Netherton Foundry Shropshire

Netherton Foundry Shropshire
Classic cookware, made in England

Sunday 25 October 2015

News from abroad

Alongside our fantastic local shops, many of whom have sent our wares around the world, we have a growing number of overseas outlets, in places from Germany,to Slovenia, Texas and New York...... and growing. We are committed to "going global" with our Great British Brand

But, of course, we also send Netherton Foundry products around the world from our website - if you can't find a shipping option for your country, please send us an e-mail and we'll find the best possible deal for you.
We love to hear from the people who have bought them.

If you scroll through the recipes, you'll find contributions from Finland and Hungary, as well as a post courtesy of our friend in the Philippines.

We love to share the great stories sent to us and so it is a huge pleasure to introduce you to the Thomsons from Australia and let them tell you their story in their own words.
Sadly the Netherton Foundry to which Heather refers is no longer in operation, but we hope that we are carrying on the traditions that they laid down.


Hello, We recently purchased a Coalbrookdale Clock and kettle from you which arrived at our home in Palm Tree, Queensland, Australia yesterday. We are thrilled with the quality and the story behind your products. We live on an a farm outside Toowoomba, which has a rich history of dairying and saw milling. Our property had been in our family for almost 100 years so we have many remnants of yesteryear which we treasure. One of our special items is a Condamine Bell. 





Samuel William Jones (a blacksmith and Wheelwright) whose family originated in Pontybat, Brickenshire, Wales, in 1860 moved to the small town of Condamine, Queensland, Australia in 1866. Samuel began crafting Condamine Bells after a drover requested a stock bell for his horse. There were no bells on hand but he fabricated a bell (with his knowledge of his home country - England), using a discarded pit saw from which was the only suitable material available to him. He hung it at the entrance of his shop in Condamine, until the customer returned. It was an ingenious design and became a sought after product for teamsters/drovers and kids with a goat and cart who recognised its value. The Jones' Condamine Bell had a distinctive deep tone which could be heard a great distance away, unlike other bells at the time. Samuel became famous for his bells and before long, the cross cut saws and pit saw blades (the material used to construct the bell) became scarce due to the size and volume of bells people required. Samuel needed to source materials to make his Condamine Bell elsewhere. As a result of the demand, Samuel began to order heavy and light gauge English Netherton Iron which was sent from Brisbane. We searched the Internet to verify the story and were amazed to find the Netherton Foundry is still in operation and links directly to our Condamine Bell. Thank you for the beautiful pieces and we look forward to adding to our collection of Netherton Foundry craftsmanship.

Sunday 18 October 2015

A savoury pumpkin pie

I love this time of year - seeing the breathtaking array of colour everywhere, crisp mornings, tramping through crunching leaves, the smell of bonfire smoke and also the fantastic selection of seasonal produce; quinces, apples, pears, figs and of course, pumpkins.


I'm not entirely sure when pumpkins and squashes became such a big thing, though I am pretty sure it has something to do with the commercialisation and Americanisation of Hallowe'en.
When I was a child and living up in North Yorkshire, Hallowe'en was virtually ignored, but we did have turnip Jack O'Lanterns and "celebrated" the 4th November as Mischief Night, which mostly seemed to involve knocking on people's front doors and running away...............another age!!
We did get up to slightly more mischievous activities, but if you think I am going to own up to those now, you are very much mistaken.  what happened in the past, stays in the past.

But for all I dislike the bought costumes, the dreadful Hallowe'en themed cakes and sweets for the equally awful Trick or Treating, I am pleased that we now have ready access to pumpkins and all their relatives.
And it has to be said that no pumpkin flesh is ever thrown away on carving day.
                                                      
                                         


Pumpkin pie is quintessentially an American institution and I am not going to attempt a version of their sweet confection.
I have gone for a savoury version, which went down a storm in our house and I hope you like it too.


None of these measurements are critical, so please feel free to adapt this to what you have on hand.

2 tblsp rapeseed oil
500g pumpkin flesh, peeled and chopped
1 large leek, washed thoroughly and cut into thick slices
2 tblsp dessicated coconut
2 tsp salt
1 dried chilli, crushed
200ml double cream
2 large potatoes
50g melted butter


Start by toasting the coconut in a frying pan over a medium heat.  Remove from the pan and set aside.
Heat the oil in a 10" frying pan - an oven safe one is ideal or, as this is going into the oven, remove the oak handle covers.
Put the pumpkin into the pan and cook for approx 15 minutes, until starting to take on a little colour and becoming soft.
Add the leeks and stir well to mix.
Throw in a couple of tablespoons of water and simmer until the water is absorbed.
Add the toasted coconut, salt, chilli and cream.

Mix well and remove from the heat.

Heat the oven to 170ºC

Slice the potatoes thinly.
Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add the potatoes.
Cook for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse with cold water.

Arrange the potatoes in overlapping layers over the pumpkin mix.
Pour the melted butter over the potatoes and put the pan in the oven.

Cook for 20 - 30 minutes until the potatoes are soft and golden.


Serve piping hot with peas and roasted tomatoes.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

Sunday 4 October 2015

Selling Road Salad

Just over a week ago, I was lucky enough to be invited to attend a Meet the Producers day at our fabulous Faversham stockist Macknade Fine Food

Not only was this a fantastic opportunity to meet their customers and share some of our passion for what we do, but it was also a chance to say "Hello" to the staff and enjoy the huge array of goodies on offer.


They now have a superb display of the Netherton Foundry range in the centre of the shop, as you can see.




One of the things that struck me, as I took a few minutes "off duty" to wander round, was how easy it is to eat your daily rainbow of fruit and veg, when presented with the tantalising selection on offer.  I promised that I would create a dish specially for Macknade from ingredients from the shop and having chosen red, green, purple, yellow and mauve a crunchy slaw style salad seemed the very best option.




The sheer quality of what I brought home made me want to do as little as possible to it, to  make the most of the freshness and flavours.

And so it is that we have the Selling Road Salad:


1 large yellow heritage carrot

1 large purple heritage carrot
2 leaves curly kale
½ red pepper

Dressing

1 dried chilli
½ tsp salt
50ml rapeseed oil
2 heaped teaspoons crunchy peanut butter
2 tsp runny honey
grated rind of ½ orange
Juice of 1 lime

Cut out the thick white rib of the kale and discard.

Bring some water to the boil in a large saucepan and throw in the kale leaves.
Blanch for 30 seconds - this will make the kale a beautiful vivid green.
Drain and refresh with cold water.
Squeeze out any excess water and chop finely.
Cut the carrots into thin julienne strips.
Chop the red pepper.

Throw all the vegetables into a large salad bowl and mix thoroughly - the easiest way to do this is with your hands.


To make the dressing, crush the chilli with the salt.

Place in a mixing bowl.
Add all the other ingredients and whisk together.
Taste and adjust the seasoning to suit your palate.

Pour the dressing over the vegetables and mix well.




Leave to stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before serving.
To tickle your tastebuds here are a couple of photos from the veg section............



........... and as if that weren't enough temptation, what about the stunning cheese counter and frankly irresistible bread.


So if you find yourself in the Garden of England, pop in to one the best farm shops we know and make the most of their fine produce.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

Thursday 1 October 2015

Baking - chocolate and peanut butter cake

I love baking, the simple pleasure of mixing the ingredients, the tantalising smell that fills the kitchen and the anticipation of something to tuck into, be it sweet or savoury, whilst it's still a wee bit warm.

And of course, I am far from alone, as the success of Great British Bake Off testifies.  
We are fortunate to know a host of superb bakers, including fifth generation baker, Robert Swift, Tom Herbert, one half of the Fabulous Baker Brothers, the adorable Luis Troyano, runner up in last year's GBBO and closer to home the lovely Janice, who runs fabulous bread making courses in her own home.

We are also honoured and excited that the Domestic Goddess herself, Nigella Lawson has been using our loaf tins for some of her latest recipes - including one for Breakfast banana Bread with cardamon and cocoa nibs, which will be in her latest book, Simply Nigella, to be published on 8th October 2015.
Only a week away, but if you can't wait - you can find it featured in the pre-publication special in the Mail on Sunday


My chocolate and peanut butter cake may not be in the same league, but I have to admit, it's not half bad and goes down well with a cup of tea.

120g butter
80g crunchy peanut butter
120g soft brown sugar
50g dark chocolate, at least 70% cocoa, melted and left to cool
3 eggs
120g self raising flour

Topping
30g dark chocolate, melted
1 rounded teaspoon butter
2 rounded teaspoons icing sugar

Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC
Grease a 1lb loaf tin or line with a liner, parchment paper or a butter wrapper.



Cream the butter, peanut butter and sugar until fluffy.
Beat in the eggs and chocolate.
Carefully fold in the flour and transfer the mix to the loaf tin

Bake for 40 - 50 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean with no sticky mixture on it.

Allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before turning out.

To make the optional topping, stir the butter and icing sugar into the melted chocolate and drizzle over the cooled cake.

Here's the finished cake sitting pretty on my favourite Shelley plate


© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015