What a wonderful summer we were blessed with. I have been out in the vegetable patch tending my bountiful harvest, which has enjoyed the sunshine as much as I but everything seems to have come at once, so is a glut now. What the slugs haven’t devoured or I’m not giving away ends up on the compost heap.
The summer weather has suited the rabbits too. Bolstered by lush, green grass and my tender plants, they seem to be doing very well indeed. I watch them from the house, bold as brass hopping about and multiplying right in front of my eyes. However, when I see those little bunnies frolicking around, I can’t help but lick my lips. I’ve long been a fan of rabbit, especially in a pie with shortcrust pastry, served with fresh greens and creamy mashed potato with grain mustard. But killing and preparing rabbits is quite a skill not even tried by the majority I reckon, so they’re still the preserve of the hunter-gatherer, or bush craft fanatic and possibly not ‘Truly Scrumptious’ readers. Thankfully, supermarkets are starting to sell it (albeit beautifully prepared and packed in plastic), as do farm shops and Buttlings of course. I long to see rows of furry rabbits hanging in Buttlings shop window as I swear the bunnies on my land are trespassing from his! We continue to debate this pesky state of affairs. To get the best from rabbit you must understand its make-up – it can be a dry meat as there isn’t much fat on a rabbit, so the fail-safe way to cook it is slowly and carefully – braised or casseroled seems best. The younger the bunny the better, as with all animals, as they are more tender. I guess the same must go for squirrel, and despite having seen it for sale locally, I haven’t had the courage to buy any. My head tells me that squirrels are closer to rats than rabbits, so will leave well alone. And eating hare is just plain wrong. So slowly does it. Create a relaxed mood in your kitchen which will be reflected in your cooking, and as you go about your day, it will take care of itself in the oven – leave the kitchen door open and let the comforting scents waft about the house tempting those hungry down to the kitchen table for an autumnal supper to savour. Now, if you have impressionable children in the house, please change the name of my recipe, even substitute the rabbit for chicken. When what you are eating for supper has an association with Beatrix Potter you may have trouble on your hands. Call it chicken either way, they will never know! Anyone passing along the bridge at Ludwell – feel free to call out to the ever increasing bunnies boldly eating my grass, that I have plans for them! aif Pot-roast Peter with Noilly Pratt Serves 4–6 Approx. £10.50 when all ingredients purchased in Ludwell (costs are for chicken) Rabbit is a treat, more sophisticated than chicken although you can substitute chicken very easily for this recipe. Leave out the Noilly Pratt if you like but maybe add some sliced fennel bulb to develop an aniseedy background to the flavour. Ingredients 2 rabbits, jointed into 8 pieces, liver sliced if available (alternatively use a large jointed chicken, skin off and preferably include the liver – optional) 2 tbsp Dijon mustard (grain will be good too) 50g unsmoked bacon, diced or lardons 100g unsalted butter, diced and clarified (melted and solids removed) 450g trimmed leeks cut into 1cm slices 1 bay leaf 2 sprigs of fresh thyme 100ml Noilly Pratt or pastis if you can get it ½ lemon – juiced 100ml chicken stock chopped dill to serve (fresh only please - use fennel leaves/fronds if you can’t get dill) Preheat oven to 150°C / gas mark 2 (AGA simmering oven) 1. Brush the mustard over the rabbit joints. 