June is the start of summer when there's a flourish of produce from the land and sea. Warm days and long evenings induce vigorous growth of plants and their fruits. Strawberries, black and red currants, gooseberries and, ripened in the sun have a flavour beyond compare. Pick-your-own farms make a wonderful day out for the family, with a bounty of produce at the end of the day.

Visit: Hooton's Homegrown - pick your own or buy from the farm shop - a wide choice of fruit and vegetables, meat and poultry, home made cakes and jam. They are one of the largest growers of asparagus in Wales and will be picking up to mid summer day, June 24th. Hooton's Home grown Farmshop and PYO, Brynsiencyn, Anglesey, LL61 6HQ Tel / fax: 01248 430322 Open daily 10.00am - 5.30pm
www.hootonshomegrown.com

For a big variety of fruit and vegetables close to the capital visit: Gelynis Fruit farm and Vineyard and PYO, Morganstown, Cardiff CF15 8LB Tel: 02920 844440
Email: gelynisfarm@btconnect.com

New potatoes are at their best. The earliest are from Pembroke and Gower. They are best boiled in their skins as fresh as possible. Simmer in salted water for 10 - 20 minutes depending on size, until just cooked through. Do not overcook and destroy the flavour. A sprig of mint in the water gives a fine flavour. Serve with lots of freshly chopped mint, and organic Welsh butter.

They are available widely in fruit and vegetable shops.
Wholesale supplies from:
Gower Growers, Reynoldston, Gower tel: 01792 391396
Puffin Produce, Withybush, Haverfordwest Tel: 01437 766716

Pembrokeshire Fish Week

The coast of Wales is invaded by many armadas of small fishing boats over the summer in pursuit of prime species, particularly bass. This is the selected species of focus for the annual Pembrokeshire Seafood Festival that begins on Saturday 28 June, with many daily events, continuing up to Sunday 6 July.

Special events include:
Saturday 28 June - Open day at Milford Haven Marina - with fish tastings, demonstrations and a seafood barbecue
Sunday 29 June - fishing open day at Llys-y-Fran reservoir. Details 01437 532694
Monday 30 June -Holgan Fishing Championship, Llawhaden. Details Ian Heaps 01437 541285
Tuesday 1 July - Sea Bird Spectacular - evening boat trip around Skomer Island - contact Steve/Anna Sutcliffe 01239 820912
Wednesday 2 July - evening of sea shanty and seafood at The Wolfe Inn, Wolfscastle - contact Gianni de Lorenzo 01437 741662
Thursday 3 July - Island walk on Ramsey - RSPB reserve - Contact Simon Avery 01437 721721
Friday 4 July -Al fresco 'harbour bites' at Saundersfoot Harbour 11am - 2.30pm Contact Andrew Evans 01834 821304
Saturday 5 July - Children's fish workshop - 'funky fish' at De Valance Pavilion, Frog Street, Tenby 01834 842730
Sunday 6 July - learn to fly fish - White House Mill Trout Fishery - contact Pembrokeshire Rivers Trust 01834 861203

For the full programme of activities visit www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk or Len Mullins on 01437 775387

The Welsh crustacean fishery

Crab and lobster fishing has become very important all around the coast, as the catch is controlled only by a minimum legal size for each species. The European Union fishing quotas do not apply to shellfish, so boats can fish un-restricted. The largest boats will set up to a thousand pots to trap lobsters, edible brown crabs, spider crabs and velvet fiddlers, plus odd incidentals as cuttlefish, conger eels, dogfish, and the occasional crawfish.

Though lobster is the most valuable species, the weight of brown crab landed is twenty fold that of lobster. A large proportion of the catch is exported directly to France and Spain in large 'vivier' lorries that transport the shellfish live in aerated sea water tanks. In some areas fishermen have joined forces in groups or co-operatives to supply not only the large continental but also the local hotel and restaurant market.

For supplies contact:
Lleyn Fishermen's Co Ltd at Pwlhelli Tel: 01758 720656
Fish on the Quay, Aberaeron Tel: 01545 570599

Crab

The brown crab - cancer pagurus is the species most commonly eaten in Britain, although there are large resources of the spider crab - maia squinado.

Around the Welsh coast there are many 'cottage' producers who cook and de-shell crabs for their meat. This is sold by weight or 'dressed' into the back shell and sold as crab salads in restaurants and pubs.

Live crabs can be purchased from some fishmongers. Cooked crabs and dressed Cromer crabs (from Norfolk) are available in supermarkets.

Male and female: The hen has a wide tail and an arched back shell; the cock a narrower tail and relatively larger claws and a flatter back shell. The large claws of the male yield plenty of white meat, whereas the arched back shell of the female contains very succulent and sweet-flavoured brown meat. Brown meat from the male has a stronger flavour.

