Surf & Turf - The Book

Crab Claws in Lemon Butter Sauce

Have you seen Martin & Paul's Surf 'n' Turf on RTE yet? If not, you should mark Wednesday's 8:30pm in your diary. This show is one of the better cooking shows on telly. It shows Martin Shanahan of Fishy Fishy, Kinsale & Paul Flynn of the Tannery, Dungarvan in competition with each others - Martin cooking fish dishes while Paul tries to win over the public with his meat dishes. 

The Book

I am a bit fan of Martin Shanahan of Fishy Fishy Cafe in Kinsale - his approach to fish is amazing and his support of local fishermen is outstanding. I loved the first of his restaurant in Kinsale, opposite the church - small, cosy and fishy. His new restaurant closer to the quay has been just as successful but I still love the old one which is still in use. I met him once at a Good Food Ireland event at the English Market in Cork where he served a lovely fish crumble - I am still talking about it. 

I also was lucky enough to have met Paul Flynn at a book signing a few years back but was never fortunate to make it to the Tannery. So the next best thing was to get my hands on the book that accompanies the series - and thanks to Yvonne @Quardrille I was lucky to get one. 

Smells of  Summer

This book is just wonderful, from the photographs which are outstanding and showing Irish scenes - you just want to be part of this. The photographs of the food are just as good and you feel the desire building up to head to the next fishmonger or farmer to get your hand on the ingredients and start cooking - that what happened to me anyway and I went down to the Good Fish Shop in Ballincollig and got some crab claws as I just had to make the crab claws in lemon butter sauce with chilli and basil. Unfortunately they didn't have fresh one but only frozen.... but hey, make the best of what you got. 

Pasta with Lemon Butter Sauce

The recipe is so easy, I was slightly embarrassed when Mr T was complimenting me on my cooking skills.... although I took the compliments with the all the grace I could master (he doesn't need to know everything). This is a great starter dish for a dinner party if you want to impress but don't want to spend hours in the kitchen. And the sauce is so simple and delicious, it can double as a sauce for an easy pasta dish. I will use lime the next time I am making the sauce - cause this sauce is becoming a staple in my kitchen.

Some of the recipes are more advanced but most of them can be cooked easily at home and are even okay for novices. The book is divided into Starters & Soup (the beetroot soup will be the next I am going to make), Slow cooked, To Impress, Salads etc. No dessert but this book is all about the 2 main ingredients - Fish & Meat.... Surf 'n' Turf...... What can I say, I am in love with this book


The series highlights local produce and producers - both meet with fisherman, hunters, gatherers and farmers and both have a great sense of humour and don't take themselves too serious. And it make me realise that Dungarvan ain't that far away Cork, so I really need to get to the Tannery soon.