Wild garlic and cheese scones

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I love a scone, cream and jam, or jam and cream I care not, just hand them over. Here though is a thing I like at this time of year – a savoury scone seasoned with, well, the season.

Pre heat your ESSE top oven, steam vent closed to start with to 190 C

Ingredients

  • 150g cold butter
  • 100g wholemeal flour
  • 200g self-raising flour
  • A pinch of salt
  • Around 50g finely chopped wild garlic
  • 75g grated strong cheddar
  • A little milk (a few tablespoons approx. 150g), and a little more for glazing the scones

Method

  1. Dice the butter into small chunks and place it in your kitchen food processor with the flour and half the cheese. Add a pinch of salt. Pulse this to make a loose breadcrumb mixture. Now add the chopped wild garlic and pulse again. Now, drizzle in a few tablespoons of cold milk to bring the dough together whilst still pulsing the machine. Don’t make it too wet – or too dry – just moist enough that you can easily bring it together into an “almost” dough.
  2. Now, time to move fast – tip the dough out into a lightly floured surface and finish bringing it together – do not over work it! – it wants to remain not quite mixed all together.
  3. Roll roughly out to around 2cm thickness and then use a knife or scone cutters to cut to your preferred size.
  4. Space these out on your ESSE non-stick baking tray, brush them with a little milk and sprinkle over the last of the cheese – bake at 190 for 5 mins with the steam vent closed, then open it and give them another 20 – 25 mins until golden brown on top, and hopefully nicely risen.
  5. Remove them from the oven and allow them to cool (if you can!) for a few minutes on a wire rack before serving.

Recipe created by Tim Maddams. Tim is a chef, food writer and cookery teacher who produces seasonal recipes for ESSE at his home in Inverness using ingredients grown in his kitchen garden. ESSE first met Tim over ten years ago when he regularly co-featured in the hit TV series River Cottage. During his time as head chef at River Cottage Tim pioneered ethical, local, seasonal produce and became a key spokesperson in the area of responsibly-sourced food.

Tim’s aim is to show off the “tremendous versatility” of the ESSE 600 X electric range cooker. The new 600 X has ESSE’s classic heat storage construction, patented ovens, beautiful colour finishes and the reassuring ‘solidity’ with modern, electric controllability and responsiveness.

The Family Loaf

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I’m eating stews, curries, soups, broths and braises and much if not all of these are accompanied by some of what I have come to think of as “the family loaf”. I love sour dough, but I am a busy guy and not everyone in the house delights in the crust of a formidable sour dough loaf – and so I have drifted again, away from the shoes of sourdough into that seldom whispered about territory of the yeasted dough, hush now, yeast is fine.

There are various needs to balance within the daily bread, My kids aren’t keen on tough chewy bread, my beloved wife is not at all impressed with white bread and I like a versatile loaf that can cope with various uses from a late night toastie to croutons through to a reasonable flat bread or naan too. Quite the thing!

It keeps reasonably well 3 or 4 days without too much issue in the bread bin and it freezes excellently so I don’t have to worry if I’m busy, we can just defrost a loaf and we are safely back in the game.

The ESSE cooker top oven is excellent for baking this in the “Bloomer” style and I prefer to make a larger loaf than two small ones – it just bakes a little better that way. The ability to trap steam into the baking oven using the top controls allows me to get a really good crust, starting off with the steam trapped in the oven and then allowing it out to finish the loaf makes all the difference to the end product. As the ESSE is always the centre of warmth in the kitchen, its also a great place to prove the dough If like us, you have a cold house or, you are simply in a bit of a hurry.

For the dough

  • 600g Shipton mill number 4 organic strong bread flour
  • 200g stone ground organic wholemeal flour
  • 200g light organic malthouse flour
  • 680g warm water
  • 15g dried fast acting yeast
  • 20g fine salt

Method

  1. Just weigh everything in to the mixing bowl on your Kenwood / kitchen aid / planetary mixer or indeed a large mixing bowl if you are going to be kneading by hand. If using a machine, simply attach the dough hook attachment and begin on a slow speed to bring the dough together.
  2. Once the dough has come together you can either turn the machine up a little or kneed by hand using a folding and pushing motion until you find it begin to resist – it will go quite tough as the dough stats to develop and now is a good time to allow the dough (and your arms) a short rest. After a couple of minutes of inaction, your dough will soften and be ready for some more work – it is now that I like to give the dough it’s most lengthy workout. Re-knead the dough for around 5 minutes this time, slowly – let it have a little time to itself.
  3. Once you have a smooth, elastic and pliable dough you can shape it into a domed blob and lightly cover the bowl with a tea towel or a plate, pan lid or some such whilst it has its initial prove. You want the dough to double in size before you make you next move. This could take a few hours or somewhere nice and warm and with a nice warm dough this could take as little as 45 minutes.
  4. Once the dough has doubled in size you will need to tip it out onto a floured surface and shape your loaf.
  5. I like to make one big loaf but I sometimes take off about a third of the dough and keep it in the fridge for use as flat breads, pizza or Naan depending on what’s going on elsewhere in the kitchen and with the menu plan for the coming days, if there is indeed, a plan.
  6. On a well-floured surface, shape the loaf out to about half the thickness that you would like it to end up – were looking for an elongated rugby ball type shape, gently place this into your ESSE non-stick baking tray, lightly cover the loaf again with a lid or a tea towel, and allow the loaf its final prove. Meanwhile ensure that you have set your ESSE oven to 190 degrees and closed the steam vent.
  7. Within about half an hour – depending on temperature, you should find that you loaf has now doubled in size, now, select your sharpest serrated bread knife and cut deep slashes almost half to two thirds of the way though the loaf across the width of the loaf at angles, roughly a couple of cm apart.
  8. Bake in the top oven on 190 degrees for 15 minutes then open the steam vent and bake for a further 15 minutes.
  9. Remove your loaf from the oven, place it on a cooling rack and relax – try and avoid snacking on the loaf until it’s had at least half an hour cooling as the cooking process is continuing to finish inside the crust there.

Recipe created by Tim Maddams. Tim is a chef, food writer and cookery teacher who produces seasonal recipes for ESSE at his home in Inverness using ingredients grown in his kitchen garden. ESSE first met Tim over ten years ago when he regularly co-featured in the hit TV series River Cottage. During his time as head chef at River Cottage Tim pioneered ethical, local, seasonal produce and became a key spokesperson in the area of responsibly-sourced food.

Tim’s aim is to show off the “tremendous versatility” of the ESSE 600 X electric range cooker. The new 600 X has ESSE’s classic heat storage construction, patented ovens, beautiful colour finishes and the reassuring ‘solidity’ with modern, electric controllability and responsiveness.

Wild garlic bread

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Recipe by Philippa Vine, Philippa’s Seasonal Kitchen @philippavinecooking

Wild garlic is only available in the spring. You can substitute with flavouring it with some chopped rosemary and 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped

Ingredients

  • 250g strong white bread flour
  • 150ml warm water
  • 15g fresh yeast
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons of chopped wild garlic leaves

Method

  1. Preheat ESSE to 200C/ESSE dial guide HOT, aim for the dial reading to be in the middle of HOT (ESSE oven steam vent closed).
  2. Place your flour in a large mixing bowl and add the salt, olive oil and wild garlic if using.
  3. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water with the honey.
  4. Add the yeast mix to the flour and mix with a table knife.  Add a little more water if it is too dry or some flour if it is too wet.
  5. Turn it out onto your work surface and knead to a smooth dough.
  6. Put the dough back into the mixing bowl and place a clean cloth over the bowl.  Put the bowl at the back of the ESSE on the left hand side.
  7. When it has doubled in bulk, knead until smooth and elastic.
  8. Roll out to a shape that you like and place it on an oiled baking sheet.  Put back next to the ESSE to prove again until it has doubled in bulk.
  9. Then place direct on the bottom of top ESSE oven and bake until golden brown all over, approximately 15 – 20 minutes, depending on the shape of your loaf.

Happy cooking on your ESSE.

Philippa Vine has worked with, and demonstrated, ESSE Wood-Fired and Electric Cookers since 2018. Philippa owns a 1000 T and a Bakeheart and produces seasonal recipes from Bates Green Farm in East Sussex. She is an ambassador for Love British Food.

Sausage Rolls

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Whenever I’m baking I’m often ignoring the cake tins and focussing on the savoury side of life.

Shop bought puff pastry has become the norm, even in the majority of restaurants and bakeries a “bought in” puff pastry solution is very much the order of play – which I always think is a shame – not only because of some of the more dubious ingredients contained within the vast majority of said products but because making your own “rough puff” takes minutes, is super easy and the results are epic – less “fully puffed” than the full on puff pastry but really easy to work with, pretty much impossible to get wrong and much, much tastier. So, really this is a simple recipe for rough puff pastry, but I’ve also included another seasonal ingredient – Venison, as it’s such a tasty and sustainable option, it can be a little lean but with the buttery pastry I hardly think you will notice.

Because I also like some spice – I have made these more along the lines of a chorizo in terms of seasoning too, the results are somewhat addictive – if you have a handy supply of pheasant you can substitute minced pheasant in or of course get yourself to the local butcher for some quality coarse minced pork and stay traditional – it is totally up to you.

Makes: 6 med sausage rolls
Prep time 1 hour
Cooking time 30 mins

For the pastry

  • 175g strong white bread flour
  • 150g cold butter, diced small
  • A good pinch of salt
  • A little ice cold water

Place everything except the water in the food processor. Pulse the machine a few times to begin to break up the butter, but not too much! We need lumps of butter in there, start drizzling in some water as you keep pulsing the machine, you should quickly find you have a very lumpy buttery dough, in short it will look like it’s gone horribly wrong.

Tip this out onto a lightly floured surface and bring the dough together a little using your hands. Now, with a rolling pin roll out the dough till its half its original width, then fold the top into the middle and repeat with the bottom so you have effectively created a 3 layer scenario. Repeat that process twice more, what we are doing here is gently adding a few layers to you pastry, which will add lift, character and joy – then set the dough aside and leave it to chill in the fridge for 30 mins before removing it and allowing it to come up towards room temperature again before you make the sausage rolls.

For the filling

  • 30g olive oil
  • 350g minced venison
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 2 table spoons red wine
  • 1 pinch chilli flakes
  • 30g smoked paprika
  • A good pinch of mixed dried herbs
  • A few rasps of lemon zest
  • ½ teaspoon fennel seeds, lightly crushed
  • 5g salt

Crush then finely chop your garlic, add this to everything else and mix it well.

You can store this mix in the fridge until needed – it should keep in a tub very well for 4 or 5 days.

Making the rolls and baking them

Set your ESSE oven to 190 degrees and open the steam vent.

You will need

  • 1 egg, beaten
  • A pastry brush
  • A little flaky salt and a few fennel seeds
  • Flour for dusting

Roll out your pastry on a lightly floured surface – you are aiming for a long oblong shape about the thickness of a 50p piece, so don’t worry too much, but do you best to make it long and it wants to be roughly three times the width that the sausage meat will be – I like a thick sausage roll so I tend to aim for 15 – 20 cm roughly.

Shape the sausage meat filling onto the pastry more or less in the middle of the pastry. Brush a little beaten egg onto the front edge of the roll and then put the top edge over the filling and “glue” it to the egg washed strip.

Prick holes in the pastry along the top of the roll and then egg wash that too – sprinkling with salt and a few fennel seeds afterwards, all that remains is to slice the long roll into the sizes you want. Then place these on a non-stick baking sheet or one lines with non-stick parchment.

Depending on the size of your sausage, they will cooking in between 20 and 40 mins, you want them golden brown on the top and crisp on the bottom – and it is worth turning the tray round half way though. Once you are satisfied that they are nicely cooked move the tray from the oven. Using a palette knife or some trusty tongs move to a cooling rack for 10 mins before you get carried away and eat them all.

There you go, a super simple recipe that will show off your baking skills and your oven beautifully – enjoy.

Recipe created by Tim Maddams. Tim is a chef, food writer and cookery teacher who produces seasonal recipes for ESSE at his home in Inverness using ingredients grown in his kitchen garden. ESSE first met Tim over ten years ago when he regularly co-featured in the hit TV series River Cottage. During his time as head chef at River Cottage Tim pioneered ethical, local, seasonal produce and became a key spokesperson in the area of responsibly-sourced food.

Tim’s aim is to show off the “tremendous versatility” of the ESSE 600 X electric range cooker. The new 600 X has ESSE’s classic heat storage construction, patented ovens, beautiful colour finishes and the reassuring ‘solidity’ with modern, electric controllability and responsiveness.

ESSE Cooker Top Crumpets

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Everyone loves a crumpet and if you take a few minutes to make your own – you know you are winning at life. If you make a good batch they can freeze pretty well – ideal for toasting in front of your ESSE wood burner on these dreich late winter days as Spring fails to make its presence felt and the time for cosiness is well and truly still upon us.

Cooking time: 10 mins
Preparation time: 10 minutes

Proving time between half and one and a half hours – for best result prove somewhere warm – like on top of your ESSE cooker!

Set your ESSE cooker top to around 50 %

Ingredients

  • 500g organic bread flour
  • 10g salt
  • 15g dried fast acting yeast or 10 g fresh yeast
  • 600g warm water

Method

  1. Mix all the ingredients together in a planetary mixer with a whisk or k beater attached, or use a whisk followed by a stout wooden spoon in a mixing bowl If you don’t have a mixer.
  2. Allow the cross between a dough and a batter to ferment until it’s all bubbly and active.
  3. You can either make thin free form crumpets or thicker more traditional crumpets, if you have a few crumpet rings.

To cook the crumpets

4 crumpet rings, and a little melted butter and a pastry brush

If you want to simply make thin free form crumpets, simply brush the cooker top with a little butter (you might get a small amount of smoke in the kitchen, life eh?, spoon tablespoons of the mixture directly onto the cooker top (you can use a non-stick silicone heat mat if you are fussy about your stove top….. Pop the lid down over them to help keep things moist and steamy.

Allow them to cook almost all the way through, before flipping them for a final minute on the top side. You can make GIANT crumpets this way – which are also fun, you can then pile stuff on the top like a giant canape and serve it cut up like a cake for folk to help themselves to, there’s something very hearty and joyful about the idea of a giant crumpet.

If you wish to make fancy round ones that are a bit thicker, place your lightly buttered crumpet rings on the lightly buttered stove top and spoon in enough batter to get about 2/3 of the way up the side of the ring – you may want to brush the inside of your crumpet rings with a little butter to help them come out later on – or you may have fancy non-stick crumpet rings. It’s a good idea to cover these thicker ones with an upside down wok or pan, to help the steam generated by the cooking process to assist the cooking, you could just shut the lid down over the top but beware they may rise above the top of the rings and then you will have a rather messy situation occurring – trust me about this.

These will take a little longer to cook as they are thicker so watch for them burning on the bottom – of they start to do so, turn the cooker top down a little more and try again in ten minutes – but don’t get too fussy here, it’s meant to be casual and rustic, we are not trying to re-create the uniform ultra-standardisation of the supermarket crumpet here.

Once they are more or less cooked – flip them for a minute and remove the ring, re butter and go again with a fresh batch. Set the cooked ones to cool on a wire rack and then when you fancy one, toast it up and go mad with the toppings – anything from butter or cheese all the way through to left over curry works a treat on a toasted homemade crumpet – so don’t limit yourself to the everyday if you feel like going mad!

Recipe created by Tim Maddams. Tim is a chef, food writer and cookery teacher who produces seasonal recipes for ESSE at his home in Inverness using ingredients grown in his kitchen garden. ESSE first met Tim over ten years ago when he regularly co-featured in the hit TV series River Cottage. During his time as head chef at River Cottage Tim pioneered ethical, local, seasonal produce and became a key spokesperson in the area of responsibly-sourced food.

Tim’s aim is to show off the “tremendous versatility” of the ESSE 600 X electric range cooker. The new 600 X has ESSE’s classic heat storage construction, patented ovens, beautiful colour finishes and the reassuring ‘solidity’ with modern, electric controllability and responsiveness.

Pecan and date tarts with cream cheese pastry

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Pastry chef Dominique Ashford treats us to a Christmas special, an alternative to the mince pie, pecan and date tarts served with homemade custard. The Christmas tree is up and the barn is feeling all cosy with the ESSE Ironheart pumping out warmth. The festive tarts are baked in the surround heat of the ESSE wood-fired oven and the custard is prepared using the cast iron hotplate above the fire.

Ingredients

Dough

  • 375g plain flour
  • 50g caster
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 226g cream cheese
  • 226g butter
  • Zest of 1 orange

Mix in a food processor or stand mixer, rest then roll out to about 2mm thick and cut into rounds to fit your tin. Fill with the date and pecan mix. Bake at 180°C [ESSE dial guide middle of HOT] for 15-20 mins.

Filling

  • 3 medium eggs
  • 200g dark brown sugar
  • 60ml maple syrup
  • 60ml brandy
  • 28g melted butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • ½ tsp mixed spice
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 100g chopped pecans
  • 100g chopped dates

Combine all. Delicious served with homemade custard – chef’s tip – add a little cornflour to prevent splitting.

Custard

  • 250g double cream
  • 125g milk
  • 3 yolks
  • 50g caster sugar
  • 5g corn flour
  • Vanilla

Bring the cream and milk to the boil. Whisk yolks, caster, corn flour, and vanilla together in a bowl. Pour the simmering liquid on and mix, return to the ban, and gently cook out until it thickens.

Dominique Ashford was the pastry chef for the Houses of Parliament for 13 years. Dominique knows and loves her food and wants ESSE cooker owners to do so, too. Baking courses with Dominique are planned for 2025 at the ESSE factory showroom in Barnoldswick where gourmet cookery courses will be laid on using ESSE’s electric range cookers.

Almond and Apricot Bites

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A special Christmas recipe created for the ESSE Ironheart wood-fired stove by pastry chef, Dominique Ashford.

Ingredients

  • 500g ground almonds
  • 300g caster
  • Vanilla seeds from 1 pod
  • 4 egg whites
  • 50ml Amaretto

Method

  1. Mix, and roll into a long sausage shape approx. 4cm thick.
  2. Cut and shape into small mounds.
  3. Top with a slice of dried apricot, and dust with icing sugar.
  4. Bake 170°C [ESSE dial guide low end of HOT] for 15-20 minutes.
  5. Delicious served with an English Stilton.

Since 2019 Dominique Ashford has worked with ESSE on the development of the electric range cookers and wood-burning cook stoves immediately recognising their potential for baking amazing desserts. She joined an established product development and demo team that includes River Cottage chefs and cookery writer and tutor Philippa Vine. Dominique will be holding cookery and baking courses at the ESSE factory showroom in Barnoldswick in 2025, visit the ESSE Facebook page for the latest event dates.

 

Plum and Allspice Tray Bake

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Plums, they are the very embodiment of here today and gone tomorrow. The whole year is no plums, no plums, no plums, then you get a brief interlude of almost plums, then it’s basically plums for about 4 seconds then it back to no plums again.

So, whilst they are here – if indeed they are still here wherever here is for you and if not file this one away for next year’s plums – let’s make sure we honour them with a recipe, not least because when they do all arrive all at once it’s good to have a few ideas to help you use them up.

I very often fall back on a basic sponge, I mean, the kids like a cake, everyone else seems to like a cake and it’s always good to have a bit of fruit inside your cake so that you can pretend it is in some way an allowable treat, despite all the sugar and butter.

