Meet David Upson - our freshly pressed Dish of the Day.
Written by Ruth
David Upson, together with his wife Rebecca run Stoke Farm Orchards in Battisford, Suffolk. The small Suffolk orchard has become internationally renowned for its award-winning Appletree Hill brand of freshly-pressed apple, pear and quince juices. David and Rebecca, originally started out as pig farmers in 1984. And even when they started to grow fruit, the idea to turn it into juice wasn’t sparked until 1993 as part of a BBC Radio Suffolk visit to the Battisford orchard.Today Stoke Farm is famed for using the quintessentially English, and notoriously juicy, Discovery and Cox apples. And the business still keeps the Upsons’ busy every day with the couple taking control of every stage of production - from blossom to bottle.Stoke Farm Orchards has been pressingly busy in the run up to Christmas 2014 creating a limited edition Spiced Apple Juice.Available in selected East of England Co-op stores in Essex, Norfolk and Suffolk at £2.49 for a 750ml bottle. It is delicious served warmed.
Our Dish of the Day is Adam, selling his fresh Lowestoft fish of the day. Find him on Thursdays in Long Melford 2.30pm - 5.00pm. On Fridays at Clare Market Hill 8.00am - 10.00am, Lavenham Market Place 11.00am - 1.00pm and Depden Farm Shop 2.00pm -5.00pm. On Saturdays he is at Willow Farm Shop, Glemsford from 9.00am to 1.00pm
Our Thurston Community College Work Experience Student - Amy Bird
Written by Ruth
We really enjoyed having Amy, our work experience student from Thurston Community College, this week. She showed us her favourite recipe: Birdy's Brownies!
Birdy’s Brownies!
Ingredients:
- 185g unsalted butter
- 185g cooking chocolate
- 85g plain flour
- 40g cocoa powder
- 100g best dark chocolate
- 3 large eggs
- 275g golden caster sugar
Method:
- Cut 185g unsalted butter into smallish cubes and tip into a medium bowl. Break 185g cooking chocolate into small pieces and drop into the bowl.
Melt over a pan of boiling water. - Turn the oven on to 160C/conventional or 180C/gas, so it has time to warm up. Using a shallow 20cm square tin, cut out a square of non-stick baking parchment to line the base.
- Now tip 85g plain flour and 40g cocoa powder into a sieve held over a medium bowl until all lumps have gone.
- With a sharp knife, chop 100g of dark chocolate into chunks (rough squares) on a chopping board.
- Break 3 large eggs into a large bowl and tip in 275g golden caster sugar. With an electric mixer on maximum speed, whisk the eggs and sugar until they look thick and creamy, like a milk shake
- Pour the cooled chocolate mixture over the eggy mousse and gently fold together with a rubber spatula. Plunge the spatula in at one side, take it underneath and bring it up the opposite side and in again at the middle. The idea is to marry them without knocking out the air, so be as gentle and slow as you like – you don’t want to undo all the work you did in step 4.
- Hold the sieve over the bowl of eggy chocolate mixture and resift the cocoa and flour mixture into it. Gently fold in the powder, in the same figure of eight action as before. Finally, stir in the chocolate chunks until they’re dotted all of the way through.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin, scraping every bit out of the bowl with the spatula. Gently ease the mixture into the corners of the tin and paddle the spatula from side to side across the top to level it. Put in the oven and set your timer for 25 minutes.
- Leave in the tin until cool. Once cool, cut into small squares or triangles.
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melt choc and butter
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stir until glossy
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sieve flour and cocoa
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place eggs and sugar into bowl
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whisk until fluffy
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chop the chocolate
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mix melted choc and eggy mixture
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add flour, cocoa and chopped choc
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pour into tin
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Thank you Mrs Bennett for sharing your Mango Chutney recipe with us. Keeley Bennett makes pickles and chutneys from her home in Polstead, Suffolk using recipes handed down through four generations of the family. You will find Mrs.Bennett's Pickles and Chutneys at Lavenham Farmer's Market or look out for her products in farm shops and local deli's. Keeley says that she finds most people like a mango chutney with their poppadoms even if they don't like a chutney with their cheese!
MANGO CHUTNEY
Ingredients:
900g ripe mangoes - peeled, stoned and chopped
300ml of cider vinegar
225g cooking apples - peeled, cored and chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large clove of garlic (or two small ones) - crushed
200g demerara sugar
5cm root ginger - peeled and grated
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
Method:
1. Prepare the mango and place in a bowl with the salt. Set aside while
you prepare the rest of the vegetables.
2. Place the vinegar in the pan and heat gently (do not boil). Add the
sugar slowly until all of it has dissolved.
3. Add all of the remaining ingredients to the pan and bring to the
boil, stirring frequently so that the ingredients do not catch on the
bottom of the pan. Reduce the heat and simmer for approximately 1 hour,
stirring occasionally and until the chutney is thick.
4. Place into sterilised jars*. Leave for approximately 3 weeks to
allow the ingredients to mature.* You can easily sterilise jars by placing clean jars (and lids) into a hot oven for 10 minutes. Obviously taking care when handling them.
