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Seasonal Artisan Cheeses | Fruity & Floral Spirits | Battenburg Cake for Beginners

105 VIBRANT SPRING Recipes

HUGH F-W Lighter feasts for brighter days MIGUEL BARCLAY Make veg the star EASTER REINVENTED Luscious spring lamb & British wagyu beef

BEST-EVER

Nostalgic Bakes FOODIES What to gather now FORAGING FOR

RHUBARB TEA CAKE, BEEHIVE TARTS, EARL GREY SIMNEL & HOT CROSS BUNS UK £5.99 | ISSUE 114 SPRING 2021

Sensational fish dishes by The Seafood Shack l Monica Galetti on supporting Britain’s restaurants l Cook your favourite fakeaway

e Mad e lk t Whi sey mi g n r Je sta Gar reamy c w it h

BELOW Take your baking to the next level with these showstopping beehive tarts on p.30 ABOVE Make the most of your store cupboard ingredients with Miguel Barclay, our favourite £1 chef on p.37 LEF T From tender lamb with a creamy olive sauce to a light spring risotto, we’ve got some sumptuous suggestions for the ultimate spring feast on p.13

Welcome to Spring!

This issue of GBF is all about getting back to the simple and satisfying food that nurtures us, from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s nourishing suppers (p.21) to the ultimate menu for a traditional afternoon tea (p.27).

The warmer weather is also the perfect time to be getting outside, whether it’s enjoying a nostalgic picnic spread (p.75) or foraging for the wild garlic leaves that carpet your local woodland (p.87). We’re all

about deepening our connection to the food on our plates, and these pages are packed with some fascinating features about artisan ingredients from seaweed (p.71) to sourdough (p.59).

If the past twelve months have taught us anything, it’s the importance of local businesses to our food culture, from the restaurants delivering us takeaway roasts to the farm shops keeping us supplied with fresh vegetables. Now more than ever it’s important to celebrate our high street heroes, and the abundance of delicious produce we can find all around us.

EDITOR DANI REDD

GREAT BRITISH FOOD AWARDS: NOMINATE YOUR HIGH STREET HEROES Is there a deli you can’t live without? A fantastic fishmonger you’d like to celebrate? This year you can participate in the Great British Food Awards by nominating your favourites in 20 categories. Visit greatbritishfoodawards.com/nominations to find out more!

www.greatbritishfoodawards.com

SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER AT GREATBRITISHFOOD AWARDS.COM/ NEWSLETTER

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Commence your sensory journey with Deerness Distillery

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Recipe List From decadent brunches to simple seasonal suppers and showstopping bakes

Breakfast & Brunch 95 The Best French Toast Ever 96 Croque Monsieur with Bloody Mary Salad 97 Butterscotch Bacon Brittle Cinnamon Rolls

Mains: Meat & Poultry 16 Roasted Lamb Rump with Polenta & Creamy Olive & Anchovy Sauce 51 The Ultimate Chili Chicken 53 Wagyu Beef Korma 107 Lamb Leg Steaks with Crushed Peas, Dill & Feta 108 Leg of Lamb with Redcurrant Jelly Glaze 109 Roast Leg of Hogget & Cipolle Onion Champ 115 Chicken Sautéed with Tarragon & Spring Vegetables 117 Spiced Pulled Lamb Wraps with Apple & Radish Salad 134 The Original Disco Bistro Fried Chicken Sandwich 135 BBQ Chicken Pizza 135 Chicken Strips with Queso Fondue 142 Potato Pizza with Garlic, Rosemary & Sausage 145 Goat Lahmucan

Fish & Seafood 22 Curried Beany Skink 66 Mussels in a Creamy White Wine & Garlic Sauce 66 Smoked Haddock, Pea & Chorizo Macaroni Cheese 67 Pan-fried Langoustines with Garlic & Thyme Butter 69 Lobster Burger 98 Posh Fish Finger Sandwich with Homemade Tartare Sauce

Vegetarian 17 Asparagus & Sugar Snap Pea Risotto 23 Asian-Inspired Hotpot 35 Buttermilk-Fried Celeriac with Koreanstyle Sauce 38 Red Onion Tarte Tatin 39 Vegan Mushroom Wellington 40 Caramelised Onion Rarebit 89 New Potato & Wild Garlic Salad 102 Floral Pappardelle Pasta 116 Beer, Bread & Vegetable Stew 120 Courgette & Feta Fritters 121 Spinach & Feta Frittata 141 Whole Broccoli Pesto & Pasta

Puddings & Baking 18 Vegan Dark Chocolate & Coffee Tart with Coconut Ice Cream & Croccante 24 Seedy Almond Cake 28 Rhubarb & Custard Macarons 29 Blueberry & Buttermilk Scones with Honeycomb Butter 42 Mini Eggs Easter Pavlova

p.42

p.103 43 Mini Eggs Rocky Road 44 Mini Eggs Easter Cake 45 Earl Grey & Ginger Simnel Cake 46 Apple, Chocolate & Orange Zest Hot Cross Buns 54 Elderflower & White Chocolate Pots de Crème 55 Yuzu Lemon Pudding with Lemon Crumble 62 Slow-Rise Sourdough Loaf 75 Coconut Macaroons 76 Battenberg Cake 77 Perfect Scones 85 Elderflower Fritters 104 Hazelnut Meringue Gateau 143 Rhubarb & Ricotta Tea Cake 146 Almond Sponge with Roasted Rhubarb & Vanilla Compote

Drinks & Preserves 103 Classic Herb Mayonnaise 105 Pickled Classic Quails Eggs & Baby Cucumber 105 Pickled Turmeric Cauliflower & Burford Browns 105 Pickled Beetroot & Braddock White Duck Eggs

Great British

FOOD Editor Dani Redd Group Advertising Manager Sam Reubin 01206 505936 sam.reubin@aceville.co.uk

129 Sunshine Negroni 130 White Rose 131 Carl Brown’s Appletini 131 Garden Fizz 132 Orchard Spritz

Sides & Extras 33 Roasted Carrots with Pumpkin Seeds, Peaches & Crème Frâiche 34 Jersey Royal Potatoes with Peas, Wild Garlic & Crème Frâiche 77 Homemade Clotted Cream 89 Wild Garlic Oil 90 Wild Garlic Oatcakes 139 Nettle Pesto

Starters & Snacks 14 Anchovy & Sage Fritters 15 Crostini with Broad Bean Purée & Braised Swiss Chard 52 Old School 12-Hour Tomato Soup 88 Minted Pea & Wild Garlic Soup 103 Smoked Haddock & Seaweed Scotch Egg 120 Ham & Melon Balls 120 Crispy Calamari 122 Chicken Wings Three Ways

Designers Sarah Mayes, Luke Rogers, Clare Brasier & Louise Warner Publishing Director Helen Tudor 01206 505970 Photography CliQQ Photography 01206 855477 Subscriptions 03303 330041

Senior Account Manager Patrick Weatherley 01206 505955 patrick.weatherley@aceville.co.uk

Customer Services Phone Number: 0800 904 7000 Email: aceville@dctmedia.co.uk

Group Editor Charlotte Smith

Circulation Joseph Gibbons 01206 505912

www.greatbritishfoodawards.com

Accounts Denise Bubb 01206 505958 Published by Aceville Publications Ltd, 21-23 Phoenix Court, Hawkins Road, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8JY Newstrade Sales Frontline Ltd 01733 555161 Next issue on sale 3rd June 2021

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CONTENTS S P R I N G 2 02 1 I S S U E 114

Foodie Features

144The Ethical Butcher

Sushila Moles, founder of The New Meat Project, reveals how we can eat 'less but better' meat

56Monica Galetti

The chef discusses the challenges of the last 12 months and her hopes for the hospitality industry

Armchair 147The Traveller

59Slow Rise

The five UK destinations at the top of our travel bucket list

Rob Penn’s quest to resuscitate the traditional art of bread making, from hand-scything wheat in the Nile Delta and harvesting his own ancient grains

48 Hours At...The 150 Welbeck Estate, Nottinghamshire

71

Kayleigh Rattle enjoys a foodie staycation steeped in history – and flavour!

Harvest from the Tides

Seaweed is getting fresh treatment as an artisan ingredient, discovers Anna Blewett

Ultimate 152 The Staycation Giveaway

83Go Wild

WIN a stay for two at Armathwaite Hall, in the Lake District, worth £800+

Forager Liz Knight shows us how to make the most of our seasonal hedgerow produce

Plot to Plate at 138From The Small Holding In a his seasonal column, harvest to table supremo Will Devlin takes us behind the scenes of his glorious kitchen garden

Great British 154 The Giveaway WIN a two-night stay for two worth £900+ at The Eastbury, in idyllic Dorset

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Tasty Recipes

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Ultimate 15 Your Easter Feast

Push the boat out this Easter with Michelin-star chef Theo Randall’s ultimate three course menu, accompanied by wine pairings

Hugh Fearnley 21 Whittingstall: Eat Better, Forever The chef, writer and campaigner returns us to the food that nurtures us

Delightfully British 27 ATradition

Delicate, indulgent afternoon tea recipes from award-winning pastry chef Will Torrent

33 Back to our Roots

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A delicious spring feast starring the UK’s seasonal vegetables - enjoy!

www.greatbritishfoodawards.com

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Barclay: Make 37 Miguel Veg the Star

Our favourite £1 chef shares his store cupboard comfort food

42

Indulgent Easter Bakes

Treats to sweeten up your Easter break

51 Slow Down, Do Less

Use your versatile slow cooker for much more than winter stews with these indulgent recipes

65

Spring Tides

Bring the taste of the British coast to your table with these seasonal seafood and fish recipes

75

The Great British Picnic

Nostalgic bakes for your al fresco feasts

87 Nature’s Larder

Wild garlic is one of the UK's most easily recognised spring greens – Fiona Bird explains how to cook with them

for Lazy 95 Brunches Mornings

These decadent recipes are perfect for late breakfasts and slow weekends

Cracking Good 101 ASpread

A spring smorgasbord of recipes celebrating the versatility of eggs

107 The Main Event

Sumptuous lamb dishes to inspire the ultimate Easter roast

115 Fuss-Free Feasts

Delicious, nourishing one-pot meals requiring minimal preparation for maximum flavour

120 Light and Easy

Simple sharing food for family and friends

129 Spring Fizz

Raise a glass to welcome the warmer weather with these delicious and refreshing cocktails

Nation’s Favourite 135 The Fakeaways

Carl Clarke – founder of pop-up restaurant Disco Bistro and a Saturday Kitchen regular – shares his recipes for a Friday night in

141

Cook the Seasons

Make the most of the UK’s spring produce with these easy yet delicious recipes, perfect for midweek suppers

92 The Full English

Our pick of the best British produce to feast on for breakfast, from smoked salmon to award-winning pork sausages

113 All the Trimmings

The best artisan condiments from around the UK to elevate your roast

in the Spirit 126 Get for spring

Zingy, refreshing drinks to add to your alcohol cabinet

Kitchen with 162 InCarlTheClarke The much-loved chef shares his foodie loves and hates

Tempting Ideas

9 Eat the Seasons

Seasonal ideas and inspiration for your spring kitchen

Most Eggscellent 19 The Easter Chocolate

We handpick the best luxury Easter eggs to treat yourself to this year

Ultimate Easter 49 The Baking Inspiration

Add some colour and flavour to your Easter with these mouthwatering baking ideas and sweet treats

to Bring in the 80 Cheeses Spring Whether you're after a comforting classic or something a bit different, our hand-picked cheeseboard has something for everyone

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E AT T H E S E A S O N S

Eat, Drink and Enjoy Spring!

10 wonderful ways to celebrate warmer weather and support local businesses www.greatbritishfoodawards.com

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E AT T H E S E A S O N S

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Feast on seasonal spring produce

The long cold winter is coming to an end, and the landscape around us is bursting into new life. We’re celebrating the arrival of spring by enjoying the best British produce of the season, from fresh green watercress to plump mussels and spring lamb. March is also the season for forced rhubarb, and these tender pink stems look and taste great on cakes and tarts. For more seasonal recipe inspiration head over to our website at greatbritishfoodawards.com/recipes

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Bag a wild food delivery

We’re loving all the amazing artisan ingredients you can now get delivered straight to your door. One of the most unique that we’ve seen is from Bello At Home, suppliers of wild food and foraged ingredients from Cornish coasts to Scottish shores. Bello has recently introduced a series of Wild Food Gift Hampers containing treats such as wild mushroom & wild garlic stuffing, rosehip syrup and elderflower vinegar. It’s the perfect gift for the foodie in your life. From £30, wildfooddelivery.co.uk

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Give your table a spring refresh

Available in a wide range of nature inspired prints, Liga’s placemats and coasters are a sustainable way to bring beautiful and practical designs to your table. Heat resistant and easy to clean, the cork used is harvested naturally in Portugal without harming the cork trees or ecosystems. We particularly love the wild-swimming inspired design! From £2.75 at loveliga.co.uk

Taste Hugh-Fearnley Whittingstall’s favourite healthy drink If you’re looking for a healthy drink that still tastes amazing, we recommend River Cottage’s new range of kombucha drinks - fermented green tea infused with natural flavours. The range has been inspired by environments at River Cottage, and includes flavours such as Garden (infused with chamomile, rhubarb and lovage) and Meadow (dandelion and meadowsweet). £1.75 from Waitrose or available in multipacks from equinoxkombucha.com

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The Lincoln Tea and Coffee Company bring you their Red Arrows ‘Official Licenced Product’ Diamond Blend Fairtrade Coffee. They often see distinctive Hawk fastjets and trademark Diamond nine shapes practising in the skies from their office windows. £7.99 for 250g. Call 01522 681838 or check out their online shop thelincolnteaandcoffeecompany.co.uk

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Try Lincolnshireblended coffee

Organise a virtual coffee tasting experience

The folks over at Stokes Coffee have recently created a selection of 5-star, multi-sensory virtual coffee tasting experiences. They’re a unique way to learn a new skill and bond with friends or colleagues.

Each attendee will receive a personal tasting kit before joining our master roaster online for a brewing demonstration and professional tasting session. You'll be making the perfect cup in no time!Tastings cost from £29.99 and you can email info@stokescoffee.co.uk to discuss your perfect event.

www.greatbritishfoodawards.com

E AT T H E S E A S O N S

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Enjoy the unofficial beer of video calls

‘You’re on mute!’ It’s a phrase we’ve found ourselves saying far too often during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021. In homage to these numerous video calls, Yorkshire-based brewer Magic Rock has launched its latest beer, ‘You’re on Mute!’. It’s a delicious fruity IPA with a punch 8% ABV, perfect for virtual spring drinks (and it’s also vegan and gluten-free). magicrockbrewing.com

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Try our all-time favourite fudge

Ever since we tried The Copper Pan Fudge Company’s coppercrunch fudge at the Great British Food Awards last year, we haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. We even crowned it Grand Champion! Judge John Gill, Head of Trading at Booths, said: “On first taste, wow just wow, the taste of toffee brittle, nuts and chocolate sent my mind back to being a kid, remembering flavours I’d forgotten but love so much. Texture wise, the brittle top layer combines wonderfully with the soft toffee beneath to deliver a heavenly bite every time.” From £4.50 copperpanfudgecompany.co.uk

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Cook a pub-style roast

Whatever the season, Sunday means one thing, and one thing only: the weekly roast. If you’ve found yourself missing out on the epic roasts from your local pub, then we recommend Falmouth pub Star & Garter’s ‘roast in a box’, which delivers nationwide. The recipe kit is packed with Cornish produce, from dry-aged moorland beef sirloin to bone marrow gravy and seasonal veg. There’s even a dark chocolate mousse cheesecake to finish! A simple flow chart will ensure that you get the timings of each element right. Having tasted the results, we can give it the Great British Food seal of approval! £45 for two, starandgarterfalmouth.co.uk

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Try your hand at cooking venison

Wild venison is lean, healthy and sustainably harvested from the countryside. The folks over at Deer Box are on a quest to change the perception of venison as a rich, gamey and ‘old-fashioned’ meat. Order one of their Deer Boxes to find out. It contains different cuts of venison (from whatever species is in season) and recipe ideas to give you cooking inspiration. From £60, deerbox.co.uk

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GBF PROMOTION

HIVE MIND Our new columnist Emily Abbott, a honey expert and founder of Hive & Keeper, explains her passion for beekeeping and British honey After tasting the honey from her back garden, Emily was surprised at how different it tasted to shop-bought honey.

This, she explains, was the spark for starting Hive & Keeper.

“I love how the taste of a spoonful of pure raw local British honey connects me back to the natural world that I used to spend so much of my day to day life blind to. And that’s why I set up Hive & Keeper,” she says.

Working with British beekeepers

Emily Abbott, owner of artisan honey business Hive & Keeper, has always loved bees.

“One of my best childhood memories is sitting in the spring sunshine in our London garden: Me, my Mum and my Grandma in a row of deckchairs, with the bees buzzing around behind us, sun on our faces, eyes closed, warming our bones. I think that’s where I trace my bee-love back to,” she says.

Emily became a hobbyist beekeeper around eight years ago, as a way to break the routine of her everyday life.

“I was walking on auto-pilot with my head full of to-do lists, internal conversations about the day just past or the day ahead,” she explains. “Beekeeping broke that cycle. As soon as I became a beekeeper I started to notice the natural world around me.”

Hive & Keeper sells raw honey and beeswax products, which are all sourced from British beekeepers.

UK-based beekeepers are experiencing increased difficulties in selling their honey, as the price per kilo of imported honey is much cheaper.

“If the beekeepers disappear then so do their bees, “ Emily comments.” With about a third of the food we eat each day relying on bees and others to pollinate it, we need them more than they need us.”

Hive & Keeper pays all its beekeepers a fair price and gives small-scale beekeepers a route to market, as many are finding that the local shops they used to supply have left their local high streets, or been replaced by chains with central buying.

“We only work with beekeepers who look after their bees well and prioritise their welfare, rather than maximising honey production. I visit every beekeeper, talk bees, and explore the area so I can picture where each honey has come from,” Emily adds.

Let honey be your passion too – hiveandkeeper.com

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Going on these road trips is one of the highlights of her job, and she reminisces fondly about a visit to the apiaries of Jeremy Smith on the Yorkshire moors.

“The loud hum of thousands and thousands of bees, like low flying aircraft, working the heather was incredible, just breathtaking - and made us two beekeepers beam from ear to ear,” she says.

“The heather honey from those bees that summer was absolutely delicious, so much so that I put it in for the Great Taste Awards and it won a deserved two stars.”

Spring Flights Springtime is Emily’s favourite beekeeping season, because it’s when you know your bees have survived the cold winter by eating their honey stores.

“The first flowers the bees will be visiting are the early bulbs like crocuses and mohonia. Then come the spring blossoms and crops like oilseed rape, which bees love.This is the honey that people describe as ‘old fashioned and what honey was like when they were little’; it’s very pale, creamy and comforting”, she says www.hiveandkeeper.com

RECIPES | EASTER MEAL

Your Ultimate EASTER FEAST Restaurant bookings might be off the menu, but you can still push the boat out this Easter with Michelin-star chef Theo Randall’s ultimate three course Easter menu. Each course is accompanied by by wine pairings hand-selected by wine expert Richard Ellison TO START:

MAIN COURSE:

DESSERT:

Anchovy & Sage Fritters

Asparagus & Sugar Snap Pea Risotto (VG, GF)

Dark Chocolate & Coffee Tart with Coconut Ice Cream & Croccante (VG)

Crostini with Broad Purée & Braised Swiss Chard

OR Roasted Lamb Rump with Polenta & Creamy Olive & Anchovy Sauce

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RECIPES | EASTER MEAL

Anchovy & Sage Fritters “This is the ultimate pre-dinner snack, a perfect canapé – simple but really satisfying. I love the combination of anchovies and sage – it makes me very happy” – Theo Randall

Serves: 4 Prepare: 10 minutes, plus soaking Cook: 10 minutes 50g salted anchovies in oil, drained 20 large sage leaves 50ml whole milk 150g type 00 flour, plus extra for dusting 1 tbsp olive oil warm water 1 organic egg white, whisked to soft peaks 100ml sunflower oil 1 unwaxed lemon, quartered

ANCHOVY & SAGE FRIT TERS

“Easter has always been a big occasion in my family.

Growing up my mother would always cook a big Easter Sunday lunch and this tended to be spring lamb, usually shoulder, which cooked slowly is always wonderful. I like all cuts of lamb but a great cut to use if there are only a few of you, is lamb rump. It's always good value for money as it is mostly all meat with a lovely amount of fat that keeps it juicy.”

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1. Place the drained anchovies in a bowl and add the sage leaves and milk. Leave to soak for 10 minutes.

2. Sprinkle a little flour over a plate and dip the anchovies into the flour until dusted all over. Take 2 sage leaves from the milk and sandwich an anchovy between them. Repeat for all the anchovies and sage leaves.

Leave to one side.

3. In a bowl, whisk together the flour with the olive oil, then whisk in a splash of warm water (roughly 75ml / 2¼fl oz) so that the batter is the consistency of runny honey. Gently fold in the whisked egg white until fully combined.

4. Heat the sunflower oil in a deep frying pan on a medium heat. When the oil is hot (a piece of batter dropped into the oil should sizzle and cook in 10 seconds), place each anchovy and sage sandwich in the batter so that it’s completely coated, shaking off any excess. One by one, and working in batches, add the fritters to the hot oil, taking care not to overcrowd the pan. Turn the heat down if the oil gets too hot. Cook the fritters gently for about 4 minutes until crispy and golden, then remove them with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper.

5. Serve immediately with lemon wedges for squeezing over.

RECIPES | EASTER MEAL

“I am a big fan of having a stand up starter for family events and a good sage and anchovy fritter is my absolute favourite. Easter Sunday lunch should be a long slow affair, with some good wine and of course a chocolate dessert, followed by a good walk, cards then a good film” – Theo Randall

Crostini with Broad Bean Purée & Braised Swiss Chard Serves: 6 (as a snack) Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 1 hour 10 minutes 250g dried, peeled broad beans 1 large potato, peeled and quartered 6 tbsp good olive oil, plus extra for the ciabatta 3 large Swiss chard leaves, with stems 1 garlic clove, finely sliced 1 large ciabatta loaf, cut into slices 50g salted anchovies in oil, drained and finely chopped 2 red chillies, deseeded and finely chopped Small bunch of parsley, chopped Juice of ½ unwaxed lemon Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1. Place the dried broad beans and potato in a saucepan and cover with cold water. Place over a high heat and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for about 1 hour, until the beans are soft enough to mash between your fingers to a smooth paste.

2. Drain the cooked beans and potato, return them to the pan and beat with a wooden spoon to a lovely, silky purée. Season with salt and pepper and 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Leave to one side in a warm place.

3. Trim off the green leaves of the Swiss chard, then wash and rinse them. Reserve the stems. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Add the leaves and blanch until the water has come back to the boil and boiled for a further 3 minutes.

Remove with a slotted spoon or tongs and allow to cool in a colander. (Don’t be tempted to rinse with cold water, as this will dilute the flavour and the leaves will become waterlogged.) Cut the chard stems

CROSTINI WITH BROAD BEAN PURÉE & BRAISED SWISS CHARD into 1cm (½in) strips and, using the same water and pan, boil for about 5 minutes, until soft. Drain and leave to cool. Cut the chard leaves into smaller pieces.

4. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a saucepan on a medium heat. When hot, add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute but do not allow to colour. Add the chard stalks and leaves and fry for 3 minutes on a medium heat, until softened.

Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper and keep to one side.

5. Preheat the grill to medium.

Place the ciabatta slices in a roasting tin. Drizzle over some olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt. Toast the ciabatta under the grill for a couple of minutes each side so the slices are golden and crispy. Leave to one side.

6. Mix the chopped anchovies

and chilli in a bowl, then add the chopped parsley, lemon juice and remaining olive oil. Stir to combine.

7. Generously spread each slice of ciabatta with broad bean purée.

Then divide the cooked chard leaves and stalks between each slice and finish off with the chopped anchovy mixture.

Enjoy with a sparkling white Richard says: "pair the starters with a clean, sparkling white wine like 2011 Blanc de Blancs from Tickerage. This wine is aged for 9 years , giving it a complex taste of honey , apple,and orange blossom.”

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RECIPES | EASTER MEAL

ROASTED LAMB RUMP WITH POLENTA & CREAMY OLIVE & ANCHOVY SAUCE

Roasted Lamb Rump with Polenta & Creamy Olive & Anchovy Sauce “Heating up olives softens them and in the process releases their amazing and intense flavour. This sauce is lovely with most things, but really good with polenta and greens.”

Serves: 4 Prepare: 45 minutes, plus marination time Cook: 45 minutes For the lamb: 1 unwaxed lemon (pared zest & juice) 4 x 180g lamb rumps 1 rosemary sprig, leaves picked and roughly chopped 2 garlic cloves, quartered 3 tbsp olive oil sea salt and freshly ground black pepper For the soft polenta: 250g coarse polenta (not quick cook) 3 tbsp good olive oil 1 tsp sea salt For the olive and anchovy sauce: 1 tbsp olive oil 1 garlic clove, finely sliced 4 salted anchovies in oil, drained and chopped 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley 100g Taggiasca or niçoise olives, pitted and chopped 100ml crème fraîche or double (heavy) cream For the purple sprouting broccoli: 600g purple-sprouting broccoli, trimmed 3 tbsp olive oil 1 garlic clove, finely sliced 1. Marinate the lamb rumps. Place the pared lemon zest and juice in a bowl. Add the lamb, rosemary and garlic, then cover and leave at room temperature for 1 hour, turning the rumps in the marinade a few times during the hour. Then, add the olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas Mark 4.

3. Make the polenta. Pour 1 litre of water into a saucepan. Place over 16 /

Savour with a light red “Pair with England’s answer to Beaujolais; Furnace Project’s Chiff Chaff. This light red has hints of red fruits and soft berries, and can be enjoyed slightly chilled on warm days.

It's exactly the right body and style for lamb dishes.”

www.greatbritishfoodawards.com

RECIPES | EASTER MEAL

a high heat and, when the water comes to the boil, very gradually whisk in the polenta. Once you have added all the polenta, reduce the heat and cook for 30 minutes, until it no longer sticks to the side of the pan. Add the olive oil and salt and leave to one side to keep warm.

4. Meanwhile, make the sauce.

Heat a saucepan over a medium heat and add the olive oil, garlic, anchovies and parsley. Cook gently for 2 minutes, then add the olives, cook for 1 minute, then add the cream. Bring to a simmer and turn off the heat. Leave to one side to keep warm.

5. For the broccoli, bring a pan of salted water to the boil. Add the broccoli, including any leaves, and bring back to the boil. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove from the heat and drain, keeping the hot pan. Add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the sliced garlic to the pan and cook over a medium heat for 1 minute. Add the broccoli, and cook for 10 minutes, until broken up slightly. Check the seasoning and add a tablespoon of water and the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.

Stir to coat, and leave to one side to keep warm.

6. Cook the lamb. Pat off the marinade residue from the lamb using kitchen paper. Season the meat with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large, ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat. Seal the lamb rumps, turning to brown on all sides (this should take 4 minutes). Place the lamb rumps fat-sides downwards in the pan then roast in the oven for 8 minutes.

With a meat thermometer, check that the middle of the lamb is 45°C for a lovely pink piece of meat, then remove from the oven. Turn them over a couple of times and leave in the pan to rest.

7. To serve, spoon the polenta onto a serving dish then top with broccoli.

Against the grain, slice each lamb rump into 3 slices and place on top of the broccoli and polenta.

Pour over the sauce and serve immediately.

Asparagus and Sugar Snap Pea Risotto Serves: 4 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 60 minutes 300g asparagus, roughly chopped, tough ends trimmed 300g sugar snap peas 4 mint leaves 200g frozen peas 1 garlic bulb, cloves separated, skins on 4 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve 2 celery sticks, finely chopped 1 shallot or small onion, finely chopped 350g Carnaroli risotto rice 75ml dry white wine 1.5 litres hot vegetable stock 4 basil leaves sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1. Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and add the asparagus, sugar snap peas, mint leaves and frozen peas. Cook for 3 minutes, then scoop out a cupful of cooking water.

Drain the remainder and set aside.

Pour the cupful of reserved cooking water back into the pan and bring to the boil.

2. Boil the garlic cloves for 10 minutes, until soft. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a separate saucepan with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil. Reserve the cooking water. Fry the garlic on a gentle heat for 10 minutes, turning the cloves occasionally so the garlic goes lightly golden.

3. Using a hand blender or liquidizer, blitz half the cooked vegetables with a splash of the cooking water until you have a thick green purée. Set aside.

4. Place a large saucepan on a medium heat. Add the remaining olive oil along with the celery and onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add the rice and cook for another 3 minutes, then pour in the wine and cook until absorbed. Gradually start adding the stock, a ladleful at a time, for about 15 minutes, stirring from

ASPARAGUS AND SUGAR SNAP PEA RISOT TO time to time, until the rice still has a bite but is not crunchy. The risotto should be very wet at this stage, almost soupy.

5. Add the remaining vegetables and cook for a further 6 minutes, then add the vegetable purée and basil leaves. Cook and stir for 5 minutes until the liquid is reduced, combined and coats the rice. Check the seasoning, then place a tightfitting lid on the pan and turn off the heat. Leave for 2 minutes, then remove the lid and give the risotto a good stir. Peel the cooked garlic.

6. Serve the risotto in bowls, topped with the garlic, sprinkled with some black pepper and drizzled with more olive oil.

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RECIPES | EASTER MEAL

VEGAN DARK CHOCOLATE & COFFEE TART WITH COCONUT ICE CREAM & CROCCANTE

COOK'S TIP To make this recipe even easier, use shopbought coconut ice cream and nut brittle!

Vegan Dark Chocolate & Coffee Tart with Coconut Ice Cream & Croccante Serves: 8 Prepare: 40 minutes, plus cooling and overnight setting time Cook: 20 minutes For the coconut ice cream: 1 x 400ml can of coconut milk 1 x 400ml can of coconut cream 100g caster (superfine) sugar 60ml maple syrup For the almond pastry shell: 6 tablespoons good olive oil, plus extra for greasing 200g ground almonds 3 tablespoons maple syrup ¼ teaspoon sea salt

Pair with a sweet white “Pair with utterly ambrosial Ambriel Demi-sec Sparkling English. This sweet wine contains hints of lemon sherbert and is utterly quaffable with sweet treats."

All wines can be purchased from wanderlustwine.co.uk

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For the chocolate and coffee filling: 2 tbsp best-quality instant coffee granules 300g 70% dark (bittersweet) chocolate, chopped 100ml olive oil For the almond croccante: 200g whole blanched almonds 200g caster (superfine) sugar 1. First, make the coconut ice cream (you’ll need to do this at least a day in advance of serving). Put the coconut milk and cream together in a saucepan, then add the sugar and maple syrup. Place on a medium heat and bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat. Using a hand-held stick blender, blend the hot mixture to fully combine.

2. Transfer the mixture to a plastic container, allow to cool, then refrigerate overnight so that it’s completely chilled through. (If you don’t have that long, place it in a bowl on top of lots of ice and stir every so often until completely cold.) Place the chilled mixture in an ice-cream machine and churn for 30 minutes until soft set, or place into a shallow container, cover, and put in the freezer for 3-4 hours, stirring every 30 minutes, until soft set. Store in the freezer until ready to serve.

3. To make the almond pastry shell,

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preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C fan/Gas Mark 3 and lightly grease a 24cm loose-bottomed, fluted tart tin with olive oil. Place all the pastry ingredients in a large bowl and mix very well. The dough will be crumbly like sand and should come together when you squeeze it in your hands.

Add the pastry mixture to the tart tin and press down firmly to form an even layer over the bottom and sides of the tin. Bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown and firm. Then place on a wire rack in the tin to cool.

4. To make the chocolate and coffee filling, put the coffee and the chocolate in a heatproof bowl suspended over a pan of simmering water (don’t let the base of the bowl touch the water). Once melted, remove the bowl from the pan and thoroughly whisk in the olive oil. The mixture will seem very wet but keep whisking so it doesn’t separate and it thickens to a thick, syrupy consistency.

Pour the mixture into the tart shell, then refrigerate for 1 hour to set.

5. While the tart is chilling, make the almond croccante. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas Mark 4. Spread out the almonds in a small roasting tin and roast for 5 minutes, until they are a light golden colour.

Leave to one side. Put the sugar in a saucepan and add 1 tablespoon of water. Cook, without stirring, on a medium heat until the sugar melts and turns a light golden colour. Add the almonds and carry on cooking for 1 minute, stirring to coat the nuts.

Pour the mixture on to an oiled baking sheet and leave to cool and set (about 1 hour).

6. Roughly break up the croccante and put the pieces into a plastic bag.

Using a rolling pin, bash to further break into smaller pieces. (You can keep any leftover croccante in an airtight container for up to a month.)

To serve the chocolate tart, dip a sharp knife into hot water and cut the tart into 8 equal portions. Place each portion on a serving plate, sprinkle over the almond croccante and top with a good scoop of the ice cream.

