Archive2016

I’ve just discovered Somerset!! Sounds like a bit of a random statement but even though I’ve been there on a fleeting visit before, I didn’t really register its multitude of charms – The Mendip Hills, Gardens at Stourhead, Albert’s Tower, Hauser and Wirth, Glastonbury Tor and Abbey, Dunster Castle, Jane Austen Centre, Wells Cathedral, Quantock Hills, Chalice Well, Bishops Lydeard Mill,  Rural Life Museum, galleries…..

My brother Rory O’ Connell and I had been invited to do a Pop-Up dinner at Roth Bar and Grill at Hauser and Wirth just outside the village of Bruton.

This complex has been painstakingly restored from an advanced state of dereliction by Iwan and Manuela Wirth. This dynamic pair are widely held to be the No 1 couple in the modern art world.

While we were there, a Don McCullin photographic exhibition was drawing people from far and wide. His powerful black and white photos from war zones in Africa, Vietnam and Biafran wars and England in the 1950s were profoundly thought provoking. More than one person emerged from the exhibition with tears pouring down their cheeks and Daphne Wright’s stallion sculpture quite simply awe inspiring. But we’d come to cook dinner with Steve Horrell and his team at the Roth Bar and Grill.

Rory’s delicious starter of fresh orange segments, cucumber dice, myrtle berries and marigold paprika leaves with a lemon verbena granita on top, really wowed the guests. Main course, was roast pork with crackling and spiced aubergines – a worthy celebration of a free range Sandy Black pig from the estate.  Yoghurt and cardamom cream with pomegranate seeds and rosewater blossom made a perfect ending followed by a surprise piece of Ballymaloe fudge served with freshly roasted and brewed coffee.

The walls of the restaurant are hung with pictures from top contemporary artists from around the world. The bar was created by Björn, Oddur and Einar Roth from  Switzerland.  Carcasses of beef, lamb, pork and pheasant hang in the dry aging Salt house that is lined with 500 hand cut Himalayan salt bricks. That in itself looks like an art installation. Closeby there’s a blackboard offering a fine brace of wild pheasant and a pot of dripping for £20 pounds.

Steve’s food at the Roth Bar and Grill is simply delicious. We had many fresh, simple seasonal dishes, beautifully composed. A terrine of pork and pheasant was served with Medlar jelly and organic leaves from Charles Dowding’s garden in the nearby village of Alhampton. Charles is the grower who has championed the No-dig method of vegetable growing. I went along to visit his garden and was so impressed by the results that I’ve invited him to come and teach a class at the school in 2016, so watch this space. www.charlesdowding.co.uk

Somerset is also Cheddar cheese country. I’d visited Keens and Montgomery Cheddar on a previous trip so this time we were shown around the Westcombe Cheddar dairy in Evercreech by Richard Calver. They’ve been making cheddar on this farm since the 1980s, and now his son Tom make Caerphilly and are trialling a Comté type cheese. He’s also provided space close to the dairy for some exciting young craft brewers to make a range of barrel aged beers close to the dairy, The Wild Beer Company.

The village of Bruton itself with its charming narrow cobbled streets has a variety of little shops, café and restaurants, far more lively than so many rural towns and villages nowadays which seem to be made up almost exclusively of charity shops and estate agents. This revival according to the locals is largely due to Hauser and Wirth which entices people from London and beyond to view the world class exhibitions and enjoy the food from the estate farm and gardens.

At The Chapel, on the main street also gets rave reviews from locals and visitors alike. We loved a Taleggio pizza with field mushrooms and thyme leaves from their woodburning oven and the croissants and pan au chocolat were deliciously buttery and flaky. We never did manage to eat at Matt’s, a tiny restaurant where chef Oliver Matt cooks and serves the food himself – it was booked out until Christmas with a long waiting list. Next time we’ll book well ahead and I’m looking forward to going back for a Family Saturday at Hauser and Wirth early in the New Year. http://www.hauserwirthsomerset.com/events/festive-family-saturday

 

Pork and Pheasant Terrine with Medlar Jelly

Every charcuterie in France proudly sells its own version of Pâté de Campagne.  They vary enormously in content and makeup – some are made with rabbit, game and even sweetbreads.  A certain proportion of fat is essential, otherwise the terrine will be dry and dull.  It is meant to be rough textured so the mixture should not be too finely minced.

Serves 10

8 ozs (225g) fresh pheasant or chicken livers or a mixture of both

2 tablespoons (2 American tablespoons + 2 teaspoons) brandy

1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper (yes, put it all in!)

8 ozs (225g) very thinly sliced, rindless streaky rashers (you may need more if they are not very thinly sliced) or better still, barding fat.

1/2 oz (15g/1/8 stick) butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 lb (450g) streaky pork, minced

8 ozs (225g) pheasant, minced

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground allspice (Pimento or Jamaican Pepper)

a good pinch of ground cloves

1 tablespoon (1 American tablespoon +1 teaspoon) freshly chopped Annual Marjoram

2 small eggs, beaten

salt, freshly ground pepper and nutmeg

2 ozs (50g) shelled pistachios

6-8 ozs (170-225g) piece of cooked ham, cut in thick strips

bay leaf

sprig of thyme

 

Accompaniments

Medlar Jelly (see recipe)

Cornichons; French breakfast radishes and a little salad of organic leaves and fresh herbs

Luting paste (see below) or tinfoil

3 pint (1.7 L/7 1/2 cups) capacity terrine or casserole with tight fitting lid

 

Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.

 

Wash the livers, separate the lobes and remove any trace of green.  Marinade in the brandy and 1/2 teaspoon of ground white pepper for 2 hours.   Line a terrine or casserole with very thinly sliced bacon or barding fat, keeping a few slices for the top.

Sweat the onion gently in the butter until soft but not coloured.  In a bowl mix the sweated onion with the pork, pheasant, garlic, allspice, ground cloves, chopped marjoram, beaten eggs and the brandy from the chicken livers.  Season with salt, freshly ground pepper and lots of grated nutmeg.  Mix very thoroughly.  Fry a little piece and taste for seasoning – it should taste quite spicy and highly seasoned.  Add the pistachios and beat until the mixture holds together

Spread a third of the farce in the lined terrine, add a layer of half the ham strips interspersed with half the chicken livers, then cover with another third of the pork mixture.  Add the remaining ham and livers and cover with the last third.  Lay the reserved barding fat or bacon slices on top, trimming the edges if necessary.  Set the bay leaf and sprig of thyme on top of the bacon or barding fat and cover with the lid.  Seal the lid with luting paste (see below) or else use a sheet of tinfoil under the lid.

Cook in a ban-marie in a preheated oven, 180C/350F/regulo4, for 1 3/4 – 2 hours or until a skewer inserted for 1/2 minute into the mixture is hot to the touch when taken out.  If you are still in doubt remove the lid and check: the pate should also have shrunk in from the sides of the terrine and the juices should be clear.

Cool until tepid, remove the luting paste or tinfoil and lid and press the terrine with a board and a 2 lb (900g) weight until cold.  This helps to compact the layers so that it will cut more easily.  Keep for 2-3 days before serving to allow the terrine to mature.  It can be frozen for up to 2 months.

To Serve: Unmould the terrine, cut into thick slices as needed and serve with medlar jelly, a good green salad and a glass of red wine.  Cornichons and crispy radishes are delicious as an accompaniment.

 

Luting Paste

8 ozs (225g/2 cups) flour

5-6 fl oz (150-175 ml/generous 1/2-3/4 cup) approximately water

 

Mix the flour and water into a dough firm enough to handle, roll into a rope and use to seal the lid on to the casserole to prevent the steam from escaping during cooking.

31/10/2013 (SH/DA) (3920)

 

Medlar Jelly

Makes 6-8 jars depending on size

Serve with game, pork or coarse patés or goat cheese

 

2 lbs (900 g) medlars

2 lbs (900 g) Bramley or crap apples

sugar

piece of cinnamon stick

2 cloves

2 star anise, optional

2 strips of lemon

 

Cut the fruit into quarters, put into a stainless steel saucepan.  Cover with water, bring to the boil and cover until soft.  Pour into a jelly bag and leave to drip overnight.  Don’t squeeze the jelly through the bag or the juice will be cloudy.  Next day measure the juice and allow 450g (1 lb) of sugar to every 600ml (1 pint) juice.  Heat the sugar and add to the hot juice.  Add the spices and boil until setting point is reached.  Pour into hot sterilized jars and cover immediately.