2. Heat a large cast-iron casserole over a medium-high heat, add all but a tablespoon of the clarified butter and colour the rabbit in batches, transferring the joints to a plate as they are ready 3. Add the bacon lardons to the pan and fry until lightly coloured 4. Add the leeks to the pan with the herbs and continue to cook for about 7 minutes until glossy and lightly coloured, stirring occasionally 5. Return the rabbit to the pan, pour over the Noilly Pratt, lemon juice and stock. Lightly season (bearing in mind the bacon will be quite salty) 6. Give everything a good stir, cover and cook for 2 hours in the oven, turning the rabbit once. 7. Transfer the cooked rabbit to a dish and simmer the juices vigorously for a few minutes to concentrate the flavour. 8. Heat the reserved butter and fry the liver if using 9. Return the rabbit to the sauce and serve scattered with the liver and dill Serve with mash or creamed celeriac, chard, greens or beans. Keep it simple. If you prefer a creamy sauce (which would be ideal if using this recipe for a pie filling) add 100ml of double cream at the end of the reduction (stage 7). As always it’s ….truly, truly scrumptious
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Two hundred and fifty-four miles north north-west of the Donheads, lies the Conwy valley in North Wales. I was there a couple of weeks ago with my sister, having been invited to ‘tea’ with my elderly aunt, Morffydd (pronounced with a rolled ‘r’ and a spit). My sister (more spit required) Gwenllian and I were born and brought up in North Wales. The Conwy valley is stunning, and the market town of Conwy itself, where we lived for many years, has been protected from all national chains, supermarkets and fast food restaurants. It is a great place to visit. Conwy has become a centre for good food, mussels in particular. I remember the quay and my mother buying fresh fish directly off the boats. But I don’t remember the mussels. We walked along the busy quay where stacks of large string bags of fresh mussels were being craned off the boats and piled high ready for sale. I had to go over and look carefully at them as I couldn’t understand why they weren’t in water, but by putting your ear close, you could hear them happily bubbling away inside their shells.
A 500 mile round trip is a long way to go for tea, however special the aunt in question, so we made a weekend of it and spent half a day at Bodnant gardens, a National Trust property and garden, well known for its laburnum arch walkway. The gardens with their spectacular views of Snowdonia, the streams, wooded areas and terraces were stunning. The drifts of daffodils, rhododendrons, azaleas, hellebores and magnolias were breathtaking and we vowed to return when the roses and wisteria will be at their best. A few hours of walking through Bodnant Gardens’ 80 acres worked up quite an appetite, but luckily we were very close to the new Bodnant Welsh Food Centre. Opened by Prince Charles last year, the Centre promotes traditional Welsh food, and takes every opportunity to allow visitors to sample the delicious produce available both from their own estate and also from carefully selected local producers. There is a smart restaurant, a working dairy where they make their own cheese and ice cream, a bakery with a vast range of artisan breads, a farm shop and tea room where we enjoyed a delicious light lunch – a real ‘taste of Wales’ (Welsh Rarebit made with their cheese is the most popular dish on the menu). Despite our seven-hour drive home, both Gwenllian and I bought new season spring lamb, local beef, cheese and bread to take home, as we couldn’t bear to leave it. Oh how we long to return! The early May bank holiday brought wonderful weather and so I had an impromptu lunch party. Twenty-nine people came – a few more than I had expected – but it all went well and everyone mucked in to make it a success. I served a spicy pulled pork dish with couscous, crisp coleslaw with apples and radishes with lime juice dressing. It was delicious and very simple, so let me share it with you here should you be as impulsive as I was, any long weekend soon. AIF Spicy Pulled Pork (Recipe influenced by Spice Trip by Stevie Parle and Emma Grazette) Serves 6. Approx. £8.80 when all ingredients purchased in Ludwell. Ingredients 2kg+ shoulder of pork, off the bone. Ask Buttlings to remove the skin for you too. 350ml dry cider or apple juice olive oil For the spicy dry rub: 2 tbsp fennel seeds 1 tbsp black peppercorns 3 tsp chilli flakes ½ tbsp coriander seeds ½ tbsp cumin seeds 1 tbsp paprika (smoked paprika is very good if you like a smoky flavour) 2 tbsp brown sugar 2 fresh chillies and 2 cloves of garlic For the spicy sauce: 400ml tomato passata 1 tbsp Dijon mustard 2 tbsp brown sugar 60ml cider vinegar Preheat oven to 220°C / gas mark 7 (AGA top oven, then simmering oven 1. Grind all the spicy rub ingredients with a mortar and pestle until quite coarse. 2. Remove the rind from the pork and prepare separately for crackling as a side dish if wanted, or discard. 3. Sprinkle the pork generously with salt and then in a heavy casserole (with lid), brown the pork on both sides in a large glug of olive oil. 4. Remove the pork from the casserole and cover the entire piece with the spicy dry mix. Rub in thoroughly. You could get very mucky, so wear an apron! 5. Return the pork to the casserole and cover with the cider or apple juice. 6. Bake in the oven uncovered for 20 minutes. 7. Reduce the oven temperature to 140°C / gas mark 1. Put the lid on your casserole and seal with foil, return to the oven for 4–5 hours. 8. When cooked, remove the pork from the casserole and place in a serving dish. 9. Place the casserole with its wonderful juices, on the heat and bring to the boil. 10. Add the spicy sauce ingredients and cook for 15 minutes until it has thickened and reduced a little. Adjust to taste. 11. In the meantime, ‘pull’ the pork using two forks. Shred into large pieces removing any fatty bits. You can keep this warm if well covered. 12. Serve by pouring the sauce over the pork or serve separately in a jug or directly from the casserole for a more rustic look. Serve with couscous mixed with sugar snap peas, beans, pomegranate seeds and fresh coriander leaves, and a crunchy coleslaw with a lime juice dressing. Yummy. Expect people to come back for seconds and thirds, so cook double quantities. As always it’s ….truly, truly scrumptious I know a great number of people, many from the Donheads, have visited the Olympic venues and events around the country, or like me, sat in front of the telly these past weeks in disbelief, wonder and some green envy of the achievements and dramas being enacted in front of us all. I have been bursting with pride at our Olympians and Paralympians – and stunned what people can do irrespective of disability and in spite of discrimination. I don’t think I am alone in having become blind to our collective human potential.
So, I feel ashamed to tell you of my frustration of having to type this with one hand and that this time last week I sat in my kitchen for most of the day feeling disgracefully sorry for myself, having tripped over my laptop case and broken my wrist on landing hard on a cold stone floor. I have had a week to adapt my daily living – challenges like buttering a piece of toast, cutting up my dinner and getting dressed is complex, and without wanting to plug for a little more sympathy, painful. Driving of course is out as is tying shoelaces and emptying the kitchen bin! Anyone who uses a computer will probably laugh when I say I can’t perform CTRL; ALT; DELETE without using my nose! But life goes on – work too and, although my team bought me a beautiful Ted Baker scarf to ensure I wore a fashionable sling, it’s really brought home how fortunate most of us are. I still have my wrist and it will return to a fully functioning limb joining my three others – yet still, I couldn’t have achieved anything like the paralympians. The games had a mission and that was to inspire a generation and to send a clear message about achievements of all. It’s boring for others hearing about my woes so I am just getting on with it without moaning. Cooking isn’t only for the physically able either. One of my favourite and acclaimed chefs is Michael Caines. AA Chef's Chef of the Year in 2007, and awarded an MBE in 2006 for services to the hospitality industry, he gained his passion for food from his mother who he used to enjoy helping in the kitchen, where he learnt the importance of regionality – something I continue to plug here through Truly Scrumptious. Michael was appointed Head Chef at Gidleigh Park outside Exeter representing a massive challenge and opportunity for a young and ambitious chef. Yet, only two months into the job, Michael suffered a terrible car accident in which he lost his right arm. Remarkably, he was back in the kitchen part-time within two weeks, and full-time after just four. What an inspiration to the rest of us. He adapted. And that’s what I have done with this month’s recipe – adapted it for the one-handed, although the same method will produce a fantastic result however many hands contribute to its making. Best thing for me is it can be eaten with only a fork! I know I say all my recipes are Truly Scrumptious, but “thank you” to the couple in Buttlings this morning – they tell me I have chosen a cracker of a dish for you this autumn. aif Beef rendang (Indonesian spiced coconut beef curry) Serves 4–5 Approx. £14.50 when all ingredients bought in Ludwell 3 large shallots 2 cloves garlic – peeled 2 cm piece of root ginger – peeled and roughly chopped or use 2 tsp of ‘lazy ginger’ in jars 2–3 long red chillies – deseeded 1 tsp galangal (if available, if not add more ginger) 1/2 stalk of lemongrass 1 tsp turmeric 2 x 400 ml cans of coconut milk 800 gm stewing beef (the team at Buttlings will cut this up for you) 1 Kaffir lime leaf Thai rice and a salsa to serve. 1. Place the peeled shallots, garlic, ginger, chillies, galangal (if using), lemongrass,turmeric and 1 tsp of salt in a blender or food processor and add approx 50 ml of the coconut milk. 2. Blitz to a smooth paste. 3. Place blitzed paste into a large saucepan or wok. 4. Add the beef, the Kaffir lime leaf and the remaining coconut milk, adding water if the liquid doesn’t quite cover the meat. 5. Stir well and bring to a simmer. 6. Leave to gently bubble away for 2–2½ hours, stirring occasionally. By now the coconut milk will have reduced and the curry will be quite thick. 7. If you are making this ahead of time, stop at this stage and finish off later or freeze now. It’s great once frozen – actually improves in flavour. 8. If the curry isn’t already in a wok, transfer to one and continue to cook for a further 20–30 minutes or so stirring occasionally until the oil from the coconut milk starts to come to the surface. 9. Serve the beef rendang hot with plenty of Thai rice and a salsa. To make your own salsa, choose from any of the combinations below, chop all finely and toss with olive oil, lemon or lime juice or Tabasco to taste. Avocado lime salsa – avocado, red onion, lime juice, spring onions, olive oil Spicy mango salsa – mango, red onion, fresh green chilli, coriander leaves and lime juice, olive oil Tomato and coriander – firm sweet tomatoes; red onion; fresh lemon juice, garlic, Tabasco, coriander leaves, olive oil Pineapple and green bean salsa – blanched beans (French or shredded runner), fresh pineapple; spring onions, chopped parsley, olive oil and lime juice – lots of salt and black pepper. A truly, truly scrumptious dish this autumn “It never rains but it pours, well it certainly has over the last month, affecting major crops across the whole of the UK and Europe” ….and so started a worrying email about the state of the fresh seasonal vegetable supply to the UK. Compounding the problem, it seems more people are eating hot meals with winter type vegetables this summer, rather than salad (I’m guilty here). “Farmers are unable to harvest their crops dueto ground conditions with some crops under four inches of water”…and so it went on.
