Surf and Turf Nigel Slater's Simple Cooking

Traditionally, surf and turf is all about lobster and steak,

but I prefer something a bit less extravagant.

Surf and turf really does smack of hedonism.

The most expensive piece of fish, most expensive piece of meat.

But I've got something much more interesting than that.

If you go to the other end of the fishmonger's slab,

you find the cheap fish such as mackerel,

especially smoked mackerel.

Mackerel is my favourite fish

and a great place to start exploring this perfect pairing.

To keep this really simple, I want to make a classic salad

that mixes the surfy fish with some turfy bacon.

The base of my salad is a few boiled salad potatoes.

Got these very beautiful, whole smoked mackerel.

If I can't find these then I just buy mackerel fillets.

It is just whatever is around and whatever is convenient.

But the real joy of these

is that the flesh stays really creamy and soft.

Another reason I love buying smoked fish

is that I don't even have to cook it.

Part of the thing I love about this recipe

is that it's exactly the opposite

of what everybody thinks surf and turf is all about.

It's a very humble salad.

So that's the surf, and now I need the turf.

And for that, I'm using streaky bacon.

You can use smoked or unsmoked, streaky or back,

you can even use pancetta if you wanted to.

I like my bacon crisp,

which gives me time to make a salad dressing.

Nothing fancy, just one with a mild mustard base.

Maybe a few capers -

their salty bite feels like it fits in this dish.

Capers really are one of those ingredients you have to check

that everybody likes them.

Because not everybody treats them as a friend.

To the capers and mustard, a splash of white wine vinegar, pepper,

and a generous glug of olive oil.

Parsley is a really good herb to put with fish and bacon,

but I'm actually going to use dill.

I'll use dill because it works well with smoked fish.

This salad needs the rustic quality of raw onion.

But to soften the harshness, I'm soaking it in white wine vinegar.

So I put the onion...

into the dressing and it's very slightly softened,

but that's not really the point.

The point is to take away those very coarse top notes

that actually, for me, can ruin a salad.

Once the potatoes are soft to the point of a knife,

they can be introduced to the dressing.

I've left the skins on because I like the flavour

of these very young potato skins,

but if you want to peel them, then do.

And then the whole lot goes in with my lovely mackerel.

And finally, I can mix the meat to the fish.

This salad will be great as it is,

but a few snips of bacon will take it to a whole new level.

The idea for bacon with mackerel came from something

I had years ago in Scotland. I had a mackerel fried in bacon fat

and it was so good, I never forgot it.

That's delicious. For me, this is surf and turf at its best.

You couldn't get further from a plate of lobster and steak,

but I'd take this humble version any day of the week.

It's cheaper, too.

You know, I'm a city boy.

I love the idea of living on an island.

The fact we've got both of nature's larders -

the land AND the sea - for inspiration.

Some people are so jammy, they have both right on their doorstep.

I used to go fishing with my father and he were very much a believer

that if you catch it, you eat it.

There's nothing better than actually catching your dinner,

whichever way you do it.

Ian Taylor is a fisherman.

He and his crew mainly fish for sea bass,

off the beautiful Weymouth Coast in Dorset.

That's one now.

HE LAUGHS

Just reel this one in.

But Ian's favourite ocean offering, by far, is scallops.

I do a bit of scallop diving as well and you can't beat

hand-caught scallops, really. They're the best in the world.

Ian has invited me to come along to one of the crew's after-sail treats.

He cooks scallops with chorizo right on the back of the boat.

So it sounds like I'm in for a tasty lunch.

First, the scallops have to be removed from their shells.

What you do to open the scallop

is you have the crown shape facing you.

You've always got a slit in the side of the scallop

so you push your knife in that way, where the slit is

and just nick the muscle,

and that opens the shell.

Then pull the skirt off...

Knife at the back,

cut down to the bottom of the shell

and then your scallop, underneath,

and the whole thing comes out.

You want to leave as much as you can in the shells.

Then what you want to do is get rid of the intestine bit.

You've got to be careful when you do that bit,

otherwise you'll pull the roe off.

I fall out with some professional chefs

because they throw the roe away. But I like the coral.

You're losing half the scallop.

It tastes all right, it's good.

My favourite bit.

That's the cracking bit.

And the beauty of fresh scallops is, if you really want to,

you can eat them whole like that.

Yeah?

That was all right. There's a seagull eating that bit.

Nothing's wasted at sea!

Scallops aren't really your business, they're more for fun.

Bass fishing and scuba-diving is my business.

But as a by-product of the scuba-diving,

we often get scallops to eat.

I don't sell them, normally, we just eat them. I love scallops.

We've eaten them in every way imaginable, really!

We've curried them, done all sorts with them.

I quite often have a scallop sandwich, which is literally,

flour them, get the frying pan going with a bit of butter in it,

fry them two or three minutes either side, and put them in a sandwich.

-You see, if I did that, that'd cost me 20 quid.

-Yeah, I know!

Do you like the whole thing, that idea of eating meat with fish?

Yes, it's a good combination, it works well.

You get the different textures, the different flavours.

The idea of having something that you've just caught

and you just stick it in the pan and see what happens,

that is my sort of cooking, really.

This spicy sausage is the perfect partner for Ian's scallops.

Chorizo in.

Already, that smells fantastic.

All those orangey juices.

They'll leak out into the pan.

Very nice.

Ah, just smell that now!

Put some of these in.

And these really are flash-fried, aren't they?

Yep, you don't want to overdo them. Couple or three minutes, that's it.

You could eat them as they are now.

You're not cooking them for any other reason than taste, really.

I like to make sure the chorizo is actually cooked,

if anything, overcooked, because it goes a bit crispy

and you've got a crunch to it. And then the scallops are soft.

Those tiny little things that make something great rather than good.

Getting the textures right, getting the mixture of crisp and soft.

These are going to be a bit spicy, aren't they?

They should be a bit, yeah. A bit of chilli there.

I love spice! I think they are near enough done.

Just to finish it off,

-just a bit of honey.

-A bit of runny honey.

Not too much.

Isn't that beautiful?

The shell finishes it off nicely as well.

Yeah, too many of these ended up as ashtrays and...

-and lampshades!

-They're great for food.

-Who wants some, then, lads?

-Go on, then.

Oh, my goodness.

That is...that is such a treat.

Yeah? Good.

There's not too many flavours?

No. There's not.

It's spicy and it's sweet.

I was scared when I saw you put the honey in.

-I wanted to shout, "Stop."

-What, put the honey in?

-Yes, but I was wrong.

-I was completely wrong because it's lovely.

-Cracking, skipper.

It really is, honestly.

And anybody who isn't sure about surf and turf,

this is the dish to give them, isn't it?

This is... Yeah.

It's extreme surf and turf.

It is absolutely gorgeous.

THUNDER BOOMS

RAIN PATTERS

The origins of the name surf and turf

are really to do with lobster and steak.

But the most useful meat when you're working with fish is pork.

Parma ham will really bring out the sweetness of fish.

So that is exactly what I am going to do with this really quick recipe,

which starts off very simply with sage leaves

and a couple of slices of Parma ham.

I like to wrap...

..a fish fillet, something like trout, in a little bit of bacon

or a bit of Parma ham.

What happens is that the fat in the ham or the bacon

just melts a little, it bastes the fish as it cooks.

And it sweetens it. Just roll up the fish fillet.

A skewer will make sure my ham

and its lovely juices cook snugly alongside the trout.

So I'll pop that in the oven.

About 15 or 20 minutes, we'll have a look.

Some roughly chopped parsley

and a squeeze of fresh lemon will season the dish beautifully.

There's truly great smells on a rainy day.

Something baking in the oven that's all buttery and lemony.

And then these wonderful buttery juices.

There's everything in there - lemon, butter, parsley,

that bit of melted fat from the ham

and, of course, the fish juices.

All working together.

And smelling wonderful.

This dish works so well because of how the fish is cooked

in all those lovely sweet and salty juices from the Parma ham.

Cooking the fish alone just wouldn't give you

the same utterly scrumptious results.

As with everything in life,

good cooking is all about getting the right balance.

In the kitchen, how you juggle your ingredients

can make the difference between a good supper and a great one.

Flavours should complement each other, not overwhelm.

There's one recipe I make that shows this off to perfection.

The whole concept of meat and fish together

is quite a big deal.

Some people who probably just can't take it at all,

but if you use the ingredients subtly...

..you won't know they're there. There's a way of using fish,

not as an ingredient, but as a seasoning.

A sort of cook's secret.

This is a magical recipe for those who aren't convinced

by the surf and turf concept.

You can't taste the fish, but it totally transforms the meat.

At this recipe's heart is some good quality lamb shanks.

I'm going to slow cook them in the oven.

But first, they need browning over a high heat.

MEAT SIZZLES

I want all those crusty, tasty bits to stick to the pan

because they're going to dissolve when I put the liquid in.

A few roughly chopped onions

and a sliced clove of garlic will give my sauce some body.

This is where the first bit of the secret seasoning comes in.

It's only a tiny ingredient but it packs a big punch.

The surf part of this recipe is anchovy.

For such a strongly flavoured ingredient,

it's great that it can be used subtly as well.

Nobody but the cook's going to know it's there.

A sprig of rosemary and a couple of bay leaves

will add a delicious earthiness to balance the rich lamb.

I've got some stock.

It can be any stock, really.

There's so much flavour going on in there

that it doesn't really matter what you use.

And then some red wine.

Just something that's lying around. Doesn't have to be your best bottle.

And about the same quantity as stock.

This won't cover the shanks, it will just come part of the way up.

Because we're cooking with a lid on,

it'll cook in the liquid and in its own steam.

That goes into the oven for a good couple of hours,

to let the meat get really tender

and the ingredients develop and mellow.

The anchovy's done wonderful things to the sauce.

It's not like adding salt or pepper or lemon juice.

It's a completely individual seasoning.

But the wonderful thing is, you don't quite know what it is.

All you know is it's added a depth and an intrigue to the sauce.

I like to leave the shanks to rest

so that the meat stays really juicy.

It also gives me a chance to add a final seasoning to the sauce -

a handful of fresh herbs and a few extra anchovies.

Once that's simmering,

take out the shanks.

It's filling and it's hearty and it's not terribly expensive,

and it comes with a secret.

The meat comes off the bone very nicely.

There's a real depth of flavour there,

somehow it's as if the anchovy has boosted the flavour of the lamb.

But you'd never know what the secret seasoning was.

All you know is that it's absolutely delicious.

You probably wouldn't think of this as surf and turf,

but it's exactly the reason this dish works so well.

The lamb is the main ingredient,

but I reckon the anchovy is the real star here.

Surf and turf.

What a brilliantly simple, perfect pairing

to inspire some truly fabulous dishes.

Easy to adapt and make your own, too.

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