Harvested on the Wight

A Guide to the Island’s Autumnal Specialities

Whether it’s organic pak choi from Apse Heath or woodland-grown hazelnuts by the Medina, autumn means harvest time for more Islanders than you’d imagine. With that thought in mind, we’ve devoted this piece to the Isle of Wight’s harvesters, gatherers, and foragers, as well as exploring the autumnal flavours just waiting to be sampled. We also investigate sustainable eating this season and treat you to an exclusive recipe from The Hambrough’s Executive Chef. So come with us through the crunchy leaves and annoying seasonal showers to discover autumn on the Island as you’ve never tasted it before.

From Nettlestone Pippins to Cave-Aged Cider

In a cave underneath St. Boniface Down, surrounded by cool temperatures and crates of shining apples, wife and wife team Helen and Katherine wash, mill, and press the latest year’s fruits to make their next batch of Grazed Knee — an artisan Isle of Wight cider. Eight years ago, the pair retired from corporate desk jobs to take up their shovels and start planting a new orchard with over 60 different varieties of apple — including many with a long local heritage. Species include the Nettlestone Pippin, the Sir John Thornycroft (developed in Bembridge by the gardener of a naval architect) and Little Pax (first grown from seed by Sister Anselma at St. Cecilia’s Abbey in Ryde). Once harvested and pressed, the pair follow traditional cidermaking techniques, adding and taking away almost nothing, allowing the natural fruit to shine, before an 18-month stint in the caves to mature into cidery deliciousness. With the orchard still young (and to keep up with demand for their dry, sparkling, and mildly sweet varieties of cider) extra fruit is always welcome. Grazed Knee accepts Islanders’ donations of excess garden apples (which they’ll swap for freshly pressed juice) until the end of October. Details of where to drop and when their community pressing days take place can be found on the Grazed Knee website.

grazedkneecider.co.uk

A Pinch of the Salty Seas

Wading into the mineral-rich waters of Wheelers Bay, Simon Davis undertakes harvesting of a different kind. With wellies on and a bucket in each hand, he’s here for the seawater which is taken to be evaporated by the sun’s rays over at Yafford, leaving behind organic, natural Isle of Wight sea salt. Islanders have been extracting salt from seawater for centuries but the last remaining saltworks at Newtown closed in 1930, leaving an 85-year gap before Simon and best friend Lorne Gardner stepped in to revive locally harvested sea salt once again. “I’d just moved back to the Island from Somerset in 2015, looking for a new career,” Simon tells us “I couldn’t understand why no one on the Island harvested sea salt; and with a father who was in farming, maybe a new direction like this was in my blood after all.” Wight Salt now produces a range that includes pure salt crystals and citrus-infused seasoning sprays, all using finely filtered Ventnor sea water, naturally evaporated and additive free. wightsalt.co.uk

Foraged, Shaken & Stirred

Steeped For Absolutely Ages

In the mid-eighties, a sip of French blackberry liqueur transported one Soho bar manager straight back to his blackberry-picking Isle of Wight childhood. Inspired, Dick Bradsell mixed the rich and fruity Crème de mûre with the gin and lemon juice already on hand at Fred’s Club to create a truly British (and now world-famous) cocktail — The Bramble. Recreate it yourself, using this recipe featuring the Isle of Wight Distillery’s Mermaid Pink Gin:

Clinging to the western banks of the River Medina lies Medham Farm, where blackthorn bushes abound with sloes and the pear trees hang heavy with fruit. Just as well really, as the owners, Ruth and Michael Green, have made a name for themselves gathering the natural ingredients from around their farm and steeping them in fine British vodka “for absolutely ages” — as the Tipsy Wight website proudly testifies. Known for their characteristically lop-sided bottles, flavours include crab apple, blackcurrant, medlar, and quince, whilst the pair also use Godshill cherries and damsons gathered from a forgotten (and highly secret) Victorian orchard, once belonging to a long-gone manor house. Venturing into the woods at this time of year, you’ll also find them collecting hazelnuts — at least the ones the red squirrels haven’t already scampered away with. Once picked by hand, they’re gently roasted and then steeped until reaching the perfect balance between sweetness and nuttiness. The result: an indulgent, amber-coloured vodka liqueur, ideal for sipping neat on an autumn evening or drizzling into a freshly made mug of rich hot chocolate.

tipsywight.com

The Bramble

Ingredients

50ml Mermaid Pink Gin

25ml Lemon Juice

10ml Sugar Syrup 10ml Crème de mûre

Method

Combine all ingredients together and shake with ice. Strain into a tumbler filled with crushed ice and garnish with foraged Isle of Wight blackberries and a wedge of lemon.

Pumpkins, Cheese and Freshly Rolled Pasta

Eucalyptus Extractions

For autumnal flavours with an Italian edge, sit yourself down at Ristorante Michelangelo and ask for the “Ravioli di Zucca” made from freshly rolled pasta, filled with pumpkin, sheep’s cheese, and Amaretto, topped off with some melted butter, sage, and a generous dusting of Parmesan. A speciality of the EmiliaRomagna region, it’s actually a family recipe: co-owner Anna Sacchini used to make this exact dish with her mother back home in a little village between Reggio Emilia and Parma (the city famous for its dry-cured ham). Twice a week she would make pasta, including ravioli, tortelli, and cappelletti, each filled with something seasonal from the garden, which at this time of year meant pumpkins (better known to Italians as zucca) “I used to have my own little portion of the table,” Anna reminisces, “my own little bit of pasta and I tried to help my mother making it. I enjoyed learning how to twist the dough and how to give it different shapes. Certainly, my parents encouraged my love of food as this was always a happy moment. Every member of the family would sit around the table preparing the food and then we’d all enjoy eating it together.” Revived and reinvented for the lucky people of Ryde, this ancestral dish is now a firm feature on the Michelangelo menu.

In the deepest, lushest depths of Ventnor Botanic Gardens, after a trek along palm-fringed paths, you’ll find a plantation of tall and impressive Eucalyptus globulus trees, giving off their minty, citrus-tinged aroma. Native to Australia, they caught the attention of the garden’s botanist, a medicinal herbalist and the chef who decided to handpick the leaves, extract the flavours, and concoct their first bottle of Eucalyptus Cordial. Known for its medicinal properties (eucalyptus is both antioxidant and anti-bacterial), the drink was named after the London-born physician and chemist Dr. Arthur Hill Hassall, who founded Ventnor’s Royal National Hospital for Diseases of the Chest. A tuberculosis sufferer himself, the hospital treated thousands of patients until its demolition in 1969, making way for the botanic gardens which call the site home today. Also available in a honey-infused version, Hill Hassall’s Eucalyptus Cordial can be mixed with gin, sparkling water, and a wedge of lime, or even blended into a mocktail with three parts cloudy apple juice to one part cordial, poured over ice and finished off with a mint leaf or two.

Style of Wight Investigates:

Seasonal & Sustainable Eating This Autumn

We’re at Living Larder, in a field, amongst the rows of leeks and pumpkins — and we’re on a bit of a mission. We want to dig deeper and unearth all the soil-sprinkled details about seasonal and sustainable food this autumn; and who better to ask than friendly owners Will and Aimee Steward? Their gently sloping organic farm at Apse Heath uses eco-friendly techniques, crops are watered from their own lake and the fields are fringed with wildflowers (including the frothy white fronds of Fat Hen, an edible member of the spinach family). First things first, it’s autumn — a time many of us associate with glazed carrots, mashed parsnips, and roasted beetroot (which are all in season) but what else? Cue Aimee, chief organic veg box assembler: “There’s a misconception that seasonal is boring but each fruit or vegetable’s season only lasts a month or so before you’re onto something completely new, which is all part of the fun when it comes to cooking.” So, expect a changing repertoire which can even include some unexpected surprises — from fennel to Swiss chard and Romanesque cauliflowers to autumn raspberries (which on the Island can keep producing fruit into early October). Next, as we skirt the hedges of field number two, conversation turns to why seasonality matters. The obvious answer is food miles; if it’s in season it can be grown locally (rather than jetted in on fossil-fuel-powered planes) but it also means less intensive agriculture (no greenhouses, lighting, or heating) and the produce often tastes better too. Will confirms: “Parsnips and kale are much better after a frost, those temperature fluctuations make the plant contract and relax, tenderising it and breaking down the texture inside.”

