What's in season now?

All sorts of yummy goodies are growing and ready to pick right now, sadly they seem to all be of the family that may cause a few windy pops so don't over do it otherwise your duvet will be floating like a magic carpet!

Parsnips, turnips, swede, leeks, cauliflower, cabbages (my favourite), kale and Jerusalem artichokes (the most offensive in the wind department!) And all these lovely veggies go great with a Sunday roast but there are lots of things you can do to make them more exciting and change the mind of even the biggest greens hater. So here are a few ideas of what to do with some of my favourite winter veg:

Parsnips

Well, roasted of course is the traditional and probably most popular way to enjoy however, my dearest mother taught me a little trick, peel and chop like you would if you were about to roast them, par boil them, now when you drain them toss them in grated Parmesan and wholemeal flour before placing in hot fat in a even hotter oven. Just delicious! Or try roasting them with carrots, honey and thyme. They also make a beautiful soup, parsnip and ginger being a standard  winter favourite in our household, not only warming but clears the airways!

Leeks

Leek gratin, makes a change from the standard cauliflower cheese, same principal different veg. Or try a different take on the traditional welsh rarebit... In a saucepan melt a good knob of butter and sweat some washed and finely shredded leeks (2-3), couple of cloves of crushed garlic, and salt and pepper. Do this until they are soft and translucent about 15 mins. Then add a large teaspoon mustard, I prefer Dijon but whatever takes your fancy and about 100g goats cheese, soft or hard your call. Whilst the cheese is melting and the mixture is becoming all gooey pop some bread (recommend ciabatta but anything will do) in the toaster. Once bread is toasted spoon over the leeky cheesy mixture and enjoy, usually in front of the TV! Yum.

Cabbages

Now to me heaven is a plate of boiled cabbage, well seasoned and of course al dente covered in melted butter! Just can't get enough! However I do understand that this is not to every ones taste so here are a couple of other ideas to keep us eating cabbages.
Cabbage with caraway seeds, great as an accompaniment to a mid week supper, heat a large frying pan with with a few tablespoons of water, a lump of butter and teaspoon of salt, once butter melted add the cabbage and 1-2 tablespoons caraway seeds and keep tossing it over a high heat, then cover for a few minutes, then toss again, serve immediately with lots of freshly ground salt and pepper! Or try the same method without the caraway seeds but a few rashes of crispy bacon!

Kale

Just delicious lightly boiled with salt, pepper and a sprinkling of nutmeg! But really my favourite thing to do with kale is make colcannon. Creamy mashed potato with finely shredded kale and a generous helping of nutmeg, the perfect accompaniment to lamb shanks, braised oxtails or some other heart warming casserole.

Jerusalem Artichokes

I am issuing a warning here, please proceed with caution, although these little knobbly roots we dig up are a delicious vegetable they have very serious side affects! Fartichokes are no joke, but the reason behind all the wind is actually that they are very good for your gut and help to promote good bacteria, just what we need at this time of year! They are great roasted or even in a soup whatever takes your fancy, they are usually in abundance at this time of year as once you start growing them they will return year in year out with avengence, so ask around I'm sure there will be someone wanting to get rid of a bag full! They have a real affinity with fish and shell fish especially so here is a little something you can knock up next time you pop to the fishmongers!

Artichoke and Almond Rosti with Seared Scallops and Lemon Butter
Serves 4

300g Jerusalem artichokes, grated
100g flaked almonds
2tsp freshly chopped rosemary
Dried chilli flakes, according to taste
Juice of 1 lemon
100g plain flour
salt and pepper
olive oil for frying
12 large scallops, out their shells, washed and ready to go
200g Butter

Squeeze out any excess moisture from the grated artichokes with your hands and place in a bowl.
Now mix in the almonds, rosemary, chilli flakes, half the lemon juice, flour and seasoning. Divide into four and gently mould into little cakes.
Get two frying pans on the heat, both with a good glug of olive oil, one needs to be searing hot (for the scallops) the other a medium heat (for the rosti). Once the pan for the rosti is up to temperature, place the little cakes in the pan and flatten slightly with a spatula, don't be tempted to keep poking it and moving it, fry gently on one side for approx five minutes then turn once and repeat on the other side.
By now the other pan will be very hot and ready for the scallops, a quick sprinkle of pepper and into the pan, again don;t be tempted to keep moving them about, about 1-2 mins on either side depending how large they are, baste with the hot oil. Once these are cooked take them out the pan and pop them on a plate to keep warm. In the same pan, add the butter and the remaining lemon juice, a good sprinkling of salt and pepper and you are ready to go.
Place the rosti on the centre of each plate with the scallop piled on top and pour over the lovely lemon butter, serve on it's own as a starter or as a main with a side salad and fresh bread to mop up the juices.

I hope I have given you all a little inspiration and encouraged you to indulge in some of our lovely winter vegetables. Enjoy!

Keep calm and keep it British

Following the fantastic sereies Great British Food Revival I feel it is only appropriate that I follow suit and let you all know how passionately I feel about our Great British Food!


I know how easy it is to pop into your local supermarket and grab a bag of potatoes or carrots without even looking where it came from, we all lead such busy lives and convinience is key but also cost plays an important part in our choice as well. Some of our well known super market chains have been backing this campaign with Union Jacks marking out products grown and supplied by our farmers. However our produce is a little more expensive than produce from overseas, and for the money conscious individual this can affect our choice. And at times like these I understand how imporatnt it is to keep an eye on the purse strings however at the same time we need to support our British farmers and keep an eye on their purse strings!


In Britain certain fruits, breeds of livestock and vegetables are at risk of becoming extinct and due to the work of our British farmers they are working hard to make sure this doesn't happen! We need to support them by buying their produce, without them our Sunday roast might have to travel thousands of miles before we pick it up off the supermarket shelf and cook it for our family, beef from Nigeria, cauliflower from Spain, cabbage from Portugal, not the traditional Sunday Roast that we know and love!


I can't stress enough the importance of supporting our farmers, and there are lots of ways we can do this. If you have the time go to your local butcher, fishmonger or farm shop and you will see all the beautiful produce our country has to offer. Most fishmongers will get their fish fresh from market several days a week, caught in the waters surrounding our country, I am lucky I have a little man in a van every thursday morning park outside my house and I all I have to do is pop over the road and get first pickings of all his beautiful fresh fish! Butchers will go to market at least once a week, a good butcher will know where his meat has come from and know how it is reared, ask next time you are there, you may walk out with something you haven't tried before or even a little inspiration. Farm shops are popping up everywhere, even in central London, go and see what they have to offer, their veg may be a bit dirtier and not quite the same size and shape we are used to seeing but believe me when I say it will make up for it's looks with the freshness and the taste! If you don't have the time to visit any of the above then look out for the Union Jack in the super market, check the food you are buying is British, everything these days has to state it's place of origin, if it's not British then find something that is!


If we all get on board and start to consciously buy British it will help our farmers no end, we won't have to rely on oversea growers and suppliers, surely it's only logical buying the produce that we grow in our own country rather than shopping abroad.

Feeling Inspired

As I sit down to another entertaining episode of masterchef my stomach starts to rumble (although I have already eaten!) but most importantly the old cogs start tunrning and I get to thinking about my favourite foods. It's that time of year when we all start to comfort eat, it's cold and dark, roast chicken and cauliflower cheese has never seemed more appealing. But there are plently of other wonderful classics we can enjoy and I have decided to share with you my favourite winter comfort food! Moules! Big fat juicy, mussels in a creamy, tangy, herby sauce served with freshly baked bread and green salad with french dressing! YUM!

Moules Sauce Poulette

1 kg Fresh Mussels
Large knob of unsalted butter
2 Shallots sliced or diced(I prefer the banana Shallots)
250 ml Dry white wine, Muscadet will do!
2 Large egg yolks
125 ml Creme Fraiche or double cream
Fresh Thyme
Fresh flat leaf parsley

First of all mix the egg yolks with the creme fraiche, whisk until blended and set aside.
Thoroughly scrub, rinse and beard the mussels. Leave to drain in a collander.
Melt the butter in a large high sided pan over a medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until just about soft and translucent.
Add the mussels, wine and a handful of fresh thyme leaves. Increase the heat to high and cover.
Cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring occaisionally, until the mussels have opened, don't over cook them or they will be tough!
Drain the mussels in a collander with a bowl underneath to keep the juices, pour this liquid back into the pan and whisk in the creme fraiche and yolk mix.
Place the mussels in a warm dish and cover. Gently heat the sauce, careful not to boil it, stirring all the time. When the sauce is hot and thick pour it over the mussels and sprinkle with chopped flat leaf parsley.

Serve with fresh bread to mop all those yummy juices up and a green salad to get your essential five a day! Oh and of course the other essential five a day, glass of white wine!

Hope you all enjoy this as much as my other half and I do, this should serve 4 but to be honest we usually polish this all off between the two of us. Piggy I know but too good to resist!

Getting ready for Christmas

Hello!
Welcome to my blog first of all! Perhpaps I should tell you a little about myself before I ramble on about Christmas. I am a passionate Chef from Reigate, Surrey, I have dedicated the last 5 years of my life to studying, training, sourcing and of course eating food! I truly believe in our Great Brittish Food and providing a delicious product, that is home made and hopefully you will agree too, delicious! In this blog, I aim to provide you with recipe ideas, seasonal produce and a bit of fun in the kitchen.

It's getting to that time of year now when the decorations are going up, nights are drawing in and of course we've all spotted our first Coca Cola Christmas advert on TV!

I know how hard it is with the pressures of entertaining at Christmas, timimg all those yummy dishes that make Christmas day so special. And another pressure, presents! It is so hard trying to find that perfect gift, being the food lover that I am I have decided this year to put together a couple of hampers with some little tasters of all those things we love about Christmas. I have posted some pics for you all to feast your eyes on and get your tastebuds going!

I hope this gives you some ideas for some pressies, either to make yourself if you are a whizz in the kitchen or I am going to be selling these in Decenber so contact me and I can discuss price and delivery.