The Hidden Hut: Irresistible Recipes from Cornwall’s Best-kept Secret

700g fresh podded peas (or frozen peas)

4 tbsp ricotta cheese

zest of ½ lemon

75ml double cream

20g mint leaves, shredded

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Put the vegetable stock in a large saucepan over a high heat and bring it to a rolling boil, then add the peas. Simmer for 8–10 minutes, or until the peas are tender. (If using frozen peas, cook from frozen and simmer for about 5 minutes).

Meanwhile, mix the ricotta and lemon zest together in a small bowl.

Once the peas are cooked, remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cream and most of the mint leaves. Blend the soup in a blender or food processor, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Divide the soup between four bowls and serve each topped with a tablespoon of the lemon ricotta and a few of the reserved mint leaves sprinkled over.

ST MAWES SMOKED HADDOCK CHOWDER

There is nearly always a pan of St Mawes Smoked Haddock Chowder cooking on the stove at the Hidden Hut, come rain or shine. More substantial than a soup, this chowder will serve up to six people with a good helping of bread on the side.

Serves 4–6

400g smoked haddock, with skin, pin-boned (see here (#ulink_4f6cc4d6-b117-51e6-80af-e2f57b798fe4))

1 bay leaf

1 litre whole milk

2 tbsp light olive oil

6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, sliced

50g butter

2 onions, diced

3 celery sticks, diced

½ fennel bulb, diced

4 garlic cloves, crushed

50g plain flour

400g waxy potatoes, peeled and diced

300ml fish stock

165g tinned sweetcorn

3 tbsp chopped dill fronds

zest and juice of 1 lemon

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 spring onion, finely chopped, to garnish

FOR THE CROUTONS

80g bread with crusts, cut into 1.5cm cubes

2 tbsp olive oil

Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan oven) gas mark 6. First prepare the croutons. Spread out the bread on a baking tray. Drizzle with the olive oil and add a light sprinkling of salt. Bake for 3 minutes then remove from the oven and toss so that they brown evenly. Return to the oven for a further 3 minutes or until golden. Put to one side.

Now for the chowder. Put the haddock and bay leaf in a roasting tin and pour over the milk. Cover with foil and bake for 12 minutes. Discard the bay leaf, peel the skin from the haddock and flake the flesh into a bowl. Set aside and reserve the cooking milk.

Add the oil to a large saucepan over a medium-high heat and get it really hot. Fry the bacon until golden and crispy. Turn the heat down, add the butter and let it melt. Add the onions, celery, fennel and garlic, and sweat them in the butter until tender and translucent. Add the flour and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, to cook out the taste of the flour. Then, bit by bit, add the reserved cooking milk, stirring to make a thick sauce. Leave to cook over a very low heat.

Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a saucepan, add the fish stock and bring to the boil. Cook for 8 minutes, then transfer the potatoes and stock to the gently simmering chowder base.

Finally, add the smoked haddock, sweetcorn, dill and lemon zest and juice and season to taste. Cook for 2 minutes more to let the flavours combine. Garnish with the croutons and chopped spring onion, and serve immediately.

A LITTLE LOBSTER GOES A LONG WAY

Lobsters are a luxury item and this is all about getting the most out of your catch or purchase. It is a way of serving four people a thoughtful two-course lunch using just two lobsters. Start with the summer vegetable cigars and tarragon dip, then finish with the velvety bisque and toasts.

FEAST

Serves 4

2 live or cooked cold-water lobsters

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE LOBSTER BISQUE

2 tbsp olive oil

50g butter

4 celery sticks, sliced

5 garlic cloves, chopped