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Crab and asparagus is, in my mind, a fantastic combo. I make a puff pastry tart with crab, asparagus, double cream and egg yolks – it’s too good. But as simplicity is the order of the day, here’s the crab/asparagus combination in its most basic form.

Serves

Four people

Ingredients

  • 12 asparagus spears, trimmed
  • 1 live 2 – 3 lb brown cock crab (make sure your crab is fresh, has all its claws and is heavy for its size)
  • 1 lemon
  • Maldon sea salt
  • black pepper
  • olive oil

Method

Wash the crab and place in a large pan of fresh water. Bring to the boil and boil for approximately 20 – 25 mins. Allow the cooked crab to cool slightly before picking the white meat from the claws and the brown meat from the shell.

Toss the asparagus in a little olive oil and place on a sizzling griddle pan set over a high heat. Cook for 3 or 4 mins turning once or twice. Allow the spears to take on a bit of colour.

Spoon a pile of the crab-meat onto a warm plate and add the char-grilled spears.

Season the whole lot with lemon juice, Maldon sea salt and black pepper.

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This is how Scotch Eggs should be.

Serves

Four people

Ingredients

  • 5 large eggs
  • 500g organic pork sausage meat
  • A few sage leaves, very finely chopped
  • A good pinch of ground mace
  • A pinch of cayenne pepper
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 3 tbsp plain flour
  • 100g day-old white breadcrumbs groundnut oil, for frying

Method

Make sure the eggs are at room temperature. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, lower in four eggs, then simmer for seven minutes. Transfer the pan to the sink and run the cold tap into the pan to stop the cooking. When the eggs are cool enough to handle, peel them.

Meanwhile, add the sage, mace and cayenne to the sausage meat, along with plenty of salt and pepper, and mix well with your hands. Divide the meat into eight equal pieces and shape each piece into a flat patty.

Take two patties of sausage meat and use to encase one egg, moulding the meat smoothly around the egg and making sure it’s completely sealed. Repeat with all the others.

Pour groundnut oil into a deep fat fryer or deep, heavy-based pan to a depth of at least 7cm and bring up to 170C, or until a cube of white bread dropped in turns light golden brown in about one minute.

Meanwhile, spread the flour on a plate, beat the final egg and put in a shallow dish, and spread the breadcrumbs on another plate.

When the oil is up to temperature, dust each sausage meat encased egg in a little flour, then dip it in beaten egg, then roll in breadcrumbs. Lower into the hot oil and fry for 8-10 minutes, turning them over in the oil from time to time, until deep golden brown all over. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot, for once. Or cold, later. My favourite accompaniment is creamed spinach.

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Hay was originally used in cooking as an insulator. In grand Victorian kitchens, roasts were taken from the oven and packed in boxes lined with hay, to keep them hot when transported to shooting lunches and elaborate picnics. It was noted that the hay imparted a distinctive and delightful flavour – worth exploring for its own sake. Mutton or lamb baked in hay like this is not just tasty but unusually moist and tender.

Serves

N/A

Ingredients

  • a few handfuls of hay
  • 125g soft butter
  • several good sprigs each of rosemary, marjoram and thyme, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 1 leg of mutton or good-sized leg of lamb
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Choose a deep roasting tin, preferably with a lid (if you don’t have one with a lid, you can use foil). Line it generously with loose hay, about 5–6cm deep.

Put the soft butter in a bowl, add the chopped herbs, garlic, plenty of black pepper and a little salt and mix well. Smear in a thick and even layer all over the mutton or lamb. Place the meat on its nest of hay and then cover with the rest of the hay. Cover with the lid, or a double layer of foil wrapped well around the edge of the dish. Make sure there are no loose bits of hay poking out (they may catch fire).

Bake in the centre of the top oven reading lower part of very hot for 2–2/12 hours, depending on the size of the leg. Remove from the oven and leave to rest for at least 20 minutes. Then take off the lid, scrape away the blackened hay and carve as normal. Any juices from the pan can be poured off and used for gravy, although I tend to forego the gravy, preferring to serve this dish with boiled flageolet beans heated through in the juices and fat from the meat.

This Recipe has been taken from the ‘River Cottage Cook Book’, Page 245. To buy a copy of this book click here.

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This is a great variation on the classic Italian bread – you have to use a LOT of oil… no, really.

I stole this recipe wholesale from my good friend Robin Rea at the Rusty Pig in Ottery St Mary, Devon. I’ve tweaked it a little to make it mine, but Robin still deserves credit for giving me the idea.

Ingredients

  • 450g strong white organic flour
  • 75g fine organic semolina
  • 10g salt
  • 350ml water
  • 15g dried fast action yeast organic
  • 10 strands good saffron
  • Sea salt, rosemary and really good olive oil.

Method

Soak the saffron in the water and add the yeast – leave for at least an hour.

Mix the flour with the semolina and add the salt – now add the yeast and saffron water and work into a soft and lightly sticky dough.

Allow the dough to rise once for two to three hours depending on room temperature, then carefully transfer it to a non-stick baking surface.

Lightly oil your hands and shape the dough so that all its edges are tucked under.

Now oil the dough well and cover lightly as it proves again.

When the dough has proved almost to the point of collapse, add a little more oil and gently tease the dough outwards using your finger tips to create indentations and stretch the dough. Imagine you have an elastic band holding all your fingers together and you need to push them apart – that’s the motion to use.

Oil yet again (yes, really) and sprinkle with sea salt and chopped rosemary then leave to stand for just another few minutes before baking in a fierce oven at 220 ˚C/ESSE dial guide HOT (Aim for the dial reading to be at the top end of HOT) without steam for 21 minutes.

Recipe provided by Tim Maddams.

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Miso marinated pigeon, watercress, coriander and soy dressing

You need good fresh pigeon for this dish – because the meat is hardly cooked – the marinade of miso makes things very tasty and changes the texture of the meat – but we do not want to take any chances with the meat here – fresh is the order of the day.

Serves

2 people

Ingredients

  • 4 pigeon breasts
  • 1 teaspoon good quality organic miso paste
  • 1 teaspoon mirin
  • 1 dessert spoon full water
  • 2 fistfuls of good watercress
  • a small bunch of coriander leaf
  • 2 dessert spoons full of tamari soy sauce
  • 1 pinch of fresh ginger – grated
  • 1/2 clove garlic – grated
  • A squeeze of lime juice
  • A little fresh chilli if you like
  • 1 tablespoon of pumpkin seed oil

Method

This recipe is simplicity it’s self. Mix the mirin, miso and water to make a light paste, pour this over the pigeon breasts and make sure they are all well coated. Leave them in the marinade for at least 20 minutes but ideally and hour then pan cook or direct to hotplate cook them with a little sunflower oil until they are just lightly seared on the outsides – about 20 seconds per side – and then set them to one side to rest.

Make a simple dressing by mixing the soy, lime, garlic and ginger with the pumpkin seed oil.

Wash and pick the watercress and the coriander leaf. Slice a little fresh hot chilli of you like it.

Now, slice the pigeon breasts lengthways and place them on a serving dish or individual plates and put some watercress and coriander over the top. Sprinkle with the dressing and a add a little of the sliced chilli.

Enjoy!

ESSE electric range cooker demonstration by Tim Maddams, private chef, writer, cookery teacher and presenter.

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Getting a great roast potato is a very personal thing – some like them ultra-crunchy, some like them a bit soft and others seem to like a mixture of both but for me there are three things that make for the ultimate roast potato. First – I like the skins left on, secondly I like to add some garlic, bay, thyme and black pepper to the cooking water at the boiling stage and lastly I like to use lard or beef dripping along with a little rape seed oil to enhance flavour and crispness.

You need to have your oven hot and any vents open to allow stream to leave the oven chamber otherwise the spuds will go soggy and never get crispy.

Ingredients

  • 1kg good Maris Piper type potatoes – Estima are another good variety, anything will do at a push but a good floury variety that holds together as well is where you want to be. Scrub them well but do not peel them and then cut them into chunks.
  • 1 fresh bay leaf
  • 8 black peppercorns
  • 1 bulb of garlic – cut horizontally through the middle
  • a good sprig of fresh thyme
  • Salt
  • 100g lard
  • 20 ml rape seed oil

Method

Place the potatoes in a large sauce pan and cover with cold water. Bring rapidly to the boil and add the herbs, garlic and peppercorns. Simmer until mostly tender then remove from the heat and drain well.

Whilst the potatoes are draining place the fat and oil in a large roasting dish and pop this in the oven to heat.

When the oil and fat are good and hot tip in the potatoes carefully and make sure they all get a good coating of the hot fat. Pop them back in the oven and roast for around 45 mins until crisp and golden – turning once or twice during that time.

Season well with a little salt and serve.

ESSE electric range cooker demonstration by Tim Maddams, private chef, writer, cookery teacher and presenter.

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For the choux pastry

  • Choux Pastry
  • 85 ml / 3 fl. oz water
  • 85 ml / 3 fl. oz milk
  • 65g / 2½ oz butter
  • 100g / 3½ oz plain flour or gluten free plain flour
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tablespoon finely grated Parmesan

Method

  1. Dissolve the butter in the water and milk and bring to the boil. Tip in the flour and stir over the heat until the mixture comes away from the side of the pan. Leave to cool a little.
  2. Beat in the eggs one at a time.
  3. Heat the oven to 200°C, ESSE dial reading middle of HOT. Line baking sheets with baking paper, then pipe small 4cm high blobs of pastry onto the sheets, spaced a little apart. Sprinkle lightly with Parmesan then bake for 20 minutes until puffed and golden.

For the filling

  • 300g strong cheese, grated
  • 1½ tsp English mustard
  • Large splash Worcestershire sauce
  • 4 medium egg yolks
  • 120ml good quality local beer

Method

  1. Boil the beer and reduce it down to a tablespoon in volume.
  2. Whizz all the filling ingredients to a thick paste using a food processor.
  3. Put the mixture in a piping bag fitted with a very narrow nozzle.
  4. When the gougères are golden, remove from the oven. As soon as you can handle them, poke a hole in the base of each one with a metal skewer, then pipe no more than 1 tsp filling into each one.
  5. Set the gougères upright again and return to the oven for 5-8 minutes until deep golden.
  6. Remove from the oven, leave to stand for 2-3 minutes, then serve, warning people to watch out for the hot filling.

Recipe provided by Philippa Vine, Bluebell Farmhouse Kitchen.

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A simple, red lentil dhal is such a great complement to so many vegetable dishes – not just curries or biryanis, pakoras or bhajis, but even simple fare such as shredded, stir-fried greens and a scoop of rice. It’s a delicious way to add protein to a veg-based meal too. This easy but authentic example is based on a recipe from the wonderful Indian chef Udit Sarkhel.

Serves

Four people

Ingredients

  • 250g red lentils
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons sunflower oil
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • 1 onion, halved and thinly sliced

TO FINISH (Optional):
A small bunch of parsley or coriander, or a couple of sprigs of mint, roughly chopped.

Method

  1. Put the lentils in a pan with 800ml cold water and bring to the boil. Skim off any scum then stir in the turmeric and salt. Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 15 minutes, stirring or whisking vigorously every now and then, until the lentils have broken down completely and you have a purée – the consistency of a thick soup or thin porridge. You can whisk in a little hot water from a just-boiled kettle if you need to thin it a bit. Keep warm in the pan.
  2. When the Dhal is just about done, heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and fry for a couple of minutes until browned and fragrant. Add the onion and fry fairly briskly for 5–10 minutes until golden brown, even just a smidge burnt.
  3. Tip the mixture on to the hot lentils in the pan, cover and leave for 5 minutes then stir in the onions and cumin. Taste and adjust the seasoning. This is very good with coriander, parsley or mint sprinkled on top – but that’s not essential.

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Ingredients

  • 1kg full fat organic yoghurt
  • 2tsp salt
  • A piece of muslin, a couple of j cloths or a clean tea towel
  • String

Optional extras:
Pepper, garlic, fresh herbs, citrus zest, toasted ground spices i.e. coriander, cumin, caraway

Method

  1. Mix the salt into the yoghurt. If you like add your choice of flavourings now, or keep it plain then add any flavours when the cheese is finished.
  2. Line a sieve set over a bowl with the cloth/towel pour the yoghurt in, tie it up with string and preferably hang it in the fridge or in a cool spot with a bowl under it for up to two days.
  3. The longer you leave the cheese the drier it will become. Once ready either eat straight away or add flavourings and store rolled into balls covered in olive oil.

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Ingredients

  • 2 mackerel fillets
  • Half a baby gem lettuce
  • 4 spears asparagus
  • 50g butter
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 2 tbls capers
  • 2 anchovy fillets
  • 1 lemon
  • sprig chives
  • sprig flat leaf parsley
  • sprig dill
  • sprig mint
  • 100ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 2tbls labneh

Method

  1. In a searing hot pan, place a little cooking oil followed by the mackerel fillets skin side down, place a small amount of pressure with a spatula on top of the fillets to ensure the skin is flat to the pan. Turn the heat down slightly, add the baby gem lettuce and asparagus to the pan flat side down and leave to caramelize.
  2. In a bowl, chop all the herbs, one garlic glove, 1 tablespoon of capers, and half a juiced lemon, mix together and put to one side to dress the mackerel once cooked.
  3. You will notice as the fish is cooking the sides of the flesh will start to turn white, once this has reached around half way up the fish add the butter, capers, garlic and anchovy to the pan. Break the anchovy up in the hot butter with the back of a fork until it dissolves. Take the pan off the heat, add the other half of lemon juice. Turn the fish and the baby gem over and baste in the hot butter.
  4. To serve, spread the labneh on the bottom of a warm plate, with the baby gem, asparagus and mackerel on top. Finish off with a little bit of the salsa verde and some sea salt.

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Ingredients

  • 500g minced pork shoulder (roughly 20% fat), could also use lamb
  • 5g salt (about 1 teaspoon)
  • Black pepper
  • Nutmeg/mace
  • Fennel seeds

Method

  1. Simply mix the ingredients together. This mixture when made with pork is a classic Italian sausage mix. Be generous with the black pepper and fennel seeds and not so much with the nutmeg/fennel.
  2. Cook in a flat pan or direct to hotplate on all sides.

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Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons rapeseed or olive oil
  • 1 garlic clove, finely sliced
  • 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes (or 1 tin plus a jar of passata)
  • A pinch of sugar
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a gentle heat. Add the garlic and let it sizzle very gently for a minute or so. As soon as it starts to turn golden, add the tomatoes.
  2. Let them bubble gently, stirring often, for 10–15 minutes, until you have a thick sauce. Transfer to a jug and purée with a stick blender (if you do it in the pan, the sauce will go everywhere), or just crush the chunks of tomato in the pan with a fork until you have a reasonably smooth sauce. Season to taste with salt, pepper and the sugar.

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Ingredients

  • 500g floury potatoes, such as King Edward or Desiree
  • 50g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
  • 50g butter
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • Chives

Method

  1. Peel the potatoes cut into large pieces, boil until tender, drain and mash. Once mashed stir in the butter and allow to cool.
  2. Add the flour and baking powder and chopped chives along with a good pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper.
  3. The dough should come together and away from the sides of the pan. You can add more flour if the mixture is too wet and a little milk if it is too dry.
  4. Divide the dough into two halves. Form one piece into a ball, then roll it out on a floured surface and into a rough circle with a diameter of about 15cm and a thickness of 5mm to 1cm.
  5. Cook directly on the hotplate with the lid down, flipping halfway through.
  6. Repeat the process with the other half of the dough mix.
  7. Cut into pieces and serve hot.

Wilted Greens

  1. Pre heat a heavy roasting tray in the hot oven.
  2. Remove the tray and add 2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil and a clove or two of thinly sliced garlic.
  3. Allow the garlic to brown in the oil very lightly.
  4. Place a big handful of washed still damp greens into the tray, season and return to the oven for a couple of minutes. Stir and possibly return to the oven for a minute if not completely tender.
  5. Test again and serve.

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Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Serves: 10

Ingredients

  • 175g butter at room temperature 200g
  • soft brown sugar, plus 2 tbsp
  • 600g plums halved and stones removed
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 3 eggs, separated
  • 125g self-raising flour
  • 100g ground almonds
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • A pinch of salt
  • 125ml milk

Method

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4 /ESSE dial guide MODERATE (Aim for the dial reading to be at the top end of MODERATE or very low end of HOT. In a small pan, melt 50g of the butter and mix with 2 tbsp of the soft brown sugar.
  2. Line a 22cm cake tin with baking parchment. Pour the butter mix into the base of the tin and make sure it is well-covered. (If you are using an oven-proof frying pan, the butter can be melted in it).
  3. Arrange the halved plums, skin-side down, in the bottom of the tin. Cream together the rest of the soft butter with the remaining sugar and vanilla essence until pale and fluffy. Separate the eggs, set the whites to one side and add the yolks one at a time to the creamed mix, beating well after each addition.
  4. In a bowl, sift the flour into the remaining dry ingredients. Add this to the wet mix a third at a time, folding through with a little milk at each addition. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites just until they are soft peaks. Add a third of the whites to the cake mix, stirring through, before tipping in the rest and folding in gently. The cake mix should fall off a spoon easily.
  5. Spoon the mix over the plums and bake for 50 minutes, or until the top is firm to the touch or an inserted knife comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave for about 10 minutes before turning out on to a plate.
  6. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Recipe by Jane Baxter – demonstrator of ESSE electric range cookers at Humble by Nature.

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The ESSE EC4i fan oven cooks Tim Maddams’ garlic and focaccia perfectly. Learn how with this mouth-watering instruction video.

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This is one of my favourite recipes. The sharp-sweet quality of cider helps make this old-fashioned apple butter a sensational fruity spread to daub over hot buttered toast or crumpets making it a wonderful wintertime teatime treat.

Makes

5-6 x 225g jars

Ingredients

  • Makes 5-6 x 225g jars
  • 1.5kg cooking apples
  • 600ml dry or medium cider
  • Granulated sugar
  • 1/2 tsp ground cloves
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Method

There is no need to peel or core the apples. However, if you’re using windfalls (and this is a very good recipe in which to do so) cut away any damaged or bruised bits. Chop the apples into fairly big pieces (about 8 to each apple). Place in large pan with the cider and 600ml water. Cook gently until soft, then remove from the heat.

Push the apple mixture through a nylon sieve or use a mouli to reduce it to a puree. Weigh the fruit pulp and return to the cleaned-out pan, adding 340g sugar for every 600g fruit pulp.

Add the cloves and cinnamon. Slowly bring to boiling point, stirring until the sugar has dissolved. Rapidly boil for 10-15 minutes until the mixture begins to splutter and is thick and creamy.

Remove from the heat and pour immediately into warm jars (it’s best to use small jars as this low-sugar preserve has a relatively short shelf life, once opened).

Seal immediately. Use within 12 months and store in the fridge once opened.

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