Oat-crumbed herring and rhubarb sauce

Serves 2 Starters and mains

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Method

Fire up the barbecue ready for direct grilling, setting a large flameproof frying pan on the grill to heat up. Tip the oats and rosemary into a small food processor and season with sea salt flakes and black pepper. Pulse until roughly ground, then transfer to a large plate and spread out in a thin layer. Pour the milk into a shallow dish and rest the butterflied herring on a plate. For the rhubarb sauce, drizzle just a little oil over the rhubarb stems and rest them on the grill over the fire, sliding the heating frying pan out of the way to make space, if necessary.

Grill for a few minutes, turning regularly, until lightly caramelised and softening. Remove and roughly chop into 1-2cm pieces.

Transfer to a small flameproof pan and add the honey, ginger and lemon juice. Set the pan over the fire to melt the honey and cook the rhubarb so it begins to collapse. Add a touch more honey if you think it needs it but it should be fairly sharp. Remove from the heat. Scatter the watercress over two plates and dress with the lemon juice and a good drizzle of olive oil. Have the plate of oatmeal, the dish of milk and the herrings handy by the barbecue. Drop the butter into the hot pan and let it melt and sizzle. Working quickly, dip the herrings into the milk to coat all over. Drop on to the plate of oatmeal and turn over to coat lightly in the crumbs before dropping into the hot butter. Cook for just 1-2 minutes on each side until crisp and golden.

Pile the herrings on to the salad and serve with the sauce.