Dartmoor

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Like I mentioned in the post about the Ethicurean, Tim and I recently returned to Dartmoor to teach another printmaking course at Dartmoor Arts. Dartmoor Arts is a week long art school run by artists surrounding the beautiful village of Drewsteignton. It was great to be back there and we were blessed with amazing weather. I really enjoyed getting my hands inky again and realised that there are a lot of similarities between old job and new, aprons, gloves and even colour mixing isn't too different to making a cake. We took full advantage of being in such beautiful surroundings and embraced our new found spontaneity with drives in search of stone circles and even a dip in the river. We stayed in the same beautiful house as last year, an old rectory where we got to enjoy eggs from the roaming chickens & Indian running ducks for breakfast along with milk from the farm down the road.

The workshop was run from Peter Randal-Page's studio which was in the middle of a luscious green valley with swallows flying in and out all day (occasionally leaving little gifts on people's work). Other gifts included elevenses of homemade scones & clotted cream and afternoon tea of an amazing fruity sponge on our last day brought in by a student. A group meal was included every night but we snuck off mid week for a meal in a nearby pub where we enjoyed mackerel served with golden beetroot and hake with sautéed fennel. We even managed to bring some of Devon home with us in the form of chutneys made with apples from the local orchard. We had a really magical week and I can't wait till next year!

To find our more about Dartmoor Arts, check out their website

White Courgette Pizza with Feta, Mint & Chilli

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The other night I had the best intensions to make a nice healthy dinner of the courgette soup I posted a few weeks ago (here) but my stomach growls told me that I needed something naughtier, a bit more indulgent. This is where this pizza was born. Cream cheese is used as the base of this pizza with a crunchy layer of courgettes, a kick from the chilli, creaminess from the feta & freshness from the mint & lime. Its safe to say we both went back for seconds.


You will need-
Pizza Dough- this recipe makes enough for 2 large pizzas so why not use the rest for this fried dough or double the toppings to make enough for 4 people.

• 500g strong white bread flour or Tipo '00' Flour
• 1/2 tbsp fine sea salt
• 7g sachet of dried yeast
• 1/2 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 325ml luke warm water

Topping- enough for 1 large pizza which will happily feed 2.

• 1/2 tub cream cheese
• Garlic salt
• 1 large courgette cut into really thin discs, you could use a mandolin here
• 1/2 red chilli, seeds removed and chopped finely
• Olive oil
• Salt & Pepper
• 1/2 block feta
• A small handful of mint
• Wedge of lime

To make the pizza dough combine the yeast, sugar, olive oil and water in a jug and leave for 5 minutes. In a large bowl combine the flour and salt and then make a well in the centre then pour the liquid in. Using a wooden spoon, slowly mix the flour mixture in till it all starts to come together. This can be done in a food mixture with a dough hook attached or a bread maker. Knead the dough on a floured surface till its smoothy and springy. Then place in a floured bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place till it has double in size.


When your dough is almost ready turn your oven on to 220C and place your baking tray or pizza stone if you have one in. When it has heated up roll your pizza out to the size of your baking tray. Dust the tray with plenty of flour and then transfer the rolled out pizza onto it. 

Now its time to get assembling. Spread with the cream cheese leaving a small border all the way round then lightly dust with garlic salt. Next lay out the slices of courgette so they cover the cream cheese then sprinkle with the chilli & pepper. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and place in the oven. The pizza shouldn't take more than about 5 minutes to cook so keep a close eye on it. Its ready when the edges are golden brown and the courgette is just cooked.

To serve, crumble the feta over and spread with the torn mint before squeezing a wedge of lime over the pizza. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil and serve right away.

Roasted Pork Belly

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After the success of the pork belly and gooseberry relish at the last Plate Lickers supper club Jo I and decided to share the recipes (Jo recently posted the recipe for the gooseberry relish which you can read here). We ended up using 8.5kg of Dingley Dell pork belly and 3 bottles of wine for our supper club and despite it being the course we were most nervous about, it was definitely the star of the night. The butchers at Andrew Northrops on Mill Road we so helpful. They advised us on how to get the best crackling, the juiciest meat & how much meat we would need to feed 30. 

We decided to keep the meat on the bone as this was the best way to ensure it would stay nice & moist. They told us that to get good crackling you need to make sure that the skin is really dry. The meat you normally buy in supermarkets is shrink-wrapped so it tends to be quite wet, but at Northrops they they always hang theirs which means the skin gets a chance to dry out. They also suggested that before salting the skin to slightly dampen your hands and pat the skin gently so that the salt had something to stick to. If you do this, make sure not to add too much salt as it will end up forming a crust across the skin. One last tip is to ask your butcher very nicely to score the skin for you (and also to remove the nipples!) This takes them seconds and will save you a lot of work trying to do it with a knife at home.

We used the basis of an Ottolenghi recipe for the pork but scaled it up to feed 30. The recipe can be found in the Ottolenghi Cookbook. The trick is to fill the baking dish with wine really carefully so you don't get any on the skin then to start the pork off on a really high temperature before turning it down ever hour till its  perfectly cooked and falling off the bone. I am really looking forward to recreating this with a smaller piece for a sunday lunch soon. I very luckily have a little of the gooseberry relish hiding in my fridge so I really need to get roasting before its all gone!

The Ethicurean, Barley Wood Walled Garden

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Sometimes you have a meal you enjoy so much that all you want to do is shout about it from the rooftops. For around 2 years I have been following one of the chefs from The Ethicurean on Instagram and drooling at every photo they posted. With it being near to Bristol I knew that at the first given oportunity I would have to go there. Finally, after spending last week in Dartmoor we decided to take a detour on our way home and go and try it our for ourselves.

Last year The Ethicurean won the Observer Food Monthly Best Ethical Restaurant award and 2013 will see the release of their cookbook They will be in good company as it it being published by Ebury who have published both Yotam Ottolenghi & Moro's cookbooks. The whole menu looked so good that it took a while for us to decide on what to order. The staff were all so friendly and knowlegable on everything they served. It really felt like you were sitting in your friends dining room with the stunning views over the Walled Garden (built in 1901) and the Mendip hills an added bonus.

To start, Tim had the clear ham hock with swiss chard and a poached egg which he thoroughly enjoyed with some delicious sourdough bread that is collected from a little bakery in Bristol every day.

I opted for the cured & smoked roe deer which was unbelievably tender and just melted in my mouth. Even Tim, who is about iffy about trying new things tasted it and absolutely loved it. This was served with a carrot & cardamom sauce, walnuts, wood sorrel & land cress.

We were then treated to a little taster of another one of their starters which was the soused mackerel with fennel, carrot, rock samphire & gooseberry ice. Needless to say it was very well received and disappeared in seconds.

Then it was time for our mains. Tim went for the Merguez Sausages with sante mashed potato, seasonal greens & mushroom sauce, he very kindly let me try a bit before finishing it off in 10 seconds flat.

I liked the sound of the Confit leg of creedy carver duck which was served with a quince jelly, a beautiful salad and their own homegrown salad. The duck literally fell off the bone and was the best I've eaten. Tim also tried it despite previously saying he didn't like duck and it completely changed his opinion on it.

By this point we were bursting at the seams but couldn't leave without pudding. When we saw the West Country Cider ice with the '99 cheddar flake we knew we had to try it. The punchy cider ice balanced so well with the cheese and it was the perfect ending to a superb meal.

To top it all off, they make their own apple juice from the apples from their orchard, it was so delicious that we had to take a bottle home with us. Luckily Tim drove the next leg of the journey which meant that I could lay back and recover from the epic meal. We are already trying to make plans to head back to the west country so we can come for another meal. If you're in the area, its not to be missed!

