DORSET’S fresh food will take centre stage in a new recipe book from two top chefs.

Celebrity chef Mitch Tonks who has appeared on TV shows including Saturday Kitchen, Market Kitchen and Masterchef, and fellow chef Mat Prowse have produced a new recipe book called The Seahorse which came out earlier this month.

The recipes attempt to teach cooks the wonders of fish and just how easy it can be to cook.

As part of their journey creating the book, the pair, who run renowned restaurant The Seahorse in neighbouring Devon, visited a West Dorset charcuterie business.

They met with David Richards, the owner of the Rampisham business - Capreolus Fine Foods.

The meeting proved to be match made in food heaven and the Dorset meat takes a star turn in one of their recipes - red mullet roasted with cullatelo and sage. The book states: "Mitch met a man called David who runs an artisan charcuterie business called Capreolus Fine Foods in Dorset.

"Mitch tasted the cullatelo from David and thought it was as good as he had eaten in Italy so that's how it ended up in this dish."

Through the recipe book the pair are keen to show foodies just how easy fish can be to prepare and cook.

Mr Prowse said: "Everything you hear about fish, whether it's sustainability or cooking it, is all negative. But it's not. It's an easy thing to cook.

"Buy the freshest fish you can find, cook it really simply and you'll have the best meal ever. That's all we do in the restaurant. Sometimes you feel like a fraud because it is so easy, but behind the scenes it's not."

Here is a recipe for you to try at home from their new book:

RED GURNARD WITH PEPERONATA AND SALSA VERDE

(Serves 4)

50ml olive oil

4 red gurnard fillets, about 180-200g each, skin on

For the peperonata:

50ml olive oil

2 red onions, sliced

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1tsp dried oregano

1tbsp tomato puree

1/2tsp ground cumin

2 red peppers, deseeded and sliced

2 yellow peppers, deseeded and sliced

A pinch of saffron strands

For the salsa verde:

A handful of flat-leaf parsley

A handful of basil

A handful of mint

2 garlic cloves

1tbsp capers

1tbsp red wine vinegar

12 salted anchovy fillets

1tsp Dijon mustard

4tbsp olive oil

Salt

For the pepperonata, heat the olive oil in a lidded saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onions, garlic and oregano and sweat for five minutes, or until soft. Add the tomato puree and cumin and cook for a further two minutes. Next, add the peppers and saffron and mix well, then cover the pan with a lid and stew the peppers for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Uncover and cook for a further 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Check the seasoning then remove from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas 6. To make the salsa verde, place all the ingredients except the olive oil into a food processor and pulse-blend them to a rough paste. Add half the oil and blend again to combine, then add the remaining oil and repeat.

To cook the fish, heat the olive oil in a large, ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat. Add the red gurnard and cook for about two minutes until golden on one side.

Carefully turn the red gurnard over and place the pan into the oven and roast for six to eight minutes (depending on size and thickness of fish) until cooked.

Remove the fish from the oven and serve with a spoonful of the peperonata and the salsa verde.

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E: tanita.matthews@dorsetecho.co.uk

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