A good pie, made with proper homemade shortcrust or rough puff pastry, will always be a welcome sight on any menu. Done well it can show off a considerable level of skill & technique and has a near infinite number of flavour combinations to keep customers interested and coming back for more.
Cold cutting Turkey, ham & cranberry pie
There are whole restaurants that just dedicate themselves to pie dishes on their menus and as a concept. One such place I visited recently was the Holborn dining room in London. They have reinvented some classic pies and turned pies into a fine dining experience.
Lamb Shoulder pie from Holborn dining roomAndy at Holborn Dining Room tasting the pie
I love seeing pies on menus and the classics, done well, are the good old Steak and Ale pie, however, variations I personally like are Steak and Chorizo or a bit more unusual (but a very old recipe) that I love is Steak & Oyster pie. In the old days Oysters were plentiful and very cheap (and a good source of protein) and were quite often added into dishes to make them go further!
The structure of the pie is fiercely argued over, with purists saying it must have a top and bottom and not be just a lid. I love making pies, but the pies I tend to make are cold cutting pies that go deliciously with salads and a Ploughman’s lunch. I’m a staunch supporter of the traditional Pork pie, made with hot water pastry. A good cook/chef should always be able to rustle up a good pie. These are a few of my signature pies……
Turkey ham & Cranberry pie A selection of pies Pie School teaching in the kitchen
Pates
A great way to start a meal or a small delicious lunch is a good Pate, Terrine or Rillette with a good chutney or relish to accompany- homemade of course!
The next weapon in every chef’s armoury is the ability to make outstanding Pâtés or Terrines, this by no means a simple feat and invariably shows the experience of a chef. In traditional French Haute cuisine there is a whole section of cooking dedicated to this noble art called garde manger, this translates to pantry and the chef garde manger (pantry chef) is the chef who specialises in all cold preparations such as Pâtés or Terrines, but it could also include rillettes (shredded pressed cooked meat) or gallontines (cold cooked stuffed meats) it really is a unique and noble art that has its roots in history from the great bouchons of Lyon and Charcuteries of Paris.
The art of any and all of these preparations is in the seasoning; the aromats, herbs, garlic, salts, peppercorns and acids are used in an alchemy of flavour balancing and draws upon tried and tested flavour combinations to create a depth of flavour that is evident in a single bite but must not overwhelm the palate. A good Pate can be very basic in its inception but to get the correct consistency, mouthfeel and taste, takes real skill and far too often inferior Pâtés & Terrines are served up. Get these preparations under your belt and do them well and they really are a badge of honour for any chef or home cook. A good chutney, onion marmalade or piccalilli with a ham hock terrine is a welcome and delicious accompaniment. A pate or terrine wrapped in pastry (known as pate en croute) is sublime, a halfway house between a cold cutting pie and a pate, a great deal of skill and technique in preparation is necessary to get everything done right.
Pork & Apricot TerrineVenison pate en croute
Pastry
The making of fine pastry in my opinion is a noble pursuit, and time well spent in a kitchen. It is a hugely satisfying part of my job and the multitude of fillings, styles and techniques involved in creating a delicious pie or pate en croute or tart are endless. A beautifully handcrafted pie cooked to perfection is a welcome addition to any dinner table. Pastry making is a truly ancient tradition with its roots traced back to Ancient Greek times. The Greeks and the Romans were wrapping and encasing meats, fish and vegetables, thus creating an early form of pie. Early pastry was used as a carrier and protective layer and were inedible, the out casing being really tough and chewy and were broken open so the filling could be scooped out and eaten. As modern farming techniques and animal husbandry developed so did the art of pastry making, the addition of butter and eggs made softer, lighter pastries that were deliciously edible. The Italians embraced pastry making and created delicious savoury and sweet Tortas a type of encased flan. Then the French adapted it and created beautiful layered pastries and added yeasts, they made extravagant centre pieces and desserts. They crafted folding (laminating) techniques which are the staple of craft cuisine to make several layers that were crisp and intricate and lighter still. The Mille-feuille and the vol au vent were born. In Victorian times in London, pie shops exploded onto the scene and were hugely popular with the working class of the day. Pies were often filled with eels, and oysters as they were plentiful and cheap, very little meat was used as it was expensive. The traditional pub pie and mash is also popular and a creative way for cooks and chefs to make delicious dishes for their menus.
Laminating PastryHot pastry
My go to pastry recipes that all cook/chefs should have in their repertoire are:
Rough Puff Pastry
300g of plain flour
200g self raising flour
500g butter
250ml ice cold water
1tsp of salt
Hot water pastry
200g of lard
200ml of water
550g of plain flour
2 eggs beaten
1 egg for glaze
1tsp salt
Pate Brisee/short crust pastry
500g of plain flour
60 ml of ice cold water
2 eggs beaten
10g salt
250g butter diced into 2cm cubes
The techniques and methods to making these pastry recipes are demonstrated in my teaching and cooking classes/demonstrations for more information and enquiries click the link below.
The Garde Manger or pantry chef is a term not heard so much nowadays, the position still exists within top kitchens and the Garde Manger chef is a true craftsman and Culinary specialist. He/she is responsible for all preparation and production of dishes to be served cold. The term Garde Manger is a reference to the cool area of the kitchen and storage areas.
A traditional style pantry or larder
Historically the role of the Garde Manger chef would have been a reserve of the wealthy in their stately homes, for a well stocked larder was seen as a symbol of status and high standing. Prior to modern day refrigeration and modern cooking and preserving methods the role of the Garde Manger chef was vital as their knowledge alone would preserve the seasonal food products for use throughout the year in a large pantry or larder, usually kept in the coolest part of the house which was invariably subterranean next to the wine cellars.
Old fashioned larder from an old house The contents of the larder would reflect the seasons
In today’s modern kitchen the Garde Manger role has been swallowed up into the Chef de Partie role. It still has a focus on cold food preparation but also encompasses salads, appetisers and other cold dishes. However in some of the larger traditional hotels where the brigade system still exists, the Garde Manger position exists in its true form and as such the classically trained, knowledgeable chef can create some sublime dishes which are the very essence of this noble craft.
A classic Game Terrine a staple preparation on a Larder section by the Garde Manger Chef.
The job of the Garde Manger chef is also to plan and prepare exquisite banquets and buffets and to undertake elaborate presentations often with a theme to celebrate or commemorate special occasions. These may have specialist ice carvings, fruit carvings or sculptures made from a special solid white veg fat made to look like marble. Sadly these labour intensive elaborate preparations are disappearing from the kitchen as they are expensive in labour and ingredients and the specialist chefs have long retired.
I was lucky enough to have just caught the last of these such events as I came into the commercial kitchen as a young chef 30 years ago. I worked at a beautiful old country house hotel in Herefordshire when I was twenty, as a sous chef in a large 10 chef brigade, I was tasked with helping the head chef plan & prepare the annual huntsman’s ball and banquet. My specific tasks were to butcher and roast the prime cuts of Beef, Pork & Duck and poach two large Wild Salmon caught from the Wye River on the estate. Even the term Huntsman is outdated today and probably would offend some.
The Beef ribs had to be prepared for carving by removing the chine bone & tying it back on for roasting, the beef was roasted rare. The whole ham legs were kept long with the aitch bone removed for ease of carving, the ducks were kept whole and roasted on a spit rotisserie. Aspic jelly was prepared by making a stock of pigs and calves feet then clarified, cooled then the fat removed. The clear jelly then used as a glaze over the meats to make them shine as if they were varnished! This method of preparation is very classical and sadly gone from today’s kitchen.