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A charity dinner last month in the training restaurant Zest, at West Suffolk College saw the return of former student Des Artiss who worked with the current students(pictured) to create a fabulous dinner. Des recently won the Restaurant Associates Award for Culinary Excellence and came back to thank the college for his firm grounding in the industry. We ate:
Salmon. Cured Loch Duart Salmon, Miso Creme Fraiche, Cucumber and Salmon Crackling
Goats Curd. Goats curd, Heritage Beetroot, Chicory, Golden Raisin and Toasted Walnut Dressing
Beef. Slow Roast Fillet of English Beef, Braised Cheek, Salt Baked Carrots, Horseradish Mash and Braising Juices
Rhubarb Cheesecake. Vanilla Fromage Blanc, Poached Yorkshire Rhubarb, Rhubarb Sorbet, Ginger Crumb
Pratik cooked us a mean burger, topped with Kiddertons Ash Reserve Goats cheese and a fabulous tray of chocolate brownies. My idea of a perfect guest.
Meet Xoliswa Ndoyiya personal chef to Nelson Mandela.
Written by Ruth
Xoliswa Ndoyiya was Nelson Mandela's personal cook from 1992. Her job interview consisted of just one question: “Can you cook our home food?”
Here is the recipe for Umphokoqo, a porridge made of maize meal and sour milk which was one of Madiba's favourite foods. He had it made whilst staying at The Dorchester in London.
Mr Suffolkfoodie having been brought up in South Africa also enjoys a bowl of this on most mornings.
Ingredients
2 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups mealie meal ( polenta )
1 litre amasi (sour milk similar to buttermilk, buttermilk will do)
Method
Bring the salted water to a boil.
Add mealie meal, stirring constantly. Lower the heat and, stirring throughout, cook until the porridge is soft, approximately 25 minutes.
After 25 minutes, stop stirring. Reduce the heat to an absolute minimum and cover the pot with a lid for 15 minutes or until the texture is totally soft (if there are still granules, the mixture is not yet cooked).
Remove from the heat, turn the contents of the pot into a large bowl and allow it to cool completely.
Serve with soured milk on the side so that each diner can determine how sour they would like their umphokoqo to be. The soured milk is then stirred into the porridge.
In this video Peter Bayless from Braxted Park Cookery School in Witham, Essex explains how to cook the perfect steak. Peter won BBC Masterchef in 2006.
Steak is a staple of the Great British diet but all too often it doesn't get the attention it deserves. Peter shows how easy it is to cook up an exciting meal, and reveals how to make sure your steak is cooked exactly how you like it every time. Follow Peter's step-by-step guide to cooking the perfect steak accompanied with a tangy chimichurri dressing.
You will need the following:
1 sirloin steak (or steak of your choice)
Olive oil & seasoning
Cast iron griddle pan with ridges
Kitchen foil
Tongs
More...
Our August Dish of the Day - Lottie and her Magnificent Malteser Birthday Cake
Written by Claire
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Here is charming Martin Morales - the Ceviche Peruvian Kitchen founder, proprietor and chef - on his pop-.up tour of three countries, with Aldeburgh fisherman Dean Fryer. We went to the event; we can make Ceviche now!
INGREDIENTS (serves 4)
1 large red onion, very thinly sliced
600g sea bass fillet (or other white fish), skinned and trimmed
A few coriander sprigs, leaves finely chopped
1 limo chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 sweet potato, boiled and cut into small cubes
Fine sea salt
For the tiger’s milk
5mm piece fresh root ginger, halved
1 small garlic clove, halved
4 coriander sprigs, roughly chopped
Juice of 8 limes
½ tsp salt
½ tsp medium red chilli, chopped, deseeded and deveined
METHOD
Step 1: To make the tiger’s milk, put the ginger, garlic, coriander sprigs and lime juice in a bowl and stir, then leave to infuse for 3min. Strain the mixture through a sieve into another bowl. Add salt and red chilli, then put aside.
Step 2: Wash the sliced red onion, then leave to soak in iced water for 5min. Drain thoroughly and spread out on kitchen paper or a clean tea towel to remove excess water, then place in the fridge.
Step 3: Cut the fish into uniform strips of 3cm x 2cm. Place in a large bowl, add a good pinch of salt and mix together gently with a metal spoon. The salt will help open the fish’s pores. Leave for 2min, then pour over the tiger’s milk and combine gently with the spoon. Leave the fish to ‘cook’ in the marinade for 2min.
Step 4: Add the onions, coriander, limo chilli and sweet potato to the fish. Mix together gently with the spoon and taste to check the balance of salt, sour and chilli is to your liking. Divide between serving bowls and serve immediately.
This recipe is from Ceviche: Peruvian Kitchen by Martin Morales (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £25), out on July 4.
Cheryl creates a wonderful range of chocolates, scrumptious cakes and brownies at Artistry in Cocoa. Newmarket which we mentioned earlier. And here is her recipe:
Chocolate Cake with Ganache topping and Chocolate Dipped Strawberries.