Recipes taken from The Italian Deli Cookbook by Theo Randall (Quadrille, £26) Photography: Lizzie Mayson

E A S T E R C H O C O L AT E

The Most Eggscellent

Easter Chocolate We handpick the best luxury Easter eggs to treat yourself with this year 1. Chococo Heavenly Honeycombe Studded Egg, £12.50, chococo.co.uk This bestselling chocolate egg is made from 45% Venezuela origin milk chocolate and studded with honeycombe made from local Dorset honey. It’s dusted with gold shimmer for that extra bling.

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OUR VERDICT: “We love the generous chunks of caramelised honeycombe paired with the milk chocolate.”

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2. Bettys Milk Chocolate Buttons Egg £12.50, bettys.co.uk Yorkshire confectioners Bettys have produced a quirky, handcrafted milk chocolate egg studded with pastelcoloured buttons.

OUR VERDICT: “We love the appearance of this Easter egg and anyone with a sweet tooth will love the chocolate shell!”

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Winner!

3. Mummy Meagz Dark Chocolate Orange Choccie Easter Egg £6.99 hollandandbarrett.com This is a vegan take on the much loved combination of chocolate and orange, and is accompanied by a Choccie Orange bar.

OUR VERDICT: “This was our favourite free-from Easter egg, thanks to the delicious zesty punch of orange – we’d even recommend it to non-vegans!”

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4. Love Cocoa Prosecco Milk Chocolate Luxury Egg with Pink Gin Truffles, £35 from ocado.com or lovecocoa.com A decadent milk chocolate egg laced with a splash of prosecco and a dash of popping candy, containing pearly pink chocolate truffles made with fresh, creamy white chocolate ganache and gin.

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OUR VERDICT: “This egg is huge and it tastes amazing! The acidity of the prosecco really balances out the sweetness of chocolate, and the addition of popping candy is inspired. The truffles are sumptuous too.”

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5. NOMO Vegan Caramel & Sea Salt Egg, £6 from Sainsburys, Waitrose and Holland & Barrett This delicious vegan sea salt and caramel easter egg also comes with a bar of the same flavour.

OUR VERDICT: “This chocolate has a great mouth feel, and the sea salt really compliments the sweetness.”

6. Chococo Sea Salt Caramels Egg, £18.50 chococo.co.uk This egg is handmade from 45% Venezuela origin milk chocolate and contains 6 caramels laced with smoked Dorset sea salt. The exterior is hand decorated with splashes of cocoa butter naturally coloured in shades of pink, blue and yellow.

OUR VERDICT: “We loved the eye-catching look of this egg and the sea salt caramels were our favourite accompaniment. Decadent, sweet, oozy and slightly smoky, it’s easy to see why they won an Academy of Chocolate Bronze Award.”

7. Moo Free Organic Sour Cherry Easter Egg, £5.99 from Waitrose and Ocado.com This dark chocolate egg is made using single origin cocoa beans from Dominican Republic, and laced with pieces of dried sour cherry.

OUR VERDICT: “We liked the fact that this egg was neither too thick nor too overpoweringly sweet. The cherry pieces really worked well with the dark chocolate.”

8. Daylesford Dairy-Free Rose & Almond Egg from daylesford.com Crushed almonds and freeze-dried rose petals add an interesting crunch to this dark chocolate artisan egg.

OUR VERDICT: “The addition of the rose petals gave this dark chocolate egg a delicate floral undertone.”

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GBF PROMOTION

British FOOD HEROES

The best British Stock-Makers TRUEfoods produces and sells traditional stocks, made without compromise, using 100% fully traceable higher welfare British bones, spring water, fresh vegetables and aromatics. Mitch Mitchell gives us a greater insight into his specialist business.

Tell us the story behind TRUEfoods — why did you decide to set it up?

How have you been keeping busy during lockdown?

We have continued innovation and investment into new equipment to meet the demands of the new customer portfolio, commenced new projects with Michelin starred Chefs Tommy Banks & Sat Bains, whilst continuing to focus on current and new customers. We have also supported a number of organisations with food parcels from Cornwall to Yorkshire.

15 years ago we simply couldn’t find a quality stock in retail; with the culinary experience we had, we believed we could make a better quality product than was currently on the market at that time. From the early months of trading it was obvious that we had captured the interest of retailers as our conversion rate from presentation to first delivery was an unbelievably quick turnaround. We knew at this point TRUEfoods had potential for success.

What three words would you use to describe your business, and why?

“Quality, Consistency and Service.” These three words say it all in our business. We endeavour never to let our customer down in any of these vital areas.

What makes your stocks unique?

Low, slow, loving care and attention to detail.

It’s stock — never rush it! Stock production is not about simply boiling the life out of bones, there is a science to extracting the fullest flavour. We regularly work with scientists to make sure we continue to push forward and stay ahead in the category we work in.

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What goes on in your research and development kitchen?

This is our secret weapon. Safe to say this is the epicentre of all innovation throughout the business. It’s also a 10-cover restaurant three evenings per week, recently reviewed

by Giles Coren of The Times, who awarded us 10 out of 10 in all categories.

Why is it important for you to support the Roux Scholarship and Bocuse d’Or? We want to give all the young chefs of the future every support that we can through the partnership we have with both organisations.

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“Quality, Consistency and Service.”

R E C I P E S | H U G H F E A R N L E Y-W H I T T I N G S TA L L

HUGH FEARNLEYWHITTINGSTALL EATING BETTER, FOREVER The chef, writer and campaigner returns us to the food that nurtures us

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R E C I P E S | H U G H F E A R N L E Y-W H I T T I N G S TA L L

Curried Beany Cullen Skink Serves 4 Prepare:10 minutes Cook: 15 minutes 2 tbsp olive or vegetable oil 2 medium leeks or onions, trimmed, halved and sliced 3 garlic cloves, sliced 2 bay leaves (optional) 1 rounded tbsp medium-hot curry powder or paste 300ml whole milk 500ml veg stock About 300g smoked haddock or pollock fillet, skinned and cut into bite-sized pieces 400g tin cannellini or borlotti beans, drained and rinsed About 200g baby spinach (or regular spinach, tough stalks removed, leaves roughly chopped) 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley or coriander (optional) Black pepper 1. Place a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the oil and then the leeks or onions, garlic, bay leaves if using, and curry powder or paste.

Sweat, stirring regularly, for 3-4 minutes.

2. Pour in the milk and stock, bring to a simmer and cook for a further 2–3 minutes.

3. Add the smoked fish and beans followed by the spinach, adding it a handful at a time as it wilts down in the simmering soup. By the time the spinach is wilted (in just a few minutes), the fish will be cooked.

4. Add the chopped parsley or coriander if using, and season with a few twists of pepper (the smoked fish should make it salty enough). Ladle into warm bowls and serve.

Asian-Inspired Hotpot Serves: 4 Prepare: 15 minutes Cook: 30 minutes 3-4 tbsp olive or vegetable oil 700g chestnut mushrooms, thickly sliced ½ large celeriac (about 500g) peeled and cut into 2cm cubes A large thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, grated 4 garlic cloves, sliced

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CULLEN SKINK

“Cullen skink is an old Scottish friend that I keep welcoming back to my kitchen.

This time the usual spuds are swapped for creamy beans and there’s a healthy dose of greens in the form of spinach” HUGH’S TIPS You can use kipper fillets instead of the smoked haddock or pollock. Add sweetcorn (frozen or even tinned) or peas, instead of, or as well as, the beans.

And, of course, potatoes can replace the beans for a classic cullen skink – peel and roughly chop the spuds, add them to the simmering stock and cook until just tender before adding the smoked fish.

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R E C I P E S | H U G H F E A R N L E Y-W H I T T I N G S TA L L

“This is completely delicious and very filling! The mushrooms are fried ‘hard’ to start with, creating a lovely caramelised exterior that really adds to the flavour of the dish. The miso paste is optional but it does give the hot pot a boost of savoury, ‘umami’ character”

2 x 400g tins beans (black, white or kidney), drained and rinsed A bunch of spring onions, trimmed A bunch of chard (200g), washed About 2 tbsp white/shiro miso paste (optional) 2 tbsp soy sauce Juice of 2 limes or 1 lemon, plus extra to taste Sea salt and black pepper 3–4 tbsp chopped coriander, to finish (optional) 1. Set a large frying pan over a high heat. Add 2 tbsp of the oil, then half the mushrooms with a pinch of salt.

Fry them ‘hard’ for 6-8 minutes, stirring only occasionally so they develop a rich golden-brown colour. If the mushrooms give out any liquid, cook until it’s evaporated and keep going until they are nicely browned. Tip them into a very large saucepan or casserole. Repeat with the remaining oil and mushrooms.

2. Place the pan of mushrooms over a medium-high heat. Add the cubed celeriac with the ginger and garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes, stirring often.

Tip in the beans and pour in enough water to just cover everything (about 700ml). Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes or until the celeriac is just tender.

3. Meanwhile, cut the spring onions into 2cm slices and shred the chard into 1–2cm strips. Add them to the pan and stir well. Return to a simmer and cook for a further 5 minutes.

4. Take the pan off the heat. Scoop out a ladleful of the hot broth into a bowl and mix in 2 tbsp miso paste. Tip this thick liquid back into the hotpot, and add the soy and lime or lemon juice.

Stir well. Taste and add more miso, lime/lemon, soy and/or pepper to taste.

Ladle into bowls, finish with chopped coriander if you like, and serve.

HUGH’S TIPS

ASIAN HOTPOT

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In the summer, replace the celeriac with a mixture of waxy potatoes and carrots. Instead of chard, you can use spinach, spring greens or kale, removing the tough stalks.

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R E C I P E S | H U G H F E A R N L E Y-W H I T T I N G S TA L L

Seedy Almond Cake Serves: 8 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 30 minutes 125g unsalted butter, softened 70g soft light brown sugar or light muscovado Finely grated zest of 1 orange or lemon (optional) 100g wholemeal cake flour/fine plain wholemeal flour 2 tsp baking powder 100g ground almonds 25g sunflower seeds 25g poppy seeds (optional) 3 medium eggs 3 tbsp milk or water About 20g flaked almonds or pumpkin seeds (or a mix) 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Line a 20cm round springform cake tin with baking paper.

2. Put the butter and sugar, and the orange or lemon zest if using, into a large bowl or a free-standing electric mixer. Use an electric hand whisk or the mixer to beat for a couple of minutes, until light and fluffy.

3. In a second bowl, thoroughly combine the flour, baking powder, ground almonds, sunflower seeds and poppy seeds, if using.

4. Add an egg and a spoonful of the dry ingredients to the butter and sugar mix and beat until evenly blended. Repeat to incorporate the remaining eggs. Tip in the remaining dry ingredients and fold together gently but thoroughly, finishing by folding in the milk or water to loosen the batter a little.

5. Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and spread it gently and evenly. Scatter with the flaked almonds and/or pumpkin seeds.

Bake in the oven for 35 minutes, or until risen and golden, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool, at least a little, on a wire rack.

6. Remove the cake from the tin and cut into slices to serve. It will keep in an airtight tin for up to 5 days, but you’ll most likely finish it well before then.

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“I started with a basic Victoria sponge and swapped out the white flour for a blend of wholemeal and ground almonds, reduced the sugar substantially and added extra nuts and seeds”

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Recipes from Eat Better Forever by Hugh FearnleyWhittingstall (Bloomsbury Publishing, £26).

Photography by Simon Wheeler.

GBF PROMOTION

British FOOD HEROES

The Coffee Connoisseurs Nick

Stokes Tea and Coffee, established in 1902, is a multi-awardwinning family business with over a century of know-how in sourcing, roasting and blending coffee and tea. We spoke to Managing Director Nick Peel, the fourth generation in the family to run the company.

How do you feel taking the helm of the family company?

I’m proud to be at the head of the company as I have a great foundation on which to build on, thanks to all the hard work of previous generations. Every one of my predecessors have had their challenges, from wars to economic crashes – and I am now facing my biggest one yet from the global pandemic. Our family company is working hard to rise to these challenges by continuing to produce the finest products and service – but also innovating to meet new needs in the market.

How do you honour your commitment to look after the environment and the local community?

We’re immensely proud of our heritage, our community and locality and understand that delivering the best quality products and service is the lifeblood not only for us but our local economy too.

We're passionate about our people, customers and communities, and are constantly evolving to meet the challenges of a changing world ethically, sustainably and responsibly.

We introduced a scheme known as Zero Waste, which cuts down on packaging by delivering our coffee and tea to customers in reuseable buckets. It’s one of many proactive steps we are taking to minimise waste.

Others include supporting the free top-up refill water scheme, planting trees in the UK and abroad, using upcycled materials to 26 /

refurbish our premises, roasting our coffee with our eco-friendly coffee roaster to cut the use of natural gas and CO2 emissions, using energy saving lighting and equipment, repurposing coffee grounds and sacks, and using locally sourced ingredients to support our lovely local producers and cut down on food miles.

Has Stokes Coffee transformed its business during the pandemic?

We have two busy destination cafes in Lincoln, the Lawn, (a former 19th Century asylum) and our landmark High Bridge café, built on top of a medieval bridge, which has been open since 1937. We also have an events space, a service department and a training programme. So of course, the current challenges have been the catalyst for rapid innovation for us.

We are always focussed on what we can do to meet the needs of the market and our customers. We created virtual events and experiences such as coffee tastings that can be tailored to each client. Specially designed kits and gift boxes are sent out to participants with everything they need prior to an event; invitees then join online and are taken through their experience by one of the Stokes Master Roasters.

The uptake has been staggering with local and global clients signing up and most recently, bookings have been made by two Fortune 500 companies. We continue to develop our online offering too, including a new monthly subscription service so that coffee lovers can receive the finest single

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origin and speciality coffee delivered to their door too with our new Coffee Club.

What's your coffee club and why should readers join it?

Subscribe to the Stokes Coffee Club and every month you’ll receive 2 x 200g bags of the finest seasonal, speciality and single origin coffees. Just like exploring the grandest wine cellar to find the perfect vintage, being a member of Stokes Coffee Club gives you access to the finest seasonal, single origin and speciality coffees available.

We’ll regularly send you discounts & offers, free samples to try at home.

The subscription costs from £14.50 per month with free delivery at www.stokescoffee.com

RECIPES | EASTER BAKING

“There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea” - Henry James

A Delightfully British Tradition From delicate macarons to indulgent cakes and scones, award-winning pastry chef Will Torrent shares his recipes for recreating an afternoon tea at home

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Rhubarb and Custard Macarons Serves: 10 Prepare: 30 minutes, plus 2 hours 30 minutes resting time.

Cook: 10 -12 minutes 175g ground almonds 175g icing sugar 150g egg whites (about 4 egg whites) 200g caster sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Pink food colouring 4 tablespoons rhubarb jam Red food colouring, to decorate For the rhubarb jam: 1 kg pink rhubarb, trimmed into 2-cm pieces (trimmed weight) 1 kg jam sugar zest and juice of 1 lemon a sugar thermometer a chilled plate or saucer For the buttercream: 150g plus 2 tbsps butter, softened 300g icing sugar 1 tsp custard powder 1 tsp vanilla extract Special Kit: A 4cm plain cookie cutter A large piping bag fitted with a 1 cm plain nozzle 2 disposable piping bags 1. Begin by making the jam. Tip the trimmed rhubarb into a large mixing bowl and add the sugar, lemon zest and juice and stir well to combine.

Cover the bowl with cling film wrap and leave for at least 2 hours but preferably overnight to allow the sugar to dissolve into the rhubarb juices. Stir the mixture a couple of times to speed the process along.

2. Scoop the fruit and all of the sugary juices into a pan and set over a medium heat. Stir to dissolve any remaining sugar and bring to the boil.

Continue to cook at a fairly swift pace for 10-15 minutes until the rhubarb is really tender and the mixture has reached setting point – 112°C – on a sugar thermometer.

3. To test for a set, drop a teaspoon of the mixture onto a chilled plate, leave it for 30 seconds, then gently push it with your fingertip. If it wrinkles then

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it is ready, if not, continue to cook the jam for another 2 minutes and test again.

4. Remove the pan from the heat and set aside for 2-3 minutes before pouring into sterilized glass jars.

Secure the lid on tightly, turn the jar upside down and leave to cool completely. This will create an airtight seal so you can store the jam outside of the fridge for up to 6 months.

Refrigerate once open and consume within 4 weeks.

5. Make the macarons. To start, line two oven trays with baking parchment.Using the cookie cutter as a guide, draw 15 evenly spaced circles in neat lines on each piece of parchment, leaving a little space between each circle. Flip the paper over (the pencil lines should show through).

6. Combine the ground almonds and icing sugar in a food processor and blitz for up to 1 minute to finely grind and thoroughly mix. Tip into a mixing bowl, add 50 g of the egg whites and beat until combined into a thick paste. Set aside.

7. Fill a medium-sized saucepan with water and bring to a gentle simmer.

Tip the remaining egg whites into a medium heatproof bowl, add the caster sugar and set the bowl over the simmering water, ensuring that it does not touch the water. Slowly beat the egg whites and sugar with a handheld electric whisk until combined, continuing to whisk for about 3 minutes until the sugar has completely dissolved and the mixture is a thick glossy, bright white meringue.

8. Remove the bowl from the pan and continue to whisk on medium to fast speed for another 3 minutes

until cool and very thick. With a large metal spoon or rubber spatula, fold in the vanilla and pink food colouring in tiny amounts – you can add more but you can’t take any away.

9. Add one-quarter of the meringue to the almond paste, stirring well to loosen and combine the mixture.

Fold this back into the meringue and mix until well combined and resembling thick molten lava that will hold a ribbon trail for about 5 seconds.

10. Working quickly, scoop the mixture into a large piping bag and pipe 30 even-sized macarons onto each baking sheet using the circles as a guide. Set aside for about 30 minutes until the macarons have firmed up and a light skin has formed on the surface.

11. Preheat the oven to 160°C/ Gas 3. Bake the macarons, one sheet at a time, on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 10–12 minutes until well risen and crisp on top. Remove and allow to cool completely on the sheets.

12. Meanwhile, prepare the buttercream filling. Beat the butter until really pale and light. Gradually add the icing sugar in 3 or 4 batches and mix until smooth. Add the custard powder and vanilla extract and combine thoroughly. Scoop the buttercream into a disposable piping bag and snip the end into a ½ -1 cm/¼-½ inch nozzle.

13. Turn half of the macarons upside down and pipe the buttercream in a ring around the edge of the flat surface. Fill the hole in the middle of the ring with rhubarb jam and sandwich with the remaining macaron shells. Brush with a stripe of red food colouring and serve.

THE HUNGER PANGS OF A DUCHESS According to legend, in the 19th Century Anna the 7th Duchess of Bedford is said to have complained of “having that sinking feeling” during the late afternoon. Back then it was customary for the hoi polloi to have only two main meals a day - a large breakfast and dinner at around 8 o’clock in the evening. Anna’s solution: a pot of tea and some light snacks served a few hours before dinner. It was a fashion that quickly caught on in high society.

During Victorian times, afternoon tea rapidly became a formalised ritual, with a strict etiquette for everything from dress code to the way in which the tea was brewed and served.

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RECIPES | EASTER BAKING

Blueberry and Buttermilk Scones with Honeycomb Butter

RHUBARB AND CUSTARD MACARONS

Serves: 16 Prepare: 15 minutes Cook: 12-14 minutes 350g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out 3 tsps baking powder A pinch of salt 125g butter, chilled and diced 75g caster sugar 175–200 ml buttermilk 150g fresh or frozen blueberries 2 tbsp whole milk 2 tbsp demerara sugar For the honeycomb butter: 100g honeycomb or 2 chocolatecovered honeycomb bars 175g butter, softened 1 tsp vanilla bean paste A pinch of salt

BUTTERMILK SCONES

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1. Start by making the honeycomb butter. Tip the honeycomb into a freezer bag, twist the end to prevent any escaping and crush the honeycomb using a rolling pin.

Cream the butter and vanilla bean paste in a stand mixer until really soft.

Add the crushed honeycomb and mix again until combined.

2. Lay a piece of cling film or baking parchment on the work surface and spoon the butter down the middle to form a rough sausage shape.

Wrap up the butter tightly to make a smooth log, twist the ends to seal and put the butter in the fridge to harden until needed. Alternatively you can make the butter fresh while the scones are baking and use immediately.

3. Preheat the oven to 200°C/ Fan 180°C/ Gas 6. Sift the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the chilled, diced butter and rub into the dry ingredients using your hands. When the mixture resembles sand and there are only very small pieces of butter remaining, add the caster sugar and mix to combine.

4. Make a well in the middle of the mixture, add the buttermilk and blueberries and stir to combine using

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RECIPES | EASTER BAKING

a rubber spatula. Once the dough starts to come together, use your hands to form a rough ball.

5. Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Very lightly knead for about 30 seconds to bring the dough into an almost smooth ball but do not overwork the dough.

Cut in half and flatten each half into a round disc each about 16 cm in diameter. Using a long, sharp knife cut each disc into 8 triangular wedge shapes.

6. Arrange the wedges on the prepared baking sheets and brush the tops with a little milk, scatter with demerara sugar and bake on the middle shelf of the preheated oven for 12-14 minutes, or until well-risen and golden.

7. Cool on a wire rack and serve slightly warm with slices of the honeycomb butter ready to spread on top.

BEEHIVE TARTS

“Afternoon tea is one of my favourite ways to eat. It’s quintessentially British, has natural pomp and circumstance, oozes elegance and is defined by indulgence”

‘Beehive’ Tarts 200 g plain flour 130g butter, plus 1 tbsp 90g icing sugar 60g ground almonds 20g cocoa powder A pinch of salt 4 egg yolks For the honey caramel: 4g leaf gelatin 160 g honey 300ml double cream A pinch of salt 90g butter For the decoration: lemon curd 100 g dark chocolate cocoa butter transfer sheet sugar bees Special kit: A 5cm and 7cm cookie cutter A 12-hole muffin pan, greased Baking beans (optional) A disposable piping bag

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1. Put the flour and butter in a large mixing bowl and work together with fingertips to the consistency of breadcrumbs. In a separate bowl, mix together the icing sugar, ground almonds, cocoa powder and salt.

Slowly add this to the butter and flour mixture. Stir gently until combined, then add the egg yolks. Stir again to form a dough. Wrap in cling film wrap and chill in the fridge for about 1 hour.

2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and roll out to a thickness of 2.5 mm. Stamp out rounds using the larger cookie cutter and line the muffin pan with the dough. Bring any scraps of dough together, re-roll and stamp out as many rounds as you can. Chill in the fridge again for 30 minutes.

3. Preheat the oven to 160°C/ Gas 3.

Line each round with foil or baking parchment and fill with baking beans or rice. Bake the rounds for 10 minutes, then remove the beans or rice and foil or parchment, and bake for a further 5 minutes. Cool in the pan.

RECIPES | EASTER BAKING

4. To make the honey caramel, first soak the gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes. Put the honey in a pan set over a medium heat, leave it to melt, then turn up the heat and bring to the boil – be careful not to boil too much as you only want to caramelise it slightly.

5. In a second pan warm the cream, then carefully pour over the honey – it will bubble up a lot. Add the salt, bring back to the boil and remove from the heat. Add the butter and stir until melted. Drain the gelatin and squeeze off any excess water before adding to the caramel. Stir in, then pour into a jug and set in the fridge to cool.

6. To build the tarts, pour the honey caramel two-thirds of the way up the cooled pastry cases.

Set aside to cool completely.

7. Temper the chocolate by melting in the microwave in bursts of 30 seconds. Once the mixture is three-quarters melted, stop heating and stir well to remove any lumps. Spread the tempered chocolate thinly on the cocoa butter transfer sheet with the printed cocoa butter pattern facing up. Leave to cool slightly and just as it starts to set, use the smaller cookie cutter to stamp out rounds of the chocolate.

Leave to cool completely before removing and fitting snuggly on top of the tarts.

8. Pipe a small dot of lemon curd and a beehive shape on each tart and carefully fix a sugar bee to the dots.

SHOPPING BASKET Honeycomb Chocolate Transfer Sheets, £4.25 from chocolate tradingco.com

Handmade Sugar Bees, £3.00 from hollycupcakes. com

SANDWICH SUGGESTIONS FOR AFTERNOON TEA Cucumber: Thin, crisp slices of cucumber served between soft buttered bread - the ultimate classic.

Cut off the crusts and serve in neat rectangles to preserve the traditional look.

Smoked Salmon: Cover one slice of bread with cream cheese and add cracked black pepper. Place slices of smoked salmon on top and add a squeeze of lemon before sandwiching together with the final slice of bread.

Ham & Pickle: We recommend using thick-cut farm shop ham with a generous dollop of picalilli.

Egg & Cress: Hard boil 2-3 eggs. When they’re cool, slice into small pieces. Add mayonnaise, season with salt & pepper. Serve with a garnish of cress, or other micro-herbs.

Prawns in Marie Rose Sauce: Mix cooked prawns with equal parts of tomato ketchup and mayonnaise, followed by a dash of tabasco sauce and worcestershire sauce to taste. Goes well with crisp iceberg lettuce.

Coronation Chicken: This is Anglo-Indian recipe is ideal for using up cooked leftover chicken. Place around 250g of leftover chicken in a bowl with 3 tbsp mayonnaise, 2 tsp mild curry powder, 1tbsp sultanas (optional), 1tbsp mango chutney and salt and pepper to taste.

“Patronised by the rich and famous ever since it opened in 1931, The Dorchester has presented afternoon tea to royalty, including Her Majesty The Queen. This recipe is straight from their tea menu.” www.greatbritishfoodawards.com

Recipes taken from Afternoon Tea at Home by Will Torrent, published

by Ryland Peters & Small (£19.99).

Photography by Matt Russell © Ryland Peters & Small

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RECIPES |

V E G E TA B L E S

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OUR ROOTS

British cuisine isn’t all about ‘meat and two veg’. Rob Howell, chef-owner of Root, shows how to create a simple but delicious spring feast starring the UK’s seasonal vegetables ROASTED CARROTS With Spiced Pumpkin Seeds, Peaches & Crème Fraîche Serves: 4 Prepare: 5 minutes, plus cooling Cook: 40 minutes For the spiced pumpkin seeds: 100g pumpkin seeds 1 pinch of paprika 1 pinch of allspice 1 pinch of ground coriander For the pickled carrot: 1 carrot, peeled and sliced thinly with a mandolin 600ml white wine vinegar 400ml caster sugar 300ml white wine For the roasted carrots: 2 bunches of carrots (about 16 carrots), green tops discarded 6 thyme sprigs 6 rosemary sprigs 2 bay leaves 3 garlic cloves, crushed 3 tbsps runny honey or agave syrup 3 tbsps rapeseed oil Juice of 1 orange 2 peaches, destoned and sliced, to serve (optional) 100g crème fraîche, to serve Fennel fronds, torn, to garnish Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1. Begin by making the pickling liquid.

Place the white wine vinegar, white wine and caster sugar in a saucepan with 300ml of water. Whisk them together and place them over a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then immediately remove from the heat.

British carrots are available in the shops for nearly 12 months of the year! This is thanks to carrot farmers in Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Suffolk and Scotland putting their autumn crops “to bed” by covering them with a thick layer of straw to protect against frost. The earth becomes a natural larder, keeping the carrots fresh and ready to harvest all year.

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Serves: 4 Prepare: 15 minutes Cook: 30 minutes

Leave the liquid to cool, transfer it to an airtight container and keep refigerated until you’re ready to use.

2. Make the pumpkin seeds. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/Gas Mark 4. Scatter the pumpkin seeds over a baking tray and scatter over the spices.

Give it all a shake to combine. Place the tray in the oven and roast the seeds for 10–15 minutes, until they are lightly coloured and nicely toasted. Leave to cool, then transfer to a food processor and blitz to a crumb. Set aside.

3. Make the pickled carrot. Place the thinly sliced carrot in a bowl and pour over pickling liquid to cover. Set aside.

4. Increase the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/Gas Mark 6.

5. Place the carrots on a baking tray and scatter over the herbs and garlic, and drizzle over the honey or agave and the rapeseed oil. Season well and toss everything together in the tray.

Place the tray in the oven and roast the carrots for 15–20 minutes, then add the orange juice to the tray and roast for a further 2 minutes, or until the carrots are tender but with a good bite.

6. Chop the roasted carrots into random sizes and divide them equally among 4 plates. Scatter over the pumpkin-seed crumb, then drizzle over any roasting juices. Add the peach slices and the pickled carrot. Finish with a nice spoonful of crème fraîche and garnish with the fennel fronds.

JERSEY ROYAL POTATOES With Peas, Wild Garlic & Crème Fraîche “This dish is a joyous celebration of the arrival of spring. The winter months are a fast passing memory and green shoots are showing all around” – Rob Howell 34 /

1kg Jersey Royal potatoes 2 bay leaves 2 thyme sprigs 2 mint sprigs 2 garlic cloves, crushed 10g salt 2 tbsps cooking oil 2 shallots, diced 200g fresh peas 25g unsalted butter 2 tbsps chopped chives 2 tbsps chopped flat-leaf parsley 2 handfuls of wild garlic 4 tbsps crème fraîche For the pea purée: 50ml rapeseed oil 1 shallot, sliced 1 garlic clove, sliced 600ml vegetable stock 375g frozen peas Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan with enough cold water just to cover them. Add the bay, thyme and mint sprigs, and the crushed garlic and salt. (Feel free to use other aromatics, if you wish – just any that you have available. For example, parsley, rosemary and oregano would all work, too.) Place the pan over a medium heat and bring to a low simmer. Cook the potatoes gently for 20–25 minutes, until just tender to the point of a knife.

(They will continue to cook a little once you’ve drained them, so you don’t want them too soft.) Drain and leave to cool in the colander.

2. To make the pea purée, heat the rapeseed oil in a large saucepan over a high heat. When hot, add the shallot and garlic, season with a touch of salt and fry for 2–3 minutes, until softened.

Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Add the peas and season again with salt and this time pepper, too. Take the pan off the heat and drain the peas, reserving the stock.

3. Set aside 100ml of the reserved stock in a jug. Put the peas in a food processor, add a little of the remaining stock liquid and blend. Keep adding stock through the feed tube little by little until you have a lovely, smooth pea purée. If you want an extra-smooth

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consistency, pass the purée through a sieve, but it’s not essential. Check the seasoning and cool the purée as quickly as possible – transferring it to a bowl and setting it inside a larger bowl filled with ice and placing in the fridge is a good way to do this. Chill until needed.

4. Heat the cooking oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat.

When hot, add the shallots and fry for 30 seconds, then add the cooled potatoes and season with salt and pepper. Add the fresh peas and the remaining stock, and bring to the boil.

Reduce to a simmer, then add the butter, herbs and wild garlic (reserve a few wild garlic flowers for garnish).

Stir through the pea purée, adding enough to create a nice saucy pan of green goodness (you can use any remaining purée as a soup or to serve with fish). Check the seasoning one last time and transfer to a serving bowl. Garnish with wild garlic flowers and crème fraîche.

BUTTERMILK-FRIED CELERIAC With Korean-Style Sauce Serves: 5 Prepare: 15 minutes, plus cooling Cook: 2 hours For the sauce: 150g gochujang paste 100ml dark soy sauce 50g light brown soft sugar 25ml mirin 75ml rice wine vinegar 2 garlic clo ves 50ml sesame oil 50g stem ginger and 1 tbsp syrup For the celeriac: 1 celeriac 1 litre cooking oil, for frying, plus 1 teaspoon for rubbing the celeriac 200g buttermilk (or oat milk for a vegan version) 2 tsps chopped coriander 2 tbsps sesame seeds, toasted Sea salt 400g strong white bread flour or gluten-free flour 40g corn flour 2g baking powder 6g garlic powder 8g onion powder

RECIPES | VEGETABLES

10g white pepper 6g smoked paprika 5g cayenne pepper 3g ground turmeric 1. For the sauce simply place all the ingredients into a food processor

and blend until smooth. Add a little water if needed to reach a nice, saucy consistency. Keep in the fridge in a sealed container until needed.

2. Heat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/ Gas 6.

3. Rub the celeriac with the teaspoon

“Forget fried chicken, this celeriac is all you will need to satisfy your KFC cravings”– Rob Howell

of oil and then rub over a good amount of sea salt and wrap the celeriac tightly in foil. Cover with a further 4 layers of foil – this helps the celeriac almost steam itself and leaves it with an amazing texture. Bake for about 1½ hours (the exact time will depend on the size of your celeriac), until tender when pierced with a sharp knife. Then, remove it from the oven and leave it to cool in the foil for 2 hours or so.

4. Remove the foil and then, using a knife, remove the celeriac skin, taking as little flesh away as possible. Using your hands, tear the celeriac flesh into small chunks – different sizes is best, so you end up with some nice, small crispy bits alongside some lovely large pieces.

5. Pour the cooking oil into a deep pan until two-thirds full and heat the oil to 180°C on a cooking thermometer or until a cube of day-old bread turns golden in 60 seconds (or preheat a deep-fat fryer to 180°C).

6. Get 2 mixing bowls: put the buttermilk (or oat milk) in one of them and in the other put the corn flour, flour, baking powder, garlic powder, onion powder, white pepper, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper and turmeric and combine well.

7. Using your hands, place the celeriac pieces into the buttermilk or oat milk first, then into the seasoned flour.

Make sure the celeriac pieces have a good coating on them. Fry the pieces in batches, for about 3 minutes per batch, until golden and crisp. Set aside each batch to drain on kitchen paper, while you fry the next. Once all the pieces are fried and drained, place them in a clean mixing bowl, season them slightly with salt and coat them in the sauce. Finish with a sprinkling of chopped coriander and toasted sesame seeds.

Recipes taken from Root by Rob Howell (Bloomsbury Publishing, £26). Photography © Alex Collins

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R E C I P E S | M I G U E L B A R C L AY

Make Veg the Star Our favourite £1 chef shares comfort food recipes that champion local British vegetables and store cupboard ingredients

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R E C I P E S | M I G U E L B A R C L AY

Red Onion Tarte Tatin Serves: 4 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 50 minutes 8 red onions, cut into wedges 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, defrosted Squeeze of balsamic glaze A few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked and stalks discarded (or 1 tsp dried thyme) 1 egg, beaten (optional) Olive oil Salt and pepper 1. Preheat your oven to 180ºC/Gas mark 4. Set out a circular ovenproof dish about 15cm in diameter (or 4 small dishes).

2. Chuck the red onion wedges into the baking dish, drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, then roast for about 25 minutes until softened and cooked. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

3. Meanwhile, lay out your sheet of puff pastry and cut out a circle 30cm in diameter. If you want to make 4 individual portions, cut out 4 smaller circles that will line the dishes with a 5cm overhang.

4. Add a squeeze of balsamic glaze to the onions, along with some thyme, then place the pastry on top and tuck in the sides. Brush with beaten egg if you want a professional finish and then bake in the oven for about 25 minutes until golden brown.

5. To serve, invert the tart onto a plate or serving board.

“This one is really easy but looks like you’ve spent ages making something posh.

Grab some premade puff from the freezer and you’ll see that it’s no effort at all” — Miguel Barclay

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R E C I P E S | M I G U E L B A R C L AY

“This is a vegan dream come true, perfect for special occasions. Why not grab that puff pastry out of the freezer and give this a try?” — Miguel Barclay Vegan Mushroom Wellington Serves: 4 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 50 minutes 4 onions, diced 1kg mushrooms, sliced 4 garlic cloves, sliced A few sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked and stalks discarded (or 1 tsp dried thyme) 1 sheet of frozen vegan puff pastry, defrosted Olive oil Salt and pepper 1. Start by pan-frying the onions in a glug of olive oil over a low heat with a big pinch of salt for about 15 minutes until sticky and caramelised.

Remove from the pan and put to one side. Pan-fry the mushrooms in a splash of olive oil over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, adding the garlic and thyme halfway through and seasoning to taste.

Once the mushrooms are cooked, return the onions to the pan, mix it all together, then remove from the heat and allow to cool.

2. Preheat your oven to 180ºC/Gas mark 4 and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

3. Lay your puff pastry sheet on the lined baking tray, then spoon the filling in a line down the middle.

Fold one side of the pastry over the other and seal the edges by pushing down gently with your fingers.

Lightly score the top with a knife to create a criss-cross pattern, then brush with a little oil.

4. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown and flaky.

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R E C I P E S | M I G U E L B A R C L AY

Caramelised Onion Rarebit Serves: 4 Prepare: 5 minutes Cook: 30 minutes 2 onions, sliced 1tsp soft sugar (or any other sugar you have) 100g Cheddar cheese Splash of single cream ½ a French baguette Worcestershire sauce Big handful of salad leaves Small handful of pine nuts Olive oil Salt and pepper

1. First, gently pan-fry the onion over a low heat in a splash of olive oil, along with the sugar and some salt and pepper, for at least 20 minutes.

Once caramelised and dark brown, remove from the heat and set to one side.

2. Preheat your oven to 190ºC/Gas mark 5. Grab a bowl and finely grate the Cheddar using the finest grater you have. Add a splash of cream and mix with a fork to create a paste (about the consistency of mashed potato).

3. Cut the baguette at an angle into 1cm-thick slices and place on a wire rack. Top each piece with a dollop of the cheese mixture, add a splash of Worcestershire sauce to each one

and then cook in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese is bubbling and the bread is toasted.

4. Assemble the salad leaves and the rarebit pieces on a large platter, then spoon a teaspoon of the caramelised onions onto each slice.

Sprinkle over some pine nuts, drizzle with olive oil and serve.

Recipes taken from Storecupboard One Pound Meals by Miguel Barclay (Headline, £16.99) Photography Dan Jones © Headline 2020

Miguel Barclay’s Top 5 Storecupboard Ingredients CHICKPEAS Probably the first food that came to mind when I thought of storecupboard ingredients. Chickpeas are one of my all-time favourite One Pound Meal ingredients. I love roasting them in the oven to give a little bit of crunch and texture to a dish. They are super versatile and take on flavour well.

CHOPPED TOMATOES The king of storecupboard ingredients.

I like the fact that they’re not too processed and still taste fresh, but give a different result from fresh tomatoes.

An essential ingredient for all those tasty Italian tomato-based sauces.

OLIVE OIL A versatile oil that I use in all my cooking – yes, even when I make a curry. I like a simple life and having one bottle of oil by the stove makes my life easier.

THYME I’ve brought this herb into this book as I’m currently obsessed with thyme.

I luckily managed to pick up a thyme plant from the garden centre at the beginning of lockdown. It’s easily interchangeable with oregano.

PAPRIKA Has a beautiful smoky flavour that is unmistakable. A little goes a long way and provides an extra dimension to your cooking by immediately adding all those flavours that usually take time to develop.

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RECIPES | EASTER BAKING

Indulgent EASTER BAKES Mini Eggs? Check! Chocolate? Check! These delicious treats are bound to sweeten up your Easter 42 /

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RECIPES | EASTER BAKING

Mini Eggs Easter Pavlova Serves: 10 Prepare: 25 minutes Cook: 1 hour 30 minutes 4 large free-range egg whites 200g caster sugar 1 tsp white wine vinegar 2 tsp cornflour 1 tsp vanilla extract 300ml whipping cream 1 tbsp icing sugar 100g Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate 30 Cadbury Mini Eggs

Mini Eggs Rocky Road Makes: 24 Prepare: 15 minutes, plus chilling time 400g Cadbury Dairy Milk chocolate 150g digestive biscuits 50g mini marshmallows 90g Cadbury Mini Eggs 1. Line a 30 x 20cm baking tin with baking parchment.

2. Break the chocolate into squares, put them into a large glass bowl and microwave them for 20–30 seconds. Take out the bowl and stir

the chocolate, then repeat until it is all melted. Alternatively, place the bowl over a pan of gently simmering water until the chocolate has melted.

3. Put the digestive biscuits into a sealable plastic bag and bash them with a rolling pin until you have a mixture of different-sized pieces. You want some quite big crunchy pieces – not just crumbs.

4. Stir the crushed biscuits and marshmallows into the melted chocolate until everything is well combined and coated.

5. Transfer the mixture to the lined tin, pushing it into the corners and

1. Preheat the oven to 140°C/Fan 120°C/Gas 6. Line a large baking sheet with non-stick baking parchment and draw a 23cm diameter circle on it.

2. Whisk the egg whites in a clean dry bowl until they form stiff peaks. Gradually beat in the sugar a little at a time, until the meringue is stiff and glossy.

Whisk in the vinegar, cornflour and vanilla extract.

3. Spoon the meringue onto the circle you have drawn on the baking parchment, swirling it out to the edges and making a slight indent in the middle.

4. Cook the meringue in the preheated oven for 1¼–1½ hours, then turn off the oven, leaving the meringue inside until it is completely cold.

5. Gently remove the baking parchment from the meringue base and place the base on a serving plate.

6. Whip the cream and icing sugar until it stands in stiff peaks, then spread it over the meringue.

7. Break the chocolate into squares and melt it in a bowl in the microwave in 30-second bursts, taking out the bowl and stirring the chocolate between bursts. Alternatively, melt it in a bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water.

8. Drizzle the melted chocolate in a zigzag pattern over the top of the pavlova. Decorate the pavlova with the Cadbury Mini Eggs and cut it into slices to serve.

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RECIPES | EASTER BAKING

levelling the top. Push in the Cadbury Mini Eggs, distributing them evenly, and press them down with a spatula or the back of a spoon.

6. Chill the mixture in the fridge for 2–3 hours (or overnight) until it is set.

Cut it into 24 squares and store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

“Stick the kettle on, dust off your best china and relax with a post-Lent chocolate feast” Mini Eggs Easter Cake Serves: 12 Prepare: 25 minutes, plus chilling Cook: 20-25 minutes 175g butter, softened 175g soft brown sugar 3 medium free-range eggs 150g self-raising our 30g cocoa powder For the chocolate frosting: 80g smooth peanut butter 4 tbsp maple syrup 3 tbsp cocoa powder 2 tbsp skimmed milk a few drops of vanilla extract For the chocolate nest: 100g Cadbury Bournville chocolate, 50g shredded wheat 12 Cadbury Mini Eggs

Recipes taken from The Cadbury Mini Eggs Cookbook (Harper Collins, £9.99)

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1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Fan 160°C/ Gas 4. Grease two 18cm sandwich tins and line them with baking parchment.

2. Using a food mixer or a hand-held electric whisk, beat the butter and sugar until light and creamy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, adding a little flour with each egg to prevent curdling. Sift in the flour and cocoa powder and mix on a low speed until everything is well combined.

Add the milk and beat the mixture until it is smooth.

3. Divide the mixture between the prepared tins and level the tops. Bake the cakes in the preheated oven for

20 minutes until they are well risen and a thin skewer inserted into them comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tins.

4. To make the chocolate frosting put all the ingredients into a bowl and beat until they are smooth with a hand-held electric whisk.

5. Turn out the cakes and peel off the lining paper. Place one cake on a plate and spread half the frosting over it. Cover this with the other cake and spread the rest of the frosting over the top.

6. To make the nest break the chocolate into squares and melt it in a heatproof bowl over a pan of simmering water. Alternatively, melt it in a bowl in a microwave in 30-second bursts, taking out the bowl and stirring the chocolate between bursts. Take the bowl off the heat and stir in the shredded wheat until it’s well coated.

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7. Grease a bowl with a 6cm base and line it with clingfilm. Put the chocolate mixture into the bowl and mould it around the base and sides, raising it above the edge of the bowl to make a nest. Chill in the fridge for an hour, or until the mixture has set hard.

8. Peel off the clingfilm and place the nest on top of the cake. Fill it with the Cadbury Mini Eggs and serve.

You can store the cake in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Earl Grey and Ginger Simnel Cake Serves: 10 -12 Prepare: 20 minutes, plus overnight soaking Cook: 2 hours 10 minutes 6 pieces of stem ginger in syrup 50g dried apricots 50g glace cherries

RECIPES | EASTER BAKING

100g sultanas 50g dried cranberries 125g currants 60g chopped mixed peel Zest of 2 oranges 200ml Earl grey tea (made with 3 tea bags and cooled) 250g unsalted softened butter 250g soft light brown sugar 230g self-raising flour, sieved 4 large Clarence Court Hens Eggs ½ tsp mixed spice 1 tsp ground ginger 3 tbsps apricot jam To decorate: Icing sugar for dusting 300g marzipan Mini eggs (optional) Edible flowers (optional) 1. The night before you bake the cake, chop the stem ginger, apricots and cherries and add them to a bowl

with the remaining dried fruit, orange zest and cooled tea. Cover the bowl and set aside to soak overnight.

The following day drain the fruit and discard any tea that hasn’t been soaked up.

2. Grease and line a deep, heavy, 20cm round baking tin with baking parchment. It’s often useful to wrap a sleeve of foil wrapped in baking parchment around the outside of the tin and secure it with string. This prevents the cake from browning too much as it’s baked for around 2 hours.

3. Preheat the oven to 150°C/ Gas 2. Place the butter, sugar, sieved flour and spices into the bowl of a freestanding mixer. Whisk for a minute or two until beaten into a smooth cake mix. Alternatively, you can do this by hand with a wooden spoon. Fold through the tea-soaked fruit. Spoon the mixture into the lined tin and level out evenly.

4. Place the cake in the oven to bake for 2 hours or until golden and risen. To check it’s ready, insert a skewer into the centre of the cake. If any mixture remains on the skewer, cover the cake with tin foil and bake in the oven for a further 10 minutes. When it’s ready, allow the cake to sit in the tin for 20 minutes on a cooling rack, then carefully turn it out and allow to cool completely.

5. Melt the apricot jam and brush it on to the top of the cake. Roll out half of the marzipan to a 20cm circle on a clean work surface dusted with icing sugar and place on top of the cake.

Roll out 11 balls and arrange them around the edge of the marzipan circle.

Use a blow torch or place on a hot grill for a minute or two to achieve a golden-brown finish. Top with mini eggs and edible flowers if using.

Recipe provided courtesy of Clarence Court

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RECIPES | EASTER BAKING

knead for 10 minutes to create a smooth elastic dough that should spring back when you press it.

4. Put the kneaded dough into a clean well-oiled bowl and cover with oiled cling film. Leave in a warm dry place until doubled in size (around an hour).

5. Once your dough has risen add your chocolate, apple and orange zest and knead through to fully combine.

6. The mixture should weigh about 1.08 kg; if you divide it by 12 each bun should weigh about 90g.

7. Form each bun into a neat round shape and place onto a lined baking tray, leaving space for each bun to grow.

Lightly score a cross into each bun.

8. Cover with oiled cling film or a clean towel and leave to grow for another hour.

9. Once risen, glaze the buns with some milk. To make the cross, slowly mix about 8 tbsp of water to the plain flour until you have a paste that you can pipe. Put into a piping bag or a freezer bag and snip the corner. Pipe crosses onto the buns.

10. Put into a preheated oven Fan 200°C /Gas 7 for 20 minutes.Once your buns are baked, place onto a cooling rack. Heat the honey and brush onto the buns to glaze.

Apple, Chocolate & Orange Zest Hot Cross Buns Makes: 12 Prepare: 15 minutes Cook: 20 minutes 300ml full fat milk 50g unsalted butter 500g sieved strong bread flour 10g caster sugar 10g fast acting yeast 1 beaten egg 1 tsp salt 100g finely chopped dark chocolate 1 zest of an orange 1 cored and finely chopped Pink Lady apple 1 tsp vegetable oil for greasing bowl 46 /

To decorate: 80g sieved plain flour 20ml milk 8 tbsp honey 1. Heat the milk in a pan and bring to the boil. When boiling, take off the heat and add the butter to melt.

Leave to cool until warm but not hot.

2. In a large mixing bowl mix the strong bread flour, caster sugar, salt and yeast. Make a well in the centre of the mix and slowly pour in your warm milk/butter and egg, combining the flour mixture to create a paste, keep going until it all comes together to form a dough. You can use a fork or your hand for this.

3. With your formed dough, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and

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GBF PROMOTION

HAVE A DELICIOUS EASTER WITH BOOTHS From tasty Cumbrian Herdwick lamb to readily prepared vegetables and delicious dessert inspiration, here’s how to have a gourmet Easter While nothing says Easter like a traditional roast dinner, Booths stores are full of inspiration and the best seasonal produce to see you through the season. Be it chicken, lamb or beef – whatever your chosen centrepiece – you’ll find a tempting selection to choose from on their butcher counters.

Since all of Booths fresh meat is 100% British, with many cuts supplied by local farmers, trained butchery staff will be happy to show you the best cuts of the day when you visit their stores.

If you are thinking of cooking up a delicious spring lamb roast, why not try Herdwick Lamb? Back on Booths counters for its limited season, this iconic breed, reared in the Cumbrian hills is loved by top chefs for its distinct and delicious flavour.

Booths Meat Buyer David Simons explains, “Herdwick is certainly one of Booths hero products and there is growing demand for this meat. Thanks to its distinctive gamey flavour of the fells, Herdwick lamb makes the most delicious, crowd-pleasing centrepiece for any roast dinner.”

For the tastiest trimmings to serve on the side, Booths range of Mash Direct Prepared vegetables are sure to save you lots of time in the kitchen. Combining six generations of farming expertise, the Hamilton family have produced an award-winning range of quality, convenient and gluten-free vegetable and potato side dishes. From roast or mashed potatoes to cauliflower cheese and cabbage bake, these tasty, readily-prepared vegetables are lovingly prepared for you fresh on their farm with the true taste and texture of homemade trimmings.

And if you’re looking for a wine to complement your roast, Booths has an award winning, well-chosen range to suit all tastes.

Featuring a refreshing contrast of ripe strawberries and soft mineral notes, Booths Wine Buyer Victoria Anderson describes Viña Leyda Reserva Pinot Noir (75cl/ £10.50) as the perfect pairing for a spring lamb roast. Or to simply raise a glass to Easter, Booths new Rosé Prosecco (£10.00, 75cl) is the latest addition to its much-loved sparkling range and is sure to appeal to rosé and prosecco lovers alike!

When it comes to dessert, Booths has everything you need to end your Easter lunch on a high note. Why not finish off with Latham’s Frozen Easter Black Forest Gateau (serves 6-8, £8.50)?- a classic Black Forest Gateau topped with fresh red cherries and chocolate eggs for a delicious Easter twist! Or perhaps you’d prefer Latham’s Frozen Easter Cheesecake Medley (4 pack, £8.50)- a collection of individual cheesecakes including Sticky Toffee, Chocolate Orange, Millionaires and Lemon & Ginger.

And don’t forget to visit Booths bakery tables in store for some undeniably delicious Easter bakes for the whole family! Hand crafted in the heart of Lancashire by the team at Studio Bakery, you’ll find everything from White Chocolate & Mini Egg Rocky Roads (10 pack, £2.50 or 2 for £4) to delicious Easter brownies (9 pack, £2.50 or 2 for £4).

Visit your local Booths store now or take a look at booths.co.uk/recipes to discover all you need to cook up the most memorable Easter menu.

To discover more or find your nearest store visit Booths.co.uk

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GBF PROMOTION

VEGAN TIRAMISU The perfect dessert for coffee lovers! Fluffy vegan chocolate cake with coffee essence, a creamy cashew ‘mascarpone’ topped off with a dusting of cacao powder. serves: 6 prepare: 30 minutes cook: 30 minutes Ingredients: For the chocolate sponge: 200g plain flour 160g golden caster sugar 35g cacao powder, plus extra for dusting 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 125ml cold water 125ml unsweetened non-dairy milk 15 drops Foodie Flavours Natural Coffee Flavouring 50ml vegetable oil 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar For the vegan mascarpone: 300g cashew nuts 150g agave syrup 90g coconut oil, melted 1 cup vegan cream, coconut cream or non-dairy milk 1 tsp Gorilla Vanilla organic vanilla extract For the syrup: 125ml hot water 30g caster sugar 5 drops Foodie Flavours Natural Coffee Flavouring Special kit: 6 glass jars for serving (optional)

Method: 1. Start by making the cake - preheat your oven to 180°C/ 160°C fan/ Gas 4. Grease a baking tin with some vegan margarine to coat all sides then dust with flour, shaking out the excess. You can also put a square of parchment in the bottom.

2. In a large bowl mix together the flour, sugar, cacao powder and bicarbonate of soda in a small bowl or jug whisk together the water, milk, oil, coffee essence and vinegar. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix together. It's quite a loose mix so mix well with a spatula, scraping up from the bottom of the bowl to catch any flour 'pockets'.

3. Pour into your prepared tin and bake for 30 minutes or until a cocktail stick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire cooling rack and allowing to cool completely before frosting.

4. While that's cooling put the cashews into a heatproof bowl, cover with boiling water and set aside to cool for an hour.Mix together the syrup ingredients and set that aside too.

5. When you're ready to assemble, drain the cashews from the water and tip into a blender cup with the remaining mascarpone ingredients. Whizz until smooth then tip into a piping bag (this makes it easier than pouring into your glasses).

6. Cut the cake in half across the middle like you would a sandwich cake then use a cutter to cut

discs of cake. You want 2-3 layers of sponge per glass. The size of cutter will depend on the size of your glass! These are quite rich desserts so you won't want to use huge glasses or jars!

One by one dip a disc of cake into the syrup then drop into the bottom of your 6 glasses.

Pipe a layer of the mascarpone mix and repeat with 1-2 more layers of sponge, finishing with a layer of mascarpone.

7. Use a tea strainer or cocoa dredger to dust the top completely with cacao powder. You can eat these straight away or leave to chill in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Cooks tip: You can use any cake trimmings to make up the layers in your tiramisu or squidge into balls, freeze for about half an hour then dip in melted chocolate to make delicate little truffles!

Foodie Flavours Products used in recipe: Coffee Natural Flavouring 15ml RRP £5.99 and Gorilla Vanilla Organic Extract 100ml RRP £19.99 available from www.foodieflavours.com and other online retailers.

Natural Coffee Flavouring from £5.99 available from foodieflavours.com and other online retailers.

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BAKING

The Ultimate Easter Baking Inspiration Add some colour and flavour to your Easter with quirky, inspirational baking ideas and sweet treats 1. Cadbury’s Mini Eggs, £1.15 for 80g from shops nationwide These iconic pastel eggs need little introduction. They’re ideal for decorating the top of easter-inspired cakes and pavlovas, as well as sitting in the middle of chocolate and shredded wheat “birds’ nests”.

3. Foodie Flavours’ Raspberry, Blackcurrant and Rhubarb Flavouring, £3.99/ £5.99 / £5.99 for 15ml from foodieflavours.com or amazon.co.uk These colourful, high-strength flavourings are made using natural fruit extracts that will transform your cooking. They can be used in everything from cakes to ice creams, confectionery and more. Visit the Foodie Flavours website for recipe inspiration!

2. Studio Bakery White Chocolate & Mini Egg Rocky Road, £2.50 from booths.co.uk Decadent morsels of sweet white chocolate, crushed mini eggs, digestive biscuits and marshmallows, these are an easter-inspired take on a classic traybake.

4. Doughlicious Raspberry White Chocolate Gourmet Cookie Dough and Salted Caramel & Dark Chocolate Cookie Dough, £3.99 from doughlicious.co.uk This gourmet ready-to-bake cookie dough comes in precut discs, so it can be popped straight in the oven. It produces gooey, crumbly cookies with chunks of melting chocolate.

5. Craft & Crumb Easter Egg Bake & Hunt Kit, £19.99 from craftandcrumb.com Entertain the children (and yourself) with this kit, which contains everything you need to bake and decorate a batch of easter-egg shaped cookies. It also includes a craft kit for designing your own easter egg hunt in the garden.

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R E C I P E S | S LO W C O O K E R

Slow Down, Do Less The versatile slow cooker can be used to make so much more than a winter stew. Award-winning food writer and chef Katrina Meynink uses hers for baking, poaching and even as a smoker!

Here she shares her recipes for everything from springtime desserts to aromatic curries www.greatbritishfoodawards.com

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R E C I P E S | S LO W C O O K E R

The Ultimate Chilli Chicken Serves: 4 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 10 hours

COOK'S TIP If you can’t find cornflour, you can substitute with half cornmeal and half plain flour

4 skinless chicken breasts 1 tbsp ground cumin 1 tbsp ground coriander 2 tsps dried oregano 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh oregano 1 tsp sweet smoked paprika 2 tsps chipotle powder 200g dried white beans, washed thoroughly 2 celery stalks, sliced 4 garlic cloves, minced 3 jalapeño chillies, deseeded and finely chopped 1 onion, chopped 2 green bell peppers, deseeded, chopped 1 litre chicken stock Zest and juice of 1 lime 60g grated Cheddar cheese For the optional thickener: 185ml whole milk 40g cornflour 3. Add the lime zest and juice and adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper. I love to add cheese straight to the pot before serving and stir it through the chicken so that it melts.

Serve with all the extras.

To serve: Extra cheese, if desired Sour cream coriander leaves Fresh oregano Tortilla chips Sliced green chilli Chilli flakes 1 avocado, diced 1. Place the chicken breasts in the base of the slow cooker. Mix the cumin, coriander, oregano (dried and fresh), paprika and chipotle in a bowl, then sprinkle over the chicken, tossing evenly to coat. Top with the remaining ingredients, except the lime zest and juice and cheese, then close the lid and cook on low for 10 hours.

2. Using a couple of forks, gently shred the chicken in the bowl of your slow cooker and stir it through the sauce. If, at this point, you feel the sauce needs thickening, mix the milk with the cornflour, pour into the slow cooker and stir to combine.

Close the lid and cook on low for another 10–15 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened.

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Old School 12-hour Tomato Soup Serves: 6 Prepare: 5 minutes Cook: 10-12 hours 60ml olive oil 45g butter 2 red onions, sliced 1 fennel bulb, finely sliced 2 tsps sweet smoked paprika 1½ tsps coriander seeds, lightly crushed 1 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed 3 × 400g tins chopped tomatoes 250ml vegetable or chicken stock 3 tsps brown sugar, plus extra if needed 4 tsps cream (optional)

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1. Set your slow cooker to the sauté function. Add the oil and butter and, when hot, add the onion and sliced fennel with a big pinch of salt.

Cook, stirring often to prevent the vegetables catching, until they have softened and started to sweat. Add the paprika, coriander and fennel seeds and cook for 10–12 minutes, or until the vegetables are very soft.

You may need to nurse this phase a little; you don’t want the spices to burn, but you do want the onion mixture to be thoroughly coated in the spices, and for it to be nice and fragrant.

2. Add the tomatoes, stock and sugar. Close the lid and cook on low for 10–12 hours.

3. Allow the soup to cool slightly in the pot before using a handheld blender to blitz it. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt and sugar as needed. (Depending on your tomatoes, the soup can taste a little acidic and will need the additional sugar and salt to temper it.)

4. Pour the soup into serving bowls.

Drizzle with cream, if using, and season again.

R E C I P E S | S LO W C O O K E R

Wagyu Beef Korma Serves: 6-8 Prepare: 5 minutes Cook: 10 hours, 30 minutes 175ml ghee 3 onions, finely diced 1kg wagyu beef, cut into large chunks 4cm piece ginger, grated 2 garlic cloves, chopped 1 red chilli, deseeded, minced (or 1 tsp excellent-quality chilli paste) 2 pinches ground turmeric 1 tbsp ground coriander 1 tbsp garam masala 300g plain yoghurt 450ml beef stock

To serve: Sliced green chilli Coriander leaves Fried garlic Small handful flash-fried curry leaves Cooked rice or naan Poppadoms Lime wedges 1. Set your slow cooker to the sauté function. Add the ghee and, once hot, fry the onion until translucent.

You want to get it as soft as possible.

Don’t rush this step; this is where a lot of the flavour for this curry base comes from. Give it at least 10 minutes cooking time, stirring regularly.

2. Add the meat, ginger, garlic, chilli, turmeric, coriander and garam masala to the bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Stir constantly, moving the meat and spices in and around the onion mixture, for up to 5 minutes. Depending on the size of your slow cooker, you may need to do this in batches. Add the yoghurt and then the stock, close the lid and cook on low for 10 hours.

3. Garnish with the chilli, coriander, fried garlic and curry leaves, and serve with rice, poppadoms, chutney, fresh lime and your favourite choice of sides.

SHOPPING BASKET

Geeta’s Premium Pomegranate and Mango Chutney, £1.69 from Asda, Ocado and Amazon

Tilda Pure Basmati Rice 1kg, £4.85 from Waitrose

Patak's Plain Pappadums, £2 from Waitrose

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R E C I P E S | S LO W C O O K E R

Elderflower & White Chocolate Pots de Crème Serves: 4 – 6 Prepare: 15 minutes Cook: 2 hours 30 minutes 250ml thickened cream 125ml full-cream whole milk 2 tsps vanilla bean paste 4 large egg yolks 3 tbsps caster sugar 1 tbsp elderflower cordial 200g white chocolate, melted and cooled To serve: Edible flowers (optional)

1. Bring the cream, milk and vanilla to a simmer in a saucepan over a medium heat, then remove and set aside to cool. Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until pale and creamy. Stir through the elderflower cordial. Gradually beat in the cream mixture, whisking gently until incorporated, then whisk in the white chocolate.

2. Strain into a jug and stand until the foam settles, about 15 minutes, then spoon any remaining foam from the top. If there isn’t any foam, don’t panic; this will not happen every time and you haven’t done anything wrong if it doesn’t occur.

3. Divide the cream mixture between glasses or ramekins, then

carefully place them inside your slow cooker. If you can’t fit them in a single layer, you can balance the remaining ones on top. Using a jug, gently pour water into the base of the slow cooker until it comes about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

4. Place a few layers of paper towel across the top of the cooker before sealing the lid. Make sure the paper overhangs the sides so that it doesn’t fall into your glasses/ ramekins. Cook on low heat for 2½ hours. The first time you make these I suggest checking on them at the 90-minute mark. The mixture should be resistant to the touch and only have the slightest wobble when you move the glass/ramekin.

5. Allow to cool slightly in the slow cooker, then gently remove, cover tightly with plastic wrap and leave to cool completely in the fridge. Let them sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving. Top with edible flowers, if using.

COOK'S TIP Before you fill your glasses or ramekins, check how they fit in your slow cooker. You can either cook them in batches or stack the ramekins on top of each other, although I prefer the consistency of results by having each ramekin submerged in the water bath directly rather than relying on the circulating steam to cook the ones on top.

“Elderflower and white chocolate truly belong together. The floral tang of the elderflower does a phenomenal job of balancing the sometimes cloying sweetness of white chocolate. Try to use an elderflower cordial that isn’t overly sweet” 54 /

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R E C I P E S | S LO W C O O K E R

Yuzu Lemon Pudding with Lemon Crumble Serves: 4-6 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 1 hour 50 minutes 150g butter, plus extra for greasing 260g caster sugar Zest of 1 lemon 3 eggs 150g self-raising flour 100ml full-cream milk 60ml each of yuzu juice and lemon juice 60ml boiling water For the crumble: 110g plain flour 55g caster sugar 50g butter 2 tsps lemon zest ¼ tsp baking powder To serve: Dried edible flowers, for sprinkling (optional) Lemon slices (optional) 1. To make the crumble, combine all the ingredients in a bowl and use your hands to fully rub in the butter.

Spread on a tray lined with baking paper and bake in the oven at 170°C for 8–12 minutes,or until the mixture is looking golden. Set aside until ready to serve.

2. Generously grease the bowl of your slow cooker. Set the cooker to low to warm up while you prepare the pudding. Cream the butter, 200 g (7 oz) of the sugar and the lemon zest in the bowl of a freestanding electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until creamy and pale.

Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. Gently stir through the flour and milk until just combined. Pour the batter into the bowl of your slow cooker.

3. Combine the yuzu juice, lemon juice, boiling water and remaining sugar in a jug and gently pour over the batter. Cover the slow cooker with a tea towel (dish towel) and close the lid. This will prevent any moisture from the cooker dripping onto the pudding. Cook for approximately 1 hour 40 minutes.

4. You want the top of the pudding to look cake-like and set, but not the

“A little bit of a spin on the old-school lemon pud. Such a spectacular favourite and, here, the punch of yuzu adds a depth and complexity of flavour – just substitute with more lemon juice if yuzu is unavailable” — Katrina Meynink bottom. The time this takes will vary between slow cookers, so if you are unsure, working quickly, remove the bowl from the slow cooker and give it a gentle wiggle. The top should hold firm, but you will get some movement due to the liquid underneath. Return to the cooker and continue to cook, checking every 10–15 minutes, until cooked to your liking (keep the cooker lid ajar for this last stage

of cooking so you can check on it easily).

5. Given this is the style of pud you can’t remove from the cooker in one piece, I either take the entire bowl to the table or scoop onto individual plates. To serve, scatter over the baked crumble mixture and edible flowers, if using, and garnish with lemon, if using.

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Recipes and tips taken from Slow Victories

by Katrina Meynink (Hardie Grant, £16.99) Photography ©Katrina Meynink, Kait Barker

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F E AT U R E | M O N I C A G A L E T T I

“I’m missing my team so much; I can’t wait to get my cooking family back together in 2021” We spoke to chef Monica Galetti about staying sane in lockdown, letting loose for Red Nose Day and her hopes for the hospitality industry

O

ne of Monica Galetti’s earliest food memories is of palolo, a delicacy in her birthplace of Samoa.‘It’s when these fish spawn at the full moon — they’re a little like really fine whitebait — and people go out and scoop them up, then they bake it in coconut cream,’ she explains.

Monica was brought up in New Zealand and moved to England in 1998, meaning she has been exposed to a wide variety of different cuisines. Living here for two and a half decades has given her a passion for British food. “Oh my gosh, there’s so much that I like! Over the past 20 years, I’ve found a lot that I love. Like mince pies, Christmas puddings. Even mushy peas. Toad in the hole; when it’s made properly it’s delicious. My friend Rachel makes the best toad, with lots of gravy and onions,’ she enthuses.

Monica opened her own restaurant Mere, named after her mother, in 2017, alongside her husband David. The two met while working at Le Gavroche.

“I’m classically trained but I love to bring in influences from my culture. My husband is French, a sommelier, so the love of food and wine is so natural for us.” Like many restaurants across the UK, Mere closed its doors in March of last year, for five months. It reopened in September 2020, closed in November, and then for the third time in December for lockdown 3.0.“Mere is on Charlotte Street in London, and it’s so quiet and sad at the moment whenever I go

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to check up on it,” Monica says. “I’m missing my team so much; I can’t wait to get my cooking family back together and smash it in 2021, once we’re allowed to.” Mere had hoped to start a takeaway service back in December lockdown, but due to the sudden lockdown and as the number of cases in London rose, Monica didn’t want to risk the health of her team. Then her husband and daughter also got sick.

“We had a tough December; both my husband and my daughter came down with COVID on Christmas Day. For some reason I didn’t get sick. Obviously my husband couldn’t drink, so I just drank on my own. That’s one way to get through it,” she laughs. Luckily, Monica’s family have since recovered, and talks have resumed about a delivery service at Mere. “Watch this space,” she promises. “My team is so excited at any opportunity to be cooking again. But I can’t have the full crew back, we’ll have to take it in shifts so only a few are in the kitchen at the same time. And they all say, 'I want to go first'. I’m trying to keep it fair, so that everyone has some time in the kitchen.”

Aside from restaurant plans, Monica, just like the rest of us, has to deal with the tedium of Lockdown 3.0. “I think it’s important to find a routine to keep you going. I’m someone that’s always had a routine, so I’ve been going into the restaurant, finding ways to keep our daughter motivated with her schoolwork — that’s been a real tough one as well.” Alongside this, there have been the commitments that come

F E AT U R E | M O N I C A G A L E T T I

with being a public figure, including a photoshoot with Good Housekeeping that Monica is particularly enthusiastic about. “That was the first dressing up that I’d done in five months of lockdown, and I got my makeup done, and my feet were killing me because I hadn’t worn heels for ages. It was so good to be pampered, but then you had nowhere to go. Still, it was so nice to be among other people; as wonderful as family is, when you’ve been stuck at home for five months it’s great to get out,” she says.

Monica also took the time out to get involved in this year’s Red Nose

Day, a Comic Relief drive to raise money for charities across the UK and worldwide.“It’s an amazing campaign to be a part of, and I’ve always liked to get involved whenever I’ve been asked, even if it’s just been a small role. They always get you to step out of your comfort zone and do things that you wouldn’t normally be comfortable doing, but knowing it’s for a good cause means that you don’t mind putting yourself on the line,” she explains. The example she gives me is of a photoshoot she did to model TK Maxx’s apron and homeware collection (which is being sold online to raise money for

Comic Relief), which features characters from Pixar movies.“They were getting me to pull faces according to the character you were supposed to be supporting, so for me it was Dory from Finding Nemo, so you’re supposed to be blowing air bubbles, you know. You just felt so silly, and you just have to trust that they know what they’re doing,” she says. Alongside her work for Red Nose Day, Monica has also been supporting the campaign for a Hospitality Minister in the UK government. “It’s so important when you look at what the hospitality sector does for the economy.

And we haven’t had any representation for all the deals that have been made throughout the pandemic. It’s such an important cause; we’re all just hoping we’ll be able to get that voice in there. The petition has made it into parliament so hopefully there’ll be some discussion,” she tells me. Britain’s hospitality industry, she says, has gone from strength to strength since she started working in it. “There’s a huge diversity in the style of food that people are cooking and enjoying. I love the British hospitality industry! There are so many different cultures and styles of food, and I’m so keen to try everything,” she adds. “I hope — I know — that we will come back, stronger than ever. That we’ll get over the sadness and start afresh. You have to be optimistic. You have to hold onto hope.

Because the alternative is not good.”

Limited edition Red Nose Day aprons and homeware range modelled by Monica Galetti are available from tkmaxx.com

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GBF PROMOTION

GIVE ANY MEAL OR SNACK A FLAVOUR BOOST WITH GEETA’S NEW SAUCES Fed up with the same old dinners and snacks? Have endless lockdowns made you lose your appetite for cooking? Or are you feeling inspired and looking for new flavours to tempt yours and your family’s tastebuds? Now you can spice up any meal or snack with Geeta’s NEW tasty, super versatile, sauces.

With four tantalisingly tangy sauces to choose from – Sweet & Spicy Mango, Zingy Red Pepper & Mustard, Spicy Tomato & Chilli and Zesty Mango & Lime – you can use them any which way. Try as a spicier alternative to ketchup with everyday meals like steak and chips, burgers, jacket potato or even baked fish and roasted vegetables.

If you want to experiment in the kitchen, why not use them to marinade meat or fish for extra flavour, sizzle them in a stir fry with prawns or beef or drizzle over veggies or salad as a tangy dressing? The opportunities are endless; all you need is your imagination and a love of full-on flavour.

And not forgetting the big curry night in, these sauces make the perfect dip for your samosas, bhajis and poppadums. Delicious!

Sweet & Spicy Roast Vegetables Ingredients: • 350g of a mix of chopped sweet potato, parsnips, aubergines, onions, red peppers and whole cloves of garlic • 2 – 3 tablespoons olive oil • Salt and pepper to taste • Geeta’s NEW Sweet & Spicy Mango Sauce

Geeta’s award-winning chutneys, sauces, curry pastes and spice mixes are made from recipes straight from Geeta’s home kitchen.

First launched over 28 years ago, Geeta's Premium Mango Chutney is not only its best-known recipe, it's also the nation's favourite authentic Indian chutney*.

Geeta’s use the very best, natural ingredients, with no artificial additives, colours or preservatives and are Vegan, Vegetarian and Kosher-friendly as well as being Gluten Free.

www.geetasfoods.com Method: 1. Mix the vegetables with the olive oil and season to taste 2. Place on a roasting tray and bake in a pre-heated oven for 20-30 minutes at 200C/fan 180C/gas 6, stirring once 3. Remove the tray from the oven and drizzle generously with Geeta’s Sweet & Spicy Mango Sauce 4. Toss the vegetables to coat and then pop back into the oven for 3 – 5 minutes 5. Garnish with chopped coriander and serve with your choice of fresh raita, plain yoghurt or crème fraîche

Available from Tesco and Waitrose RRP £1.49, online at geetasfoods.com also from Ocado and other retailers. *Nielsen EPOS data to February 2021 58 /

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F E AT U R E | B A K I N G

SLOW RISE On a quest to resuscitate the traditional art of bread making, author Rob Penn has been hand-scything wheat in the Nile Delta and harvesting his own ancient grains

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F E AT U R E | B A K I N G

R

ob Penn has been described as a modern-day Thoreau.

For the past 18 years he has lived with his family on a smallholding in the Black Mountains of Wales. They get their water from a spring on the land, and they heat their house with the firewood from their own woods. And they’re embarking on a journey to eat more sustainably produced, locally sourced food.

“We grow our own vegetables, badly, and we buy directly from a local organic producer. We have several apple trees, as well as damsons and pears. We make our own jams, chutneys and strange-coloured alcoholic elixirs,” he says..

The family also bakes their own bread, a subject which fascinated Rob to such an extent that he wrote an entire book about it.

“The history of human civilization has been crowded into a few thousand years: bread has been a constant over this period. Bread is kneaded into economics, politics, human biology and religion. The availability of bread has significantly influenced demography and population growth. Its story is the story of humanity,” he writes in Slow Rise, his latest book.

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Slow Rise tells the story of bread from plot to plate. Rob narrates his travels to Anatolia to find the ancient wild grains from which our modern crop is descended, has a crack at hand-scything in the Nile Delta and back at home, tries to bake enough bread to feed his family for a year.

Rob explains what some of the most rewarding experiences of writing Slow Rise were.

“Ploughing my acre with horses in abominable weather, returning to the field to see that my emmer seeds had germinated and emerged from the earth, harvesting my wheat, winnowing out the the chaff on autumnal winds, baking my first presentable loaf with my own stoneground, wholemeal flour and winning a prize in the baking competition at our local agricultural show – these were all great days,” he says.

But one of the most profound moments was in Egypt.

“In a field in the Nile Delta, down on my haunches cutting wheat with a sickle next to Mohammed Maliji, it struck me as likely that people have been harvesting wheat to make bread in exactly this

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fashion, plausibly in the same field, every April for six thousand years. That is a remarkable connection to our distant ancestors, an education in the continuity of the human experience, and a lesson in how the earth abides,” he says.

GAINS THROUGH GRAINS In order to bake bread, Rob even went to the extent of growing his own wheat.

“I cultivated Emmer, an ancient variety of wheat,” he explains. “It was the main wheat cultivated for at least three millennia in Ancient Egypt. It was believed that the very first sourdough loaf was baked in Egypt, with Emmer flour.”

Rob also planted Hen Gymro wheat (pronounced ‘Hen Gim-roh’), which means ‘Old Welshman’ — which was initially grown across southwest Wales until the 1930s.

Upon hearing Rob’s story, some people might question the lengths he went to.

Why grow ancient grains instead of modern ones? Why mill your own flourl?

Or even: why not buy a loaf of sliced white bread from the supermarket and be done

F E AT U R E | B A K I N G

with it?

And Rob has plenty of answers, beginning with his choice of crop.

“Over millennia, as each community observed the strongest plants, selected the best ears and re-planted the largest grains, tens of thousands of geneticallydiverse wheat populations called ‘landraces’ evolved across the globe, with the characteristics most likely to thrive in local soils and microclimates,” he explains.

These ‘landraces’ (including Emmer and Hen Gymro) are more resilient to extreme weather conditions, more biodiverse and disease resistant. But the early 20th century saw the introduction of hybrid wheat crops bred purely for the highest yields, rather than their flavour or bread-making qualities.

“Fortunately, a sample of Hen Gymro was saved in a seed bank, and it is now being grown by several farmers in Wales.

It makes seriously tasty bread,” Rob explains.

He has a message for budding bakers: “Taste and smell the ancient grains. Get into heritage grains and wholemeal – there is a whole new world of taste and flavour waiting.”

SLOWING DOWN Rob, like many people, grew up eating sliced white bread bought for convenience. It was only when he was on a round-the-world cycling trip in the 90s that he discovered ‘real bread’: Georgian puris, Turkish simit, and regional European breads such as grissini, fougasse and rye sourdough.

But although he got a taste for the good stuff, moving to rural Wales and having three children in quick succession brought about a return to sliced white.

Then Rob became ill with stomach complaints. This caused him to take a closer look at his diet, and he came across a book named Bread Matters, by Andrew Whitley, which describes British bread as “a national, culinary, social and environmental mess.” The book also explains that flour is made into bread via a “cocktail of additives” and a super-fast fermentation process using large amounts of yeast, both of which can cause digestive discomfort.

The book convinced Rob to give

up industrial bread, which he says completely cleared up his stomach ailments. Eventually, he began baking his own sourdough loaves, which rely on a slow-acting fermentation process using natural yeasts and the good bacteria in the air around us.

CRUMBS OF WISDOM Eating this slow-risen bread, and relaxing into the meditative rhythm of kneading dough, has vastly improved his wellbeing, and taught him a great deal.

“I have certainly learnt a great deal, about the importance of genetic diversity in not just wheat, but all plants; about baking; and about taste and flavour in bread, amongst other things,” he explains.

“I have also gained a little bit of freedom, by bringing the provenance of our bread closer to home. The act of baking is a small protest — a declaration of domestic independence, from the corporations who seek complete control of a food system that has created an extraordinary plethora of environmental problems and human health issues.”

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F E AT U R E | B A K I N G

Rob Penn’s Simple Wholemeal Sourdough Makes: 1 sourdough loaf Prepare: 30 minutes, plus fermenting and proving Cook: 65 minutes 600g organic wholemeal, stoneground heritage grain flour (or 500g wholemeal flour and 100g strong white organic bread flour, if you want the loaves to rise more) 400g warm water 200g sourdough starter 6g flaked sea salt Special kit: A proving basket A cast iron bread pan (a oven casserole dish also works) 1. Place the flour in a mixing bowl, make a well in the centre and pour in the water. Mix thoroughly, until all of the ingredients have been incorporated. Leave for at least an hour.

2. Add the sourdough starter and salt to the bowl. Mix well. Scrape the dough on to a work surface and, for several minutes, stretch and fold, lifting the corners of the dough into the middle and pressing down lightly. The gluten network in dough made with wholemeal flour is fragile: be gentle. Return the dough to the bowl. After half an hour, repeat the stretching and folding. If you have time, repeat again.

3. Return the dough to the lightly oiled mixing bowl and cover with a wet tea towel. Leave to ferment in a cool place for 8-12 hours. You will have to play around with the time, the simple wholemeal sourdough temperature in your own kitchen and the amount of sourdough starter to get the fermentation spot on.

4. Turn the dough out on a heavilyfloured work surface. Carefully ‘knock back’ the dough by stretching and folding. Turn the dough over and shape it into a round boule, building tension into the skin with the edges of your hands. Flour the boule and turn it over into a wellfloured proving basket. Leave to prove for 1-2 hours.

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5. Heat the oven to 230°C. Place a cast iron bread pan or cloche in the oven. When it is hot, turn the dough out of the proving basket, into the bread pan. Score or cut the surface quickly. Return the bread pan to the oven with the lid on. After 15 minutes, turn the oven down to

210°C. Bake for 35 minutes; remove the lid and bake for 15 more minutes.

6. Remove the pan from the oven, turn the loaf out on a wire rack and leave to cool for a few hours. Slice.

Butter. Share. Enjoy.

Recipe taken from Slow Rise: A Bread-Making Adventure by Robert Penn (Particular Books, £17.99)

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7 WAYS WITH

ASPARAGUS

Make the most of the short asparagus season by tucking into these delicate green spears The end of April heralds the beginning of asparagus season in the UK. These delicious green spears are astonishingly versatile; delicious in tarts and risottos, or simply boiled and served with hollandaise. These are our top recipes for making the most of one of our favourite spring vegetables.

1

ASPARAGUS WITH LEMON AND TAHINI DRESSING

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil and blanch 500g asparagus for 2-3 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl of ice-cold water. In a small bowl, combine 4 tbsp tahini, 2 crushed garlic cloves, 2 tbsp olive oil and 1tsp honey and mix well. Gradually whisk in the lemon juice until emulsified. Season with salt and pepper. Toast 1 tbsp sesame seeds, then cool. Place asparagus on a serving dish; drizzle tahini dressing and sprinkle the sesame seeds on top.

2

ASPARAGUS & GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH

Butter 4 slices of sourdough bread on both sides. Layer each piece of bread with sliced cheese (such as mozzarella or cheddar). Blanch 1 bunch of asparagus spears. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add a tsp of olive

oil when hot. Put 2 slices of bread in the pan, buttered side down, and top with asparagus spears. Put a lid on the pan to allow everything to heat through. After 2 minutes remove the lid and sandwich 2 halves together. Cook for a minute or so on either side, until golden brown.

Repeat with the next sandwich.

3

ASPARAGUS, PRAWN & AVOCADO SALAD

Arrange 1 sliced avocado, 2 spring onions (chopped), 115g baby spinach, 150g cooked king prawns, and 1 bunch of washed, trimmed and blanched asparagus on a plate. Make the dressing by combining 1 tsp Dijon mustard, 1 tsp clear honey, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 1 tbsp white wine vinegar, 6 tbsp olive oil and salt & pepper to season. Dress the salad and serve.

4

pan and stir through along with a little of pasta water to loosen the mixture up. Once the pasta is cooked, drain well and add to the sauce. Season to your liking and serve with grated parmesan, fresh mint and a drizzle of olive oil.

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ASPARAGUS, TARRAGON & ALMOND PIZZA BIANCO

Heat the oven to 180C/160C Fan. In a bowl combine 100ml crème fraiche, 20g grated parmesan and a good grind of black pepper. Lay 2 flatbreads on baking sheets and spread the crème fraiche on them, leaving 1cm of crust.

Sprinkle with 2 tbsp flaked almonds. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes until the crème fraiche starts to turn golden. Meanwhile steam 1 bunch of trimmed asparagus spears for 5-6 minutes until just soft. Top the flatbreads with asparagus, add torn herbs and a few parmesan shavings.

ASPARAGUS SPRING PASTA

Blanch 400g asparagus spears and 170g frozen peas, then place in ice cold water. Boil 350g pappardelle. Meanwhile, melt a knob of butter in a frying pan and add 1 tbsp of olive oil, 4 finely chopped shallots, 2 crushed garlic cloves and fry until soft. Gently add 200ml of crème fraiche to the pan. Add the fresh, chopped mint, asparagus and peas to the

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GNOCCHI & ASPARAGUS IN A SAGE & LEMON BUTTER

Boil a pan of salted water. Meanwhile, heat a frying pan and add 80g salted butter.

When it starts to brown, add 2 cloves of sliced garlic and a small bunch of chopped sage. Cook until the sage begins to crisp. Add juice and zest of 1 lemon, and season with salt and pepper.

Remove from the heat. Cook 500g gnocchi and 2 bunches of asparagus cut into 3cm lengths in the boiling water for 2-3 minutes (or until gnocchi rises to the top). Strain and toss with the sage butter. Serve in bowls and sprinkle with parmesan.

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ASPARAGUS, SMOKED SALMON & GINGER DRIZZLE

Fry 1 tbsp fresh grated ginger and 2 cloves of garlic for 2-3 minutes, then add 50ml dry sherry and 2 tsbp soy sauce. Wait for the mixture to reduce slightly, then leave to cool. Trim the ends of 2 bundles of asparagus, then cook on a preheated grill for 4-5 minutes (until the asparagus is heated through, but still crunchy.

Cut 200g smoked salmon slices into strips and wrap around asparagus spears. Drizzle dressing over the top, and garnish with 1 sliced red chili and some coriander leaves. Serve with a lime wedge.

For more seasonal British asparagus recipes visit britishasparagus.com

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RECIPES | SEAFOOD

SPRING TIDES These simple, seasonal fish and seafood recipes from The Seafood Shack will bring the flavours of the British coast to your kitchen table www.greatbritishfoodawards.com

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black pepper.

3. Slowly bring up the temperature until the sauce starts to bubble – be careful when adding the cream as if it’s too hot it can split. Once the mussels are all open, they are ready – don’t leave them on the heat as they will overcook and go rubbery. Discard any that stubbornly refuse to open.

4. Serve with a wedge of lemon and lots of crusty bread (and not forgetting more butter).

Smoked Haddock, Pea & Chorizo Macaroni Cheese Serves: 4 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 30 minutes 100g butter 1 onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, finely chopped ¼ red chilli, finely chopped 1 vegetable stock cube 3 heaped tbsp plain flour 600ml full fat milk 300g Cheddar cheese, grated Small handful of curly parsley, chopped 400g macaroni 100g chorizo, chopped into chunks 3 fillets smoked haddock, chopped into chunks 150g fresh or frozen peas small handful of fresh chives, chopped Salt and black pepper

Mussels in a Creamy White Wine & Garlic Sauce “We think most people love the mussels mainly for the sauce, no? That’s why we always make sure there’s lots of it! And some chunky bread to soak it all up”.

Serves: 4 Prepare: 5 minutes Cook: 15 minutes 50g butter 1 white onion, diced 2 garlic cloves, chopped ¼ vegetable stock cube Juice of ¼ lemon 2kg mussels, cleaned 300ml white wine 66 /

200ml double cream Small handful of curly parsley, chopped Plenty of black pepper 1. Put a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the butter, onion and garlic. Fry off for about ten minutes until everything is lovely and soft.. Crumble in the veg stock cube and add the lemon juice.

2. Increase the heat, throw in the mussels and the wine and put the lid on the pan. The wine will make steam and start to cook the mussels.

Once the mussels are nearly all open (about two or three minutes) turn the temperature down to low and add the double cream, parsley and

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1. Put a large saucepan on a medium heat and add the butter, onion, garlic and chilli, then let it all sweat off for a good eight to ten minutes until everything is nice and soft and very sweet. Make sure you keep stirring so nothing burns.

2. Crumble in the stock cube along with plenty of black pepper, and fry off for another minute before adding the flour. Cook for a minute or two to make a roux, then slowly add the milk, whisking all the time as you don’t want it to be lumpy. Cook on a low heat until the sauce has thickened, then take it off the heat and add the grated cheese. Stir until the cheese has melted into the sauce, add your parsley and season.

3. Put a large pan filled with water on a high heat and bring to the boil.

Cook the macaroni for six to seven minutes – it will keep cooking after

RECIPES | SEAFOOD

you drain it so you want it to be al dente – and drain in a colander.

4. Heat a small frying pan and add the chopped chorizo – you don’t need to add any oil as the chorizo will release plenty as it heats up. You want to get it nice and crispy so fry it off for a few minutes on a high heat, stirring and reducing the heat if it starts to burn. Keep a few pieces of chorizo aside to garnish your dish at the end. Add the smoked haddock and the peas to the remaining chorizo in the frying pan and cook until the haddock starts to flake.

5. Stir the contents of the pan into the cheese sauce and mix in the pasta. You might need to give everything another quick blast of heat. Garnish with the reserved chorizo pieces and a sprinkle of chopped chives and serve.

“Josh cooked these langoustines for Mary Berry on the beach with some (a lot) of guidance from her. She told the cameras it was the most delicious thing she’d ever eaten, so naturally Josh still brags about it!”

Cook’s Tip: Cooking times can vary for different pasta brands, so look at the packet and take off two minutes from the suggested cooking time to make sure it doesn’t overcook.

Pan-fried Langoustines with Garlic & Thyme Butter Servs: 10 Prepare: 2 minutes Cook: 5 minutes 150g butter 4 garlic cloves, crushed and skin left on 4 sprigs thyme 2 cooked langoustines salt and pepper 1. Place your pan on a high heat and add your butter, whole garlic cloves and thyme. Cook until the butter melts and your thyme starts to sizzle.

2. Pop your langoustines in the pan and season with salt and pepper (you may need to do this in a couple of batches, depending on the size of your frying pan). Turn the heat down to medium and every now and then toss the langoustines about to make sure they are cooking evenly and aren’t

The Seafood Shack’s Guide to Cooking Langoustines Back in the day, fishermen would cook their shellfish in sea water. They would say "the saltier the water,the sweeter it makes the shellfish", and it definitely works! So don’t panic if you ever put too much salt in your water; it won’t ruin your shellfish. Fill a large saucepan three quarters full of water and add a good handful of salt – a couple of

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tablespoons is about right. Bring the water to a rapid boil, then add the live langoustines to the pan – making sure they are all submerged – and cover with a lid. Medium langoustines will need to cook for four minutes – they will turn a deeper shade of pink as they cook. To check they are done, take one out using some tongs and break its tail away from its head. The insides should be white and opaque, not translucent. Drain in a colander and let the langoustines cool.

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“If you feel like jazzing up your mac and cheese, try this.

The smoked haddock and chorizo gives it an amazing smoky flavour and the peas freshen it up. Smoked trout works really well as an alternative to smoked haddock.”

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RECIPES | SEAFOOD

burning on the bottom.

3. If the pan gets a bit dry add more butter, as the langoustine shells tend to soak it up. If you have a lid pop that on to help keep all the flavour in. You don’t want to overcook the langoustines, just heat them all the way through and let them soak up the garlicky butter.

4. Once they are nice and hot, serve them with some warm crusty bread and a wedge of lemon.

Cook’s Tip: A variation on this recipe is to cook the langoustines with chilli, garlic and lime.Omit the thyme and add a red chilli, halved lengthwise, a teaspoon of smoked paprika and a couple of halved limes squeezed into the pan at the same time as the garlic.

Lobster Burger “Served up in a bun with ripe avocado and a dollop of fresh lemon mayonnaise, this is every bit as good as it sounds. We especially love how the breadcrumbs are so light they just add a little bit of crispiness to the lobster without overpowering it at all”.

Servs: 4 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 30 seconds 2 lobsters, cooked and halved 1 egg, beaten 4 gourmet burger buns 1 tbsp vegetable or rapeseed oil 4 tbsp lemon mayonnaise 100g baby salad leaves or gem lettuce 2 avocados, sliced Salt and pepper For the breadcrumbs: 3 slices white bread Small handful of fresh herbs (we use parsley and dill) Zest of 1 lemon 1. Set the lobster legs and claws aside, and carefully remove all your meat from the half shells. Slice the meat in half horizontally, leaving you with eight pieces. You can also add

the claw meat if you want to have a bigger burger, but if not save it for another recipe.

2. Next, make your breadcrumbs: simply whizz the white bread, chopped herbs and lemon zest in a food processor until you have a fine crumb texture. Mix your lobster pieces with the beaten egg in a bowl and then add in your breadcrumbs, mixing everything around so the lobster gets nicely coated. Season well with salt and pepper.

3. Pop your burger buns in the toaster to get them crispy. Get a non-stick frying pan and heat up your oil so it gets real hot. Add your lobster pieces and fry them for only around 30 seconds, tossing halfway through.

Don’t overcook as lobster can go

rubbery very quickly. Once golden and hot through, drain on kitchen roll to remove any extra oil.

4. Now to assemble your lobster burger! We put lemon mayo on the bottom of the bun, then a handful of salad, followed by two pieces of lobster and a few slices of avocado.

Season with salt and pepper and add a wee bit more mayo to top it off.

In the Shack we serve this with red cabbage slaw on the side.

Recipes taken from The Seafood Shack: Food & Tales From Ullapool by Kirsty Scobie & Fenella Renwick (Kitchen Press, £20)

Cook’s Tip: It’s the tender ‘melt in your mouth’ piece of lobster that MAKES this burger so make sure you don’t overcook it.

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F E AT U R E |

W E L S H L AV E R

Harvest from

THE TIDES

Are you a laver lover? After centuries steeped in tradition, this iconic seaweed is getting a fresh treatment, discovers Anna Blewett

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I

f you're lucky enough to live within striking distance of the Pembrokeshire coast, your lockdowns may have been eased by the reassuring rhythm of crashing tides striking sand and rock.

Beaches have been a bit busier in the winter months, what with wild swimmers and well-layered walkers joining hardy surfers for a bit of 'vitamin sea'. But away from the surf, hugging the rocks, onlookers might spot the odd forager working with the rhythm of the tides.

After all, this part of Wales is a veritable larder of nutrient-packed sea vegetables...

Kelpchup and Dulse Butter "We bear the full brunt of the Atlantic here in Pembrokeshire," says seasoned forager and champion of Welsh seaweed Jonathan Williams (Beachfood.co.uk). "In Wales we have really rich marine waters; the warm Gulf Stream and cold Arctic waters make for a seaweed explosion right on our doorstep."

Jonathan should know; it's more than a decade since he jacked in a disheartening desk job in Swindon to follow his dreams of serving wild beach food. Ten years on, his Pembrokeshire Beach Food Company condiments bring a taste of the sea to landlocked kitchens, and Jonathan's bracing for another crazy-busy season

at his beautiful 'Café Mor' beach food shack at Freshwater West beach.

"For most people, put a lump of seaweed on the plate and they're not going to like it because of the strong savoury flavours," he suggests. "But we add it to butter to serve with lobster and crab, and we mix it into brownies and cakes. Seaweed has a huge depth of flavour; it uplifts a dish to another level. The Japanese call it umami but I think it's more than that. Even if it's not noticeably there it just makes everything taste better."

Laverbread and Cockles

VISIT SOUTH WALES

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Dulse-buttered lobster may sound pretty hip, but you don't have to be a food historian to know seaweed is part of the culinary DNA of Wales. It's all thanks to an abundance of mineralrich porphyra umbilicalis, otherwise known as laver: the red-brown sheets of weed have been a local staple since antiquity. Near Penclawdd on the Gower Peninsula the fibrous weed is

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still prepared into 'laverbread' in the time-honoured way.

"You can eat it raw but it's quite tough, quite chewy," says Ashley Jones, whose grandfather Selwyn started making laverbread in the 1940s (selwynsseaweed.com). "So after we've collected the seaweed from certain beaches around South Wales and washed it through all sorts of bubble baths to get the sand and impurities out, we boil it in salt water for five or six hours."

The cooked laver is then minced and left to set into gelatinous pulp that can bewilder even seasoned fans of sea vegetables. "I can't think of another food that looks or feels like it," says Cardiff chef Phill Lewis, who teams laverbread with lamb at his nose-to-tail restaurant Nook (nookcardiff.co.uk), and with cockles, bacon and samphire for his Blas Y Mor pizza served across the city (dustyspizza.co.uk).

"I'd say it's not as salty as dried nori sheets; it's iron-rich with a bit of an oyster flavour." Phill laughs at the

F E AT U R E | W E L S H L AV E R

VISIT SOUTH WALES

challenge of describing such a unique ingredient: "It's akin to a salty olive."

Agar and Egg Yolk It's not just the flavour of laver that charms cooks. Gelatinous agar released from cooked porphyra brings its own magic to a special served up by James Chant, a self-confessed ramen anorak who ditched a career in music management to dive deep into the soup-noodle culture of Japan. James's Cardiff 'slurp spot', Matsudai Ramen

together," says James.

"Think of it like a ragu on top of pappardelle: when you stir it through you get a really silky, rich quality and it brings that salty, umami taste."

James's love of Welsh seafood hails back to childhood memories of the treats his mum would bring home from her job at E Ashton, Cardiff's iconic fishmongers', but he knows not every teen is as keen as he was. "I think even in VISIT SOUTH WALES Wales there's a fear of (matsudai.co.uk), has a couple laverbread. It's a traditional of tricks to get the lip-smacking staple but it's off-putting texture that marks out great ramen. to youngsters who don't understand While soupy 'tonkotsu' brings meaty it, but under the umbrella of Japanese collagen via 36-hour bone broths, cuisine it makes sense and feels less James's drier ' Welsh mazemen' intimidating." (spicy 'tare' seasoning, cockle dashi, It's a little ironic that the next noodles, lamb soboro and laverbread generation of laver lovers might topped with a raw egg yolk) benefits discover this culinary classic from the sticky, gooeyness of laver. through the prism of Japanese "Laverbread works super-well cooking, but no matter. Time and tide to make everything glossy, almost wait for no one: laver will quietly keep binding the other ingredients growing for the next forager's bucket.

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RECIPES | PICNIC FOOD

THE GREAT BRITISH PICNIC Planning to eat al fresco despite the temperamental weather? At least you'll guarantee a great spread with these nostalgic bakes

Coconut Macaroons Makes: 20 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 30 minutes 400g desiccated coconut 250g condensed milk 2 large egg whites ¼ teaspoon salt 2 tbsps melted dark chocolate, for drizzling (optional) 1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas 2) and line a baking tray with baking parchment. Place the coconut and condensed milk in a large bowl and stir together until combined; the coconut should be moistened but not overly wet.

2. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites and salt together until they hold stiff peaks, then gently fold into the coconut mixture. When completely combined, scoop out tablespoonfuls of the mix and gently roll into balls, then place on the prepared baking tray, giving each one a gentle press with the palm of your hand to flatten it slightly.

3. Bake the macaroons for 30 minutes or until lightly golden.

Allow to cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before drizzling with chocolate (optional) and eating (not optional).

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RECIPES / PICNIC FOOD

Battenberg Cake Serves: 6 Prepare: 20 minutes Cook: 30 minutes 150g butter, at room temperature, plus extra to grease 150g caster sugar 2 large free-range eggs 150g self-raising flour 2 drops red food colouring 3-4 tablespoons raspberry jam, for spreading 400g shop-bought marzipan 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4 and grease and line a small baking tray, roughly 24 cm x 18 cm x 5 cm. Using foil, create a firm barrier down the middle of the tray, to make sure the batters don’t run into each other.

2. As with so many good classic cakes, you need to start by creaming together the butter and sugar until they are pale and fluffy, almost white. This is easiest done in a stand mixer or with a hand whisk and may take as long as 5 minutes.

Next, mix in the eggs, one at a time, ensuring that the first one is fully incorporated before adding the next. Finally, ditch the whisk and, using a large metal spoon, gently fold in the flour.

3. Add half the cake mixture into one half of the baking tray. Now add the red food colouring to the other half of the mixture in the bowl and combine thoroughly, then carefully spoon this pink cake mixture into the other half of the baking tray.

4. Bake for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for a couple of minutes before turning out onto a wire rack and leaving to cool fully.

5. Meanwhile, roll out your marzipan into a perfect square, roughly 30 cm x 30 cm and about 3 mm thick, then keep it covered with a clean tea towel. Now all that’s left to do is the assembly. Cut the two coloured sections of cake in half lengthways and trim the edges to give you four neat, similar-sized strips. Spread each strip of cake with raspberry jam on all sides and sandwich them 76 /

“Gosh how good is Battenberg Cake? If you have the time and patience to make one, you will be amply rewarded”

together in alternating pairs. Lay the sandwiched cakes in the centre of your marzipan rectangle and roll the whole thing tightly. Finally, sit the cake on a board so the seam is underneath and trim off any excess.

Voila! Make some tea, slice a good chunk of Battenberg and sit back, smug as you like.

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RECIPES / PICNIC FOOD

Perfect Scones

Recipes taken from Max’s Picnic Book

by Max Halley and Benjamin Benton (Hardie Grant, £16.99) Photography © Louise Hagger

Makes: 12 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 10 minutes 500g plain flour ½ tsp salt 1 ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda 4½ teaspoons cream of tartar 75g cold unsalted butter, diced 300ml whole milk 1 large egg, beaten 1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas 8 and lightly grease a baking tray. Sift the flour, salt, bicarb and cream of tartar into a large bowl. Rub in the butter with your fingertips until it is fully incorporated. Add the milk and mix until the dough has just come together – do not overwork.

2. Turn it out onto a floured surface

and shape into a round. The dough should be a little raggedy, you are not after smooth perfection. This will help to keep the scones ‘short’, or light and fluffy to you and me.

3. Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 3 cm (1¼ in) thickness. Dip a cookie cutter into some flour, then stamp out as many scones as you can from the first roll. You may need to re-roll to get the last few scones from the dough, but be careful to not overwork.

4. Place the scones on the baking tray very close together, then brush the tops with the beaten egg. Bake for 10 minutes or until risen and golden.

5. Allow to cool a touch then break them in half and cover them in clotted cream and your favourite jam – bam thank you ma’am!

“The British have this one right: scones, clotted cream and your favourite jam, all washed down with a nice cup of tea, is about as perfect as life gets”

Homemade Clotted Cream Makes: 1 litre Prepare: 1 minute Cook: 12 hours 1 litre double cream 1. Preheat the oven to 90°C/gas ¼. Pour the cream into a shallow baking dish and bake it, uncovered, for 12 hours. You do not need to do anything: do not stir it, do not look at it, do not even think about it.

2. When the time is up, carefully remove from the oven and leave to cool at room temperature. You’ll end up with a thick layer of clotted cream, and possibly some thin cream beneath. You can spoon some from the top for eating right away. To keep the rest for future use, spoon the top layer of thick cream into a Kilner jar or airtight container and chill in the fridge – it will last for up to 5 days. Any thin cream left in the dish can be kept in the fridge for a few days and used in cooking,baking, or added to your coffee or cereal.

Quince Jelly, £3.50 for 340g, plumduffandstuff.co.uk

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GBF PROMOTION

DEWLAY CHEESEMAKERS

Dewlay is a 3rd generation, family-owned dairy based in the heart of rural Lancashire just outside the market town of Garstang, and they’ve been making their award-winning range of cheese now for over 60 years.

Owned and managed by Nick and Richard Kenyon, the dairy is best known for its Creamy, Crumbly and Tasty Lancashire cheese varieties, as well as Garstang Blue, Garstang White (their take on a brie style cheese), Red Leicester, Double Gloucester and a cheese with the much sought after “Protected Designation of Origin” accreditation: “Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire Cheese P.D.O.” All that, and they are one of only a few dairies in the UK that (in normal circumstances) is open to the public and offer cheese talks and tours there. From the comfort of a purpose-built viewing platform, the cheesemaking process can be seen from start to finish and with the help of useful information boards.

You can find Dewlay’s cheese range in large and small retailers all over the U.K. and in recent years their cheese has been exported to places such as the US, Australia and parts of Europe. Since late 2010, the dairy has embraced the use of wind energy following the installation of a large wind turbine on site, which produces enough power to run the entire site. Dewlay was the first dairy in the U.K. to embrace the benefits of renewable wind energy.

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The origin of ‘Dewlay’ Ever wondered where the name Dewlay came from? Dewlay’s founder George Kenyon derived the name from the French ‘Du lait’, which means ‘Of the milk’. But being born and bred in Wigan, and not France, he pronounced and spelled it Dew-Lay! The hyphen has been lost over time but the name Dewlay continues to thrive!

Employing over 100 people, most of whom live within sight of the dairy, Dewlay is one of the larger employers in the vicinity and collects the milk from 12 local family-owned and managed dairy farms every day. Lancastrians are often heard to complain about the weather in the northwest, but the weather there combined with the quality of the soil in the area lends itself very well to producing the ideal conditions for healthy grass to grow and hence for dairy farms to establish themselves and thrive. Dewlay maintains a very close relationship with all 12 farms with some having a history of supplying the dairy dating back to the early days of cheesemaking at Dewlay.

starters there is Creamy Lancashire, a mild, mellow, buttery textured cheese made to the traditional multi-day curd recipe, a recipe that was popularised in the late 1800s. This is the “classic” Lancashire , matured typically for up to 12 weeks and when presented in a wedge or cylindrical shape by an accredited dairy, can be named under the PDO protected name “Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire cheese”.

What’s so great about Lancashire cheese?

Lancashire cheese is unique in many ways. For a start there are three distinct varieties of Lancashire cheese, all with Lancashire in their name, yet each with its own taste profile. For

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Nick Kenyon, Managing Director, Dewlay Cheesemakers

On the other end of the taste spectrum is Tasty Lancashire, which is made in much the same way as Creamy Lancashire, but typically matured past 6 months and right up to 12 months. The taste profile is full flavoured and complex.

The “odd one out” is Crumbly Lancashire, which has only been made in the county for the past 50 years or so, and is a bright white cheese with a crumbly texture and lactic, almost lemony taste profile. Nationally, this is the most popular variety and is often used in the same way a Feta cheese is, being ideal for crumbling over salads.

Whatever the variety, Lancashire cheese is as popular as ever with new and existing customers and Dewlay is looking for new, exciting ways to present its award-winning range to consumers.

So, whether it’s a piece of Traditional Creamy Lancashire you’re looking for, or the perfect cheese for cheese on toast, you can be certain to find what you want in the range from Dewlay.

Going Green(Er)!

Dewlay has been, and will continue to work on the use of recyclable and recycled packaging and eliminating unnecessary waste throughout the supply chain. The focus on reducing the dairy’s carbon footprint began back in 2010.

Long before wind turbines were as prevalent as they are today and conscious of the fact that making and packing cheese is an “energy hungry” business, combined with a desire to reduce the carbon footprint as much as possible – and in particular the use of energy created from burning fossil fuels – a 126-metre-high wind turbine was commissioned and launched officially in November 2010.

Unbelievably it only took 48 hours to erect and at the time it was the largest land-based wind turbine available and had an immediate impact on operations at Dewlay. The northwest

can be a windy spot at the best of times and the months taken testing different sites at the dairy for the most suitable spot for the turbine to be located helped the engineering team pinpoint the ideal position to capture the prevailing winds.

Interestingly the turbine can turn to position itself perfectly when there is a change in wind direction and for safety reasons shuts down during extreme weather conditions. It’s a 2MW wind turbine and creates enough power to cover the annual usage of approximately 1,100 homes.

In carbon emissions terms, it has reduced the carbon footprint at Dewlay by just short of 3,000 tonnes per year since. It was the area’s first wind turbine, but 10 years on it’s well accepted. It even has its own Facebook page now, set up by a local fan shortly after the installation!

HOW IS THE ENERGY PRODUCED? • Wind blows on the blades, causing them to rotate • These blades turn a shaft inside the nacelle (the box at the top of the tower) • A shaft links into a gearbox which increases the rotation speed • A generator uses magnetic fields to convert the rotational energy into electrical energy • The power output then goes through a transformer, which converts the electricity coming out of the generator from around 690 volts to the right voltage for the distribution system, typically 33,000 volts

The Future 10 years down the track after the Dewlay wind turbine was installed, and Dewlay’s quest for being as environmentally responsible as possible continues. It will leave no stone unturned when it comes to reducing the carbon footprint of its operations while at the same time meeting the growing demand for high quality cheese from consumers in the UK and further afield.

This demand is increasing the demand for locally sourced milk and therefore protects the livelihoods of the dairy farms contracted to the dairy, as well as providing long term employment prospects to their hard-working staff.

Excitement is growing at the dairy as 2021 will see it embark on an ambitious tree planting project where thousands of trees will be planted as part of Dewlay’s unending passion to make improvements for the future.

Dewlay’s cheeses can be purchased from dewlay.com and retailers including Home Bargains, Aldi and Sainsbury’s.

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Cheeses to BRING IN THE SPRING Want the ultimate snack food for a garden picnic or a mellow spring evening? Try these fruity, melt-in-the mouth cheeses 1. Caerphilly Gorwydd, £8 for 250g, paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk

2

This mature, handmade Caerphilly has a distinct creamy outer layer near the rind and a delightfully crumbly, citrus flavoured centre.

It’s been handmade to a traditional recipe on a Somerset farm, using raw cow’s milk.

3 1

5

4

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G R E AT B R I T I S H C H E E S E S

2. Dewlay Wensleydale with Cranberries, £1 for 150g at Home Bargains stores nationwide

6. Aldi/Dewlay Double Gloucester, £1.49 for 250g, available at Aldi stores nationwide

Zesty, creamy wensleydale cheese has been blended with cranberries to give it a sweet fruitiness that’s perfect for any spring cheeseboard.

A delightfully mellow orange cheese, this Double Gloucester pairs a smooth texture with buttery notes. It works perfectly alongside a light red Pinot Noir.

3. Belton Farm Smoked Red Fox, £2.75 for 200g, beltonfarm.co.uk

7. Wigmore, £8.40 for 200g, Paxton & Whitfield

This handcrafted red leicester has been matured over 16 months, and has a subtle, naturally occurring crunch which really compliments the creaminess. It’s also been smoked for 10 hours over oak chips, giving it a deep, smoky flavour.

This is a sheep’s milk cheese made using the traditional washed curd cheese making technique, then matured for six weeks. It has a ‘melting chocolate’ texture evocative of Reblochon, but with a slightly sweet yet flowery and complex taste.

4. Cake Plate, £42, loveliga.co.uk This white ceramic plate has a stand made of eco-friendly cork.

5. Taste the Difference Beacon Fell Traditional Lancashire Cheese P.D.O, £3 for 240g selected Sainsbury’s stores This is a Lancashire cheese of the creamy, smooth-textured variety. It’s well-rounded taste ensures it has a place on any cheeseboard.

9. Lyburn Cheese Old Winchester, £6.70 for 250g finecheese.co.uk A hard cheese made in the new forest with Lyburn Dairy’s own herd of cows. It has been matured for over 16 months to develop a crunchy, crystalline structure, and has a powerful fruity flavour with notes of sweetness.

10. Waitrose Long Clawson Stilton Strength 4, £1.90 for 150g at Waitrose stores A creamy stilton with a strong, complex flavour and a crumbly texture. It is a rich, buttery, melt-inthe mouth cheese that will have you reaching for more again and again.

8. Matthew’s Preserved Spicy Pineapple Chutney, £4 matthewspreserves.co.uk A sweet chutney with a tickle of heat, flavoured with Indian spices such as cumin, fenugreek and mustard seeds. It’s immediately apparent why it bagged a coveted 3-star tasting award and won The Great British Food Awards Savoury Preserves Category last year.

11. Biscuits For Cheese, £6.25 paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk A selection box of biscuits containing Paxton & Whitfield’s Original Crackers, Cornish Buttermilk Biscuits, Rosemary Wafers and Poppy & Linseed Crackers.

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All of our products are made in the old fashioned, traditional way, by hand and in small batches.

Plum Duff & Stuff is a small family run business. Mum sent me the family Marmalade recipe, which I make exactly the same way as it was made in 1849. We have won several awards over the years for our Seville Orange Marmalade.

I have added a traditional Simnel Cake it is traditional, like our Christmas puddings.

It was first made for Mothers Day, it then became an Easter cake.

We also have two lovely homemade chutneys, East Meets West Chutney and Harley House Chutney (which is gluten free).

We sell delicious creamed or runny pure Raw Honey produced

by Dad’s bees, which pollinate our trees, that then produce the fruit, that allows Mum to make her Fruit Cheeses, Jams and Jellies.

We are very serious about using ethically sourced ingredients and being as environmentally aware as possible. All our packaging is recyclable and Eco friendly.

The RRP for the Jams and jellies is £3.50 each

Tel: 07753 680668 | Info@plumduffandstuff.co.uk | www.plumduffandstuff.co.uk We sell our products online, website above, but also with www.brilliantlittlebrands.com | www.onlinechristmasfair.com 82 /

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F E AT U R E |

LIZ KNIGHT

GO

Wild

Photo by Rob Evans

Forager Liz Knight shows us how to make the most of our seasonal hedgerow harvest

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Photo by Rob Evans

“P

Photos taken from For the Love of Food (With Love Project, £25)

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ick one wild thing a day.” This is a well-known foraging mantra, according to Liz Knight. She’s a professional forager who spends her days sourcing ingredients for restaurants, teaching courses, and creating artisan products from wild foodstuffs.

“It’s so important to eat wild food because it’s the most sustainable way to eat. This is the way people have been eating for thousands of years and in many countries they still do — it’s what your body craves,” she explains.

“Eating foraged food is incredibly emancipating. It feeds you twice over, nourishing your body and your soul.

Your perception of the world changes.

What was formerly just an overgrown verge or piece of waste ground suddenly becomes a rich source of delicious food.”

Liz is, however, realistic enough to know that in today’s time-poor world, it would be impossible for someone to get out every day, or even every week, to forage. Instead she recommends searching close to home — in your back garden even — for well-known wild plants to enliven salads, soups and even sweet dishes.

“Teas or infusions are a fantastic way to add a little bit of wildness to your diet. Spring stinging nettles make a delicious infusion, and they’re rich in antioxidants,” she says.

It’s also possible to dry the plants that you forage and use them throughout the year; you can make elderflower cordial with dried blossoms, for example.

Foraging Factors Liz explains that there are several important guidelines to follow when getting involved in foraging.

The first of these is to hone your plant identification skills (her own book, Forage, will help you with this).

“It’s an exhilarating experience to discover that there are so many wild foods within arm’s reach, and the temptation to run out and eat everything can be strong,” she says. “But before you begin your foray into becoming a gatherer of food, take time to properly identify plants — some are so toxic that a leaf will cause serious damage to vital organs or worse.”

Liz recommends beginning to gather plants that you 100 percent know, and slowly broadening your knowledge. It’s also necessary to be aware that plants change their appearance throughout the year, from buds and shoots to blossoms and seedheads, and to become aware of these changes.

It’s necessary to be aware of potential allergies. “Each body is unique, and reacts to food in different ways. Once you have identified an edible plant, introduce small amounts of it into your diet at a time to avoid an allergic reaction,” Liz says.

She also advocates foraging legally and responsibly, and learning the regulations around wild plants.

“In England and Wales you can gather wild plants, apart from protected species, for personal use, from public land (unless it is a protected area),” she says.

Her final foraging commandment: gather only what you need. Wild food

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supports a range of other animals, and should be gathered in small quantities.

“If you find that you have bags of harvested leaves and fruits going mouldy before you use them, you’ve probably gathered too much,” she says.

Liz’s Elderflower Fritters Serve: 4 Prepare: 5 minutes Cook: 5 minutes Sunflower oil, for frying 1 large free-range organic egg 120 ml ice-cold sparkling water 70g plain flour Pinch of fine salt 1½ tsp sugar 8 large heads of freshly picked elderflowers, shaken to remove insects Icing sugar, for dusting 1. Fill a large pan one-third full with sunflower oil and place over a medium heat 2. Whilst the oil is heating, in a mixing bowl beat together the egg, half the water, the flour, salt and sugar and beat until combined.

3. Dip the flowers into the batter, shaking off any excess, and place into the hot oil and fry for a few minutes, until golden. Remove from the oil and place on a piece of kitchen paper to drain.

4. Dust in icing sugar and serve immediately.

FEATURE | LIZ KNIGHT

WHAT TO FORAGE IN SPRING March: “Nettles are one of my favourites to forage in the spring; they grow everywhere and are so easy to pick. You feel like winter’s never going to end, and then suddenly you smell a green, mineral scent in the air — that’s the nettles. Use gardening gloves and snip off the fresh green tips.”

“There are so many different nettle-based recipes. In Scandinavia, people still have

nettle soup for lunch. You can use them in place of spinach in spanakopita or go in a sweet direction and make nettle cupcakes or cordial.”

April: “This is the month for hawthorn.

It’s the first hedgerow plant to come into season. You know that spring is coming when the hawthorn leaves open and dapple the hedges in luminescent patches of green.

Hawthorn leaves have a mild, nutty peppery flavour. Villagers used to call it ‘bread and cheese’ and nibble it on the way to school. It can be added to salads

or used in soups (in place of parsley). I also use it in fishcakes and gremolata.”

“At the end of April the blossoms open. It looks like snow, creating a beautiful white light across the countryside.

The blossoms have an almond flavour, and can be used to flavour syrups, Turkish delight or even gin. All parts of the hawthorn tree are excellent for stabilising blood pressure.”

May: “Elderflower can be gathered from the beginning of May to late June. The nice thing about elderflower is that it

blossoms all at once, so you can harvest it easily. All the flavour of elderflower is in the pollen; make sure you gather blooms with yellow pollen, not brown.

Don’t wash elderflower, because then you’ll get rid of the pollen.

Instead, lay it out on a piece of parchment paper, giving time for any bugs to crawl away!”

“Elderflower cordial and champagne is very popular, but I like to use elderflower as a savoury ingredient, as it has a flavour similar to thyme. I use elderflower to stuff trout, and I also make a delicious elderflower and fennel salt.”

Photo by Rob Evans

Liz Knight’s wild recipes and tips are featured in her new book FORAGE: Wild Plants to Gather, Cook and Eat (Laurence King, £20)

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GBF PROMOTION

British FOOD HEROES

Free range Farming Pioneers Jane and Terry

Jane Tomlinson and her husband Terry are the owners of Redhill Farm Free Range Pork, and are renowned for their sustainable farm-to-table approach to production.

We spoke to Jane to find out more.

How long have you been farming free range?

Terry and I came to Redhill Farm in 1991 when it was a derelict farm, abandoned due to its poor quality light sandy soil – no use for growing crops but ideal for free range pigs! Terry was a pioneer of outdoor pig farming – it was so rare to see pigs outdoors back then that locals would stop and bring a flask just to watch us with them in our fields.

In 1998 we progressed from livestock farming to producing and selling all our own produce – that was when we started our brand ‘Redhill Farm Free Range Pork’. I also founded and ran six of the first Lincolnshire Farmers Markets and set up our small Farm Shop so that we had direct routes to market to sell to our local community.

What makes Redhill Farm Free Range Pork so special?

It’s got to be the flavour – we get customers telling us it’s the best they’ve ever tasted on a regular basis even after 22 years and not just locally, more now mostly from national customers via our online shop. The flavour and quality comes from being truly free range and smaller scale, allowing the pigs to roam freely and grow slowly at their own pace with a completely stress-free life. We also grow all their feed – they thrive on our farm.

Can you say a little more about your ‘farm to table’ ethos?

Our ethos is to commit the extra time, effort and skill needed to produce quality instead 86 /

of making things easier, cheaper or faster to the detriment of quality. Attention to detail is given throughout, from farming through every stage of production in our on-farm butchery, bakery and smokehouse. We also choose to sell in-person directly to our customers – we don’t use wholesalers to sell for us – ensuring we remain an ethical small business that values customers and concentrates on quality from farming through to retail.

12,777 entries from over 100 countries of the best food and drink in the world. We are the only pork farmer and producer to have ever achieved this status. However, we were equally proud to have our charcuterie judged in your Great British Food Awards 2019 by Michele Roux Jr. who commented “it’s as good as I use at Le Gavroche, it’s exceptional quality pork”. It just doesn’t get any better than that for us.

What pork products do you sell and how do you make them taste so good?

When the starting point for all your products is your own great quality free range pork, the less you do with it the better – so simplicity is the secret to our success! We either make the very best example of something or we don’t make it at all; that way everything we make is that little bit more special. We do all our own butchery, charcuterie and cooked ranges and even have a brick smokehouse for oak-smoking our bacon, hams and sausages.

Things are done with skill and authenticity – we have a very low tech, hands-on approach using our own recipes – less is definitely more in our business.

In our quest to stand out from the crowd we strive to prove the quality of all our products with national awards that matter to us. After winning Great Taste Awards for 17 years in a row and with 3 regional Golden Forks (the Fine Food Oscars) we were crowned Supreme Champion 2020 out of

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RECIPES | FORAGED

Nature’s Larder Wild garlic, or 'ramps' is one of the UK's most easily recognised spring greens. Forager Fiona Bird shows us how to make the most of them

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Cook’s Tip: Where To Find: It grows in damp woods, and shady places, and the smell is overwhelming. The leaves are similar to the young leaves of 'lords and ladies' (cuckoo-pint) and lily-of-the-valley, both of which are toxic, but there is no worry about confusion because the ramps leaves, when bruised, smell of garlic. The flowers are white, as are lily-of-the-valley, but the flowers are star- not bell-shaped, and hang in a dome of small umbels.

How to Forage: Use scissors to cut leaves and flowers, making sure not to uproot plants. Do not eat unless you are absolutely sure you are able to identify wild garlic correctly.

Minted Pea & Ramps Soup Serves: 4 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 15 minutes 100g ramps (wild garlic) stalks 1 tbsp olive oil Knob of butter 275g scrubbed new potatoes 1 litre vegetable stock 150g freshly shelled peas 3 mint leaves, finely shredded Freshly ground black pepper A handful of ramps flowers 1. Wash and finely slice the ramps (wild garlic) stalks.

2. Heat the oil and butter in a saucepan and cook the ramps over low heat for 1 minute. Cut the new potatoes into small pieces and cook with the ramps for another 1-2 minutes, stirring often.

3. Add 800ml of the stock and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 8–10 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Add the peas and mint, and simmer for another 3 minutes to cook the peas. Remove the pan from the heat, and allow it to cool for a minute.

4. Blend the peas and potatoes in a food processor, and return to the pan, or use a hand blender. Use the remainder of the stock to rinse around the food processor bowl, and add enough to the saucepan to reach the desired consistency.

5. Heat over low heat to warm through, season with freshly ground pepper, 88 /

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RECIPES | FORAGED

and serve as soon as possible in warm bowls. Scatter ramps (wild garlic) flowers over the soup just prior to serving. If you wish, decorate with a swirl of crème fraîche.

“A drizzle of wild garlic oil will impress even the most sophisticated chef”— Fiona Bird

New Potatoes & Ramps Salad Serves: 4 Prepare: 5 minutes Cook: 20 minutes 800g new potatoes 8 ramps leaves, washed and dried 12.5 g butter Freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons crème fraîche Juice of ¼ lemon Ramps (wild garlic) oil 2–3 ramps and chive flowers, washed, dried, and segmented 1. Scrub the potatoes (to remove loose dirt). Valuable nutrients are just under the skin and these are lost by peeling.

Cut any larger potatoes in half. Cook in a minimum quantity of boiling water for 15-20 minutes until the potatoes are just soft.

2. Meanwhile, chiffonade the ramps leaves (roll the leaves up tightly and cut into thin shreds).

3. Drain and reserve the potatoes, and add the butter and let the potatoes cool completely. Add the crème fraîche (or cream cheese mixed with single cream) and the lemon juice to the potatoes, and toss well.

4. Season with freshly ground pepper, then drizzle with emerald green wild garlic oil and decorate with ramps and chive flowers.

Wild Garlic Oil Makes: 50ml Prepare: 5 minutes Leaves and stalks from about 12 young ramps (wild garlic), about 150g Canola (rapeseed) oil Special kit: A juicer 1. First make the ramps (wild garlic) juice. Wash the ramps leaves and

stalks, and shake them dry (a few drops of water will aid the juicing).

Slowly push the leaves and stalks through an electric juicer.

2. Mix one part ramps (wild garlic) juice to two parts oil for an amazing, vibrant green oil. Shake very well before use, and make small amounts as required. The effect of ramps oil drizzled over risottos and salads is spectacular. Ramps oil is especially delicious in a tomato and mozzarella salad.

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Ramps Oatcakes “These mouthwatering homemade oatcakes are surprisingly easy to make. Once you’ve got to grips with the method, you can adapt the recipe to add wild seeds or nuts in the autumn”.

Makes: 15 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 20 minutes 1 tsp lard 15g butter 125g medium oats, plus extra 90 /

for sprinkling Pinch of baking soda Pinch of salt 1 tbsp finely chopped ramps (wild garlic) stalks 75ml boiling water 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C if you are baking the oatcakes. Melt the lard and butter in a small butter saucepan over low heat.

2. Put the oats, baking soda, salt, and ramps (wild garlic) in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and lard,

and enough water to make a moist dough. Turn the dough out onto a work surface that is liberally sprinkled with oats, and roll the dough out as thinly as possible.

3. Cut in rounds with a cookie cutter, and either cook on a lightly oiled griddle, until the edges curl up, or bake in an oven for 20 minutes, turning the oatcakes over after 15 minutes of baking.

Wait to cool, and serve with cheese and chutney.

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Recipes taken from The Forager's Kitchen Handbook by Fiona Bird ( CICO Books, £9.99)

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The Full

ENGLISH Our pick of the best British produce to feast on for breakfast 92 /

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1. Paul Hollywood 4 Ready to Bake White Crusty Rolls, £1.40 from Tesco’s, Sainsburys & Waitrose Pop these in the oven for 10 minutes and you’ll be treated to crusty rolls with a soft, fluffy interior, just how Paul Hollywood makes them. We like eating them still warm and slathered in butter.

2. Hawkshead Relish Bloody Mary Ketchup and Fruity Brown Sauce, £2.99 each, hawkshead relish.com These artisan-made ketchups are so much more flavourful than mass-produced varieties. The ketchup contains real tomatoes and a kick of vodka, while the brown sauce is a

B R E A K FA S T S H O P P I N G

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it so much that we awarded it ‘Overall Winner’ in the ‘Preserves Category’ at the Great British Food Awards 2020!

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6. Fieldfare All Butter Croissants, 39p each from co-op stores and farm shops nationwide Fieldfare’s croissants are sold frozen and loose as individual portions to reduce waste.

They’re left to defrost and prove overnight.Once baked they become crispy, buttery croissants with a soft, fluffy centre.

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7. Stokes Afternoon Tea, £2.99 for 40g/20 bags from stokescoffee.com Stokes Tea & Coffee has been creating award-winning blends for over a century, and their expertise shines through in their latest afternoon tea blend.

Expect a rich, elegant and fullbodied brew.

8. Delamere Dairy Fresh SemiSkimmed Goats’ Milk, £1.65 from Asda, Booths, Co-op and independent stores This fresh goats’ milk has a light, mild flavour and can be used to replace cow’s milk.

Drinking goats’ milk comes with a host of and health benefits, and tastes great splashed on your cereal!

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9. UIG Lodge Smoked Salmon, £23 for 230g (plus £6 postage) thedelidownstairs.co.uk

delightful melange of raisins, tamarind and dates.

no wonder that they win regular Great Taste Awards!

3. Redhill Farm Lincolnshire Sausages, £10.30 per kg, redhillfarm.com

4. Yeo Valley 0% Fat Super Thick Kerned Yoghurt, £2.75 for 450g from supermarkets nationwide

We can honestly say these are the best pork sausages we’ve ever tasted. It’s because they’ve been made by hand using choice cuts of shoulder and belly pork, and have a minimum 85 percent meat content. It's

This organic milk yoghurt has been specially ‘kerned’ (or thickened) in the traditional manner, with live cultures added and then being sieved to strain off the whey up to nine times!

It results in an amazingly thick, smooth yoghurt that’s high in protein and contains 0% fat!

5. Radnor Preserves Hand-Cut Lime & Laver Marmalade, £6,50 radnorpreserves.com This sublime marmalade is packed with zesty limes, which combine with the saline notes from laver seaweed. We love

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Uig Lodge locally sources its prime Scottish Atlantic salmon and has developed a unique curing process that gives it the perfect flavour and texture. It’s even won 3 gold star awards at the Great Taste Awards on multiple occasions!

10. Grey’s Loose Leaf Good Morning Tea, £7.88 125g tin greysteas.co.uk A cuppa made from this blend will have you springing out of bed in the morning. It combines full-bodied, malty teas from Assam with tangyfull flavoured teas from Kenya to deliver a well-balanced and energising brew.

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RECIPES | BRUNCH

Brunches for LAZY MORNINGS These decadent recipes are perfect for late breakfasts and slow weekends

THE BEST FRENCH TOAST EVER www.greatbritishfoodawards.com

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RECIPES | BRUNCH

The Best French Toast Ever

Croque Monsieur with Bloody Mary Salad

Serves: 6 Prepare: 15 minutes, plus 20 minutes or overnight soaking Cook: 30 minutes

Serves: 4 Prepare: 15 minutes Cook: 25 minutes

Butter, for greasing 6 large eggs 200ml milk 200ml double (heavy) cream 4 tbsps caster sugar 2 tsps vanilla extract ½ tsp mixed spice ¼ tsp salt 500g sourdough loaf (or white bread or brioche), cut into 2.5 cm cubes 200g blueberries Maple syrup, to serve For the crunchy topping: 90g smoked bacon lardons, finely chopped A handful of pecan nuts, roughly chopped 1 tbsp caster sugar 1 tsp ground cinnamon A pinch of mixed spice 1. Grease a 20 x 30 cm (8 x 12 in) baking dish with butter. In a bowl or jug, mix the eggs, milk, cream, sugar, vanilla extract, mixed spice and salt.

Put half of the bread cubes in the baking dish, and pour over half of the egg mixture, pushing down with your fingers to make sure the bread is soaked. Scatter over half of the blueberries. Cover with the remaining bread cubes, egg mixture and blueberries. Cover the dish with cling film (plastic wrap) and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes, or even overnight, while the bread soaks.

2. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/Gas 4. Remove and discard the cling film from the dish. Scatter the chopped bacon over the top and bake for 20 minutes. Mix the rest of the crunchy topping ingredients together, sprinkle over the French toast and return to the oven for 10 more minutes, or until the egg mixture is set and puffy and the nuts are toasty. Serve with maple syrup.

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8 slices white bread 3 tbsp butter, plus extra for spreading 50g plain flour 300ml whole milk 100ml double cream 4 egg yolks 1 ½ tbsps Dijon mustard Nutmeg, for grating 4 slices good-quality ham 200g gruyère cheese, grated Sea salt and freshly ground pepper For the Bloody Mary salad: 200g ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped 2 celery sticks, sliced ¼ tsp celery salt 2 tbsps olive oil 1 shot of ice-cold vodka Squeeze of lemon juice Tabasco sauce, to taste Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas 6. Place a roasting tray measuring roughly 30 x 20 cm in the oven to heat up. Spread the bread slices with butter. Lay 4 slices buttered side down in the tray and top with the remaining 4 slices, buttered-side up. Cook in the oven for 5 minutes, or until the bread is crisp and turning golden. Remove from the oven.

2. Meanwhile, make the béchamel.

Put the butter, flour and milk in a small pan set over a medium heat and stir continuously until you have a smooth, thick sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream, egg yolks, mustard and a grating of nutmeg.

Return to the heat and cook, stirring continuously, until the sauce is thick – this will take 2-3 minutes. Season to taste.

3. Lift the top 4 slices of bread out of the tray and spread 2 tablespoons of béchamel over the bottom 4 slices of bread. Cover with ham, scatter over half of the gruyère, add a dollop more of béchamel, then sandwich with the

CROQUE MONSIEUR

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RECIPES | BRUNCH

Recipes taken from The Shortcut Cook

by Rosie Reynolds (Hardie Grant, £15) Photography © Louise Hagger

remaining bread, toasted-side up.

Cover the whole dish generously with the remaining béchamel and gruyère.

Bake for 10–15 minutes, or until golden and bubbling.

4. To make the Bloody Mary salad, mix all the ingredients except the Tabasco in a bowl. Taste for seasoning and add a dash of Tabasco to taste before serving.

Cook’s Tip: Give this French-style sandwich a British twist by using Colman’s mustard in place of Dijon mustard, mature cheddar in place of gruyère cheese and ham from your local farm shop or market.

SWEET AND SALT Bacon and butterscotch might sound unusual, but the combination of sweet and salty flavours is delightfully addictive.

The plate will be empty in no time!

Butterscotch Bacon Brittle Cinnamon Rolls Makes: 6-8 Prepare: 30 minutes, plus proofing time Cook: 12 minutes For the butterscotch-bacon brittle: 450g cooked bacon, finely chopped 115g butter 100g caster sugar 225g butterscotch chips For the cinnamon rolls: 7g active dried yeast 250ml warm milk 100g white sugar 75g butter

BUTTERSCOTCH BACON BRITTLE CINNAMON ROLLS

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1 tsp salt 2 eggs 500g plain flour For the filling: 180g packed brown sugar 2 ½ tbsp ground cinnamon 75g soft butter For the icing: 115g butter 200g icing sugar 75g cream cheese ½ tsp vanilla extract A pinch of salt 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) Gas 6. For the butterscotch-bacon brittle, spread the bacon on a lined baking sheet. In a medium saucepan, bring the butter and sugar to a boil, stirring and watching constantly as soon as you see the sugar melting.

Boil for about 3 minutes, then carefully pour the toffee mixture evenly over the bacon. Bake in the preheated oven for about 4-5 minutes.

2. Remove from the oven and while the toffee is still really hot, sprinkle the butterscotch chips over the top so they melt onto the toffee. Let cool completely before breaking the bacon into pieces. Set aside.

3. To make the cinnamon rolls, in a large bowl dissolve the yeast in the warm milk. Add the sugar, butter, salt, eggs and flour, and mix well to combine. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5–10 minutes. Bring it together into a large ball, then place in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.

4. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is approximately 54 x 40 cm and 1 cm thick. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) Gas 6.

5. To make the filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

Add the butterscotch-bacon brittle.

Spread the softened butter over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the filling mixture evenly over the surface. Working carefully, from the long edge, roll the dough down to the bottom edge. Cut the dough into 4.5cm slices. Place the slices in a lightly greased baking pan and / 97

RECIPES | BRUNCH

bake in the preheated oven for 10-12 minutes or until light golden brown.

6. Let it cool in the pan. Meanwhile, combine all the icing ingredients in a large bowl and beat on high speed with an electric mixer until thoroughly combined. Spread the cooled rolls generously with the icing and serve.

Posh Fish Finger Sandwich & Homemade Tartare Sauce Serves: 2 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 5 minutes 2 fillets of cod or haddock, skinned and boned Sunflower or vegetable oil, for frying For the beer batter: 200g plain flour 2 tsp sea salt 2 x 330ml bottles of lager For the tartare sauce: 225g mayonnaise 80g pickles 1 tsp capers, chopped 2 tsp Dijon mustard 2 tsp chopped shallots 2 tbsps chopped spring onions 2 tsps freshly squeezed lemon juice Tabasco sauce, to taste Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper To serve: Thickly cut fresh bread Butter, for spreading A handful of cos lettuce leaves, cut into strips French fries or sweet potato fries (optional) 1. Prepare your fish for battering. Slice the fish into at least six finger-size strips. For the beer batter, whisk the flour, salt and lager in a bowl until combined. Fill a large frying pan with about 2.5 cm of oil over a high heat, but don’t leave this unattended.

When the oil is bubbling steadily, it’s ready to go.

2. Dip the fish fingers in the batter, remove any excess and then lower carefully into the oil using tongs if necessary. Fry for about 4 minutes on each side over a moderate heat until

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POSH FISH FINGER SANDWICH golden and crispy. Remove the fish fingers carefully from the oil and drain well on paper towels. Season with sea salt.

3. Mix all the ingredients for the tartare sauce together in a mixing bowl. Lay one slice of bread down and butter it, then spread a couple of tablespoons of tartare sauce on top.

Add 3 fish fingers, then a few strips of lettuce and top with the second slice of bread. Serve with fries, if you like.

Recipes taken from Lazy Day Brunches published by Ryland Peters & Small (£9.99) Photography © Ryland Peters & Small

“The posh fish finger sandwich makes a fantastic brunch dish.

Lager is often used in the batter for a richer flavour. Homemade tartare sauce is the perfect finishing touch.”

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RECIPES | EGGS

SMOKED HADDOCK & SEAWEED SCOTCH EGG

A Cracking GOOD SPREAD We celebrate the versatility of eggs with this spring smorgasbord of recipes, from fresh pasta to homemade mayonnaise www.greatbritishfoodawards.com

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RECIPES | EGGS

USE IT ALL! With all these egg recipes, you’ll end up with a big pile of eggshells. But you don’t have to throw them away - there’s plenty of other uses for them! If you grow tomatoes, put a couple of eggshells at the bottom of the pot to prevent calcium deficiency. You can even use half eggshells as environmentally-friendly pot to grow seedlings in!

Floral Pappardelle Pasta Serves: 2 Prepare: 30 minutes Cook: 5 minutes For the pasta: 300g (2.5 cups) ’00’ grade pasta flour 3 Leghorn White eggs A selection of your favourite fresh herbs (we use thyme and sage) A selection of edible flowers For the basil pesto: 1-2 garlic cloves 2 tbsp pine nuts 2 tbsp olive oil A bunch of Greek basil Pinch of salt and black pepper Special kit: Pasta machine (optional)

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1. Begin by making the homemade pappardelle. Start by placing the flour in a bowl. Make a well in the middle and add the eggs. Beat the eggs with a fork and then start adding the flour until you obtain a thoroughly combined mixture. Knead the dough with your hands, shaping, pulling and stretching until the dough is smooth and elastic. If it sticks to your hand when touched then add a little more flour and knead till smooth. You can also help yourself with a rolling pin, rolling and folding and rolling again the dough. The process takes a while so be patient! It’s a necessary step so that the pasta becomes smooth and silky, not lumpy and dry.

2. Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough till it is flat enough to feed into a pasta machine on level ‘0’. Continue feeding it through ‘0’, folding it in half then feeding it through repeatedly until a regular shape. Make sure to sprinkle lightly with flour to stop it from sticking. When you have a long, thin sheet of pasta dough, stretch it on your work plane and cut it in half.

Arrange your herbs and flowers on one side and carefully lay the other sheet on top. Pass the dough through the machine again and you will really begin to see the edible flowers and herbs showing through the pasta dough.

3. Fold the pasta ribbon in lengthways a couple of times and cut it with a knife to make long, thick pappardelle strips.

4. To prepare the basil pesto, just mix/blend together all the pesto ingredients. It’s as simple as that!

5. To cook the pasta, put it in boiling water and cook for 3 minutes, combine with the basil pesto and serve immediately.

Cook’s Tip You can also make pasta by using a rolling pin, but make sure to try and ensure your pasta ribbons are of roughly equal thickness, so they have the same cooking time.

RECIPES | EGGS

or transfer to a sterilized jar and keep in the fridge.

Classic Herb Mayonnaise Makes: 1 Jar Prepare: 10 minutes 3 large Clarence Court Burford Brown Eggs, separated (at room temperature) Sea salt 300ml groundnut oil (or similar flavourless oil) 35ml extra virgin olive oil or rapeseed oil 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice Freshly ground black pepper 20g finely chopped dill, tarragon, basil or parsley 1. Place the egg yolks in a large mixing bowl (save the whites in the fridge for another day; they can be used to make meringues.) Whisk well for 2 - 3 minutes. Add a good pinch of sea salt and whisk again for around 1 minute.

2. Drop by drop whisk in the ground nut oil; this will take a little while. After you’ve whisked in about ¼ of the oil you can slowly drizzle the oil into the mixture, whisking the whole time. Continue whisking as you slowly drizzle in the more highly-flavoured extra virgin olive oil or rapeseed oil.

3. Once incorporated, whisk in the lemon juice and a good pinch of black pepper. Finally, stir in your chopped herbs. Serve immediately

Cook’s Tip It is vital that you use room temperature eggs, otherwise the mayonnaise might not thicken, and that you start by adding the oil very slowly to achieve emulsification!

Smoked Haddock & Seaweed Scotch Egg Serves: 4 Prepare: 30 minutes, plus cooling time Cook: 30 minutes 5 Medium Clarence Court Burford Brown Eggs 1 litre milk 2 bay leaves 5 peppercorns 20g flat leaf parsley 400g smoked haddock fillet 30g unsalted butter 6 spring onions, trimmed and sliced Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 50g plain flour 100g dried panko breadcrumbs Vegetable oil for deep fat frying 1. Boil 4 eggs for 5 to 6 minutes for soft boil. Once cooked put the eggs into a bowl of iced water. Once

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RECIPES | EGGS

cooled, carefully peel and place in the fridge.

2. Place the milk in a shallow pan.

Add the bay leaves, peppercorns and a few parsley sprigs. Bring to a medium heat and allow to steam but not bubble. Place the haddock in the milk and poach for 5 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile place a small frying pan on a low heat and add the butter followed by the spring onions. Saute for 5 minutes until soft but not browned.

Remove the haddock to a plate, peel off the skin and flake the fish

Just how Scottish is the scotch egg?

In short, not at all! Fortnum & Mason, a Londonbased department store, claim to have invented the scotch egg in 1738 as a luxury travelling snack for the wealthy. They were designed to be neater (and less smelly) than a hard-boiled egg. However, many other people believe that scotch eggs originate in Whitby, where William J Scott & Sons are said to have invented scotties - hard-boiled eggs wrapped in fish, rather than sausagement, before being covered with breadcrumbs. A third tale is that scotch eggs are actually derived from nargisi kofta, an Indian dish developed during the Raj of a hardboiled egg encased in spiced lamb.

into a mixing bowl.

3. Add the cooked onions to the mixing bowl. Finely chop the parsley and ½ teaspoon seaweed and add to the mixture. Stir well and allow to cool, then transfer to the fridge ideally for an hour or two.

4. Prepare three dishes; one with flour, one with the remaining egg (beaten) and one with breadcrumbs and the remaining seaweed.

5. Blitz the haddock mixture in the food processor and stir in a splash of milk. Split the mixture into 4 and carefully pack around each egg, then pat into a ball. Dust each ball all over with flour, roll in beaten egg and coat in breadcrumbs. Place on a plate and leave in the fridge.

6. Add the oil to a large heavy based saucepan until it reaches two thirds of the way up the pan. Place the pan on a medium heat. Test the heat with a piece of potato; once it’s golden you can start frying.

7. Fry the eggs in batches for 5 minutes or until golden and crisp.

Remove the eggs with a slotted spoon and place on a plate lined with kitchen roll to remove excess

HAZELNUT MERINGUE GATEAU

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oil. Sprinkle with a little salt and serve with mayonnaise and a seasonal salad.

Hazelnut Meringue Gateau Serves: 8 Prepare: 20 minutes Cook: 50 minutes plus cooling Butter for greasing 4 Clarence Court hens’ egg whites 255g caster sugar Few drops of vanilla extract 1 tsp vinegar 115g toasted and ground hazelnuts 300ml double cream Edible flowers and fresh berries to decorate (optional) 1. Preheat the oven to Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Grease 2 x 20 cm (8 inch) sandwich tins with butter and line the bases with a circle of greaseproof paper.

2. Place the egg whites in a spotlessly clean mixing bowl or freestanding mixer bowl (washing and drying then wiping with a little lemon juice of vinegar usually works) then whisk with an electric whisk until the egg whites have reached stiff peaks and then gradually whisk in the sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue whisking till it holds its shape (for around 5 – 10 minutes).

3. When ready gently fold in vanilla, vinegar and hazelnuts.

4. Gently spoon the mixture into tins and carefully level bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes until risen, set and lightly golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tins on cooling racks. You can make the meringues in advance and keep them in an airtight tin for one week.

5. Once cool, carefully remove the meringues from the tins. Lightly whip the double cream and sandwich the meringues with it then, keep in the fridge until ready to serve. It’s light and crisp on day one but goes soft and chewy by day two. Serve topped with seasonal fruit - during May raspberries and cooked rhubarb are a delicious choice!

RECIPES | EGGS

Pickled Eggs Three Ways Classic Quails Eggs & Baby Cucumber Makes: 2 x 500ml jars Prepare: 10 minutes, plus salting time 6 baby cucumbers, sliced, salted overnight and rinsed (optional) 24 Clarence Court quails eggs 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds 1 tbsp black peppercorns 1 tsp coriander seeds 1 onion, peeled and sliced 200 ml white wine vinegar 1 bunch dill 4 fresh bay leaves 1 teaspoon salt 1. Boil eggs for 4 minutes (until hardboiled). Cool and peel.

Meanwhile, place a medium frying pan on a low heat. Add the mustard seeds, peppercorns and coriander seeds. Toast for a couple of minutes then tip into a bowl. Add all of the pickling ingredients into a saucepan.

Bring the mixture to the boil and cook for 2-3 minutes. Allow to cool. Fill the sterilised jar with the cooled eggs and cucumber slices then pour over the cooled mixture and secure the lid.

Turmeric Cauliflower & Burford Browns Makes: 2 x 500ml jars Prepare: 10 minutes 1 tsp black mustard seeds 1 tsp yellow mustard seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 1 tsp coriander seeds 1 tsp black peppercorns 1 red chilli, sliced A handful fresh curry leaves 500ml cider vinegar 1 small piece of tumeric, peeled and sliced 2 teaspoons golden caster sugar 2 teaspoons salt Half a head of cauliflower, cut into florets, boiled for 1 minute and cooled in iced water 10-12 Clarence Court Burford Brown eggs 1. Boil eggs for around 8 minutes.

Cool and peel. Meanwhile, place a

Cook’s Tip All pickles need to be stored in a cool, dark place for 2-4 weeks before eating. Once open, keep in the refrigerator and consume within a week!

small frying pan on a medium heat; add the mustard seed, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and peppercorns.

Toast for a couple of minutes then tip into a bowl. Add all the pickling ingredients into a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes.

Allow the pickling liquid to cool at room temp. Place the eggs and cauliflower into a large sterilised jar. Once the mixture has cooled, pour over the pickling liquid and pop the lid on.

Beetroot Braddock White Duck Eggs Makes: 2 x 500ml jars Prepare: 10 minutes 200g vacuum packed beetroot in juice, sliced 1 tsp grated horseradish

1 red onion, peeled and sliced 1 tsp pink peppercorns 1 tsp black peppercorns 1 tsp fennel seeds 2 garlic cloves 300 ml cider vinegar 2 teaspoons salt 6 Braddock White duck eggs 1. Boil eggs for 10 minutes. Cool and peel. Meanwhile, place the prepared beetroot and it’s juice into a saucepan. Add the horseradish, onion, peppercorns, fennel seeds, garlic, cider vinegar and salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 4 minutes.

Allow the liquid to cool at room temperature. Place the eggs into the sterilised jar. Pour in the liquid, beetroot wedges, herbs and spices, then secure the lid.

Recipes courtesy of Clarence Court clarencecourt.co.uk/recipes

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RECIPES | EASTER ROAST

The Main

EVENT These sumptuous lamb dishes will give you plenty of inspiration for the ultimate Easter roast

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Pile the potatoes, peas and lamb onto plates and scatter with the remaining feta.

Cook’s Tip Add the lemon juice to the peas only at the last minute; otherwise it can dull their bright green colour.

Leg of Lamb With Redcurrant Jelly Glaze Makes: 4 Prepare: 20 minutes Cook: 1 hour 15 minutes 3 parsnips (about 300g), peeled and quartered 1 tbsp olive oil 4 charlotte potatoes (about 400g), cut into wedges 200g radishes, trimmed 1 garlic bulb, halved 5 rosemary sprigs 2 tbsp redcurrant jelly Boneless extra trimmed Welsh half leg of lamb (about 750g) 200ml fresh chicken stock

If you’re keeping your celebrations low-key this year, then this recipe provides you with all the flavours you associate with an Easter roast, without the hours spent in the kitchen.

Lamb Leg Steaks with Crushed Peas, Dill & Feta Serves: 4 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 30 400g small charlotte potatoes, halved 2 tbsp olive oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed ¼ lemon, zest and juice 4 lamb leg steaks 1 tbsp unsalted butter 1 echalion shallot, finely diced 400g frozen peas Handful shredded mint leaves 108 /

Handful chopped dill 50g feta, crumbled 1. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Simmer the potatoes for 1214 minutes until tender, drain and set aside. Meanwhile, mix the oil, garlic and lemon zest and rub all over the lamb steaks. Season.

2. Heat a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the lamb for 3-4 minutes on each side. Lift out and set aside covered with a sheet of foil.

Toss the potatoes into the hot frying pan and fry for 2 minutes, stirring, until just coloured; season and take off the heat. Set aside.

3. Meanwhile, in a small pan, heat the butter to foaming, add the shallot and a pinch of salt; sauté for 5 minutes until soft. Add the peas and 1 tbsp water and cook for 3-4 minutes until piping hot. Take off the heat, crush with a masher, stir in the herbs, most of the feta and the lemon juice.

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1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C/ Gas 4 . Put the parsnips in a large roasting tin and sprinkle over ½ tbsp oil. Season and roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and add the potatoes, radishes, garlic halves and rosemary sprigs to the tin. Toss together in the remaining ½ tbsp oil and season.

2. Warm the redcurrant jelly in the microwave and brush all over the lamb.

Season and sit the lamb on top of the veg, then pour in the stock. Roast for 1 hour, turning the veg halfway through.

Ensure the surface of the meat is thoroughly cooked and the juices run clear, then remove from the oven and squeeze the roasted garlic out into the roasting tin. Mix with the veg and roasting juices and transfer to a serving dish.

3. Slice the lamb and arrange on top of the vegetables, drizzling with the roasting juices. Serve with steamed green vegetables and more redcurrant jelly on the side, if liked.

Recipes courtesy of Waitrose & Partners waitrose.com/recipes

RECIPES | EASTER ROAST

Roast Leg of Hogget & Cipolle Onion Champ Serves: 8 Prepare: 45 minutes Cook: 1 hour 30 minutes 3 kg leg of Kentish hogget 40ml extra virgin olive oil 2 garlic bulbs 4 banana shallots 30g plain flour 500ml chicken stock A few sprigs of rosemary maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1.5kg Potatoes 1 bunch Cipolle (Tropea) Onions 150g Butter 1. Remove the hogget from the fridge one hour before cooking and allow it to come up to room temperature.

2. Prepare a roasting tin by halving the shallots lengthways and placing in the tin along with the whole bulbs of garlic to create a trivet. Place the hogget on top, rub with 20ml of olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Tuck

the rosemary sprigs into the strings and add 1 litre of cold water to the bottom of the tin. Cook the hogget uncovered for approximately 1 ¼ to 1 ½ hours.

3. Remove the hogget and shallots from the roasting tin, cover lightly with foil and rest for 45mins.

4. To make the gravy, add the flour to the roasting tin and mix well, scraping up all the tasty bits. Place on a low heat on the cooker top and slowly whisk until thickened.

5. For the champ, peel the potatoes, add to salted water and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until tender.

6. Meanwhile, prepare the Cipolle onions by removing the outer skin and discarding 2-3 cm off the end. Wash well in cold running water. Cut the onions so the bulb ends are the same length, about 10-12cm, (keeping the remaining green parts for the mash.)

Lay on a baking tray, drizzle with 20ml of the olive oil and season well. Roast in the oven for 10–15 minutes, adding the shallots from the roasting tin for the last 5 minutes to reheat. Slice the remaining onions thinly, add to a small saucepan

with the butter and sauté gently until softened.

7. Drain and mash the cooked potatoes and mix in the sliced onions and butter. Season the mash well with salt and pepper.

8. Carve the hogget and serve family style with the mash, plus crab apple jelly and glazed heritage carrots.

Recipe courtesy of Macknade macknade.com/shop

Pair with Aldick Estate Regent Wine, £15.50 from aldwickestate.co.uk

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7 SUGGESTIONS FOR

POTATO SIDE DISHES

Hold off on the mint and butter! This season’s sweet and nutty new potatoes are ready now - and far more versatile than you think

1

NEW POTATO SALAD WITH WILD GARLIC

Bring a pan of salted water to a boil. Cut 500g of new potatoes into bite-sized pieces and simmer for 15-20 minutes. Drain and cool. Cook 200g of trimmed green beans in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain and rinse in cold water.

Make wild garlic pesto: blend 100g of washed wild garlic leaves, 60g toasted pine nuts and 60g grated parmesan cheese. Slowly add around 100 ml of olive oil until desired consistency is achieved. Toss new potatoes, green beans and 150g of mozzarella cheese balls with pesto.

Season with salt and pepper.

2

EASY HASSELBACK POTATOES

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Take 4 large (or 8 medium potatoes) , place on their sides and make deep cuts into the potato at 3-4 mm

intervals, making sure not to cut all the way through the potato. Drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven. The potatoes should have fanned out. Baste with oil and drizzle with butter. Put back into the oven until crisp (between 20-30 minutes, based on the size of the potato).

3

NEW POTATO & CHICKPEA CURRY

Wash 500g new potatoes and slice in half. Heat oil in a large pan and add 1tsp fennel seeds, 1 cinnamon stick (broken into smaller pieces) and 4 cardamom pods. Cook for a couple of minutes, then add 1 small chopped onion.

Add 2 tbsp ginger-garlic paste, ½ tsp turmeric, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp chili powder and cook for another minute. Add potatoes, 1 x 400g tin of chickpeas (rinsed and drained) and 1 chopped red pepper. Add 1 ½ cups of water, 1 vegetable stock cube, 2 tbsp tomato puree and 1 tbsp lemon juice. Cover, bring to boil, then lower the heat to a simmer for 35 minutes.

Serve with rice and fresh coriander on top.

4

NEW POTATO, PUY LENTIL, SPINACH & HALLOUMI

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Cut 750g of firm new potatoes into bite sized pieces and place onto a large baking tray. Drizzle with oil, season with salt and pepper and cook for 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and mix in 250g of fresh spinach and 2 x 250g packets of ready-cooked puy lentils. Cook for a further 10 minutes. Cut a 250g block of halloumi cheese into 8 equal slices and place on top of the potatoes and lentils.

Place under a grill (on medium heat) until the halloumi is cooked, then serve.

5

NEW POTATO CHIPS

Preheat the oven to 190°C. Peel and chop 650g of new/baby potatoes into small sticks. Parboil for 5 minutes. Place a pan of oil in the oven for five minutes. Add potatoes to the pan, season with salt and make sure they are coated in oil. Place in the oven for 30 minutes, (removing after 15 minutes to give them a shake), or until crispy and golden brown. Serve with breaded fish or a homemade burger.

6

BBQ POTATO BOMBS

Take 8 medium-large potatoes and core lengthways using an apple corer. Cut a 1cm piece from each end of the potato core (to use as a plug). Fill the hole in each potato with a filling of your choice, such as blue cheese or leftover roast meat, then plug the end. Wrap each potato in 2 slices of streaky bacon, rub in olive oil and wrap tightly in foil. Cook on the BBQ or in a preheated oven at 180°C for 60 - 90 minutes until soft. Once cooked unwrap from foil, cut in half and serve with a dollop of crème fraiche and chopped chives.

7

ROASTED NEW POTATOES

Preheat the oven to 200°C. Melt 2tbsp of goose fat in a baking tray, then add 750g small, scrubbed new potatoes. Toss in the goose fat, add a sprinkle of salt, a sprig of rosemary and 3 smashed garlic cloves.

Cook for 30 minutes, turning once.

For more seasonal potato recipes visit seasonalspuds.com

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Golden Haloes of Loveliness

Available in: ASDA, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, Morrisons, COOP and Ocado*

Coming Soon ...

New Meat free and Gluten free filled Yorkshire puddings

www.realyorks.co.uk *selected products in selected stores

All the Trimmings Want to elevate your roast? We’ve sourced the best artisan condiments from around the UK. They’re the perfect addition to crispy potatoes and a joint of slowly roasted meat 1. Farrington Oil Mellow Yellow Rapeseed Oil, £4.70 for 500ml waitrose.com Here's a healthy, tasty and brilliantly versatile cooking oil from the UK’s original ‘seed to bottle’ producer of cold pressed rapeseed oil. It's ideal for making the crispiest roast potatoes and succulent joints of meat.

3. Rosebud Preserves Apple, Peach & Apricot Chutney, £3.95 for 198g rosebudpreserves.co.uk This piquant chutney is delicately spiced and naturally sweetened with fragrant peaches and zingy bramley apples. It tastes great with roast pork and crunchy crackling.

5. Sussex Valley American Deli Mustard £2.75 thecondimentco.co.uk This take on the American classic combines a kick of mustard with hints of sweetness. Soft and spreadable, it pairs nicely with a slice of honey-roast gammon.

2. The Condiment Co Horseradish Sauce, £2.75 for 200g thecondimentco.co.uk This creamy sauce has a spicy aftertaste!

It’s delicious mixed into mashed potato or for spicing up your Bloody Mary. And, of course, it's the perfect accompaniment to roast beef.

4. The Garlic Farm Garlic Jam with Red Chilli, £3.95 for 240g thegarlicfarm.co.uk This jam combines the unbeatable combination of garlic and red chili, with a hint of lemon and tomato. It’ll add a kick to a slice of rare roast beef, and can even be added to gravies to enhance the flavour.

6. TRUE Foods Poultry Gravy £2.75 for 250g booths.co.uk Looking for a chef-standard gravy?

This one is made from roasted bones, vegetables, filtered spring water and fresh herbs, and is ready to pour all over your roast chicken.

1 2 6 4

3 5

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ALL CONDIMENT CO MAYONNAISE IS MADE WITH FREE RANGE EGGS For 30 years our chefs have been lovingly preparing sauces and dressings to compliment and enhance the flavours of great food. As Ethel here will happily tell you, we use only the the finest ingredients because we want you to love our sauces every bit as much as we do.

www.thecondimentco.co.uk | @thecondimentco Condiment Co – 30 years of sauce heaven

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RECIPES | ONE POT

Fuss-Free Feasts These delicious, nourishing one-pot meals require minimal preparation for maximum flavour Chicken Sautéed With Tarragon & Spring Vegetables Serves: 4 Prepare: 5 minutes Cook: 30 minutes 50g unsalted butter 2 tbsp light olive oil 100g smoked lardons 3 bay leaves 8 skin-on bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed of excess skin 1 onion, peeled and finely diced 1 bunch of tarragon 3 garlic cloves, finely grated 1 tbsp plain flour 200ml dry white wine 200ml chicken stock 8 asparagus tips 1 gem lettuce 80g garden peas Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper Cooked rice, to serve 1. Melt the butter with the oil in a shallow pot over a medium heat.

Add the lardons and bay leaves to the pot, breaking up any lardons that may have got stuck together.

Now add the chicken thighs, skinside down, in a single layer. Cook for 9-10 minutes, over a medium heat, until golden brown. Do not be tempted to move the chicken around during this time; this has a tendency to create steam which prevents the all-important caramelisation and also causes them to stick to the base of the pot.

2. After 8 or 9 minutes, the thighs should release themselves quite naturally from the base of the pot but may need the full 10 minutes for the skin to be golden and the fat underneath completely rendered.

Once the skin is ready, flip the thighs over and cook on the second side for a minute or two. Transfer the chicken to a plate.

This rustic dish prepares crisp spring vegetables with succulent chicken thighs – pure heaven!

3. Reduce the heat slightly and add the onion and 4 tarragon stalks.

Cook for 5 minutes before adding the garlic and flour and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes. Now add the wine and stock, scraping any bits that may have stuck to the bottom of the pot, helping them dissolve in the liquid. Add a generous pinch of salt and some black pepper. Bring the contents of the pot back to simmering point and return the chicken to the pot, skin-side up, along with any juices that may have collected on the plate. Cook over a medium heat for 20 minutes ensuring the bubbles extend to the outside of the pot.

4. Meanwhile, trim the bases of the asparagus tips and roughly chop 1

tbsp tarragon leaves. Cut the gem lettuce into quarters, lengthways.

5. After 20 minutes the liquid in the pot will have reduced considerably.

Using a pair of tongs, transfer the chicken to a clean plate. Add the asparagus tips and lettuce quarters to the pot, cook for a couple of minutes before adding the peas and continue to cook for a further 2–3 minutes until the lettuce has wilted, the asparagus is al dente and the peas are cooked. Stir through the chopped tarragon.

Taste for seasoning and add a little more salt if necessary. Nestle the chicken pieces back among the sauce and vegetables. Serve with rice and of course the rest of the white wine!

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RECIPES | ONE POT

Beer, Bread & Vegetable Stew Serves: 4 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 45 minutes 25g unsalted butter 2 tbsp rapeseed or extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling 1 small leek, finely diced 2 medium carrots, cut into pieces 2 celery sticks cut into small pieces 3 garlic cloves, finely sliced 3 tbsp finely sliced sage A pinch of chilli flakes 2 bay leaves 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes 1.2 litres hot vegetable stock 330ml light ale 100g barley 120g shredded kale 1 x 400g can cannellini beans, drained 100g stale sourdough bread, torn roughly into pieces 120g strong Cheddar, grated Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 1. Melt the butter with the oil in your deep pot over a medium heat. Add the leek, carrot, celery, and garlic to the pot and cook for about 7 minutes until the leek has softened and the volume reduced.

2. Add 2 tbsp of the sage, plus the chilli flakes and bay leaves, and cook for a further minute. Add the chopped tomatoes, stock, ale, barley, a generous pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper.

Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time.

3. Add the kale and cook gently for another 10 minutes. The barley will now almost be cooked and the liquid thickened. Remove the bay leaves and discard. Add the drained cannellini beans, the bread and the remaining sage. Cook over a low heat for 10 more minutes until the bread has broken down and the sauce thickened further, turning a little creamy as the bread disintegrates.

4. Serve drizzled with more oil and sprinkle liberally with grated Cheddar and a grind of black pepper.

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“This slightly unusual hearty recipe is a British spin on the delicious, and super comforting, Tuscan dish, ribollita.

Traditionally the dish is a handy way to use up stale bread, cooked pulses and stray bits of vegetables lurking at the bottom of the fridge. I love this kind of dish with its unapologetically bold, brash rusticity and reassuring depth of flavour” – Alan Rosenthal www.greatbritishfoodawards.com

RECIPES | ONE POT

Spiced Pulled Lamb Shoulder Wraps With Apple & Radish Salad Serves: 4 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 4 hours For the lamb: 2 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp paprika ½ tsp garam masala ¼ tsp chilli powder 3 garlic cloves, finely grated 1½ tbsp vegetable oil 1 onion, peeled and cut into 8 wedges ½ shoulder of lamb, trimmed of excess fat 350ml dry apple cider 2 tbsp chopped parsley Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

foil to keep warm. Tip the pot to one side slightly and, using a large spoon, carefully remove some of the fat sitting on top of the juices in the pot. Now pop the pot on the hob and bring to a simmer. Cook for 3–5 minutes until the liquid has largely reduced, mashing the onions with a wooden spoon as you go. Once ready, turn off the heat.

5. Using two forks, pull the lamb apart on the chopping board and then transfer it back to the cooking pot, mixing the juices gently through the meat. Top with the chopped parsley. Place on the table with the chillies, yogurt, fresh herbs, lettuce and wraps and tuck in!

“Everyone loves helping themselves to an array of ingredients to create their own flatbreads or wraps; it’s collaborative, communal, fun and a great way to eat!”

Recipes taken from Foolproof One Pot Spreads: 60 Simple and Satisfying Recipes

by Alan Rosenthal (Quadrille, £15), Photography © Rita Platts

For the salad: 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and cut into matchsticks 125g radishes, finely sliced Juice of 1 lemon 2 tbsp chopped mint 2 spring onions (scallions), trimmed and finely sliced To serve: Pickled green chillies Plain yogurt Fresh mint and dill 2 gem lettuces, leaves separated 8 flatbreads or wraps 1. Preheat the oven to 160°C/Gas 6. First, prepare the lamb. Add the spices and garlic to a small bowl with the oil. Add 1½ tsp salt and a good grind of black pepper and mix well.

2. Lay the onion wedges at the base of your deep pot. Place the lamb on top and pour over the marinade.

Rub it all over the lamb. Pour in the cider and then pop the pot in the oven, covered, for 4 hours, turning the lamb twice during this time.

3. Half an hour before the meat is ready, prepare the salad. Simply toss all the ingredients together with a pinch or two of salt.

4. Once the lamb has been cooking for 4 hours, remove from the oven and, using a large fork, transfer the meat to a carving board. Cover with

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RECIPES | SHARING FOOD

Light and Easy These delicious savoury bites are perfect for sharing with family and friends Crispy Calamari Serves: 4 Prepare: 20 minutes Cook: 15 minutes 4 whole large squid with tentacles 300ml sunflower oil, for frying 1 lemon, zested 100g plain flour Pinch of flaked sea salt Grind of black pepper 1 lemon, cut into wedges 1. To prepare the squid, first remove the tentacles by pulling them away from the body. Set aside. The head and the ink sac should come out relatively easily when pulled, along with the clear quill that is inside. It looks like a long piece of plastic. The flaps, or wings as they are also known, now need to be removed along with the purple skin. Peel it all off, and then rinse the entire squid under cold running water.

2. Pat your prepared squid dry with kitchen paper. Slice the tubes horizontally into rings. Pour approximately 3cm of sunflower oil into a large deep frying pan and place on a medium heat.

3. Place the squid rings and tentacles on a large plate. Sprinkle over the lemon zest then squeeze over most of the juice. Mix well.

4. Place the flour into a bowl with a good pinch of salt and pepper, then add the squid and toss to coat. Do this in a few batches until all your squid is coated.

5. Once the oil is hot enough, in

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batches, using a slotted spoon, carefully lower the squid into the hot oil and fry for 3 to 4 minutes, or until golden and crisp on the outside and cooked through.

Transfer to a plate lined with plenty of kitchen paper to absorb the oil. Repeat the process with the rest of the coated squid. Serve with wedges of lemon and aioli.

Ham & Melon Balls Serves: 4 Prepare: 5 minutes 10 thin slices of Serrano ham 1 melon, such as cantaloupe 1. Cut the slices of Serrano ham in half lengthways, then fold each piece up loosely in a concertina.

2. Make sure the melon is cold from the fridge, then halve and deseed it. Using a melon baller, scoop out 20 balls from the melon flesh.

3. Pop a concertina of Serrano ham on top of each melon ball and secure with a toothpick down the middle, which will make the melon balls easier to pick up and eat.

Courgette & Feta Fritters Serves: 4 Prepare: 20 minutes Cook: 5 minutes 500g courgette, coarsely grated 1 tsp flaked sea salt 1 small red onion, finely sliced 2 cloves of garlic, peeled and grated

1 lemon, zested 20g parmesan block, grated 20g fresh mint, leaves chopped 1 red bird’s eye chilli, finely chopped 60g self-raising flour 2 eggs, lightly beaten Grind of black pepper 150g feta, broken into 1-2cm chunks 300ml sunflower oil, for frying 1 lemon, cut into wedges 1. Place the grated courgette into a colander and sprinkle over the salt. Set aside for 10 minutes, then squeeze to remove most of the liquid.

2. Transfer the prepared courgette to a large bowl and add the onion, garlic, lemon zest, Parmesan, mint, chilli,

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RECIPES | SHARING FOOD

flour, eggs and black pepper. Mix well to form a uniform batter, then fold in the feta cheese.

3. Pour approximately 3cm of sunflower oil into a large deep frying pan and place on a medium heat.

4. Once the oil is hot enough, carefully drop two heaped tablespoons of the mixture into the pan, spacing them well apart.

Use the spoons to squeeze each spoonful together first, to help remove any excess liquid and form an oval shape. Cook for 5 minutes, turning once halfway through, until golden and crisp on both sides.

Transfer to a plate lined with plenty of kitchen paper to absorb the oil.

Repeat the process until all your mixture is used up.

5. If your oil starts to get too full of little bits that have broken off the fritters, these will burn so stop frying, carefully remove all of these with a slotted spoon, and then continue.

6. Serve the courgette and feta fritters with lemon wedges to squeeze over. I like these served with tomato chutney and crème fraîche.

Spinach & Feta Fritters Serves: 4 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 25 minutes

6 eggs, beaten 4 tbsp cream Fresh dill, roughly chopped Pinch of flaked sea salt Grind of black pepper 1 tbsp sunflower oil ½ red onion, peeled and sliced Large handful of baby spinach 100g feta, cut into 1cm cubes 1 lemon, cut into wedges 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. In a bowl, mix the beaten eggs with the cream, dill, salt and pepper and set aside. Next, add the oil to a medium ovenproof frying pan, place it over a medium heat, then add the onion and cook for 3 minutes until starting to soften.

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RECIPES | SHARING FOOD

Pinch of flaked sea salt Grind of black pepper For the BBQ sauce: 55g coconut sugar 50ml soy sauce 300ml tomato ketchup Pinch of flaked sea salt Grind of black pepper For the spice rub: 1 tsp Himalayan salt 1 tsp ground coriander 1 tbsp onion powder 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp ground cumin ½ tsp cayenne pepper Grind of black pepper ¼ tsp dried chilli flakes ¼ tsp dried parsley 2 tbsp coconut sugar

2. Add the spinach to the pan and stir until it starts to wilt, then add the feta cubes. Pour your egg mixture over the ingredients in the pan and gently stir everything together so it is all well distributed. Allow the frittata to cook on the hob for 1 minute until you see the edges start to firm up.

3. Place it into the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until just set in the centre.

4. Remove the pan from the oven and leave to cool for a few minutes.

Using gloves on the hot handle, turn it upside down to transfer the frittata onto a board or alternatively serve it straight from the pan. Cut into wedges, season again and then serve, 122 /

or leave the frittata to cool and refrigerate until needed.

Chicken Wings Three Ways Serves: 4 Prepare: 10 minutes, plus marinating Cook: 30 minutes For the ginger and honey marinade: 1 small red bird’s eye chilli, finely chopped 1 clove of garlic, peeled and grated 2cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated 4 tbsp runny honey 3 tbsp soy sauce 1 tsp sesame oil

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1. Choose which type of chicken wings you’d like to make: BBQ, ginger and honey or spicy. If you want ginger and honey wings then mix all the ingredients together in a shallow bowl. Or, place the ingredients for the spicy wings in a pestle and mortar and grind to a powder. Finally, if you choose to make the BBQ wings then put the coconut sugar, soy sauce and tomato ketchup into a small saucepan over a medium heat and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for a few minutes to combine the flavours and ensure the sugar has dissolved.

2. Rub your marinade into the chicken wings to coat them well.

Leave for a minimum of 1 hour to marinate; the longer the better, so leave them in the fridge overnight if you are well prepared.

3. To cook the wings, preheat the oven to 180°C. Place your marinated wings on a baking tray. Place the prepared chicken wings into the centre of the oven to cook for 30 to 35 minutes until browned and sticky or crispy, depending on the flavouring.If they are large wings, they may still look pale, so just put them back in until they get darker.

4. Once you think the wings are done, make a slit with a sharp knife to check that the juices run clear, so you know they are ready to serve.

RECIPES | SHARING FOOD

“Sticky sauce, crispy skin and succulent meat – what could be tastier?” www.greatbritishfoodawards.com

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GBF PROMOTION

British FOOD HEROES

Island Spirits We spoke to Stuart and Adelle Brown, the husband and wife duo behind Deerness Distillery – the first distillery to be built on the island of Orkney in 130 years Stuart and Adelle unforgettable, just like the Orkneys! With an island suffused with history – from the neolithic period to viking culture and the World Wars – and a rich fishing and farming heritage, there is so much inspiration to choose from!

What made you decide to build a distillery on Orkney?

Spontaneous, self-sufficient, and with a little spirit thrown in for good measure – that’s us, Stuart and Adelle Brown, founders of Deerness Distillery!

We moved to Orkney from Australia, in search of adventure and a more familyfriendly way of life. Stuart’s work in Australia meant that he was away for long periods at a time; we returned to the UK to spend more time together as a family. Adelle got a job with NHS Orkney, and we purchased a property in Deerness in 2014.

So, how did a chartered engineer and a pharmacist end up designing and building a distillery in Orkney? Spirit-making had been a hobby previously, but it became a passion, and then a business idea. We designed and constructed the distillery ourselves, with the assistance of family, friends and neighbours.

Construction started in September 2016 and was complete in February 2017. During construction we spent a lot of time researching botanicals; how each would complement each other and affect the overall taste of the finished product.

Take us through the process of producing a bottle of gin?

Producing a bottle of multi-award-winning gin comes from years of experience experimenting with botanicals and understanding food and taste combinations. The spirits are distilled by hand and to enable this within the building are three traditional Portuguese handmade copper alembic stills – each have been named! There’s Walt the 5 litre test still, Zing the 30 litre vodka still and Matilda the 300 litre gin still!

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What tipples do you produce, and which are your favourites?

Walt is used to distill small quantities of new recipes for taste and evaluation. Matilda is used solely for the distilling of gin, a process that takes around a week. The botanicals are added to grain spirit over a 24 hour period before a 12 hour hand-controlled distillation process, where we have to keep a close eye on the temperature and output of the spirit.

We cut both our gin and vodkas with purified Orcadian water, produced by a reverse osmosis system designed and built

by Stuart; it enhances the smooth finish to the spirits. We then manually bottle and hand-label the spirits, and then the final product is packaged for delivery.

In what ways are you inspired by the island environment?

The Orkney Islands’ life never stops inspiring you; driving and walking around the island is amazing, with stunning scenery, nature and traditions around every corner. We have used that inspiration in our bottle designs, their names and their flavours. Our gins are fresh, clean and

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We produce three gins (Sea Glass Gin, Scuttled Gin and Vara Gin), one vodka (Into the Wild Vodka) and one coffee liqueur (Orcadian Moon Coffee Liqueur). It is very hard to pick a favourite as it depends on the mood and the season. Spring and summer is G&T and vodka time, whereas winter is coffee liqueur with espresso martinis or spiced hot coffee liqueur.

What’s next for Deerness Distillery?

The distillery is growing with plans to start a new whisky range using grains grown by our local farmers and malted in-house at the distillery. We have a new cask room to be built onsite and a new visitors’ area, shop, tasting room and takeaway stand. We have plans for a few more liqueurs, some bespoke gins using home grown botanicals and some alcohol-free tipples. www.deernessdistillery.com

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DRINKS SHOPPING

Get in the Spirit for spring With the arrival of the warmer weather, you’ll be looking for zingy, refreshing drinks. Here’s our top picks for your alcohol cabinet 1. Mermaid Gin, £40 for 70cl from Tesco or isleofwightdistillery.com Distilled from a mix of 10 botanicals, including locally-sourced elderflower and rock samphire, known locally as ‘mermaid’s kiss’. This smooth gin combines notes of lemon, pepper and a hint of salty sea air.

2. Summer gin, £35 for 70cl rosemulliondistillery.com A fresh gin with a citrus kick, infused with Cornish elements to provide a refreshing yet warming gin – perfect for summer evenings. As a lighter gin, it works well with a Fevertree Mediterranean Tonic and berry garnish.

3. Orkney Akvavit, £38 for 70cl orkneygincompany.com Orkney Akvavit is a Scandinavian-style botanical spirit, distilled eight times for a smooth and fresh taste. It fills the palate with caraway and herbaceous notes. The spirit also bagged a three-star Great British Taste Award last year. Try it with tonic or ginger ale.

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DRINKS SHOPPING

4. Long Shot Grapefruit Hard Seltzer 12 x 250ml £28.50 longshotdrinks.co.uk These hard seltzers are light, refreshing and all-natural. Fresh grapefruit juice combines perfectly with sparkling water and a dash of alcohol, bringing a light and clean spritz for your taste-buds.

7. Campfire Gin Old Tom, £34 for 50cl puddingstonedistillery.co.uk A gin that emulates the spicier, sweeter profile of Old Tom gins. Distilled and compounded processes deliver a bolder flavour and a hint of colour. Gin of the Year in the Old Tom category at Craft Distillers 2019.

5. Low Alcohol PULP Rosé Cider, 12 x 500ml £26.99 pulp-cider.co.uk This delicious craft cider is made from 100% Herefordshire apples. Refreshing on the palate, the gentle sparkle explodes with fresh and fruity notes of real cider.

8. Cuckoo Sunshine Gin, £36 for 70cl booths.co.uk Laced with natural honey produced

by Lancashire honeybees, and infused with mouth-watering raspberries, Cuckoo Sunshine Gin is a wonderfully sweet and springlike spirit. Notes of almond and vanilla give a creamy, nutty and sweet taste, whilst angelica, orris, cinnamon and orange keep it nice and traditional.

6. Chatsworth Gin, £39 chatsworthgin.uk A collaboration between Peak Ales and Chatsworth, this newly-launched gin is distilled with selected botanicals from the Chatsworth garden and greenhouse, including lemons, lemongrass and lemon verbena, to produce a crisp citrus character which is complemented by the herbal notes of banana leaf.

to garnish a cocktail with the freshest, just-cut fragrance of oranges. Can also be purchased as part of a multipack alongside lime and lemon elements sprays.

10. Vára Orkney Craft Pink Gin, £38 for 70cl deernessdistillery.com Vára means ‘become spring’ in Old Norse and each sip of Vára gin takes you back to the springtime. The gin is juniper-led with rosemary, citrus and cardamom undertones building to a stunning sweet pink rose finish.

11. Orbit Cork Tray, £20 loveliga.co.uk This gorgeous cocktail tray is made of sustainable cork, with a design inspired by the planets

9. Cocktail Elements: 01 Orange 20ml, £12.00 lindenleaf.co.uk Cocktail Elements are sustainable, high quality garnish sprays for cocktails. Add one spray

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Drunken Berries, a fun and fabulously fruity trio of Prosecco Mixers made with fruit purees and a drop of spirit for extra spice.

Always up for a bit of fun, add a little to every glass of Prosecco to get the party started, it also adds a little extra to sorbets or cheesecake, especially when dining in for two.

For a perky Prosecco just fill a champagne flute ¾ with Prosecco and add a splash of Drunken Berries to taste – stir slowly, Lovely Bubbly!

Find this little treasure online on www.drunkenberries.com

www.drunkenberries.com T: 0845 120 6282

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DrunkenBerries

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drunken_berries

RECIPES | DRINKS

SPRING

Fizz We're raising the glass to welcome in the spring with two recipes designed by Ryan Chetiyawardana, (a.k.a. Mr Lyan) ‘International Bartender of the Year’

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RECIPES | DRINKS

Sunshine Negroni Serves:1 Prepare: 2 minutes 25ml citrus-forward gin, such as Gordon’s Sicilian Lemon Gin 25ml Aperol 25ml Dolin Bianco 10ml orange juice 35ml grapefruit soda 5ml grenadine

“The white rose is a symbol of the UK county of Yorkshire, and, whilst any classic gin would work here, one from Yorkshire (such as Masons Yorkshire Gin, Cooper King Gin and Whittaker’s Gin) is especially fitting”

To garnish: Orange slices 1. Add the gin, Aperol, vermouth and orange juice to an ice-filled highball glass and gently stir. Top up with chilled grapefruit soda and slowly pour the grenadine down the inside of the glass.

2. Garnish with orange slices to serve.

Recipes taken from Negroni by David T. Smith & Keli Rivers, published by Ryland Peters & Small (£7.99) Photography

by Alex Luck © Ryland Peters & Small

Cook’s Tip: Any grapefruit soda can be used here, even something like Lilt, but for the optimal visual effect it’s best to use a white grapefruit soda such as Ting or San Pellegrino over a ruby or red grapefruit variety.

White Rose Serves: 1 Prepare: 5 minutes 25ml Whittaker’s London Dry Gin 25ml white port 25ml dry vermouth 3 dashes orange bitters To garnish: Citrus rose (see method) 1. To make a ‘citrus rose’ peel a long strip of lemon peel with a vegetable peeler and then roll into a circle, securing with a cocktail stick. Set aside.

2. Add the ingredients to an ice-filled mixing glass and stir vigorously. Strain into a chilled cocktail glass and garnish with the citrus rose to serve.

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RECIPES | DRINKS

Ryan Chetiyawardana’s Spring Drinks “Highballs and spritzes are ideal for Springtime – I call them garden drinks! They’e bright, long and not too boozy, which makes them ideal for catching up with friends, and whiling away the time. Although a simple G&T is great in this setting, something that builds a golden zestiness is even more fitting. Porter’s Orchard Gin has all the botanical brightness requisite of a proper gin, but adds in a golden orchard note” – Mr Lyan www.greatbritishfoodawards.com

Orchard Spritz Serves: 1 Prepare: 1 minute 35ml Porter’s Orchard Gin 15ml Lillet Blanc 50ml Fever Tree soda water 50ml Fever Tree tonic water 2 large sprigs lemon thyme 1. Fill a wine glass with large cubes of ice, stir, then add the gin, lillet and one of the sprigs of thyme.

2. Add more ice, then add the soda and tonic, stir briefly, then add the second sprig of thyme. Now it’s ready to drink!

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RECIPES | DRINKS

“A simple homemade lemonade is a perfect match to a summer’s day, but whilst the greener shoots are pushing through, and there’s a lighter feeling in the air, something with a greener note as a non-alcoholic option is great to have on hand” – Mr Lyan Garden Fizz Makes: 1 Prepare: 2 minutes, plus cooling 30ml Seedlip Garden 100ml cold brewed white tea 5ml elderflower cordial 2 mint sprigs 1. Brew 100ml white tea and leave to cool.

2. Add the seedlip and the cordial to a small highball and stir over cubed ice. Add more ice, then top with the chilled tea, and garnish with the two sprigs of mint.

MR LYAN’S TIPS FOR SPRING MIXOLOGY Spring brings about a bounty of produce that lends itself equally to bright cocktails as it does your dishes. The season itself carries a great feeling of new growth that encourages being outside, socialising and zippiness, which is an ideal practical feeling that your cocktails can help with. As spirits (alcoholic and not!) are great ways of capturing and preserving flavour, these can be an ideal crux to bring a spring step to what you serve.

With your drinks, play to the mood and the setting you want to create. This includes flavours, but also practical serving guidelines. Keeping it simple, prepping ahead, and using your favourite flavours and combinations will aid massively in all your food and drink needs. Ice is one of the ingredients that’s often overlooked (you’ll need way more than you think you do), and as always, the best ingredients make life much easier for yourself, so freeze your own, and crack into a tray or tupperware in the freezer. Keeping spirits, mixers and glassware cold will also help lots!

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RECIPES | CHICKEN

The Nation’s Favourite

FAKEAWAYS Three lockdowns and counting have seen the rise of the ‘fakeaway’; street food or takeaway-style dishes cooked at home. Carl Clarke – founder of pop-up restaurant Disco Bistro and Saturday Kitchen regular – shares his top chicken recipes for a delicious Friday-night treat

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“A pizza stone works best for this, or cook the pizza directly on the oven rack at the highest temperature possible. When making the BBQ sauce, you can omit the pigs’ trotter and marrow for a more straight-up version, if you prefer”

The Original Disco Bistro Fred Chicken Sandwich

Recipes taken from The Whole Chicken by Carl Clarke (Hardie Grant, £22) Photographs © Robert Billington

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Serves: 4 Prepare: 20 minutes, plus marinating time Cook: 25 minutes 4 boneless chicken thighs, skin on About 2 litres (70 fl oz/8 cups) vegetable oil, for deep-frying 2 very ripe avocados Juice of 2 limes 1 tbsp chopped coriander Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 8 slices of dry-cured streaky bacon 4 brioche or soft white potato bread rolls, toasted Melted butter, for brushing 100g hot sauce 4 American cheese slices 2 tbsps Pink Pickled Onions 2 tbsps Japanese Kewpie mayonnaise

For the buttermilk brine: 500ml buttermilk 1 tsp salt ¼ tsp MSG (optional) For the wet batter: 1 large egg 12ml milk For the flour coating: 60g plain flour 75g rice flour or dried rice, ground to a fine powder in a spice mill 30g cornflour 1 tsp salt ¼ teaspoon coarse ground black pepper 1. To make the buttermilk brine, whisk all the ingredients together in a shallow bowl. Add the chicken thighs, cover with cling film and leave in the refrigerator for 12-24 hours.

2. The next day, to make the wet batter, whisk the egg and milk

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together in a bowl until combined.

Set aside. For the flour coating, blend all the ingredients together in a medium bowl with a whisk.

3. Remove the chicken thighs from the brine and shake off the excess buttermilk. Lightly dip the thighs into the flour mix, then submerge them in the wet batter. Dredge them back into the flour and work in with your hands to give some texture almost like cornflakes.

4. Heat the oil for deep-frying in a deep-fryer or a large, deep saucepan to 140°C, or until a cube of bread dropped in sizzles in 40 seconds.

Deep-fry the chicken in pairs for 7 minutes, then remove and set aside.

Increase the temperature of the oil to 180°C, or until a cube of bread dropped in sizzles in 30 seconds.

Deep-fry the chicken again for 3-4 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Remove and drain on paper towels.

5. To build the sandwiches, cut the avocados in half and scoop the flesh out into a bowl. Add the lime juice, coriander, season with salt and pepper and mix together. Preheat the grill to medium. Grill the bacon to your liking. Cut the bread rolls in half and brush each half with melted butter, then toast under the grill or face down in a hot dry frying pan for 2 minutes. Spread some of the avocado mix onto the base of each roll and top with a fried chicken thigh.

Spoon over some of the hot sauce (be generous), top with a cheese slice and 2 slices of bacon each. Add some pickled onions on top. Spread a little of the mayonnaise on the lid of the bread roll and close the sandwich.

It’s messy, but a killer sandwich.

RECIPES | CHICKEN

BBQ Chicken Pizza Makes: 4 Prepare: 20 minutes, plus proofing time Cook: 2 hours 15 minutes 7g fast-action dried yeast 350ml warm water 1 tbsp honey 360g ‘00’ flour, plus extra for dusting 1 tbsp Maldon sea salt 2 tbsps olive oil, plus extra for oiling For the BBQ sauce: 60g marrow bone piece, split down the middle (optional) 1 small pigs’ trotter (foot), split down the middle (optional) 250ml tomato ketchup 4 tbsps French’s American mustard 1½ tbsps cider vinegar 2 tbsps Worcestershire sauce 1 tsp Tabasco sauce 100ml apple juice 4 tbsps treacle 100 ml chicken stock 3 tbsps smoke powder (optional) For the pizza topping: 150g cooked shredded chicken 1tbsp rapeseed oil ½ red onion, thinly sliced Handful of grated mozzarella Handful of grated fontina 2 tbsps grated parmesan Salt and coarse black pepper 1. First, make the BBQ sauce. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Roast the marrow bones and trotter in a roasting pan for 30 minutes until golden, then tip into a pot and add the rest of the liquids. Bring to a simmer, then leave to bubble gently over a low heat for 2–3 hours until thickened.

Strain through a fine sieve (strainer) into a bowl and discard the bones. Stir in the smoke powder. Allow to cool, then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator until ready to use.

2. To make the pizza dough, dissolve the yeast in the water in a small bowl, then add the honey and stir until cloudy. Combine the flour and salt together in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, then add yeast and honey water with the oil and mix for 5–7 minutes to form a dough. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead by hand for another 4-5 minutes. Transfer

the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave in a warm place for 30 minutes to 1 hour.

3. Divide the dough into 4 equal balls, then loosely cover again with cling film and leave to prove on a baking tray (pan) for another 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, to make the pizza topping, season the shredded chicken with salt and pepper and set aside. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and fry the onion for 5 minutes until translucent but with some charred edges. Remove from the heat and set aside.

5. Preheat the oven to the highest temperature, with a pizza stone or baking tray in the oven. Shape the dough balls into bases on a floured surface, then, working quickly, place on the stone or tray. Brush the base with some of the BBQ sauce, then sprinkle over the chicken mix and grated cheeses. Bake for 5–8 minutes until crispy. Repeat with the rest of the dough and topping, serving as you go.

Chicken Strips with Queso Fondue

1. Beat the eggs in a bowl, add the flour to a second bowl and add the panko breadcrumbs to a third bowl.

Dip the chicken strips first into the flour, shaking off excess, then dip into the egg and finally dip into the breadcrumbs until coated on all sides.

Place in the refrigerator to set.

2. Place all the cheeses and cornflour in a bowl and toss to coat. Melt the butter in a large saucepan or small pot over a medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook slowly for 3 minutes, or until the onion is translucent but not browned. Add the diced tomatoes, evaporated milk and cheese mixture.

Stir, then add the chillies, onion powder and cumin. Stir for 3–4 minutes until the cheese melts and it becomes a silky sauce. Add salt to taste, then stir in the milk or water to adjust the consistency.

The dip thickens when it cools, and liquid can be added later to adjust to taste.

3. For the chicken, heat the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the chicken, in batches if necessary, and fry for 3-4 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve the chicken with the dip and dip away. If there are any leftovers, eat with corn chips.

Serves: 4 Prepare: 15 minutes Cook: 20 minutes 4 boneless chicken breasts, each cut into 4 equal strips 6 eggs 400g plain all-purpose flour 300g panko breadcrumbs 2 tbsps rapeseed oil, for frying For the fondue: 100g strong Cheddar, cubed 100g Red Leicester, cubed 5 American cheese slices 1 tbsp cornflour 8g butter 2 large garlic cloves, very finely chopped ½ small white onion, very finely chopped 2 tomatoes, deseeded and finely diced 375g evaporated milk 5 jalapeño chillies from a jar, deseeded and finely diced ¼ tsp onion powder ¼ tsp ground cumin 2-3 tbsps full-fat (whole) milk or water, more if needed Salt, to taste

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C O L U M N | R E S TA U R A N T

From Plot to Plate at The Small Holding

By Will Devlin There's a sense of healing and regeneration that comes with the spring, as chef and owner of The Smallholding, Will Devlin, can affirm

D

igging my fingers into warm, crumbly soil and seeing, no, feeling, so much life was one of the defining acts that kept me going during 2020 and lockdown. In such a tumultuous year that was fatal and catastrophic for many, that handful of soil, with its potential to feed not only me and my family, but also the ground on which my restaurant, business and livelihood is built on, is both grounding and humbling.

As green shoots start to emerge, both literally and metaphorically, it’s a powerful reminder that nature does heal, and we must all remember to nurture the soil that feeds us.

As we staggered blinking into the New Year, the start of the growing season was already underway at The Small Holding.

We had renewed energy and focus and were thrilled to have been awarded a Michelin Green Star in January for

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sustainable gastronomy with a focus on environmental practices. This new award from Michelin recognises restaurants who work directly with growers, farmers and fishermen, forage in hedgerows and woodlands and grow their own vegetables and rear animals. It couldn’t have come at a better time for myself and the team, to gear us up for opening up again.

There is much excitement when the seed packets arrive. With relatively limited space we maximise every inch of soil with succession, underplanting and companion planting. We also grow vertically as much as we can to extend the season and also produce the greatest yield.

Flavour is always king, but we balance so many factors and are constantly learning, questioning and tweaking. We make as many mistakes as we have successes.

This year we are expanding the pumpkin area with a climbing variety called Pumpkin ‘Jill be Little’ over the fence which separates the restaurant from the farm area. This mini pumpkin will love the location and will clamber up the new

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bamboo framework and sprawl its way onto the fence. Pumpkins are so versatile for savoury and sweet dishes and juiced for kombucha and vinegars and ferments, pickles and chutneys.

Next, I’m excited about the new pea patch. Emma, our head gardener, has repurposed some contorted hazel stems she coppiced. Gently twisting the ends of the stems together has created a hazel

SEASONAL INSPIRATION Will shares his favourite Kent and Sussex suppliers and treats you won't want to miss EATING: Paley Farm is an 800-acre mixed livestock farm near Cranbrook, Kent in the High Weald Area of Outstanding Beauty. They farm using regenerative practices with a sustainable mentality. Their grass-fed Tomahawk sharing steaks have been on our lockdown make at home menus and their chicken and lamb is some of the best I’ve tasted. paleyfarm.co.uk DRINKING: The new PN20 from Tillingham Wines, a biodynamic vineyard about 20 minutes away from The Small Holding, is an exciting new release and something we have been waiting to try all year. Ben Walgate’s wines are so interesting, and this wine is softly pétillant in style and is a fruit bomb of wild strawberry and peach cobbler. tillingham.com FORAGING: There are greens shoots everywhere in the woods with the first wild garlic shoots and nettles making an appearance. Wear gloves and just pick the bright green tips which are so versatile for pesto style dips, soups, gnocchi, and pastas.

garlic, elderflower, hawthorn and garlic mustard. We are blessed with so many habitats near The Small Holding which are a haven for wild food, the woods and Ashdown Forest for bilberries, cobnuts and wild mushrooms and the coast for seaweeds, sea buckthorn and samphire.

Will’s Nettle Pesto Makes: 1 jar Prepare: 10 minutes 125g walnuts 65g grated cheddar 5g sea salt 35g wild garlic vinegar (or use apple cider vinegar) 150g vegetable oil 75g rapeseed oil 300g young nettle leaves 2 cloves garlic

1. Wearing gloves or using long tongs, blanch the nettle leaves in boiling water for one minute and then immediately refresh in ice water. The boiling will remove the sting. Squeeze all the water out of the nettles and chop finely.

2. In a pestle and mortar, or a small food processor if you prefer, crush the garlic with salt to a paste. Add the walnuts and continue bashing and then add the chopped nettles.

Stir in the oils and vinegar and add the grated cheese at the end for texture. Check the seasoning, it may need a little more vinegar or a squeeze of lemon juice.

Images: Food Story Media and Clare Winfield

growing tunnel for the early season peas ‘Twinkle’. The structure will not only provide a structure for the pea tendrils to cling to and grow taller but offers the tender new growth protection from birds. Plus, it provides a beautiful natural structure in the garden – recycling at its best! These peas will be one of the first things our diners will eat in May – straight from the plant and on to the plate, still in its pod.

Lockdown has given us all a renewed appreciation of the healing powers of nature. Foraging for wild food is one of my favourite things to do and is a simple and effective way to reconnect with nature. Early Spring is a great time to start foraging and the best place to begin is literally on your doorstep. Dandelions and nettles are easily identifiable and are delicious and nutritious.

Even the most inexperienced forager will be surprised at how many types of wild food they can name and identify; you’re bound to find nettles, wild

About The Small Holding The Small Holding is a kitchen and farm in one acre of land on a country lane in Kilndown on the Kent and East Sussex borders. The 26-cover restaurant has daily changing Full and Half Acre tasting menus, using homereared and home-grown ingredients from the farm, which is less than 10 feet from the kitchen. In January 2021 the restaurant was awarded a Green Michelin Star. thesmallholding.restaurant

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RECIPES | MIDWEEK SUPPERS

Cook the SEASONS Make the most of the UK’s spring produce with these easy yet delicious recipes, perfect for midweek suppers

Whole Broccoli Pesto & Pasta Serves: 4 Prepare: 10 minutes Cook: 2 minutes 250g broccoli 40g almonds or cashews 2 garlic cloves 10g flat leaf parsley 50g parmesan, grated ½ lemon, zest and juice 1 tsp salt ½ tsp black pepper 125ml olive oil 400-500g fresh tagliatelle 1. Wash broccoli well and chop the florets and stems into pieces.

Blanch for 2 minutes in a saucepan of salted boiling water. Drain and run under cold water, then set aside.

2. Place almonds or cashews, garlic cloves, flat-leaf parsley, grated parmesan, the zest and juice of the lemon, salt and black pepper in a food processor. Add the broccoli and blitz to a chunky pesto. Drizzle in the olive oil and blitz again.

3. Boil the fresh tagliatelle according to packet instructions (this shouldn’t take longer than a couple of minutes), then drain. Stir the pesto through hot pasta with lots of olive oil and more parmesan.

Any leftover pesto will keep in a jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.

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RECIPES | MIDWEEK SUPPERS

Ideas for using up leftover pesto PESTO PINWHEELS Spread pesto over a sheet of puff pastry, and scatter toasted pine nuts on top for extra crunch. Roll up and cut into 1cm thick slices. Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 180ºC until golden.

TOMATO, MOZZARELLA AND PESTO SALAD Arrange slices of heritage tomatoes and soft mozzarella on the plate. Season with salt and pepper, alongside torn basil leaves. Add two teaspoons of pesto to one teaspoon of olive oil to make a dressing, and drizzle it over the salad. Delicious served with toasted sourdough.

PESTO-CRUSTED FISH Mix 3 tablespoons of pesto with the zest of a lemon, a tablespoon of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of olives. Place two fillets of white fish (such as hake, haddock and pollock) on a lined baking sheet.

Smear each with a crust of pesto breadcrumbs and bake for around 10 minutes, until the breadcrumbs turn golden.

Serve with steamed seasonal vegetables and crushed new potatoes (which can also be tossed in the pesto).

Potato Pizza with Garlic, Rosemary & Sausage Makes: 2 pizzas Prepare: 25 minutes, plus proving time Cook: 15 minutes 275ml milk, plus extra for brushing 7g instant dried yeast 2 eggs 1 tsp salt 45g caster sugar 60g unsalted butter, at room temperature 500g bread flour, plus extra for dusting Canola or vegetable oil, for greasing 4 pork sausages 3 potatoes 60ml olive oil 2-3 garlic cloves Salt Chopped rosemary Ricotta salata or other cheese Rocket leaves 1. Using a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, mix the milk, yeast, eggs, salt, sugar, butter and flour on low until the ingredients are combined.

Turn the mixer to a medium speed and mix until you see a dough beginning to form. Use a pastry scraper to scrape any mixture left on the side of the bowl during the mixing process. Depending on your mixer, you may need to finish the dough

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by hand as it becomes thicker or hold onto the mixer in the final stages.

2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured workbench and knead with your hands until it comes together into a smooth ball. Grease a stainless steel or ceramic bowl with oil and add the dough.

Cover with a lid or beeswax wrap and leave in a warm place for an hour to rise (or put in the fridge for an overnight rise).

3. Remove the skins from the sausages and put the sausagement into a bowl.

Stir in 2 tsps flour (to prevent a sticky consistency) and then roll into small balls. Place them in a hot pan and fry until sealed on each side. It doesn’t matter if the sausage balls aren’t cooked through, as they’ll be going back in the oven.

4. Preheat the oven to 200°C/ Gas mark 6. Boil 2 whole potatoes in their skins until just tender. Take out the dough, roll out two 30cm pizza bases and set aside.

5. In a small bowl, mix 60 ml olive oil with 2–3 minced garlic cloves and ½ teaspoon salt. Brush the garlicky oil generously over each pizza base. Add thin slices of cooked potato and divide lightly browned tiny sausage meatballs between the pizzas. Sprinkle the pizzas with a little chopped rosemary and shavings of ricotta salata or your favourite cheese.

6. Bake for 15 minutes and serve with a few rocket leaves scattered over the top.

RECIPES | MIDWEEK SUPPERS

Alternative Pizza Toppings THE VEGGIE OPTION Fried garlic mushrooms, goat’s cheese and caramelised onions THE CLASSIC OPTION Make a simple tomato base by frying 2 cloves of minced garlic in olive oil, adding one tin chopped tomatoes, 2 tsps dried oregano, ½ tsp caster sugar and reducing down. Add salt and pepper to season. Spread cooled sauce over pizza bases and top with sliced mozzarella and (once cooked) torn basil leaves.

THE SEAFOOD OPTION Crème fraîche, shredded mozzarella, garlic oil, raw prawns (they’ll cook in the oven). Once cooked top with slices of smoked salmon and chopped fresh dill.

Rhubarb & Ricotta Tea Cake Serves: 6-8 Prepare: 15 minutes Cook: 50 minutes 150g plain flour ½ tsp baking powder 45g desiccated coconut 125g unsalted butter 150g caster sugar Zest of 1 lemon, plus 2 tsps lemon juice 2 eggs 185g ricotta 125ml whole milk 125-150g rhubarb, trimmed and sliced into small pieces 1. Preheat the oven to 170°C/Gas Mark 3. Line a 21 cm round cake tin

with baking paper.

2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and coconut in a large bowl and set aside. In a stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

3. Turn the mixer to low speed and mix in the ricotta, then add the flour mixture in three goes until just combined. With the mixer still running drizzle in the milk and lemon juice. Turn off the mixer and fold in the rhubarb, then pour into the prepared cake tin.

4. Bake for 50 minutes or until lightly golden on top and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. The cake will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Recipes taken from Use It All by Alex Elliott-Howery and Jaimee Edwards (£18.99, Murdoch Books). Photography

by Cath Muscat

FLAVOUR VARIATIONS You can vary the fruit used in this recipe according to the seasons, and you can also use any type of citrus zest and juice.

We recommend trying pear & orange (with ½ a tsp of cardamom powder added to the mix) in autumn, and raspberry & lime in the summer.

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COLUMN | BUTCHERY

The Ethical Butcher

With Sushila Moles Sushila Moles, founder of The New Meat Project, shows us how to eat 'less but better' by using meat as a seasoning

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t The New Meat Project, the online butchery service I started during the first lockdown in 2020, we work with small farms in the Malvern HIlls who rear native breed animals in the traditional way, with plenty of space and natural diets. They are 100% freerange and grass-fed and slow-grown to the highest welfare standard. It does cost a bit more to produce meat in this way but the taste is superior and it’s respectful of the animals, the farmer and of the environment.

Better meat will cost a few pounds

more, but with some savvy a whole chicken or piece of pork can last for many meals, with the fat saved and bones used for stock. When buying better meat, one way of mitigating the cost and making the meat stretch further is to think of it as a seasoning.

It’s a really handy mind-trick as you start to look at meat as a new ingredient that you can use in a completely different way.

Look at any of the great cuisines of the world and you will find meat being used sparingly and often as a seasoning adding flavour to a dish. From Italian

pastas and pizza to South East Asian soups to the Latin American staple of black beans, a little bit of pork fat or a sprinkling of mince makes the assembly of ingredients sing.

Spaghetti Bolognese is a meat-based sauce but when you eat it in Italy the pasta is the star and the meat is sparingly distributed to coat the pasta — it's quite unlike the British version.

Many European soups and pulse dishes will use a little pancetta, guanciale or serrano or the ham hock bones to add extra flavour but not take centre-stage.

In fact, if we look at pre-1950s cooking

ABOUT THE NEW MEAT PROJECT The New Meat Project is founded by Sushila Moles. Having gained a Masters in Food Anthropology and worked in food related businesses all of her life, Sushila has first-hand experience that farming is a force for good in society.

Her working life has taken her from Michelin-starred restaurant, Rhodes 24 as head waiter to La Fromagerie in Marylebone, where she could indulge her love of cheese and to River Cottage, where she played a lead role in promoting one of the country’s best known sustainable and ethics-driven businesses. Sushila is also co-owner of Cabrito — the multi award-winning goat meat business run by her partner James Whetlor — that has been at the forefront of changing the UK goat dairy practice of euthanising unwanted male kids and rearing them for meat instead.

These experiences combined have convinced her of the importance of high welfare, low impact meat in our food system, both for our own health, the health of our communities and for the health of the planet. thenewmeatproject.com

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COLUMN | BUTCHERY

anywhere in the world, meat will be used sparingly most of the time.

A favourite of mine that uses only a little meat is lahmacun (pronounced lah-ma-joun) or ‘Turkish pizza’.

There's some debate on the origin of lahmacun with Turkey, Armenia, Lebanon and Syria all making a claim but there’s no debate on how delicious it is.

I first came across these beauties when I lived in Finsbury Park in London 15 years ago. They are however, easy to make at home using, preferably homemade but if not then ready-made, pizza bases or flatbreads. Top a thin round of dough with a few tablespoons of lamb, beef or goat mince that’s been fried with aleppo chilli, cumin and cinnamon and bake in a hot oven for 8 minutes.

After cooking, pile on chopped fresh salad and parsley, a squeeze of lemon juice and maybe some pomegranate molasses. Children love lahmacun as everything can go on the table and they can add their toppings. I like to drizzle mine with garlic or seasoned yoghurt and hot chilli sauce, roll up and devour.

Goat Lahmacun Serves: 4 Prepare: 20 minutes Cook: 8 minutes For the dough: 500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting 1 tsp fast-action dried yeast 1 tsp salt A little olive oil For the topping: 1 onion, chopped 2 small tomatoes, chopped 1 small red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp tomato paste 1 tsp dried chilli flakes (preferably Turkish) 1 tsp ground cumin Pinch of ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon salt 250g minced goat (lamb or beef is fine here too) To serve: 1 lemon, cut into wedges large bunch of parsley, leaves only 4 large ripe tomatoes, thinly sliced Yoghurt seasoned with flaky salt and minced garlic (optional) Hot sauce (optional) 1. For the dough, put the flour, yeast and salt in a big mixing bowl and mix in 300ml of water with a spoon. Mix well to combine completely, place a damp cloth over the bowl and leave for an hour or so until almost doubled in size.

2. Put all the topping ingredients apart from the minced meat into a food processor or blender and blend to a coarse paste. Don’t make it too smooth. Add to the minced meat in a bowl, mix well and set aside.

3. When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to its maximum setting, with a pizza stone or baking tray inside to preheat.

4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it gently with lightly oiled hands for 1 minute.

Cut the dough into 4 pieces and shape each into a ball. On a wellfloured surface, roll each dough ball

into an oval; try to get it as thin as possible without tearing.

5. Carefully remove the pizza stone or baking tray from the oven and place on a heat proof surface. Lay a dough oval on the stone or tray and spread a quarter of the topping evenly over the dough. Bake for 6-8 minutes until the dough is crisp and the topping is cooked, then repeat with the remaining dough and topping. Serve immediately with the lemon wedges, parsley and tomatoes.

Recipe from Goat: Cooking and Eating

by James Whetlor (Quadrille, £20)

COOK'S TIP If you prefer, make smaller Lahmacun and roll the dough into 8 balls. The smaller ‘pizzas’ are easier to handle if you don't have a pizza paddle. Lahmacun freeze well. Cook a batch in advance, allow to cool, layer up (with a sheet of greaseproof, foil or clingfilm between each one to prevent sticking together), wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.

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ON THE COVER

RECIPE OF THE MONTH!

On the cover

This light yet moist almond sponge pairs perfectly with tangy rhubarb compote Almond Sponge with Roasted Rhubarb Compote Serves: 12 Prepare: 15 minutes Cook: 45 - 55 minutes For the cake: 125g plain flour 35g cup almond flour 4 tbsp ground almonds 2 tsp baking powder ½ tsp salt 120g unsalted butter, softened 200g caster sugar 1 tbsp lemon zest, finely grated 3 large eggs ½ tsp vanilla extract ½ tsp almond extract 300g ricotta For the rhubarb compote: 2 rhubarb stalks, trimmed and sliced 2 tbsp lemon juice 120g caster sugar 1 vanilla pod, split in half with seeds scraped out To serve: 60g flaked almonds 1-2 tbsp icing sugar 250g plain or Greek yoghurt 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/ Fan 160°C/Gas 4. Grease and line the base of a 20cm cake tin with parchment paper.

2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, almond flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt until well blended.

3. In a separate mixing bowl, cream 146 /

together the butter, sugar, and lemon zest with an electric mixer until pale and creamy, about 3 minutes. Beat the eggs into the creamed butter, one by one, followed by both extracts.Fold in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the ricotta, until a mostly smooth batter comes together; don't overmix it.

4. Spoon and scrape the batter into the prepared cake tin; gently rap the tin on a flat surface to help settle the batter. Bake until risen and golden on top, 45-55 minutes; when ready, it should be pulling away from the edges and a toothpick should come out virtually clean from the centre.

5. For the rhubarb compote: As the cake bakes, toss the rhubarb with the lemon juice in a roasting tray. Roast alongside

the cake until tender to the tip of a knife, about 30 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, combine the sugar with 4 tbsp water in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, gently swirling the mixture a few times, until the sugar dissolves and forms a clear syrup; bring to a simmer.

Add the vanilla pod and seeds; simmer for 2 minutes. Set off the heat to infuse.

7. Remove the rhubarb from the oven when ready. Transfer to the vanilla syrup, letting it steep until ready to serve.

8. When ready, remove the cake from the oven and set the tin on a wire rack to cool completely.

9. To serve, turn out the cake onto a cake platter or stand. Top with the rhubarb compote and flaked almonds.

Dust with icing sugar and serve with Greek yoghurt on the side.

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F E AT U R E | T R AV E L

THE ARMCHAIR

TRAVELLER It’s safe to say that none of us have been getting out much over the past 12 month. These are the five UK destinations we’re dreaming of visiting once the country opens up again — and we can’t wait!

FERRY-HOP ACROSS THE INNER HEBRIDES These remote Scottish Islands might not be top of everyone’s bucket list, but we love the craggy volcanic outcrops, white sand beaches and the misty vistas of sea and sky. But ‘isolated’ doesn’t mean ‘primitive’; the small Isle of Eigg is renowned for its forward thinking eco-credentials, generating all of its own energy. It’s home to writers, musicians and even houses its own record label. Try some craft beer from the Isle of Eigg Brewery or visit Laegorna restaurant for a sumptuous dinner cooked with the freshest, locallysourced ingredients.

The Isle of Skye is the largest of the Inner Hebrides, 50 miles of towering sea cliffs and mountains and heathercovered moors. Many people visit for the spectacular views, and climbing, hiking and wildlife spotting are popular pastimes (the island is home to red deer, puffins and sea eagles). The food scene is excellent too; cosy Loch Bay was awarded a Michelin star in 2018, while bustling Creelers serves delectable French-inspired seafood dishes.

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F E AT U R E | T R AV E L

FEAST YOUR SENSES IN LONDON Having spent most of the year in inglorious isolation, many of us are longing for the hustle and bustle of a city again. And where better than London? It's bursting at the seams with diverse neighbourhoods, a huge range of art galleries, and literally thousands of amazing places to eat!

We’ll be heading straight to Asma Khan’s Darjeeling Express, which pays homage to the food of India, from mughlai biryanis to South Indian chaat.

These feasts are lovingly prepared by an all-women team of housewives, who aim to add some home-cooked passion to your plate. We’ll also be heading to London’s iconic Borough Market in search of the best British produce, from hand-dived scallops to artisan bread and cheese.

EMBRACE YOUR INNER GOTH IN WHITBY This Yorkshire seaside town is suffused with tales of ghosts and witches. It was first founded as a monastic community by St Hilda in the 7th century, and the atmospheric ruined abbey was the setting for Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel.

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It was also the birthplace of famous explorer Captain James Cook. You can delve deeper into the town’s legacy at the fascinating Whitby Museum or the Captain Cook Memorial Museum.

Stay in gothic La Rosa hotel (a frequent holiday spot of Lewis Caroll) and make sure you go for a drink at eclectic Rusty Shears, a bistro with over 150 gins on offer.

We also recommend the recently opened Star Inn The Harbour, which was recently awarded a Michelin Plate for its Yorkshire-inspired menu.

F E AT U R E | T R AV E L

EXPLORE THE PICTURESQUE COVES OF DORSET While Devon and Cornwall are popular holiday destinations, but neighbouring Dorset gets much less airtime (aside from the ever-popular Durdle Door beach). A quieter alternative is the Isle of Purbeck, a narrow peninsula of sheer chalk cliffs, hidden coves and undulating green hills. It’s the ideal spot for a coastal walk, and will give you an appetite for The Pig on the Beach, which only serves food sourced from a 25-mile radius.

The county also has an abundance of picturesque villages to visit, including the hilltop Saxon settlement of Shaftesbury. The town boasts a crop of restaurants — Coppleridge Inn elevates pub classics and has a delightful outdoor terrace for al fresco dining.

GO OFF-GRID IN SNOWDONIA NATIONAL PARK Can’t make it to the alps this year? Why not visit Wales’ most famous national park, which offers some of the most dramatic mountain scenery in Britain. Many people visit purely to climb Mount Snowdon — which can also be ascended by railway — but there are plenty of other less crowded summits, from the lunarlike Glyder Peaks to the remote, rugged Rhinogydd area.

Snowdonia has some of the best ‘glamping’ options in the country. Woody’s Glamping offers accommodation in bell tents complete with outdoor hot tubs, and offers extras such as massages, foraging classes and wine tasting. Stay in an isolated shepherd’s hut at Snowdonia Glamping Holidays, and relax in the wood-fired sauna after a long day of walking.

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ROYAL CRESCENT HOTEL

4 8 H O U R S AT …

The Welbeck Estate, Nottinghamshire A foodie staycation steeped in history – and flavour!

W O R D S: K AY L E I G H R AT T L E

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ottinghamshire’s Welbeck estate is fast becoming a must-visit destination for foodies. It has a bakery, brewery, café, awardwinning farm shop and the much-revered School of Artisan Food onsite (and raw milk blue cheese Stichelton made on the estate too), as well as being home to the historic Welbeck Abbey.

EAT, DRINK, SLEEP, REPEAT When it comes to accommodation, there’s the choice of staying on the estate itself at The Winnings – two converted holiday cottages just a stone’s throw from the farm shop, café and galleries – or in the newly converted holiday barns, situated across the road in the quiet and scenic village of Holbeck, which forms part of the Welbeck rural estate. The converted farm barns are light, spacious, comfortable and tastefully furnished – whilst still retaining original 150 /

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barn features – and offer five different living arrangements (2, 3 and 4 bedrooms) depending on your party’s size. We stayed in the three-bed Marquesa, which boasts a south-facing garden, patio and barbecue, for when the weather allows.

To kick-start your foodie stay, we suggest ordering a couple of breakfast hampers from the Welbeck Farm Shop – there’s a ‘Full English’ or ‘Continental’ to choose from – filled with local goodies such as sourdough and patisseries made on the estate, plus local eggs, dairy and more.

On top of being spacious and comfortable, and just the place to recuperate after a busy day of eating and exploring, the barns are brilliantly situated too; a number of footpaths lead to the Welbeck estate, which is just a short walk away, while the Creswell Crags prehistoric gorge and museum (creswell-crags.org.uk) is also easily accessible by foot.

HONE YOUR SKILLS As well as offering intensive sixmonth courses and advanced diplomas, The School of Artisan Food (schoolofartisanfood.org) has a full programme of artisan food courses

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available, ranging from bread and sourdough making to butchery, patisserie and more. There’s a wide range of courses to suit the duration of your visit, from half day courses to more extended offerings such as the five-day advanced bread baking course.

SAMPLE LOCAL FARE Located at the entrance to the estate, the award-winning Welbeck Farm Shop (welbeckfarmshop.co.uk), which opened in 2006, sells all manner of produce sourced from the 15,000 acre Welbeck estate including vegetables, dairy and meat, as well as wares from the estate’s resident food producers, such as the bakery and brewery. Look out for the ‘Made in Welbeck’ range, where you’ll find everything from Stichelton cheese to artisan breads and handcrafted ales.

There’s also an award-winning butchery counter, stocking traditionally-reared meat and game from the estate or local farms. Plus, don’t miss the fresh raw milk, from the estate’s pedigree Holstein Friesian cows, which is delivered fresh to

the farm shop each day.

To fully enjoy the fresh, seasonal produce of the Welbeck estate and Farm Shop, breakfast, lunch or afternoon coffee and cake at The Harley Cafe, (welbeckfarmshop.co.uk/harley-cafe), which shares the same courtyard as the farm shop, is a must. Here, ingredients from the Welbeck estate are married with the fresh, local flavours and spun into exciting, modern and vibrant homemade dishes and sharing plates; think melt-in-

the mouth French toast made with Welbeck Bakehouse fruit loaf and homemade lemon curd or Welbeck rarebit with Montgomery’s cheddar and Welbeck Abbey Brewery Portland Black ale. While we’d recommend eating in – the front-of-house service from Darren and his team is as warming and welcoming as the food itself – the formidable yet delicious scones are an ideal takeaway option if you’re planning a ramble in the nearby Peaks.

EXPLORE THE SITE, AND BEYOND Whether it’s The Harley Gallery, which showcases a range of contemporary art, or The Portland Collection Museum, exhibiting historic artefacts from the estate, there’s plenty to explore during your stay.

Conveniently, the estate also happens to be located on the edge of Sherwood Forest and the Peak District, providing the perfect base (and place to buy sustenance!) for a day spent hiking and rambling. If you’d prefer to head to the shops, Nottingham city centre is 30 miles away.

Find out more more at welbeck.co.uk/ experience/stay

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Enter at: greatbritishfoodawards.com/competitions

The Ultimate Staycation

GIVEAWAY This year you could win a luxury break in the Lake District to celebrate the end of lockdown

WIN A TWO NIGHT STAY FOR TWO WORTH £800+ AT ARMATHWAITE HALL HOTEL, THE LAKE DISTRICT Armathwaite Hall is set in glorious isolation amid 400 acres of deer park and woodland, bordered by the glassy waters of Bassenthwaite Lake and framed by dramatic Skiddaw Mountain. The hotel itself is as romantic as the countryside that surrounds it, a masterclass in period design and contemporary luxury. It’s the perfect place to celebrate in style, or enjoy a romantic staycation.

Connoisseurs of fine cuisine will love indulging at the two-rosette-awarded Lake View Restaurant, where the chef takes full advantage of a wealth of Cumbrian produce to create a delicious seasonal menu. The hotel also offers a sumptuous afternoon tea menu and boasts a decadent, stylish cocktail bar where you can enjoy pre-dinner drinks.

Another jewel in the crown is The

Spa at Armathwaite Hall, which is set over two floors and features a 16-metre infinity edge pool, thermal suite, treatment rooms and even an outdoor hot tub with views of the surrounding woodland.

A whole host of activities are available across the estate, including a trip to the adjacent wildlife park to meet the resident alpacas, forest bathing, archery and kayaking. You’ll be spoilt for choice!

TERMS & CONDITIONS: The stay can be booked from Sunday to Thursday (excluding bank holidays), subject to availability. It can be redeemed up until 3rd June 2022.

THE PRIZE: ONE LUCKY READER HAS THE CHANCE TO WIN: • Two nights’ accommodation for two sharing • A gourmet three course dinner each evening • A full English breakfast each morning • One 55 minute treatment per person in the hotel’s award winning spa

For more information and to browse the location, visit prideofbritainhotels.com or call 0800 089 3929 152 /

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The Great British

GIVEAWAY! We’re giving one lucky reader (and a plus one) the chance to win an amazing getaway to Dorset

WIN A TWO NIGHT STAY FOR TWO

WORTH £900 AT THE EASTBURY, DORSET The award-winning Eastbury Hotel & Spa is a Georgian townhouse located in the market town of Sherborne, and surrounded by the Dorset countryside. It marries upmarket luxury with a warm, welcoming atmosphere that will help you relax and rejuvenate.

The Eastbury has recently opened five unique Victorian Garden Potting Shed suites, located in its beautiful walled garden. While on the outside they resemble a traditional potting shed — albeit with eco-friendly green roofs — they also boast a luxurious interior with an ensuite and a private terrace. And what’s more, the rooms are dog friendly!

Foodies will love dining at the hotel’s Seasons Restaurant. As the name suggests, menus reflect the changing seasons, with Executive Chef Matthew Street creating traditional dishes with innovative twists. The restaurant even offers an outdoor glass pod, furnished with soft blankets

and ambient lighting, perfect for exclusive dining.

The hotel prides itself on being a ‘home away from home’ and there are plenty of ways you can relax onsite. Play a board game in one of the hotel’s lounges, or visit the cocktail lounge for pre-dinner drinks. The awardwinning walled garden is a tranquil haven, boasting a lawn where you can play croquet, badminton or even giant chess. There’s also an exclusive spa and wellness space, which boasts a sauna & steam cabin and an outdoor hot tub in a private garden. It’s the perfect place for a staycation after a long and difficult year!

Terms & Conditions: Prize must be redeemed by 03.06.22. Non-transferable and exchangeable, travel expenses not included.

Bookings are subject to availability (blackout dates apply).

THE PRIZE: One lucky reader has the chance to win: • Two nights’ accommodation (for two sharing) in a luxury Victorian Garden Potting Shed Suite • A two-course dinner per person • A generous full English breakfast each morning • One 25-minute spa treatment per person and one hour exclusive use of spa facilities (including a jacuzzi, steam room and sauna)

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15% off Le Creuset FOR LIMITED TIME

info@abraxascookshop.com

FAMILY BUSINESS

www.abraxascookshop.com

CELEBRATING

01327-341080 10.00am – 5.00pm daily

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24 YEARS

KIT GUIDE | GBF PROMOTION

YOUR KITCHEN REFRESH Cook up tasty spring dishes with these handy kitchen gadgets

REWARD THE STAR BAKER IN YOUR LIFE Give home bakers a treat and bring a smile to their face with sustainable FSC® certified beech wood kitchen boards and utensils. Each item is laser engraved with ‘Star Baker’, making it the perfect gift for friends and family that have become bakers during lockdown. The Star Baker range is priced from £2.75 (for the T&G 250mm Spoon in FSC® Certified Beech) to £16.99 for its medium cook’s board. tg-woodware.com

STYLISH STEELWARE Harts of Stur’s Stoven Professional Induction Stainless Steel 5 Piece Cookware Set is the perfect combination of style and performance, offering professional quality cookware at a very reasonable price. Includes a 14cm non-stick milk pan, 16cm, 18cm and 20cm saucepans with lids and a 24cm non-stick frying pan. Suitable for all hob types including induction, this cookware set has a beautiful satin and mirror-polished finish and is covered by a Stoven lifetime guarantee (5 year guarantee on non-stick coating). £199, hartsofstur.com

THE HEAT IS ON The British-made SuperFast Thermapen® thermometer is a favourite kitchen essential of many celebrity chefs and professional cooks. It takes the guesswork out of cooking, reaching your desired temperature in three seconds. Ideal for the home chef or keen BBQ enthusiast, it gives you the answer to the all-important question: ‘is it cooked?’ Say goodbye to undercooked meat and achieve cooking perfection every time with a Thermapen. Priced from £51.60 including vat. thermapen.co.uk

TAKE IT EASY WITH MAGIMIX

STAY SHARP Love your favourite knife but tired of it being so blunt? I.O.Shen has the quick and easy solution which will restore your knives in no time! The KE198 Knife Wizard electric sharpener uses two lifetime guaranteed stones to grind a profile and hone your blades to box-new sharpness. We love it – so will you! £89.95, from ioshen.co.uk

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The Magimix 4200xl Food Processor is a true workhorse and offers a multifunctional solution to all your cooking needs. It performs tasks with ease so you can chop, blend, slice, grate, whisk and knead. Every machine comes with 3 bowls (mini, midi and main) so you go from one job to the next with minimal washing up. abraxascookshop.com

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A very hard 18-month farmhouse cheese which has a distinct nuttiness in flavour and made with vegetarian rennet.

Sunshine in a jar!

www.lyburnfarm.co.uk/shop 01794 399982

rootsandwingsorganic.com

The Pie Mill

WILDMAN BRITISH CHARCUTERIE

SALUMI

BASED ON THE FARM IN THE YORKSHIRE DALES, OUR RANGE OF BRITISH CHARCUTERIE & SALUMI INCLUDES EVERYTHING FROM TRADITIONAL YORKSHIRE DRY CURED BACONS TO THE ORIGINAL YORKSHIRE CHORIZO. FIFTH GENERATION YORKSHIRE BUTCHERS PRODUCING FARMHOUSE SAUSAGES FROM OUR OWN FAMILY RECIPES, SALAMIS, SAUCISSON, GUANCIALE, PANCETTA, COPPA, BRESAOLA, PASTRAMI & BILTONG. MONTHLY PORK BUTCHERY, SALUMI & CHARCUTERIE COURSES.

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We are a small family run business who still make all our own pastry, stocks and mixtures and hand fill and crimp our pies, we use local ingredients wherever possible.

All our pies are named after the Cumbrian fells. Everything is made on site at our bakery, so your orders leave here and come straight to your door!

www.piemill.co.uk | 01768 779994

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GBF PROMOTION

RULE BRITANNIA Check out the latest British products to hit the shelves this spring

HIVE & KEEPER Want to enjoy tasting different raw British honeys from a range of small scale beekeepers each month?A Hive & Keeper subscription could be just the ticket. “It's uncommon to get the chance to taste such distinctive honeys - all delicious," says customer Joanna L. "I love it when my honey subsription arrives; it's always beautifully packed with the beekeepers’ details included. From £11.95 (incl P&P), hiveandkeeper.com

NEW BRITISH OAT MILK There's a new British oat drink in town, this time from dairy-alternative specialists Planted which you enjoy on cereal, in tea or coffee, or in dairy-free shakes! Made in the UK with British oats, supporting British farmers and producers, Planted Oat is both refreshing and versatile, with added calcium, vitamin D and B12. It has great green credentials too: the cartons are renewable, recyclable and sustainable, with 2p from each carton sold being donated to the Woodland Trust. £1.59, visit planteduk.com for a list of stockists.

GARAFALO On World Pasta Day last year we asked GBF readers “what is your favourite pasta shape?” Penne (tubes) came in top, second was Fusilli (spirals), with Farfalle (bows/ butterflies) third, in 4th place was Shells. Most would think of Conchiglie as the Italian name for shell pasta, but a less well-known shell pasta is Gnocchi Sardi. A small shell shaped pasta with deep ridges in the middle perfect for absorbing sauces. Garofalo Gnocchi Sardi is available as Durum Wheat Pasta (£2.99) and there is a Gluten Free Pasta version too (£3.99). Buy online at ocado.com and amazon.co.uk

DRUNKEN BERRIES This deliciously fruity mixer can be used to pimp up your prosecco, mix in a cocktail or drizzle over puddings. Why not try adding a splash to your gravy for a fruity kick? It’s perfect with everything from cheesecake and ice cream to a breakfast smoothie. Choose from Rasberry & Gin, Blackberry & Brandy or Summer Berries & Rum flavours. You’ll find it in the spirit aisle at Tesco or buy online at drunkenberries.com

STAG BAKERIES Stag Bakeries has been producing its signature Stornoway Water Biscuits for many years and its Seaweed Water Biscuits were Named Best Scottish Speciality Product in 2013. Pairing Stag’s classic recipe with a blend of three seaweeds to provide a truly unique flavour. A great option for canapés, the flavour of these water biscuits offers a great platform for fantastic snacking combinations. £2.80, stagbakeries.co.uk, where you'll also find a list of stockists.

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GBF PROMOTION

FIDDLERS LANCASHIRE CRISPS Fiddler’s Farm prides itself on making original Lancashire Crisps – using potatoes grown on its family farm, hand cooked in its own kitchens and enhanced with the traditional flavours of Lancashire. Dig in and treat yourself today. Available from farm shops, delis and booths.co.uk

ROOTS & WINGS Artisan producer Roots & Wings has developed a divine Tantalisingly Tangy Seville Orange Marmalade, using sun-ripened Seville oranges grown from family orchards and picked by hand.

The marmalade is cooked by hand in small batches in traditional, copper pans to preserve the integrity and flavour of the oranges so it's perfectly tangy and there's a lovely zesty hit from the fine peel. From £3.25 for 340g from ocado.com, further stockist information at rootsandwingsorganic.com

TIPSY WIGHT Tipsy Wight Times Five "Taste of the Hedgerow" is a multiaward winning collection of some of Tipsy Wight's incredible vodka liqueurs, themed around the fruits and flavours of the English hedgerow. Tipsy Wight make some of the finest vodka liqueurs, using the natural ingredients available on their family farm on the Isle of Wight. £28.50 from tipsywight.com

TRUG MAKERS These handmade Sussex Trugs are a fashionable kitchen accessory frequently featured by TV chefs as a kitchen storage receptacle for eggs, herbs and fruit.

There are five sizes to accommodate your particular use; the most popular for kitchen use, No.6, is just £40.70 +P&P. Trugs are signed, stamped and boxed and usually sent the next day with DPD couriers. The perfect gift for your favourite chef. Call 01323 440452 or visit trugmakers.co.uk for more information or to order.

THE KNIFE SHARPENER GUY The Knife Sharpener Guy's unique AnySharp knife sharpener can be used to extend the life of almost any knife. It works on virtually any type, including expensive hardened steel knives and even serrated blades (like bread knives and hunting knives), making it unlike any other sharpener.

It’s now sold in an exciting new range of colours, from copper to terracotta. £30 theknifesharpenerguy. co.uk or call 07910944826

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COUNTRY PRODUCTS Grown in the UK, Carlin peas (these are the Minerva variety) are traditionally eaten on the Sunday before Palm Sunday, something particularly common in the North East. Depending on the area of the country they can be served as a festive dish, a Lent dish, an everyday dish or pub snack. They are sold dry and then soaked overnight before being boiled and served with vinegar.

Sometimes they are fried in butter after being rehydrated. £1.89, countryproducts.co.uk

RAVE COFFEE Smashing the myth that decaf has to mean lower quality and insipid sipping, Rave Coffee’s new range of naturally decaffeinated beans deliver bags of flavour without the buzz. Rave’s Swiss Water Decaf uses water and a caffeine-deprived coffee extract (GCE), together with temperature control and osmosis, to remove 99.9% of the caffeine, boasting a zero chemical approach and leaving all of the flavour intact. £7.25 per 250g, ravecoffee.co.uk

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PRESERVING FRUIT & MINDS Please shop online for our range of hand crafted award winning chutneys, jams, marmalade, jellies and sauce. For every jar sale, 10p is donated to Mind UK

Email: hello@matthewspreserved.co.uk or give us a call at 07413 430169

matthews-preserves.co.uk

Introducing our delicious Muesli Range...

The Natural Choice

❁ A Premium Muesli range using simple, natural grains, nuts and fruits. ❁ Six exciting variants providing traditional to the more adventurous options. ❁ Unique Muesli recipes, each packed with goodness and a balance of flavours. ❁ Impactful contemporary, recyclable packaging, reflecting natural ingredients.

www.countryproducts.co.uk Country Products Ltd, Unit 6, Centre Park. Marston Business Park. Tockwith. North Yorkshire. YO26 7QF www.greatbritishfoodawards.com

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LAST WORDS | CARL CLARKE

IN THE KITCHEN WITH…

Carl Clarke Loves

Author of The Whole Chicken, chef on Saturday Kitchen and pop-up restaurateur, shares his foodie loves and hates

Hates

CHOCOLATE

VEGAN CHEESE

“I love chocolate. I especially love the smell of a chocolate wrapper or an empty chocolate box — it’s really luxurious and takes me back to my childhood. One of my favourite British chocolate brands is Tony’s chocolonely; it’s high-quality chocolate, the branding is fun and the message is purposeful.”

It’s rubbish. Nothing like cheese at all — everything you love about cheese isn’t there. If you want to eat cheese, go ahead, but if you’re vegan I would say vegan cheese isn’t worth it.”

CAULIFLOWER “The only way I can bear it is in cauliflower cheese, or with white truffles; that makes it quite luxurious.

But alone, it just doesn’t do it for me. I can eat it, but I simply don’t enjoy it.”

ICE CREAM “There’s nothing better than a decent ice cream. There are some great gelato companies in the UK, such as Hackney Gelato. My favourite Hackney Gelato flavour has to be salted caramel — delicious!”

TINNED PEAS “I was practically force-fed these as a kid. Now thanks to that childhood trauma I just can’t look at them. They make me want to vomit. The tinned smell stays with them all the way through cooking and onto the plate. I absolutely love fresh, seasonal peas and sugar snaps — I’m very grateful not to eat them tinned any more.”

LAN ZHOU NOODLES “I love Chinese soup noodles. They’re comforting and nourishing, and the mouthfeel is great. I especially like the hand-pulled noodles that originally came from the city of Lan Zhou, where chefs stretch the dough into strands. I’m launching a new brand, Future Noodles, soon, so I’ve become pretty obsessed with noodles.”

FAUX PASTA “I’m referring to pasta made with things like lentil and quinoa here. I get the whole “white carbs are bad” thing, but I think if you’re going to eat something you need to enjoy it. I don’t eat pasta much but when I do I like to buy the best; velvety, luxurious and with a great chew. With faux pasta you just don’t get any of that — it really doesn’t do it for me.”

FRIED CHICKEN “This is chicken in its purest form, and I love it. It’s a food that moves across so many different cultures, countries and classes. It’s a go-to dish for many people, whether they’re happy, sad or tired (and even drunk).”

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