Sarah and Mike… Probably

Preparation time:  45 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves 8

What you need:

• 100 gm(s) Whole blanched hazelnuts
•  85 gm(s) Unsalted butter
• 25 gm(s) Icing sugar, sifted
•  125 gm(s) Plain flour, sifted
•  1 Egg yolk
•  200 gm(s) Dark chocolate
•  10 Whole cardamom pods
•  284 ml(s) Double cream
•  1 tbsp(s) Cocoa, sifted

What to do:

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Grease a 23cm loose-based flan tin & dust with flour. Toast the hazelnuts in the preheated oven for 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool, then chop in a food processor or coffee grinder until finely ground.

For the pastry. Cream 60 gms of the butter with the sifted icing sugar, add 40 gms of the ground nuts, then gradually work in the sifted flour. Beat the egg yolk and 1 tbsp water together and add this to the pastry, gradually working it into a ball.

Turn the pastry out onto a lightly floured surface, using your hands, press it out gently into a circle slightly smaller than your flan tin. Carefully place it into your tin (don’t worry if it breaks) and press it around with your fingers until it fits. Trim any excess. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Prick the base of the pastry with a fork, then bake blind for 15-20 minutes, until lightly browned. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile crush the cardamom pods using a pestle and mortar. Remove the green husks and finely grind the seeds. Add the cardamom to the cream and warm gently in a saucepan until the surface is just beginning to tremble, but don’t let it boil. Remove the pan from the heat and add the chocolate, broken into chunks, the remaining butter and ground hazelnuts. Stir until melted and smooth. Set aside to cool, but don’t let it get totally cold. Pour the mixture into the pastry case and place in the fridge to harden (for a couple of hours). Before serving dust with sifted cocoa.

Seasonality: hazelnuts are in season in August and September.

Recipe by: Lizlander

Vegetables: artichoke (Jerusalem), beetroot, Brussels sprouts, Brussels tops, cabbages (red, white and various green varieties), cardoons, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chard, chicory, endive, greens (spring and winter), kale (and borecole), kohlrabi, leeks, lettuce, onions, parsnips, potatoes, pumpkins (and squashes), salsify (and scorzonera), swede, turnips

Fruit: apples, late (egremont russet, blenheim orange, orleans reinette), apples, store (cox’s, fiesta, ashmead’s kernel, bramley), cranberries, medlars, pears (late) (concorde, doyenne du comice, conference, winter nellis), quince, raspberries

Wild greens and herbs: nettles, watercress

Wild flowers and fruits: rosehips, sloes

Fungi and nuts: chestnuts, hedgehog fungus, horse mushrooms, oyster mushrooms (pleurottes), walnuts, wood blewits

Fish and shellfish: cod, crab (brown, hen), lobster, mackerel, mussels, oysters (native and rock), prawns, scallops, sea bass, sprats, squid, whiting

Game: goose (wild), grey squirrel, grouse, hare, mallard, partridge, pheasant, rabbit, wood pigeon

Vegetables: beetroot, borlotti beans (for podding), broccoli (Calabrese), Brussels sprouts, cabbages (red, white, green and Savoy), cardoons, carrots, cauliflower, celeriac, celery, chard, courgettes, fennel, kale (and borecole), kohlrabi, leeks, marrow, onions, peppers and chillies, potatoes, pumpkins, rocket, runner beans, salsify (and scorzonera), spinach, squash, sweetcorn, tomatoes, turnips

Fruit: apples (egremont russet, blenheim orange, orleans reinette, cox’s, fiesta, ashmead’s kernel, bramley, blackberries, grapes (English hothouse), medlars, pears (concorde, doyenne du comice, conference, winter nellis), quince, raspberries

Wild greens and herbs: nettles, watercress

Wildflowers and fruits: bullace, crab apples, damsons, juniper berries, rosehips, rowan berries, sloes

Fungi and nuts: chanterelles, chestnuts, hedgehog fungus, horse mushrooms, oyster mushrooms (pleurottes), parasol mushrooms, puffballs, giant, shaggy ink caps, summer truffles, walnuts, wood blewits

Fish and shellfish: cod, crab (brown, hen and spider), eels, lobster, mackerel, mussels, oysters (native and rock), prawns, salmon (wild), scallops, sea bass, sprats, squid, trout, river (ie brown and rainbow)

Game: goose (wild), grey squirrel, grouse, hare, mallard, partridge, rabbit, wood pigeon

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 90 minutes

Serves 8

What you need:

1 whole free range chicken
 2 stalks celery
 1 leek
 2 onions
 3 carrots
 2 cloves garlic
 2 bay leaves
 sprig thyme
 sprig rosemary
 2 maris piper or similar potatoes
 2 large sweet potatoes
 5 mushrooms
 to taste crème fraiche
 8 dried apricots
 1 lemon

What to do:

Place the chicken in a large pot along with one carrot (roughly chopped), a stalk of celery (roughly chopped), a leek (roughly chopped), an onion (roughly chopped) and one clove of garlic (crushed).
Cover the chicken in boiled water and add the thyme, rosemary and bay leaf. Bring to the boil on the stove top then turn down and leave to simmer for approximately 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
While the chicken is cooking you can set about preparing the veg for the casserole. Peel and roughly chop the potatoes and carrots, slice the onion and celery and crush a clove of garlic (keep together and separate), slice the mushrooms and chop the apricots into halves or quarters.
Remove the whole chicken when cooked and place in a large flat dish - let the juices flow out then tip them back into the pot and leave the chicken to cool down.
Using a sieve poor the liquid containing all the veg and herbs into another pan or bowl and throw away the contents of the sieve (ie all the cooked veggies and herbs) - you have now made some very tasty stock!
Using the big pot again, gently fry the onion, garlic and celery until the onion is clear - best way to gently do this is to turn the heat down very low and put the lid on, checking every minute or so.
Add all the other veggies, pour in the stock and add a bay leaf and the zest of a whole lemon and the dried apricots. You may not need all the stock so don’t use it all at this stage as you can use it to make a soup or risotto or just freeze it to use another day.
Again, bring to the boil then turn the heat down and leave to simmer with the lid on.
Meanwhile, dissect the whole chicken removing all the meat. Throw the meat in the pot with the veggies then leave to simmer away until the potatoes are soft with the lid off.
Serve with crème fraiche and a jacket potato.
This chicken casserole is absolutely perfect for babies who love the sweetness of it.

Recipe by: McGing

Seasonality: carrots are in season from May - December

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves 2

What you need:

1 head of leaf chicory
 1 tsp(s) honey
 30 gm(s) pine nuts
 1 avocado
 2 chicken breasts
 2 tsp(s) wholegrain mustard
 1 Cos lettuce

What to do:

Slice up the chicken breast into smallish cubes. Heat some olive oil over a medium heat and add the chicken, honey and mustard. Give it a good mix so the chicken gets nicely coated in with the mustard and honey. Cook over a medium heat until the chicken is cooked through and the honey and mustard is starting to char on the outside.

What’s in season?

Vegetables: asparagus, aubergine, broad beans, carrots, cauliflower, courgette, lettuce, new potatoes, peas (including sugar snaps), purslane, radishes, rocket, samphire, sorrel, tomatoes, watercress

Fruit: cherries (European), gooseberries, rhubarb (outdoor), strawberries, raspberries

Wild greens and herbs: broom buds, horseradish, sea spinach, wild fennel

Wild flowers and fruits: elderflowers

Fungi and nuts: pignuts, St George’s mushrooms

Fish and shellfish: black bream, crab (spider), signal crayfish (freshwater), cuttlefish, mackerel, pollack, salmon (wild), sea bass, sea trout, river trout (ie brown and rainbow), dover sole, plaice, lobster

