Pea flour fritters

We recently attended at series of talks and demonstrations at Bristol Food Connections, which is a brilliant, city wide collection of food oriented events which take place over 2 weeks.  It's all over for 2019, but be sure to check out next year's itinerary - there's bound to be something that appeals to you.
These simple, tasty fritters were firstly inspired by Jenny Chandler who was talking to Nick Saltmarsh, one of the founders of Hodmedods, who describe themselves as "Britain's pulse and grain pioneers".  Jenny's book, Pulse is a great read, has some fantastic recipes and is a terrific introduction to the world of cooking with pulses, if you have not ventured there before.
Second inspiration came from Genevieve Taylor and, in particular, her latest book Charred, which is all about vegetarian barbecue food.

These were cooked on our split chapa, along with some spiced, glazed  carrots; leeks; peppers stuffed with kidney beans and garlic; cherry tomatoes and Padron peppers.
Not only are they a beautiful pale green colour and extremely tasty, they are also gluten free for anyone suffering from gluten intolerance or coeliac disease.

150g green pea flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 tsp nigella seeds
Salt and pepper
100ml milk (dairy or non dairy alternative)
150g grated courgette 
300g tinned sweetcorn
Handful of chopped mint.

Grate the courgette coarsely and place in a colander over a bowl.  Sprinkle liberally with salt and leave to stand for 30 minutes.  Rinse thoroughly, drain and then squeeze out as much excess moisture as you can - use your hands, it's the most effective method.
If your courgettes are baby ones, straight from the garden you can skip this bit, as they are not quite as moisture laden as the ones you buy.

Tip the flour, baking powder, a good pinch of salt, plenty of black pepper and the nigella seeds into a large mixing bowl.
Add the eggs and milk and beat until you have a smooth batter.
Stir in the courgette, sweetcorn and mint.

You can either cook these on a griddle or chapa over the barbecue or an open fire.  In which case, drop single tablespoons of batter onto a medium hot griddle.  cook for 2 - 3 minutes, until the underside is golden and the top is beginning to set.  Flip them over and cook for another couple of minute s to brown the other side.
Alternatively put a tablespoon of oil and a small knob of butter in a large frying pan and heat over the hob, on a medium heat and then proceed as if you were cooking on the griddle. 
These are nice on their own, but liberal splodges of ketchup or sriracha wouldn't go amiss.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2019 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Rhubarb galette

Social media is awash with strawberries and cherries at the moment, and why not?  A short lived season of photogenic lusciousness.
We love the sheer, unadulterated joy of seasonal fruit and are lucky enough to have strawberry and pineberry plants and a glorious cherry tree.  Nothing beats a sun warmed strawberry eaten straight from the plant.  And the cherries taste sweeter for the victory of getting to them before the birds - we get the lower branch crop and they have their pick of the loftier harvest.

As well as the fresh fruit, there have been jams and gins, tarts and cakes and a Savarin Montmorency from our 1970s Cordon Bleu Cook Book, which calls for ¾ gill milk!  This was cooked in our 9" savarin tin.

But in addition to all this sexy red fruit, there is still some late season rhubarb flourishing at the bottom of the garden and it may not be so in your face but it is oh so delicious.

Here it is in a free form, inelegant galette, with an amateurish attempt at the picture perfect chevron patterns beloved of Instagram.  Okay, so I didn't measure each piece of rhubarb to ensure consistency, I didn't use a protractor for pinpoint accuracy and do you know what - I don't care, the taste was what really mattered.  Life's too short!

5 long sticks rhubarb
Grated rind of an orange
80g sugar
( I used orange infused sugar, made by placing orange peel into a jar of sugar - the sugar draws out the oil from the peel, drying and preserving it and flavouring the sugar. #wastenot).

150g self raising flour
75g butter, cut into small pieces
25g sugar
1 beaten egg

100g cream cheese
50g sugar
100g ground almonds

Heat the oven to 180ºC 
Cut the rhubarb into short lengths and place in an oven proof dish.  Sprikle the sugar and orange zest over the top and place in the oven.  cook for around 15 - 20 minutes, until the rhubarb is soft, but still holds its shape.
Check for sweetness and sprinkle on a little more sugar if necessary, but bear in mind that you will need a little tartness to counter the sweet pastry and filling.
Remove from the oven and set aside while you make the base and the filling.
LEAVE THE OVEN ON

Tip the flour into a large mixing bowl and add the butter.  Rub in with your fingertips until it looks like a bowl of breadcrumbs.  Add the sugar and distribute evenly. Mix in the beaten egg and bring together to form a ball of dough.
(All of this can be done in a food processor if you prefer - mine just happened to be full of bread dough)

Dust your worktop with flour and roll out the dough around 4mm thick.  Carefully transfer to a baking sheet, the 15" griddle plate is perfect.

Beat the cream cheese with the sugar until smooth and then stir in the ground almonds.  Carefully spread this over the pastry base, leaving a 5cm border.
Arrange - or simply tip- the rhubarb over the filling.
Pull up the edges of the pastry to meet the filling.  this will form a nice crust and prevent any juices from running out and burning.

Place in the oven and bake for 25 minutes, until the pastry is golden.
Serve at room temperature.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2019 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk