Eden Project

Soused Cornish Fairmaids, a recipe from Sanjay Kumar

To celebrate Eden’s Harvest Festival this October, we’re bringing you a selection of recipes, ideas and creations from the people who know all about harvest and its wonderful traditions. Today, chef Sanjay Kumar breathes new life into an ancient Cornish pilchard recipe.

Harvest and a good catch of Cornish pilchards (young sardines) have been closely linked for centuries in fishing communities. An old saying goes: ‘When corn is on the shock, pilchards are on the rock’.

In Cornish villages a successful harvest would be followed by Crying the Neck, a ritual glorifying the season’s produce, followed by a feast of all things local and seasonal (known as Gooldize). Joints of meat, sides of fish and artisan breads would be washed down with gallons of freshly brewed tipples.

While combine harvesters mean we don’t need all hands on deck anymore to gather in the grain, we can still enjoy a good feast together. Here’s my take on a simple classic, which harks back to those old Cornish traditions.

Soused Cornish Fairmaids (Pickled Sardines)

Ingredients (for 2):

• 12 fresh Cornish sardines, boned and scaled
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• handful fresh coriander leaves
• 100ml cider vinegar
• a few peppercorns
• slices of lemon

Method

1. Sprinkle the sardines with salt on both sides. Roll them from the tail to head and secure with a toothpick.
2. Place the roll mops in an ovenproof dish and sprinkle on the coriander leaves and peppercorns. Add the cider vinegar and bake in a warm oven (180 degrees Celsius) for 15 minutes.
3. Allow to cool, then serve the Souced Fairmaids with a slice of lemon and a salad on the side – drizzled with the cidery juices from the oven tray. Enjoy the dish with a hearty glass of ginger beer (the Cornish drank it with Spruce, a zingy homemade beer).

Bengal-raised, Cornwall-based chef Sanjay Kumar is passionate about fresh, community eating. His experience ranges from cooking for the King of Saudia Arabia to serving up delicacies at Falmouth’s oldest hotel, the Greenbank, to heading up Cornwall’s Slow Food group.

On 4 October at 3pm, at Eden’s Harvest Festival, he’ll be recreating Cornish harvest dishes of the bygone era, with a contemporary twist – featuring stuffed autumn vegetables, local pilchards and a rustic Italian-style dessert. Visitors to Eden can also see the Crying the Neck ritual take place on the morning of 3 October, near our giant WEEE Man sculpture.

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Category:

• Harvest

Tags:

Cornwall, Food, Horticulture