Tag: seafood

Dining Out: Gluten free at Rockfish in Plymouth

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They say the typically ‘British thing’ is to not be able to hear the words “fish and chips” without making that your next meal. I am 100% percent guilty of this. I love a good, classic fish and chips meal so I am always on the hunt for somewhere that is gluten free friendly.

As I’ve mentioned before I spend a lot of time in Devon and Plymouth and the obvious place to eat fish is by the seaside! My favourite spot to visit is Rockfish, a restaurant looking over the harbour at Plymouth’s Barbican.

They have restaurants all over Devon – otherwise known as Britain’s seafood coast – in Dartmouth, Exmouth, Torquay, Brixham and Exeter and source the majority of their fish from this area. They are also huge advocates of sustainability. Their cod and haddock is all sourced from certified sustainable stocks in Norway. As soon as you enter the restaurants you know you are in a place where they are passionate about really great fish.

Most of all, THE WHOLE MENU CAN BE MADE GLUTEN FREE and completely safe for coeliacs. Choose from any of the local fish on the menu which changes daily, pick whether you want it grilled or fried and add on unlimited chips. That’s right, bottomless chips…

Its a lovely atmosphere inside with big windows looking over the sea so you can watch boats coming in and out of the harbour. Or if you fancy, go next door to the takeaway shop and sit outside on their decking or stroll up the road and sit on Plymouth’s hoe.

I’m a regular customer to Rockfish and I can see it staying my Devon favourite for a long time. Good quality, tasty, fresh fish coupled with mushy peas, homemade lemon vinegar, tartar sauce and unlimited chips on the side.

Just try and tell me you will not run off to find fish and chips as soon as possible after reading this?!

Forever, The Awkward Dinner Guest

xx

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Seafood Supper at The Waterfront, Exmouth

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My boyfriend and I met in Plymouth while I was living there for a couple of years. Now living a little more into the country in Bristol we take every free weekend to run back to the seaside for a break away. This past weekend we took a trip to his Grandparent’s house in Exmouth for some crazy golf, beach walks and home made roast dinners.

On Friday night we booked a table for two at the Waterfront restaurant at the Pier head.

                  Beautifully decorated inside they stick to the seaside, cosy theme. There are seats inside and a conservatory overlooking the stunning Exmouth bay. I would definitely recommend booking in advance to try and get a seat in the conservatory.

They offer a nice simple menu varying from poussin to steak tartar and fillet of Cornish hake. Everything is locally source and it all looked delicious – I had serious food envy of our neighbour tucking into a huge seafood platter off the specials board.

We both, of course, opted for starters. I had local scallops with vegetable julienne and red onion salsa and my boyfriend had calamari with garlic and basil sauce. The scallops were perfectly tender, one more scallop would have been very much welcomed on the plate.

For the main we had the Exmouth mussels of the day and a side of fries. Mine came with gluten free bread which I used to mop up the tasty mariniere sauce. They tasted really fresh, the sauce was full of flavour and really filling.

They don’t have a specific allergy menu but when I enquired they said most meals could be altered or substituted to fit any allergies. The staff really were lovely the whole evening, even when we ran about half an hour late after sitting in M5 Friday evening traffic, they held our table and said there were no problems.

For pudding we shared a banana banoffee creme brulee, totally forgot to take a picture as by that time I was in Friday night mussels and wine coma. It wasn’t my favourite dessert ever, slightly strange texture with the banana mashed in but it wasn’t horrible. I finished this off for the both of us!

Exmouth is a small but really lovely town, this place is the ideal, reasonably priced spot for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Take time to relax, drink some wine and look out over the pretty bay. We’ll definitely drop in here again net time we’re visiting.

Forever, The Awkward Dinner Guest

xx

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Deep Fried Fishy Supper

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When you wake up on a Saturday morning, its raining, cold and you’re not in a villa in Greece you have to cheer yourself up somehow! The best way to perk up my spirits is with food. I decided to make a little seafood snack, sit on the sofa and dream of warmer climates.

No one should have to cut deep fried food out of their life, so the hunt for the perfect crispy gluten free batter is something I have worked on for a long time. Once you have it you can use it for everything – onion rings, calamari, chicken or as I did prawns and fishy bites. I made up two dips to go along with it – great as a starter or just as a Saturday afternoon snack! We ended up eating so much we had to move our dinner reservation to 2 hours later than originally planned!

So here’s my recipe for crispy battered seafood with a tomato and a mayonnaise dip.

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BATTER

– Ingredients –

150g plain gluten free flour

1/2tsp gluten free baking powder

Sea salt and pepper to taste

200ml soda water

1 egg

3 fillets of whiting – cut into bitesize chunks

250g fresh king prawns

– Instructions-

If you have a deep fat fryer turn on and heat to around 160ºc if not add 5cm sunflower oil into a large sauce pan and place on a medium heat.

Mix your flour, baking powder, salt and pepper with the soda water in a bowl. Once it has formed a paste whisk in the egg. You should see bubbles forming in the mixture from the soda water.

In batches mix your seafood into the batter and then gently place into the oil or fryer. Make sure the pieces aren’t touching each other and give the basket a few gentle shakes to stop it sticking to the base.

We cooked the fish for around 5 minutes and the prawns for 3/4 – but you can just estimate when you think it’s done. The batter can look quite light in colour so don’t worry about that.

Once you’ve taken them out the oil, place onto a piece of kitchen roll to get rid of excess oil. Keep warm until ready to serve! I made my dips first which I would recommend.

SPICY TOMATO DIP

– Ingredients –

1 beef tomato

1/2 an onion chopped

1 clove of garlic

1tspn of dried chilli flakes

Squeeze of tomato paste

Salt and pepper

Handful of parsley

2tbsp of water

Gluten free soy sauce

– Instructions –

Heat 2tsp of olive oil in a frying pan.

Add the garlic and chilli flakes and stir as they start to soften.

Put in the chopped up beef tomato and onion, 2 tbsp of water and leave to soften.

Once the tomato starts to break up add in the paste, salt and pepper and soy sauce – just a couple of shakes and the parsley.

Leave until there is only a little liquid around the sides. Take off the heat and add to a blender or food processor.

Blitz up, taste and you’re done!

GARLIC MAYONNAISE 

– Ingredients –

4 cloves of garlic (we love garlic so this may change for you or depend on how much mayo you’re making)

200g mayonnaise

Juice of half a lemon

– Instructions –

Super easy! Chop of your garlic then mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Dust with some paprika to finish.

We ate the whole bowl while watching rugby, drinking cider and forgetting about the torrential rain!

Now you have a great, versatile batter recipe the only thing to do is try and control yourself from deep frying everything!

Forever, The Awkward Dinner Guest

xx