Netherton Foundry Shropshire

Netherton Foundry Shropshire
Classic cookware, made in England

Thursday 27 March 2014

Chicken, tarragon, cream - three ingredients

The latest in our series of recipes from the talented chefs of Shropshire.
With many thanks to Chef Chris O’ Halloran, from the simply stunning La Becasse  restaurant in Ludlow.  Update: sadly La Becasse is now closed, as far as we know, Chris can now be found here
One of our frying pans would be ideal for this dish



Chicken, tarragon, cream
This emulates a dish served at La Becasse restaurant in Ludlow. To me it exemplifies French cooking - simple yet elegant and perfect for a cosy dinner for four.
Ludlow, Shropshire often dubbed the foodie capital of England, Ludlow is known for its fine cuisine and Quality produce
 Serves: 4

4 chicken breasts, skinned and boned
2 Tablespoons olive oil
20g butter
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon French mustard
3 teaspoon lemon juice
250ml double cream 
125ml dry white wine
Salt and pepper to season 






In a pan, heat the oil until moderately hot but not smoking – look for heat waves coming off it. Add the chicken breasts skin (if it had any) side down. They should sizzle mildly when they hit the pan. Cook until golden but not browned.  Gently turn them over, add the garlic to the pan and continue cooking for 4-5 minutes. Add the butter to the pan and while this slowly melts, combine the tarragon, mustard, lemon juice and wine and add to the pan. Allow to simmer for about 1 minute. You will smell the wine “cooking off” as the alcohol evaporates. Now stir in the cream and allow simmering and thickening for about 10-15 minutes, basting the chicken breasts if you feel like it. Check that the chicken is cooked through – it should be firm to the touch and tender when cut.  Serve with a side of long grain rice or a simple salad.


Christopher O’Halloran


© La Becasse/Chris O’Halloran.Not to be distributed without prior permission.

Monday 17 March 2014

Seriously good rice pudding

We have definitely upped our game on this one, well not us exactly............

This recipe has been contributed by the exceptionally talented James Sherwin, who not only treats the good folk of Shropshire to fantastic food, but also showed us all a thing or two on The Taste with Nigella Lawson, the late Anthony Bourdain  and Ludo Lefebvre.




Rice pudding with stem ginger and black pepper.

I came up with this recipe when preparing for "The Taste" .  We had been set the challenge of "comfort food" 
My immediate thought turned to rice pudding, memories of being a child at my grandma's house fighting over the skin and stirring in a spoon of strawberry jam until the whole dish turned pink resonated with me. However, I was doing an adult take on it by adding spice and alcohol to make it less babyfood and more indulgent decadence.
For a while I struggled with the simplicity of the dish, was I really going to impress notorious pudding hater Anthony Bourdain and the "Frenchest" man on the planet with a simple, if jazzed up, rice pudding?

The recipe is incredibly easy; the difference between this rice pudding and a normal one is that it's made on the hob in a good pan and treated with the same love and attention that you'd give a risotto.

Equipment needed
A large heavy bottomed Netherton Foundry casserole dish
Liquidiser 
Baking tray
Large glass bowl

Ingredients
300g stem ginger plus juice it comes in
400g pudding rice
1litre of full fat milk
1 glass of dry white wine preferably an Italian Soave
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
50g unsalted butter
100mls condensed milk
100 mls double cream
1 Vanilla pod
Pinch of salt
Kirsch
4-5 cherries per serving
Brown sugar
1 tbs vegetable oil

Process for the rice.
1. Start by making the cooking liquid.  Add the stem ginger, the seeds from the vanilla pod and  the milk into the liquidiser and blitz until smooth. Strain through a sieve just in case there are any large pieces of ginger left.
2. Warm liquid in a pan but don't boil.


3. Add oil to the casserole dish, heat, add the rice and cook until rice is translucent.
4. When translucent, add the wine and boil away the alcohol.
5. When the alcohol has boiled away add a pinch of salt and a ladleful of the milky cooking liquid. This is where it is treated in the same way as a risotto, add a ladleful at a time and stir continuously, always clockwise, according to the Italians it encourages more starch out of the risotto and makes a creamier dish.
6. When the rice is all cooked through, take off the heat, add the butter, double cream and condensed milk and leave to sit for a few minutes. 
7. Stir and add the juice of a lemon to cut through all the richness and serve.

Process for the Cherries
1. Cut cherries in half, add to a bowl with a sprinkle of brown sugar and a very generous glug of Kirsch.  Leave to marinate for an hour.
2. After an hour, drain the cherries (but reserve the liquid) and place under a hot grill for a few minutes until caramelised.
3. Take reserved marinating liquid and put in a hot pan, boil down until syrupy.

Now assemble the dessert, put a very large helping of the rice pudding into a bowl, sprinkle liberally with freshly ground black pepper, place a few cherry halves on top and drizzle a little of the kirsch syrup on top.

This dessert is incredibly simple to make but hugely rewarding.
It's perfect following that really rubbish day at work or a stressful day with the kids. Enjoy!

Many thanks, James.



Sunday 2 March 2014

Potato and wild garlic pancakes

Much as I love pancakes with lemon and sugar, I also like to experiment and mix it up a little.  If you read the posts last Spring, you will also know that I am very partial to wild garlic and will make the most of it, while it lasts.

So here we are - adding some wild garlic to the batter and seeing what happens.


2 potatoes, approx 180 - 200 g

150g plain flour
2 eggs, plus 1 egg white
200ml milk
Handful wild garlic, thoroughly washed

Peel the potatoes and boil whole for 12 minute.  Allow to cool.




Sift the flour into a bowl and season with salt and pepper.
Separate the eggs and add the yolks and the milk to the flour.  Whisk to a smooth batter.
Allow to stand, while you coarsely grate the potatoes and chop the wild garlic.





Stir the potatoes and garlic gently into the batter.



In a clean bowl whisk the 3 egg whites until stiff.  Fold into the batter mix.




Put your crepe pan over a medium heat and add ½ teaspoon of butter.  When the butter foams and starts to turn brown, add a large spoonful of batter and smooth out to a thickness of about ½cm.




Cook for about 2 minutes, until the underside is golden, then turn over and cook the other side. Slide out of the pan and keep warm, while you make the rest.




Makes approx 6 pancakes.


Suggested accompaniments

Apple sauce and crispy smoked bacon rashers

Poached salmon and hollandaise sauce
Poached eggs with sauteed leeks
Pork sausages and ketchup
Smoked haddock and cheese sauce
Roasted peppers with griddled Halloumi cheese


© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2014