Receiving a Certificate of excellence in France for my cold presentation of a classical Pike “Brochet ” dish in Nantes.
The other preparation I was tasked with for the banquet was poaching the two whole wild salmon for cold presentation. I put two ramekins in each fish kettle to bend the fish to look like it was swimming. They were then cooked,cooled then presented on two large 6 foot by 3 foot mirrors which were decorated with herbs and Samphire grass to look like reeds on a river bed, a keep net and rod were used to set the scene. I’m only sorry we didn’t have phone cameras back then so I didn’t get any pictures. The sculptures that were made by the pastry chef were truly astounding, a huntsman’s head complete with eyepiece, a horse’s head, a fox’s head and the head of two hounds all beautifully carved and sculpted from white solid fat, the dessert table and fruit carving were stunning. A display of langoustines presented on a hand carved ice bowl with rose petals set into the ice and little torches angled like little spot lights drew gasps from the guests, I’ve never seen anything of the kind before or since. The banquet was for 300 people.
Nowadays these things are distant memories of a bygone era. Now I get to flex my skills as a Garde Manger in the kitchen of the Penycae Inn, I prepare beautiful pates and terrines and plates of amuse bouche for functions and help display buffets, whilst regaling to the chefs about my stories in yesterday’s kitchens. Making a good pate or terrine is a noble pursuit and I implore any enthusiastic home cook or young chef to learn to make and master this skill, it teaches you how to season properly and you must have a good palate to get this just right, these precise techniques of using subtle aromats and spices blended together to compliment but not overpower the meats is a crucial skill of the Garde Manger chef.
The skills of making a good terrine or pate.My Venison & Duck TerrineThe eagerness of the first cutting of a freshly pressed terrine, the patient waiting rewarded by the first tasting.
The art of curing and preserving meat was also an integral part of the Garde Manger chef role, I have studded the craft of preserving meat for many years and you can read more about this on the link below
Taking the time out to wander through the woods slowly, taking in the sights and sounds of nature is a truly beautiful thing. Autumn has always been my favourite time of year as I like the change of pace it brings. After a busy, fast, hectic summer in the kitchen it is time to head outside of the four walls that have kept me cooped up like a battery hen and head outside to do some free ranging.
It takes a little while to adjust and to acclimatise to the new surroundings and like someone opening the blinds of a darkened room, you have to let your eyes adjust to the light.
Once this happens you suddenly become hyper aware of your surroundings, taking the time to slow down is hugely important in our busy lives.
Foraging for me is the ultimate mindfulness exercise, you become very aware of the present, you notice sights, sounds, and smells. You are active and some of the off piste locations take a bit of effort to get too requiring some physical exertion, so you become aware of your body and breathing. Thoughts and feelings come and go and can be viewed objectively while you’re focused on the prize of finding a new mushroom patch. Some days there’s nothing, but then you have the ultimate reward of finding a flourishing patch of fungi and you ask yourself the question, how have I not found this before?
The philosophy part is that you weren’t focused enough, it’s probably always been there it just didn’t reveal itself to you as you weren’t ready. Like all things beautiful and in everyday of our lives, there is always goodness and beauty to be found if we just take the time and make the effort to find it, often hidden in plain sight….
Starting with this question my quest into dry aged meats picks up from my blog about air dried cured meats you can read here https://fullerflavour.wordpress.com/2020/09/22/the-art-of-curing-a-lifelong-passion-2/. I’ve been learning the art of the Charcutier for the best part of 25 years starting in France and gravitating to Italy and Spain. There are a lot of similarities and also some stark differences between air drying meat to consume without cooking and air drying/ageing and maturing meat that is to be cooked. What they both have in common is the host of beneficial natural reactions that take place when dry ageing in a controlled environment can bring to the final product; and flavour is just part of that story.
At Fuller Flavour we have Flavour at the top of our list of priorities so anything that can enhance the flavour of a product naturally is of interest to us, but also the understanding of techniques and science gives us the knowledge to produce and develop products ourselves and is key to what we do and helps us as consultants inform and guide businesses to achieve great results by using best practice.
Dry Aged Steaks on display at Seagers Restaurant
The Science
Food scientist Harold McGee; “McGee explains in Lucky Peach Issue Two that we have enzymes to thank for the natural transformation — they break down glycogen, fats, and proteins into the sugars, fatty acids, and amino acids that give aged meat its complex and savory flavor (one amino acid produced is glutamate, which is a component of flavor enhancer MSG). As McGee puts it, you’re just sitting back and letting the meat make itself more delicious. What could be better?
It’s not for everyone though and the longer you age meat the more pronounced and developed the flavour becomes, as a general rule for most customers about 40 days of ageing is optimal and ticks all the boxes of enhanced flavour and superior tenderness in steaks. This is achieved by chemical processes that happen during the ageing process, proteins, carbohydrates and fats as well as numerous other compounds get broken down by enzymes which are naturally abundant in the meat. As these enzymes get to work they break the structures of the proteins into smaller and smaller parts which is the main reason aged meat is more tender. Water is lost through this process and the meat becomes more dense almost gammon like in texture. Some argue the loss of water concentrates flavour but others say it’s down to the chemical process, I would argue both are responsible with another added dimension of natural bacteria, yeasts and moulds all working away digesting sugars and leaving their own unique taste. Some may find the idea of bacteria and moulds on meat unpalatable but these are probiotics working away in controlled conditions making things taste better, and we seem to accept this more willingly with cheese and yoghurt but sometimes less so in this context. On the continent it’s culturally excepted as they have been curing, ageing/air drying meat for hundreds of years.
My experience with dry ageing meat commercially started about 4 years ago when I met up with Chris Seager of Seager’s Restaurants. He was looking to diversify slightly from his usual restaurant format and was looking to achieve a superior offer of steaks that were aged in his own Meat room visible in his new restaurant in Gorseinon, he called me discuss this and draw upon my knowledge of Food Safety in manufacturing and together with his butcher we started ageing our own meats in a purpose built, humidity controlled meat room. He was the first person to do this at his restaurant in Swansea and although others have followed, there is no substitute for knowledge and experience and that together with a robust testing system in place with a food laboratory, we insure that all our products are of the highest quality and we our proud to have matured meats safely for over a hundred days for specific evenings and tasting evenings. At Seagers restaurant we offer the very best dry aged Welsh Steaks butchered in house to suit all tastes, but for something extra special be sure to book onto one of our special taster events soon.
There’s something special about going out to eat at a quality Pub or restaurant, you can feel it when you walk in, it’s everywhere from the decor to the greeting and it unfolds on into the dining room, it immediately puts you at ease and you know that this is going to be an enjoyable and quite possibly memorable evening for all the right reasons……..
I got thinking about my favourite Pub/restaurant menu dishes that not only do I love to make, but also love to see and order on menu’s when I’m out on my travel, with Christmas over and spring on the horizon, we can dare to dream of hazy summer days in a beer garden having a cool pint and tucking into some delicious food. Looking forward to better weather, it would just be great to get out and about once again and visit the fantastic independent family businesses that we have in Wales.
