REALLY GET TO GRIPS WITH SEAFOOD, THANKS TO PRAWN ON THE LAWN'S NEW COOKBOOK

This pair know their seafood. Ella Walker meets the duo to talk no-frills fish and food memories.

The story of Prawn On The Lawn is one of constant ingenuity. It started out as a tiny North London fishmonger and seafood bar; just eight seats, a fish counter and no fryer. "The idea was, you could have a glass of fizz and a few oysters while you bought your fish and it was being prepped," explains Katie Toogood, who runs POTL with her husband, self-taught chef Rick.

The tricky bit was, they didn't have a licence for hot food. "It forced us into doing something a bit more out there," admits Rick, describing how their ever-changing menu revolved around curing, pickling, ceviche, oysters, and crab and lobster on ice. "Having all the fish on display, we just wanted to cook it. As a chef it became quite frustrating."

Five years on, the pair have swapped their stripped-back fishmongers for two restaurants - one in London and one in Padstow, Cornwall - and now have their own self-titled cookbook, packed with 'fish and seafood to share'.

They do seafood without sticking to rigid rules

They might have fryers at both locations now, but don't expect to find them dishing out portions of salt and vinegar-covered cod. "We don't do fish and chips," says Katie, "[but] we could do you some crushed new potatoes and tempura battered white fish."

Instead, they're all about small, inventive sharing plates - swayed by whatever their Cornish fishermen have hauled in that day. Rick, who previously worked front of house for a string of high-end restaurants, had never been particularly interested in plodding through meals that predictably went: starter, main, dessert. "We loved the idea of sharing, it's how we both grew up," he says, as Katie chips in: "Everything in the middle of the table, helping yourself."

They also wanted to smash up the idea that seafood restaurants should being excruciatingly formal - it's fiddly enough cracking crab claws without worrying about how smart your shirt is. "When you go to Europe, seafood is so informal," muses Katie. "It's just stuff off a boat, and real basic cooking."

When the pair met online ("It wasn't on Plenty Of Fish," says Katie with a laugh), she didn't really eat meat and was "way more scared of fish". Rick sorted that out.

The recipes blend food with memory

"I don't know when I became so obsessed with fish," he says, slightly bemused. "I was born in Guernsey, but left when I was three or four, but mum says whenever we'd go to the market, I'd go straight to the fish counter and she couldn't tear me away." These days, they're both obsessed, and Rick's recipes are laced through with memories of their tastiest seafood adventures.

"We caught some trout, then out of nowhere this fisherman produced an avocado, chilli, a few limes and a bag of tortilla chips. We filleted the fish, made this amazing trout ceviche and just sat in the middle of the sea and ate it," says Katie, remembering a boat trip in Mexico last summer.

They later recreated it on their Cornish fisherman Johnnie's boat. "You can pretty much do it with any fish," says Rick. Their whole red mullet, floured and deep fried, comes from sitting on plastic chairs with Rick's parents in a little bay in Greece, where the fish was served with really good olive oil and some lemon juice, whisked, and poured all over the fish. "The simplicity of it," says Katie reverently.

When it comes to fish, explore outside your comfort zone

While they're all about keeping things simple, they've noticed that people are becoming more adventurous with their seafood. So much so, "people don't even want cod if it's on the menu, they're like, 'No, have you got any pollock?'" says Katie. Some do still need to be nudged to have their fish whole rather than filleted, though. "You just get so much flavour from the bones!"

Hence why Rick has taken the decision that, if you order crab at POTL, it'll come whole, not dressed. "It's the theatre of it," he says proudly. "Picking the meat out is so rewarding." There are some things just don't need reinventing.

Prawn On The Lawn: Fish And Seafood To Share by Rick and Katie Toogood is published by Pavilion, priced £18.99. Available now

HOW TO MAKE PRAWN ON THE LAWN'S CRAB-STUFFED COURGETTE FLOWERS

A delicate summery snack.

