Permacrop 3 - the Sea Captains box

Well today was a bit of work in planning more than anything else. Rather than shore foraging, it is easier to grow and have coastal edible veg close at hand. For that reason I decided to develop a salty box in the perennial bed.

Drainage foundation, free from the garden

I also see, watching programs like masterchief and in top restaurants like NOMA a trend to these delicious but forgotten culinary gems. I guess because they have a short shelf life, supermarkets don't like them, so they have gone out of fashion. They are now presented as exotic, but were once common from fishmongers, packed in casks of seawater for transportation.

There are three veg I want to grow in the box. They are all edible coastal plants, and are halophyte - that is they like, need and /or tolerate salt. In addition to that they all like sandy, well drained soil so that was the requirement.

Scurvygrass (Cochlearia officinalis) is a native Irish perennial and grows to about 20cm in height.

Kind of tastes like a cross between horseradish and cress. For use in salads or stir fries.

It is also of historical interest to me and that's mainly why I'm cultivating it.

In the old days, scurvy occurred on ships spending months at sea without fresh fruits or greens, leading to a deficiency of  vitamin C.

But if a captain stowed a supply of scurvy grass and other sources of vitamin C like lime juice or saurkraut / zuurkool (hence the nicknames limey and kraut) as the 18th-century English explorer Capt. James Cook did, the sailors were safe. He also collected another type in New Zealand called Nau which I hope to get someday.

If you like bacon, that juicy, salty, crispy texture and taste, you will love these next two.

Samphire (Cachrys maritima)  - perennial - grows to about 30cm-ish and can be found in Irish coastal regions, I've also had it in the southern Netherlands, very short shelf life so it's best to grow your own rather than face the expense of it because they have to rush it from the Zeeuws estuaries to the point of sale, but great as a garnish for oysters. 
Its succulent, crispy, salty. Great raw or snipped into salads or soups - almost like vegetable bacon.

Salsola (Salsola Soda) is native to the Med, it grows to about 70cm and is very popular in Italy. Barba Di Frate (or Friar's Beard) is what the Neapolitan's called it while I was there, again, collected fresh from salt marsh's. It is actually irrigated using sea water.

It was fantastic served with cavolo nero and pine nuts, but a word of warning, it is notoriously hard to germinate.

Seaweed, free fertilizer

All of these plants, as I said, live in a saline coastal environment. That means they like brackish water, something between the sea and fresh.

Sea water has a specific gravity of 1.025 - i.e. it contains 25 grams of salt per litre, fresh water has none.

For that reason, and erring on the side of caution I will irrigate twice a week and go with a specific gravity of 1.010 - and you don't need a hydrometer to work this out.

Simply add 10 grams of sea salt or kosher salt per litre. The reason for sea salt is it contains no iodine or anti caking agents. The average watering can holds about 8 litres - that's 80 grams of salt per can.

Obviously I don't want the salt leaching into other beds, so the bed had to be prepared differently to the normal set up, especially as I included it in the perennial bed.

This took a bit of thought as it had to be lined and drain in a way that would keep the salt away from other plants, and it had to be quite sandy.

Initial outline

I came up with this scheme, a plastic sleeve made up of old feed bags that would drain freely into the bedrock / glacial sand base that is in the garden and was a 2 ft transverse box in the perennial bed

The other consideration was orientation, this was done on the basis of height. The bed lies facing NE, so the transverse runs SE. Salsola grows to about 70cm, Salsify to 30cm and scurvygrass to 20cm max, so that settled the issue.

Apart from that its step by step.

1 ) Cut a transverse trench across the bed, getting down far enough that salty water wont affect other plants, beds or bed sections. By the time I was happy, I had gone down about 24 inches / 60cm below the base of the side retaining boards in the raised beds.

2 ) Put in and secure transverse retainer boards either side of the trench

3 ) Clear the trench to the drainage zone and put in rocks to improve water flow

4 ) Tack in the plastic sheeting (I used old feed bags) around the edge of the box, to separate the salt box from neighbouring sections. Turn the bottom of the sheets inward and line the rocks carefully to hold it down.

The trench width was 2 feet / 60 cm, the width of the drainage sink at the bottom was about 18 inches / 45cm.

5 ) Next step was a layer of sand roughly raked in to fill in between the rocks and provide a free draining base

6 ) After that, a layer of dried seaweed that I ran through the new garden shredder - made a nice tidy job of it.