As part of my role, overseeing 15 million meals a year to a discerning group of older people in Scotland, Wales, England and Ireland, this is a real concern to me. It made depressing reading. “Broccoli and cauliflower crops are ruined – Germany is waterlogged with their swede harvest wiped out,” (who is eating swede now anyway?). Poor availability means costs are soaring and crops for the frozen market seriously depleted. I imagine that vegetable gardens in the Donheads are no better. My runner beans haven’t emerged out of the ground – broad beans are looking healthy but no sign of any beans. I have a single courgette with potential, but soggy strawberries. My currants are healthy but lie flattened. Summer show entries? Not this year. This time last year and many years previously, I spent my evenings harvesting vegetables, digging potatoes and stopping Lucy, my westie from stealing the lowhanging fruit from the trees and pulling up the cabbages from my tiny vegetable bed. She smelt my fresh carrots as soon as they emerged, and pulled them up by their feathery tops. Lucy would leave apples, pears, tomatoes, peas and beans half eaten, strewn all over the garden. She’d been known to pull a whole runner bean wigwam over – all in search of something she knew was sweet, juicy and forbidden. I lost my rag with her on many an occasion as she proudly appeared in the kitchen, tail wagging with soil all over her head. Pea pods were one of her favourites. And this brings me to this months’ recipe. Pea and mint risotto – eaten on it’s own it’s wonderful, or to accompany sausages, chicken – almost anything any time of the year. It is also a great store cupboard staple – especially if you have garden peas in the freezer, as every good household should in my opinion. (You certainly need them if you have a thieving terrier in the house). I knock this recipe up, with many variations when there is little in the fridge, or if I arrive home late and need some therapy… a soothing ‘stir’ by the stove, glass of wine in hand, reflecting on the day. The best risottos are made with the best rice – Arborio has a fat grain and makes for a creamy risotto; Carnaroli, also excellent, holds its shape but is not so creamy. Cheese – parmesan is traditional but try hard goat or ewe’s cheese. Just experiment or use what you have. Stock cubes/powder is fine, vegetables and fresh herbs from your garden or frozen. Fortunately this year, you don’t need broccoli, cauliflower, swede or potatoes. Lucy, dear girl, I miss you – RIP June 2012 aif Pea and Mint Risotto Serves 1 Approx. £0.85 This is ‘fast’ comfort food. Quantities and ingredients are approximate – this is not a precise recipe, however if you have not made a risotto before, there are very particular recipes available in many books and on the intranet. This will work if you follow the method and your taste buds, as it is as individual as you are, because itis for one. Add more of what you enjoy. This can also be made on the top of a barbecue; real fire in the woods or gas fire when camping. I’ve even made this in a microwave! Small knob butter – preferably unsalted Splash olive oil 1 small onion or equivalent – finely sliced and chopped ½ celery stick (optional) finely sliced ½ mug blanched fresh peas or frozen garden peas/petit pois ½ mug risotto rice of your choice – pearl barley or spelt even works 1 mug hot stock – vegetable or chicken is fine (you need double the volume of stock to rice – hence measured here in a mug.) Big splash white wine (optional) Lump (50g) hard cheese (parmesan/hard goats cheese or other well-flavoured hard cheese,) finely grated Tsp chopped mint/tarragon/parsley/whatever you have (thyme/rosemary etc need to be treated differently) Sprinkling toasted almond slivers (optional but adds a nice crunch and a little needed bitterness – alternatively try sunflower seeds) 1. Heat a small pan and melt the butter with the splash of olive oil. 2. Add the onion and celery if using, stirring gently to cook until soft – not brown, 5–6 minutes. 3. Add the rice of your choice and coat with the butter and onion mix, stirring over a medium heat for a minute or more. 4. Add the white wine if using and stir well until the rice mixture thickens. 5. If you are using a woody herb (thyme or rosemary, very finely chopped), add now. 6. Chill (that’s you!) Stirring constantly but slowly, add generous splashes of the hot stock until all the stock has all been absorbed, or you feel it is of the right consistency and nice and creamy. This may take 20–25 minutes. 7. Whilst still quite wet, add the soft herbs of your choice (mint / tarragon / parsley) plus peas (if using frozen, it’s best to have run them under water or through a sieve to rid them of any ice first) and stir well until it bubbles again. 8. Add two thirds of your grated cheese, black pepper and taste. 9. Serve in a bowl, sprinkled with the remaining cheese and sprinkle with toasted almonds. A truly, truly scrumptious dish. Guest contributors – Jo and Phil James, Ludwell Stores
