The Smoke House

Not so long back I visited Cley Next The Sea in North Norfolk, a lovely place and one that I would return to again and again. The village is home to a fabulous Smokehouse, and of course I just had to bring back a sample of their delightful produce home with me. All the smoking is done ‘in house’ and all the fish obtained as locally and seasonally as possible. A true ‘artisan’ producer if ever there was one. If you’re ever in that neck of the woods do stop by, you will not be disappointed.

Now here is a good place to point out that I am the only member of my family to truly enjoy good smoked fish, but, I am on a mission to convert the others. I am convinced this is born not from a dislike of good smoked fish but from the memories of the bright yellow smoked haddock and kippers widely sold throughout the UK.

The starting point — smoked mackerel and spinach tart. I suppose you could refer to this as a quiche but I prefer to call it a tart, I’m not really sure why but I just think it suits the dish better.

Due to the strong, but I hasten to add not overpowering, flavour of the smoked fish very little else is required in terms of flavourings. I simply used a basic quiche mixture of eggs and cream with shredded spinach and flaked fish; I used the peppered smoked mackerel from Cley but regular smoked would work just as well. You could play with the flavourings a little if you wish, maybe swapping the spinach for samphire or cherry tomatoes but definitely no cheese here please.

I have a real passion for using different flours wherever I can, mostly I buy them from Shipton Mill as the quality is superb and the customer service outstanding. This time around I used sunflower & wheat flour to make the pastry.  It has a wonderful slightly sweet flavour and I find it gives a lovely nubbly texture to the finished pastry, in addition the sunflower acts as a dough conditioner giving the pastry a really tender crumb. If you can get hold of some of this flour, do give it a try.

The crisp buttery pastry combined with a silky smooth creamy filling made the perfect base to hold such beautifully smoked fish.

I chose to serve the tart with nothing more fancy than a simple green salad and some crusty brown bread.

The bread is an oat & granary loaf. The addition of oats gives an added richness and nutty flavour to the bread, perfectly suited to the sunflower nuttiness of the pastry. The bread has honey added which lends a sweetness and olive oil which helps condition the dough. Adding oil to bread gives a lovely softness and resilience, resulting in a bread with not only a wonderful flavour but a great texture too. This loaf has a tight crumb but a definite springy, light texture to it with a lovely crisp crust, making it perfect for serving along side a main meal, for mopping up sauces, to dunk into soup, for sandwiches or even great toast — an all round good loaf.

Although I created the ingredient list myself I (as per usual) followed Dan Steven’s fabulous Bread: River Cottage Handbook No. 3 (River Cottage Handbook 3) method for making the bread.

Smoked Mackerel & Spinach Tart

• 350ml double cream
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 100g spinach, shredded
• 2 smoked mackerel fillets, flaked
• 200g sunflower & wheat flour
• 100g butter, cut into cubes
• 1 egg yolk (reserve the white)
• 60ml milk

1. Make the pastry. Rub the butter into the flour using your fingertips until you have a mixture resembling bread crumbs. Add the egg yolk and milk and gradually bring together until you have a ball of pastry.
2. Roll out to fit the tin (I used an 18cm spring-form tin), leave a little extra depth above the edge of the quiche pan to allow for shrinkage.
3. Prick the bottom with a fork, then chill the tart case in the freezer.
4. Heat the oven to 180C.
5. After about 30 minutes, cover the pastry in a layer of greaseproof paper or foil and put either baking stones, or dried beans on the top to keep the pastry down.
6. Bake in the oven on the baking sheet for 15 minutes or so.
7. Remove the beans and paper and brush the case with the spare egg whites from the filling.
8. Return the tart case back in the oven for 8-10 minutes.
9. Prepare while tart case is baking
10. Beat the cream, whole eggs and egg yolks together, adding a good grind of pepper
11. Place the spinach in the base of the tart and pour over the egg and cream mixture, 3/4 full in tin
12. Arrange the smoked mackerel over the surface, making sure that it is mostly in the egg mixture with only the very top showing
13. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden and softly set. The centre should not feel too firm.
14. Allow to settle for 5 minutes before removing from the tin.

Oat & Granary Bread:

• 500g granary flour
• 1o0g medium oatmeal
• 1 7g sachet fast action yeast
• 10g fine salt
• 350ml warm water
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 tablespoon ivy honey
• 2 handfuls of khorosan flour, for coating

1. First, mix the dough. Combine the flour, yeast and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the liquid, and with one hand, mix to a rough dough. Add the oil and honey and mix it all together. Adjust the consistency if you need to with a little more flour or water to make a soft, kneadable, sticky dough. Turn the dough out on to a work surface and clean your hands. Knead the dough until it is as smooth and satiny as you can make it — this will take about 10 minutes.
2. Shape the kneaded dough into a round. Then oil or flour the surface and put the dough into the wiped-out mixing bowl.
3. Cover the bowl with a bakers cloth or clingfilm and leave to ferment and rise until doubled in size. This could be anywhere between 45 minutes and 1½ hours — or longer still, if the dough is cold.
4. Deflate the dough by tipping it on to the work surface and pressing all over with your fingertips. Then form it into a round. If you like, leave to rise again up to four times (generally I leave it to rise 3 times). This will improve the texture and flavour.
5. Now switch the oven to 250C (or the equivalent). Get your water spray bottle ready if you have one, your serrated knife or lame, and an oven cloth. Clear the area around the oven.
6. Shape the dough into a round transfer either to a baking tray or proving basket and cover with the bakers cloth, leave to rise until doubled in size. If using a proving basket gently transfer the dough to a baking tray once doubled in size
7. Slash the top, if you wish, and before you bake the bread, spray it all over with water. Put the tray in the oven, spritz some water into the oven and close the door as quickly as you can. Turn the heat down after about 10 minutes to: 200C if the crust still looks very pale; 180C if it is noticeably browning; 170C if it seems to be browning quickly. Bake until the loaves are well browned and crusty, and feel hollow when you tap them: in total, 10-20 min for rolls; 30-40 min for small loaves; 40-50 min for large loaves. If in doubt, bake for a few minutes longer. Leave to cool on a wire rack