Rich and aromatic plums that are properly ripe, not like those weird red golf balls you get at the supermarket with state on the pack “ripen at home” which proceed to remain rock hard for a month before going mouldy, are the very essence of deep and complex in terms of flavour, almost on the edge of fermenting by the time they are full to bursting with that delicious nectar like juice that dribbles down your chin as you sink your teeth in – balancing that needs dark brown sugar and a kick of spice, so here I’ve used all spice (no, not mixed spice, bear with me here it really works) and as it’s me I’ve gone for wholemeal flour and some ground almonds to help it feel more wholesome and taste way more interesting as well as the wholemeal flour helping things stand up to all that lovely juicy flesh we will incorporate in our cake.

Shall we begin?

Ingredients

  • 200g salted butter
  • 200 g dark brown soft sugar
  • 3 whole eggs
  • 150g self-raising wholemeal flour
  • 50g ground almonds
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 1 level teaspoon ground allspice
  • 1 tablespoon demerara sugar to sprinkle over the top before baking
  • 8 plums

Method

  1. Split your plums in half in the usual way and discard the stones. Sprinkle a pinch of the dark brown sugar and another good pinch of the allspice over these and gently toss them in a bowl, set them aside and get on with making the sponge mix.
  2. Line a 20cm x 30 cm x 4 cm baking tray with non-stick baking parchment and lightly brush it with melted butter.
  3. In a mixing machine with the K beater attached, mix the butter, sugar and allspice until you get a nicely creamed smooth mixture – it is worth taking your time over this and also worth having the butter at room temperature before you start. Stop the machine occasionally and scrape down the sides to ensure you are mixing all the butter and all the sugar – you should eventually end up with a really smooth and light mixture.
  4. Break your eggs and lightly beat them in a jug before adding them a little at a time to the butter and sugar mix – allowing each addition to emulsify and become one with the rest of the ingredients – repeat this process until all the egg is incorporated and then add the almonds and mix again until smooth, switch off the machine.
  5. Now add the flour  to the machine bowl and then briefly mix that in with the machine on slow adding the tablespoon of milk to help things along. As soon as everything is nicely mixed, stop the machine and scoop all the mixture out into the tray.
  6. Pre heat the ESSE top oven to 160 degrees, and close the steam vent.
  7. Place the halved plums in two rows down the cake tin and push them in so they are almost, but not quite submerged. Sprinkle each plum with a little demerara sugar and then scatter any remaining sugar over the top as evenly as possible.
  8. Place the cake in the oven to bake, opening the steam vent after the first ten minutes and cooking for approximately 40 mins. Test the sponge in the usual way to ensure it is fully cooked before you remove it from the oven. Allow the bake to cool a little in the tray before lifting it out and onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

I love this cake with some thick natural yoghurt, but cream is good as well, of course if it’s warm still then ice cream might make a nice addition and make it more of a dessert.

Recipe created by Tim Maddams. Tim is a chef, food writer and cookery teacher who produces seasonal recipes for ESSE at his home in Inverness using ingredients grown in his kitchen garden. ESSE first met Tim over ten years ago when he regularly co-featured in the hit TV series River Cottage. During his time as head chef at River Cottage Tim pioneered ethical, local, seasonal produce and became a key spokesperson in the area of responsibly-sourced food.

Tim’s aim is to show off the “tremendous versatility” of the ESSE 600 X electric range cooker. The new 600 X has ESSE’s classic heat storage construction, patented ovens, beautiful colour finishes and the reassuring ‘solidity’ with modern, electric controllability and responsiveness.

Rhubarb, sweet cicely & pistachio crumble cake

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This cake can be served as a pudding or as a cake with cream. The herb sweet cicely (Myrrhis odorata) resembles a scented cow parsley and grows in a shady corner of the garden and has a reputation as the sugar herb because the stem is particularly sweet with an aniseed flavour and can be used as a sweetener. It goes well with rhubarb and gooseberries. This recipe works well with gluten free flour.

For the ingredients:

You will need a 20cm springform cake tin, lined with parchment paper

For the cake:

  • 3 eggs (weigh these and match the weight of the other ingredients to it)
  • Same weight of softened butter, coconut sugar or caster sugar and self-raising flour
  • A pinch of sea salt
  • Approx. 600g rhubarb, cut into small pieces plus a dessert spoon of extra sugar and a sprig of sweet cicely cut up (optional)

For the crumble topping:

  • 125g butter 100g spelt or plain flour
  • 75g pistachio nuts, chopped plus a few extra for sprinkling on top
  • 75g sugar

Method:

  1. Preheat the bottom oven to 170C / ESSE dial guide MODERATE.
  2. For the crumble, add the flour, sugar and nuts into a bowl. Cut the butter into small chunks and rub into the dry ingredients. Set aside while you make the cake.
  3. Weigh the eggs and then weigh out the remaining cake ingredients into a mixing bowl, add the eggs, pinch of salt and a splash of water just to loosen the mixture slightly. Beat well for about a minute (I use a food mixer).
  4. Turn into the prepared tin and spread out. Cover with the pieces of rhubarb, sweet cicely if using and sprinkle over a little sugar. Cover with the crumble mixture and add extra nuts if you wish on top.
  5. Bake in the bottom oven for about 50 minutes or until the top feels fairly firm to the touch. You may need to cover the cake with foil if it browns too quickly half way during cooking.
  6. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin before taking out of the tin and cutting.

The above recipe was created and photographed by Philippa Vine at Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen in Arlington, East Sussex. ESSE has teamed up with Philippa Vine for over five years to offer customers amazing cookery experiences at the farmhouse demonstration kitchen in Polegate. Philippa’s cookery school puts ESSE’s electric range cookers and wood-fired cooking stoves through their paces, to show guests the control and flexibility these British-made range cookers provide.

Banana and lemon loaf

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Recipe of the month from @thecastironcookinglady, Sarah Whitaker

Serves 4-6

Oven: Oven set to 180/ ESSE dial guide top end of MODERATE

Ingredients

  1. 2 eggs
  2. 110g soft brown sugar
  3. 110g butter
  4. 2 bananas
  5. 225g self-raising whole meal flour
  6. 2 tbsp. lemon curd
  7. ½ tsp ground allspice

Cook earlier:

  • Will keep in a tin for two or three days
  • Freeze

Method

  1. Line a 1 kg loaf tin with Bake-o-Glide. If possible, put the butter beside the cooker to soften for half an hour before making the cake.
  2. Peel and mash the bananas. Beat in the rest of the ingredients and pour into the prepared tin and bake.
  3. Slide the grid shelf into the oven and put the loaf tin onto it. Bake for about 40 minutes until golden brown and risen.
  4. Take the cooked cake from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.
  5. Serve in slices.

Sarah Whitaker owns an ESSE 990 Electric Range Cooker and is one of the most experienced cookery demonstrators in the UK. Sarah is widely recognised as an expert in cast iron range cooking.

“I am really enjoying my ESSE range, which offers all the best aspects of traditional cast iron cooking, with an induction hob and full size grill! ESSE are British made and a British owned, family company.
I have to say I am completely convinced by the ESSE cooker’s capabilities, it really is an amazing piece of equipment and it cooks beautifully. Everything I do on it works out perfectly!”

From her home in rural Hampshire, Sarah specialises in ESSE range cooker classes and demonstrations, and writing recipes. Well known for her relaxed style and effortless recipes, she gives demonstrations in ESSE retail showrooms. Follow Sarah on Facebook and Instagram for recipe tips and interesting food combinations as they go into the oven, as well as advance information on demonstration places and menu ideas!

Tartelettes with crème patissiere and strawberries

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Liedia’s tartelettes are filled with a fine layer of chocolate and custard, and topped with delicious strawberries and a touch of mint. “The ESSE is fabulous with shortcrust pastry.”

Serves 5

Ingredients

  • 250 grams strawberries
  • mint leaves for decoration

The Pastry

  • 200 grams flour
  • 30 grams almond flour
  • 80 grams icing sugar
  • pinch of salt
  • 120 grams unsalted butter
  • 30 grams beaten egg (about two thirds of an egg)

Filling

  • 50 grams dark chocolate 70%

Crème patissiere

  • 65 grams sugar
  • 16 grams vanilla sugar
  • 3 egg yolks
  • 35 grams flour
  • 350 ml milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 170ºC / ESSE dial guide MODERATE.
You will need 5 serrated tartelette tins 10 x 2 cm

First make the pastry.

  1. Measure the flour, almond flour, icing sugar, salt and butter in a bowl. Mix until breadcrumb stage.
  2. Add the egg and knead until you have a nice smooth dough.
  3. Wrap it in foil and let it rest in the fridge for at least half an hour.
  4. While the dough is resting, you can make the pastry cream.

Instructions for the crème patissiere

  1. Mix the sugar, vanilla and egg yolks in a bowl.
  2. Add the flour and stir until it is completely absorbed.
  3. Heat the milk in a saucepan, and as soon as it starts to boil, turn off the heat.
  4. You can see that it is starting to boil because bubbles will appear on the edge of the pan.
  5. Add a little milk to the egg mixture and stir until the milk is completely absorbed.
  6. Then add the rest of the milk in parts and stir until it is a smooth mixture.
  7. Pour the mixture back into the pan and turn the heat back on. Bring to the boil while stirring.
  8. The crème is ready when it has the thickness of a thick custard.
  9. Pour the cream into a clean bowl and cover it with foil, this will prevent forming a skin.
  10. Let it cool down for a while and then put it in the refrigerator to cool completely. The cream will then thicken even further.

(The crème patissiere can be made up to a day ahead).

  1. Dust your work surface with flour and roll out the dough to a thickness of 4-5 mm.
  2. Cut out a piece of dough, a little bigger than the tin. Line your baking tin with the pastry up the sides.
  3. Cut away the excess edges of pastry and place the tins on a baking tray. Prick the base with a fork and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.
  4. Place the tartlets in the middle of the oven and bake them for 15-20 minutes at 170°C / ESSE dial guide MODERATE or till golden brown at the edges. Let them cool completely before continuing.
  5. Melt the chocolate au-bain-marie and apply a layer of chocolate to the base of the tartlet. Let this cool completely before adding the crème patissiere.
  6. When the crème patissiere has cooled and set, put it in a piping bag with a smooth nozzle. Fill the pastry case with the cold crème patissier spreading to the edges. Halve the strawberries and arrange them on top. Decorate with a few mint leaves.
  7. Cut into wedges and serve at room temperature.

Liedia van de Mortel regularly contributes to the ‘Loving my ESSE Cooker!’ Facebook group and her content is enjoyed by other ESSE Cooker owners. Liedia owns an electric 990 EL ESSE cooker with an induction hob. And to quote Liedia “I love it”.
Liedia is still life photographer in Rotterdam, Netherlands, previously working as a coloured pencil artist. Her favourite topics are products and food.
If you have a favourite recipe that you would like to share with ESSE, please get in touch through enquiries@esse.com.

Focaccia

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I’ve selected this recipe because it’s easy to make and very versatile in use (for example, toasted, grilled, croutons, sandwich etc.) and also the variety of toppings you can use to personalise your bread. It freezes well too.

You do really need to use a machine mixer as its a very wet dough which would be hard to do by hand. The main ESSE oven was used to bake the focaccia and I sat the dough onto of the lids to prove as its warm and cosy.

Ingredients

  • 600g tepid water
  • 700g strong white bread flour
  • 10g dried yeast
  • 15g caster sugar
  • 10g fine sea salt
  • 60g extra virgin olive oil, plus, extra for oiling your work surface

Toppings

  • Pickled ginger
  • Chilli and shallot oil
  • Flaked sea salt

Method

  1. Place flour, yeast and salt into mixer bowl and attach the dough hook. Add the water and oil gradually until you have a wet dough, then increase the speed and mix for 15-18 minutes until the dough appears much whiter and is leaving the sides of the bowl.
  2. Pour the dough onto a clean damp work top for its bench rest. Gently fold, rest for 5 minutes and fold again, repeat once more, then using a dough scraper move the dough into a well-oiled bowl cover and rest in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size.
  3. Brush a large rectangular tin (30x25cm) with olive oil. Pour the dough in. Dimple, push in strips of pickled ginger (used in sushi), prove for a further 20 mins. Sprinkle with flaked salt.
  4. Place in an oven preheated to 220c (ESSE dial guide top end of HOT) 10-15 mins, with the vent closed, turn down to 200c (ESSE dial guide middle of HOT) for a further 10 mins, vent open.
  5. Turn bread out immediately. Brush with chili and shallot oil, place back in oven directly on shelf for another 5 mins. Then cool on a rack.

Recommended serving with Aubergine and Red Pepper Chilli, sliced and toasted directly on the hotplate.

Recipe prepared and served by Dominique Ashford at Dale House Barn and Kitchen in the Forest of Bowland, North East Lancashire. A warm welcome is offered at Dale House with delicious home cooked meals made using either the ESSE 1000 X electric range cooker or the ESSE Ironheart wood-fired cooking stove.

Dominique has trained in some of the best professional kitchens in the country under Michelin starred chefs such as the Roux brothers and Aiden Byrne. She was head pastry chef at the Houses of Parliament for 13 years and also at Sir Terence Conran’s flagship restaurant, Le Pont de la Tour. She continues to do private chef work and consultancy to restaurants, individuals and high end brands such as ESSE Stoves and Range Cookers. She now uses her skills and imagination to run cookery and baking courses, guests are in-store for a culinary treat.

Chocolate truffles

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A simple and delicious recipe, no cooking involved other than heating up the double cream!

I love rolling them in colourful dried raspberries which gives them a fruity burst in the mouth or you can use chopped hazelnuts if you prefer.

Make the filling the day before and then roll them the day you want to eat them.  Makes about 15 truffles and any left can be stored in the fridge for about a week.

Ingredients

  • 150g 70% dark chocolate
  • 150g double cream
  • A good pinch of sea salt
  • 2 teaspoon maple syrup (optional)

Method

  1. Finely chop the chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl.
  2. Bring the cream and a good pinch of sea salt to the boil in a saucepan.
  3. Remove from the heat as soon as small bubbles appear then pour the hot cream over the chocolate and leave for a minute to allow the chocolate to melt.
  4. Stir until thoroughly combined and glossy.
  5. Then add the maple syrup if you wish, this takes the edge off the bitterness of the chocolate. (A personal preference!).
  6. Transfer to a dish and allow to cool overnight in the fridge if you wish.
  7. Bring up to room temperature and then scoop out the mixture with a teaspoon and then roll in your hands to make a ball and roll into either the raspberries or chopped nuts or even sifted cocoa powder.

Recipe prepared by Philippa Vine at Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen in East Sussex using the ESSE 1000 X Electric Range Cooker.

Sussex Pond Pudding

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A hearty winter steamed pudding. Easy to cook when you have an ESSE cooker as you can leave it to steam away in the oven. It gets its name because of the amount of butter in the middle which melts when it’s boiled and soaks into the suet pastry with the marvellous tartness of lemon and ginger cutting the richness.

