Apricots make me think of my Mum. She’s the biggest apricot fan I know and until last year I didn’t really get what all the fuss was about. Then I had a proper one. Not a dry, fuzzy one with an inside like loft insulation but a sweet, juice running down the chin, superbly ripe one. And everything changed. Honeyed Apricots with Rosemary Crème Fraîche might sound like an unusual combination but herbs and fruit work so well together and this is truly a winner. Ripe apricots would be fantastic for this dish, but if they’re a bit ropy then sizzling them in honey will only improve them.
Baked Vacherin Mont D’or with Rosemary Flatbreads
Ingredients
You will need (for two):
1 Vacherin Mont D’or (or Camembert)
1 clove garlic
250g strong white bread flour
1 tsp fresh chopped rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
60ml extra virgin olive oil
100ml water
Method
Mix together the flour, salt and rosemary. Mix in the olive oil and water. Using your hands, bring it all together into a ball then knead on a floured surface for a few minutes. Set it to one side for a few minutes more.
Preheat an oven to 200C. Slice the garlic and then cut slits in the top of the cheese. Put the slices of garlic into the cheese and then put into the oven for around 10 minutes.
Chocolate Shortbread with Rosemary and Hazelnuts
Start by chopping the hazelnuts and frying them in a dry pan until lightly toasted. Lightly grease a baking sheet. Chop the chocolate and hazelnuts finely to ensure even distribution in the finished biscuit. Put all the remaining ingredients in a bowl and beat together until they start to form a ball. It will look like a bowl of hopeless crumbs but keep going; it will make a lump eventually. Get your hands in the mix to bring all the mix into one ball. Lightly knead the dough.
Place the dough in the middle of the prepared baking sheet and then roll it out until it is about 20cm in diameter Pinch, crimp or fork the edges of the dough to give it a nice edge. Prick the top with a fork and bake in a preheated oven at 160C for 40-45 minutes or until firm. Mark into wedges while still hot.
Sausage Rolls Four Ways
Originally I was just going to put a few caramelised onions in with the sausage meat but then I started thinking of other flavours; rosemary and fennel to start. With these new found thoughts I made a batch of eight sausage rolls, two of each of the following flavours; caramelised onion, herbs, fennel and olive. I think a nice spicy tomato chutney would have been brilliant too.
First of all make the caramelised onions. I used a whole onion, fried gently in butter for 20 minutes until soft and starting to brown then added sugar, salt and pepper. They were wonderfully sticky. While the onions are cooking; crush some fennel seeds, chop a few sprigs of fresh rosemary, parsley and chives and finely chop a few olives.
Purple Cabbage Soup
Cooked cabbage and a wet flannel have an unfortunate amount of textures in common. Particularly if, like me, you were put off cabbage at school where it was boiled to what can only be described as wallpaper paste. Things have moved on since then and I wanted to give the cabbage a chance. I’ve baked it, boiled it, steamed it and fried it. Apart from frying, none of these yielded any spectacular, life changing results. Nevertheless I wasn’t about to give up on them; they are pretty much the only thing in season right now so I have no choice. If I have learnt anything about the cabbage it is that determination is key.
Vegetable Patch Recipes
I can go into Sainsbury’s and pick up four chicken breasts for £6. Not the extra special ones, not the organic ones, just the standard ones. My alternative is to go to the farmer’s market and pick up two whole chickens for £10. These are free range chickens and I would still get four chicken breasts but I would also get four drumsticks, four wings, four thighs and two carcasses for making beautiful stock with. It’s a no brainer really.
Venison Burgers, Chips and Purple Sprouting
It was a picturesque morning when I hopped on the bicycle and cycled to the farmers’ market. On setting off I was very pleased with myself for saving the planet and burning calories at the same time. The sun was shining, the birds were singing and I was thoroughly convinced I was the modern day Snow White. It wasn’t particularly far or mountainous but to say I arrived less than glamorous and somewhat flustered would be an understatement. Let’s just say there was a bumble bee that seemed certain its hive was my nostril.
Lamb Neck Stew
This was so easy and really what you need when you want warming comfort food.
Ingredients
What you will need, to feed four:
2 lamb neck chops, cut in half
Plain flour
Olive oil
3 onions, peeled and cut into wedges
2 parsnips, peeled and cut into four or six depending on the size
6 garlic cloves
Salt and pepper
Fresh rosemary
6-8 small potatoes, cut in half
Stock – I used vegetable
Method
Firstly, when I bought my lamb neck it turned out that getting British lamb from the meat counter was cheaper than pre-packed New Zealand lamb. No bad thing. I did try to trim as much fat and gristle off as I could but that’s just personal preference.