To Cook crabs: pierce the crab through the shell, in the small indentation under the tail with an oyster knife or screwdriver. This immediately dispatches the crab, otherwise it will shed its claws and some legs during cooking. Put into simmering, salted water, and bring back to a simmer and cook gently for five minutes only. (Many recipes in print state a far longer cooking time, but this impairs the delicate texture and flavour of the meat.) Switch off and allow to cool, then remove to cool completely, with back shell uppermost. You can add aromats as onion, carrot and celery to the water and herbs as coriander or thyme to give extra flavour. Cooking and cooling time is 1 hour approx. Refrigerate immediately once the crabs have cooled.

To dress crab: prize the back shell from the body. Remove the stomach sack that will be in the back shell, by pressing its mouth to loosen. Remove all the sponge-like 'fingers'. Carefully push out the dark meat that when best will have the same shape of the shell. Remove legs and claws at the very bottom knuckle to expose the white meat in the body or 'honeycomb'. Break the claws into the three joints and break off the thick bottom joint of the legs. Use a nut cracker to crack the legs, and remove the meat with a crab pick or short knife, or flat end of a small teaspoon. Prize all meat from claw joints and honeycomb. Use a small hammer to crack the end claws.
One crab will take 10 - 20 minutes to prepare. Cover meat and refrigerate immediately.
Note: as the dark meat from the cock crab is stronger than from a hen. Taste first before mixing the two together.
Break up the brown meat into smaller chunks and carefully fold into the white meat in proportions to your taste. Add a little mayonnaise, vinegar or lemon juice, pepper and salt to taste. Spoon into back shell to present, or use with a salad, or as a sandwich filling.

LOBSTER homarus gammarus

Lobster is dark blue to almost black in colour when live, but turns a bright orange red when cooked. It has a cylindrical back or carapace and a segmented, fan-ended tail. The front pair of legs are modified into large claws, one much heftier than the other, each having a moveable pincer. This prehistoric looking creature is one of the most valuable species from the sea, and considered the finest eating of all.
Male and female: the male has larger claws and a narrower tail, both features becoming more distinctive in larger specimens. The male has a horny top pair of swimmerets below the tail, whereas all are soft with a female. The tail of the female carries eggs while they develop and hatch.

To cook lobster:
This is the same as crabs (above) but they should be plunged live into simmering water, allowing plenty of water to cover the entire body of the lobster. It will die instantly, but move for a while as the muscles tighten up. When cooled the tail of the lobster should be tight to the body and spring back firmly.

There are several ways to present a lobster. It can be split down the back and tail lengthways to present two half shells; the tail can be removed from the carapace in one to prepare rounds or 'medaillons' from the tail; the legs can be taken from the carapace in one, and the soft underside of the tail can be cut away using kitchen scissors to form a 'barquette', and the two can be put together to reform the original shape of the lobster for presentation. Skilled chefs find many ways of using parts of the lobster in imaginative culinary presentations.

The claws and tail contain succulent white meat with pinky-red fine skin. The carapace contains dark meat that has a very rich and fine flavour. A female without eggs, usually has the roe inside her body and considered the finest eating of all. If the lobster is lightly cooked as recommended this roe is called 'black coral' but turns bright red when heated. It is highly valued in many lobster dishes as fricasees and lobster sauces.

A lobster salad presents beautifully in the half shell, turning the meat so it's pink side up. It is best served simply with some fresh lemon wedges and a light mayonnaise. It can be dotted with butter and grilled quickly to re-heat the meat, but it should not be overcooked. Any sauce with lobster should be light, a 'beurre blanc' sauce being the finest complement of all.

Recipe

Grilled crab with sherry

4 crabs (dressed as above)
or
250g white crab meat
125g brown crab meat
50g Organic Welsh butter
50 ml Fino or Manzanilla Sherry
quarter teaspoon paprika

Fork the crabmeat together gently not to break the texture and put into the back shells of the crabs or into 4 small gratin dishes without compressing. Melt the butter and add the sherry and paprika and spoon over the crabmeat, then place under a preheated grill for 1 - 2 minutes to heat through very quickly and just begin to sizzle. Serve immediately with boiled Pembroke or Gower new potatoes.
Chilled Manzanilla Sherry if perfect with this dish; or a chilled Cariad Rose wine.

Cheese of the Month

Pantmawr Preseli

David and Cynthia Jennings have been producing cheese for 15 years. All cheeses are hand made from pasteurised milk and only vegetarian rennet is used.

Caws Preseli - was launched in 2000 and voted Pembrokeshire's best new food product. Preseli is made in flat wheels the size and shape of a kilo brie. It is a ripened soft fleshed cows cheese that is neither chalky nor runny, with some fine aeration holes. The thin rind is edible, but does turn darker with extra ageing. The flavour is distinctive with a slight astringency, becoming more complex and mushroomy with age. It adds a variation to a Welsh cheeseboard, as it is one of a few soft cheeses made.

Caws Coch is the same cheese, but washed with mead for several weeks to add complexity and a slight sweet maturity of flavour

Pant Mawr farm
Rosebush,
Clunderwen,
Pembrokeshire,
SA66 7QN
Telephone / Fax: 01437 532627

Email: pantmawr_jennings@hotmail.com