"This recipe combines the produce from two of our best suppliers. Ross has a kitchen garden just outside Padstow and grows incredible veg; Johnny fishes crab and lobster for us just out of the Camel Estuary," explains chef Rick Toogood, who runs Prawn On The Lawn in Padstow, Cornwall.

"Both have been a huge support to us, as well as becoming good friends. Understated in appearance (the dish, not Ross and Johnny!), it takes just one bite and you'll not want to share."

Ingredients:

(Serves 4)

150g white crab meat (unpasteurised)

1tbsp creme fraiche

2 spring onions (scallions), finely sliced

1tsp lemon juice

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 courgette flowers, with the baby courgettes still attached

1L vegetable oil

For the tempura batter:

75gcup plain flour

50g cup cornflour

11/2tsp baking powder

Approx 150ml chilled sparkling water (you may need more or less)

Method:

1. In a mixing bowl, add the crab meat, creme fraiche, spring onions and lemon juice and mix together, seasoning to taste.

2. Gently open the petals of the courgette flowers and spoon equal amounts of the crab mixture in between the petals, packing the mix in tightly and leaving enough space to be able to twist the petals back together. Ensure there are no gaps for the crab to escape out of.

3. Ideally, use a deep-fat fryer (if you haven't got one, use a heavy-based saucepan) and heat the vegetable oil to 190°C/375°F. Test the temperature by putting a cube of bread in the oil - if it immediately starts to crisp up, you're ready to go.

4. Meanwhile, make the tempura batter. Mix the plain flour, cornflour and baking powder together and slowly add the chilled sparkling water, whisking as you go. You're aiming for the consistency of double cream (you may need to add more or less than the quantity given - be guided by the consistency).

5. Gently coat the stuffed flowers in the batter and, using a spoon for support, slowly lower a flower into the hot oil, flower-end first. After a few seconds, let it submerge fully and fry for about one-and-a-half minutes, until golden. Repeat for all four flowers.

6. Remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to absorb any excess oil. Season with sea salt and they're ready to serve.

Prawn On The Lawn: Fish And seafood To Share by Rick and Katie Toogood is published by Pavilion, priced £18.99. Available now.

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HOW TO MAKE PRAWN ON THE LAWN'S WHOLE CRISPY RED MULLET WITH LEMON AND OLIVE OIL

A quick supper that'll transport you to the beach.

"I had this very dish on the Greek island of Corfu, sat at plastic tables and chairs, looking across the bay with Katie and my parents," says one half of Prawn On The Lawn team, chef Rick Toogood. "We all agreed that this dish was something special, both in flavour and simplicity. Whenever I eat it, I'm transported back to that trip."

Here's how to make it at home...

Ingredients:

(Serves 4)

Vegetable oil, for frying

4 red mullet, around 300g each, scaled and gutted (gurnard can be used as an alternative)

Plain flour, for dusting

Sea salt, to taste

Lemon wedges, to serve

3-4tbsp extra-virgin olive oil and lemon dressing (see below)

Method:

1. Make the dressing, using the ratio: 70% extra-virgin olive oil (the best you can buy) and 30% freshly squeezed lemon juice. Whisk together and set aside.

2. A deep-fat fryer is the best thing to use for this recipe. If you don't have one, heat vegetable oil in a frying pan large enough to fit the four fish. The oil needs to be deep enough to submerge half of the fish when laid on their sides. Bring the oil up to 190°C/375°F. Test the temperature by putting a cube of bread in the oil - if it immediately starts to crisp up, you're ready to go.

3. Pat the fish dry with paper towels, then dust with flour, ensuring they are completely covered and any excess is shaken off. Carefully place the fish in the hot oil. Fry for four minutes on each side. Remove with a slotted spoon onto some paper towels to absorb any excess oil.

4. Transfer to a serving plate, sprinkle with sea salt and serve with lemon wedges and the dressing in a small bowl on the side.

Prawn On The Lawn: Fish And Seafood To Share by Rick and Katie Toogood is published by Pavilion, priced £18.99. Available now.