Serves: 6

Ingredients

  • 225g self raising flour
  • 110g suet
  • 110g butter, softened plus extra for the basin
  • 110g light muscovado sugar
  • 1 unwaxed lemon
  • A walnut size piece of fresh root ginger, grated
  • A pinch of sea salt

Method

  1. Butter a 900ml pudding basin using plenty of softened butter.
  2. Mix the suet, flour and a good pinch of salt with about 120ml cold water or more and mix with a table knife to a soft dough.
  3. Roll out on a lightly floured surface into a circle, reserving a quarter for the lid and line the basin.
  4. Mix the sugar and butter together then add the grated ginger.
  5. Make a few slits in the lemon with a sharp knife.
  6. Put half of the butter/sugar mixture into the basin then place the lemon on top and add the remaining butter/sugar on top. Roll the reserved piece of pastry large enough fo cover the top of the basin. Dampen the pastry edges and place the lid, sealing well by pressing edges together.
  7. Cover with buttered kitchen foil, making a pleat across the centre to allow the pudding to rise. Tie around with string.
  8. Put a trivet into the base of a large saucepan, add a quarter full of water and bring to the boil.
  9. Put the pudding into the pan, cover the pan with a lid and put into the oven 150C (ESSE dial guide low end of HOT) and steam for about 3 1/2 hours.
  10. To serve, allow to cool before turning out onto a serving plate.  Delicious when served with custard flavoured with a bay leaf.

Winter comfort recipes prepared by Philippa Vine using the Ironheart wood-fired cooking stove at Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen and Cookery School in East Sussex.

Pear & Chocolate Tart

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For any chocolate lover, this luxurious tart is deep filled with juicy sliced pears on top.  All you need is some cold cream to serve with it.

You don’t have to bake blind the pastry as it will cook on the base of the ESSE cooker.  You will need a 23cm deep tart tin.

Serves about 8.

Ingredients

For the pastry

  • 200g plain or spelt flour
  • 50g cocoa powder
  • 110g cold butter
  • 1 tablespoon icing sugar
  • 1 large egg

For the filling

  • 150g 70% cocoa solids chocolate
  • 150g butter, softened
  • 150g light muscovado sugar
  • 50g plain flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 4 ripe pears, skin left on, cored and sliced

Method

  1. Heat the oven to 180C (ESSE dial guide middle of HOT).
  2. For the pastry, mix together the flour, icing sugar and cocoa powder.
  3. Then add the butter, cut up into cubes.  Rub into the flour mix until fine breadcrumbs.
  4. Then add the egg until it makes a dough.
  5. Leave to rest in the fridge while you make the filling.
  6. Melt the chocolate on the induction hob setting 1 or leave the chocolate in a bowl at the back of the ESSE until melted.
  7. Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, Whisk the eggs and add to the butter and sugar together with the flour. Finally fold in the melted chocolate.
  8. Line the tart tin with the pastry and then fill the pastry case with the chocolate filling. Then carefully arrange the pears on top.
  9. Cook for about 40 minutes or until the filling is cooked.

Winter comfort recipes prepared by Philippa Vine using the Ironheart wood-fired cooking stove at Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen and Cookery School in East Sussex.

Pumpkin Custard Tart

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Golden custard made from seasonal pumpkin or butternut squash puree and all the warm spices make this tart one of my favourite desserts in Autumn!  I cook a whole Crown Prince or Red Kiri squash in the ESSE for a couple of hours slowly and then spoon out the soft orange flesh.  (Leave the large cheap bright orange pumpkins for carving as their water content is too high for this recipe)

You will need a 20cm tart tin.  I pre cook the pastry in a hotter oven and lower the oven for cooking the filling as you want crisp golden pastry and a slowly cooked filling, which almost tastes treacly!

Method

For the shortcrust pastry:

  • 200g spelt or plain flour
  • 110g butter, cold and cubed
  • 1 egg

For the filling:

  • 300g pureed pumpkin
  • 3 eggs
  • 300ml double cream
  • 110g soft brown sugar
  • 2 level teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • A good pinch of sea salt
  • Freshly grated nutmeg for the top

Method

  1. Make the pastry in the usual way, by rubbing the butter into the flour and then incorporating the egg, mix to a smooth dough.  You may need to add a splash or two of cold water (depending on the size of the egg and what flour you are using).
  2. Roll out the pastry and use to line the tart tin.  Leave for 20 minutes to let the pastry rest.  The oven should be about 180C/200C (ESSE dial guide reading low end of HOT) to cook the pastry.  Line the pastry with baking parchment paper, fill with baking beans and bake blind in the oven for about 15 minutes or until just starting to brown.
  3. Then lower the oven to about 150C (ESSE dial guide reading top end of COOL).  To make the filling, simply beat the filling ingredients until smooth then carefully pour into the pastry case and bake for about 30 minutes or until just set, with a slight wobble.  Grate a little nutmeg on the top and leave for about 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe created by Philippa Vine of Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen using her ESSE Ironheart wood-fired cooking stove.

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