Recipe: sticky toffee pudding

Ingredients
250g stoned dates
2 rounded teaspoons baking powder
2 rounded teaspoons bicarbonate powder
150ml water
1 strong cup coffee, 100ml
250g unsalted butter
250g caster sugar
4 eggs
350g plain flour

Method
Pre-heat oven at 150c
Put the dates, water, baking powder, bicarb and coffee into a saucepan and bring to the boil
Remove from the heat and cool, pour the mix into a blender and blitz to a smooth paste

In a large bowl, cream the sugar and butter together. Then add the eggs and flour. Stir in the date mix then spoon into a baking tray lined with parchment paper, this mix will fill a dish 8"x10"

Bake in the oven until set, check with a skewer, dont forget it will carry on cooking when it comes out of the oven, you dont want it to dry out.

To serve cut into portions and serve with icecream, clotted cream or you can make a salted caramel to serve with it.

Recipe: My Blackcurrant souffle

Ingredients
225g blackcurrants- frozen from last seasons Batch picked
150g granulated sugar
A knob of unsalted butter
3 egg whites
Some icing sugar

Method
Pre heat the oven to 200c
Liquidise the black currants and sieve into a saucepan with 50g of the sugar, bring to a simmer and reduce to a thin syrup, remove from the heat and allow to cool

Grease two ramikins with the butter. Then dust with the remaining sugar, ensuring an even covering.

In a bowl, whisk the egg whites to a stiff peak. Add the remaining sugar and whisk again until the mixture is glossy

Using a large spoon fold in the blackcurrant syrup, at this stage be careful not to beat the mix so the air stays in the egg whites

Spoon the mixture into the ramikins, bake for 20 minutes or until risen, remove from the oven, dust with icing sugar and serve immediatly

Recipe: Swordfish, basil mash, lemon and tomato salsa

Ingredients
Three large potatoes
One finely diced red onion
Ten halved cherry tomatoes
One chopped red chilli
Juice and zest two lemons
A knob of butter
Milk for the mash
A handful of fresh torn basil
Two sword fish steaks
Olive oil
Seasoning

Method
Place the potatoes in a pan of salted water, bring to the boil and cook until they fall of a knife when pierced

Whilst they are cooking, place the red onion, cherry tomatoes and chilli in a bowl. Add the zest and juice of the lemons. Pour in olive oil and season to taste

Once cooked, drain the potatoes, return to the pan and leave on a low heat for a minute or so, Mash the potato with butter, milk and basil, cover and set to one side

Heat a frying pan, coat the fish with oil and cook for two to three minutes each side, to serve, spoon the mash onto the plate, top with the fish and finish with the salsa

Recipe: Balsamic reduction

In a pan, combine 100ml red wine vinegar, 100ml balsamic vinegar, 100ml white wine vinegar, 150g Brown sugar, one clove crushed garlic, one sprig of Thyme and one sprig of rosemary. Bring to the boil and allow to reduce by half. Pass through a fine sieve and store in a clean container, this can be stored for upto two weeks in a fridge.

This reduction is great on salads but can also be used with vanilla bean ice cream or strawberries.

Recipe: Basil oil

Take 100g Basil and plunge it into boiling water for ten seconds
Quickly remove it and plunge it into iced water
Drain and put it into a food processor with 150ml of light olive oil
Season to taste and process for a few minutes until the oil is green
Pass through a fine sieve and pour into a clean bottle and store in a fridge until required.

Recipe: slow hay-baked mutton

Ingredients
One 2.5KG leg of mutton
500g butter
Fresh chopped rosemary and Thyme
Hay
500ml red wine
250ml water
Handfull chopped parsley
Olive oil
Seasoning

For the Cassoulet
One chopped leek
3 chopped spring onions
Three leaves torn basil
Eight sliced mushrooms
80g chopped sun-dried tomato
One handful Cooked haricot beans
One red onion sliced

Method
Pre-heat oven to 160c
Heat the roasting tray and add a little olive oil
Seal the mutton to give a little colour
Remove from the heat
Smear the butter all over the meat
Spinkle over the chopped herbs and season
Wet the hay and line the tray with it, place the mutton on top
Add the wine and water to the tray
Cover with tin foil and bake for three hours
Once cooked remove the mutton and rest for 30 minutes, cover with a tea towel to keep it warm
Drain the liquid from the tray and discard the hay
Skim the liquid and set to one side
Heat a large pan and fry the Cassoulet ingredients for a few minutes
Add about 350ml of the stock and simmer
Taste and season as required
To serve place the cassoulet on a plate and add slices of the mutton, finish with fresh chopped parsley

Recipe: Stilton stuffed roast figs with Parma ham

Ingredients
Four figs
Four slices Parma Ham
60g Stilton
Mixed salad leaves
Balsamic reduction
Sun flower oil

Method
Cut the figs across the top and squeeze to open
place two figs side by side and wrap in Parma ham, skewer them to hold them together during cooking
Repeat the above for the second portion
Pre- heat your oven to 220c
Heat a pan and drizzle in the oil, seal the Parma ham and fig parcels, remove from the pan and place on a baking tray
Place some stilton on top of each fig and bake until cheese is melted and the Ham is crisp
Remove the skewers
Place the leaves in a bowl and season, remove from the bowl and present on your service dish
Place the figs on the salad and finish with balsamic reduction.

Recipe: Carpaccio of beef with figs

Ingredients
175g organic beef fillet
75g wild mushrooms
One clove garlic crushed
One chilli deseeded
One handful torn basil
A handful of wild rocket
Two figs- quatered
Four cherry tomatoes Halved
Five tablespoons olive oil

Method
Heat a frying pan until smoking and add one teaspoon of olive oil
Seal the beef for two-three minutes
Remove the beef and allow to rest
Add the wild mushrooms to the pan with a knob of butter and gently saute
Place the remaining oil, chilli and garlic in a blender and blitz until smooth
Remove from the blender and add the torn basil, season to taste
Slice the beef as thin as you can and spread the beef out with a knife until paper thin
Place the beef onto the service dish, season and top with the rocket, dress with the dressing.

Recipe: Roast Cod on creamed spinach

Ingredients
Two thick pieces of Cod
A glass of white wine
One onion diced
One medium leek diced
Four sprimg onions chopped
1/2 pint of cream
Heritage potatoes diced
Two chopped sprigs of Thyme
200g Washed spinach
Handful chopped parsley
Butter
Olive oil
Seasoning

Method
Heat oven to 200g
Pre-heat the pan and add oil then butter, fry the fish until the skin is crispy, add the wine and then put in the oven to finish cooking
Whilst the fish is cooking , saute the onion, leek and spring onion
Once the vegetables are tender add the cream and potatoes, reduce the cream for a minute or two
Add the Thyme, spinach and Parsley, season
Remove the fish from the oven
To serve spoon the cream mixture onto the service dish and top with the Cod

Recipe: Scallops with tomato salad

Ingredients
One Mango
200g Diced Pancetta
150g Salad leaves
12 cherry plum tomatoes
12 Scallops
1 Tablespoon sesame seed oil
1 Small diced chilli
1 Tablespoon fish sauce
Juice and Zest one lemon
Seasoning

Method
Peel the mango and dice
Shallow fry the Pancetta until crisp, drain on kitchen towel to remove excess fat
In a bowl mix the salad leaves, tomatoes and Pancetta
Season the salad remebering the Pancetta is salty already
Pan fry the scallops in the sesame oil
Add the chilli, juice and zest of the lemon and fish sauce
Remove the scallops from the pan
Bring the cooking juices to the boil
Place your salad on a plate and top with the scallops, dress with the cooking juices.

Recipe: pork pie

Savoury paste
300g flour
150g lard
2 teaspoons salt
75g boiling water

Method
place the water, salt and lard in a pan and bring to the boil
Add the flour to the boiling mixture and blend to a smooth paste
Use immediately while still hot

For the filling
330g lean pork
160g fat pork
60g white breadcrumbs
100g cold water
5g salt
Gernerous pinch fresh black pepper
Pinch ground nutmeg
pinch ground Mace

Method
Mix all the ingredients together
Use approximately 180g of paste and form a ball, with the heel of the hand for a cup shape
Reverse the ball and press over a large jar
Pressing firmly, rotate the jar to raise the paste up its sides tapering off to the top
Allow the paste to set and remove from the jar
Fill with approximately 300g of meat, flatten the meat making sure there are no air spaces left
Roll out the remaining 60g of pastry for the lid and cut to the size required
Wash the top inside edge with water or egg, Place on the lid and press firmly into the sides, pinch with finger to seal, make a hole in the top
Wash the sides and top with egg wash
Bake at 200g for approximately one hour
After baking while still hot pour a good stock into the hole and allow to chill

