The Jamaican name for this dish, ‘Stamp ‘n Go’ is said to come from the behaviour of impatient, fritter-hungry customers who would stamp their feet for attention and then simply leave the shop if they didn’t get it. Leave without the fritters? Eh? There must be another part to that story; I’ve only eaten them once and I’m hooked. This is the kind of recipe you know you’re going to love but just never get around to making and then you kick yourself repeatedly once you do. Piping hot, fresh golden batter bombs explode with poofs of salty, spiced steam ready for the mighty plunge into bud-tingling chilli sauce.

With a big bag of fillets left over from the okazi soup and a trick up my sleeve for preparing it quickly, these were a doddle to knock up on a school night. I gave the fillets just two boils in fresh changes of water this time to keep a chewier texture and slightly more salt, before adding the flakes to a batter along with spring onions, chilli, garlic and parsley. Tablespoon by tablespoon they dropped into a skillet of shimmering oil, spreading out just enough before crisping quickly to ‘eat-me-now-dammit’ brown. Inside, the salt fish brings an insanely satisfying toothsome chew, surrounded by the fluffy flavour sponge of batter. We inhaled the lot in minutes and not many of them.

I took the simplest approach possible when it came to the sauce and lobbed a can of chopped tomatoes, about 5 regular red chillies, a few cloves of garlic, some salt, some vinegar and some sugar into a pot and cooked it down on the tame side of furiously for about 20 minutes, before half heartedly stabbing at it with a stick blender; it repaid me way too generously for my meagre efforts.

That said, as soon as the first fritter began its inevitable and rapid journey towards my belly, there was talk of spicy sweetcorn relish. I honestly cannot think of any better accompaniment; I kicked myself once more. In my future right now, I see fritters: great towering piles of steaming fritters accompanied by bowls, no, vats, of hot sweetcorn relish. I won’t hesitate to stamp until I get them.

Salt Fish Fritters

350g salt fish fillets, boiled in two changes of water for five minutes each time and then flaked (removing skin and bones)
1 small white onion, finely chopped
3 spring onions, white and green parts finely chopped
1/2 – 1 scotch bonnet chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed (to be honest, I’m not sure I actually used this in the end so it’s up to you)
A small handful of parsley leaves, finely chopped
115g plain flour
2 eggs
120ml milk
Groundnut oil, for frying

Soften the spring onions, onion, garlic (?) and chilli in a little oil until soft but not coloured. Add to a bowl with the salt fish and parsley. Beat the flour, milk and eggs together in a separate bowl until smooth then combine with the fish mixture. Season with black pepper (no salt).

Heat a 2cm depth groundnut oil in a skillet or frying pan and drop tablespoons of batter in, turning once, until golden brown on both sides. Drain on kitchen paper and serve.

As much as I love a good stew, soup, pie etc, there is something about summer food – vibrant colours, fresh flavours, prettiness on a plate. Food is relaxed in an elegant way, something that cannot be easily achieved with stew and dumplings (although, YUM). As soon as the days start getting warmer, my appetite for carbs starts diminishing and I crave something a bit lighter for my belly. These crab rolls are perfect, like sushi rolls but without the rice. The two knobbly cukes turned up in the box – I pared thin strips with a vegetable peeler and used them as the wrappings for some crunchy ’sushi’ rolls.

I got to thinking about seafood with fruit after Chris’ brother told me of a lobster and mango salad he ate recently in Dubai. In the UK, Alphonso mangoes are available right now. You buy them by the box and can find them in Indian grocers, which means just about anywhere in London (I can’t be sure of their availability elsewhere, although I used to find them with no problems in Oxford).

The flesh of the Alphonso is considered unsurpassed in terms of sweetness, juiciness and flavour and they are smaller than your average specimen. The fact that you buy them by the box coupled with an incredibly short shelf life is no issue as you will gobble them up quickly. The flavour is like a super enhanced mango.

The crabs landed at Whitby Bay which you can see on this webcam . You could even watch the catch come in, if you like that kind of thing… I bet they eat the freshest crab in Whitby Bay. I remember very clearly some crab eaten while holidaying in Cornwall with my family – spanking fresh, caught that morning and landed literally feet away from the shop/front of someone’s house. We ate it with brown toast, a squeeze of lemon and a green salad – I remember thinking I’d died and gone to heaven.

So for the rolls, we have a strip of mango, a pocket of succulent crab meat, a thin strip each of red chilli and spring onion and finally a leaf of young coriander. All of these I picked up from my favourite local shop which I am lucky to have, as the shopkeeper really cares about great produce and his finger is completely on the pulse without being pretentious. I am hoping my preference for shopping locally might offset my carbon footprint a little considering that the Alphonsos came from Mumbai… Look, I don’t even drive ok?

In the same shop I also discovered some wet garlic – fresh, paperless and an absolute dream to use. The shopkeeper was happy we bought it, peeling back the skin slightly and inviting us to smell it’s pungency. It’s beautiful. You know how that paper can sometimes drive you crazy? No problem with wet garlic, the skin in still fresh and the cloves pop right out. They are crisp, crush like a dream and the whole bulb is a bloomin’ revelation. I want all my garlic like this. The cucumber acted as a perfect container for the fillings – you get crunchy cuke, soft crab, fruity mango, a hint of chilli and fragrant herbage.

This you dunk into the dipping sauce of finely chopped kaffir lime leaves, wet garlic, galangal, rice wine vingear, fish sauce and a touch of honey and oil. Great finger food and perfect for sharing. We ate them on our balcony which is fast becoming a mini jungle, listening to sounds of people in the park and the London traffic which I now find strangely comforting. I love sitting in our little oasis with the chaos of the city below.

Cucumber Rolls with Crab, Alphonso Mango and Chilli

- I don’t think this really needs a recipe does it? Pare thin strips (lengthways) from a cucumber with a vegetable peeler, fill with white crab meat, mango strips, chilli strips and a coriander leaf. Roll them up. Voila! Dip in your sauce of choice.