Dear Ladies,
Here’s this week’s Menu from the NFWI website for an interesting read and cook session. I would venture to suggest you might only be able to make very small amount of Blackberry drink unless you’ve wisely frozen your summer harvest of garden fruit.
STARTER
Serves 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Freezing: recommended
25g Butter
1 Onion, chopped
225g podded and shelled fresh Broad Beans
175g shelled fresh Peas
425ml Vegetable Stock
115g lean Bacon, chopped
300ml Semi-skimmed Milk
Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper
1. Melt the butter in a large lidded saucepan.
2. Add the onion and sweat, covered, shaking the pan from time to time, until softened but not browned.
3. Add the beans, peas and stock, with half the bacon, and bring to the boil.
4. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender.
5. Meanwhile, dry fry the remaining bacon in a non-stick pan until crispy.
6. Remove the soup from the heat and leave to cool briefly.
7. Blend half the soup until smooth and then return to the pan with the unblended soup.
8. Add the milk and mix well. Adjust the seasoning if necessary and then reheat gently.
9. Serve garnished with the crispy bacon.
Tip
If fresh broad beans and peas are not in season, use frozen.
This recipe is from Homemade Soups by Grace Mulligan & Dilwen Phillips and published by Simon & Schuster in 2012 ISBN 978-1-47110-176-2 priced £12.99
Sea Bass with Fennel, Lemon & Dill
The European Sea Bass is the sophisticated star of the south coast! With a glittering silver skin and firm flesh it is not unlike a white version of salmon. It is particularly sought after because it is easy to fillet and can be cooked with the skin on which is delicious to eat.
serves 4
Olive Oil for greasing and drizzling
4 Sea Bass, small, whole; each about 300g after gutting, cleaning and head and tail removed
2 Fennel Bulbs, halved, cored and thinly sliced
2 Lemons, thinly sliced
25g bunch Dill
25g bunch Parsley, flat leaf
4 Thyme sprigs
4 Bay leaves
200ml White Wine
Method
- Preheat the oven to 200C Gas 6.
- Smear the base of 1-2 large roasting tins with a little olive oil. Season the inside of each bass and then place in the tin.
- Fill the cavity of each fish with fennel and lemon slices then tuck in the dill, parsley, thyme and bay.
- Scatter over any remaining fennel and herbs and pour over the wine. Drizzle with a little oil and season well.
- Cover with foil and bake for 25 – 35 mins, basting the fish with pan juices halfway.
- The fish is ready when the fish is firm, meat opaque and moist.
- Carefully transfer to a board, cover loosely with foil to keep hot.
- Make a quick sauce with the pan juices – Place the tin over the hob and boil for a few minutes, until the juices are reduced slightly. whisk in a couple of cubes of butter to thicken if required. Strain into a jug.
- Transfer the fish to warmed plates and pour the sauce over each fish, then drizzle with extra oil.
- Serve with crushed new potatoes.
Tips
Sea Bass is generally available from March until late in the year.
South East Seafood launched a tagging scheme in 2009 to promote sustainably managed inshore fisheries. The tags bear an identifying number, individual to each participating fishing boats.
This recipe has been provided by South East Food Group Partnership Ltd.
I used a Comice pear, my favourite variety, for this recipe as the texture and taste are both excellent. Whichever variety you use, it is essential that the pear is absolutely ripe.
Serves: 8–10 Preparation time: 35 minutes + 1–1¼ hours baking + cooling
Freezing: not recommended
175g (6 oz) softened unsalted Butter
175g (6 oz) Caster Sugar
½ tsp Vanilla Extract
3 Eggs, beatenFlour
½ tsp Baking Powder
50g Ground Almonds
1 large ripe Pear (approximately 300g)
2 tbsp Milk
For the glaze Apricot Conserve, sieved
1. Grease and line a 20cm round spring form cake tin. Preheat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C.
2. Cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract for a couple of minutes until light and fluffy, then gradually beat in the eggs.
3. Combine the flour, baking powder and almonds and fold into the mixture.
4. Peel and core the pear. Thinly slice one quarter and finely chop the remainder.
5. Fold the chopped pear into the cake batter with enough milk to give a soft dropping consistency.
6. Transfer the mixture into the prepared tin. Do not worry about levelling the surface; instead, arrange the pear slices over the top, pressing down gently so that they are still visible, but lie in the batter.
7. Bake for 1–1¼ hours until risen, golden and set or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.
8. Brush the surface of the cake with apricot conserve and leave to cool in the tin.
Tip
If using apricot jam you may need to warm it before brushing it over the cake.
This recipe is from Cakes by Liz Herbert and published by Simon & Schuster 2009 priced £14.99 ISBN 978-1-84737-14-5
Drink
When the blackberries or brambles are ripe and plentiful this is a recipe which makes the most of them
2kg Blackberries or Brambles
570ml Water
Caster Sugar to taste, 250-375g
25g Citric Acid
1. Sterilise 1 large litre bottle or 2 smaller bottles
2. Wash the fruit well
3. Place in a large pan with the water
4. Bring to the boil, then turn down to simmer for about 5 mins until soft
5. Remove from the heat and use a potato masher to bring out more of the juice
6. Place the contents in a jelly bag or sieve covered with muslin and allow to strain through
7. Measure out the juice. For every 100ml juice add between 45 -75g (very sweet) caster sugar
8. Place the bowl of juice, citric acid and sugar over a pan of hot water and stir to allow the sugar to dissolve
9. Pour into a bottle, seal and label
10. Store in the fridge
11. To serve as a drink dilute with water to taste
Margaret Halstead