1. Soup/Chowder or Cawl at the top of my list and for good reason.
In my opinion any and every good restaurant worth their salt should have a good Soup on their menu, it’s very basic but you can really judge the calibre of a chef by the style of soup on his/her menu and the quality of that dish alone. I love to make Chowder and have spent many years perfecting my own signature Chowder. But any good soup just needs 3 things: fresh top quality ingredients- (this speaks for itself). Time- a good soup cannot be rushed and should be a distillation of flavours (my chowder recipe above is made over two days!). The final thing is love, you have to be as passionate as I am about making a soup from scratch, no shortcuts, enjoying each step no matter how long it takes, then a big inner sense of accomplishment you feel when it tastes exactly how you intended, seasoned to perfection. It’s fair to say I love making all soups; Cawls, Chowders, Puréed soup, Chunky soups, bisque soups or Fumets, (which are pure essences of flavours like a consommé). The list is endless and I urge every home cook to have up their sleeve a knockout soup which they have perfected and made their own.
2. Pate/Terrine or Rillette with a good chutney or relish to accompany- homemade of course.
The next weapon in every chef’s armoury is the ability to make outstanding Pâtés or Terrines, this by no means a simple feat and invariably shows the experience of a chef. In traditional French Haute cuisine there is a whole section of cooking dedicated to this noble art called garde manger, this translates to pantry and the chef garde manger (pantry chef) is the chef who specialises in all cold preparations such as Pâtés or Terrines, but it could also include rillettes (shredded pressed cooked meat) or gallontines (cold cooked stuffed meats) it really is a unique and noble art that has its roots In history from the great bouchons of Lyon and Charcuteries of Paris.
The art of any and all of these preparations is in the seasoning; the aromats, herbs, garlic, salts, peppercorns and acids are used in an alchemy of flavour balancing and draws upon tried and tested flavour combinations to create a depth of flavour that is evident in a single bite but must not overwhelm the palate. A good Pate can be very basic in its inception but to get the correct consistency, mouthfeel and taste, takes real skill and far to often inferior Pâtés & Terrines are served up. Get these preparations under your belt and do them well and they really are a badge of honour for any chef or home cook. A good chutney, onion marmalade or piccalilli with a ham hock terrine is a welcome and delicious accompaniment.
My good friend Anthony Christopher at the Penycae makes a pretty awesome pâté and terrine, he is as passionate as I am about the subject and when cooking with him it can sometimes be quite competitive!
3. Charcuterie or Salumi is one of my favourite foods/subjects.
A good chef will have done his/her homework and will know a good local artisan producer of cured meats and show case them on their menu. Better still they will have studied the art of curing and will have perfected their own preparations for their menu. A simple plate of delicious charantais melon with beautiful salty cured ham is a summer favourite of mine, or the chef who can hot smoke a duck breast and serve with figs and brandy soaked cherries as part of a smorgasbord of meats and pickles will always be a winner on any good menu.
Many years ago a good friend of mine Franco Taruschio was Chef and owner of the famous Walnut tree restaurant near Abergavenny, he had a wonderful cured Beef Bresaola dish on his menu and better still he cured it himself. As a young chef of just 19 years of age I was eager to learn about this recipe and method and it was thanks to him my passion for curing my own meats and Salami was awakened, I have spent many years learning and adapting recipes and now can confidently put a range of such dishes on my menus.
4. A good pastry Pie
A good pie made with proper homemade shortcrust or rough puff pastry will always be a welcome sight on any menu. Done well it can show off a considerable level of skill & technique and has a near infinite number of flavour combinations to keep customers interested and coming back for more. There are whole restaurants that just dedicate themselves to pie dishes on their menus and as a concept. Some classics done well are the good old Steak and Ale pie, but variations I personally like are Steak and Chorizo or a bit more unusual (but a very old recipe) that I love is Steak & Oyster pie. In the old days Oysters were plentiful and very cheap (and a good source of protein) and were quite often added to dishes to make them go further!
The structure of the pie is fiercely argued over with purists saying it must have a top and bottom and not be just a lid. I love making pies, but the pies I tend to make are cold cutting pies that go deliciously with salads and a Ploughman’s lunch. I’m a staunch supporter of the traditional Pork pie, made with hot water pastry. A good cook/chef should always be able to rustle up a good pie. These are a few of my signature pies……
5. A great Steak, it almost goes without saying that a restaurant should have a steak on the menu, but what makes a truly good steak?
Having a good knowledge of butchery and meat cuts, along with the ability to keep steaks at optimal conditions should be a thing every top restaurant and chef should strive for. Buying a quality product that has had the highest welfare conditions with low carbon footprint is a good start for quality. Here in Wales we are lucky to have numerous small high welfare farmers who keep their Beef cattle fed on grass in free ranging conditions.
A chef should always do their homework on this and seek out the very best producers on their doorstep. All that is required then is for the chef to showcase this product and make a delicious signature sauce to accompany it. Click the link below for the art of cooking great steak.
6. A Signature Fish dish, I love cooking fish and I’m really passionate about it….
Fish cookery is (in my opinion) an art form, that perfectly timed, perfectly coloured/caramelised Scallop or fillet of Wild Bass that is plated at just the right moment, quite often finishing its journey to perfection in the distance between the pass and the customers table is the measure of a great chef. Nothing is more unforgivable than a stunning piece of fish that is not treated with the upmost attention and respect. A good chef (even under the pressure of a busy service) will have the composure to carry out and execute a perfectly timed piece of fish, quite often with every component of the dish or recipe being cooked simultaneously together to reach the pass to be plated without a moment to lose. A good chef under pressure will have everything to hand laid out on a tray and will quiz the waiting staff as to the progress of the customer as to when cooking should commence, a call such as “how’s table 6 starters?” will ascertain if they’re about to finish their starter and give the countdown for great fish cookery, precision, precision and more precision is the secret to a first class signature fish dish from a top chef.
7. Having Excellent Vegan & Vegetarian choices. Sometimes over looked but every chef should have a good knowledge and repertoire of cooking for dietary requirements.
I am and possibly always will be a carnivore/omnivore. I enjoy cooking and eating meat however I’ve always enjoyed my vegetables and pulses and quite often go a couple of days without eating meat altogether. This tends to happen naturally during the summer months when there is an abundance of beautiful, bursting with colour fruits and vegetables filling up the cold store. A good pub or restaurant kitchen should have a range of meat free dishes available for customers and should be confident that they are just as tasty and enjoyable as any other menu dish. My personal repertoire of dishes will always have a Vegan Bean Chilli with up to 7 different vegetables and pulses, a wild mushroom, spinach and blue cheese pasta finished with a walnut pesto. A banging vegan chick pea and lentil curry with rice pilaff. I always like to put a vegan burger on too! I’m very much aware of the of the environmental consequences of eating too much meat and look to offset this by eating less and having a superior more welfare/environment friendly product that is locally produced wherever possible. Read the link below for more information.
8. A good Curry! Maybe a little contentious with purists but sometimes a well made Pub Curry with rice or hand cut fresh chips or half ‘n’ half! Really hits the spot.
