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: 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: creamed leek and potato broth

For the broth

Two leeks cleaned plus one more for finishing the soup
Two medium potatoes peeled and chopped small
One onion
Three carrots peeled
Three sticks of celery
Two rashes smoked bacon
125g butter
Two litres of homemade vegetable stock
500ml double cream
Salt, pepper

Method

Chop the leeks, potatoes, celery, onion, carrot and bacon into 1cm cubes.
Melt the butter in a large pan
Add the leeks, potatoes, celery, onion, carrot and bacon
Cook slowly, stir until the potatoes are nearly cooked, be careful not to burn at this stage
Add the vegetable stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes
Blend the soup until rustic and return to the heat
Add the last leek, ensure this is chopped small, simmer for a further 5 minutes
Add the cream, season and bring back to the boil.
Serve and enjoy with a farmhouse bread, gnocchi or suet dumplings.