For the Chocolate Victoria sandwich:
4 eggs
Softened Butter or margarine or a mixture of both
Sugar (granulated)
Plain Flour
Cocoa powder
Baking powder
Milk or water
Weigh the eggs.
Weigh out the same weight of butter/margarine and place in your mixing bowl.
Weigh out the same weight of sugar and add to the mixing bowl.
Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Weigh out the same weight of flour, then remove a tablespoon and replace this with cocoa powder.
Sieve the flour, cocoa powder and a teaspoon of baking powder together.
Break the eggs into a cup or jug and beat into the creamed mixture one at a time, adding a little of the flour mixture to prevent curdling as necessary.
Fold in the rest of the flour with a metal spoon.
Add a tablespoon of water or milk and mix in gently. Dip your spoon in the mix and hold it above the bowl. The mixture should drop off your spoon to a slow count of 3. If it takes too long add another spoon of liquid. If you have accidentally put in a little too much liquid add a small spoon of sieved flour/cocoa.
Bake in greased and lined or greased and floured tins at 190C/fan 170C/gas 5 until the cake springs back to the touch.
Remove from the oven, run a knife around the edge to loosen the cake from the tin if necessary and invert onto a wire rack to cool.
For the chocolate ganache coating :
200g- 300g milk or dark chocolate and an equal amount of cream.
Break up the chocolate into small pieces, bring the cream to boiling point and pour over the chocolate.
Allow to rest for about 5 minutes to soften the chocolate then whisk until the mixture is smooth and glossy. If the ganache is very runny you may wish to leave it to cool further before you cover the cake with it. This can be done by pouring or spreading. Do not cover your cake until the cake itself is cold.
Melt some extra chocolate gently until it is almost, but not entirely, liquid and stir well to melt out any lumps until the chocolate looks smooth.
Dip your strawberries holding by the stalks and place directly on the cake. Please note that the strawberries should be dry or the chocolate will not stick. If you wish to dip your strawberries in advance then place them onto greaseproof paper so that you will be able to remove them once set.
If you wish to pipe on the cake with the ganache you can make it with a little less cream so it will be thicker and whip it before use. You can fill the cake with a layer of ganache or you could use sliced strawberries and whipped cream and top with ganache.
Christmas Time, Mistletoe and Wine with Neil Courtier of Grapesense
Written by Ruth
Suffolk-based wine educator Neil Courtier of Grape Sense gives us his Christmas and New Year favourites for the festive table below. Neil runs wine-tasting workshops and has one coming up on Saturday morning 26th January 2013 at the Active Business Centre in Bury, called 'An Introduction to Wine Tasting'. This would be a great birthday present for me but unfortunately I am going to be in the Caribbean (says suffolkfoodie in a sad voice...) Call him on 01359 270318 or contact him here through his website.
The Wines
Domaine Vincent Dampt - Chablis 2011 Burgundy – France - £ 12.55 (here you will get a 10% discount if you mention Grapesense) Corney & Barrow – Newmarket – Vincent Dampt is a rising star in Burgundy, check out this classic, steely, mineral enhanced Chablis, that’s beautifully balanced, by a touch of buttery richness & pin-point acidity. Try with smoked trout, roast turkey (with a white wine gravy), or guinea fowl.
Jul. Ferd Kimich – Gewürztraminer – Spätlese 2010 Pfalz – Germany - £ 12.99 Peatling's - Bury St Edmunds - A fruit-inspired Gewürztraminer, that's beautifully focused. A degree of natural sweetness (only a tad) makes this a perfect companion with a smooth duck-based pâté.
Jim Barry - The Lodge Hill – Shiraz 2010 Clare Valley – Australia - £ 12.49 / buy 2 bottles £ 9.99 – Majestic – Should you decide to enjoy a prime-joint of British beef this Christmas, tuck into this blackberry-soaked Shiraz, with notes of eucalyptus & liquorice. Full-bodied, yet it has ‘sweet’ tannins & total integration.
Domaine Michel Lafarge - Bourgogne – Pinot Noir 2009 Burgundy – France - £ 13.99 (again with a 10% discount for Grapesense) Corney & Barrow – Newmarket – From a great Domaine in Volnay, a cherry-scented Pinot, ripe, rounded & accessible, with food-matching potential too – a great match with pheasant, or venison casserole.
Champagne – Les Pionniers – Vintage 2004 - £ 25.99 / £ 22.99 (until 1st January 2013 ) Co-Operative – Toasty, complex Champagne, with notes of maturity – baked lemon, a trace of honey & a nutty finish. Great vale & should accompany smoked salmon to a tee!
Vistamar - Late Harvest - Moscatel 2012 Limari Valley – Chile - £ 6.24 / buy 2 bottles = £ 4.99 per ½ bottle – Majestic – Snap-up this peach, honey, lemon & grapey Moscatel, which has attractive acidity to underpin the sweetness. Yummy!