Although we have excellent traditional Curry houses in and around Swansea that do an awesome job of cooking regional dishes and speciality recipes. It is quite traditional to have a Pub or House curry in restaurants. Every chef I have ever worked with are passionate about using spices and making a delicious curry dish. My good friend Anthony Christopher who is chef owner of the Penycae Inn, likes to travel around Asia and has spent a significant amount of time learning about regional Thai cooking, he makes a very good house curry but also likes making Tom yum and other delicious noodle soups. I’ve always enjoyed fish cookery so my go to Curry dish that I like to make is a Monkfish or Tiger prawn Goan style Curry. This is a fiery spiced Curry from the coastal region of Goa, India that is tamed with coconut milk and although I’ve never been, I have endeavoured to learn how to use and blend spices to create tasty masalas. At the Bay Bistro on Gower they make a very good Lamb Curry using locally sourced marsh Lamb.
9. A Good Burger, the gourmet burger has had a resurgence in recent times and Chefs enjoy putting their own unique stamp on this classic menu staple.
I’m a purist and don’t go off piste too much here, I like to make a tasty Chuck or Feather blade steak burger simply seasoned so you can taste the meat. Quite often chef’s go to town with lots of strong garlic, onions, spices and even chilli in their burger Pate which over powers everything. My advice is to keep it simple so you can taste the meat; where you can go to town though with creativity, flare and flavours is in making a delicious relish, then choose an interesting cheese and a quality bun and you’re on to a winner, the link below has my relish recipe.
10. A fabulous selection of homemade desserts. Last but certainly never least!
As a chef learning my trade I was often puzzled about the number of chefs who simply had no interest or intention of learning pastry and dessert making. It was quite shocking really but thankfully times have changed, and I can now say it is most definitely not the case now. I had a natural curiosity about all aspects of the kitchen and especially pastry, so when I was just 16 that was enough to qualify me to be left alone to work with Dina. This lovely old lady came in twice weekly to make all the desserts for the Pub menu and I was put to task helping make, bake, portion and freeze desserts to see us through the busy weekends, I loved it and took naturally to making desserts and pastry. I quickly got to grips with all manor of tasty preparations making hazelnut meringues with Tia Maria sauce, Treacle tart and Creme Anglaise, Apricot bread and butter pudding, sticky toffee pudding with caramel sauce and Tiramisu. Once I had mastered these I started on Cheesecakes and chocolate puddings. Then from that day forward I found myself shoved on to the pastry of every kitchen for the next ten years! It was then I landed a job as junior pastry chef in a Michelin starred kitchen of a country house hotel making biscuits, fudge & chocolates for the rooms, all manner of preparations for afternoon teas including scones, miniature cakes and macaroons. We baked 5 different breads daily and I loved it. Any good restaurant will take pride in having a great dessert menu. My friend Sue Muddeman who owns the Bay Bistro Rhosilli is an accomplished baker and makes all her cakes and bakes in house at her really busy restaurant.
Strawberry pavlova with basil A cherry dartoisA miniature Black Forest gateaux with Kirsch sorbet
A pint of Real Ale sat next to a roaring log fire, you’ve got to love a traditional Great British Pub……
At this time of year during the Christmas holiday, a cosy local pub and the welcome of a real log fire and the promise of good real ale is on my list of all time favourite things.
The Great British Pub is an institution, it has been around for a very long time and has evolved many times in it’s long lifespan. It has a special place in my heart and has shaped the modern culinary scene throughout its history. I have spent some time researching its origins and along the way, realised how it was so pivotal in shaping my early career. Even now, when I think back, I can still feel the excitement of being involved at the cutting edge of the Gastro Pub movement. More of that later…..
Since the beginning of early civilisation and the use of money, Taverns and Inns have existed in some shape or form to provide sustenance for the weary traveller or pilgrim. During Roman times in Britain all the travel routes and towns had tabernae which served food, wine and possibly ales made by local monks at their monasteries. These were all almost lost after the Romans left the British Isles and hostels serviced by monks took over and continued for a while. It wasn’t until the 11th century that references to ale houses started to appear in texts. By the 16th century a new better class of establishment had evolved to cater for a more modern, wealthier class of traveller- they had more discerning needs and were willing to pay well to have them catered for; the pub as we know it was born. This was further shaped by the coaching boom of the early 19th century, with increased travel and the need for regular stops to refresh horses, there was a huge increase in the number of coaching Inns across the highways and byways of Britain and throughout the towns and villages.
Fast forward a few hundred years and Pubs and Inns continued providing a service for travellers and drovers taking livestock to towns for market. This continued in some shape or form until after the Second World War, they were the essential hub of towns and villages and were the cement that held communities together.
After the war years pubs evolved again, they expanded and developed their offer and their food for a wider market. The growth of modern housing estates and suburbs gave them a renewed purpose and these newly designed custom built premises enabled them to welcome families and they became more polished and presentable. Suddenly pubs were respectable places that offered a greater range of food and non-alcoholic drinks for an emerging market. There were still a hardcore of traditional pubs though that continued to serve just alcohol and only offered bar snacks in the way of crisps, nuts, pork scratchings & pickled eggs. Some had strict rules like no women or children allowed in the public bar only in the lounge.
In the 70’s Berni Inns and Beefeater pub chains launched the concept of the evening pub meal, this gave birth to the pub chain. They developed a range of dishes that, love them or hate them, they will forever be part of our culinary heritage. Dishes such as the Prawn Cocktail, Steak au Poivre with chips, onion rings and peas and the infamous Black Forest Gateaux will always be associated with this era. At about the same time the concept of the basket meal appeared. During the 80’s technology and food processing techniques fuelled another boom time in the history of the humble pub. The arrival of the microwave meant the smallest establishments with limited space for a kitchen, could now churn out bought in mass produced food from trunk freezers. This food was bought in bulk and with high margins, there was serious money to be made without excessive overheads or expensive chefs. These were dark times in our culinary history! But boom time was here and every publican it seemed, was driving a Jaguar or Range Rover with a personal number plate, and were bronzed by the frequent trips to their villa in Spain. This continued right up until the 90’s.
Britain’s first Gastro Pub
Thankfully this came to an end in 1991 when David Eyre and Mike Belben took over the Eagle pub in Clerkenwell, these two men had a vision to revolutionise the Pub dining sector, which had become extremely poor and lack lustre. The vision they had was a simple concept, to bring restaurant quality food into a Pub setting using quality, fresh ingredients cooked from scratch by trained chefs, but maintain a sensible pricing structure and make it accessible as well as affordable. The restaurant scene itself was going through a stagnant time where they were deemed pricey and pretentious, and if you hadn’t booked you weren’t coming in. The new Gastro Pub movement took full advantage, if a table was empty you could have it. The food was of high quality and increasingly more interesting, as chefs moved away from the traditional constraints of fine dining, a la carte menus and cooked with passion and sincerity, using local ingredients and pushing seasonality, they were on to a winner.
When I took my first baby steps in professional cooking I’m happy to say that it was in a pub kitchen setting, it was 1996 at The Old Black Lion, Hay on Wye a traditional drovers Inn on the Welsh/English border. By then the Gastro Pub movement had really gathered some momentum and we were recognised with two AA rosettes for food, were in the Egon Ronay guide, The Good Food Guide and also the Michelin Guide with a knife & fork as a pre requisite to stars. The energy was incredible, we really thought we were pioneers and we pushed hard to achieve and accomplish greatness, the rules were being re-written and we were in uncharted territory, there were whispers but nobody seriously thought a pub could achieve a Michelin star, could they??