When asked if we would be guest contributors to ‘Truly Scrumptious’, we eagerly accepted. We ummmed and aahed about how clever we could be and what wonderful dishes we could get you to try. Finally with the heavy fare of Christmas still in our minds and our bellies we decided upon something comforting but healthy, colourful, light and of course scrumptious. We have always loved Spanish/Moorish/Moroccan fare and so admire Sam & Sam Clark’s food from Moro restaurant in London. Originally a Turkish dish, our ‘Truly Scrumptious’ recipe is basically a delicious roasted ratatouille with a few roots and spices thrown in. A generous handful of ‘greenery’ before serving adds a nice crunch and a great fresh flavour. We eat it as a main course with some yogurt sauce and a pile of pitta bread (could equally be a side dish). If Phil is feeling very enthusiastic he might throw in a huge bowl of homemade hummus. He tries not to get too despondent when Alice, our 8 year old and the household’s self-appointed food critic, informs him that his gorgeous bowl of golden oil-drizzled organic goodness is not a patch on the ‘real thing’, a branded product which lives pre-prepared in the shop’s chiller cabinet. Feeding children is such a tricky business – it is so easy to get pushy with foods and establish ‘food terrors’ (avocados and mushrooms in our house); whilst one doesn’t want to make food an issue, there are days when we just don’t feel up to the fight. So we compromise; Phil and I eat the odd fish finger (100% fillet, because you have to draw the line somewhere), as long as the children eat the odd courgette. It works fairly well for us all; although Phil and I are more biddable than the children and tend to keep our side of the deal with less fuss. A must for parents with fussy children is The Man who ate Everything by American food critic Jeffrey Steingarten. He asserts that if you try anything ten times you will learn to like it. It seems to work, Harry has managed mushrooms three times now…. And, once tiny quantities of ‘tricky’ foods make that journey from plate to mouth, the floodgates start to open. The list of foods the children will eat is slowly getting longer than the list of foods they won’t. We can’t pretend that Turlu Turlu is the children’s favourite dish but we persevere because it is one of ours. Harry eats most of a plateful and Alice leaks a little less noise now that she knows where to find the chickpeas. So please try it at least ten times, especially if you are feeding it to children, it is truly scrumptious. AIF If anyone else would like to be a guest contributor to Truly Scrumptious, please let us know donheaddigest@gmail.com Turlu Turlu (A James family special from Ludwell Stores) Approx. £6.85 when purchased in Ludwell Serves 4 3 courgettes, trimmed and cut into 2cm discs 1 aubergine, halved lengthways and cut into ½ again 1 onion, cut into large chunks 3 garlic cloves, thickly sliced 1 green pepper, halved, seeded and thickly sliced 3 carrots, peeled, halved lengthways and cut in three 200g turnips, cut into wedges about 2cm thick 2 potatoes, cut into 2cm cubes 3 tbls extra virgin olive oil ½ tsp ground allspice 2 tsp coriander seeds, coarsely ground 3 tbls cooked/canned chickpeas 150 ml tomato passata or good chopped toms crushed while cooking 1 small bunch of fresh flat-leaf parsley and 1 small bunch of coriander, roughly chopped sea salt and black pepper/lemon juice Preheat the oven to 220°C / 425°F / Gas 7 1. Sprinkle a teaspoon of fine sea salt on the courgettes and aubergine and allow to stand for 20 mins before rinsing. 2. In a large bowl, toss the aubergine, onion, garlic, peppers, carrots, turnips and potatoes with the olive oil, allspice, coriander seeds and a little salt and pepper. 3. Spread the vegetable mixture on a large roasting tray, no more than one layer deep and place in the preheated oven. 4. After 40 minutes, gently stir in the courgettes and cook for another 15 minutes. 5. Meanwhile heat up the chickpeas with the passata or tomato sauce in a pan, and check for seasoning. 6. Now add to your vegetables. Stir well with your prepared herbs and add a squeeze of lemon juice to taste. Serve with a green salad and yoghurt sauce made from crushed garlic mixed with a little ground cumin in Greek yoghurt. A truly, truly scrumptious dish Many thanks to the James family (goodfood@ludwellstores.co.uk) |
AuthorThese musings and recipes are gleaned from The Donhead Digest with the permission of AIF, their author. Categories
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