Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall: Things that make his heart sing!

+ Recipe for hot fish sandwich

This month’s guest recipe of “Hot Fish Sandwich with Satay Nut Butter” comes to you from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, multi best selling author, broadcaster, and highly energetic campaigner. I first met Hugh when I was cooking down at the beautiful farm he co founded, River Cottage, on the Devon-Dorset borders.

Competition alert - my lovely paid subscribers are automatically entered to win a copy of Hugh’s new book How to Eat 30 Plants a Week which is out now. You don’t need to do a thing, as a paid subscriber you’re automatically entered and the winner will be contacted for an address!

I think you’ll also enjoy previous guest newsletters with recipes like “Any Cake Cake” from Kitty Coles.

Over to you, Hugh!

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Hugh’s Hot Fish Sandwich with Satay Nut Butter

You may already know how much I enjoy a hot fish sandwich. This latest incarnation is combined with a delicious satay nut butter, and I like to add a contrasting layer of crunchy kimchi slaw, too. This sandwich works well with white fish fillets, such as haddock or coley, but it’s also great with meatier fish like mackerel or bream.

Serves 2

2 skinless fish fillets (100–120g each), such as hake or coley, or MSC-certified haddock or cod
A little light plain wholemeal flour
Oil or fat for cooking
2 bay leaves
2 garlic cloves, crushed
Sea salt and black pepper

Satay nut butter:
2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter 1⁄2 small garlic clove, crushed or very finely grated
Finely grated zest and juice of 1 lime or 1⁄2 lemon
1 tbsp soy sauce

To assemble:
2 large, soft wholemeal baps, split
4 lettuce leaves
1 ripe tomato, sliced
2–3 tbsp Kimchi slaw (optional)

First make the satay nut butter. Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well, seasoning with a few twists of pepper. If the nut butter seems too thick to spread, stir in a dash of water to loosen it.

Check the fish fillets for pin-bones, removing any you find with tweezers. Season the fish well on both sides with salt and pepper. Dust the fillets with a little flour.

Heat a little oil or fat in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. Add the bay leaves and fry until they start to colour (you are using them to flavour the oil and fish so it’s okay if they brown a bit).

Add the fish fillets to the pan, along with the garlic, and fry for 3–4 minutes, basting with the oil, until nearly cooked through. Carefully flip the fish fillets over and cook for a minute or so on the other side.

In the meantime, spread the bap bases with a generous spoonful of the satay nut butter. Lay two overlapping lettuce leaves on top, then a couple of tomato slices.

Using a thin spatula or fish slice, lift the hot fish fillets out of the pan straight onto the tomato slices. Top with a spoonful of kimchi slaw if you like.

Sandwich together with the bap tops and squeeze gently to bring the layers together. Eat straight away.

Extract taken from How to Eat 30 Plants a Week by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (Bloomsbury, £25 Hardback)

Photography © Lizzie Mayson

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Three cupboard ingredients that make your heart sing and why?

1 Tins of butter beans - I love pulses generally and I especially love big fat butter beans. In fact, whenever I’m making a soup or stew these days, I ask myself, how would a tin of butter beans be in this. And the answer is usually, pretty fine! They are also fantastic tossed with finely sliced celery and spring onions, loads or parsley and mint, and simple dressing of best olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice. 

2 Walnuts - Walnuts are my favourite snacking nuts, and I buy them organic, by the 500g, in ready-shelled halves, which I keep in a jar. They are especially delicious with slices of apple. Excellent on roasted veggies too - I’ll often throw them in for the last 10 mins with chilli and rosemary.

3 Dark Chocolate - I don’t really need to explain this do I??

Three fridge ingredients that make your heart sing and why?

1 Krauts and kimchis - Sometimes home made, sometimes bought, I rarely have less than 3 or 4 different ones on the go. And I put one or two on the table, pretty much every day. They are of course great for helping to hit the 30 plants a week, but they bring so much zest and tang to the table too..  I especially love kimchi with eggs on toast. 

2 River Cottage Organic Yoghurts and Kefirs - Obviously I would say that, wouldn’t I? They are lovely, versatile ingredients, and right now I am enjoying our yoghurt with roast rhubarb and a trickle of honey, and our kefir mixed with matcha green tea, ginger and turmeric. I’m also making a combined yoghurt/kefir labneh and mixing it with wild garlic and tonnes of fresh herbs from the garden. 

3 Kombucha - completes the gut health trio and gives me a delicious non-alcoholic drink 

Three freezer ingredients that make your heart sing and why?

1 Peas - frozen peas are second only to the peas you grow yourself, and they are, frankly, better than any fresh peas you can buy, because once picked the sugars turn starchy so quickly. Try them smashed up with garlic, mint and olive oil, and piled onto slices of fried halloumi. 

2 Homemade roast tomato passata. We make litres and litres of this with our home grown toms during August and September. Roughly chopped and roasted with garlic, thyme, and olive oil. Then rubbed through a sieve so only pips and skin are left behind. It lasts right through the winter and spring, getting used in all kinds of soups, sauces and stews, almost until the next toms are ready. 

3 Ice cream - I don’t really have to explain this either do I? Sometimes it’s home made, but we are also very lucky to have a brilliant ice cream maker, Baboo Gelato, based in nearby Bridport. Made with organic milk, and some flavoured with locally grown fruit too.

 Go-to recipe for when you’re knackered?

Sausages with homemade baked beans. Organic sausages and bacon come out of the freezer with a tub of home made roast tomato passata (see above). Sausages get fried, then chopped up, then tipped into the reheated tom sauce. In goes a tin of butter beans (see above) maybe a dash of chilli sauce. Stir in some greens (kale or spinach) if handy.  Serve with brown rice or a baked spud. 

Go-to recipe for when you want to treat someone?

Shepherd’s pie made from a leftover roast leg or shoulder of lamb. Like my Mum used to make. And still does, I’m very happy to say!

Restaurant in London that makes your heart sing?

St John’s. Fergus Henderson’s nose-to-tail cooking continues to satisfy deeply and inspire. And it's not just for carnivores either. There’s a lot of respect shown to the best seasonal veg here too. 

Restaurant in the UK (outside London) that makes your heart sing? The more Dorset/south west the Better 

Glebe House. Sam Lomas cooks gorgeous plates of food with the very best local ingredients, and it’s served by his very knowledgeable team in various rooms of this characterful  and perfectly not-quite posh country house. Sam was our first “Rising Star” apprentice and it’s great to see how he’s developed. Plus, I’m squeezing in a shout out for the fabulous Soulshine in Bridport too!

Restaurant abroad that makes your heart sing?

Sauvage in Paris. Super relaxed neighbourhood vibe, excellent ingredients, simple but lovely plates, delicious natural wines... Plus my daughter works in the kitchen! 

What you love about the recipe we are sharing of yours? 

Who doesn’t love a hot fish sandwich? This is my latest favourite version, with a nutty satay sauce and a crunchy, creamy, kimchi-slaw. Perfect comfort eating, yet bursting with good things. 

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Order Hugh’s new book How to Eat 30 Plants a Week here or here.