The Ethicurean
Barley Wood Walled Garden
Somerset
BS40 5SA
01934 863713
To find out more about The Ethicurean visit their website- www.theethicurean.wordpress.com

Raspberry, Coconut & Almond Slice

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If you haven't already noticed, I have a new love of baking with raspberries. The fact they're in season is also a huge bonus. I love how when they're cooked they turn into puddles of jam with the tart flavours balancing perfectly with the sweet cake. The coconut crumble topping adds a perfect crunch to the slice. They are deliciously moorish, and with all that fruit in them, you can almost convince yourself that eating more than 1 is fine. Because after all its contributing to 1 of your 5 fruit & veg a day isn't it? Apart from the taste and health benefits (ahem) they also look so pretty and would make the perfect addition to any table.

Makes 16 squares in a 21x21cm tin

You will need-

• 250g plain flour
• 1.5 tsp baking powder
• 50g ground almonds
• 280g granulated sugar
• 200g cold, cubed butter
• 25g shaved coconut
• 25g desiccated coconut
• 2 eggs
• 350g raspberries (you can also use frozen, just make sure you defrost them first)

Preheat your oven to 180C and then line your baking tin with greaseproof paper.

In a bit bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, ground almonds, sugar & butter. Using your finger tips rub the butter into the dry ingredients till you get a sandy consistency and it starts to come together. Take out 80g and place mix with the shaved & desiccated coconut. Mix together and put to one side.

Crack the eggs into the remaining crumble mixture and mix till it all starts to come together. All of this can be done in a food processor if you're short of time.

Place the mixture in your baking tin and smooth it down lightly before sprinkling the raspberries all over (keep a small handful aside for the top of the slice). Now evenly spread the coconut mixture on top and bake in the oven for around 40 minutes.

When the 40 minutes are up, sprinkle the remaining raspberries on top and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the cake feels firm as is golden brown. Leave the cake to cool completely in the tin then cut into squares.

Because of the fresh fruit I recommend keeping the slices in the fridge but thats if they last past a day!

Camomile Tea & Raspberry Madeleines

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The last time I made madeleines they were such a success that I have been looking for an excuse to make them ever since. Whilst in Copenhagen I quite randomly bought a huge bag of dried camomile flowers with the plan to do some experimenting with them. Ever since we got back I have been racking my brain for what I could bake with them until the eureka moment came and I decided on brewing the tea in butter and turn it into madeleines. These are a bit more work than your usual cakes or biscuit but the outcome is so rewarding that I promise you it will be worth the effort.

If you can't find a bag of loose camomile use tea bags instead, but just up the quantity slightly. (Tea Pigs sell teabags of camomile flowers so keep an eye out for them)


The recipe makes around 22 madeleines depending on the size of your tin. I still haven't got around to buying a tin so used little metal tart cases instead.


You will need-

• 170g unsalted butter
• 150g plain flour
• 4g baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 medium eggs at room temperature
• 120g icing sugar
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2tbsp camomile loose tea
• Punnet of raspberries or enough raspberries for 1 on top of each madeleine

First begin by melting your butter in a small saucepan and bring it close to boil before adding the camomile. Brew the tea for around 4 minutes then strain and leave to one side to cool.

Sift together the flour, baking powder & salt and then put to one side too.

Crack in the eggs and add the icing sugar to a large glass bowl and place over a pan of boiling water. Whisk with an electric hand whisk till it has tripled in side and ribbons of mixture come off the beaters when you lift them out of the bowl. Now add the honey and mix till combined.

Cover the bowl with a tea towel and place in the fridge for at least an hour.

Once you're ready to bake, preheat your oven to 180C. Brush each case well with butter and then dust with flour. Miss this step out at your peril! Now spoon a generous tablespoon of mix into each case before pressing a raspberry into the centre. Bake for 10-12 minutes. They should spring back when you touch them and be light golden. Turn out of the case and leave to cool on a wire rack before dusting with icing sugar.