Beautiful !

This is the most wonderful recipe I have tried recently. It came while working on a TV film set in Northumberland for a company called Screen Cuisine. I got asked to work for them for a week by a close friend of mine who taught me so much when I first started taking this cooking lark seriously many years ago called Russell Temple. Rus was a great teacher. He had a very calm way of getting his point across to you while teaching you at the same time even though you were trying your very best to cock up the recipe !!

He never used to call me Chef or Kev it was always " R2D2 have you done the Mash yet you Gay Robot ?" Instead of crying back at him I used to just reply "Beep, Beep...splat." which he used to find funny. Any how this was a dish Rus did while I was working with him the other day which was Beetroot and Apple Salsa with Sea Bass or should that be the other way round ? You must try this when you get chance and would work amazingly on the Barbecue while all your friends are stuffing there faces with low grade industrial strength Burgers and poorly marinated Chicken Wings you go and plonk your arse down next to them with this cheeky little number.......Enjoy !

You will need poesy Shades for this dish not to look cool but to take the glare away from the brightly coloured Beetroot Puree !

For the beetroot puree you need some cooked beetroot not in vinegar. (About 250g) Place them into a upright blender and press the blitz button. Now slowly add some good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I used some of the stuff that cost me £20 from the recently attended Taste of London Food Show. You should have a nice thick textured puree a bit like a homemade Mayonaise when you have finished adding the oil

To make the salsa dice 1 eating Apple, 1 finely diced Red Onion, and all of your Beetroot diced. Now add some chopped Coriander, the juice of one Lemon, about a teaspoon of Cumin seeds, a good splash of Cider vinegar and a good glut of Extra virgin Olive Oil. Combine well. Taste the delightful mix and then season.

Rus used Mackerel for this dish but while I was looking to buy some in the Supermarket good old Asda in Ashington had some lovely looking Sea bass for sale for £2.77. Where they got this price from I will never know ! Anyhow I just pan fried it in a hot pan for about 3 to 4 minutes on the skin side then just turned it over onto the flesh side and took the pan off the heat and let the pan cook the rest.

The Beetroot Salsa and Beetroot Puree works great with Feta Cheese also for all you Veggies out there in Blog land.