The Old Black Lion, Hay On Wye
I finished my apprenticeship at The Old Black Lion and landed a great job in another Pub with rooms. The Queen’s head Inn, Troutbeck, Cumbria was along way from home, but the job was live in, the pay was good but more importantly I’d spent time with the head chef, as he had worked covering the Head chef at The Old Black Lion a year before. I must of made an impression as he remembered me and invited me up for an interview for Chef de Partie, he had a good pedigree and was looking to make a name for himself so I knew I was in good hands. I left Hay on Wye and drove up to my new home in the Lake District.
The Queens head originally a Coaching Inn
As the Gastro Pub movement gathered real momentum chefs were becoming increasingly experimental there were new takes on old classic pub dishes, the Prawn Cocktail had a makeover, it was now a Crayfish cocktail with Bisque sauce and traditional steaks and sauces made a revival with Diane Sauce and Steak Frites with Bearnaise sauce. Pub bar space disappeared fast as every bit of space was used for table dining, table cloths and wine lists were the norm and the move to table service followed. Pubs had evolved again and were no longer the stronghold of the drinker. Not everyone was happy but it made good business sense, and with the smoking ban arrival it meant that the Pub restaurants and Pub dining were more accessible than ever before.
Britain’s first Michelin starred pub
In January 2001 a monumental event happened the unobtainable was obtained, the announcement in the Michelin guide of the first Pub to be awarded a Michelin star, but where was this hallowed ground? This place of Pilgrimage for every chef working Pub kitchens up and down the country who dared to believe, rumours were rife, surely London way? But no, it was on my own doorstep in my home county of Herefordshire, this was huge, I packed my bags and headed home and was happy to have landed myself an interview at The Stag Inn, Titley, Herefordshire. I met the Head chef and owner Steve and spent a couple of days working in his kitchen, he had an army of like minded young chefs at his disposal all desperately trying to get a job in his kitchen, who was I kidding? I’d barely been cooking 4 years and as good as I thought I was, there was always going to be someone better, my work trial ended and the inevitable don’t call me, I’ll call you was muttered, crushed though I was not to get in on the action, I picked myself up and moved back to Hay on Wye and got myself a job at the Michelin starred Llangoed Hall country house hotel as a pastry chef. So off I went back over the border to Wales.
Llangoed Hall, Llyswen, Powys
Llangoed Hall was an awesome place different to anywhere I’d ever worked, the head chef Ben Davies was a truly remarkable chef, he had worked with Marco and with that culinary pedigree running through his veins I learned quickly. I couldn’t settle though, compared to the buzz of the Pub kitchen which was chaotic, frantic and at times pure insanity, this was calm, calculated with a distinct lack of customers, I felt cut off and was missing the buzz. I called in to the Griffin Inn, Llyswen after a particularly quiet shift at “the hall” that evening, it was the start of winter. I left the cold dark kitchen, drove up the long dark driveway then walked through the doors of the Griffin, the place was rammed, every table full with a queue of people waiting. The log fire was roaring and the heat and the buzz was intoxicating. The landlord Richard, was wearing half moon spectacles, a cravat, shirt & tweed jacket he called out to me over the din, “can I help you?” The kitchen bell was ringing frantically and he seemed rather flush, I swiftly ordered a pint, exchanged some niceties and let him get back to running food. I watched the food coming out it looked pretty good, but I knew I could do better! I called back the following day with my dad to gage his opinion, it was before lunch everything was calm an orderly and the log fire has just been lit, the landlord called out to me “it’s you?, you were here last night, sorry but it was particularly busy, I didn’t have time to catch up with you”. He’d obviously done his homework talking to the locals that night, he knew who I was and he’d got to work on me. It was agreed that I would hand in my notice at “the hall” to start as a live in second chef with a view to becoming head chef later that year, when the current head chef was due to move on. I was back where I belonged in a busy award winning Pub kitchen with all the possibilities ahead I was ready to shoot for the stars……
Andrew Addis-Fuller has been working as a Chef & consultant to the industry for almost 30 years, in this time he has had the pleasure of running the kitchens of many Gastro Pubs and restaurants along the Welsh borders. He lives near Swansea and is helping his good friend Anthony Christopher develop the next exciting phase of his business the Penycae Inn, in the Brecon Beacons national park.
The Beautiful Bounty of colourful food in my kitchen Nature’s palate of colours and flavours
It’s been about 3 years since I wrote my first blog about my journey into a more flexitarian world. I grew up in rural Herefordshire which for those who don’t know it, I refer to it as Gods garden with regards to its agricultural prowess, with place names like “The Golden Valley” and the abundance of apple and pear orchards weaving their tapestry across the land interspersed with fruit and soft berry farms (Hereford Strawberries are internationally renowned) it’s not hard to to imagine how it played a pivotal roll in my upbringing. I used to help with the hop tying, the fruit picking, I knew where all the best local fruit trees were as a boy, the best pears, plums, apples & damsons were deliciously available to us and knowing and understanding seasonality was hardwired into my life from a young age. Never far away and generally peering over the hedgerows at us, were pedigree Hereford Cattle world renown and with herds scattered across the four corners of the globe a true icon of the cattle/meat industry, we were lucky to have amazing master butchers selling the finest cuts for our table.
A Herd of Pedigree Hereford Cattle world renown for their awesome meatTraditional Breakfasts were a once a week affair
From my earliest childhood memories I remember the breakfasts we used to have; butchers sausages, Black pudding, pigs liver, fat bacon, eggs and tomatoes in a homage to the farming communities and butchers that surrounded us and the industries built up around it.
The Agriculture show calendar was the highlight of every year and going to the 3 counties show as a child was something to behold. All the farming communities coming together to put on this fabulous institution of a show that has been going for over a hundred years, it was a real spectacle. Everything from horses, sheep, pigs, cattle, geese, ducks and chickens were herded on show for this prestigious event. We did eat a lot of meat growing up but it was different, we didn’t necessarily have meat with every meal it was more like, feast and fast, where we would have a massive breakfast then nothing all day then just cheese or marmite sandwich before bed. The same on a Sunday lunch we may have a sausage sandwich for breakfast, roast dinner about 4pm then a sandwich before bed.
But the real thing that really sticks out in my mind was a love of vegetables, from the earliest age I can’t think of a vegetable that I didn’t like, of course I had my favourites peas, carrots, broccoli and swede! My least favourites were leathery, bitter broad beans but squeezed out of the shells they were sweet and delicious, boiled cabbage wasn’t particularly inspiring, it was boiled to oblivion served up no butter or black pepper, just a grey mush. We ate vegetables in abundance and looking back we used to have awesome school dinners, cooked by fearsome stocky old women with huge forearms but soft smiling faces, which could turn quickly to a scary scowl If you dared question their authority……
Eating healthily wasn’t heard of back then, you just ate was put in front of you, and got on with it. Very rarely did you see obese children and it certainly wasn’t a issue anyone was aware of, but as technology and the arrival of a McDonald’s et al in the city centre happened when I was about 8, our unhealthy futures were already unfolding.
Growing up and training to be a chef after being surrounded by fabulous world class ingredients and having the upmost respect for the seasons and the availability of ingredients was a natural progression for me, when I was 15 I was working in a butchers and delicatessen so when I stepped foot into my first commercial kitchen at 16, I was at home. Having such exposure to such amazing ingredients all my childhood shaped my mind and more importantly my palate.
Winning my first culinary competition in France
So after 27 years of cooking and eating and learning about my own body and mind, I have tried to reduce my meat intake, it’s not easy I’ll be honest, and I’ve fallen off the wagon a few times and noticed that I was starting to go back to eating meat almost every day. The time of year is a massive factor for me, in the summer I’m busier, have less time and I’m on my feet for long hours. I don’t eat so much meat as I don’t want to feel bloated, I happily graze on salad stuffs that are everywhere in the kitchen, the menus are lighter, slant naturally towards fish dishes, vegetables and salads and my personal favourite tomatoes, I can go days with ease on just potatoes, salads pasta and fish. I eat more fruit, berries and melon. But as the clocks go back and the evenings draw in I fall back into the old ways of stews, cottage pies, casseroles and roast dinners.
Cottage pie ready for a mash topping Cottage pie in all its glory, comfort food in the autumn/winter
This is the cycle I’m looking to break, so I’m putting together healthy meat free options for midweek meals, I like a good vegan curry the one I make has, butternut squash lentils or chick peas along with peppers, chillies, onions, garlic and sugar snap peas. I finish with coconut milk to calm the heat of the chillies. I don’t mind this style of meat free eating as it’s all natural, flavoursome and filling. I did try some shop bought veggie burgers made with pea protein this week, I thought they were very bland, I do however like a carrot, courgette/pumpkin and Halloumi burger that I hand make, but they can be a bit of a faff. I also like a ragu with pasta and I’ve found Quorn an acceptable meat substitute for this as it takes on flavours really well. We had this last night and with the addition of grated carrot, courgette and finely sliced mushrooms and garlic in the base it can be really tasty.
Grated carrot, courgette, mushrooms and garlic in the base of a vegetarian raguRagu Tagliatelle with Quorn
I understand fully my responsibility of eating well and sustainably, I have watched David Attenborough’s latest documentary and witness statement about the climate crisis we are now in and agree fully with its sentiments. I have strong feelings against the processed meat industry and having the rural upbringing that I count myself very lucky to of had, I realise the highly processed over industrialised practices of today’s meat processing plants are a far cry away from anything I experienced growing up. I don’t think I’ve hated anything so much as to witness the extreme cruelty that exists within this industry, the lack of these standards are apparent in the sorry state of the end product. Supermarket meat is nothing like the meat I grew up eating, and if it was the only option available to me today I would happily forego meat for the rest of my life. I have always seen first hand the love compassion and welfare that traditional farming families have committed their lives to, the love of nature and the land that they are the caretakers of and most importantly the knowledge of a sustainable system handed down by the generations of family working the same land before them. I’m happy to say though there are still some very good high welfare, sustainable farmers still out there. The only problem is that it makes a meat free journey harder. To any fully converted vegan/vegetarians out there I salute you and admire your commitment and I support you fully, (I never really got the whole us v them attitude that quite often gets portrayed on social media) I’m with you fully and sometimes wish I could click my fingers and be done with the indecision and guilt I often feel. But it’s so intrinsically linked with my upbringing and the shaping of my young brain, I feel like that I would be betraying my roots and the generations of good farming families I grew up around. I guess I’m just not ready yet, but I am ready to reduce the footprint of damage that I and my family currently make on the planet I’m willing to reduce my consumption and seek out more sustainable producers and higher welfare products. I know fully the health benefits of eating less meat, I watched recently on Netflix Game Changers where it spells out fully all the misinformation that is put out there by the factory meat industry, shows you the science and dispels the myths about how our bodies supposedly function better with meat. It shows us how we can live sustainable and healthier lives with a plant based diet, and I get it, I really do. I have in the past bought into some of the myths and arguments that our bodies function better with meat but this is just untrue.
I have also watched with interest the change in attitude by French masters like Alain Passard who after reaching the pinnacle of his career and earning the coveted 3 Michelin stars took meat of his menus all together, he has created a cuisine of vegetable centric dishes and although he has put the occasional fish dish and the odd meat dish seasonally back on his menus his repertoire is still very much plant based cooking. Watching his passionate approach to this style of cooking is really refreshing and has started my own mind thinking how I can adopt this approach professionally, it is truly invigorating and genuinely exciting to turn a life time of writing fish or meat centric recipes and then to put plant based cuisine under the spot light excites me, watch this space……
Alain Passard the only 3 Michelin starred chef who has a predominantly plant based menu
For many years September meant an end to carefree summer days spent under a baking sun, cycling with my chums through rural Herefordshire as we navigated country lanes with pit stops and tree climbs to taste the abundant late Autumn fruits (as a child I knew where the best Apples, Pears, Plums and Damsons were to be found) and after gorging my own body weight in August on late strawberries, raspberries and blackberries a change of diet was welcome and the reward of good tree climb was to be sat dangling my scrawny legs from a branch, looking across the river Wye whilst munching a delicious juicy pear or plum, this is still a memory that is hard to beat, but then to have all this stripped away for the drudgery of returning to school was one of life’s great unfairnesses that had to be endured. September needed some forgiving back then.
As I grew older and worked in seasonal kitchens as a chef September was a welcome time, a return to a slower pace after a busy baking hot summer of catering for the tourists, September was a farewell to the craziness and a longing to get back to some creativity in the kitchen, September was therefore the “marmite” of months, either loved or hated it was a month of atonement that required a little forgiveness, but this September the September of 2020 was going to take some forgiving it was the butt end of a most unprecedented time in the modern history of public health with the return to school and work for children and families after COVID-19 had entered all our lives. I don’t want to hang on this too long here as this is my kitchen blog and I want talk about food and seasonality and the welcome return to some kind of normality after 6 months of a Covid dystopia. The effects of the virus on my beloved hospitality industry has been far reaching, with too many small businesses as well as some bigger businesses not making it through, sadly, but with help from the government with the Eat Out to Help Out scheme, it has thrown out a lifeline and resuscitated a flat lining tourism and hospitality sector so that we were able to have a much needed boost during August, all whilst trying to abide by social distancing rules and by trying to keep restaurant environments safe for staff and customers alike, enough of that now, let’s get back to forgiving September…..
As we waved goodbye to the last of the Bank Holiday tourists, we had a welcome haul of Mackerel landed a stones throw from the kitchen door just off the rocks on the causeway to the “Worm” a couple of boys had gone down just before sunset and within an hour had caught over 50 good sized shiny Mackerel brought them back to the kitchen headed, gutted and cleaned them out ready for the lunch menu the following day, all in exchange for a few bottles of strong Welsh cider, a good deal all round. These were simply pan fried in olive olive with tomato, garlic, onions and olive tapenade and served on a bed of homegrown tomatoes a few salad leaves and served with new potatoes, delicious.
A glistening hall of local Mackerel Great to welcome the seasonal change with a local catchWarm salad of Mackerel with tomatoes and olive tapenade
September is also the start of Mussel season here on Gower, I’m a big follower of the old school saying that shellfish and in particular mussels are at their best when their is an “R” in the month.
My mind immediately turns to the recipes and dishes that can include this; one of my most favourite prized local and sustainable ingredients, so as I write we have just put my signature chowder back on the menu. All Is forgiven……..
I have spent all of my adult life cooking in commercial kitchens, in the 27 years of standing in front of stoves I have cooked literally thousands of steaks so I guess that qualifies me to speak with authority? In fact, in one restaurant I worked at we had our own dry ageing room and a full time onsite butcher, here it wouldn’t be unusual to cook 600-800 steaks in a week!