Finally, (and most eye-opening of all) even amongst the seasonal and locally grown fruit and vegetables available, you can become even more eco by opting for those which are most sustainable for farmers and growers to produce. Examples from Living Larder include:

So, if you’ve been avoiding some of the above with a ten-foot hoe perhaps it’s time to reconsider, because if we all ate more of these seasonal, locally grown specialities, we might just be able to help make the change that the planet truly needs.

• Jerusalem Artichoke - Low maintenance and perhaps the most planet-friendly food on the farm. Will explains: “They produce so much food per plant, perhaps more than anything else we grow here and they’re really healthy too. If everyone ate more Jerusalem Artichokes we’d be able to produce a lot more food from the same amount of space.”

• Pak Choi - In the UK, it can grow outside during autumn without the need for a plastic polytunnel. As the days get shorter it doesn’t produce a flower head and instead puts its energy into making more tasty spinach-flavoured leaves instead.

• Pumpkins - The blue-skinned Crown Prince (which tastes like sweet potato) can grow as big as 5kg and can be stored for months before eating. Or there’s the Japanese origin Uchiki Kuri (with a smokey, chestnut flavour). Aimee uses it in curries and as the skin is so thin it can be left on (reducing food waste too).

• Chicory - Loved by chefs, it’s easy to grow, doesn’t require greenhouses or polytunnels, and makes a great winter salad.

STYLE | Food Warm Salad of Honey-Roasted Pigeon with local Jerusalem Artichokes, Caramelised Endive, Candied Walnuts and Wilted Pak Choi.

By Chef Matt Thompson of the Hambrough Restaurant Ventnor

Since our discoveries, we challenged Matt Tomkinson, Executive Chef at The Hambrough, to devise for us an exclusive recipe, using the seasonal, sustainable yet underappreciated ingredients of pak choi, chicory (also known as endive) and Jerusalem Artichoke.

As a former Roux Scholar and Michelin star winner, we knew if anyone was up to the challenge it was him — and he certainly didn’t disappoint… Serves 4 Ingredients

Pigeon 4 Pigeon Crowns | 1 tbsp Honey

Artichokes 10 Jerusalem Artichokes | 100ml Double Cream | 50g Butter

Endive 2 Heads Endive | 40g Brown Sugar 120ml Fresh Orange Juice | ½ Pack Pre-Rolled Puff Pastry

Walnuts 20 Walnut Halves | 100g Caster Sugar | 100g Water

Pak Choi 2 Small Heads Pak Choi | 5ml Vinaigrette

Method

To make the purée, peel and dice the artichokes. Sweat in the butter gently with a lid until tender. Add the cream and bring to the boil. Allow to cook for 5 minutes then blend to a smooth purée. Season. Cut each endive in half lengthways. In a hot frying pan brown the cut side in a little oil. Turn over and sprinkle in the brown sugar. Turn down the heat and allow to caramelise. Add the orange juice and bring to a simmer, cook the endive until tender and remove. Reduce the syrup to a light sauce consistency and reserve.

Place the cooled endive halves cut side up onto the pricked puff pastry base, place in a 180°C oven until cooked and golden brown. Remove and cut into 4 slices. Dissolve the sugar and water. Add the walnuts and boil, cook until 140°C. Drain and quickly deep-fry at 180°C until golden. Drain and season Separate the heads of pak choi and separate leaves. Stir fry in a very hot pan until wilted but still crunchy. Sprinkle with the vinaigrette and season. Season and brown the pigeon crowns in a hot pan until caramelised all over. Remove and glaze with the honey. Place in a 200°C oven for 6 minutes, remove and rest for 10 minutes. On four warm serving plates place the endive tart and some of the purée. Carve the breasts from the pigeons and place around the plate with some of the walnuts. Dress with the pak choi leaves and drizzle around some of the endive cooking liquid mixed with the honeyed resting juices. Serve at once.