7 ) Then the backfill of soil well mixed with beach sand, always aiming to have very well drained soil to replicate the littoral maritime environment. The side that the Salsola and Samphire were going into got a bit more earth as they are succulents and are more fond of water/mud than scurvygrass

8 ) After that it was planting the seeds, marking them up and giving a top dressing of seaweed for extra nutrients. I also started to put in a cap around the box to secure the plastic on tom and give a better look to the bed.

I hope, and think, the scheme will work - and it does fit in well with the overall bed.

I hope you enjoyed the post, and if you found it of help or have any comments please do take the time to leave a message here at the blog, I love the feedback

 

Super Simple Shellfish Soups - Bisque and/or Moule Mariner.

There are a few very simple dishes that always work well.
Bisque and Moule mariner are two, and by making and freezing shellfish stock, you always have this at hand - it's simple, tasty and straight forward.

Making the shellfish stock is easy, and also gives you more value for money - and another helpful addition to the garden.

Whenever I have finished with the shells, I put them in the ash grate of a fire.
This way they toast or bake dry. I then break them up coarsely and spread them on the garden pathways. I hope that like egg shells the sharp, broken shell helps in the struggle against slugs and snails, besides, it's a form of recycling and can't do any harm.

The shellfish stock serves as a basis for two fish soups I like to do. The first is the simplest, and a classic Belgian staple - also very popular in the Zeeuws region of the Netherlands, served on the street every year outside De Mug - one of my favorite pubs in one of my favorite towns in the world.

There are several variations on Moule Mariner, but this one works for me and is pretty true to its Belgian origins but might be better described as a Mussel Bisque with more depth, using shellfish stock.
Quite often the soup in Belgium has additional kick added to it by adding a dash of Pernod, but I just add fennel bulb for that same aniseed flavour.

Perfect served with freshly made soda bread

FOR MOULE MARINER

Ingredients:
1 Kilo Mussels
750 ml Shellfish stock*. (See footnote)
3 sticks celery, finely sliced
1 bulb fennel, finely sliced
1 leek, finely sliced.
1 Onion, finely diced.
2 Cloves Garlic finely sliced.
250 ml dry white wine
Parsley to garnish
Cream

Method:
In a heavy based pot, add a knob of butter and heat until foaming.
Add the sliced veg until softened.
Add the wine and mussels, steaming the mussels for 5 minutes - or until open.
Remove the mussels and set aside, add the shellfish stock and bring to the boil.
Return the mussels to the pot and heat up.
Serve in large bowls with a dash of cream and garnish with parsley - serve with soda bread, warm and delicious.

FOR BISQUE

Bisque is just a richer version without the aniseed flavours and contains more meat in the soup.
The mushrooms add richness. Rather than the aniseed flavour of fennel, this gets a kick from cayenne pepper.
Its more a winter/autumn soup than the Moule Mariner.
You can vary it to your own taste of course, one version pictured here was served with lobster shell for decoration and sliced, raw Oca to decorate and to add a citrus style zing to it.

The Oca really works for this recipe, its tart, sharp apple/citrus flavour cuts the richness giving a very nice tang to the meal.
The other photo has cream and lardon croutons.

FOR BISQUE
Knob butter
Handful button mushrooms.
One onion, finely chopped
One leek, finely sliced
Two good stems chopped celery sticks
One chopped carrot
1 litre shellfish stock*. (See footnote)
teaspoon salt
1/2 (half) teaspoon cayenne pepper
120 ml dry white wine
225 g cooked lobster, prawn, crab or other crustacean meat
Cream

1.Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.
Add the mushrooms, onion, celery, and carrot. Cook and stir until tender, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the shellfish stock, and season with salt and cayenne pepper.
Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes.

2.Pour the vegetable and broth mixture into the container of a blender,
and add half the crustacean meat.
Cover, and process until smooth.

3. Return to the saucepan, and stir in the cream, white wine, and remaining crustacean meat.
Cook over low heat, stirring frequently until thickened, about 30 minutes.

SHELLFISH STOCK

Very simple and straight forward. Take any shellfish remains, crab claws, lobster, prawn etc and break up.
Cover with cold water, add some salt, pepper, bay leaves, a small onion, small carrot and some celery.
Bring to the boil, simmer for an hour and a half. Allow to cool and strain off liquid.
Shells can be put in the ash drawer of a fire, dried out, broken up and spread on garden paths or veg beds to deter snails and slugs as eggshells are.

 

Super Simple Soda bread

Soda bread, about as Irish as it gets. No messing around with yeast or waiting to rise etc.
This is a very simple, easy to follow recipe.

With blackberry jam or curd and a mug of tea, it is the flavour of Connemara.