For those who like your steaks well done this is not really the blog for you and there are only really two options for you here: either learn to be more adventurous and eat steak as it should be eaten, or start thinking about a plant based diet for your future. It would serve you better and be more respectful to those animals and the people who rear them, you’d also be doing every chef that ever lived a favour; as a small part of us most surely dies when we have to scorch and press every last bit of juice out of steak and our hearts sink as we look at the sad flattened grey meat on the plate in front of us.
Now I know this won’t be for everyone and some will disagree, but bare with me here I have done my time on the line and have cooked every steak there is to cook, every way a person has wanted it done, whether or not I agreed with it personally-it was my job and my bosses didn’t worry too much as long as the customer paid.
But nowadays more often than not people have come around to my way of thinking; chefs, bosses and thankfully customers too. In my opinion the Tuscan way of preparing and cooking steak is the best and should be tried at least once in any carnivores lifetime.
Bistecca Fiorentina
The Tuscans believe as I do, that there is a real art to cooking great steak. First thing is they believe that it has to be rare, not just blushing but very, very rare. It must require chewing slowly and pensively savouring each and every mouthful, it’s rather primal and should be instinctively enjoyed just as our ancestors would of experienced it. In Tuscany most Trattoria worth their salt would refuse to serve it any other way and would have signs warning tourists not to even bother asking for well done. It really is a dishonour for this beautifully flavoursome meat to be cooked any other way than rare.
Secondly the Bistecca must be a T-bone, with the tender fillet that makes up a third of the steak attached by bone to the Sirloin, the steak must be at least two fingers thick, Italians like to measure thinks with hands and fingers, I like that.
The final rule with Bistecca is that it’s all about the meat, no sauce required here! The only thing it requires is good quality olive oil, sea salt flakes and may be a twist of black pepper at the end of cooking, don’t be tempted to add pepper in the beginning as the searing heat required to cook the steak properly will burn the pepper making it bitter.
Rules for cooking the best steak ever:
Start with the best meat you can afford, always from an independent butcher or better still from a farm shop butchery, don’t bother with supermarkets at all.
Always begin with the steak at room temperature, this small step will make a huge difference and go along way to improving your steak cookery and overall eating pleasure.
Heat your griddle or pan until it is smoking hot, open all doors and windows if need be, if you worried about smoke alarms going off.
Always oil the meat not the pan, season with large crystal sea salt and refrain from using black pepper until the meat is out of the pan.
Never overcrowd the pan, invest in a good quality heavy based panthat’s big enough to fit two large steaks side by side.
Don’t turn the steak too early, Ever! Have a little peak of onecorner but don’t you dare turn it until it’s ready, this is dictated by the colour which should be crisp and dark browncaramel but not black.
7. Last but definitely not least is REST, REST, REST! A minimum of 5 minutes for a large steak in a warm place then enjoy…….
A guideline for cooking a steak 2 fingers thick is as follows:
After what seems like the wettest September ever the deluge has overflowed into October, it’s been an interesting drive back from work some evenings when the roads on Gower have been completely impassable due to flooding and lines of cars who thought they’d try their luck are lined up motionless with hazard lights flashing waiting for assistance as their waterlogged engines have given up.
My knowledge of Gower lanes has certainly been put to the test and a few new unfamiliar routes have now been added to my repertoire. I’ve been driving back via South Gower and in between Scurlage and Penrice I have been joined on the road by the largest hare I’ve ever seen darting in my dipped headlights as I’ve slowed to try and encourage him to get back through the hedge to the field where he belongs. It’s comforting to see such an athletic brute of an animal running around very much alive here on Gower. In an ever present alertness to the increased climate crisis that we have now found ourselves in, it’s a reassurance that wildlife has still got a foothold on the land and however tentative it maybe perhaps it’s not too late??
Wildlife on Gower is abundant and so are the animals that roam the common, wild ponies and their foals roam freely and cattle and sheep graze everywhere, you really have to keep your wits about you driving back at night after a long day in the kitchen!
October in the Kitchen brings a welcome change of pace, long gone are the crowds of tourists aka the bucket & spade brigade that are our bread & butter business during the season and help sustain us for the leaner times ahead. They are replaced with the more discerning destination traveller who are looking for a more relaxed atmosphere and have more time to sample the culinary fare that is on offer at the Ship. We also have the hardy walkers and ramblers followed faithfully by their furry four legged companions who are also made most welcome in the bar areas of the pub, looking to dry out by the open fire. They come in for a hearty lunch of maybe traditional Lamb Cawl served with crusty bread and Welsh cheddar cheese or perhaps our Butchers faggots with mash & peas, recently added to our lunch menu and climbing quickly up the list of Pub favourites is the Port Eynon fisherman’s pie, a delicious selection of market fish in a creamy white sauce topped with mashed potato and cheese bubbling molten hot from the oven. The change of season has given these heartier dishes a lease of life with a welcome return to the menu, it always gives me pleasure to put these dishes on this time of year, simple and tasty, rustic pub cooking at it’s best.
We are lucky at The Ship Inn as we have the Gower as our Larder, Tom the local farmer and quality control expert regarding our real ales, calls in on his daily visit after a hard day in the fields, (to check that our Cellar is firing on all cylinders!) he gives us the low down on what’s good and ready to cut now. He’s been supplying us with all our main crop chipping potatoes, his tomatoes through the summer have been superb as have his monster Courgettes and Aubergines. Cauliflowers are cut, delivered and cooked within the hour for our Sunday lunch Cauli cheese. It doesn’t get any fresher than that!! We have been plotting what goodies he’s going to grow next season, Cavolo Nero, Rainbow Chard and Heritage carrots are on the list along with Salsify and Pink Fur Apple potatoes my personal favourites.
Gower Pork is a good staple and I have been curing my very own Salami and ham using wild foraged fennel that grows in abundance all around Port Eynon, Venison is proving to be quite popular and is going into our Game Terrines, Venison Ragu and as haunch fillet steaks on the specials boards.
I have also been curing some beef brisket which will make a superb Pastrami and will make a tasty addition to our Bolito Misto stew which is deliciously warming hearty broth which uses various cuts of meat and is an Italian peasant dish very much like the Welsh Cawl. So don’t be a stranger pop down to Port Eynon and enjoy some tasty, rustic cooking for a Fuller Flavour experience…..
If you grow your own produce you can hardly fail to appreciate the seasons and their impact on the kitchen. But when you visit your local supermarket, the shelves are stacked high with the same fruit and vegetables year-round and you’re presented with ‘a permanent global summertime’. But food that is local and seasonal will always be far better. Home-grown vegetables that are not long picked will have lost none of their goodness and flavour to the stress of travel and the natural process of ageing.
Understanding the seasons brings a sense of structure, rhythm and rightness to your shopping and cooking. You’ll enjoy a rich variety of food and with every passing season, you’ll welcome new ingredients and flavours.
IN SEASON THIS MONTH:
AUBERGINE | BEANS | BEETROOT | CHICORY | CHILLIES | COURGETTE | ENDIVE | FENNEL | KALE | POTATOES | RED CABBAGE | SQUASH | SWEETCORN | TOMATOES | WHITE CABBAGE | BLACKCURRANT | DAMSON | QUINCE | ELDERBERRIES | ROSEHIPS
It always seems to catch me by surprise; the sharp transition from February into March. Although I’m surely ready for spring itself by now, the truncated month of February does play havoc with my natural order of things, especially as my youngest sons birthday is in the first week of March and always causes me a slight panic. But as the party is all sorted and bowling with a group of 8/9 year olds to look forward to, my mind can now focus on other things.
