Stokes Sauces: Seafood celebrations - during National Seafood Week

Fish is the Dish

http://www.stokessauces.co.uk/page/sauces/ketchup-and-sauces

National Seafood Week runs from 5th to 12th October and is intended to promote sustainable fish as part of a weekly balanced diet.

We know many Stokes friends and followers love fish because of the interest you show in our 'Fish Friday' newsletters. If you want to know more about Seafood Week from 'Fish is the Dish' click here.

The good news is that fish & seafood is low in calories, high in protein and rich in vitamins, minerals and natural oils. Our coastal waters are rich with a huge range of piscatorial prizes.

The best news for oyster lovers is...

There's an 'R' in the Month

Oysters are fished all around Britain now there is an 'R' in the month, having been left to replenish since April. Well-known beds lie off Essex, Kent, Dorset, Devon, Cornwall, the west of Scotland and Ireland.

The Pacific Rock Oyster was introduced to Britain 30 years ago to boost oyster numbers as they reproduce and grow at a far faster rate than native oysters - no sex please we're British oysters.

We have been playing with a couple of ideas to let Stokes grace these jewels of the sea. To a base of very dry white wine, finely chopped shallots and a squeeze of lemon juice - try the following. For smoky warmth add a dash of Stokes Chipotle Ketchup. For a good chilli hit, whisk in a touch of Stokes Chilli Jam. And for a hint of Bloody Mary, add a dash of Stokes Bloody Mary Tomato Ketchup.

Gone Fishing

Macaroni Cheesy Crab

You'll need:

2 dressed crabs (or 2 tubs of mixed brown and white crab meat)
400 g of Macaroni
400 ml of milk
A good knob of butter
175 g of Cheddar cheese
1 Mozzarella
1 1/2 tbsp of Stokes Classic English Mustard
75 g of breadcrumbs
2 tbsp of flour

Here's how:

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/Gas mark 6. Cook the pasta as directed on the pack.

Make a roux with the butter and flour and add the mustard before gradually whisking in the milk, adding it in about four parts. Stop when you have the right consistency, if the sauce is too thick, add more milk.

When you are happy, grate in the Cheddar and tear the Mozzarella, adding this too. Add the brown crab meat and cooked pasta to the cheese sauce and combine the ingredients together well.

Spoon everything into an oven dish, cover the top with the white crab meat and breadcrumbs and bake for 15 minutes.

It is delicious served with Stokes Bloody Mary Ketchup on the side.

Sea Bass & Leek

http://www.stokessauces.co.uk/page/sauces/traditional-condiments

Here's how:

For a main course use 2 sea bass fillets per person. They are so quick to pan fry, we'll get everything else done first.

We'll serve this with crushed baked new potatoes. Crush them with the back of the knife to coarsely split them. Put them in a roasting tin, drizzle with oil and a scattering of thyme leaves and bake on a medium high heat for 30 minutes. They should be soft inside and beginning to brown on the skin.

For the leeks: In a large frying pan or wok, gently fry sliced leeks (2 or 3 according to size) for 5 minutes. Add a glass of white wine, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add 2 tbsp of flour, 2 tbsp of Stokes Dijon Mustard and stir gently while adding up to 350 ml of milk. Stop adding the milk when you have a leek 'sauce' rather than leek 'soup' consistency and cook the flour out for 8 or 10 minutes uncovered.

In a pestle and mortar, crush caraway and fennel seeds and add 2 tsp of this to butter foaming in a frying pan. Put the fillets in skin side down for 3 minutes then gently turn them over for just 2 minutes more and serve.

Poached Salmon Frittata

You can follow the simple basic recipe using peas, mint and potatoes and add anything you want. The combination works particularly well with asparagus for instance.

http://www.stokessauces.co.uk/page/sauces/cooking-sauces

Here's how:

Cook and cool about 500 g of new potatoes then slice them thickly into a frying pan with a little hot oil, butter and thyme leaves.

Cook them until they begin to brown then flake 2 or 3 fillets of poached salmon into the pan with the potatoes. Add 2 tbsp of fresh chopped mint leaves, 1 tbsp of Stokes Mustard & Dill Sauce and sufficient frozen peas simply to colour the mixture.

Whisk and season 8 eggs and pour them into the pan.

Leave the pan on a gentle heat until the edges start to colour and stiffen, then pop it under a hot grill until the top colours and the frittata stiffens but still has a bit of a wobble.