Ingredients

450g (1lb) plain white flour, or wholemeal if you want a brown loaf.
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baxitartar
1 teaspoon bread soda or bicarbonate of soda (2 if you dont have baxitartar)
400ml (14fl oz) buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 230ºc / Gas Mark 9.

Sift all the dry ingredients into a large, wide bowl, and make a well in the centre.
Pour in the milk and mix using the fingers of one hand, stiff and oustretched like a claw, stir from the centre to the edge of the bowl in circles.
If you dont like using your hands, try a wooden spoon

The dough should be softish, but not too wet and sticky.
When it all comes together, turn out on to a well-floured work surface.

Wash and dry your hands. Pat the dough into a tidy shape and flip over gently, then pat it into a round about 4cm (1 and 1/2 inches) thick.
Gently transfer to a lightly greased and lightly floured baking tray or tin.

You can cut a deep cross into the loaf and prick the centre of each quarter to let the fairies out, or do a deeply pierced cross pattern with a fork as I do, because thats how I saw it done.
The reason that you make a cross in the top of the loaf before you bake it is to allow the heat to get through to the centre of the bread and cook the middle.

Bake for 15 minutes, then reduce the heat to 200ºc/Gas Mark 6 and bake for a further 30 minutes or until cooked. If you are in doubt tap the bottom of the bread: it should sound hollow.
Rub the surface with a knob of butter or a few tablespoons of buttermilk while warm - this softens the crust.
Cool on a wire rack.

Soda bread is best eaten on the day it is made.

For a very nice traditional fruity version add to the above recipe:
Reduce the buttermilk to 350ml (12fl oz)
1 tablespoon sugar
100g (4oz) sultanas or raisins
A couple of tablespoons of either molasis, treacle, maple syrup, honey or golden syrup
1 egg

As always, thanks for visiting, and please feel free to leave a comment

 

Luscious Lobster Ravioli

The recipe I developed to stretch lobster also works well with crab as a much cheaper alternative, or prawn tails, and is just as delicious.
Also, save any shells left over as the basis of a bisque, further stretching your Euro.

As a poster Lá an Lúbáin at politicalworld.org called it, Gliomach Sínte, stretched lobster

There is an illustrated guide on how to humanely kill a lobster at the end of the post so reader discretion is advised.

Quite simply, the whole concept of a kitchen garden is to deal with what you have at hand, and what is available.

Lobster, an utterly delicious food, but ridiculously expensive. Lobster, for me, is a very welcome gift from local fishermen, and it normally comes around Easter or Christmas. 
So, with a little imagination, two small lobsters can go a long way - and produce a rich, warm meal rather than a salad.

The thing is, we have been conditioned to serve the food on the shell with a salad and a light sauce, and that is perfect if you can afford it - but if your feeding more than 4 a half lobster each, then it gets very pricey very quick.

This recipe is loosely based on Lobster Newburg - which is quite apt in my case. Lobster Newburg was invented by Ben Wenberg, a Ships Officer.
He demonstrated the dish to New York restaurant manager Charles Delmonico in about 1876.
After refinements by the famous chief Charles Ranhofer - author of the Epicurean - the creation was sold in the restaurant as Lobster à la Wenberg and became very popular. 

An argument between Wenberg and Charles Delmonico caused the dish to be removed from the menu.
To satisfy patrons’ continued requests for it, the name was changed into an anagram - Lobster Newburg.
Lobster Newburg is related to the better known Lobster Thermidor, but Thermidor only appeared in the 1890's.

FOR THE PASTA

It could not be simpler, you do not need a pasta machine you might use 6 times a year, all you need is a rolling pin. 
2 cups flour 
2 large eggs, whole 
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 
1/2 tsp. sea salt 
3 tablespoons water 

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and process for 30 seconds.
Check consistency and add a small amount of flour is pasta is too wet, or a small amount of water if pasta is too dry. Whizz for another 30 seconds to incorporate any additions.

Turn dough out onto a pastry board, large chopping board or work surface sprinkled lightly with flour and knead by hand for a minute or two, until smooth.

Place the dough under a bowl to rest for 20 minutes before rolling, or refrigerate, tightly wrapped in plastic and stored in a plastic bag if not using right away.

Use within a few hours for best results.

Roll pasta out. Fold dough over and roll through again, gradually making the pasta thinner as it becomes smoother; dust lightly with flour as needed, but not too much.

It helps to brush off excess flour with a pastry brush.

When pasta is thin enough it is ready for use in making ravioli.

