ESSE
  • Range Cookers
  • Wood Fired Cook Stoves
  • Heating Stoves
  • Dealers
  • Store
  • Owners

Wild garlic soup with baked eggs

15th April 2025 by Dan

Wild garlic season is upon us!

It’s funny how things go in cycles, how the ordinary can become extraordinary and the fanciful mundane. Cookery is no exception to that and in many ways the alchemy of a busy household kitchen can become common place and ordinary until someone who misses that from their home points it out upon visiting. Add social media to the mix and you have another dimension of this same thing, bear with me.

20 years ago you were certainly considered a bit radical in the kitchen if you used things like wild garlic and cooked seasonally, yup, that was me, a bit on the wild side. 10 years ago if you posted about wild garlic on your social feed it said something about you, you knew your stuff, you cooked with the seasons, you were still a bit of a rebel, these days if I were to post about using wild garlic on my socials I’d probably be drummed out of town for mundanity, or for having the audacity to point out the common place or the everyday.

Luckily, I don’t really care about that. I care about tasty, simple food cooked well in the heart of my home, and a core principal at the heart of great cookery, is a great cooker – something else I am very happy to say I have found with my ESSE, like the wild garlic, the cooker evokes a kind of thoughtfulness and awareness in the kitchen that, well, good cookery happens here, it’s important. Nuf-said.

Wild garlic soup and baked eggs

Like any other green soup, this one needs to be made fresh and used quickly or it will lose some of its vibrant bright green colour – though that won’t affect the flavour much, so unless you are very particular about how things look, maybe it matters less.

Serves: 2 for a good lunch or 4 as a starter
Prep time: 30 mins
Cookery time: 15 mins

Ingredients

  • 150g peeled and washed potatoes very thinly sliced
  • 25g standard extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 medium onion finely sliced
  • ½ stick of celery, finely chopped
  • A little fresh thyme, salt and pepper
  • 200g (ish) washed wild garlic leaves and stems

To serve

An oven proof pan, 4 eggs, some crusty bread and some proper olive oil, you know, the good stuff you save for best. You can add some grated hard cheese if you like.

To begin with

  1. In some olive oil in a large, flat but deep sided pan you know you can trust, over a moderate heat, slowly sweat your potatoes, celery and onion with some thyme, salt and pepper until half cooked and sweetened a little.
  2. Adding just enough hot water to cover the other ingredients in the pan plus an extra slosh, turn up the heat and simmer until the potatoes are thoroughly cooked. Season this soup base a little. Now, roughly chop all that wild garlic and toss it into the pan, simmer and stir for just one minute until the garlic is all immersed and had a good swish round in the pan.
  3. Now, transfer everything to a jug blender (maybe in two batches to be on the safe side) and blitz on full power for around 1 minute. Pour the soup back into the pan and season it well, taste it, make sure it tastes good. Set it aside off the heat – unless you want to use this later after re heating in which case, pour it into a bowl, that is sitting in another bowl full of ice – you need to cool it down quickly or you will lose the vivid green.
  4. Crack 4 eggs into the soup in the pan, and carefully place the soup dish into your top oven with the steam vent closed at around 180 C for about 5 mins until the eggs set, but the yolks still have some run about them.
  5. Remove the baked soup from the oven, drizzle with good olive oil, add a few chilli flakes over the top if you like, and some cheese too if you want. Serve it up right away on the table, allowing everyone to scoop out their own egg and soup – it’s a lovely dish that sings of the season. The wild garlic is up, the hens are laying, and the days are lengthening, time to feel good.

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.

Tagged With: Hotplate, Ovens, Savoury, Starter, Steam Vent, Vegetarian

Cauliflower Cheese

24th March 2025 by Dan

Cauliflower cheese is a family favourite but adding wild garlic pesto to the cheese sauce makes it into a special spring tasting dish! Make the most of the first green leaves of the year. The large almond-like leaves grow in moist woodland and in damp hedgerows and shady lanes. Wild garlic can be distinguished by its strong garlic smell and the young leaves are the most flavoursome. When the flowers start to appear the leaves are starting to loose flavour. The flowers are wonderful in salads and the flower buds can be pickled to use throughout the year.

Recipe for the wild garlic pesto

  • 100g pistachio nuts or sunflower seeds, lightly toasted
  • 100g Parmesan style cheese, grated
  • 150ml olive oil
  • Two large handfuls of wild garlic leaves, washed and dried (I use a salad spinner)
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Method: Simply blitz the wild garlic leaves, cheese, nuts/seeds to a rough paste in a food processor or use a pestle and mortar (that is the traditional method and that is where the name comes from in Italian!). Then slowly add the olive oil and season with ground black pepper. I don’t add salt as the cheese is salty. For the cauliflower cheese recipe you don’t need it too thin. If you are making the pesto for another recipe then do add more olive oil to make it thinner. Transfer the pesto into a clean jar and keep in the fridge until needed.

Recipe for the cauliflower cheese

  • A whole cauliflower, taking a few of the green leaves but leaving some
  • 50g strong cheddar cheese, grated plus extra the topping
  • 20g butter
  • 20g plain flour
  • 350ml milk
  • 2 heaped tablespoons wild garlic pesto plus extra for garnish
  • A handful of chopped pistachio nuts, lightly toasted for garnish, optional

Method: Steam the cauliflower in a little water for about 10 minutes until just tender, depending on the size of the cauliflower as it may take longer. Transfer to an ovenproof dish.

To make the cheese sauce: Melt the butter in a saucepan over a gentle heat, then stir in the flour. Mix to a smooth paste. Cook for a couple of minutes. Then gradually add the milk, a little at a time, whisking it well into the roux as you add it until it is all mixed in. Simmer for a minute and then add the grated cheese. Take off the heat and add the pesto. Taste and add more if you like it strong flavoured! Add more milk to make the sauce the consistency you like, as it may become thick with adding the pesto.

Heat up the ESSE grill.

Pour the green sauce over the cauliflower and around it. Grate extra cheese on top. Grill until the topping and sauce is golden and bubbling.

To serve add extra pesto and nuts if you wish and serve with a green salad.

If you want to make this dish in advance, cool it once assembled and refrigerate. Before serving, bake in the oven at 180C for about 30 minutes.


Philippa Vine has worked with ESSE Cookers for approaching ten years. Initially owning a wood-fired ESSE range cooker, Philippa opened a cookery school at her farm in East Sussex showcasing the benefits of cooking with both electric and wood-fired ESSE cookers. Philippa now produces colourful, seasonal recipes using her ESSE 1000 T in her own kitchen, presents exciting cookery demonstrations and is an ambassador for Love British Food. Discover more by visiting Philippa’s Instagram profile @philippavinecooking.

Tagged With: Family Meals, Grill, Hotplate, Ovens, Savoury, Vegetarian

Watercress Baked Trout with Eggs and Sour Cream

10th March 2025 by Dan

This dish is a joy to make, far quicker and simpler to do than it appears and tastes – a really lovely dish for a celebration lunch or supper using brilliant British ingredients. This light yet filling and clean tasting dish has indulgence, flavour and freshness in equal quantities.

Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Have a large ceramic baking dish to hand – one that is big enough to hold the whole trout fillet. You will also need a jug blender

Ingredients

  • 1 large (side) British trout fillet, approx. 600 – 800 g
  • 200g washed watercress
  • 2 large potatoes
  • 1 onion
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • Salt and pepper
  • 40ml light olive oil
  • 80 ml the best olive oil you can get
  • ½ teaspoon mixed dried herbs
  • 120g pot sour cream
  • 4 (or 6) eggs
  • Pinch of chilli flakes
  • 50g butter
  • Water approx. 750 ml
British Trout Association Logo

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius (no fan).
  2. Wash and thinly slice the potatoes – you can leave the skin on. Peel and chop the garlic, peel and slice the onion.
  3. Begin sweating the onion, garlic, and potato in a saucepan with the light olive oil over a moderate heat. Once things begin to soften a little, add some seasoning and then add some water to comfortably cover the onion, garlic, and potato – bring to a simmer and cook gently until the potato is tender.
  4. Meanwhile, generously butter your baking dish and lay the trout fillet in it, skin side down. Season well with salt and pepper and sprinkle over the dried mixed herbs.
  5. Once the potatoes have softened, add almost all the watercress to the pan (keeping a handful back for a garnish) and simmer for just 30 seconds – then pour the contents of the pan into the jug blender – place the lid on securely and cover with a tea towel and place your hand on top of the blender to help avoid re-decorating the kitchen. Blend for 30 seconds, open, taste, correct seasoning and give it another 15 seconds – you should now have a bright green and peppery watercress sauce.
  6. Pour the still hot sauce around the fish in the dish, then crack an egg into each “corner” of the dish. Next to each egg add a good dessertspoonful of sour cream and sprinkle the eggs and the cream with a few chilli flakes. Drizzle half the good olive oil over the top and then place the whole thing in the hot oven for 20 mins (checking it after 15 to see how it’s getting on) – after this time, the eggs should be just set and the trout cooked.
  7. Rest the dish for 2 minutes then spoon out generous portions into shallow bowls, drizzle with the best olive oil, a few flakes of sea salt and scatter with the remaining watercress before serving.

Recipe created by chef Tim Maddams for ESSE Range Cookers. Tim is a huge advocate of living a more sustainable life and protecting wildlife for the future – so this recipe is a move away from polluting salmon farming to cleaner fresh water trout aquaculture as an alternative.

Tagged With: Hotplate, Ovens, Savoury

ESSE Cooker Top Crumpets

24th February 2025 by Dan

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.

Tagged With: Baking, Hotplate, Savoury, Vegetarian

Toad, in the Hole

20th December 2024 by Dan

Sausages, one of the greatest things on earth. Batter puddings, another example of simple but excellent food, put it together though, and what you have transcends the mere mortal realm and becomes food heaven.

Not a huge amount to say here other than keep the temperature at 180 (ESSE dial guide MODERATE), have the steam vent open and do not open the door of the oven after you have the batter in UNTIL at least 20 mins after you have closed it. This can be nerve wracking but trust me on this, you do not want flat hole! It’s happened to us all at some point it’s really not the dream.

Serves: 4

Prep time 10 mins
Cooking tome 40 mins
Oven 180
Stove top 4 5ths

Ingredients

  • 8 Good snags
  • 50g lard
  • 2 large eggs (est 120g)
  • 120g flour
  • 200g milk
  • 1 pinch salt
  • Ground black pepper
  • 1 pinch dried mixed herbs

Method

  1. You need a good oven proof pan for this, or a good pan and a decent oven proof dish which will require a swap round and a little extra washing up but is better than melted pan handles or failed attempts. I’m lucky, I have a trustworthy stainless steel lined copper pan that is just about perfect for this.
  2. Make a batter by mixing the eggs, herbs, salt, pepper, flour and milk together in a mixing bowl, give the mix a good whisk then let it rest for ten minutes whilst you do the other bits and bobs.
  3. Heat the pan on the stove top and add a little lard, begin to fry the sausages to get a good colour on them – around 4 5th’s of the full throttle on the ESSE hob controller.
  4. Once you have a decent browning on your snags, lob in the rest of the lard and pop the whole thing in the oven for just 3 mins, using a cloth or oven gloves on the now “hotter than the sun” pan handle, remove the pan and place it on the hob, but just on the side where it won’t get too much more heat.
  5. Make sure the sausages are evenly spread out and ideally not touching each other and then pour in the batter.
  6. Replace the pan in the oven and gently (or as gently as possible) shut the oven door, make sure the steam vent is open and leave the magic to happen behind closed doors for a minimum of 30 mins, and if you are brave enough, aim for 35.
  7. After that time, gently open the door and take a squint inside – hopefully you have a risen pudding and it may want a few more minutes to crisp up or it may not – technically I always think around 35 to 40 mins cooks a batter pudding beautifully, but your idea of perfect could be different from mine, You definitely do NOT want the top of the pudding to get burnt, but a crispy base and sides is a thing of joy.

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.

Tagged With: Family Meals, Hotplate, Ovens, Savoury, Steam Vent

Oxtail Stew

18th December 2024 by Dan

This wonderfully simple stew lends itself perfectly to cooking on my ESSE 1000 T. The Instant heat from contemporary induction hob means I can brown off the meat effortlessly and quickly. While the gentle consistent heat of the top oven is just the thing for a long slow cook, the meat just falls off the bone. If you can’t get hold of Oxtail, you can do the same thing with pieces of shin of beef on the bone.

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients

  • 1.2 kg oxtail, cut into pieces (ask your butcher to do this)
  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil or beef dripping
  • 2 onions, halved and finely sliced
  • 2 small celery sticks, trimmed and thinly sliced
  • A bunch of medium carrots  – about 6 – 8
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 a star anise bashed
  • 6 juniper berries, lightly bashed
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 6 thyme sprigs
  • 500ml of dark beer
  • 500ml (17fl oz) good-quality beef stock
  • 1 Tbls of corn flour
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 160°C / ESSE dial guide MODERATE
  2. Season the oxtail all over with salt and pepper. Heat the oil or dripping in a large heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add the oxtail pieces and cook, turning regularly, for about 8–10 minutes, until they have a deep colour and are starting to crisp.
  3. Remove the oxtail from the pan and set aside. Add the onions, celery, garlic, anise, bay leaves, juniper, and thyme sprigs to the pan and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes, until the onions are soft.
  4. Place the oxtail pieces into a heavy cast iron pan with a lid, arranging them in a tight, single layer. Add the vegetables and pour over the beer and the stock so that the liquid just about covers the oxtail and bring it up to a simmer. Place a lid on the pan and place in the middle of the oven to cook gently for 3–4 hours, or until the oxtail meat falls off the bone. If at any point the pan looks a bit dry, add a dash of water or more stock to cover the meat.
  5. Remove the oxtail pieces from the pan and allow them to cool a little. Use a large spoon to skim off the excess fat from the surface of the sauce. Combine the cornflour with a splash of water, mix well then stir into the stew. Turn up the heat and bring the sauce to a simmer, it should thicken a little. Adjust the seasoning. Return the oxtail to the sauce, either in whole pieces or flaked off the bone and reheat gently.
  6. Serve with mashed or jacket potatoes, soft polenta or a just a slice or two of good crusty buttered bread.

Recipe supplied by Gill Meller. Gill is a chef, award-winning food writer, food stylist and cookery teacher, and was one of the first chefs to produce seasonal recipes for ESSE, working with ESSE cookers in his summer house since 2006. Gill’s recipes highlight how an ESSE transfers an unrivalled consistent and even heat to the dishes. For further information about ESSE’ partnership with Gill read on here.

Tagged With: Hotplate, Ovens, Savoury

Pecan and date tarts with cream cheese pastry

11th December 2024 by Dan

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.

Tagged With: Baking, Hotplate, Ovens, Sweet

Baked Squash and Parmesan Soup

10th November 2024 by Dan

November

I love the abundance of November, there’s still just about stuff tumbling from the poly tunnel including a few very late and not all that sweet tomatoes, we have had our annual batch of pigs taken care of so there’s bacon to make and a freezer full of wonder, squashes and herbs to use up and well – darkness, the smoke of bonfires and the cosy heat from the ESSE lending a new warmth to this old farmhouse kitchen, full of drafts, holes, dogs and the occasional intrepid slug.

So, with the possibility of the last fun before Christmas resonating in the background of life I’ve put together a couple of really simple warming and spicy crowd pleasers for this month’s kitchen diary, I hope you like them, I hope you find them super simple to make and I very much hope you will share them with friends.

Baked Squash and Parmesan Soup

Cooking squashes needn’t be the peeling and coring gruelling exercise it seems to mean to most people. I bake almost all squashes I use whole, after a brief scrub and a good drizzle with olive oil and a generous sprinkling with salt and pepper. You can then, once baked and cooled, core the squash out very easily, scrape the flesh from the skin should you decide not to use it and then you have lots of tasty baked squash flesh to use for whatever purpose you like; salads, sides, sauces or indeed, soup.

Often I will make a soup out of a baked squash, using the scooped out seeds and a little onion as the base for a stock, retain the flesh of the squash with the skin on as it adds extra healthy fibre and wont effect the delicious texture of the soup whilst the same time enhancing the depth you will get in flavour by including all the lovely browned and caramelised “roasty” bits – a “win win” effectively – it’s also an easy one to sling on whilst you are using the oven for another dish – thus saving you energy too.

Less of a recipe and more a guide to getting the consistency right, the following step by step will help you find the right spot. You don’t need to use parmesan, or finish the dish with crispy sage, but both work excellently to elevate this simple pottage to supper party status.

So, here we go then;

Ingredients

  • 1 squash
  • 1 onions
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 8 or 12 sage leaves
  • 1 tablespoon of butter
  • Some water
  • A few black pepper corns
  • 1 glass of dry white wine
  • A little cinnamon powder
  • Olive oil
  • Salt

Method

  1. Set the top oven of your ESSE to around 180 degrees Celsius and close the oven steam vent.
  2. Wash and scrub your squash and select a suitable baking dish or oven proof pan, drizzle the whole top of the squash with olive oil season with salt and pepper, and fling it in the oven. More or less forget about it but perhaps set a timer for an hour and then have a look, you want the whole thing to be fully cooked so prod it with spoon back and see if it gives.
  3. Different squashes will have different cooking times and the size will also come into it, I used a Japanese winter squash the specific name of which escapes me but it is a little like a Crown Prince, so fairly firm fleshed and quite robust – mine was about the size of a volley ball and needed almost two hours to be full baked. If you are using a spaghetti squash or similar it will take far less time, a butternut will probably be somewhere in the middle.
  4. Once your squash is cooked, remove it from the oven and allow it to cool down – this can take rather a long time, and they can be handled whilst they are hot, but I prefer to let them come down to something approaching safe to handle before I get too involved with them, this I think improves the flavour of the end result but I maybe imagining it. Discard the stalk and the hard bit on the bottom.
  5. Scoop out the seeds into a small saucepan and add any fluid that has gathered in the baking vessel. Add a halved onion with the skin on and a few cloves of bashed garlic, pinch of salt, dash of white wine, sprig of thyme, a few black peppercorns and a fresh bay leaf if you can manage it. Top this up with cold water and bring to a gentle simmer, before leaving to steep for about 20 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, break up your squash flesh and skin and add as much of it as you think you will need to the jug blender, set the rest aside for use in other things. Strain the stock into the blender over the baked squash within and blitz. As a rough guide I’d say you really want the fluid to come around 4 5th’s of the way up the squash you have in the blender – but some squashes are more densely fleshed than others, remember the old chef maxim here, it is easier by far to add more fluid if required than to remove it.
  7. Season, adjust consistency, add a dash of cinnamon powder, a pinch of chilli flakes and blend again, this time with a timer running for 1 minute – you will feel like it is a very long minute but trust me, let it have the time, the results will be silky smooth, tip and scrape out the soup in to a pan and allow it to just re heat nicely without boiling it, adjust the seasoning as required. Grate about a handful of parmesan cheese and fling half into the soup. Stir it in.
  8. In a small frying pan melt a tablespoon or 2 of butter until it is almost but not quite turning brown then add a few sage leaves and spoon the butter and leaves about a bit, remove form the stove but leave the leaves in the butter to go crispy, serve the soup in bowls with a few sage leaves, a drizzle of the butter from the sage pan, a further sprinkling of grated parmesan and a few more chilli flakes.

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.

Tagged With: Hotplate, Ovens, Savoury, Starter, Steam Vent, Vegetarian

Chilli Style Pork Meat Balls

10th November 2024 by Dan

November

I love the abundance of November, there’s still just about stuff tumbling from the poly tunnel including a few very late and not all that sweet tomatoes, we have had our annual batch of pigs taken care of so there’s bacon to make and a freezer full of wonder, squashes and herbs to use up and well – darkness, the smoke of bonfires and the cosy heat from the ESSE lending a new warmth to this old farmhouse kitchen, full of drafts, holes, dogs and the occasional intrepid slug.

So, with the possibility of the last fun before Christmas resonating in the background of life I’ve put together a couple of really simple warming and spicy crowd pleasers for this month’s kitchen diary, I hope you like them, I hope you find them super simple to make and I very much hope you will share them with friends.

Chilli Style Pork Meat Balls

Everyone loves a good chilli, be it “Con Carne” or “Sin carne”, a chilli just hits that unctuous, spicy, rich and indulgent spot that so suits this time of the year. Being “pork rich” as I am at the moment I’ve deviated from the usual beef scenario and headed off in a more hybrid style, mixing the old meat ball routine with the familiar chilli riff – I opted to make this one 100% in the top oven, starting with the vent closed then opening it for a finish, a few simple stove top tortillas provide a carb and you could go with a guacamole as garnish but I simply chopped up some fresh tomatoes and finessed them with some herbs and garlic for a fresher lift – and also to use up more of those toms! A few green ones sneaking in too.

Serves: 8

For the mince

Ingredients

  • 1kg free range pork mince, with a bit of fat to it
  • 2 dessert spoons good smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon chilli powder
  • 1 teaspoon chilli flakes – fresh chilli if you have it
  • (You can use less chilli if you want, or more)
  • 1 teaspoon each coriander seed, cumin seed, fennel seed – toasted and crushed
  • 1 sprig each fresh thyme, and rosemary and couple of leaves of sage (or a teaspoon or two of mixed dried herbs)
  • 3 cloves of garlic grated finely
  • 10g salt
  • 50g breadcrumbs

Method

  1. Set the top oven of your ESSE to around 190 degrees Celsius.
  2. Finley chop the herbs and mix everything really well together in a bowl, separate into 8, 12 or 16 balls roughly even in size, heat a large oven proof dish in the top oven. Remove it from the oven and place it on the hob top whilst you drizzle in some olive oil and add the meat balls, replace in the oven and bake for around half an hour, making sure you open the steam vent, turning the balls occasionally using a pair of tongs and taking care not to burn yourself.

For the sauce

Ingredients

  • 1 tin of tomato pulp or 1 tin of tomatoes blitzed
  • 1 tin of red kidney beans – and the liquid!
  • 1 dessert spoon of treacle or malt extract

Method

Simply mix these things together and pour into the baking dish with the meat balls, return the whole show to the oven and bake for a further 20 minutes or so

For the tortillas

Ingredients

  • 400g plain flour
  • 260g water
  • 10g olive oil
  • 2g salt

Method

  1. Mix into as dough and set to rest before kneading for 3 or 4 minutes into a smooth dough. Divide into 8 or 10 similar sized balls and roll out on a floured surface to make very thin rounds of dough.
  2. Cook these directly on the ESSE hotplate on around 90% power until they change colour a little, then flip them to do the other side – it’s nice to get a little colour on them if you can.

Lastly, the tomato salsa

Ingredients

  • 4 tomatoes
  • 1 spring onion
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 pinch chilli flakes or chopped red chilli
  • Dash of olive oil
  • Sprig of fresh mint and fresh coriander chopped

Method

  1. Dice the tomatoes, finely grate the garlic, finely slice the spring onion and then mix everything together in a small bowl, season with a little salt.
  2. Serve the meat balls with the flatbreads, some salsa and, if you like, some grated cheese for extra luxury.

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.

Tagged With: Family Meals, Hotplate, Ovens, Savoury, Steam Vent

Marrow Masala Turmeric Fried Basmati Rice

1st October 2024 by Dan

Marrow, what is it good for? I know, it’s not an everyday issue nor one that seems as prevalent amongst those that don’t grow their own courgettes but almost any honesty table, farm shop or harvest festival box will doubtless contain a leviathan of the marrow order, resplendent in its glorious green, cream and yellow armour they are a thing of wonder but also a thing of ancient terror. My granny, god bless her, was keen on a marrow – a stuffed marrow was her weapon of choice but sadly this was not accompanied by any seasoning, and her oven lacked a little commitment to the cause as well, so things tended to end up a little moist, dreary and dare I say insipid. I have tried here to make things more interesting; I have turned the good ship marrow away from its stuffing course and set its sights on horizons a little more suitable, spicy and also, simple.

This recipe can be made more complex if you make your own Garam masala, I’d suggest that you do as it makes such a huge difference, I recommend the recipe in the Rick Stein India cookbook, or the Mira Soda version is good too – ultimately you will want to make it your own. Shop bought might will be fine but make sure it is fresh and vibrant – not a spice mix that has stayed on the shelf for some time, losing the will to live.

I have used fresh tomatoes as they are still coming out of the poly tunnel – but tinned will work just fine and are probably better than most shop bought fresh toms by this time of year.

I am not brave enough to commit to a proper “Indian” title to this dish, as I simply don’t have the knowledge or experience to accurately do that – so I’m calling this a “Curried Marrow Spiced Basmati Bake” – we love it in our house and I hope you will love it in yours, I often serve this up with some fresh mint and garlic yoghurt, and a few mustard seed wilted greens and if you feel like you will miss the meat – some diced free range chicken thighs can be added when you are cooking the onions.

ESSE Settings

Stove top to 50%
Top oven (vent closed) to 160

Prep time 20 mins, cooking time 45 mins.

You will need a large casserole type dish with a lid, and a sheet of baking paper.

Serves 6

Ingredients

  • 2 medium red onions
  • 2 large cloves of garlic
  • 1 inch of fresh root ginger
  • 125g butter
  • 300g basmati rice (soaked in warm water for at least 20 mins)
  • 6 curry leaves
  • 1,2 or three dried chillies or fresh chillies – depending on their heat and your preference
  • 1kg marrow
  • 1 dessert spoon each of Garam masala and ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 500g fresh super ripe tomatoes, blended in a liquidiser or 1 tin of good tomatoes, and a little water to rinse out the inside of the tin and top up the moisture
  • 250 ml water

Method

  1. To start soak your rice, it’s really important to help make sure this works as well as it can.
  2. Now then, let’s get cooking. Heat your pan upon the stove top and melt the butter in it. Slice the red onions and garlic and add these, cook them stirring occasionally for around 8 minutes then add the finely chopped root ginger cook for another couple of minutes, add the turmeric and spice and again continue cooking – all very straightforward.
  3. When it comes to the marrow things are a little more complicated – marrow skin is often tough as old boots, and the seed are big so – I like to peel off about 2/3rds of the skin using a sharp knife and also trim out the seeds and the spongy flesh that surrounds them – if you trim off the end of your marrow to expose a cross section you will see that you can cut your marrow lengthways into three, this will leave you with easy segments to remove the seeds from. These segments can then be sliced into roughly pound coin thick pieces. I don’t like to remove all the skin as it’s a great source of fibre, full of goodness and lends a little texture to this dish – but you can remove it all if you want.
  4. Add the marrow to the onion mix and cook for a few minutes stirring well, add the blitzed tomatoes and cook again for a minute or two with the lid on. Once everything is simmering nicely add the salt and chillies and curry leaves , along with the water – bring this all back to the simmer.
  5. Now, drain the rice that has been soaking and add this to the pan – spread it out well without quite stirring it in, but making sure it is as submerged as possible.
  6. Make a close-fitting circle of baking paper to fit on top of the rice and place it on top of the rice, fit the lid to the pan and throw the whole thing into the oven for 30 minutes.
  7. After 30 minutes take it out of the oven but do not remove the lid leave it to stand for about 10 minutes.

That’s it – you are now ready to serve, the rice should be soft but not over cooked, the marrow flesh should be soft and tender, well spiced and unctuous – just spoon it out into bowls, add the garnish of your choice and serve – you may find yourself wishing for more marrows!

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.

Tagged With: Hotplate, Ovens, Savoury, Steam Vent, Vegetarian

Oven dried tomatoes with basil, and a stove top toastie

9th September 2024 by Dan

Tomatoes

Whether you grow your own, pilfer them from next door or simply buy them in the shops – UK tomatoes are at their very best this month, they are also at their most abundant so you should be able to grab a bargain – but whatever are you to do with them?

“Whilst the lovely autumnal tomatoes won’t be around for long they can be preserved and there are many ways to do so. I like to make soups and sauces and freeze them, I also like to ferment cherry tomatoes with Asian seven spices and my mate Bill makes the most wonderful green tomato chutney – ill see if I can prize the recipe off him…. My ultimate favourite though, and one that suite. The ESSE range cooker perfectly, is the oven dried tomatoes routine. This is a version of the way we used to make them at River Cottage Canteen, when I used to have hair and more energy, which I think is based on an old favourite of the River Café version that I used to make at Alistair Little’s in Notting Hill even further back in the day when I didn’t even realise I had hair and energy was crystallising out of the air and straight into my cooking. Enough day dreaming of active follicles, on with the cookery.”

Oven dried tomatoes with basil, and a stove top toastie there of…

I tend to do these in the bottom oven of the ESSE with the vent open and the best thing to do is to pop them on overnight, just don’t forget that they are in there – start on 160 for the first hour or two then turn it down to 120 and just forget about them till the morning – you can also pop them on in the morning and take them out in the afternoon – you get the picture…

Ingredients

  • Around a kilo and a half of well ripe tomatoes
  • A few leaves of basil
  • A clove or two of garlic
  • A glug of good olive oil
  • Salt and Pepper
  • A well trusted ESSE baking tray and a something else to do for a while

And later on you might want

A couple of slices of your daily bread, and some fine cheddar style cheese. A little pesto if you fancy it or some harissa paste of you like things spicy

Method

  1. To begin with you will need to cut up your tomatoes – you can cut them into eighths, or quarters or even halves – just remember the larger they are the longer they will take to dry out (due to the reduced surface area caused by cutting them less) – and try not to have too much of a variance in size of cut tomatoes across each batch you make so you don’t get too many really dried ones and too many not quite dried enough ones.
  2. Place you cut tomatoes onto an ESSE baking sheet skin sides down as far as possible, drizzle with a little olive oil and season well with pepper and a little salt. Tear a few leaves of basil and scatter a that around with the tomatoes and slice a large clove of garlic very thinly and place a little of that on top of each piece of tomato too.
  3. Pop these in the bottom oven of the ESSE with the steam vent open on 160 degrees for 1 hour or so then turn the heat way down to 120 and basically do your best to forget about them for at least 6 hours. You can check them every now and again if you like.
  4. Once you are happy they are ready – they will have lost around 60% of their moisture and will be starting to look a lot like sun dried tomatoes you might buy in the deli, you can remove them from the oven or just turn the oven off and leave them there for another little while if they want a smidgeon longer.
  5. Take them out of the tray and place them in a clean jar or tub, add a drizzle more olive oil and any oil and reduced tomato juice from the baking tray should be scraped into the jar along with them. These lovely rich and salty but sweet tomatoes will now keep quite happily in the fridge for weeks on end – they won’t last that long though! They are a delicious addition to a salad or pizza or risotto, even chopped and tossed through your roasties on a Sunday to elevate that particular dish just another small notch, they work very well in a salad with roasted squash, walnuts, rocket and sheep’s curd… I will leave the details to you BUT you might want to consider a stove top toastie.

