18 minute read
JUST ADD AQUA VITAE
A food journey: just add alcohol
Susannah and Aaron Rickard have a way with alcohol, using it as a key ingredient in food, and fortunately they have written it all down in a recipe book. Here they tell us about how the project came together in their Bath kitchen, and treat us to two of their recipes
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When the idea of cooking with alcohol captured our imagination, we couldn’t figure out why it isn’t more popular. Alcoholic drinks are delicious, and they have been fermented or distilled primarily for flavour and enjoyment. Just think of how many spices you have in your cupboard, and all the drinks in the grocery store or along the back of a bar! Each of those ingredients can bring a lot to the table.
We’ve always been experimental cooks, and eaters. As a child Aaron travelled to over 50 countries, and spent years living in the United States –developing a taste for wild and wonderful flavour combinations. Susannah, on the other hand, grew up with classic British and Australian home cooking, and then went to work for a spice recipe kit company (The Spicery) after university. This included a year in the recipe development kitchen, and instilled a passion for creating great food at home in an approachable way. So when we started cooking with alcohol, and realised just how intriguing and rewarding it could be, we got a bit carried away. Five years later, we’ve spent countless hours creating this cookbook from our flat in Bath, and our excitement about the topic has only increased.
As this is our first cookbook and we don’t have the resources of more well-known chefs, we decided to photograph the book ourselves. Fortunately, alongside his day job as a web developer, Aaron is a keen food photographer. This gave us the creative control to ensure that the book turned out as beautiful as we imagined it, but was a bigger job than we anticipated. We had decided early on that every single recipe needed a photo, but as we both work full time, it took a long time to complete them all! We spent many a Saturday morning scouring local charity shops for tablecloths, cutlery and interesting dishes to use as props –and many a late night photographing rapidly cooling food, wondering when we’ll get to eat it for dinner!
Developing the recipes
Recipe development is tricky, but most of the recipes in Cooking with Alcohol started out as a question: how could the flavours of this particular alcohol be used in cooking? In some cases, we started by looking for matching flavour characteristics to find the best uses for an ingredient –both chorizo and red wine can be smoky and spicy, so we paired these together in our very first recipe, Chorizo in Red Wine and Honey, where they get along beautifully.
We also considered how a dish could be adapted and improved with the addition of alcohol, using alcohol as a seasoning or garnish to add depth and complexity that might otherwise be missing from a dish, or take hours to develop with traditional cooking. A white wine might be described as zesty or buttery, and when we bring it into the kitchen, these flavours can enhance a recipe where zestiness or butteriness are desired –an example of this is our Fennel and White Wine Tagliatelle.
As we developed recipes with these flavour pairings, we found that there’s almost always another way that the alcohol impacts the dish –the texture, caramelisation, gluten formation, acidity, or something else entirely. And in truth this was the most fascinating part of the recipe development process –discovering the science behind each dish, and figuring out how to explain it succinctly. For example, our Prosecco Panna Cotta recipe uses slightly less gelatine than a traditional panna cotta, because prosecco itself is mildly acidic and this causes the cream to thicken and set. It was these discoveries that set us on a path to writing a book, where we could share the fascination and fun with others.
Overall, the Savoury and Sweet Baking chapters of this book were the most challenging –baked goods need to end up solid, and alcohol is liquid! This required a huge amount of recipe testing (and recipe failures), as we figured out the delicate balance of flavour and texture. We were really thankful for long-suffering colleagues and neighbours, who ate the results of these early recipe tests! A particularly runny batch of Kahlua Fudge springs to mind…
Our editor Paige Henderson was also an incredible supporter during the past year, working to understand our vision for this project and helping us to bring it to life, as well as going over every recipe with a fine tooth comb!
We really enjoyed writing this book, and hope it brings joy to others. After all, Cooking with Alcohol isn’t just a collection of recipes. It’s about encouraging you to think about alcohol as more than a drink, by showing how the flavours and functions of alcohol can help to create some truly amazing food –we firmly believe that alcohol deserves a place in your kitchen, as well as in your glass.
Cooking with Alcohol by Susannah and Aaron Rickard, £25, Lendal Press,available in local bookshops Topping & Co. Booksellers and Mr B’s. toppingbooks.co.uk; mrbsemporium.com
cookingwithalcohol.co.uk
Parsnip and Cider Tarte Tatin
It’s really fun to make a tarte tatin, and strangely satisfying – parsnips and onions are caramelised in dry cider, then puff pastry goes on top and it’s baked upside down before being turned out to reveal the beautiful design.