February was unseasonably mild this year with record breaking temperatures of 21 degrees reached in parts of the UK. Here in Wales we even hit 20.3 degrees just up from Aberystwyth on the Ceredigion coast. This was a stark contrast from the year before where we were in the grips of an Arctic blast with the “Beast from the East” keeping temperatures below freezing and with large parts of the country covered in snow until Easter!
As a chef the weather and its extremes effect us in many ways, we feel the immediate impact of less daytime passing trade if the weather is inclement, especially here on Gower. We do however get the brave hardy walkers and their four legged companions, they stroll out in all weathers and are only to happy to come in and dry off and warm next to our lovely fire in the bar. A warming bowl of soup or chowder is often the go to dish to embrace them with a warming hug from within and will set them on their way happy and satiated. The weather also effects our menus and availability and prices of products sometimes quite drastically. The effects of last years Artic blast followed by a long hot and very dry summer has meant our British potato crop has been severely affected. Late planting followed by drought conditions is not good for any crop but our humble potato has really suffered, the harvest was considerably less and the potatoes themselves a lot smaller than normal, prices have gone through the roof with a sack of chippers at almost £14 for a sack (normally around £8) and we as Brits do love our chips and can hardly do without them.
March announced itself with storm Freya which was particularly bad here in Wales, the waves and tidal surge here on Gower put on quite a display smashing onto the rocks and sending spray high into the air, the drive home from work was quite spectacular!
Although it all may sound a little gloomy there is one thing about this time of year that is sure to keep the spirits high; that is the lighter mornings and the drawing out of the evenings, the days are starting to get longer. The promise that summer will soon be here gathers momentum during the month of March culminating in the changing of the clocks and a return to BST.
March is also known as “the hungry gap” making reference to the fact that it is an in-between month with regard to fresh produce. If like me you’ve had your fill on winter root vegetables and brassicas, you maybe looking forward to a welcome change and inspiration, this redemption can be found in the shape of the humble leek, the first of this seasons offerings.
Leek, Caerphilly & Thyme Torta
For the pastry;
400g of 00 flour
1/2 tsp salt
4tbsp virgin olive oil
100ml ice cold water
For the filling;
3 medium leeks, trimmed & sliced into thin rings and washed thoroughly, drain well.
2 whole eggs beaten
200g Caerphilly cheese grated or crumbled
A bunch of Fresh Thyme rubbed off the stalk
Making the pastry;
Combine the salt & flour together in a bowl, add olive oil and water, mix lightly to form a ball, wrap in cling film and rest in the fridge for 1 hour.
Remove pastry from fridge and allow to reach room temperature before rolling out. Take a 20cm pie dish lightly grease with olive oil, roll out pastry over- lapping the dish by a couple of cm all around. Set aside.
Make the filling;
Mix the filling by combining all filling ingredients in a bowl and season well with black pepper freshly ground.
Place the filling mixture in the centre of the lined dish, folding over the excess pastry to form a rolled crust.
Bake in a preheated oven 200 degrees/ gas mark 6. For 30-40 mins until the pastry is golden brown, leave to cool slightly and serve warm.
My Ninja multi cooker makes light work of making soup’s
I’m writing this as we just head into our second week of March, “but March is spring” you might say so why the Winter recipe? Well we’ve just had a very unseasonably cold snap with heavy snow in places and the hill tops here in Wales are still white. Tonight is quite frosty and clear too so I think I can squeeze one last Hoorah out of the winter pantry before we turn our thoughts to lighter cooking.
A trip up Pen y Fan in last week’s snow is a great reason for this hearty recipe!
My Winter Minestrone soup is loosely based on the River Cafe classic recipe but I try to pack as much goodness in as possible with a variety of vegetables and the addition of dry cured smoked streaky bacon lardons in the base for a real flavour punch. There’s no strict rules with the vegetables for this and I tend to throw in whatever needs using up from the veg cupboard. I do however always try and have Cavalo Nero (black cabbage) or Savoy Cabbage and a good base of vegetables including carrots, celery, onions and leeks. In France this would be a Mirepoix but in Italy they call it a Soffritto which is your base for all soups and casseroles.
The Soffritto base
Ingredients serves 6-8 good size portions
About 25 minutes prep time and 45 minutes cooking approximately if using a conventional pan on a stove top, this however is sped up considerably if like me you have invested in a good multi cooker.
200g of dry cured smoked streaky bacon cut into Lardons
A good glug of virgin olive oil
2 Carrots diced quite small
1 large Leek diced again quite small and washed well
1 small onion diced
4-5 cloves of garlic smashed and roughly chopped with a little salt to form a paste
1 courgette diced
1 Aubergine diced
1 small potato diced
1 stick of celery diced
1/2 a small savoy cabbage or Cavalo Nero roughly chopped
200g small soup pasta like Orzo or small Macaroni
400g can of mixed beans or white beans drained.
400g can of chopped tomatoes
500ml of vegetable stock water
75g of tomato paste
Fresh Basil to finish
Optional 200g frozen green beans chopped to give colour and texture towards the end of cooking.
1. Heat up a large heavy based pan or the base plate setting of your multi cooker if using.
2. Fry off the bacon lardons until crispy and golden.
3. Add all the fresh vegetables and garlic and sweat until opaque, add the veg stock and bring to the boil.
4. Add the pasta and cook until tender, in the multi cooker I use the pressure setting for 4 mins with the lid. On a stove top it will take 10-12 minutes to cook pasta.
5. Add tomatoes and tomato purée cook for a further 10 minutes, then stir in the tin of beans, taste and season well.
6. Add chopped green beans if using and cook for 5 minutes until tender, finish with fresh Basil and serve.
Lardons of bacon cookingLeeks and Savoy CabbageA wholesome tasty soup ideal after a cold walk
The answer is yes, with the crumbling of some delicious Gorwydd Caerphilly cheese this is the ultimate St David’s day celebration in a dish…….
After a Wales win in Cardiff and with the Triple Crown Firmly in our grasp! We pull out all the stops by piling the best of Welsh ingredients all into one delicious dish. Just in time for St David’s Day.
This creamy cannelloni is gorgeous when it’s baked until golden brown
READY IN 40 minutes
COOKING TIME 30 minutes
PREP TIME 10 minutes
SERVES 2
3 large leeks, trimmed and halved width ways
2 tsp olive oil
2 rashers of smoked Welsh bacon chopped into strips
2 tbsp Laverbread
2 tbsp of cockles
1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
90g Ricotta cheese
30g fresh white breadcrumbs
50g of crumbled Gorwydd or other Caerphilly cheese
Gently push out the inner leaves of each piece of leek leaving six outer shells (each with two layers of leek) that resemble cannelloni tubes.
Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the leek ‘tubes’ and boil for 1-2 minutes until just tender. Drain and refresh under cold running water. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.
Finely chop all the inner leaves. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the sliced bacon over a medium heat for 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the chopped leeks and fry over a high heat for a further 5 minutes until the leeks are soft. Cool then stir in the cockles, chopped herbs and ricotta. Preheat the oven to 200ºC / fan 180ºC / gas mark 6.
Spoon the mixture into each leek tube and place, side by side, in a small ovenproof dish. Scatter over the breadcrumbs and crumble over the Caerphilly cheese. Bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes until golden.
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