Kippers

We tried out a different farmers market last weekend (we normally go up to the one at Clapham South on a Sunday) just to see what was there and how it compared.  This one was on a Saturday by Oval tube station in the grounds of St Marks Church - it was funny to see all the stalls backed up against ancient gravestones!

It was quite a bit bigger than our usual, with cookies, a coffee stall, different vege places and lots of fancy cheese/spreads/bakery/meat etc. stalls.  I resisted trying some of Adrian's pain-au-raisin, but when he got the strawberry and white chocolate cookie all my resolve crumbled! 

The vege we've had so far has been good - especially the giant lettuce - but the new thing was the fish stall.  It had samphire which I didn't even know what it was, and coincidentally was on the menu at the pub later that night (obviously I ordered it being a sucker for interesting additions to menus) - however, it was crunchy and delicious so I'd definitely try it again!  The other thing we got were some kippers.  I'd never had kippers before, but knowing that they belong to the high omega-3 fish family, we thought we'd give them a try.

I made this River Cottage recipe, which was good, but the problem was the bones!  It took ages taking most of them out with tweezers, and then the ones I missed just looked wrong when you were trying to eat the dish (even though they were really small and light).  Apparently you can get de-boned kippers in cans?  The other thing I was surprised about was how salty they were - is that a sign of a good kipper or not I wonder...

Anyway, it's all about experimentation, and I got to use the mint I've been growing in the garden which is always good.  We'll try the fish stall again and see what else he's got to tempt us!