Fiona Sims - The boat cookbook : real food for hungry sailors

Big, simple flavours combined brilliantly inventive,unpretentious and delicious.

HESTON BLUMENTHAL, OBE

Fionas passion for all things nautical is only eclipsed by her passion for good food and a glass of wine, preferably at sea. With or without a boat, Fionas book is a delicious treat.

MICHEL ROUX JR

Fiona cooks from the heart and her recipes really hit the spot for rustling up a quick, delicious meal, whether on board or at home.

ANGELA HARTNETT, MBE

Its sometimes difficult to come up with new recipes on board, so a book like The Boat Cookbook, with its mouthwatering recipes, is a valuable addition to a boats bookshelf you will never be short of crew again!

SIR ROBIN KNOX-JOHNSTON

ADLARD COLES

Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

50 Bedford Square, London, WC1B 3DP, UK

This electronic edition published in 2019 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

BLOOMSBURY, ADLARD COLES and the Adlard Coles logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

First published in Great Britain 2014

This edition published 2019

Copyright Fiona Sims, 2019

Fiona Sims has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Author of this work

For legal purposes the constitute an extension of this copyright page

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ISBN: 978-1-4729-6568-4 (PB)
ISBN: 978-1-4729-6569-1 (eBook)
ISBN: 978-1-4729-6570-7 (ePDF)

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Photography by Julian Winslow

Illustrations by Louise Sheeran

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Contents

Kitting out for onboard cuisine

Cooking up a storm from a fixed mooring

Hearty grub on the high seas

Make ahead and take on board

Toddies, tipples and grog

Foreword

Ah, smell the sea air! These were always the first words my nan uttered when we arrived on the Essex coast. You could spot our large family from a mile away, having the biggest picnic on the beach. That smell will make you hungry, Chris, she would say. And she was right: there is just something about the sea that switches our appetites into overdrive.

Sitting on the beach I used to wait patiently for the other highlight of the day: watching out for the Thames barge with its tan sails, ghosting up to the shore. A plank was thrown over the side and a ride around the pier cost half a crown per family. How I dreamt of this trip; in fact, I can honestly say that for nearly fifty years this passage has rarely left my dreams.

I recently took the plunge and bought the boat I fantasised about all those years ago and of course my focus was quickly drawn to the tiny galley. Having spent a lifetime cooking in some of the best restaurant kitchens, achieving my other childhood dream of attaining a Michelin star, now was the time for me to address my sailing ambitions. And it made perfect sense: to my mind, food and the sea form one of those great natural marriages we chefs are always looking for.

And then theres wine, which is where my special friendship with Fiona began, and how I came to be writing this foreword.

I have always enjoyed reading Fionas food and wine journalism. All snobbery banished and simply explained, her writing feels like she is leading you by the hand through famous vineyards and legendary kitchens, seeking out those undiscovered grape varieties and local ingredients, and chatting warmly about the qualities of the vine and the passion in the kitchen.

Over the years I have been lucky enough to get to know Fiona as being good as her word, always making people feel welcome at tastings, sharing her wisdom and knowledge; someone who is very democratic in her views and advice, possessing the gift of making you feel that no question is too stupid to ask.

When Fiona told me she was writing this book I thought it was a brilliant idea, and I was even happier when she asked me to contribute a couple of recipes. Having eaten some very odd dishes while on my Competent Crew and Day Skipper courses, I feel that this book will become a much-loved and essential part of any sailors library, next to their almanacs and pilot guides.

Inside these covers, Fiona has included her personal favourites, and has also managed to persuade a treasure trove of British sailors and top restaurant chefs to contribute generously, creating and sharing some of their own recipes, making this book a very special collection of inspirational and achievable ideas.

Whether a beginner in the galley or a more experienced cook, you cannot fail to improve your food on board after reading this. And even with the tiniest galley, it will provide ideas for you to be able to sail in style. Anchoring for a lunch of fish stew with gremolata couldnt be simpler or more delicious, and will soon make you a very happy crew indeed.

Fiona has chosen these dishes like her wines, with a discerning eye. The book is simply arranged into sections that are easy to reference: Galley, In Harbour, At Sea, At Home and Booze. When I received the first draft of the recipes they looked balanced, delicious and begging to be cooked, but most importantly they take into consideration the disciplines needed to cook on board lamb with sumac and butter-bean mash has already become a favourite with my family without leaving the shore.

There really is something for everyone to try and enough scope for you to really spoil yourself and your crew the next time you are on board. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I intend to happy cooking!

Chris Galvin

Chef Patron, Galvin Restaurants

Introduction

You can blame my dad for this book. He kept losing the scribbled-down recipes that I gave him to improve his basic cooking skills. The few he has managed to remember have perked up his menu and he now whips up penne with sardines, fennel and pine nuts in place of tinned Bolognese, and does a mean lamb and artichoke tagine with lemon couscous instead of packet beef stew and powdered mash. So now theres no excuse for any sailor stuck on a tin treadmill.