Last updated at 12:58, Saturday, 31 March 2012

Lots of us dream of packing in our humdrum jobs, jumping in a car and hitting the road for a carefree life of wandering where we want.

Crab, watercress, tomato and new potato hash

Well, some of us do...

Martin Dorey did just that.

The presenter of last year’s BBC Two series One Man And His Campervan, traded a glamorous job in film, and a house in trendy Notting Hill, for a life of peace and serenity beside the sea in north Devon.

The father of two and an avid surfer drove for more than 5,000 miles around the UK in his red 1979 VW van Gordy “on little forays”, including taking a seaweed bath and learning how to make rock, all in the name of research.

“I wanted to unlock some of the secrets of the seaside and all the stuff we take for granted,” he says.

One of his adventures took him on a wild goose chase to the Hebrides to find the UK’s best fish and chip shop – which he didn’t.

Now he eats as locally and as seasonally as possible whenever he’s on the road, picking up fresh veg from roadside stalls and making sure his van’s stocked up with essentials like rice, couscous and chorizo so he can whip up a delicious, nutritious meal wherever he happens to be.

“You really don’t have to eat baked beans again and again when you’re camping,” he says.

All the recipes in the book are easy to prepare and designed to be cooked on just two rings, with minimal washing-up, which Dorey detests.

It’s not a forager’s handbook, but there are also tips on how to supplement your meals with wild food.

In April, Dorey recommends eating mussels before they start spawning (as the old wives’ tale goes, you should avoid them when there’s no ’R’ in the month) and look out for wild garlic growing in a “dingly dell” near you.

The recipes are just as good for canvas campers, or those of us who just go for days out and want to cook something simple, quick and tasty when they get home – or to prepare and take with you on a trip.

Crab, watercress, tomato and new potato hash (serves two people)

Ingredients

9 or 10 medium-sized new potatoes (500g)

2 onions

Butter and olive oil, for frying

2 medium tomatoes

Zest of a lemon

1 red chilli, if you fancy it

2 or 3 handfuls watercress

Meat from a medium-sized dressed crab (or 200g mixed crabmeat)

Sea salt flakes

Method

1 Boil the potatoes in salted water for 10-15 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool before halving or cutting into chunks. Meanwhile, peel and chop the onions.

2 Heat the butter and a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan and when foaming, tip in the onions – cook for 10-15 minutes or until softened. Meanwhile, chop the tomatoes, then halve, deseed and finely chop the chilli, if using. Roughly chop the watercress.

3 When the onions are ready, tip them into a bowl and add the tomatoes, lemon zest, chilli, watercress and crabmeat. Toss together.

4 Add another slug of oil to the pan and fry the potatoes on high until golden. Tip in all the other ingredients and toss everything together over the heat until hot and sizzling, adding salt to taste. Eat straight from the pan or pile onto two plates.

First published at 08:57, Saturday, 31 March 2012
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk