DRINK Wine, Pumpkin & Spice

SMALL AND LOCAL – THE WAY FORWARD!

By Khrishma Preston, The Alternative Indian

The busy summer season is finally drawing to a close, and it has been a huge roller-coaster ride for The Alternative Indian, as with many others in the hospitality, food and drink sectors.

Many local businesses have struggled to keep kitchens, venues and doors open amongst staff shortages and supply issues. I want to highlight some of the other local businesses that have been fighting to stay open by adapting and/or expanding what they do. I know that the last few months after reopening have had some massive highs and lows. However, as a general rule, most businesses have been extremely supportive of each other, though there are always lessons to be learnt.

I have been amazed at the inspirational growth in small-scale refillable milk (and other products) vending machines that have been popping up across villages in the area. This helps the more isolated villages not only by giving access to basic supplies, but also allowing small local producers to sell their products. It is this type of adaptation and adaptability that is allowing small businesses across our region to stay open. The need to support local business as we hopefully return to somewhere near normal life is still paramount.

Our food and drink producers and suppliers, as well as the hospitality industry generally, are starting to speak up about how they are coming out the other side of the pandemic but I think it’s still a long uphill road for most of us. This is why over the last few months, I have seized every opportunity thrown at me including taking part in The Roaring Twenty portrait project. The amazing project is the creation of Tom at Food Envy Photography, based in Berkshire, and allowed twenty professionals to air their frustrations, challenges and successes within the food and hospitality sector on camera. Several of the professionals involved in the project are based in Somerset and Dorset. For more information on the project, please see www.instagram.com/theroaringtwenty or visit www.foodenvy.photography/theroaring-twenty-project.

I also wanted to highlight another brilliant business I have had the pleasure of working alongside and this is Dark Bear. Dark Bear is Bridport’s dedicated rum bar, with over 100 rums in stock it is hosted by the Bridge House Hotel, Bridport. Both these businesses, due to Covid, have had to adapt: Dark Bear through the creation of a range of canned cocktails which can be delivered contact free, therefore enhancing their range of products, and The Bridge House by their use of food-based popups that have allowed several businesses including mine to showcase their food to the local community.

My recipe this month offers a change to the usual roast chicken; I hope you enjoy it.

Author Photo Credit: @foodenvyphoto; @ theroaringtwenty Chicken Supplier: Barrett Bro Butchers, Crewkerne

Herby Garlic Masala Roast Chicken

Prep time 5 mins | Serves 3-6 Cook time 45 minutes per kg, plus an extra 20 mins

INGREDIENTS METHOD

1 large chicken

For the rub

2 tbsp salted butter, melted, or rapeseed oil 6 large garlic cloves, minced 1 inch fresh ginger, grated 1 tsp fresh ground black pepper 2 tsp chilli powder 1 tsp celery salt 2 tsp curry powder 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp marjoram 1 tsp mixed Italian herbs 1 tsp salt Remove chicken from fridge at least 20 minutes before roasting. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6.

Place all the rub ingredients in a bowl and mix well. With a little gentle coercion, it is possible to loosen the skin covering the breast and thigh meat. Using either your fingers or an upsidedown spoon starting by separating the skin from the meat at the cavity end of the bird from one side first. Working slowly, separate as much of the skin from the meat as you can reach, ideally getting down into the thigh and legs. Be careful not to rip the skin too much, thus retaining as much moisture in the bird as possible. Grab a couple of teaspoons full of the rub and try and get as much in between the skin and meat as possible. Use your fingers to massage it down from the outside of the bird and distribute it evenly. Use any excess rub to coat the external skin. Grind a little more salt and pepper on to the skin. Break up the garlic bulb, leaving the skin on the cloves, and add to the bird’s cavity along with the halved lemon.

For stuffing the chicken

1 whole garlic bulb 1 whole lemon, halved Cooking time will depend on the weight of your chicken, but it couldn't be easier to calculate – you'll need 45 minutes per kg, plus an extra 20 minutes to finish. If you want to, you can baste your roast chicken once or twice during cooking to help keep it moist. Once cooked leave to rest for another 20 minutes before carving.

A VINTNER’S TALE (ACT 2, SCENE IV)

Peter Law, Chairman and MD at Wine Wizzard in Castle Cary, continues with his fascinating tales of life in the wine trade….

I was a bit of a petrol-head. I had learned to drive as a young boy on the farm at Plumber Manor, near Sturminster Newton, long before it became a fine country house hotel and restaurant, as my parents were great friends of Pam and Philip PrideauxBrune, parents of the current owners. By the age of about 12 I had saved up my pocket money and bought a Ford 8 for £5 and drove it home (not knowing that you had to be 17, have a licence tax and insurance!) and I had to promise my parents not to take it out of the garden. Shortly after starting my first job in the wine trade (1962), I bought a 1939 BSA Scout for £49 and 10 shillings, as I didn’t have the £50 asking price. It was a lovely front-wheel drive, two-seater, soft-top sports car and they had only made about 100, as Birmingham Small Arms had to revert to making guns. It broke down in Putney one evening and by the time I had found the spare part, the local children had wrecked it and I had to pay to have it towed away. Sad. With my starting The Malmesbury Vintner (in the 1970s) and with the help of my new friendly bank manager, I had already bought a Lancia Zagato which I kept for many years. With the almost instant success of my new business, I bought a Citroen S.M. (complete with Maserati engine). This was a magnificent beast and I hear that one of the Rolling Stones sold his recently. At that time, I was supplying Pierre Koffman’s Tante Claire restaurant in Chelsea, splendid 2 and later 3 Michelin stars. He told me that he wanted to buy it. I did eventually sell it to him as I had found a two-seater Maserati Merak. Expensive fun!

I supplied The Old Bell in Malmesbury (the oldest hotel in England) and one day the manager asked if I could supply the owner (who kept a permanent suite there) with 25 dozen Louis Roederer vintage champagne, which was not a problem as I had previously worked for this prestigious champagne house. He was so impressed with the service that I was invited to his home in Wales for a Sunday lunch. I set off in the S.M. with plenty of time to spare as it was snowing hard. There was only one lane of the M4 open and I had to drive around many abandoned vehicles. The driveway to the mansion must have been at least a couple of miles and on arrival the doors were opened by a uniformed butler. There was a power cut during lunch and afterwards I was offered one of the silver candelabras to visit the extensive cellars. It took over two hours just to write down the contents! On leaving the owner and his wife came out on to the steps but he did ask me if he could sit in the S.M. as he had not seen one before. He turned around to ensure that his wife had gone inside (it was snowing again) and remarked ‘I bought my wife a Mini – great little car – f…... Bentley will never start!’ It was a dangerous drive home. I evaluated the wines (in excess of £2m (1970s)) and they were all top quality but some were not going to last as he wanted – so I bought them and resold them to other customers for more immediate drinking and restocked the cellar with fine wines that were going to last. A very profitable and interesting Sunday!

In the here and now we must count our blessings that we live in such a lovely part of this country and are spoiled for wonderful local produce not to mention, if I dare, excellent, affordable wines from the Wine Wizzard! I have now been in the shop for about six days in the past 18 months and it was lovely to talk to some customers, both old and new. I am pleased to say that it has been a busy year so far and we have to hope that there are not too many freight or other delays. Linda has won yet another gold star for running the shop so capably and I have had a lot of complimentary feedback. We have recently started selling (with success) South African Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon and Chardonnay from Paarl, and hope shortly to add Merlot, Shiraz and Pinotage reds - all under £10.

I have always had a soft spot for Alsace wines (I worked in Hugel’s cellars in Riquwihr for a few weeks when I was 19). Pinot Gris (Tokay) £15.25, Riesling £14.40, Pinot Blanc £13.25 and Gewurztraminer £15.50 and hopefully a Grand Cru Riesling in time for Christmas (about £20). Well – as the French say ‘keep taking la médecine!’ and thank you all for your custom.

TALES FROM THE TRADING POST

By Kate Forbes

As the summer days draw to a close you can see autumn peaking around the corner everywhere you look. Fields have been harvested, the leaves on the trees have started turning a whole array of beautiful warm reds, oranges and golds; flips flops and sandals are making way for cosy boots and pretty much every magazine you pick up or social media platform you view has announced ‘Autumn is here!’

