 This is the last in our journeys to Cornwall in the company of the food writer, Lindsey Bareham. With her marriage 30 years ago, she discovered an old pilchard factory referred to as the fish store. Over the decades, Lindsey's gathered together lots of favourite family recipes and these have now been turned into her latest book, called The Fish Store.
Clearly, as the title states, fish is central - to the building, to the village and to the local economy. And even though fish stocks are in decline for many of our most popular varieties, there are plenty of other sorts of fish readily available, as Simon Parkes found out when he caught up with Lindsey in Newlyn.
The Fish Store by Lindsey Bareham is published by Penguin.
Gurnard with Minted Pea Purée and Bacon
8 gurnard fillets without skin
Salt and pepper
Flour for dusting 8 rindless, thin rashers smoked streaky bacon
Groundnut oil for frying
1 lemon
For the Pea Puree
1 shallot or medium onion
25g butter
400g frozen peas
About 20 mint leaves
Salt and peppers
2 tbsp clotted or thick cream
For the purée, trim peel and finely chop the shallot. Soften gently in the butter. Add the peas, 150ml water and the mint. Season and cook for about 10 minutes until the peas are tender. Add the cream and blitz to make a smooth purée, adding a little extra water or cream if it seems too stiff. Run your finger over the gurnard fillets to check for stray bones, pulling them out with tweezers or pliers, or divide them in two lengthways, cutting out the bony strip.
Season both sides of the fish with salt and pepper, then dust with flour, shaking away the excess. Grill the bacon on both sides until very crisp. Rest on absorbent kitchen paper to drain and keep warm. Heat a couple of minutes a side, until golden and just cooked through. Serve the fish fillets over the hot pea purée, with the bacon on top of the fish and a lemon wedge on the side.
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