Food & Drink

Is it August already?

We are in high summer now and by rights that should mean buckets and spades. If you are holidaying, have a With JUNE MACFARLANE wonderful time! If you are staycationing, we have dishes to make it feel like a holiday anyway. No need to fear courgette overload, try a preserved lemon relish and experiment with brown sugar meringues.

BROWN SUGAR MERINGUES AND GOOSEBERRIES

Red gooseberries are sweeter than green and ideal with this meringue

Brown sugar gives these meringues a delicious caramel flavour. I used red gooseberries, which are a bit sweeter than green.

METHOD

Preheat oven to 130°C. Line an oven tray with baking paper. Whip the egg whites to firm peaks. Add the sugar a little at a time until thick and shiny. Spoon dollops on to the baking tray, making a little dent in the middle of each. Bake for 1.5 – 2hrs depending on how chewy you like them.

Turn off oven and allow meringues to cool before removing. Poach gooseberries gently INGREDIENTS (For four) 4 egg whites 200g soft light brown sugar 350g gooseberries, top ‘n’ tailed 2 tbsp sugar 150ml double cream 1 tbsp runny honey with sugar until juices run but let them keep their shape. Cool. Whip the cream and drizzle the honey through. Pile the cream into the centre of the meringues and top with the gooseberries.

Courgette overload? These fritters are ideal if you have a glut of them COURGETTE FRITTERS WITH TOMATO SAUCE

HAKE WITH PRESERVED LEMON RELISH

INGREDIENTS

If you have a glut of courgettes this is perfect. They are mainly water, so you can use up lots.

METHOD Grate the courgettes coarsely into a colander. Mix the salt through. Leave to drain for 30 minutes. Make the sauce by softening the shallots and garlic in oil, then add the passata and allow to reduce and thicken. Taste for seasoning.

Make a thick batter with the egg, baking powder and plain flour. Squeeze the courgettes really hard to get out the water and add to the batter with a grating of black pepper.

Heat oil in a frying pan and drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the oil, flattening the tops. Cook until a brown crust forms, then flip and repeat. Serve with the sauce. (For two) 250g courgettes, washed and trimmed 1 tsp salt 1 egg ½ tsp baking powder 3 tbsp plain flour Vegetable oil for frying 2 shallots, thinly sliced 1 fat garlic clove, finely chopped 300ml passata Salt & black pepper

It’s very easy to make your own preserved lemons, but there are good brands available in supermarkets.

METHOD Rinse and quarter the preserved lemons. Scoop out the flesh. Chop roughly. Finely dice the peel and add to flesh. Finely chop the garlic. Chop the parsley and mint leaves and the olives and add to the mixture with the sugar. Add enough oil to bind loosely and lemon juice to taste. Taste for seasoning.

Season the hake with a sprinkle of salt and pan fry in butter until cooked, about two minutes per side. Serve with crushed new potatoes and the preserved lemon relish. INGREDIENTS

(For four) 2 hake fillets, trimmed Butter for frying 100g preserved lemons 1 large garlic clove Good olive oil Preserved lemon relish is easy to make at home – or use shop-bought 10 stems flat parsley, leaves picked 10 sprigs mint, leaves picked 40 g kalamata olives, stoned 1 tsp caster sugar Juice of ½ lemon

Thatchers Orchard Day

EMBRACInGthe philosophy that quality cider starts in the orchard, Thatchers Cider has held its annual apple growers day at its farm at Sandford.

Twenty apple growers from across the West Country attended this year’s event, which offered a chance to see behind the scenes, learn more about the cider maker’s ethos and drive for quality, and share experiences with other growers.

This year the day included a tour of Thatchers own Somerset orchards, guided by Chris Muntz-Torres, Thatchers orchard manager; a review of the last 12 months including two new cider launches from chief cider maker Richard Johnson; and an informative presentation by head of marketing, Philip McTeer who touched on the long-term trends in the cider market, how the pandemic impacted performance, and how Thatchers has delivered market leading growth across the portfolio, introducing two new products, Thatchers Cloudy Lemon, and Thatchers Zero.

Fourth generation cider maker, Martin Thatcher was also on hand to chat to the growers. He said: “Some of our growers have worked with us for many years, others are much newer, but they all have one thing in common, and that’s taking great care of their apples and meeting our expectations of quality. Their commitment plays a huge part in Thatchers success.”

Of particular interest to the growers this year was seeing how Thatchers is continuing to invest in the development of its orchards, with trials of new varieties of apples, and growing methods including root stocks and trellising. new planting of culinary (dessert) apples is currently being carried out, as well as classic and French bittersweet varieties, within Thatchers Somerset orchards.

Richard Johnson said: “We have invested for many years in trialling new methods of orcharding with traditional apple varieties and took part in the research led by the national Association of Cider Makers of 29 new varieties introduced back in 2010.

“As the cider market evolves, and tastes change, new styles of cider become popular, and as a cider maker it’s important for us to look ahead and plant the varieties of apple that create contemporary style ciders. Apple trees take up to seven years after planting to crop effectively, so with our growers we take a long-term approach to the varieties we grow.

“Our orchard day is all about working in partnership with our growers, and how they contribute to us making the highest quality cider for a rapidly changing, competitive market.”

Details: www.thatcherscider.co.uk

Country shopping at its best

North Widcombe, West Harptree, Bristol BS40 6HW

Opening times:

Farm shop: Monday to Friday 8.30am - 5.30pm Saturday 8.30am - 5.30pm • Sunday 10am - 5pm Tea Room: Monday to Sunday 9am - 5.30pm

Wheelchair access, children welcome, free parking, coaches by appointment

MEAT SUPPLIED FROM OUR OWN FARM

TEA ROOMS

Hot & cold meals Delicious cream teas Full English breakfasts Function room available for hire Barbecue time with our home-produced meat

Emma Bridgewater China & other gifts

Enjoy a good Sunday roast

Reduce plastic – with our reusable glass milk bottles

WILD FOOD Fruity wonders

I AM lucky to have a garden and to be able to appreciate the greenery around us. Many people grow fruits in their garden, me included, although I would characterise our fruit and veg patch as wilderness rather than tidy garden and my excuse is that it benefits With ADRIAN BOOTS the bugs, insects and birds of course. Even with the abundance of overgrown vegetation, collecting fresh fruity favourites to sprinkle on my breakfast muesli (banana, raspberries and some diminutive wild strawberries this morning if you must know), is a privilege. Obviously I didn’t grow the banana. In essence I forage in my own garden!

So from dislike and avoidance of one activity (weeding) to the love of another (foraging) getting out and discovering a patch of wild fruit is a real treat. You may not have a garden with fruit bushes but there is a joy to be had if you can get out to the countryside where you might be surprised and delighted at what you find. Raspberry (Rubus Idaeus) is a slender shrub with a long arching woody stem, up to 2m high with only a few spines. The leaves are toothed and oval, paler underneath. Flowers are small and white drooping in clusters. The berries are a rich red consisting of a number of drupelets appearing July to September. It is widespread throughout the UK, found in hedgerows, woods and heaths.

Raspberry is related to the abundant and famously prickly blackberry but whilst the fruits look superficially similar in an under-ripe way, the lack of prickles is made up for by its sharper flavour. As a result it works so well with anything creamy: summer pudding, Eton mess, pavlova – need I go on?

Or how about razzing up plain yogurt or vanilla ice cream with your own homemade raspberry ripple? Delicious!

This year, so far, has been a good year with plenty of fruits, so let’s get out and enjoy what we have left of the summer, try to forget the difficulties of the past year or so and simply appreciate some of the many fruity wonders our countryside has to offer.

Adrian Boots is a Landscape Ecologist, Wild Food Forager and Adventure Activity provider. You can visit his website: www.gowildactivities.co.uk to learn more about wild food foraging and activities you can do with him on the Mendip Hills.

GARDEN FOOD Victorian peas

BIJOUare a variety of pea that I have grown for many years and this year is no exception. They are a very special pea, of the “giant sugar” type very popular in the Victorian era, though now practically extinct. This variety With JAKE WHITSON is the result of a five-year reintroduction project by The Real Seed Catalogue, one that started with a handful of dry peas found in a jar in a cellar.

The result is a variety that matches contemporary descriptions and engravings exactly, even down to the pattern on the seeds and number of seeds per gram. It is truly a wonderful variety, cropping massive pods up to 7” long through the season and the whole pod is edible, cooked or raw, any way in which you might prepare a sugar snap or mangetout.

They also represent real economy in terms of picking, as they are so large that it takes much less time to pick a comparable weight of them than, say, mangetout.

The one small downside, so small I am reluctant to mention it, is that the slightly hooked, scoop shape pods can, in a patch of wet weather, collect water and then discolour slightly as the water sits there.

This scoop shape however is also an asset – no other vegetable I can think of is so perfectly made for dipping! We particularly like them with humous, which the sweet crunch of the pea contrasts with perfectly; however cream cheese based dips are also a winner.

It may not be very authentic, but I also like them shredded up, tossed with roasted peanuts, and dressed with a Thai style dressing of lime juice, fish sauce, fresh chilli, garlic and sesame oil.

Jacob Whitson is a chef, food writer and smallholder –he divides his time between the Mendips and Pembrokeshire.

Sunday best for food fest

STREET hosted the first in a series of Sunday mini food festivals aimed at encouraging shoppers back to Mendip’s high streets.

Organised by eat:Festivals, with support from Mendip District Council, Street High Street welcomed around 25 traders selling everything from cider to fermented cabbage.

Bev Milner-Simonds, from eat:Festivals, said: “It has been a really exciting challenge working with different council departments and the local parish and town councils to make this happen in a short space of time.

“It’s been such a challenging 18 months for everyone –including our freelance crew – and it’s all about welcoming people back to towns and the city in Mendip to enjoy the best in local produce such as cheese, beer and cider.” l A festival in Shepton Mallet is due to take place on Sunday, August 8th with an event in Wells postponed until Sunday, September 5th.

Spirits were high amongst customers at the Boulton Spirit stall Street mayor Laura Wolfers with eat:Festivals creators Bev and Sarah Milner-Simonds

Amy Willoughby, from the Plotgate Community Farm in Barton St David

Flying the flag: the team on the Passion & Smoke stall

Bird’s eye view of cathedral conservation work

A PILOT programme of conservation to the central part of the West Front of Wells Cathedral is nearing completion.

A team from Cliveden Conservation – which has a workshop near Kilmersdon – has been cleaning and repairing the stonework and sculptures including The Apostles high above Cathedral Green. The work will establish best practices and guide the way future conservation is carried out to the whole of the West Front.

Scaffolding is due to be removed in August in time for the installation in an empty niche on the West Front of a piece of art by the sculptor Antony Gormley.

Many of the sculptures are showing signs of wear and tear

Berenice Humphreys, Cliveden Conservation's senior project manager The scaffolding is due to be removed in August

Conservator Andrea Walker at work at the top of the West Front

DOUBTis coming to Wells

IN conjunction with Project Factory CIC, Wells Cathedral has announced that Antony Gormley’s sculpture titled DOUBT (2020) will be installed on the West Front of the cathedral on Thursday, August 26th.

The West Front exhibits many renditions of the human form; from Old Testament stories to resurrection; kings and bishops to angels and apostles. Cast in iron and just over life-size, the sculpture will be loaned by the artist and occupy Niche 338 below the North-West tower of the cathedral.

The sculptor said: “I am very aware of the paradox of placing an object called DOUBT on the facade of a building devoted to belief, but it seems to me that doubting, interrogating, questioning, are all part of belief. For me doubt can be a positive force and the imaginative engine of future possibility.

“I have chosen this niche on the West Front of Wells Cathedral for its exposed position and visibility: the book at the end of the bookshelf. Most of the figures on the west facade stand facing the world in an open attitude of confidence, proudly displaying their attributes – regal, military, and divine. In contrast, I have used the orthogonal geometry of our modern habitat to evoke the body as a place.

“DOUBT is literally on edge and teeters uneasily out of its niche, one foot perilously off the ledge and one shoulder jutting forward. This cast iron body has collapsed into itself, compressing torso to pelvis; energy is drawn inwards but the head juts out enquiringly into space at large.”

Fundraising and community involvement is being coordinated by Project Factory CIC. Emma Lefevre, from the project, said: “The people and businesses of Wells have been wonderfully generous! Although the sculpture is on a free loan from the artist, we need to bring it to the city and have it installed. We are delighted to say that we have reached our first fundraising target and the work will arrive just in time for the bank holiday at the end of August.”