8 minute read
Food & Drink
Cooking...
with Mrs Simkins
English Monkey
During the lockdowns, comforting cheesy snacks on toast have enjoyed a bit of a revival: for some of us, they never went out of style! If you’re fond of cheesy things on toast, who can resist English monkey? Dating back a couple of hundred years, this thrifty relative of Welsh rarebit helps eke out the cheese and goes further than the classic rarebit mix. Store leftover monkey topping in the fridge: it keeps fresh for several days. This version contains far fewer breadcrumbs than recipes from years ago (too many make the monkey stodgy) plus extra seasoning borrowed from the classic rarebit. Tips Make sure the bread for the crumbs is 2-3 days old and on the dry side. Tear the bread into small pieces and whiz in a food processor so they are as fine as possible for a nice smooth finished mixture. The cheese should be extra mature for the fullest flavour. Season with a generous hand. Top with a little extra grated cheese and a sprinkle of Cayenne before popping under the grill. Enough for 6-8 slices of toast Small knob of butter 200-250ml milk 50g breadcrumbs (see Tips) 125g extra mature Cheddar cheese, grated 1 medium-large egg, beaten ¼ teaspoon dry mustard, freshly ground black, ground white and cayenne pepper Shake of Worcester sauce to taste 6-8 pieces of bread Extra butter for spreading Melt the butter, in a heavy bottomed milk pan. Add 200m milk and the crumbs and warm through over a low heat, stirring until you get a smooth consistency. You may need to add more milk. Add the cheese a little at a time, stirring until melted. Once melted, stir in the beaten egg gradually and season with mustard, pepper and Worcester sauce. Continue to cook for 2-3 minutes with the heat low, until thick and bubbling, Toast the bread, cool slightly and let the steam escape before buttering thinly, taking the butter right to the edges. Pour or spread over the toast. Top with extra grated cheese and pop under the grill until bubbling.
Reviving Leftover Monkey Heat through any refrigerated leftovers with a little extra milk stirred in and pour over the toast as before. Alternatively, spread directly on the toast straight from
the fridge. Try also spreading over toasted crumpets and topping with extra cheese and a red pickled jalapeno before popping back under the grill. Utterly delicious! Check out Mrs Simkins’ website for more recipes MrsSimkins.co.uk twitter.com/MrsSimkinsCooks email: info@MrsSimkins.co.uk
Mum’s Kitchen...
with Diana Holman
Baked Portobello Mushrooms
This is a very easy to prepare starter, and serves four people.
Ingredients 4 large Portobello mushrooms, stalks removed Olive oil 150g Boursin Bunch of chives, finely chopped Finely grated zest of one lemon 55g (2oz) fresh white breadcrumbs 8 slices of pancetta Method Preheat the oven to 220c/180 fan. Place mushrooms skin side down in a roasting tin. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Mix together Boursin, chives, lemon zest and breadcrumbs and season lightly. Divide the mixture between the four mushrooms and bake for around 20 minutes or until tender. Grill the pancetta until crisp. Divide the mushrooms between four plates, top with pancetta, and serve with green salad.
Food & Drink A delicious way to boost your vitamins
Rebecca Vincent is a Wincanton nutritionist
This week we are going to look at some of the wonderful cruciferous vegetables we are lucky to have in season now. There are lots of types of broccoli, and the sprouting varieties such as purple sprouting broccoli are currently in season. Broccoli is especially rich in vitamin C, and actually has more per 100g than oranges! It also contains good levels of vitamins K, B6, E, and A, folic acid, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, and fibre. Cauliflower, also being a member of the cruciferous family, has a similar nutrient profile with excellent levels vitamins K and C, fibre, potassium, phosphorus, boron, and B vitamins. The beauty of this recipe is that it works with any type of broccoli or cauliflower you happen to have at the time, so will see you through the year as different varieties come into season. As with all of my recipes you can add your own touch with different herbs and spices to suit your tastes, make it your own and enjoy! Cauliflower and purple sprouting broccoli frittata (serves 4) 150g broccoli (trim the stems and slice any thick stalks in half lengthways) 150g cauliflower (cut into small florets) ½ red onion (cut into wedges) 2 tbsp olive oil 2 garlic cloves (finely grated) zest of ½ lemon (finely grated) leaves from a few springs of thyme 20g parmesan (finely grated) 8 eggs pinch black pepper Heat the oven to 180. Mix the oil, garlic, lemon zest, and thyme. Coat the broccoli, cauliflower and red onion in the mix and spread out on a baking tray. Roast for about 15 minutes, mixing halfway through. Meanwhile, whisk together the eggs, parmesan, and black pepper, and grease a round oven-proof dish or skillet. When the vegetable mix is done transfer to the ovenproof dish and pour over the egg mix. Pop in the oven for 15 mins, or until the eggs are set. Serve salad, an extra sprinkle of parmesan and a drizzle of oil. The leftovers are great cold for lunch the next day! n Rebecca Vincent BSc BANT registered nutritionist rebeccavincentnutrition.co.uk
By Steve Keenan
newsdesk@blackmorevale.net The volume of milk sold direct from the farm has grown substantially in the Blackmore Vale since lockdown, say farmers. The introduction of milk vending machines five years ago helped farms move to direct sales, at a time when supermarkets were paying rock bottom prices. Instead of receiving 19p a litre, farmers could sell direct for £1 – and the enthusiasm for milk straight from the herd has continued to rise. Church Farm Dairy in Semley was the first in the area to introduce a milk vending machine in August 2017, and initial sales were around 60 litres a day. That rose steady to 100 litres before lockdown – and has climbed again to 130 litres daily. “Our bottle sales went up quite a lot in March 2020, with a lot of new customers,” says Jenny Allan, a vet and partner of farm manager Jacob Bowerman. “I thought that if people were going to buy from us, they would have come by now. “But a lot of people are looking to buy British, and people have been really positive about it.” The ability to buy direct is a win-win for the farmers and consumers. While farmers now earn an average 30p a litre from supermarkets, they can sell direct for £1. Gate sales account for only 3-4% of milk produced by its 140 Friesian herd but 10% of income. And customers get creamy, unhomogenised milk within hours and with zero food miles while being able to support farmers such as Church Farm, run by Graham and Serena Bowerman for the past 45 years. But Jenny acknowledges that there are only so many people who want cream on their cereal, and thinks her market of Semley locals may now be saturated. And so Church Farm is diversifying, also now supplying Ansty Farm Shop and Coffee Angels in Tisbury with its milk: customers bring back their empty bottle and receive a full one. Jenny points out that buying a glass bottle for £2 and
Straight
from the herd till the cows come home
refilling it each time prevents the use of thousands of plastic milk bottles annually. “We also engage a lot more with the village,” she says, which affirms what Graham and Serena thought back in 2016: that the farm had lost connection with consumers. Several farms across the Blackmore Vale have followed Church Farm’s lead and have now installed vending machines, often selling other dairy products such as butter, cream and cheese at the same time. The figures stack up. Say a machine generates £1,000 a week, compared with £300 from selling commercially. Take out (generous) running costs of £100, start-up costs of a shed to house the machine, security cameras and so on, and farmers could pay off the cost of a vending machine within a year. “The machine paid for itself,” said Jenny, “and the cashflow had paid for a local apprentice who helps with the farm work. “We now manage it by ourselves. We could get somebody in but the priority is always to pay for improvements to the farm.”
More farmgate milk stations in the Vale n Meggy Moo’s Dairy, Shroton. Milk plus milkshakes, cream, juice, eggs and homemade cakes. Open 7am-7pm daily. n Madjeston Milk Station, near Gillingham Open 24/7 at Newhouse Farm plus eggs, cheese, milkshakes, cream and other items. n The Dorset Dairy Company, Stalbridge Strained yoghurt, butter and cream is made at Crib House Farm – available from milk stations at Harts of Stur and The Hub, Stalbridge. n Woodbridge Farm, Sturminster Newton Home to Blue Vinny cheese, there is a milk vending machine and other goods: chutney, butter, eggs, pies, even rice pudding, plus local sausages and bacon. Open 7am-8pm daily. n All sell pasteurised, unhomogenised milk at £1 a litre.