 

Roth Bar and Grill Doughnuts

 

250ml (9 fl oz) milk

50g (2 oz) sugar

500g (18 oz) strong white bread flour

40g (1¾) oz butter

15g fresh yeast

2 eggs

 

Sugar & little cinnamon powder for sugaring

Warm the milk and sugar in a pan until tepid. Mix the flour, butter, yeast & eggs in a mixing bowl – with a dough mixer. Add the yeast to the milk and sugar mix, then pour the milk mix into the flour mix.

Beat on a low speed for 5 minutes followed by 5 minutes on high speed. Place the dough in a bowl covered with cling film to prove. Take out the bowl, cut into 15g portions and roll in to balls. Place on a lightly oiled tray with cling film over the top

Leave to prove again until they double in size.

Deep fry at 180 degrees until golden brown – turn over half way through. It is best to do only a few at a time. Remove and drain onto kitchen paper.

Sugar the balls – they are now ready to serve

 

Roth Bar and Grill Roasted Squash & Pearled Spelt Salad 

 

1 Butternut squash

2 cloves of garlic

A small bunch of hard herbs – thyme, rosemary & marjoram

Spices – dried chilli, coriander seeds, fennel seeds

Pomice oil, olive oil & red wine vinegar

Pearled spelt

Cherry tomatoes

Parmesan

Parsley – chopped

Salt & pepper

 

Peel and deseed the squash – cut into long chunky wedges. Take a level teaspoon of each spice and ground in a pestle & mortar. Peel and thinly slice the garlic. Pick and roughly chop the hard herbs.

In a bowl, sprinkle half the herbs, half the garlic, half the spices, salt and pepper and a good glug of pomice oil over the butternut squash.

Get your hands dirty – ensure the squash is covered in the oil, herbs & spices

Remove the squash and put on a tray – retain the bowl of oil.

 

Cut the cherry tomatoes in half, squeeze out the seeds and toss them in the oil bowl with the rest of the herbs and spices and salt and pepper – put in a small separate roasting tray.

Put the squash in the oven on 220°C/425°F gas mark 8 for 15 minutes – shake & turn frequently until golden brown then remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Roast the tomatoes in their own tray at 220°C/425°F gas mark 8 for 10 minutes – remove from the oven and leave to cool.

Put the spelt into a pan of salted cold water – bring up to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Strain off the spelt, whilst still warm add a good glug of olive oil, red wine vein gar, chopped parsley and grated Parmesan.

Mix the squash, tomatoes and spelt together in a clean bowl – gently combining all ingredients using your hands.

Taste to check the seasoning and adjust to taste.

Serve and enjoy – great with grilled meat or fish or by itself for a light lunch.

 

Rory O’ Connell’s Salad of Oranges, Cucumber, Marigold and Myrtle Berries with Lemon Verbena Granita

Serves 4

 

4 oranges carefully segmented

2 tablespoons (2 1/2 American tablespoons) of peeled and very finely diced cucumber. Avoid using the seeds in the middle of the cucumber

2 teaspoons of honey

2 -4 teaspoons of lemon juice

1 tablespoon (1 1/4 American tablespoons) of tiny marigold leaves

1 tablespoon (1 1/4 American tablespoons) of Myrtle berries

2 tablespoons (2 1/2 American tablespoons) of lemon verbena granita

2 teaspoons of marigold petals

 

Place the orange segments and diced cucumber in a bowl and add the honey and lemon juice. Stir very gently to mix. Be careful not to break up the orange segments. Taste and correct the sweetness if necessary with a few more drops of lemon juice. Add the marigold leaves and myrtle berries to the bowl, mixing them in gently. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

 

To serve, divide the orange mixture and its juices between 4 shallow bowls. Place 1 dessertspoon of granita on top of the fruit and finally sprinkle on the marigold petals.

Serve immediately.

 

Lemon Verbena Granita

This is a master recipe in that the leaf of choice, lemon verbena in this case, can be successfully replaced by others. The first time I made this recipe, I used blackcurrant leaves as in the leaves from a blackcurrant bush. For a few weeks in May, the leaves are highly scented and you end up with an ice that is pure white in colour, but tasting intensely of blackcurrants. Fabulous. Interestingly, the leaves of redcurrant or white currant bushes are not scented at all and not suitable for this recipe. If you have currant bushes in your garden, and as they will not be in fruit when you are making this recipe, in which case you may not be able to remember which bush is which, just pick a leaf off each bush, rub it between your fingers to release its aroma, and if it smells intensely of currant, then that’s it. Many other leaves such as spearmint, lemon balm and rose or lemon scented geranium all work brilliantly.  Elderflowers, though not a leaf but with a heady muscat flavoured scent, also work really well. As this is a granita we are expecting a slightly coarse, flaky and icy texture, so forget about your ice cream scoop here and just spoon it into pretty serving dishes. You will not need an ice cream machine here, though if you have one and freeze the mixture in the machine, it will then be a sorbet. The recipe is simple but watch out for the subtleties involved, such as using cold water with the sugar when cooking the leaves to draw out their flavour and allowing the syrup to cool completely before adding the lemon juice. The granita will keep for several weeks in the freezer but is considerably better when eaten as soon as possible after it has been frozen.

This granita of lemon verbena is good on its own but is even better when served with a splash of a dry sparkling wine. Serve as a light and refreshing dessert or as an equally light and refreshing starter on a scorching Summer’s day.

 

Briefly explained

Make a syrup with the leaves, sugar and cold water.

Cool the syrup.

Add the lemon juice, mix, strain out the leaves and freeze.

 

The ingredients

• Lemon verbena, a wonderful citrus scented herb is used to flavour many sweet dishes such as mousses, creams and ices. The sharp pointy leaves are intensely lemony and make an utterly refreshing ice.

 

Serves 6-8

3 handfuls of lemon verbena leaves

225g (8oz/1 cup) granulated sugar

600ml (1 pint/2 1/2 cups) cold water

3 lemons

 

Place the leaves, sugar and cold water in a saucepan. Place over a moderate heat. Stir occasionally to encourage the sugar to dissolve and bring it to a simmer. Allow it to simmer gently for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool until it is completely cold. You will end up with a pale green syrup. Juice the lemons and add to the syrup and right before your eyes you will see the green tinge leaving your syrup. Strain out the leaves through a sieve and I usually press on the leaves to extract as much flavour as I can. Place the strained syrup in a wide container and freeze until set. Remove from the freezer and break up the ice with a fork. It will look like a slushy mess. Refreeze and repeat the process twice more, three times if you can bear it, and eventually you will end up with the distinctive shard like consistency of a granita. Refreeze covered until you are ready to serve it. I serve it in coloured glasses or glass bowls, with a single relevant leaf to decorate and a splash of chilled sparkling wine

As 2015 comes hurtling to a close, I thought it might be fun and interesting to have a look at food and drink trends for 2016.

1. Sales of processed and junk food appear to have peaked (2005) and continue to slide. A recent New York Times article analysing future trends reported a seismic shift in our culture away from processed food towards whole,  real, fresh foods Consumer demands for natural and less processed food and drink are already forcing companies to remove artificial ingredients from their products and to replace them with more natural formulations.

McDonald’s in the US responding to consumer pressure now  plan use eggs sourced  from cage-free hens and antibiotic free chicken.

Joanna Blythman’s book Swallow This – Serving up the Food Industry’s Darkest Secrets has been hugely influential in informing the general public about what happens behind closed doors in food processing.

Clean labels, climate change, concerns about waste and other natural phenomenon are also affecting the worldwide food supply.

2. Sustainability is now a necessity for the bottom line and the common good.
3. The growing emphasis on physical fitness and diet has spawned a whole new craze and market for ‘clean foods’, energy and sports drinks, vegetable juices, raw foods and food that supposedly make us ‘glow’ with good health. The Spiralizer (a gadget to make spaghetti from vegetables) and the Nutribullet are still selling like ‘hot cakes’ as the juice craze continues to endure.
4. As food allergies and intolerances become more widespread (a symptom of how our food is produced to provide max yield at minimum cost) desperation grows, to find alternatives – non-dairy, non gluten and ‘free-from’ foods continue to gain more shelf space. Looks like ‘alternative’s’ could be set to become main stream.

Do you have any allergies?  is a standard question in restaurants. There are now 14 allergens that restaurants need to be aware of.

5. The growing distrust of large multinational corporations has given a boost to the artisan food and drink sector. This situation doesn’t appear to be going to change anytime soon. There’s a craving for real, honest, handmade,  homemade……

The FSAI and Taste Council of Ireland added gravitas in May 2015 when they published guidelines for the Use of Food Marketing Terms. There also seems to be a growing realization that the quality of food and indeed drink from small production systems is generally quite different to that of large intensive enterprises. Hopefully this will prompt a growing appreciation of the quality produce from the family farms of Ireland.

6. Our shopping habits are gradually changing – little, often, local….

On line shopping, apps that simplify online and mobile ordering and delivery services are beginning to have a real impact.  Restaurateurs in the US and the UK are nervously watching the E-revolution and the trend of ‘home delivery’ and services like Munchery, who deliver restaurant quality  food from a production kitchen to your door cutting out restaurants altogether.

7. ‘Fine Dining is over’, sounds a bit dramatic but our eating habits have changed dramatically during the last decade. Casual restaurants and cafes offering fresh, seasonal, edgy food are’ jammers’ while many of the ‘starred’ establishments are finding it more difficult to fill. Small and shared plates are becoming a preferred way to eat.
8. Food has shot to the top of the agenda in so many areas, TV food programmes like The Great British Bake Off and competitions like Masterchef are super popular ….Food supplements are guaranteed to boost newspaper  and magazine sales .. …….
9. The rise of a ‘food centric media’ has apparently sparked a new interest in cooking. The number of food blogs has skyrocketed. For young people, its ‘cool to cook’ at home and share your creations via social media – it must be ‘good enough to tweet’.
10. A whole range of small food business have proliferated, cupcakes to spice mixes, macaroons and cake pops to falafel, mozzarella to charcuterie…

Food carts and food trucks have enabled many passionate young people to get started in the food business.

11. Vegetables are at last beginning to move to the centre of the plate. The interest in ‘natural’ has boosted sales of ancient grains and super foods. There growing suspicion of tricky chemical concoctions has prompted a revival of interest in traditional and indigenous diets, ‘historical’ ingredients and food processing the ‘natural and old fashioned way’.
12. Meanwhile, scientists have made huge strides in mapping our DNA and so we will see diets designed specifically for our personal genetic makeup in the not too distant future.
13. Soylent, a meal replacement beverage, described as a ‘staple meal’, is now in production. My heart sinks at the thought of that being the future of food but obviously many investors have high hopes for this becoming a reality.
14. Fat is shedding its ‘demonic image’ as the public gradually becomes aware of the lack of any research to link fat to cardio vascular disease. So we now see that butter is back and not just duck or goose fat but dripping and lard are also having their ‘moment’. And surprise, surprise we’ve rediscovered, not just how delicious but also how properly nutritious they are. Well done, to butcher Pat Whelan from Clonmel, Co Tipperary, for leading the revival of interest in dripping of which both my own mother and mother in law Myrtle Allen were always great proponents.
15. Sugar is the new fat, although it takes time to change ingrained habits the impact is already being acutely felt.

Sales of soft drinks and juices are plummeting and food manufactures are reducing sugar in their products or using alternative substitutes.

Foods

1. Broths, particularly home broths are huge.
2. Sales of almond milk have over taken from soya.
3. Coconut products of all kinds both food and cosmetics are vaporizing off the shelves.

The health benefits seem to be endless!

4. Sugar substitutes, xylitol, agave, date syrup, honey, maple syrup….Be cautious,  many of these may well be beneficial in their natural state but when highly processed……the jury is still out on whether they are better.
5. Sales of avocados have had a huge boost from the raw and ‘clean food’ craze and are widely used in both sweet and savoury recipes – careful seek out organic avocados if at all possible.
6. The popularity of kale still endures but cauliflower, cabbage and brussel sprouts have made a remarkable come back, thanks to the ‘healthy eating ‘brigade. Chefs have shown us how versatile they are. Roasted, shredded, spiced, on pizzas,  in pilaffs….cauliflower rice is a terrific new discovery.
7. Who could have predicted that fermenting and pickling food would become the trendiest pastime in 2015? We now realize that the live probiotics in fermented and pickled food are enormously beneficial for our gut flora.
8. Homemade, home churned, housemade butter and natural sourdough breads are now a regular feature of top restaurant menus.

If you’d like to learn the simple secrets of how to make kimchi, sauerkraut, kombucha, kefir….you might want to consider one of the Fermentation Courses at the Ballymaloe Cookery School – see the website www.cookingisfun.ie – we’ve been running them since 2014.

9. Whether for dietary or for medicinal reasons, there is a marked increase in the number of people avoiding dairy and gluten. The dairy industry need to be acutely aware that we mess with the quality of our dairy products at our peril….

Watch the rise in micro dairies mirror other areas where the consumer wants to know exactly how their product is produced and where. ….

10. In-house Smoke Houses -smoking foods in restaurants and at home is a new party trick – everything from fish, meat, vegetables to chilli and even chocolate. See how to smoke in a biscuit box in Forgotten Skills, page 472, published by Kyle Books in 2009.
11. Cooking over fire….. Guess who’s coming to the Kerrygold Ballymaloe Literary Festival of Food and Wine from May 20^th-22^nd 2016 – Francis Mallmann. Tickets go on sale on January 12^th 2016 at midday, tel 021 4645777 or litfest.ie
12. Seaweed in everything, from beer to icecream.
13. Raw fish – ceviche and tartare are becoming main stream. Bottarga and cured mullet roe are also gaining popularity.
14. Heirloom varieties and rare breeds continue to gather momentum

15. Single estate chocolate, coffee and teas are garnering ever more devotees

Movements

1. Butchering classes everywhere seem to be oversubscribed, ‘Lad culture’ grows, shooting, plucking, gutting, skinning, even the girls are at it – rediscovering and relearning the valuable traditional skills

2. Growing – the urban farming and gardening movement is an astonishing worldwide phenomenon, people are growing on roofs, up walls, down walls on window sills, in disused ‘parking lots’. Allotments are oversubscribed, check out Grow Food not Lawns foodnotlawns.com
3. A myriad of miracle diets as desperation grows, vegan, paleo…volumetrics, iets…The popularity of the Meat Free Monday Movement has astounded many.
4. Wild and Foraged foods is an enduring trend and using pebbles, seaweed, spruce shells …to serve food in as natural an environment as possible.

As people gradually discover that campylobacter and salmonella is a given on intensely produced poultry, there is a dawning realization that we may now need to go back to the days when chicken was a rare treat but are we prepared to pay the €20-€25 euros it really costs to produce an excellent organic free range bird.

There’s a lot more but enough ‘food for thought’ for today.

Happy New Year to you and yours and Happy Cooking in 2016

Drinks

1. The natural wine movement is gradually sparking public interest fuelled by the alarming number of people who cannot drink cheap wine any longer without ill effects. We’re not just talking ‘hang over’. ….A growing number of top restaurants are selling only organic, bio dynamic and natural wines. Watch this space……
2. House made sodas and homemade lemonades.
3. Water kefir, kombucha and a variety of fermented drinks are making an appearance on supermarket shelves as their benefits for our gut flora are more widely understood.
4. Sales of procesco and cava have outstripped champagne by more than 7/1/.
5. Cocktails and mocktails have become even more exciting and creative.
6. The growth in the craft beer, artisan distillers has seriously impacted on the multinational companies as the craving for brews and spirits of character grow

Olia Hercules Armenian Pickles

My Aunt Nina’s grandmother, Liza from Karabakh, used to make this using mountain spring water, and the taste of those pickles was incomparable. Beetroot is often added to Armenian pickles for colour, which is similar to how it is made in the Middle East. These pickles are delicious and we eat them in the summer and in winter. You can buy horseradish leaves and dill stalks in bunches from Polish delis specially for pickling, but if you can’t find them or the blackcurrant and cherry leaves, just substitute with some spices or aromatics that you like (celery would be great) or simply leave them out.

Makes a 3 litre

(5¼  pint) jar

2 beetroots, peeled and sliced into discs

½ small white cabbage, sliced into wedges

200g (7oz) mixed runner beans or French beans, tailed

4 spring onions

1 head of new garlic, left whole, outer layer peeled

50g (2oz) dill heads or stalks

2 horseradish leaves, or 50g (2oz) fresh horseradish, chopped

2 blackcurrant leaves

2 sour cherry leaves

1 litre (1¾ pints) water

3 tablespoons sea salt flakes

10 black peppercorns

 

Place the beetroot at the bottom of a warm, sterilized 2 litre (3½  pint) preserving jar, then top with the cabbage wedges, beans, spring onions, garlic and all the aromatics, apart from the peppercorns.

Bring the water, salt and peppercorns to the boil in a saucepan, then pour over the vegetables. Make sure everything is submerged, then seal and leave in a warm part of your kitchen (25°C/77°F) for about

3 days to pickle, then store in the refrigerator. The beetroot will gradually turn everything a deep pink. It should keep unopened for several months.

From Mamushka: Recipes from Ukraine & beyond by Olia Hercules, Photography by Kris Kirkham, published by Mitchell Beazley

Honey Cake

This is for honey lovers who are not scared of weird cake making methods. You can use a good-quality crème fraîche to make the icing, but what you are looking for here is a beautiful balance between slightly sour and honeycomb sweet.

 

Serves 8–10

200g (7oz) butter, cubed and chilled, plus extra for greasing

2 egg s, lightly beaten

200g (7oz) golden caster sugar

200ml (7fl oz) clear honey

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

300g (10oz) plain flour

150–200g (5–7oz) pecans, half left whole, the rest toasted and roughly crushed

 

Cream

500ml (7fl oz) soured cream

100g (3½ oz) golden caster sugar

grated zest and juice of ½ lemon

 

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4, and lightly butter 4 x 24cm (9½  inch) cake tins (or use 2 in batches).

Mix the eggs, butter, sugar and honey together in a large heatproof bowl and place it over a small saucepan of simmering water. Give it a stir, to help the butter to melt, then whisk with an electric whisk until the mixture becomes warm and fluffy. Let it cool.

Place the bicarbonate of soda in a cup and pour the vinegar over the soda, then tip the foaming mixture into the honey mixture and give it a vigorous stir.

Gradually fold in the flour to form a thick but fluid batter. Spoon one-quarter of the mixture into each prepared cake tin and bake for 15 minutes or until deep golden. The sponges will still be soft while warm, so let them cool before taking them out of their tins.

For the cream, put the soured cream into a large bowl and whisk with an electric whisk. Add the sugar and whisk some more, then add the lemon zest and juice and whisk again until the cream is fluffy. Use

half the cream to sandwich the 4 sponge layers together, then use the remaining cream to cover the top and sides.

Decorate the sides with the crushed nuts. Use the pecan halves to decorate the top of the cake. Alternatively, crush all the nuts and sprinkle them evenly all over.

From Mamushka: Recipes from Ukraine & beyond by Olia Hercules, Photography by Kris Kirkham, published by Mitchell Beazley

 

Anna Jones’ Three Vibrant Dips

These are three quick and easy dips that I keep in my fridge on rotation. They are great for boosting quick meals and for quickly slathering on sandwiches. But more than anything, these are what I snack on. I dip cracker or a carrot into whichever of these happens to be in the fridge. With these in my kitchen my 4pm raid of the biscuit tin is often avoided.

 

Red Lentil and Lemon Hummus

 

2 cloves of garlic

200 g red lentils, rinsed

Juice of ½ lemon

2 tablespoons tahini

A good pinch of dried chilli

1 tablespoon olive oil

 

To serve

2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Chopped herbs or cresses (I use baby amaranth)

 

Bash the garlic and put into a small pan with the rinsed lentils. Cover with cold water and cook the lentils until tender and mashable, then drain and remove the skins of the garlic. Blitz the lot until whipped and smooth, add all the other ingredients and blitz again. Top with toasted seeds and the herbs.

 

Beetroot, Walnut and Date

1 x 250 g packet of cooked vacuum-packed beetroot

4 dates

2 tablespoons regular or coconut yoghurt

Small bunch of fresh dill

2 unwaxed lemon

1 tablespoon olive oil

Handful of toasted walnuts

 

Blitz the beetroots, dates, yoghurt and half the bunch of dill with the zest and juice of the lemon and the oil, and season well with salt and pepper. Throw in the toasted walnuts and blitz again, keeping a bit of texture if you like; I like mine smooth.

 

Indian Green Dip

200g frozen peas

a small bunch of fresh coriander

a small bunch of fresh mint

1–2 green chillies

2 unwaxed limes

20g from a block of coconut cream

 

Fill and boil a kettle and get your ingredients together. Cover the peas with boiling water and put aside for a few minutes. Finely chop the coriander and mint and put

into a bowl. Finely chop the green chillies, zest of both limes, and add both to the bowl, along with the juice of one of the limes.  Season well with salt and pepper.

Drain the peas and mash well, then add them to the herbs. Grate over the coconut cream and mix well.

From A Modern Way to Cook by Anna Jones

 

Anna Jones’ Kale, Sumac and Crispy Rice Salad

This is an amazing salad based on one I ate at an incredible neighbourhood café in LA. Sqirl is one of those places where you want every single thing on the menu, right down to the drinks. On my last trip to LA I ate there five times. For someone who doesn’t like routine that’s pretty solid. This is a play on what was my favourite thing on the menu. It has inspired favours with sumac and lime, and textures with kale and crispy rice. I am going to ask you to cook your rice three times here, which may seem crazy, but it’ll create perfect little pops of crunch against the rest of the salad. This is a great way to use up leftover rice too – just skip the first cooking stage. It’s also really good topped with a softly poached egg or some feta and

flatbreads if you are hungry. Bear in mind that if you use brown rice it will take about 20 minutes to cook.

 

Serves 4 as a light meat, 2 as a main

100g basmati rice (I use brown)

a bunch of curly kale, green or purple (about 200g)

the zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon

3 spring onions

2 tablespoons coconut oil

the zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lime

1 tablespoon sumac (optional)

2 tablespoons good olive oil

1 teaspoon runny honey

6 medjool dates

 

Fill and boil a kettle and get all your ingredients and a large frying pan together. Cook the rice in a small saucepan of boiling salted water until cooked – this will take 10–15 minutes.

Meanwhile, pull the kale from its stems and shred the leaves with a knife or tear into small pieces with your hands. Put the leaves into a bowl, then add the zest and juice of the lemon and a good pinch of salt and scrunch it in your hands for a minute to break it down a little. Chop the spring onions finely and add them to the bowl. Once the rice is cooked, drain it well. Put a large frying pan on the heat and when it’s hot, add the rice with no oil and dry-fry for a couple of minutes to get rid of any moisture.

Remove the rice from the pan, then put the pan back on the heat, add half the coconut oil at a time and fry the rice in two batches until starting to turn lightly brown and really crispy. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt.

Now make your dressing. Put the zest and juice of the lime into

a screw top jar with the sumac, if using, and 2 tablespoons of olive oil, add the honey and a pinch of salt and pepper. Put on the lid and shake to combine. De-stone and roughly chop the dates and add to the kale. Once the rice is almost cool, add it to the kale and toss in the dressing.

 

From Anna Jones’ a modern way to cook

 

Anna Jones’ Bay and Saffron-Roasted Cauliflower

Something magical happens to a cauliflower when you roast it. I usually turn to Indian spices when I think of cauliflower, but one bright May Day I turned to the sunshine warmth of saffron. My bay tree was in full bloom and so this mellow but cheerfully favoured vegetable found its way into my oven. I throw in a handful of golden raisins for some sweetness and some almonds for crunch. Leftovers are delicious stirred through pasta with a little extra olive oil – conchiglie (shells) work well. I love the sight of a cauliflower – it’s a pretty vegetable to me, with its milky curds wrapped in pale leaves and the tiny little green leaves that cling to the sides in an act of complete protection. Keep those little leaves on – they are bright and tasty and look so pretty. If you can get your hands on a coloured cauliflower (vivid purple and orange are my favourites), then you’ve got added antioxidants too and your dinner will be fluoro. I make this with spiky Romanesco, too, when it’s about – its pale green looks amazing against the saffron.

Serves 4

 

2 pinches of saffron strands

1 large or 2 small cauliflowers (approx. 1kg), leaves clicked off, head broken into medium florets, stalk roughly chopped

2 medium onions, peeled and finely sliced

1 tablespoon Turkish chilli flakes or a good pinch of dried chilli flakes

3 bay leaves

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

A handful of raisins, (I use golden ones)

A handful of almonds, roughly chopped

a bunch of fresh parsley, roughly chopped

 

Preheat your oven to 200°C/180°F/gas 6.

Put the saffron into a little bowl, cover it with a couple of teaspoons of boiling water and leave it to steep. Get a large deep baking tray, throw in the cauliflower, onions, chilli flakes and bay leaves, and season with salt and pepper.

Once the saffron has steeped, pour in the saffron strands and their liquid, add the raisins and almonds, toss everything together, then cover the lot with foil and bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

Remove the foil and bake for a further 10–15 minutes, until the tips are burnished and the cauliflower is tender to the bite.

Toss through the chopped parsley and serve.