Ingredients

  • A silicon baking sheet or a piece of baking parchment or, if you are like me, a devil may care attitude towards your cooking plate on your ESSE stove top.
  • A few slices of good cheddar type cheese
  • A few of your dried tomatoes
  • 2 chunky slices of your daily bread
  • Butter

Method

I won’t labour the point here, you all know fine how to make a toastie I’m sure, but I do like to butter the outside and season with salt and pepper, cook them on the stove top – it’s worth dropping the lid down too just to help trap some heat and give them a little squeeze too – watch out you don’t squeeze too much cheese out and start a smokey catastrophe!

Tim Maddams 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.

Tagged With: Hotplate, Ovens, Savoury, Steam Vent, Vegetarian

Slow roasted tomatoes, cream cheese and herby breadcrumbs

9th September 2024 by Dan

Tomatoes

Whether you grow your own, pilfer them from next door or simply buy them in the shops – UK tomatoes are at their very best this month, they are also at their most abundant so you should be able to grab a bargain – but whatever are you to do with them?

“The gentle warmth the ESSE range cookers emanate into the kitchen is a comfort as the days shorten rapidly up here in north east Scotland, and as the light withers the temperature variation extremes prompt a final pulse of effort in the garden and polytunnel, plums hang heavy on the tree and the apples won’t be very far behind.”

ESSE slow roasted tomatoes, cream cheese and herby breadcrumbs

This warming and intensely indulgent dish suits the time of year perfectly, basically we have three things to do. Fling a few super ripe toms into a pan with some olive oil, sling them into the ESSE top oven on 160 after a brief encounter with the stove top to get things going, and finally, after an hour or so, a little faffing with cheese and herby crumbs and a brief return to the firey furnace will result in a lunch not-to-be-missed. You might even wish to spice things up with a little chilli, but I have to say on this occasion I wont be, preferring to let the tomatoes power the play list of flavours, rather than relegate them to a secondary position of sweetness and softly melting texture.

Ingredients

  • A medium sized oven proof frying pan
  • A little fresh marjoram or thyme, or both
  • 2 large cloves of garlic
  • Salt and pepper
  • 50g full fat cream cheese
  • A handful of breadcrumbs and a sprig of parsley
  • 500g ripe tomatoes, ideally larger ones – I’m showing off and using my homegrown “Marmande” and “Green Zebra” but any really good and properly ripe tomatoes will work really well
  • 75 ml good extra virgin olive oil

Method

  1. To start, ensure you nudge the ESSE controller for the top oven up to 160, with the steam vent open and the stove top onto about 50%
  2. Rinse and de-stem your tomatoes, slice them horizontally so you expose maximum surface area on the cut side, if your tomatoes are oddly shaped you will just have to work it out as best you can.
  3. Place the pan on the stove top, to start getting it warmed up, and arrange your tomatoes into the pan, give them a slosh of olive oil. Finely slice 1 clove of garlic and place a sliver on top of each cut surface of tomatoes, these will be facing up so the majority of the juice stays inside the tomatoes, it’s not the end of the world though if a few go topsy turvy.
  4. Scatter over some sea salt flakes, some freshly ground pepper and either some thyme or fresh marjoram or at a pinch a little “mixed dried herb” from the larder – but don’t overdo it, we want to add backing vocals to the tomatoes not drown them out.
  5. Fling the whole show in the oven and – let’s get some herby breadcrumbs prepped whilst they do their thing. Place 1 roughly chopped clove of garlic in the food processor with some roughly chopped parsley, a little salt and pepper and a touch of olive oil. Add the breadcrumbs too and pulse the machine until the crumbs look a little green and everything is well mixed. Tip these out onto a baking sheet and pop then in the oven too, but just for 5 or ten minutes to toast them up a little.
  6. Fast forward to the end of the hour, carefully remove the tomato pan from the oven – things should be looking relaxed bordering on collapsed and smelling reasonably epic by this point. If they are swimming in juice, carefully drain some off and set it aside to add to your next soup, sauce or dressing, of just eat it like a broth whilst you wait for the next bit to happen.
  7. Place a little cream cheese onto the tomatoes with a teaspoon and then scatter over all the herby crumbs, and return the pan to the oven for another 10 minutes whilst you make sure the phone is on do not disturb, the door is closed and no one is about to interrupt your lunch.
  8. Plonk the pan on the table with a spoon, and dive on into a serious seasonal treat, remembering to return your ESSE cooker to its slumber mode, or set it to the correct level for whatever you plan to do next.

Tim Maddams 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.

Tagged With: Hotplate, Ovens, Quick Meals, Savoury, Starter, Vegetarian

Tartelettes with crème patissiere and strawberries

4th June 2024 by Dan

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.

Tagged With: Baking, Hotplate, Ovens, Sweet

Aubergine and Red Pepper Chilli with Pickled Red Onions

14th February 2024 by Dan

I chose this recipe because I love the flavours and I love beans. It’s warming and colourful and adaptable to serve in different ways. The parmesan fried eggs are really delicious. As a variation I would serve it with rice (without the egg) or on a jacket potato.

Top tip – make sure you get the aubergine quite dark but also make sure it is nice and soft. I used the hot ESSE cast iron plate to sear the aubergine to get them nice and dark to help give a smokey flavour and the oven for slow cooking the red peppers. This tenderises and sweetens them. The induction was used to cook the chilli but equally I could have used the hot plate side for that too.

Ingredients

  • 2 x aubergines
  • 2 onions (and 1 red onion)
  • 3 red peppers
  • 1 dried chipotle chilli
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tbsp. brown sugar
  • 2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
  • 300g cherry tomatoes
  • 400 g tin tomatoes
  • 2 cans kidney beans
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 large handfuls of spinach leaves
  • 1 lime
  • Olive oil

Method

  1. Heat the hot plate to about 2/3 capacity. Slice the aubergines into 3cm thick rounds and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Sear the slices directly on the middle of the hot plate. Put the lid down to keep moisture in and cook on both sides until they are soft and browned.
  2. Half the red peppers and remove seeds and stalks. Place in a roasting tray with olive oil, salt and pepper and chopped garlic. Bake in the oven with vent open at 160c (ESSE dial guide middle of MOD) until soft (about an hour)
  3. Chop or slice the 2 white onions and cook with a little oil in a deep pan. Add the spices and the chilli. (Soak the chilli in hot water first and cut it up with a pair of scissors)
  4. Add the peppers, aubergines, tomatoes, beans, sugar, and vinegar. Allow to simmer gently and then check for seasoning and adjust to your taste.
  5. Finely slice the red onion, cover with some white vinegar and a little white sugar. Leave to soften in this pickle.

To serve; Stir the spinach into the hot chilli. Add a squeeze of lime juice to taste. Place chilli in a bowl with a grilled slice of focaccia and some of the pickled red onions.

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.

Tagged With: Family Meals, Hotplate, Ovens, Savoury, Steam Vent, Vegetarian

Chocolate truffles

7th February 2024 by Dan

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.

Tagged With: Baking, Hotplate, Sweet

Roast Chicken

7th February 2024 by Dan

Roasting a whole chicken is very economical and a great way to simplify the following night’s supper. Adding a Spring flavour of wild garlic gives it a lighter taste.

Serves

Approximately 6

Ingredients

  • 1 chicken, about 2kg
  • A handful of wild garlic leaves, or a sprig of fresh herbs (parsley/thyme)
  • A knob of butter, melted
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Heat the oven 180C, steam vent closed.
  2. Place the chicken in a roasting tin, ideally a cast-iron pan, and season the chicken with salt and pepper. Stuff the chicken with the wild garlic leaves or herbs and pour over the melted butter.
  3. Roast in the oven for about 1 ½ hours. If you like crispy chicken skin then open the steam vent for the last half an hour of cooking. Check the chicken is cooked, the juices should run clear when the thigh is pierced with a skewer or use a meat thermometer (at least 75C).
  4. You will have some delicious juices in the bottom of your roasting dish which can be poured into a jug and served after carving the chicken.

Bread Sauce

A family favourite and a classic accompaniment to roast chicken plus it means you don’t need to make gravy and the sauce can be made in advance.

  • 1 large onion, finely chopped
  • 75g butter
  • 600ml milk plus a little extra milk or cream to finish the sauce
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 10 cloves
  • 10 peppercorns
  • 110g fresh breadcrumbs, sourdough or white
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • A good pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Method

  1. Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the chopped onion and gently cook until softened. If you use the induction hob you will have more control and you can leave it to gently stew.
  2. Pour the milk in a saucepan and add the bay leaves, cloves and peppercorns.
  3. Bring to the boil over a medium heat, remove from the heat and leave at the back of your ESSE cooker to infuse for at least 30 minutes. The longer you leave it then  the deeper the flavour.
  4. Strain the infused milk into the cooked onions, discarding the aromatics.
  5. Reheat over a low to medium heat and add the breadcrumbs, seasoning and nutmeg.
  6. Give it a good stir.  The breadcrumbs will absorb the milk to make a thick sauce, if you would like it thinner then add more milk or a couple of tablespoons of cream.  Taste for seasoning.

Tagged With: Family Meals, Hotplate, Ovens, Savoury, Steam Vent

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • …
  • 10
  • Next Page »
ESSE Master Stove Maker Logo

CONTACT US

+44 (0)1282 813235
enquiries@esse.com

FOLLOW US

  • Twitter Icon
  • Pinterest Icon
  • Facebook Icon
  • Instagram Icon
  • YouTube Icon

THE LITTLE THINGS

  • Warranty Information
  • Privacy and Legal Information

© Copyright 2025 ESSE Engineering · All Rights Reserved · Media Library

  • About ESSE
  • News
  • Contact
  • Dealer Locator
  • Owners Club
  •  
  • Range Cookers
  • Wood Fired Cook Stoves
  • Heating Stoves
  •  
  • Cookware
  • Store
  •  
  • Magnifying Glass Search Icon Search
  •  
    • UK
      • AUS
      • BEL
      • CAN
      • DEN
      • FRA
      • GER
      • HUN
      • ITA
      • JAP
      • NET
      • NZ
      • SCA
      • SPA
      • USA
  •  
We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it.Ok