An interesting article from the Observer

The ultimate Ethical Meal: Grey squirrel

It's low in fat, low in food miles and completely free range. In fact, some claim that Sciurus carolinensis - the grey squirrel - is about as ethical a dish as it is possible to serve on a dinner plate.
The grey squirrel, the American cousin of Britain's endangered red variety, is flying off the shelves faster than hunters can shoot them, with game butchers struggling to keep up with demand. 'We put it on the shelf and it sells. It can be a dozen squirrels a day - and they all go,' said David Simpson, the director of Kingsley Village shopping centre in Fraddon, Cornwall, whose game counter began selling grey squirrel meat two months ago.
At Ridley's Fish and Game shop in Corbridge, Northumberland, the owner David Ridley says he has sold 1,000 - at £3.50 a squirrel - since he tested the market at the beginning of the year. 'I wasn't sure at first, and wondered would people really eat it. Now I take every squirrel I can get my hands on. I've had days when I have managed to get 60 and they've all sold straight away.'
Simpson likens the taste to wild boar. Ridley thinks it is more a cross between duck and lamb. 'It's moist and sweet because, basically, its diet has been berries and nuts,' he said.
Both believe its new-found popularity is partly due to its green credentials. 'People like the fact it is wild meat, low in fat and local - so no food miles,' says Simpson. Ridley reckons that patriotism also plays a part: 'Eat a grey and save a red. That's the message.'
A glut of back-to-the-wild TV programmes featuring celebrity chefs such as Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall has also tickled the public's palate, but squirrel is still unlikely to be found in the family fridge. The Observer's restaurant critic, Jay Rayner, said he had never tasted squirrel, but if he did have it for dinner 'it would have to be a big, fat country squirrel and not one of the mangy urban ones you see in cities'.
'People may say they are buying it because it's green and environmentally friendly, but really they're doing it out of curiosity and because of the novelty value. If they can say, "Darling, tonight we're having squirrel", then that takes care of the first 30 minutes of any dinner party conversation. I see it remaining a niche. There's not much meat on a squirrel, so I'd be surprised if farming squirrel takes off anywhere some time soon.'
Kevin Viner, former chef-proprietor of Pennypots, the first Michelin-starred restaurant in Cornwall, who now runs Viners bar and restaurant at Summercourt, believes it will remain a niche market. But with a plentiful supply of meat - there are estimated to be almost five million grey squirrels in Britain - there is room for the market to expand.
Viner - who comes from a rural 'if you shot it, you ate it' background - said the trick was to serve squirrel fresh and not to leave it hanging like other game. 'It looks a lot like rabbit, though it is a drier meat and slightly firmer. Most of the meat comes off the rear leg. The loins are so thin they need much shorter cooking time,' he said.
'A large squirrel would be enough for one-and-a-half people. The public really are being drawn to it. I think that it's because it is being perceived as a healthy meat. Southern fried squirrel is good. And tandoori style works. It is especially tasty fricasséed with Cornish cream and walnuts. But the one everyone seems to like is the Cornish squirrel pasty.'
And his own favourite recipe? 'I must admit, I'm a beef man myself,' he said. 'But my huntsman swears by squirrel with sausage meat and bacon.'
How to make squirrel pasties
Kevin Viner's recipe for two pasties
140g squirrel meat cut into 1cm cubes;
100g sliced potato; 100g sliced swede; 50g diced onion; 30g smoked bacon;
15g chopped hazelnuts; 75g butter;
5g chopped parsley; a good pinch of salt and pepper
Method
· Egg wash edges of pastry circles.
· Place the potato, swede, hazelnuts, parsley and seasoning on to each circle followed by the bacon, squirrel meat and, finally, the onion.
· Place butter in each pasty, then fold over the pastry and crimp the edges.
· Put the pasties on to a greaseproof baking tray, egg wash both pasties well, place in a pre-heated oven at 180C or gas mark 5.
· Bake for 45-50 minutes. The juices should start to boil and the pasties should be able to move on the tray with ease.

Recipe: Blueberry compote

Ingredients
500g Blueberries (Frozen during the summer)
50ml lemon juice
70g sugar
1 vanilla pod

Method
Place all the ingredients into a pan, stir and allow to come to the boil
Remove the vanilla pod and allow to cool
Serve with natural yoghurt as a breakfast treat.

Recipe: Italian Meringue

Ingredients
4 egg whites
200g sugar

Method
Place the sugar into a pan with enough water to dissolve it
Bring to the boil
Once boiled do not stir
cook the sugar to soft boil(116c)
Place the whites on the machine to whisk and whip to full peak
When the sugar reaches temperature, pour onto the whipped whites
continue whipping until cold and use as required

Recipe: Cheese Fondue

For the Fondue

200g Swiss Emmental, grated coarsely
400g Swiss Gruyere, grated coarsely
1 clove garlic
1 tsp corn flour
300ml white wine
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
Small glass of kirsch
Pinch of nutmeg
Pepper
Cubed crusty bread

Method

Mix the Emmental and Gruyere in a bowl and set to one side
Rub the Fondue dish with the garlic
Add the white wine to the fondue dish
Heat the wine until simmering
Add the lemon juice, this will help when adding the cheese as it helps it amalgamate
Stir in the cheese mix and melt, once melted add the kirsch and thicken with the corn flour
Reduce the heat and cook out the mix for a few minutes, season with the nutmeg and pepper
Share the bread, skewer and enjoy.

Recipe: Raspberry Bavarois

Ingredients
800g Raspberries
(during the summer we put freshly picked berries in the freezer, you can defrost and use these for the dessert)
10 leaves gelatine
150g sugar
500ml cream half whipped
1 mix Italian meringue

Method
Put the raspberries and the juice in a blender and blitz.
Pass through a fine sieve
Place the puree and sugar in a pan and warm to blood heat.
Add the soaked gelatine and stir until desolved
Remove from the heat and allow to cool
When the mix has cooled carefully fold in the halfed whipped cream and the italian meringue, place in moulds and chill

Recipe: Sable Biscuits

Ingredients
240g soft flour
180g butter
120g caster sugar
2 egg yolks

Method
Beat the sugar and butter to a cream
Add the egg yolk and beat into the cream
Add the flour and beat to a smooth paste
Transfer to a clean piping bag fitted with a star nozzle and pipe into a silicone lined tray
Bake in an oven at 380c until golden brown in colour, allow to cool then store in an air tight container