How to barbecue a lobster, by Dale Mailley of Gardener’s Cottage, plus Rose Murray Brown on wine from Puglia
Lobster on the barbecue makes the ultimate summer al fresco treat, writes Dale Mailley of The Gardener’s Cottage
At The Gardener’s Cottage we’re blessed with a beautiful kitchen garden that’s bursting with colour and new shoots at this time of year. We grow lots of our vegetables for the restaurant, along with an abundance of fragrant herbs like sweet cicely, lovage and borage.
When you visit the garden, you might spy Charlie, our gardener hard at work. There’s always some form of planting or picking going on.
If the weather permits, we love serving lunch outside, cooked on our barbecue. It’s great to get out in the sun to prepare food in front of our guests, surrounded by the colourful garden. Nothing stimulates the appetite quicker than the aromas.
One of our favourite barbecue dishes is a simple, fresh lobster. We get ours from North Berwick but you can also get hold of live ones straight from the tank at Welch Fishmongers in Newhaven. Lobster must be fresh, and buying them alive is the best way to ensure their freshness. If you follow my recipe, you’re guaranteed a rather special experience next time you cook al fresco. n
Potted Arbroath kipper
Kippers are full of omega 3 and have a wonderful smoky flavour. We have some of the best smokehouses in the UK right here in Scotland including M&M Spink in Arbroath where we get our kippers from. A kipper is a whole herring that is split from head to tail and salted before smoking. We serve them on our breakfast menu at the cottage, but also like to make a lovely summery dip with them.
Serves two as a dip
2 Arbroath kippers 200g unsalted butter, diced ½ tsp smoked paprika ½ shallot, diced a sprig of sweet cicely and an edible flower (optional garnish) ½ tsp rapeseed oil 1 bay leaf 2 sprigs thyme salt and pepper
1 Preheat the oven to 180C/gas Mark 4. 2 Place the kippers in an ovenproof dish with the diced shallot, paprika and herbs. Place the diced butter on top and cover the dish with foil.
3 Place the dish in the oven to cook for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.
4 Debone the kipper and reserve the flesh. Place it, and all of the juices from the baking tray, into a food processor and blend until silky smooth. Season to taste with a drizzle of rapeseed oil, salt and lots of black pepper.
5 Serve with crudités and good bread. The dip will keep for several days in the fridge in an airtight container.
North Berwick lobster with sweet cicely and lovage butter
Lobster is one of the best things to eat cooked over an open fire. We have barbecue lobster and chips on the lunch menu at The Gardener’s Cottage all through the summer, served with a lovely herb salad it makes for a great treat. For best results, we cook our lobster over oak chippings on our Big Green Egg but charcoal will suffice if you can’t get your hands on wood. I make a butter from sweet cicely and lovage grown in our kitchen garden. But dill, basil or any soft fragrant herb will work just as well. Before you begin cooking with a live lobster, place it in the freezer for 10-20 minutes. This puts it to sleep.
Serves two
1 live lobster 100g butter, softened 2 handfuls of mixed herbs, salad leaves and edible flowers a handful lovage and sweet cicely, roughly chopped 3 tbsp rapeseed oil 1 tsp buckwheat 2 radishes sliced 2 tbsp salt
1 Light the barbecue. 2 Bring a large pot of water to the boil with the salt. Add the lobster to the boiling water and cook for 9-12 minutes.
3 Meanwhile, make the herb butter by placing the butter and the herbs together in a blender and mixing gently.
4 Remove the lobster from the pot and place to one side. When cool, push the tip of a large knife into the centre of the head and cut down through the tail to cut the lobster in half.
5 Brush both halves with the rapeseed oil and place on the barbecue flesh side down. Cook for 5-7 minutes.
6 Remove the lobster from the barbecue and smother with the herb butter. Serve with the mix of leaves, herbs and flowers, a sprinkle of buckwheat, and chips if you like.
Honey cake with summer berries
We get our honey from the Secret Herb Garden on the outskirts of Edinburgh, and this is one of our
favourite things to do with it. The honey cake recipe comes from our baker Dominic at our other restaurant, Quay Commons, and we’ve adapted it to suit the sweet richness of the honey.
Serves six
200g caster sugar (and an additional sprinkle) 200ml honey 120ml rapeseed oil 4 eggs 250ml orange juice 300g plain flour 1 tbsp baking powder ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda 250g mixed summer berries 5 mint leaves 150g crème fraîche or ice cream meringue and edible flowers to garnish, optional
1 Preheat the oven to 185C/gas Mark 4.
2 Grease and flour a 23x33cm baking tin. Mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and cinnamon.
3 In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, honey, oil, eggs. Beat this into the flour mixture alternately with dribbles of the orange juice, mixing until just incorporated. Pour the mix into the greased tin.
4 Bake in the oven for 40 to 50 minutes.
5 Sprinkle a little caster sugar over the summer berries and add some chopped mint leaves. Leave to macerate for a few minutes.
6 Serve on top of the cake along with some crème fraîche or ice cream. Garnish with meringue and some edible flowers.