Ingredients
250ml dry apple cider 3 large parsnips (approx. 400–450g total) –scrubbed and trimmed 1 tbsp olive oil 2 red onions –peeled, sliced into 6 wedges 1 clove of garlic –peeled, and crushed or finely chopped 1 tsp dried rosemary 1 large sheet of ready rolled puff pastry (approx. 320g) Plain flour for rolling Salt and freshly ground black pepper Green salad and horseradish sauce, to serve
Equipment
Wide ovenproof frying pan Rolling pin
Method
• Preheat your oven to 200ºC/Gas Mark 6/ 400ºF. Slice the parsnips lengthwise into 4–6 wedges, depending on their size. • Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a wide ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat. Add the parsnip wedges, and fry for 5 minutes or
until the parsnips are browning. • Add a generous splash of the cider and bring the pan to a gentle simmer then cook for a few minutes, occasionally turning each parsnip wedge. • Scatter the onion wedges, garlic and rosemary over the parsnips, along with a grinding of black pepper and ½ tsp salt. • Add another splash of the cider and cook for a further 10–15 minutes until the parsnips are just tender, adding the cider a splash at a time and allowing it to evaporate in between each addition, turning the parsnips occasionally. • Meanwhile, lay out the puff pastry on a clean floured surface and using a rolling pin, roll it to around 3mm (⅛ inch) thick.
Cut out a rough circle about 2 inches wider than the pan. • When all the cider has evaporated, turn off the heat and use tongs or a fork to arrange the parsnips into a pretty pattern in the pan. • Lay the pastry circle over the top, tucking it in at the edges. Make a small slit in the
top with a knife then place the whole pan into the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is puffy and deep golden brown. • Remove the pan from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then invert the whole dish onto a large plate so that the parsnips are now on top of the pastry. • Serve slices of the tarte alongside a green salad with a dollop of horseradish sauce.
Roasted Plum and Port Ripple Ice Cream
Adding port to sticky roasted plums provides complex notes of caramel, figs and spice, swirled through luscious ice cream.
Makes 1.2L — Prep time 15 minutes — Cook time 35 minutes + 2 hours chilling
Ingredients
100ml port 250g plums –stoned and quartered 1 tbsp butter 1 tsp mixed spice or pumpkin spice 1 litre good quality vanilla or clotted cream ice cream ½ an orange –zested (optional)
Equipment
Small roasting tray Freezer-proof dish or loaf tin
Method
• Preheat the oven to 170ºC/Gas Mark 3½/ 350ºF. Combine the plums, butter and mixed spice in a roasting tray. Roast in the oven for 20 minutes, stirring after 5 minutes to spread the melting butter around the plums. • After 20 minutes add the port and the
orange zest, and return the tray to the oven for a further 15 minutes until the plums are sticky and jammy. Remove the tray from the oven, give it another stir then allow to cool completely. • Once the plums have cooled, take the ice cream out of the freezer and leave it at room temperature for 10 –15 minutes or until the ice cream is soft enough to spread. • In a small freezer-proof dish, spread about one third of the ice cream in a layer. Dollop half of the plum mixture across the ice cream. Add half the remaining ice cream, and then the rest of the roasted plums, and finally top with the rest of the ice cream. • Gently swirl through the mixture once or twice with a knife to create a few ripples, then cover with cling film or a lid and freeze for at least 2 hours. • To serve, take the ice cream out of the freezer and allow to soften for a minute before scooping into bowls. n
EDUCATION NEWS
CHESS MASTER AT PRIOR PARK
Chess legend, James Sherwin visited Prior Park College on 17 June to play a rare ‘Simul’ match against 15 chess club members at the same time. James, an International Chess Master and former President of the American Chess Foundation, knew Bobby Fischer and lived through the era of the Netflix series, The Queen’s Gambit. The atmosphere of the show was certainly evoked in Prior Park’s Academy Hall as James was able to win all his matches, including a closefought contest against sixth-former Milena Apostu who is one of the strongest players in her home country of Romania. priorparkcollege.com
NEW LOCATION FOR CODING BOOTCAMP
Award-winning Bath coding bootcamp iO Academy is expanding with the launch of a new location in Sheffield. iO Academy has partnered with the newly launched EyUp Skills, a venture from entrepreneur David Richards, founder of the Yorkshire and Silicon Valley based technology company WANdisco, for their expansion to the north.
The partnership is formed around the vital role of the tech industry in providing direct and meaningful impact on the digital skills shortage in the UK, bringing real life experience to tech training. This ensures that new entrants to the industry have the up-to-date experience that tech employers need most, as well as making a career in tech more accessible to a wider range of people.
The move comes after a recent government paper found that the “existing university curriculum in Computer Science is falling short of expectations and not meeting the needs of employers seeking tech talent”. io-academy.uk; eyup.com
NORLAND AWARD
Norland College has been recognised for excellence in graduate outcomes during the pandemic in the 2021 Whatuni Student Choice Awards, winning a coveted award amidst stiff competition. The annual awards, taking place for the 8th time, highlight the work done by institutions to support their students, and celebrate resilience, innovation and diversity within higher education. Uniquely, the nominees and winners are selected by students themselves, and judged by a specially chosen panel made up of prospective and current university students.
Norland triumphed in the Enhanced Graduate Outcomes category, after demonstrating effective delivery of innovative and impactful employability support to students throughout the pandemic. norland.ac.uk
CITYNEWS
BEST COLLEGE AWARD
The College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM) has been awarded the winner of the Best College Award from the Integrative Healthcare & Applied Nutrition (IHCAN) Education Awards 2021. The awards celebrate brands who go above and beyond to keep practitioners upto-date with CPD accredited content, events and resources.
IHCAN is a platform for registered nutritional therapists, integrative health practitioners and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) professionals. It provides the UK’s leading monthly magazine for integrative health practitioners, along with the IHCAN Summit and IHCAN Conferences, both of which feature industryleading innovative education and the latest insights and research.
This success comes as CNM celebrates 23 years of training successful practitioners. Today, CNM is the UK’s No.1 training provider for a range of natural therapies, providing diploma courses in Naturopathic Nutrition, Herbal Medicine, Acupuncture, Homeopathy, Natural Chef, Vegan Natural Chef and Health Coach. Students can study part-time, full-time, online or in-class in locations across the UK and Ireland. To find out more visit: naturopathyuk.com/events
NEW EQUITY PARTNERS
Bath-headquartered law firm Stone King is delighted to announce the promotions of four new Equity Partners. Andrew Banks, Jean Boyle, Sarah Lane and Helen Tucker will join their fellow Equity Share Members in shaping the direction of the nationwide firm, which also has offices in Bristol, Birmingham, Cambridge, Leeds and London.
Steven Greenwood, Stone King’s managing partner, said the new appointments will help build on the firm’s success: “The Equity Group has the responsibility of ensuring strategic business direction, succession and sustainability for the future, as well as making sure our ethos of serving the community is achieved. The Group is further strengthened with these appointments and we are especially pleased it reflects greater gender diversity.” stoneking.co.uk
IN THE SWIM
FORMER team GB swimmer Mark Foster is calling on people across Bath to take the plunge and sign up for the first-ever Swimathon Festival.
The festival will see Swimathon and Open Water Swimathon events taking place on the same weekend for the first time between 10–12 September. Participating pools and venues include Bath Leisure Centre and Bradford on Avon swimming pools.
Mark, who trained at the University of Bath, and who is an advocate for keeping community pools open, is urging people of all ages and abilities to take part in the sponsored event which raises money for Cancer Research UK, Marie Curie and the Swimathon Foundation.
With a range of distances to choose from –from 400m, up to a triple 5k, and a new 30.9k option –the festival offers a challenge for all open water or pool swimmers, and people can participate individually or as part of a team. Sign up to the Swimathon Festival at swimathon.org.
NEW THEATRE FESTIVAL
This summer, the gardens of the Holburne Museum will become an open-air theatre for for six nights with The Garden Theatre Festival. Audiences young and old will be welcome for evenings of laughter, fun, and good times. Bring a picnic and some chairs, get some food and drink from the vendors and listen to inventive story-telling, fast-paced drama and a host of musical instruments. Productions include children’s classics, legendary tales, Bernard Shaw and Shakespeare and include Robin Hood, Romeo & Juliet and Wind in the Willows. Event dates: 16 and 17 July, 10, 11, 12 and 21 August. Doors open 5.30pm; show starts 10.30pm. Find out more and book tickets by going to bathboxoffice.org.uk and searching ‘Garden Theatre Fest’.
DREAM WEDDING DAY
A Bath hotel is set to give away a dream big day to NHS heroes as part of a partnership with Operation Recuperation, which has been working with 20 of the hardest-hit hospital trusts throughout the pandemic and has gifted almost 1,000 stays and experiences to NHS staff.
Alongside the charitable organisation, Apex Hotels is giving away a total of five weddings or civil ceremonies to deserving couples in Edinburgh, Dundee, Bath and London. In Bath, the luxury Apex City of Bath Hotel will play host to a deserving couple looking to get married in Bath. The couple will be treated to all the essentials to make their wedding day special, thanks to the hotel and its network of key suppliers –with celebrations for up to 50 people being laid on. apexhotels.co.uk
RUGBY SQUAD PROMOTIONS
Three players from the Senior Academy will graduate into the Bath Rugby senior squad ahead of the 2021/22 campaign. Homegrown trio Will Butt, Arthur Cordwell and Kieran Verden will make the step up and become fully fledged members of the first team.
Director of Rugby Stuart Hooper said: “We are delighted to be able to welcome Will, Arthur and Kieran into the senior squad.
“Their graduation continues the recent success of the Bath Rugby pathway. We have been really impressed by the current graduates in the squad with homegrown players like Josh Bayliss, Tom de Glanville and Miles Reid progressing to earn international recognition.
“All three are outstanding young men who have already put a huge amount into their time here at Bath. I’m very excited to see them take this next step and grab the opportunities that lie ahead.” bathrugby.com
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ACCOUNTANCY
141 Englishcombe Lane, Bath BA2 2EL Tel: 01225 445507 www.oclaccountancy.com
Always consider maximising your dividends!
The coronavirus has caused problems for some companies where the owner managers use ‘dividends’ as a method to extract profits - and may do so for some time to come. How might a similar situation be avoided in future and what benefits are there to taking dividends early?
The general tax advice to director shareholders on maximising tax and NI efficiency is to take a small salary (usually around the NI secondary threshold of £8,840 per year) and top it up with dividends.
However, dividends can only be paid from profits (current year or retained) and if your company is making losses, has no reserves, and you rely on income from it, you’ll either have to take more salary (costly & inefficient in tax and NI) or borrow from your company, which can also be tax inefficient depending on how you repay the debt The coronavirus has resulted in many companies seeing losses and needing to adopt salaries as the method of taking an income from their company.
In uncertain times like these it can be good advice to take as much by way of dividend as profits allow, even if you have no immediate need for the cash. What you don’t draw is simply credited to your director’s loan account and is available to be drawn when you need it. There will be no tax payable at that time, because the dividends will be recorded and tax paid for the current tax year (i.e. when they are recorded).
Even thought this means that you are paying tax in an earlier year than would otherwise be necessary, it will almost certainly give you an overall lower tax liability than if you had to take additional salary in the problem years.
But this advice doesn’t only apply to companies facing future losses and issues. As we are all aware, the country is facing a large debt that will need to be paid over time; we all await the Chancellor’s announcements in the future and can anticipate tax rates rising.
It therefore follows that taking dividends now will almost certainly mean that you will pay tax at a lower rate than in future years; there can be a significant benefit to front ending your drawings even if it does result in tax being paid.
For tax saving tips contact us – call Marie Sheldrake, Tom Hulett or Mike Wilcox on 01225 445507
Call Marie Sheldrake, Tom Hulett or Mike Wilcox on 01225 445507 to arrange a no-obligation meeting
Couples must wait for a ‘no fault’ divorce as new law is delayed
The government announcement this week that the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020, will be delayed by at least six months will disappoint many separated couples seeking to divorce in the most amicable way with the least impact on their children.
The Act, which was due to come into force in October 2021, will now be delayed until next April.
Chris Philp, parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Home Office and Ministry of Justice, described the delay as “unfortunate” but said it was “essential" government "take the time to get this right”.
Paralegal Laura Somoza said: “While we understand the importance of making sure everything is in place and appreciate that the courts must be given the necessary time to ensure a smooth process when the law is brought in, this delay will leave some couples who had been ‘waiting’ with no other option but to begin the process, citing unreasonable behaviour or adultery.
This immediately adds a contentious element into their divorce, which could have a negative impact for them and their children.”
This legislation has been a long time coming, and while this delay is frustrating at least separating couples can be certain that the option to separate amicably and minimise the emotional distress on both partners and any shared children is on its way.
If you had been waiting and would like advice on whether to start proceedings now or are wanting to separate and would like to understand how a no-fault divorce would benefit you, please speak to Laura Somoza on 01225 750000 or laura.somoza@mogersdrewett.com we are here to help.