It is my absolute favourite time of year, maybe because my birthday falls at the beginning of it or because as a retailer this is when Christmas kicks off – but I have always been an autumnal girl at heart. Cosy evenings in front of the fire, good old-fashioned comfort food and beautiful walks in our glorious countryside. But … the very best thing about autumn is that it is when the UK really comes into its own with its abundance of home-grown fruit and veg. Our displays are now full of a stunning collection of homegrown and UK-grown veg. All the roots; potatoes, carrots, beetroot, parsnips, turnips, celeriac and swede. So many varieties of beautiful leafy kale, cabbages, onions and of course not forgetting the squash family; butternut, spaghetti, mashed potato, Turks turban, onion, patty pan, crown prince, to name but a few … and of course by the end of the month our pumpkins will have been harvested ready for Halloween celebrations.

Every year I post the same reminder on our social media pages – A pumpkin is for life not just for Halloween! The pumpkins grown here at The Trading Post Farm Shop are delicious. They can of course be used for creating your perfect Jack ‘o’ Lantern but I would much rather turn mine into a vessel for a comforting autumnal family dinner.

My absolute favourite creation from last year was so simple but so utterly delicious, I can’t wait for the pumpkins to rock up so I can recreate it. My style of cooking, as well as everything else in my life, is very much ‘winging it’ so a list of exact quantities or cooking times is not forthcoming, but this stuffed pumpkin is honestly one of the very best things you will eat this autumn.

Fry up some finely chopped onions, garlic and then add some chunkily chopped mushrooms and continue to cook, add a mound of grated celeriac and then mix through a thick cheese sauce made from the strongest cheddar you can get your hands on, Montgomery is always my go to for a spectacular cheese sauce. Chop the top off a small pumpkin and scoop out the insides then fill the cavity with the veg and sauce mix. Pop the lid back on, wrap in foil and then pop in the oven to cook, unwrap the foil toward the end of cooking to get a beautiful colour on your pumpkin and then when it’s done, slice it through like a cake and serve a wedge with a pile of roasted kale and carrots. Utterly delicious, so comforting and the perfect way to end a cosy autumnal day.

The Editor Drinks…

The Conduit Editor has been discovering the delights of wine from the Lebanon this month. Aided and abetted by the local Somerset and Dorset wine group Wine Hunters, as well as a plentiful supply of wine (and a great tutor) from Vineyards of Sherborne, the Lebanon was revealed as more than a one-trick pony. In Lebanon, the wine industry is currently booming despite the desperate state of the economy with rabid inflation. In 1996 there were 40 producers and now there are 80. The harbour explosion also affected the sector, taking away the prime shipping facility. Respect should be awarded to all of those working in the wine industry; the vinification process takes place beneath the trajectories of rockets and bullets in both directions in the Bekaa Valley. There are no rules such as AOC/IGT, a factor which encourages experimentation. There are no particular vintages to focus on as climate is (so far) pretty uniform year on year. There is, however, a large diurnal change due to the altitude and annual variation from 30 degrees centigrade in summer to snows in winter. And so to the wine, recommended as a ‘guilt-free’ mid-week sip at just £10 from Vineyards, Rouge Désir 2017 is a fresh and crunchy red wine produced by Chateau Oumsiyat. It’s best described as an unoaked Pinot-style fruit-driven wine with a very smooth finish. Although I love it, I am not going to focus on Chateau Musar, the wine the Lebanon is known for! However, for those who like a Bordeaux style, Chateau Oumsiyat has a Grande Réserve 2018 at just £18 from the aforementioned independent and much-heralded Vineyards. This unoaked Bordeaux-style blend with added Syrah is rich and robust, with a firm nose of black fruit, leading into a big earthy mouthful. Some in our wine group detected a hint of cedar and smoke, while others picked out a minty Syrah and plummy Merlot. An extremely nice wine and recommended post-prandial!

The Queen

' s Arms Corton Denham

openwednesday-Sunday food served 12 -3pm and 6-9.30pm Pub Hub open 8am - 12pm 01963220317|info@thequeensarms.com