Christmas pudding ice cream

A rather special ice cream for the festive season.


250ml full fat milk
3 egg yolks

250ml double cream
150g mixed dried fruit
A sherry glass of brandy
Juice and grated rind of 1 orange
120g sugar
2 tsp mixed spice

Put the brandy, orange rind and juice, mixed spice and dried fruit in a mixing bow. Stir well, cover and leave for at least 12 hours.

Pour the milk into a saucepan  or milk pan and place over a moderate heat.
Whisk the egg yolks with the sugar
When the milk comes up to blood temperature, pour over the eggs and mix thoroughly.
Return the mixture to the pan and cook GENTLY until the custard covers the back of a spoon.

Pour the custard into a clean bowl and plunge into a bowl of ice cold water.

When the custard has cooled, stir in the dried fruit mix.

In a separate bowl, whisk the cream until it can hold its shape, then fold this carefully in to the custard.

Transfer either to an ice cream maker and follow the manufacturer's instructions 
OR pour into a plastic container and place in the freezer.
If you are using the freezer method, remove from the freezer at hourly intervals and beat to eliminate ice crystals.
Remove from the freezer 20 minutes before serving

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Almost Christmas

It is a ridiculously busy time of the year for us - so many people are generous enough to buy Netherton Foundry wares as Christmas gifts for friends and family and the elves are kept busy with the brown paper and string right up until the last minute.

Of course, these may be an ulterior motive behind this gift giving, with the hope of invitations to dinner.... who am I to say?

And as the old advert about puppies said, these are for life, not just for Christmas.

And of course, it's not just at work that life steps up a gear - this afternoon I have been decorating the tree, which we bought from our local farm shop - the smell of fresh pine is wonderful and has lingered in my car too.  Who needs air fresheners?

I've draped the mantlepiece with an evergreen garland - we are lucky enough to have ivy, holly and mistletoe in the garden.  I tried for years to encourage mistletoe into one of our apple trees, crushing the seeds into the bark, all to no avail. Then, one year, entirely untouched by me, one of the other apple trees sprouted a tiny sprig of mistletoe, which has grown and grown.

  

Of course, I've been in the kitchen too - the smell of mixed spice mingling with the pine.  The first batch of mince pies has been made and there's Christmas pudding ice cream in the freezer.

The cakes and pudding were made back in October, so I don't need to worry about those until it comes to icing the cake, an activity usually done on Christmas Eve morning.

Back to today and it's all about edible presents..... or drinkable ones.

In the Autumn I experimented with a change to the usual sloe gin.  We were blessed with a bumper crop of damsons in the garden and the neighbouring hedgerows, so I decided to use them for the fruit spirit this season.

I now have several bottles of spiced damson rum to give away (and one to keep, of course!)

Last week the Beavers made peppermint creams and mini Florentines for their mums and I am just about to get started on a batch of Advent puddings.

I am not sure where the original version of this came from - I have it written in a card index which I've had for more years than I care to remember and over the years I have tweaked and modified it to the recipe that is now my favourite..... and ideal for cooking in one of our loaf tins.

We have christened it Advent pudding, as it is almost - but not quite - Christmas pudding, all the boozy fruitiness, but a bit lighter.

Here's how it's done.

8 oz breadcrumbs

1 apple, cored and cut into quarters (no need to peel it)

1 ripe banana

4 oz walnuts

10 oz raisins

2 oz dried cranberries

6 oz soft brown sugar

3 tsp mixed spice

2 eggs

Grated rind and juice of an orange

Slug of brandy

Put the breadcrumbs, apple, banana and nuts into a food processor and whizz briefly - don't lose all the texture of the nuts.

Turn out into a large mixing bowl and add the rest of the ingredients.

Stir well to mix.  Add a little  milk to bind if necessary.

Line a 1lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper and pour in the mixture.

Fold the paper over the top of the pudding.

Put 1½ litres of water in the base of a casserole and put an upturned saucer in the bottom.

Rest the loaf tin on the saucer and place the lid on the casserole.

Bring the water to the boil, turn down the heat and steam the pudding for 2 hours.

Turn out and serve with custard, brandy sauce, thick cream or creme fraiche.

 

 

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2014

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Sausage casserole

This is an incredibly easy and tasty dish for chilly winter days, serious comfort food.

I came up with this when I was about to sit down with Sam Gray's delightful book "Doing it in Wellies", as I knew that once I started, I wouldn't be able to put it down.

In fact the combination of the book and the slow cooker struck us as such a good idea, it is listed as one of the inspiring combinations in the Shropshire Creatives section of our website.

8 sausages, browned in a frying pan or the slow cooker bowl
2 onions, sliced and browned
4 carrots, chopped
1 butternut squash, peeled , de-seeded and chopped in chinks
2 tomatoes choped
1 red pepper, de-seeded and chopped
400g chopped tinned tomatoes
250ml stock
Thyme and marjoram

Buy the very best sausages you can - it really does make a difference and this is just as true of veggie sausages as it of pork sausages.

Place the slow cooker bowl on a medium heat and add a little oil.
Brown the sausages - they do not need to be cooked through, this is just to make the finished dish look even more appetising.

Add all the other ingredients - I picked some fresh thyme and marjoram from the garden, but dried herbs will work as well, just don't overdo it!!

                                                  

Place on the heater base and cook on LOW for 4 hours or 8 hours on Keep Warm.  Serve with buttery mashed potatoes.

Can be adapted as a vegetarian dish using veggie sausages.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Caramelised onion risotto

This is a warming Autumnal risotto, made using store cupboard ingredients - the caramelised onions giving it a rich flavour.

3 onions, chopped
Bunch of fresh thyme
2 tblsp rapeseed oil
50g butter
1 dstsp honey
70ml dry sherry
300g Arborio rice
200g green lentils
1.5 litres stock
Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Put the stock - chicken or vegetable - in a saucepan and heat til simmering.  Keep on a low heat.
Put the butter and oil in a large pan - our casserole dish is ideal and heat until the butter is foaming.
Add the onions, honey and thyme.  Cook over a moderate heat for 5 minutes and then put on the lid.  Continue cooking until the onions start to caramelise, they should be soft and silky and take on a golden colour.  This will take around 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and increase the heat.  Add the sherry and stir well.
Add the rice to the pan and cook, stirring continuously until it is opaque.  Add the lentils.

Start adding the hot stock, one ladle at a time and stir the rice until the stock is absorbed.  As each addition is absorbed by the rice, add he next until the rice is cooked and creamy and the lentils are soft.

Stir in as much grated Parmesan as you fancy and season to taste with salt and pepper.

This is fabulous served as a vegetarian main course with a green salad, but goes equally well  with pan fried pork and apple or some really good, spicy sausage.
Alternatively, stir in some peas or broccoli and cook for a further 5 minutes

Vegetarian/gluten free/can be adapted as vegan, simply omit the butter and add a little more oil

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Malt loaf

This is a recipe from my 1979 Good Housekeeping Home Baking book - a well used and mixture spattered tome that I go back to again and again.

I'm posting it up on here, as I really love this recipe and have added pictures to our Twitter account, prompting people to ask to share it.
And in an update to the original post, we have now launched our beautiful black iron loaf tins - perfect for this recipe

25g fresh yeat
350ml tepid water
450g plain flour
1 tsp salt
45ml (3tblsp) malt extract
30ml (2 tblsp) black treacle
25g butter
225g sultanas

Glaze
1 tblsp sugar
1 tblsp milk

Grease two loaf tins.

Blend the yeast with the water.  Warm the malt extract, treacle and butter until just melted - of course, our saucepans are perfect for this
Combine this with the yeat mixture and mix with the flour and salt in a large bowl.
Stir in the sultanas and beat thoroughly for about 5 minutes.
Divide between the two loaf tins and cover with a damp cloth or oiled cling film
Leave in a warm place to rise for around 45 minutes.
Bake in the oven at 200ºC / Gas mark 6 for around 40 minutes.

To make the glaze, dissolve the sugar in the milk by heating gently in a pan.
Brush the glaze over the warm loaves.

Serve sliced with plenty of butter.

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Bootstrap Black Oi'd Peas

This was cooked up on Hallowe'en in readiness for a day at Bootstrap Artisans in Wolverhampton. Update: sadly this shop is no longer open

We have known Ange, one of the leading lights and creative thinkers behind Bootstrap, since she ran a craft shop at Apley Farm, just up the road from us and she has been a great and generous supporter of what we are doing.
So, as small recompense, we agreed to do our bit to help them by spending a day at their new premises, demonstrating our wares.  Since they sell a wide selection of products from our range, it seemed only right that we should create them their very own recipe to share with friends, collaborators and shoppers.

We also wanted to show off the fabulous collection created for us by Rachel Frost, one of the Shropshire Creatives

As Wolverhampton is home to a wide diversity of cultures, I wanted something that everyone could try, which is one of the reasons for creating a vegetarian dish.  another reason was to demonstrate that there is far more to slow cooking than a traditional stew - delicious though those can be.

As it turned out this was a hugely successful dish - there was certainly none left!!

The principal ingredient of this dish is black eyed peas, but the "oi, oi, oi" reaction of one of our tasters led to the renaming of the dish as Bootstrap's Black Oi'd Peas - which rescues us from any embarrassing comparisons with Will.i.am and Fergie :-)
I made huge quantities for the shop- but have scaled down the recipe to serve 6 people.

4 onions, quartered
3 tsp cumin,
12 cloves,
1 dried chilli,
10 black peppercorns,
2 tblsp desiccated coconut
300g sweet potato, pumpkin or butternut squash
2 tins black eyed peas
1 tin chopped tomatoes,
250 ml water,
1 cinnamon stick
2 chopped red peppers

Toast the coconut over a medium heat until golden brown and set aside to cool - the crepe pan is perfect for this
Dry fry the cumin, cloves, chilli and peppercorns - one of our 8" frying pans is ideal - until the chilli darkens and you can smell the aroma from the spices.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Grind to a powder

Heat 2 tblsp of oil in a cast iron casserole bowl and add the quartered onions.

Fry until soft and translucent.

Add the spice mix, stir thoroughly and cook for 2 minutes.








Add the sweet potato and stir again.
Add all the other ingredients, EXCEPT the red peppers and mix well. Cover with the cast iron lid.

Transfer to heater base and cook on LOW for 4 hours.



Add the red peppers , turn up to HIGH and cook for another 40 mins.
Season to taste.
Vegetarian/vegan/gluten free

These were served up with sweetcorn pancakes, cooked in a crepe pan on the Kitchen Companion heater base.

8oz self raising flour
4 eggs
Approx ½ pt milk
Salt and pepper
1tsp paprika
1 tin sweetcorn.

Place the flour, eggs and half the milk in a bowl with the seasoning.
Mix well.  keep adding milk and whisking until you have a thick batter.

Heat the crepe pan slowly on the Kitchen Companion or on the hob and add a knob of butter.
Drop dessertspoons of batter in to the hot pan.
When the bubble rise to the surface, turn the pancakes over and cook on the other side until golden brown.

Also delicious with grilled bacon and tomatoes.

Vegetarian

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Keeping the pulses racing

We wish you all a wonderful Diwali

We wish you all a Happy Diwali

You all know how much I appreciate someone else writing this blog for me and this one is no exception.

This wonderfully detailed explanation of how to create delicious and authentic Indian dishes was sent to us following a long conversation with one of our customers.

Jas is a doctor and is learning to cook with the help of her relatives.
Her Sikh background means that she fully appreciates the benefits of cooking in iron pots and she shares our opinion that meals cooked in our cookware are superior to those cooked in other vessels.
She has a great collection of our cookware, including a cast iron casserole a couple of frying pans and a saucepan.

I adore pulses, so this is an absolute gift for me - a great blog and lots of new ideas to experiment with. As always though, we'd really like to hear what YOU think.

Over to Jas.................

The first batch of recipes are all 'one pot curries', using the following beans, pulses or lentils.  I have grouped each combination into groups A-F.  If I know the alternative name for the dal, I have added it.  Each group of dals is prepared in the same basic manner, and then is embellished individually at the end, so please follow the basic stem recipe and then refer to each recipe ending separately.  I will use the term 'dal' to refer to the dried beans of whichever recipe you are following in the dry and 'pot' stage.  Each dal has been tried and tested in the iron cookware.

I personally prefer to use either Natco or East End brands (good quality yet cheap to buy in large quantities).  


Group A: yellow split lentils and red split lentils ( masar dal)
Group B: red kidney beans 
Group C: black eyed beans
Group D: split chick peas (chana dal)
Group E: whole chick peas- many varieties, all prepared in the same way (sholay)
Group F: whole brown mung beans, chana dal, black urid beans, whole green mung beans.


Preparation

Group A dals do not need to be soaked prior to cooking so are ideal for when you need a quick emergency meal for a lot of people. 
For groups B-F:

To make the maximum amount of your end product dal, with a 4 litre pot, you will need 600ml of dry weight dal. I usually make a brimful pot of dal and we eat it until all gone and then make another!

Measure out 600ml of dry dal if using a single dal recipe, or measure out equal parts of dal to make up roughly that amount if attempting a combination dal recipe.

Transfer into a clean bowl and cover with plenty of cold water and leave to soak for at least 10 hours.  Please make sure to soak in plenty of water as the dry dal will absorb a lot.  This will reduce the cooking time and ensure lovely soft, creamy dal.  If the weather is hot, I leave the covered dal in the fridge whilst soaking to prevent it fermenting.  

The soaking stage is particularly important to soften the red kidney beans, which are potentially the most toxic type of bean, unless prepared and cooked properly.

And here is my interpretation of chana dal, following Jas's guidelines

Cooking stage

Cleaning
Boil the kettle using fresh water.
Rinse the dal very thoroughly until the water runs completely clear.
Transfer to pot.
Add hot water until dal completely covered and then half a pint more.
Prepare the kettle again.


Boiling stage
Bring the heat up gradually until you reach a fast boil.
Keep at this heat for 10-15 min for all dals, except the red kidney beans which need at least 30 min ( these are toxic unless cooked in this way)
You will notice some froth rising to the surface, this should be gently skimmed off and discarded. Using a wooden spoon, mix regularly to prevent any sticking ( using these pots, so far, I have not had food stick to the bottom of the pan)

Simmering stage
Once the boiling stage is over, cover the pot and leave to simmer for at least one hour, stirring regularly and adding more hot water if your dal is becoming dry. 

The longer you simmer for, the softer and creamier your dal will be.

Thurka stage
Thurka is what gives your dal flavour and this is how I make it using the same dal pot.  As taste is very individual, vary the amounts according to your own preferences.

Add as much butter as you feel like!

Add one large chopped onion, chopped garlic, chopped green finger chillies and a small amount of ginger.  Squeeze a small amount of concentrated tomato paste into the pot.

Add one small 'spice spoon' worth of salt.
Add the double the amount of dry garam masala 
( I use East End whole mixed spice and grind it in small batches to keep it as fresh as possible)
Add one spice spoon of ground turmeric
Add half the amount of powdered red chilli 

Stir thoroughly and continue to simmer for at least one hour for all groups of dal, except group A, which will only need 20 minutes.

This stage is complete when the onions are meltingly soft, and the dal is completely soft.

You are almost done! Taste and add spice accordingly, but ensure you continue to cook to release the flavour, rather than just add salt and spice to correct the flavour at the very end to avoid that 'uncooked' taste.

Finishing off
Red kidney bean dal goes extremely well with potatoes, and Black eyed beans go well with potatoes and mushrooms, these can be washed, cleaned, chopped and added at the end. Continue to simmer until the potatoes are soft.  Cooking times vary really, I just usually keep cooking until everything is soft.

All dals can be finished with fresh, chopped coriander and freshly squeezed lemon to serve.

Cumin toasted lightly in butter in a frying pan is perfect for masar dal.


This is pretty much what I do on a daily basis using your amazing pots and my family are all pretty happy.  I hope that my suggestions for recipes are of some small use to you.   
Jas

The Shropshire Creatives

There is so much talent in the beautiful county of Shropshire, which is hardly surprising when you look at the list of famous Salopians that history has recorded.  From the so famous they don't need an introduction candidates - Charles Darwin, Thomas Telford, Wilfred Owen, and A E Housman to the less heralded, but no less important such as Eglantyne Jebb, co founder of Save the Children.  And, of course, there would probably be no modern Olympics without Shropshire son, William Penny Brookes. 
There are more - have a look here and see who you recognise and read up about those you don't http://www.shropshiretourism.co.uk/guess-who/

There is still much talent alive and kicking around the county, not least in our workshops, where Neil, our resident creative genius just keeps coming up with new ideas.

This is the latest addition to the range - a hot smoker set, which doubles a chestnut roaster. We do love to "mix it up"

But we are not the only ones;  throughout the county there are talented folk who work with and support us and Neil hit on the inspired idea of a creative collective, combining the talents of our friends and thus the Shropshire Creatives came into being.

A group of people sharing their own unique talents and finding ways to share those with you.  We  have linked our products with theirs to offer you the very best of Shropshire.

If you follow us on Twitter, you will know that our motto and favourite hashtag is #mutualsupport and that is what we aim to achieve.  
Together we are stronger and together we can offer you the very best of Shropshire's prodigious talent.  Visit the website , look in the Netherton Shop for the Shropshire Creatives and enjoy the talent of Salopia wherever you are.

A trip to India

This summer we were lucky enough to travel to India - an amazing experience and one which I would love to be able to repeat.
We flew into Delhi, where we had less than 24 hours before heading north to Ladakh and the Himalayas.
However, you don't go all that way and miss out on the chance of a good look round.
Fortunately, we were recommended a walking tour of Old Delhi, by our friends at Creative Cookware in Edinburgh. Update: Creative Cookware has now closed, but you can still buy Netherton cookware in Edinburgh - head to Marchmont Hardware 
And what a recommendation!!

If you ever get the chance to visit Delhi, book a tour with Dhruv  http://www.masterjikeehaveli.com/, who took us on a walking tour of Old Delhi, up on rooftops, to the very best street food vendors, the back rooms of shops and finally back to his own home, an old style Delhi haweli, where his wife and daughter prepared us a fabulous dinner.  This was a view of the city we would not otherwise have seen, accompanied by a local resident passionate about his home city, its past and its future.

  

We also got to meet a jeweller and visited his workshops - we always like to meet other people who are making things, and who share our passion for raw materials and craftsmanship......... in this case the raw materials were Sri Lankan sapphires!
He makes a beautiful diamond ring for a jeweller in London, who sells them exclusively and whilst we could see the ring we were not allowed to know the name of the jeweller, nor the store it is sold in.  All we did know was that the mark up between Delhi and London is x 30!!

                                           

After  the blistering heat of Delhi 36ºC, we transferred to relatively temperate climate of Leh in the Ladakh region.  Another assault on all the senses and a challenge to one's views on poverty, affluence, happiness........
Life here is so very different from our own and it certainly takes an open mind to appreciate everything that is thrown at you.

