Spring is in the air

The clocks have gone forward, nights are getting lighter and there are yellow flowers everywhere; celandines, daffodils, primroses, cowslips, dandelions.
It can only mean one thing - Spring has arrived and with it a fantastic crop of wild garlic.

We always eat sackfuls of the stuff and I like to find new ways of cooking it every season.
If you read back through the Spring months from years past, you will find a lot more ideas and recipes for wild garlic, which grows in abundance along the banks of the River Severn.

This one is a zingy, bright sauce to serve with lamb or grilled Halloumi.

1 Tblsp rapeseed oil, Bennett and Dunn is our favourite 
2 shallots
4 chestnut button mushrooms
150ml red wine
3 sprigs mint, chopped
10 large wild garlic leaves, chopped
2 lamb steaks, or a pack of Halloumi
40g butter

Chop the shallots and mushrooms very finely.
Put the rapeseed oil into a frying pan and heat gently over a medium heat
Add the shallots and fry gently until translucent.
Add the mushrooms and cook until soft.
Pour in the red wine, bring to the boil.  Reduce to a simmer and reduce by half.

Remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl while you cook the lamb or Halloumi
Add a small knob of butter to the pan and increase the heat.
When the butter stops foaming, put the steaks into the pan.

Cook according to taste, we like ours a little pink so we cook it about 3-4 minutes on each side.
When the lamb is cooked to your liking and put aside, covered in foil, while you finish the sauce.
Alternatively, add a little more rapeseed oil to the pan and when it has heated, put in thickly sliced Halloumi and cooked until golden on both sides.  Remove from the pan and keep warm.
Return the wine sauce to the frying pan and add the mint, garlic leaves, butter and a pinch of salt.

Heat gently until the butter has been incorporated into the sauce.

Place the lamb steaks or Halloumi slices onto plates and pour the sauce over.
Delicious with the first Jersey potatoes and some peas.

Serves 2

© Netherton Foundry 2017

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Chicken Carisco

I hate to think how it's looked from your side of the fence, but the last few months have been a nightmare for us as we struggled to meet the huge demand for our British slow cookers, after they were praised by Nigella Lawson and then appeared in the Sunday Times and Grazia magazine.

We have worked ceaselessly to restore supply and are now busy beavering away, making these in our workshops.
We have been asked so many times if we really DO make our kitchenwares in the UK and the answer is "Yes, we certainly do!!"

We are finally back on track and extend our massive thanks to all of you who have kept the faith and been patient enough to wait for your slow cooker.  Waiting time from the placing of your order to arrival on your doorstep is now only a week!

To celebrate the availability of the new 2016 model, I have created a new chicken recipe, which uses seasonal wild garlic - which can, of course, be replaced by other greens at other times in the year.
This is the true "cut it up and chuck it in" tradition of simple slow cooking - so just relax and give it a go.

Bold Mediterranean flavours and the colour of sunset

1 large chicken, mine weighed in at 2kg
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1 red pepper, de-seeded and sliced
1 yellow pepper, de-seeded and sliced
1 orange, cut into 8 segments - skin on
2 tsp fennel seeds
2 tsp paprika
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
200ml water or stock
2 tsp salt
Handful of wild garlic, in season - otherwise use spinach

Lay the onions and peppers in the bottom of the slow cooker bowl.
Sprinkle the salt, fennel and paprika over the top and stir well to mix.
Sit the chicken on top and place the orange segments around the chicken.
Pour the tomatoes and water/stock over the chicken.
Put on the lid and cook for 8 - 10 hours on KEEP WARM , 6 hours on LOW.

When cooked, remove the lid and throw in the shredded garlic or spinach.  Replace the lid for 5 minutes to allow the greens to wilt and then serve.
Delicious with new potatoes, rice or crusty bread.

A watercress, orange and fennel salad would be a terrific accompaniment

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

Chicken Kyiv nuggets

What happens when you cross a chicken Kyiv with a chicken nugget?

A mouthful of moreishness, that's what.

This is yet another excuse to use the bountiful harvest of wild garlic that is springing up already.
I figured it would go really well with chicken and having demolished a chicken and bacon sandwich with wild garlic mayonnaise, 

I struck upon the idea of  incorporating it into a chicken nugget, turning a children's favourite into something a little more sophisticated.

In total I used 2 chicken breast fillets, 3 slices of Parma ham with a single leaf of wild garlic for each nugget.
This made 15 nuggets, so adjust the quantities to suit your family/appetite/occasion.

You will need:
Skinned chicken breast
Parma ham
Cream cheese
Wild garlic
Flour
Egg
Fresh breadcrumbs*
Oil

* whenever you have any bread that is starting to go stale, turn it into breadcrumbs and throw in the freezer - they will always come in handy for topping a macaroni cheese, making fish fingers, turning into Queen of Puddings and a myriad other uses #wastenot

Cut the chicken into bite sized pieces.
Spread a little cream cheese onto each wild garlic leaf.  (You can omit this if you don't want the faff)
Wrap a garlic leaf around each nugget and then wrap the Parma ham around that - you only need enough ham to go round the nugget. 

Have 4 plates ready;

Put the flour on one, crack the egg on to the second and beat lightly, the third is for the breadcrumbs and the final one for the assembled nuggets.

Roll each nugget in flour, dip into the egg and then coat with breadcrumbs. Transfer to a clean plate and then refrigerate for an hour.

Heat the oil over a medium heat in a wok or large frying pan - you can deep or shallow fry these. When the oil is hot enough to brown a cube of bread within a minute, add the nuggets in small batches - do not overcrowd the pan.

Turn regularly until golden brown on all sides and for no less than 3 minutes to ensure the chicken is thoroughly cooked.

Drain and serve - particularly delicious with a lemon mayonnaise to dip them in.

 © Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

First wild garlic of the year

It's incredibly early this year - I don't think I have ever seen the wild garlic coming up in February, but tonight I picked my first small harvest along the banks of the River Severn.

I've got loads of ideas to try out, but when we posted a video of tonight's dinner on Instagram, the response was phenomenal, so I've decided to share this one straight away.

To be honest, it's not really a recipe, I haven't weighed out the ingredients or meticulously timed anything.
This is just a simple, throw together sauce that's ready in 15 minutes.

Large handful of wild garlic, washed
3 large, ripe tomatoes
2 tblsp olive or rapeseed oil
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
1 tblsp white wine vinegar
50g butter

Put a panful of your favourite pasta on to boil.

Roughly chop the garlic and blanch with approx 100ml boiling water.
Blend to a puree.

Put the oil into a frying pan and heat gently.
Chop the tomatoes and add to the frying pan. Fry gently until starting to soften.
Add the salt, sugar, vinegar and garlic puree.

Simmer until the pasta is cooked.
Strain the pasta.  Stir the butter into the tomato sauce and when it has melted, add as much grated cheese as you fancy - anything you can lay your hands on - I used a mature Cheddar tonight.
Pour over the pasta, mix well and serve.

 © Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2016

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Wild garlic dumplings

Yet another way to make use of the abundance of wild garlic.  This came about as I was researching ideas for outdoor cooking - but more of that to come.
In the meantime make do with these little mouthfuls of moreishness.

6 medium floury potatoes
100g plain flour
Salt and pepper
2 eggs
A handful of wild garlic
50g butter
2 tblsp olive oil.

Boil the potatoes in their skins until soft.
Drain and allow to cool.
Peel them and place in a large mixing bowl.
Mash coarsely - you do not want a smooth mash, a few lumps are desirable.
Stir in the flour and eggs and season well.
Finely chop the wild garlic and mix in with the potato.

Bring a large panful of water to the boil.

Drop large teaspoonfuls of the mix into the water - do not overfill the pan: 6 - 8 at a time is enough.

When they rise to surface, lift them out, drain and set aside.
Continue until all the mix has been cooked.

Put the butter and oil in a frying pan - a 12" pan is ideal for this and heat until the butter foams.

Transfer the boiled dumplings to the frying pan and cook on all sides until golden brown

These are perfect with a bean stew, bacon and eggs, along side some smoked belly pork, or dropped into a tomato soup.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Wild garlic season again

Regular readers of this blog will know about my passion for wild garlic - abundant, easy to recognise, versatile, good for you and downright tasty.

Here are a few more ideas for what to do with this seasonal sensation.

First of all, pop the kettle on, as you'll need some boiling water.....

Spaghetti with cherry tomatoes and wild garlic puree

Cook as much spaghetti as you fancy eating in a large pan of boiling water.

Meanwhile, heat a large knob of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil in a casserole dish 

Add 6 to 8 cherry tomatoes per person and cook gently until beginning to collapse.

Blanch 1 handful of wild garlic per person with the boiling water, strain and blitz to a puree with a stick mixer or in the food processor.

Add the garlic to the tomatoes with 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar and a knob of butter.

Warm through for around 5 minutes.

Strain the spaghetti, serve into warmed bowls and spoon over the tomato and garlic sauce.

You can add grilled Halloumi, crumbled feta or grated Parmesan to the finished dish if you wish.

White bean and wild garlic pate

                                       
Blanch a large handful of wild garlic, strain.
Drain and rinse a can of cannellini beans.

Put the beans and garlic into a food processor, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the juice of ½ lemon.
Mix until you have a smooth puree.
Serve with hot toast.

Finally, I added a handful of chopped wild garlic to a cheese souffle made with Red Leicester cheese, but you'll just have to take my word for that, as it disappeared before I got the chance to photograph it.


© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

Spaghetti with wild garlic and lemon sauce

Symond's Yat spaghetti

More wild garlic.......... a recipe named after the delightful location where we gathered a large bag full.

Yet another use for the glorious green stuff before it disappears again until next Spring.  This time I've mixed it with a refreshing lemon zing for a glorious Spring dish.
This can be served on its own or with a variety of extras including chicken, either poached or breadcrumbed and fried; poached salmon; green veg - especially in-season English asparagus or even some crispy pancetta

120ml white wine
Grated rind of 1 lemon
250ml double cream
400-500g spaghettit or tagliatelle - depending on your appetite and what you're serving it with
50g wild garlic
Salt and pepper

Put the wine in a pan, bring to the boil and turn down to a simmer. Reduce to half the original volume
Put the pasta on to cook, according to the pack instructions - the 8" saucepan is ideal.

Add the lemon rind to the wine and slowly pour in the cream.  Heat gently and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Drain the pasta, reserving a ladleful of the cooking liquid.

Add this liquid to the cream sauce and then stir in the spaghetti.
Chuck in the chopped wild garlic and stir well to mix.

Here it is topped with broccoli and leeks for a "meatfree" Monday supper

Let me know if you've got any other ideas of what to serve with this - or if you have a wild garlic recipe we can publish.

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

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

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

First signs of Spring

It's a beautiful sunny day here today in Shropshire -  but still bitingly cold.  But, cold or not,  at least we are beginning to see the first signs of Spring.  The snowdrops are out, the daffodils are in bud and I have just been down to Dudmaston Hall, our local National Trust property, where they are getting ready to re-open on 17th March. 

What has surprised me this year however, is how early the wild garlic is coming up.  I would normally expect to see it appear as the bluebells flower, but Sophie went out and gathered 2 big bagfuls yesterday afternoon.  You can imagine what our office smelt like by home time!!
Keen to use it while it was still fresh, I decided to experiment with a new recipe last night and I'm delighted to say it went down a storm and so I'm now happy to share it with you.

White beans with wild garlic sauce.



400g cooked white beans (cannelini, haricot, butter beans - whatever you've got!)
200ml white wine
200ml chicken or vegetable stock
1 onion, sliced
1 dstsp grain mustard
100ml single cream
1 large handful wild garlic, washed and chopped finely
Salt and pepper

Put the wine and stock in a pan and bring to the boil.  Simmer until reduced by half.
Gently fry the onion in rapeseed oil in one of our frying pans, with a knob of butter, until translucent and soft
Add the onions and mustard to the reduced stock mixture and stir well.  Add the beans and heat through
Add the cream and warm gently
Toss in the wild garlic, season with salt and pepper.

Serve - with crusty bread, sausages, lamb chops or a nice piece of cod........... or any other combination that takes your fancy!
Not the world's best food photo, I admit, but teenage son was in a hurry to tuck in and not channelling his creative tendencies.  The moral being, never take food pics on an empty stomach!

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2013 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk