MUSHROOMS
2 tbsp light olive oil
8 field mushrooms, peeled and cut into 1cm slices
50g butter
Preheat the oven to 170°C (150°C fan oven) gas mark 3. Chop the tips off the asparagus and put them to one side. Using a swivel vegetable peeler, pare the asparagus into ribbons.
Melt the butter with the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and a good pinch of salt and pepper, then cook for 8–10 minutes until lightly caramelised. Add the asparagus ribbons and cook for a further 1 minute.
In a small roasting tin, lay out two-thirds of the onion and asparagus mix, then crack the eggs over the top, leaving a gap between each one. Put the remaining onions and asparagus ribbons, and the asparagus tips, over the top to protect the eggs. Lightly season with salt and pepper and set aside.
To make the rösti, put the grated potato in large mixing bowl and add the salt and pepper. Melt the butter in a saucepan over a low heat. Pour the melted butter over the potato and mix well. Once well coated, split the mixture in half and press it into two non-stick frying pans. Cook over a medium heat for 4 minutes or until the edges start to become golden.
Hold a chopping board or a plate over the frying pan and flip the pan over to turn the rösti out onto the board, then sweep the rösti back into the pan to cook the other side. Do the same with the other pan of rösti. Cook on this side for 2 minutes or until turning golden. Transfer the rösti from each pan to a baking tray.
Put the rösti, and the roasting tin with the asparagus mix, into the oven, and bake for 15 minutes or until the rösti is golden all over and the egg whites are set but the yolks are still runny.
While the rösti and asparagus are cooking, make the hollandaise. Put the butter in a saucepan over a medium-low heat and gently melt, then set aside. Put the egg yolks and vinegar in a heatproof bowl set over a saucepan of gently simmering water, making sure the base of the bowl doesn’t touch the water, and whisk continuously until the eggs have thickened to the consistency of mayonnaise. If it becomes too thick, add a tiny splash of warm water.
Take off the heat and slowly whisk in the melted butter in a steady stream, discarding the white sediment at the bottom of the pan. Add 1 tablespoon of warm water, most of the lemon juice and all the tarragon, then season with salt and pepper and add more lemon if required.
To cook the mushrooms, heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the mushrooms and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes, then add the butter and cook for 2 minutes more. Serve the asparagus baked eggs with the rösti, mushrooms and tarragon hollandaise.
Lunch is the main meal to be served from our beach kitchen. The menu is chalked up daily, often twice daily if it’s busy, and we whizz through produce. Our food doesn’t follow any particular cuisine; instead, we allow ourselves to be influenced by the seasons and the fresh produce they bring, and even by the variable weather. Cornish soul food might be a way to describe it.
When browsing the recipes for inspiration, let yourself be guided by the day around you. If it’s a hot, sunny day, bring out the salads and grilled fish. If it’s cold and blustery, warm up with spiced dhals and slow-cooked joints of lamb.
If you’re interested in having a go at building your own wood grill or fire pit, there is a feature (see here) that takes you through it step by step. Though I warn you: once you start cooking with fire, it can get pretty addictive!
Soup Sundays at the Hidden Hut
Come wind, rain or shine, a warming bowl of soup can solve everything.
Soup Sundays have become a bit of an institution at the Hidden Hut. The appeal of hugging a warm pot of soup after a long coastal walk is pretty unbeatable. The atmosphere on these days is great — everybody is in day-off mode in their wellies or walking boots. Dogs and children play on the beach. The super-brave even swim here from the village! The place becomes a hub where you end up bumping into old friends and meeting new ones.
Soup Sundays for us are all about the spring and autumn months when the temperature starts to dip and the best soup veggies are in season. We get up early in the morning and prep mountains of produce to make fresh stocks, adding flavours layer by layer. The night before, we roast chicken, simmer turbot frames (bones), braise oxtail and prove bread; everything is done from scratch. At noon we chalk up around five or six fresh soups onto the boards and offer them all for a fiver with bread, butter and a selection of toppings. For us, soups aren’t an apologetic starter made from yesterday’s leftovers; they are served as our main meal of the day on our busiest day of the week!
Humble and soul-warming, soup is a delicious treat at home, too. Just like at the hut, you can transform simple homemade soups into a more substantial offering with a selection of toppings — crispy onions, fried herbs, croutons, grated cheese, toasted seeds and nuts — whatever takes your fancy. Bread is important, too. If you can, go for an uncut fresh loaf or bake your own. If not, just toast what you’ve got topped with grilled cheese!
© Sally Mitchell
PUMPKIN GINGER SOUP WITH CHESTNUTS AND CRISPY FRIED SAGE
A warming autumnal soup — ideal for blustery days. It is great with a side of melted cheese on toast.
Serves 4–6
1kg peeled and deseeded pumpkin or butternut squash, cut into wedges
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 tbsp honey
1 large white onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
30g piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
850ml vegetable stock
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp ground cinnamon
sunflower oil, for shallow-frying
a few sage leaves
30ml double cream
100g peeled cooked chestnuts, roughly chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 220°C (200°C fan oven) gas mark 7. Put the pumpkin in a roasting tin and drizzle with olive oil and the honey. Season with salt and pepper, and mix everything together well. Roast in the oven for 30–40 minutes until tender and caramelised.
While the pumpkin is roasting, heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and sweat off the onion, garlic and ginger, until the onion is tender. Add the cooked pumpkin to the pan, along with the stock, nutmeg and cinnamon, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer everything together for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat 1cm of sunflower oil in a small frying pan over a high heat. Flash-fry the sage for 30 seconds or until crispy, then drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt.
Take the soup pan off the heat and stir in the cream. Blend the soup using a blender or food processor, then adjust the seasoning to taste. Serve the soup topped with the chestnuts and crispy sage leaves.
ROASTED SQUASH AND CAULIFLOWER DHAL
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