Keep it coming - more wild garlic

Spring does seem to be making an effort to fight off the Arctic winter, so we can look forward to more wild garlic in the coming weeks.
I have to admit that I'll be happier picking it in the sunshine, rather than trying to find it under the snow.

This is a risotto that I made with the last batch, which will still work well without the garlic once the season is over.
I have discovered however, that the wild garlic puree does freeze well - so if you are feeling "sensible", then stock up now for later in the year........ just imagine the asparagus, poached duck egg and a wild garlic hollandaise, or a tomato and wild garlic quiche perhaps.

In the meantime, here's my suggestion for

Wild garlic risotto

1½ litres stock - vegetable or chicken

50ml white wine

2 large leeks, thinly sliced

12 sun dried tomatoes chopped and added to the stock

100g butter

Handful wild garlic

50ml boiling water

1½ mugs arborio rice

50g grated Parmesan

6 stems purple sprouting broccoli

Put the garlic leaves and boiling water in to a jug and blitz with a stick mixer. Set aside

Bring the stock to the boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer.

Melt the butter in the Netherton Foundry cast iron bowl over a medium heat.

Add the sliced leeks and fry until soft. Do not let them colour.

Tip in the rice and cook until opaque, stirring regularly.

When all the rice has turned opaque and white, pour in the wine.  Cook for about 3 - 5 minutes

Add the stock and tomatoes a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly. Wait until each addition has been absorbed by the rice, before adding the next spoonful.

When around half of the stock has been added,  stir in the Parmesan.

When all but 2 ladlefuls of stock remain,  add the pureed garlic mix and the broccoli.

Add the last of stock and continue to stir until it has been absorbed.

Serve, garnished with extra wild garlic leaves.

Hummus - a seasonal variation

I adore hummus, on toast, with pitta bread, in sandwiches, with breadsticks, on oatcakes and crudites.  Other half has just trekked up 2 Munros with hummus sandwiches to sustain him.

Unfortunately, a lot of commercial hummus is, quite frankly, disappointing  - a bit bland, odd texture, often resembling cold porridge.

Just as well that it's one of the easiest things to make yourself.  Check out Daisies and Pie for some very tasty recipes or have a go at this seasonal one:

Wild garlic hummus

200g chick peas, soaked for an hour and cooked overnight in your Netherton Foundry slow cooker
- save 50 ml of the cooking liquid
(or use canned chick peas and replace the cooking liquid mentioned above with 50 ml of the liquid from the tin, known as aqua fava)
20 leaves of wild garlic
1 red pepper, chopped
1 tablespoon tahini
2 tblsp olive or rapeseed oil
Squeeze of lemon juice

Put all the ingredients, except the aqua fava in a blender/food processor,  and mix until well blended.  Slowly add the liquid to achieve the desired consistency.
Serve any way, and anywhere, you fancy!
You can even posh it up a bit.........

© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2019
www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

More wild garlic recipes

There has been a lot of "chat" on Twitter about wild garlic, so I thought I would take a few minutes to post a few more ideas on what to do with the stuff.

If you want any more information on any of these suggestions, please get in touch at sales@netherton-foundry.co.uk.

I added a large handful of chopped leaves to a pan of saute potatoes, which I serve with a rather yummy cheese omelette - a variation on cheese, onion and potato that beats a packet of crisps hand down!

What about a fish on a dish?

Another idea is to lay the garlic leaves on to rashers of bacon - I like to use smoked - and then wrap these around a piece of responsibly sourced, sustainable white fish - try coley or pollock. (Yes Hugh F-W, we are all supporting you)

Fry on all sides and then bake in the oven for around 15 minutes.  Of course, one of our frying pans is ideal for this dish, but if you have one with an oak handle, remember to remove it before putting the pan in the oven.

A simple dish, which you can embellish as you like:  Pasta with pea sauce

This is a great stand by dish.

All you need to do is cook some frozen peas in a small amount of good stock.  At this time of year, I love to throw in a big handful of wild garlic - although later in the summer I'll use mint, basil or even lettuce.

As soon as the peas are cooked, remove from the heat and blitz with a blender.

Return to the heat, stir in some cream and more peas for texture.

Serve with any kind of pasta you have in the cupboard.

You can top this with grated Parmesan, crispy bacon, prawns or even a few flakes of smoked salmon.

And if you have any nettles growing with the garlic, make some soup.

Gently fry a onion in butter until soft.

Add a couple of diced potatoes, some chopped nettles and garlic and 500 ml chicken or vegetable stock.

Simmer gently until the potatoes are soft.  Liquidise.  Add cream if you fancy, but it's not essential.

I'm told this is very good for you  - it certainly tastes good!

I have loads more ideas,  quiche, sauces, burgers so please give me a shout if you want to know more.

Finally - if you are going out foraging, please respect the countryside and be sure you know what you are picking.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2012 ©

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

Food for a goddess

A little bit of mythology to start with.
Loki was one of the Norse gods, a blood brother to Odin the supreme deity, a giant and also known as the Mischief Maker .  He was first married to Glut, whose name means Glow and they had a daughter called Esia, meaning Ember.  Clearly a guy not to be messed with! 

So what, you may ask?  Well, my latest food critic was named after Esia and when you are cooking for the daughter of a god, you need to be sure of what you are offering.
Especially if you also subscribe to the old adage "Never work with animals or children"..........because this is Esia

And here is what I prepared for the baby goddess, or the Little Princess as her mother describes her (most of the time!)

Chicken Esia

1 free range chicken

1 tin chopped tomatoes

200ml water

1 onion, sliced

1 red pepper, chopped

2 tsp oregano

Splash of dry sherry

Salt and black pepper

Place the onions in the bottom of the cast iron bowl of your Netherton Foundry slow cooker.  Sit the chicken on top and then add all the other ingredients.

Cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours and serve with rice, pasta, potatoes or whatever your inner deity fancies!

As simple as that , leaving you plenty of time to do whatever it is that domestic gods and goddesses do when they are not on duty!

Obviously, Esia is not yet able to write her own review, but,  as her mother points out, if more of the food ends up IN the child, rather than on any other available surface (including hair, table, face, floor, wall), then you are onto a winner.
This will be featuring regularly on Esia's menu and when she's older, we'll be back with her comments!

If you have your own comments on Chicken Esia, or any of our other recipe ideas, please get in touch.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2018 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Not just for toast..

It's Seville orange time again, I have already made several jars of marmalade and am sorely tempted to make some more, while they are in season.  Apparently marmalade sales are falling, so this is part of my attempt to re-popularise this delicious spread.

I love the stuff, but not just on my toast.  Did you know that you can make absolutely gorgeous ice cream by mixing equal volumes of whipped cream and marmalade and simply putting it in the freezer?  You don't even have to get it out and beat it during the freezing process and it stays wonderfully "scoopable".  Delicious with a hot chocolate fudge cake!!

The following recipe combines the richness of shoulder of pork with the tang and acidity of Seville oranges, which cut through the fattiness with zest and zing.  Shoulder of pork is a fantastically economic cut and this is a ridiculously easy recipe, which makes a superb meal served with mashed potatoes and wilted spinach.

1kg shoulder of pork joint
2 dessertspoons fennel seed
2 tablespoons marmalade - doesn't have to be home made
200ml water
Salt and pepper



Put all the ingredients into the slow cooker bowl.
Put on the lid
Place the bowl on the heater base.
Cook for 3 hours on HIGH or 5 hours on LOW or 8 hours on KEEP WARM.

Enjoy!!

Netherton Foundry Shropshire © 2013
www.netheron-foudnry.co.uk



Arabian cooking ..... from Herefordshire

We are delighted to share this fantastic recipe from Aspen House, Hoarwithy , a green, organic, real food B&B in the beautiful Herefrodshire village of Hoarwithy, run by Sally and Rob, who share our passion for locally sourced, well cooked food and a desire for a more sustainable way of life.
I just wished they'd taken a photo before they ate it all!!

~ :  mutton and spelt tagine  : ~

I am a big fan of mutton, because it is so much tastier than lamb.  The logic is simple.  Mutton is a mature meat, like beef.  Lamb is an immature meat, like veal.  Each has its place, but if you want to get the right balance of flavours in this homage to Arab cooking, mutton will give you a more authentic taste.  Your local butcher should be able to supply – at the very least you might be able to find some hogget (meat from a yearling, halfway between lamb and mutton).

The only advance preparation this dish needs is the soaking of the spelt grains, at least 24 hours in advance.  All whole grains benefit from soaking, but spelt particularly so.  It is an ancient grain (the Romans used it) with a hard skin, but well worth the trouble because the flavour is so good.

As with all spicy dishes, it is important to grind the spices fresh each time you need them.  Ground spices go stale very quickly, but freshly ground spices have a real zing to them that will make all the difference to this dish.

You will need:

500g diced mutton (or lamb)

250g whole spelt grains (soaked for minimum 24 hours)

I large onion, finely chopped

6 garlic cloves, finely sliced

25mm stick of fresh ginger, finely chopped

4 dried apricots, sliced

olive oil

a good pinch of saffron

spice mix:

            1 heaped teaspoon roasted cumin seeds

            75mm stick of cinnamon

            ¼ of a nutmeg

            5 allspice berries

            1tsp paprika

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Here goes:

Firstly, prepare the spices, starting with the cumin seeds.  Put them in a dry pan over a high heat and stir or toss them gently for a few minutes until a ‘toasted’ aroma comes off them.  Then put them in a grinder with all the other spices and grind to a fine powder.  In the same pan gently toast the saffron strands, which will immediately begin to curl and take on a darker shade.  This will take only 10 – 15 seconds.  Put the saffron in a tablespoon of milk and let it soak while you prepare the rest of the dish.

Over a medium flame on your cooker, heat your Netherton Foundry slow cooker pot, add about four tablespoons of olive oil and brown the mutton all over.  Set aside.  In the same oil, sauté the onions, garlic and ginger until the onions take on a light golden colour, then stir in the spice mix for a few seconds.  Add 500ml of water and stir the mixture through.  Add the saffron/milk, which should be quite yellow by now, the sliced apricots, the mutton and the spelt.  Season with sea salt and black pepper, give it a good stir and make sure there is enough water to cover the whole dish, as the grains will expand during cooking.  Transfer the slow cooker pot to the hob and simmer it on ‘low’ for 8 hours.  If possible, check it halfway through the cooking time to make sure it is not drying out.  Serve on its own or with any vegetables of your choice.