Game: wood pigeon

Preparation time:  10 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Vegetables: broccoli (purple sprouting), cabbages (various green varieties), cauliflower, greens (spring and winter), lettuce, radishes, sea kale, sorrel, watercress, early asparagus

Fruit: rhubarb, bananas* 

Wild greens and herbs: alexanders, chickweed, chives, cow parsley (aka wild chervil), dandelions, fat hen, hogweed shoots, hop shoots, meadowsweet (leaves), nettles, sea kale, sea spinach, sorrel, watercress, wild garlic, wild rocket (leaves)

Wild flowers and fruits: primroses (garden)

Fungi and nuts: morels, St George’s mushrooms

Meat: spring lamb

Fish and shellfish: cockles, crab (brown, cock), pollack, salmon (wild), sea trout, cod, red mullet

Game: wood pigeon

Other: eggs!  They may be available all year round nowadays, but naturally-reared chickens will only start laying again once the days start to get longer…..

* As with last month’s citrus fruits, these obviously aren’t indigenous to the UK!  Try to avoid buying air-freighted and GO FAIR TRADE where you can.

A couple of nights ago we went to East in Pudsey ( http://www.eastbarloungegrill.com/ ) for CS’s off-to-Africa farewell meal.  Both the bar and restaurant are nicely urban and neutral in decor, the service is efficient, polite and unobtrusive, and the menu offers a mix of old favourites and dishes I’d not come across before.

I had fish pakora followed by a murgh pocharga, which falls into the dishes not come across before category.  The fish pakora was OK, if a little chewy…  On arrival, the murgh pocharga looked suspiciously like chicken in Campbell’s condensed cream of tomato soup and, being largely tomato- and cream-based, tasted not dissimilar too.  However, it was a pleasant, mildly-spiced dish which I did enjoy.  Not sure I’d order it again, but I’m glad I tried it out!

Mike had lamb samosas and the chicken dahi; the samosas were “amazing” and the accompanying salad “very tasty”.  The chicken dahi was also “very good”.  Mike’s only complaint is that there was far too much food for a Mike to cope with.  Half a poppadom and 2 lamb samosas are surely enough for any man…  In fact, we both only managed about a quarter of our main course, but the staff were perfectly happy to pack it up for us to take home and sustain ourselves with for the rest of the week….  In fact, I’d even go so far as to say mine developed in flavour for keeping overnight! 

The piano bar is an interesting touch, though not exactly conducive to conversation…  Personally, I found it a bit more relaxing when the good old chill out CD came on.

Price: the bill worked out at £21 a head for poppadoms, a starter, a main course, a couple of sundries & a few drinks each = extremely reasonable!

Brownie points: they serve non-alcoholic Cobra; the ambience is chilled & refined (at least, it is on a Wednesday night between 7.30 - 9.30pm…)

Red cards: it was freezing!  The only thing stopping me from keeping my coat on all night was fear of dragging my sleeves through the raita.

Overall impression: extremely pleasant and bar and restaurant, good value for money, friendly atmosphere, good food and drink - would definitely return.

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Serves: 2

What you need:

• 150 gms penne pasta
• 200 gms purple sprouting broccoli, cut into 5cm pieces
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 lemon - zest & juice
• 2 tbsps white wine
• 100 mls double cream
• salt
• black pepper

What to do:

Bring a large pan of seasoned water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 10 minutes, or according to the packet instructions. Drain.

Bring another small pan of water to the boil, add the broccoli and simmer for 2 minutes. Drain and tip in with the pasta.

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the garlic and lemon zest and cook for one minute until soft but not coloured. Pour in the white wine and lemon juice and reduce by half. Stir in the cream and seasoning and bring to the boil.

Add the cream mixture to the broccoli and pasta and toss until well mixed. Serve with a generous sprinkling of black pepper.

Seasonality: purple sprouting broccoli is in season from March - April