Redcurrant and Rosemary Sauce

Tasty, fruity sauce for yummy sausage and mash suppers!

Serves 4

500ml vegetable stock

2 tsp wholegrain mustard

2 tbsp redcurrant jelly (blackcurrant jelly/cranberry sauce will work too)

1 sprig fresh rosemary

Pour the stock into a medium sized saucepan and place over a high heat. Add the mustard and jelly and stir through. Add the rosemary and let it all bubble away fiercely for 15 mins.

Note: For a thicker sauce then melt 25g butter in the pan first, and add 1 heaped tablespoon plain flour. Mix into a paste and then gradually add the stock. Continue as normal from here, serving when desired consistency is reached.

Choc Pots

Serves 8

225g chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids

600ml double cream

Break the chocolate into pieces and melt in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water.

Warm the cream in a jug in the microwave or in a pan over a really low heat.

Stir the cream into the melted chocolate until completely combined. Turn mixture equally into 8 ramekin dishes (about half full) and set aside until ready to serve.

serving suggestions:

(1) serve with fruit kebabs, so as to create individual chocolate fondues.

(2) serve on a plate with Palmero biscuits and a shot glass of Muscat

Smoky Walnut Pasta

We have a sack full of walnuts from a neighbour at the moment, so I have been looking for some good recipes to help us use them up.

This pasta recipe is delicious and is so warming at this time of year. Based on a recipe from Gennaro Contaldo.

Serves 4

400g Pasta (penne or fusilli works well)

70g butter

1 clove garlic, squashed

200g smoked lardons

75g walnuts (shelled weight)

1 egg, beaten

150ml single cream

parmesan to serve

lemon thyme leaves to garnish

Put the pasta on to cook. Meanwhile, in a large frying pan, heat the butter, add the garlic and saute until golden. Remove the garlic and discard. Add the lardons and walnuts to the butter and saute until lardons turn a golden-brown, taking care not to burn the walnuts.

In a bowl, mix together the beaten egg and the cream and set aside.

Cook the pasta until al dente and drain. Add the walnuts and lardons to the pasta and stir through. Then stir in the egg and cream mixture. Season well and place back on medium heat for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly, making sure sauce doesnt burn at the bottom of the pan.

Remove from heat and serve immediately with lots of parmesan and lemon thyme to garnish.

Marrow and Coconut Soup

Serves 8-10

Ingredients

1 x 1.5 kg Marrow

500ml Veg. stock

3 cloves garlic, crushed

3 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground cumin

1 x 400ml tin coconut milk

salt and pepper

Peel all the skin off the marrow and de-seed. Chop into small chunks. Put a glug or two into a large saucepan and place over a low heat. Add the chopped marrow chunks and the crushed garlic, stir, place lid on and leave for 5 mins. Add the ginger, turmeric and cumin and stir through. Next, add the stock. Increase the heat to bring to the boil then simmer until marrow chunks are soft all the way through.

Remove from heat, add the coconut milk and blend to a smooth consistency. Season to taste.

Brown Butter Sage Pasta

This recipe is great if you have lots of sage growing and/or if you want a really quick and tasty supper.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

400g pasta (spaghetti/penne work well)

150g butter

1 tsp brown sugar

30g sage leaves, roughly chopped

Parmesan, to serve

Cook the pasta in well salted water. Meanwhile, heat the butter in a medium saucepan over a medium-high heat, stirring occasionally to make sure the butter doesnt burn. When the butter is bubbling, add the sugar and stir to combine.

Continue cooking and stirring the butter until it turns a light caramel colour and darker brown flecks start to appear. Add the sage, wait for the bubbling to subside then continue to cook until sage starts to go crispy then remove from the heat immediately.

Drain the cooked pasta and toss through the butter sauce. Serve with a sprinkling of parmesan.

Beet-choc-orange cake

Three reasons why I love using vegetables in cakes:

1. Makes them REALLY moist
2. It's quirky
3. Young people don't want to eat them!


Look at the colour of this badboy! Used a Sarah Raven recipe for beet-choc-orange cake...

200g beetroot
Juice & zest of 1 orange
100g ground almonds
3 eggs, separated
125g caster sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
200g dark chocolate

-prepare beetroot
-line 20cm loose-bottom tin with greaseproof paper
-melt chocolate
-whizz beetroot with hand blender, keeping some texture
-mix beetroot with orange juice and zest
-add almonds, egg yolks, sugar, baking powder & melted choc
-in another bowl whisk egg whites until stiff
-fold in egg whites
-bake for 40 mins at 180 degrees C / gas mark 4

Serve with ice cream or creme fraiche

Never missing a beet!

Our 6 step guide to preparing beets for... pickling, freezing, cooking, eating, whatever-ing

1. chop of leaves










2. Scrub gently to remove excess mud










3. boil until tender













4. remove skin and roots with hands

5. chop / slice

6. pickle some. freeze some. bake some. eat some