Use the pasta sheets as soon as they are rolled; dry pasta sheets don't seal as well at the edges as fresh sheets, causing the ravioli to separate when cooking.

If your pasta sheets have dried out, brush the edges with an egg wash or water (where the pasta is crimped together).

For this recipe you will need at least two sheets of pasta. The first one made can be draped over the back of a chair on a clean dishcloth, the second - base layer, can be left on the board - but make sure the board is well floured. You do not want this sticking when you lift.

This pasta dough is also great for fresh lasagne sheets.

FOR THE FILLING AND SAUCE

2 lobsters (1 1/2 to 2 pounds each)
3 tablespoons olive oil
250 ml (1 teacup) white wine
125 ml (1/2 teacup) sherry or Madeira
500 ml (2 teacups) heavy cream
salt
cracked pepper
pinch of cayenne
pinch of nutmeg
Beurre Manie (uncooked roux - See footnote 1)

For Ravioli parcel
Cooked Lobster tail meat
Freshly chopped chives 
Pinch of paprika 

RECOMMENDED EXTRAS

I love to add a good tablespoon of chopped tarragon to the sauce, it really adds to the flavour.
Recently I also added mussels and cooked them in the sauce, they look fantastic, their dark shells surrounding the ravioli parcels.

 PROCESS

1- kill the lobster** (See footnote 2)

2- Turn the lobster around and cut the tail and body in half long ways.
Cut the tail into sections.
3- Remove the claws and reserve.
4- Along the center of the lobster are three kinds of viscera, the dark green are the stomach and intestine that can be scraped out and discarded.
The yellow green and red coral are the tomalley and the roe which are delicious and may be left in.

COOKING THE LOBSTER TAIL

Heat the olive oil in a heavy based pan.
Sear all the lobster tail meat pieces until bright red.
Remove lobster tail meat from pan - at this point you can start to de-glaze the pan (see further on) and cook any extra shellfish.

FOR THE RAVIOLI

Mix the cooked lobster tail with the chopped chives and paprika, and place on the ravioli sheet, about a tablespoon per parcel.

If you want extra zing, a little chili or a squeeze of lemon juice can be added.
Again, be sure that the surface under the base pasta sheet is well dusted with flour and will not stick to the work surface.

Then apply a light eggwash beween the food clusters and drape over the second sheet.

Press down between the food parcels, then using a glass or a cookie cutter cut carefully around them.
Crimp the edges with a fork to seal.
5 minutes before the sauce is ready, drop the ravioli parcels in boiling water. They will float to the surface when cooked.

If you are in any way nervous about the parcels splitting, you can also use a steamer or fish kettle, although this will make the pasta a little dry, but it's still nice

FOR THE SAUCE

While preparing the lobster ravioli packages, put the white wine on the pan to deglaze.
Reduce by half

If you have mussels, cockles or other shell fish, you can also add these to the wine during the reduction process to cook.
I now always use mussels as it adds to the presentation

When the wine is reduced remove and put aside any extra cooked shellfish.

Add cream, Madeira/Sherry and seasonings, add the lobster claw meat to the pot and cook until the meat is cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Whisk in beurre manie a little at a time until sauce begins to thicken.
Simmer over medium heat for 15 minutes.
Return any extra shellfish 5 minutes from the end of cooking, the same time as you start to cook the ravioli parcels.
Adjust seasonings and serve sauce over cooked ravioli, surrounded by the extra cooked shellfish.

This meal is very rich, and very adaptable. If you don't like the idea of making ravioli parcels, use the fresh pasta to make tagliatelle instead, and serve all the lobster meat over the pasta as a sauce, this will stretch the lobster meat even further. 

Note 1* BEURRE MANIE
Best advice from Spectabilis of politicalworld.org
Beurre manié sounds fancy but its easy to have in store. Put a couple of ounces of butter in a bowl and melt it in the microwave or in a pot.
Then add the same volume of flour, stir well and cook again until it bubbles.
If you let it cool and store it in the fridge. It keeps for ages.
It will make a lump-free sauce in a minute - just flake into any boiling liquid- milk, stock wine or whatever - and whisk.

Note 2 ** KILLING A LOBSTER

This is the most humane way to kill a lobster.

This is a living creature, and deserves to be dispatched as quickly as possible to reduce stress.

The main thing is to be quick, clean and confident - don't mess about. 

This job is one that is best left to a 10 inch chefs' knife, and one with a good deal of heft.

Make sure the rubber bands around the claws stay on during this process, as you don't want to be dodging the claws while cutting up the lobster. 
Also, I would advise that you place a dishcloth under the animal for extra grip if at all nervous abour slipping.

To kill the animal as quickly as possible, you are going to cleave the brain in half.

You must first cut it in half down the center of the head part of the body. 

You will find a crease in the shell that will give you guide and purchase.

In one movement pierce the shell to the cutting board and cleave forward between the eyes to finish the cut.
This kills the lobster as quickly and painlessly as possible.  

Soil testing, ideal vegetable pH levels and veg patch pH adjustment

As I may have mentioned before, the kitchen garden I set up is in a challenging environment, and soil acidity - particularly near pine trees in waterlogged soil, is a worry.

The first thing to do is a Ph test of the soil.
As most readers know, 95% of the time I will always advise to buy in local Irish outlets, but I got a great deal on ebay for the kit I got.
Preston Bisset Nursaries in England do a great deal on a kit I got via their ebay shop, but you can also order them direct - tell Jacqueline and Peter I sent you.
A Westminster test kit will give you approx. 30 tests - more than enough for 2-3 years for me.
It only cost £5.95 + £2.25 postage.
That is a real bargain, its very easy and simple to use, giving accurate results.
I looked at electronic soil testers, but for the affordable ones the reviews were poor, so it is this kit I would recommend.

VEG PATCH pH ADJUSTMENT
Alteration of soil pH should ideally be done about a month prior to planting.

To lower your soil pH, then you will need to add agricultural sulphur.
To increase your soil pH, then you will need to add agricultural lime.

Lime and sulphur are available at garden centres and packs will have directions for use.

Another idea I will be testing this year is ashes. I tested some old ash from a turf and wood stove, and found it to be very alkeli, so that will be used as a soil adjuster as well as providing bulk to try and raise a few beds.

IDEAL VEG pH AND PLANNING
It's important to get this right when you set up. I should have done this last year when I started, but in western Conemara it is a fairly safe assumption to say the soil is acidic.

The veg patch I have laid out is roughly in the "People Love Bunches Of Roses" format for crop rotation and planning - and that is the way I laid out this ideal pH guide, group by group.
As the garden develops, and new crops are introduced, I will update the list in future.

POTATO
Ideal pH of 4.5 - 6.0.  Soils with a pH lower than 6.5 are best-suited for raising potatoes; the ideal soil pH for potatoes is 5 to 6. In fact, potatoes are one of the few vegetable crops that can tolerate and thrive in more acidic soils — soils in the 4.8 to 6.0 pH range.
Potatoes may not do well in soils with a pH higher than 7, because if the pH level is high, many of the nutrients that potatoes require to grow will not be available.

LEGUME'S 
Beans 6.0 - 7.5
Pea 6.0 - 7.5

BRASSICA'S AND GREENS
Water Cress 5.0 - 8.0
Cauliflower 5.5 - 7.5
Turnip 5.5 - 7.0
Broccoli 6.0 - 7.0
Brussel Sprouts 6.0 - 7.5
Cabbage 6.0 - 7.5
Chinese Cabbage 6.0 - 7.5
Kale 6.0 - 7.5
Kohlrabi 6.0 - 7.5
Spinach 6.0 - 7.5
Mustard 6.0 - 7.5

ONION FAMILY
Shallot 5.5 - 7.0
Garlic 5.5 - 7.5  
Onion 6.0 - 7.0
Leek 6.0 - 8.0 

ROOTS AND TUBERS
Jeruselem Artichoke 4.5 - 7.0
Chicory 5.0 - 6.5
Carrot 5.5 - 7.0  
Beetroot 6.0 - 7.5
Parsnip 5.5 - 7.5 
Oca 5.5 to 7.5
Radish 6.0 - 7.0

SALADS AND HERBS
Tomato 5.5 - 7.5
Cucumber/Gherkin 5.5 - 7.5 
Lettuce 6.0 - 7.0 
Celery 6.0 - 7.0
Cress 6.0 - 7.0
Horseradish 6.0 - 7.0

FRUITS
Rhubarb 5.5 - 7.0
Gooseberry 5.5-7.0

Acid Soil: Apples, Macadamia, Nectarine,Blackberry, Blueberry,Strawberry,Watermelon

Slightly Acid to Neutral Soil: Grapes, Peach, Pears, Apricot

Neutral to Alkaline Soil: Cherry, Plum, Almond 

GRAINS
Quinoa, 6.0 - 8.5
Acid Soil: Oats

Slightly Acid to Neutral Soil: Barley

OTHER'S
Pumpkin, squash 5.5 - 7.5
Asparagus 6.0 - 8.0
Mushroom 6.5 - 7.5