French going on in any restaurant, but over the years we have grown into our own style of cooking to produce simple, quality, local seafood.

“We don’t put a label on the style of food on our menus; we just use the best of everything on our doorstep. Combining a blend of flavours with culinary imagination is at the heart of it all and the big thing is to make sure the main ingredient shines.”

He believes presentation is important and not just in restaurants, which is one of the reasons he’s here today. Food may be all about taste but people eat with their eyes to some extent.

It’s about first impressions and to prove the point Rob pulls together all the ingredients with a complex mix of melt-in-the-mouth sea bass and robust lobster, countered with delicate queen scallops suffused in sublime lobster stock; the beer-battered crispy claw is a revelation.

It’s a masterpiece to look at and tastes divine.

The Cooking Rooms opened last December and owner Luke Norbury pitches classes at all levels; from fun events like the Easter chocolate session, to master classes such as the one Rob is running. And it’s a great idea. The students on this course aren’t just learning how to become better cooks; they also have a chance to rub shoulders for a day with the best seafood chef in the land.

Luke says: “We cater for those who might be inexperienced in the kitchen but people for whom cooking is a serious hobby will also be able to learn because of the calibre of chefs we get.

“I’m really passionate about food and I’m pleased that the people I’ve asked to come and teach at the Cooking Rooms have taken me seriously and can see what I’m trying to do”.

The Cooking Rooms are impressively equipped but all the appliances are domestic quality and that’s the whole point, says Luke.

“We’re trying to infect people with an enthusiasm for quality food at home and it’s not as difficult as you might think. There’s no fancy equipment here, but under the chef’s guidance anyone can produce restaurant-quality food.”

RECIPE

Fillets of sea bass with a little lobster salad, crispy claw, lobster sauce and poached scallop (serves 2).

Ingredients

2 fillets of wild sea bass; 1 cooked lobster, split in half, tail meat removed, claws cracked and shells reserved; 10 queen scallops, taken from the shell, cleaned and rinsed; 2 little gem lettuce leaves; 1 tablespoon of good mayonnaise.

For the batter: half-pint of lager; 25g self-raising flour; good pinch salt; 1 tablespoon malt vinegar.

For the lobster sauce: shells and head of the lobster; 3 tablespoons olive oil; half a medium onion, finely chopped; half a celery stick, chopped; one small garlic clove; one lemongrass stem, chopped; pinch saffron strands; one teaspoon Cognac; 100ml Noilly Prat, or dry vermouth; half-litre fish stock; two plum tomatoes; two teaspoons tomato puree; one basil sprig; one tarragon sprig; one parsley sprig; one small bay leaf; 50ml double cream; sea salt and fresh ground black pepper.

Method

To make sauce

• Chop up lobster shells and head, using heavy knife – the finer you chop, the more flavour
• Heat half the olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté lobster head and shells for five mins. Remove and set aside.
• Heat remaining oil in the pan, then add vegetables, garlic and lemon grass.
• Sauté for about five mins until softened. Sprinkle in saffron and cook for 30 seconds.
• Deglaze with the cognac, add the Noilly Prat, and bubble and reduce by half.
• Return shells to pan. Add stock, tomatoes, tomato puree and herbs.
• Season with pepper to taste. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 mins.
• Strain liquor through large sieve into another pan, pressing shells with a ladle to extract as much flavour as possible.
• Bring strained liquor to the boil and simmer until reduced to about 300ml.
• Stir in cream and bring to gentle simmer. Check seasoning, adding salt to taste.

To make batter

• Whisk all ingredients together until smooth

Cooking sea bass and lobster claw

• Place a non-stick pan on a medium heat with a little olive oil. When hot, add small knob of butter and put in seasoned sea-bass fillets, skin side down.
• Cook for two-three mins, depending on thickness, and turn over and cook for a further minute
• Pre-heat a deep fat-fryer to 180.
• Dust lobster claws in flour, dip into batter and cook till golden brown.
• Warm sauce and place the queen scallops in for two mins.

Putting it all together

• Place the lettuce leaves together on the plate and top with some of the tail meat.
• Top with a spoonful of mayonnaise.

  • Place cooked bass fillets on the plate and place a claw on top.

• Take scallops from sauce and place around the plate.
• Spoon sauce around the scallops.