This is principally a Buddhist region, with beautiful gompas (monasteries) scattered around the countryside and the Buddhist philosophies certainly appear to be imbued in every day life, without being thrust upon you.

As you can imagine the food was wonderful and I bought a local cook book

I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, there is always that worry that it will taste nothing like it should do when you try and recreate it in an English kitchen.

One thing I will not be trying is the local homebrew beer - we did try some, but it is certainly an "acquired taste"

The whole point of the trip was to go trekking - with OH and the kids also tackling Stok Kangri a 6000m Himalayan peak.  Here they are on the top - check out their personal icicles!

The trekking involved camping in remote and beautiful locations and was certainly different from scout camp.

Our meal were served in a dining tent, with a tablecloth and, on one occasion, a paper napkin carefully cut to create a doyley!

As the kit was packed away on the last day, we enjoyed some al fresco dining
We had the most delicious cooked breakfasts and 3 course dinners.
We were also treated to "bed tea" - woken every morning at around 6:30am with a cup of tea brought to our tents!

  

Whilst the other 3 tackled their mountain, I returned to Leh and stayed in a family run guest house, with the most beautiful garden.

                                     

The return home was via Delhi and we couldn't leave without scheduling a visit to the Taj Mahal; it seemed criminal to travel so far and not make the effort to add a detour to see one of the Wonders of the World.

Nothing prepares you for the astonishing beauty of this place - we have all seen so many photos and TV images, but the reality is jaw dropping.  And, after the brown and grey hues of the Ladakhi traditional dress, the vibrant colours of the clothes, worn by the Indian visitors were equally stunning.

The return to Delhi from Agra was by train - an interesting experience.  We stood in the blistering heat on the paltform at Agra station, pestered by beggars and watching the rats running between the rails and wondered what the 2 hour journey would be like.
First impressions were not promising.  The carriage was old and shabby, but at least the air conditioning was working.  Then we were give a bottle of ice cold water,  a meal of vegetable curry, dahl, rice and paratha, followed by ice cream and helped ourselves to a serving of paan.  Several notches up from the infamous "British rail" sandwich and to be honest, considerably better than a lot of airline catering!

There was also a glossy magazine, Railbhandu  - and if you look closely you will see that I have been naughty,as it specifically asks you not to remove it from the train.

The reason I kept it was the article on cooking eggs, which has given me the inspiration to create the following recipe. 

So, with apologies to Indian Railways, here is my version of Bagara Egg Masala

1 large onion
12 root ginger, peeled
3 cloves garlic, peeled
100ml water
2 dessertspoons ground cumin seeds
1 dessertspoon ground fenugreek seeds
2 teaspoon tamarind, soaked in 450ml boiling water
2 tblsp dessicated coconut
1 tblsp sesame seeds
2 tsp turmeric
4 hard boiled eggs
10 runner beans
1 tsp salt
2 tsp brown sugar

Put half the onion, peeled and roughly chopped in a blender with the ginger, garlic and water.
Blend to a smooth paste

Put your cast iron casserole on a medium heat and add 2 tblsp oil.
Slice the other half of the onion and add to the dish.  Fry until just turning brown, then add the onion paste.
Fry for 3 minutes.
Add the cumin, fenugreek and turmeric and fry for a further 2 minutes.

In a separate pan - one of our frying pans is ideal - dry fry the coconut, and sesame seeds, until the coconut starts to turn colour.

Add to the onion and spice mix.
Stir thoroughly.
Add the hard boiled eggs and sliced green beans. Stir well to coat with the spice mix.
Strain the tamarind water and add to the pan, with the salt and sugar.

Simmer for 40 minutes and serve with rice.
This is the same sauce with paneer in place of the eggs for a friend, who can't/won't eat eggs.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk