The cupboard is bare...

The young man has been in Scotland - staying with a mate's family and taking in the Edinburgh Festival. The wife has been back in London - at work...

Meanwhile I've been using up all those bits and pieces left over from earlier shopping. The pieces are usually a perfect size for one and so often they get thrown out at the end of the summer because I never cook for one. But this year, with a week or more on my own, I've had a chance to use them up.

Without the family it's harder to motivate my self to cook with much complexity. I really do need the enthusiastic eaters if not complementary words to justify the time and effort to devise, shop for, prepare, cook and serve those dishes. If we were in town and the wife was travelling, (as she does frequently), I'd probably eat simply without much cooking. With the deli nearby this is easy to do. But what with the variety of left overs in the freezer and a bit of support from 'S' I've been currying, braising, baking and cheating bits of lamb and pork whilst reading, sailing and walking.

I've mentioned various curries and the fun I've been having with Atul Kochhar's book so no need for more Indian here...

But how not to spend too much time with that nice leftover piece of monkfish that I froze? This is one I've been cooking for years and years. We found it first in a magazine - I still have the clipping here but I can't tell which magazine it might have been or who wrote the piece. Whoever it was they credit Anna Del Conte for the inspiration.

In the magazine it's called 'Fish fillets with potatoes and pesto' Looking at the piece again (after many years) I realise how much I've changed the recipe since we first discovered it. But the essential thing about the magazines recipe is that it uses ready made pesto.

When I cook this in London I make the pesto myself (as Anna Del Conte would have one do). The big difference between the mag and ADC and the way I prepare it now is that I use a coriander pesto. As you can imagine, this is simple to make if you can get enough coriander but it does take a bit of time.

Here in Devon coriander can be a bit thin on the ground. So what with the reading walking and sailing and the lack of Coriander I made it this week with a ready made Coriander pesto. It's OK though because it was locally sourced! I used Tideford Organics Coriander and Chilli Pesto. Diana Cooper, Tideford founder, says

"Practice makes perfect!
Some recipes can take a bit of time to develop. Call us feeble but there are only so many times you can taste chilli before your taste buds tell you where to go. After 17 attempts and plenty of ice cold beer, we finally got it cracked. Our lovely Coriander Pesto with Chilli has just the right amount of fire provider that won't leave you breathing through your ears...Yummo!"

And she's right. The chilli is perfectly balanced and this pesto tastes much less salty than most pre-prepared pestos. If you don't have the time or the coriander - it's perfect for this dish.

In London I use Hake for this dish but it's also perfect with monkfish - which is what I used here

Fish & coriander pesto with potato scales (for two)

400g fish (monkfish or hake) cut into good bitesize pieces
1 bottle Tideford Organics coriander and chilli pesto
2 medium maris piper potatoes
Light olive oil
Salt & pepper


Put the fish into a shallow baking dish. Spread the pesto on top so that the fish is covered. Cover with cling film and leave to marinade for an hour.

Cut the potatoes into 2mm slices long ways. Par bake these in light oil for about 10 minutes at 180° until they're just beginning to brown. Drain onto kitchen paper.

Layer the potato slices on the fish so they just overlap like scales.

Bake for 12-13 minutes at 180°

Serve with a sharp salad.