Mussel and Chard Gratin

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Serves

Four people

Ingredients

  • 50g butter
  • 50g plain flour
  • Whole milk
  • 1 kilo mussels
  • 2 Tbls of white wine
  • 2 Tbls water
  • 300 fresh chard washed and courser stalks removed
  • 4 shallots sliced
  • 1 fat clove of garlic finely chopped
  • Fresh white bread crumbs
  • Half a lemon
  • Grated parmesan (optional)
  • Olive oil

Method

Set a medium sized pan over the hotter of the plates; (make sure it has a lid that fits it snugly). Add the wine, water and bring to the simmer. Throw in the scrubbed mussels. Toss them around the pan and replace the lid. They should open within a minute.

When the mussels are just opening remove them from the pan and set aside until they are cool enough for you to pick the meat from the shell.

Set a medium sized pan over the hotter plate. Add a splash of olive oil followed by the sliced garlic and sauté, just as it’s starting to colour throw in the washed chard and wilt it with the garlic for 2- 3 mins.

To make the Béchamel – melt the butter in a medium sized pan.

When it’s foaming add the flour and stir well. Combine the cooking liquor from the mussels with enough milk to give you 500 ml of liquid. Warm this in a pan and pour over the roux mixing all the time until it is smooth and creamy. Cook the béchamel for 4- 5 mins before removing from the heat.

Fry the shallots in a little olive oil over a medium heat until soft and golden.

Fold the shallots, picked mussels and cooked roughly chopped chard in to the béchamel.

Season with freshly ground black pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Divide the mixture between 4 shallow oven proof dishes. Top with bread crumbs and cheese if you like and trickle over a little olive oil. Bake in the middle of the top oven reading middle of very hot, for 10 – 12 mins or until golden and bubbling.

Serve with crusty bread and butter.

Spicy lentil soup with cumin and tomato

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Serves

N/A

Ingredients

  • 1 small knob of butter
  • 2 Tbls extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 large or 2 small onions finely chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic sliced
  • 1/2 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 300 g red lentils
  • 1 litre vegetable or chicken stock
  • 1 tin chopped tomato’s
  • Salt and freshly grilled
  • Fresh coriander
  • 250 ml natural yoghurt

Method

Place a medium pan over a medium heat. Add the butter and the oil to the pan; throw in the onions, garlic, coriander and cumin. Fry gently without colouring for 5 mins.

Add the stock and lentils and cover with a lid, bring to a gentle simmer. Cook for 10 minutes then add the tomatoes, cook for a further 15 minutes or until the lentils are tender.

Puree the soup with a stick blender or in a jug blender.

Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.

Roughly chop the coriander, and stir it through the yoghurt.

]Ladle the soup into warmed bowls. Finish the soup by spooning over the coriander yoghurt, followed by drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of ground toasted cumin.

Wild Garlic Soup with Chorizo and Bread

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I’m finding wild garlic is around earlier with each coming year. We had some on the menu at River cottage in January. This wonderful plant, also known as ‘Ramsons’ can be found in the dappled shade of established woodlands, in damp meadows, along stream banks and in shady hedges. When its young it’s sweet and its emerald green leaves are unmistakable.

Wild garlic gives this soup great flavour and if you can get the tiny little bulbs at the base of the plant then so much the better.

Serves

4 – 6 people

Ingredients

  • A little olive oil
  • 1 large or 2 smaller onions finely sliced
  • 4 or 5 wild garlic bulbs, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
  • 200g chorizo sausage sliced into rounds
  • 1 litre of good light chicken stock
  • A handful of freshly picked wild garlic leaves shredded
  • A handful of young kale leaves shredded
  • 4 – 6 slices of 2-3 day old sourdough or similar
  • Flat leaf parsley chopped
  • Salt and pepper

Method

Warm a heavy based saucepan on the hot plate; fry the sliced chorizo with a little olive oil. After 2 or 3 minutes add the sliced onion and sliced wild garlic bulbs (if you have them) and season with salt and pepper. Continue to fry off without colouring for a further 7- 8 mins or until soft.

Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil.

Simmer gently for 15 – 20 minutes, mean while toast the pieces of sour dough on each side. This can be done directly on the Esse hot plate.

At this point you can add the garlic leaves and kale to the simmering pan. Cook for 5 minutes. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning.

To serve, place a piece of toasted sourdough in a large soup bowl and ladle over the hot soup. Finish with a trickle of good olive oil and some chopped flat leaf parsley.

Gratin of purple sprouting broccoli with garlic, chilli, anchovies and cream

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This is a fantastically warming way to cook purple sprouting broccoli and delicious either on its own as a starter, or with roast lamb or mutton.

Serves

Four people

Ingredients

  • 4 cloves of garlic
  • 2 dried chillies
  • Olive oil
  • 6- anchovy fillets
  • White wine or marsala
  • 400ml double cream
  • 500g purple sprouting broccoli
  • 100g grated parmesan

Method

Peel and thinly slice the garlic. De-seed and chop the chillies. Set a medium-sized, heavy-based pan over a medium heat and heat a good slosh of olive oil.

Throw in the garlic, chilli and anchovies. Fry until the garlic takes on a golden tinge around its edges.

Add a splash of white wine or marsala, boil for a few seconds and then add the double cream. Bring to a simmer and turn the heat down. Cook until the sauce is reduced by a third.

Blanch the purple sprouting broccoli in boiling water for a minute.

Drain and allow to steam dry. Lay the broccoli in an ovenproof dish, pour over the cream sauce and scatter with grated parmesan. Bake at 190°C/Gas Mark 5 for 10-12 minutes until golden and bubbling.

Try the same recipe with curly kale in the winter months.

Pizza with roast beetroot, kale, anchovies, and thyme

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I cook all my pizzas on the floor of my ESSE’s hot oven. You get that great crisp crust that is so typical of good stone baked pizza. The key is to get the oven really, really hot.

I rate beetroot. Its fantastic colour and taste make it one of our most unique root vegetables. It has a rich, earthy depth of flavour and is silky smooth to eat.

Boiling beetroot is good, but I think roasting it is better. You can roast them skin on, this keeps in all the flavour. Garlic, thyme and olive oil are a must. This combination works well as a warm salad with some boiled eggs or sirloin steak but also makes a fitting winter pizza topping.

Serves

Six People

Ingredients

  • Makes six small pizzas, at least
  • For the dough:
  • 250g strong white bread flour
  • 250g plain flour
  • 5g powdered dried yeast
  • 10g salt
  • 350ml warm water
  • About a tablespoon of olive oil
  • A handful of coarse flour (rye, semolina or polenta) for dusting
  • The topping ingredients are listed in the method

Method

Make the dough:

To knead by hand, mix the flour, yeast, salt and water in a bowl to form a sticky dough. Add the oil, mix it in, then turn the dough out onto a clean work surface. Knead until smooth and silky.

To use a food mixer, add the flour, yeast, salt and water to the mixer, fitted with the dough hook, and mix on low speed. Add the oil, then leave to knead for about ten minutes, until smooth and silky.

Shape into a round, then leave to rise in a clean bowl, covered with a plastic bag, until doubled in size.

For the topping:

Wash and de-stalk a good bunch of young kale. Chop it roughly. Throw it into a pan set over a high heat with a few slugs of olive oil, 2 peeled, sliced garlic cloves and 2 dried chilli’s de-seeded and chopped.

Sweat the kale down; keep it moving around the pan, the kale has to be well wilted and all the water to have evaporated. Season the kale with salt and pepper and set aside.

Take 5 or 6 smallish beetroot and give them a really good scrub under a tap. Throw into a roasting tin with a few tablespoons of olive oil, 3 or 4 smashed garlic cloves and a generous scattering of thyme and rosemary leaves.

Season well with salt and pepper, then roast in a hot oven for 30 – 40 minutes until soft and crispy round the edges.

Divide the dough into 6 balls. Roll out each on a well floured work surface as thin as is practical 2- 3 mm max.

Scatter the roast beetroot over your pizza base, tear over some decent mozzarella and 6 or so anchovy fillets. Tear the wilted chard over the pizza. Season with salt, pepper, a glug of olive oil and a few more thyme leaves.

Lastly spoon over any roasting juices left over from cooking beetroot. I use a large base form a tart tin as a peel for putting my pizzas in the oven. You really have to make sure that your peel and your surface is well floured. Semolina or polenta flour is great for this as it is courser Lift the pizza up with your dusted peel.

Carefully slide each pizza onto the floor of your very hot oven (up to max). It’s best to do 1 at a time. It wont take long to cook – 3- 4 mins and there done.

Spicy mushroom wrap with garlic yoghurt & cumin

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Mouthwatering vegetarian recipe for your ESSE Range Cooker from Tim Maddams

ESSE February representative demonstrations prepared by Tim Maddams of Green Sauce

Ingredients

  • 4 large flat mushrooms
  • 1/4 onion, a little chilli
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • Cumin seeds and caraway seeds
  • 1 dessert spoon smoked paprika
  • 1 small pot of natural yoghurt
  • A few salad leaves
  • A sprig of fresh coriander

For the tortillas

  • 300g of white spelt flour
  • A splash of water (around 150 ml)
  • Teaspoon of veg oil
  • Teaspoon of veg oil
  • Good pinch of salt

Work into a soft but pliable dough, rest.
Roll out thinly and cook briefly in a hot frying pan with no oil until puffed up and lightly coloured.

For the mushrooms

Toast the spices and lightly crush, cut the mushrooms into slices, slice the onion, chop the garlic and chilli.

Sauté the onion and mushrooms in a hot frying pan with the spices, and a little oil, chilli and sauté for another minute or two.

Finely grate the garlic and add it to the yoghurt to serve with the wraps.

Serve with the tortillas and lashings of natural yoghurt, sprinkle with plenty of fresh coriander and make sure you have some nice winter leaves to hand.

Spiced Lamb Burgers

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These cheeky lamb sliders are fun to make and of course can be scaled up for bigger burgers or down further for mini canapé bites.

Spiced lamb burgers, mq-0+
mini baps, roast garlic and mint by Tim Maddams

Ingredients

  • 500g standard bread dough (fermented)
  • 150g bread flour
  • 150g plain white flour
  • 2 teaspoons fast acting dried yeast
  • 200ml warm water
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 whole bulb of garlic

Method

Mix all the ingredients together and kneed the dough until smooth and elastic, around 4 or 5 minutes should do, shape into a ball and place in an oiled bowl and cover with cling film. Allow to prove for an hour on your ESSE stove top or so somewhere warm.

Shape the dough into squash ball sized balls and place on a lightly floured tray, press them down lightly to flatten a little and leave to prove again, once doubled in size, spray with water and place inside your hot oven for 10 mins or until golden brown and cooked through, they should feel light to the touch. Place on a cooling rack to cool.

Mean while, drizzle the garlic bulb in olive oil, season and wrap in foil, place in a moderate oven to bake for an hour or so. Remove form the oven and allow to cool.

For the burgers
Ingredients

  • 500g minced lean lamb, or mutton
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
  • 1 teaspoon nigella seeds
  • Salt, pepper
  • 1 handful of washed and picked mint leaves

Method

Mix the mince with the spices and season well, cook off a small amount to test the seasoning. Shape into small burger shapes, starting with a gob stopper sized ball and flattening it out, place on a plate and refrigerate until needed.

Cook the burgers straight on the top of your ESSE cooker or on a griddle pan and rest them for a few minutes before placing inside the mini buns, add a few mint leaves and squeeze out a little of the roasted garlic form the bulb and spread a little of this onto each burger, serve and enjoy.

Pillitteri signature San Danielle Pizza

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Cooked pizza with Giovanni Pillitteri on the ESSE Fire Stone

The Pillitteri family are so proud of their products that you are able to visit the production facility and sample a taste of their hand crafted pizzas cooked inside a Fire Stone as proof to their word and corporate philosophy “perfect dough = perfect pizza, first time, every time”.

Ingredients

  • Dough ball pizza (Caputo dough ball approximately 210g)
  • San Marzano tomato
  • Buffalo Mozzarella cheese
  • Sun blush tomatoes
  • San Danielle parma ham
  • Fresh wild rocket
  • Parmigiano Reggiano

Method

  1. Shape dough ball by hand using a stretch and turn mechanism (anti clock wise) until you have achieved the desired size approximately 9″-10″
  2. Add chopped san marzano (or equivalent) to your base leaving 1cm for crust.
  3. Add Buffalo mozzarella (approximately 1 ball) ensuring all water is drained, tear into small pieces and place desired amount.
  4. Add sun blush tomatoes then bake in a pre-heated ESSE wood-fired oven approximately 400-450 degrees Celsius ensuring you turn the pizza regularly until golden brown.
  5. Remove the pizza then decorate with a few slices of San Danielle parma ham, wild rocket and shavings of Parmigiano Reggiano.

Simple Clean Asian Broth

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River Cottage Simple Clean Asian Broth

Demonstrated by River Cottage Chef, Andy Tyrell, using an ESSE CAT Gas Cooking Range

Ingredients

For each person you’ll need:

  • About 400ml of good flavoursome stock all the better if it’s got a lump of ginger and some extra garlic added
  • 1/2 tsp of grated ginger
  • A little lime zest (optional)
  • A little chilli
  • Good soya sauce like shoyu or tamari
  • A splash of vinegar or a squeeze of lime

Method

Bring the stock up to the boil with the ginger, chilli and zest, simmer for 10 minutes add the soya sauce and a pinch of salt to taste, adjusting the balance with a little vinegar or lime.

Serve poured over shredded carrot, beansprouts, leeks, spring onions, coriander, noodles or simply drink straight from a cup, enjoy.

Pigeon with Blackberries | Tim Maddams

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ESSE has been a proud manufacturer of heating and cooking appliances since 1854. We work to embrace innovation and technology in all of our appliances.

Scotts Arms Stoves invited guests to attend a wonderful evening with River Cottage and Green Sauce chef Tim Maddams.

This video shows Tim demonstrating the ESSE EL 13Amp Range Cooker and a simple and succulent Pigeon recipe.

Spiced Cauliflower With Chorizo Tim Maddams

by

ESSE has been a proud manufacturer of heating and cooking appliances since 1854. We work to embrace innovation and technology in all of our appliances.

Scotts Arms Stoves invited guests to attend a wonderful evening with River Cottage and Green Sauce chef Tim Maddams.

This video shows Tim demonstrating the ESSE EL 13Amp Range Cooker and a simple and succulent Cauliflower recipe.

Courgette With Pasta – Tim Maddams

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ESSE has been a proud manufacturer of heating and cooking appliances since 1854. We work to embrace innovation and technology in all of our appliances.

Scotts Arms Stoves invited guests to attend a wonderful evening with River Cottage and Green Sauce chef Tim Maddams.

This video shows Tim demonstrating the ESSE EL 13Amp Range Cooker and a amazing seasonal courgette pasta recipe.

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