RECIPE OF THE MONTH - ONION BROTH

 

With crocuses and snowdrops popping up and the sun shining, we're starting to get excited about spring, but it's still cold out there - so what better way to warm up than with recipe for a delicious Onion Broth made with blackberry vinegar? 

Ingredients 

2 large onions 

2 fat garlic cloves 

Butter 

Olive oil 

Thyme 

2 tbsp Fred & Bex Blackberry Vinegar 

800ml beef stock 

A bay leaf 

Salt 

For the croutons: 

Ciabatta 

Cheddar

Serves 2

Start by peeling the onions and slicing them as finely as you can. Peel and finely chop the garlic too. Then put a large scoop of butter and a drizzle of oil into a pan over a medium heat, and once the butter has melted, add the onions and the garlic, as well as a good sprinkling of thyme.

Allow the onions to soften for about five minutes, before adding the blackberry vinegar. Leave the onions for another ten minutes or so, checking regularly that they aren't catching – it’s important that they just soften slowly.

Next, make up the beef stock, and add to the pan. Season the broth with a good pinch of salt and add a bay leaf, then leave it again to bubble gently for about twenty minutes.

By now, the broth should be smelling and tasting pretty fantastic. This is a good time to start preparing your croutons – cut the ciabatta into slices about half an inch thick and toast lightly on both sides.

While the bread is toasting, remove the bay leaf from the broth and purée thoroughly, then strain it to remove any large pieces of onion. Return the strained broth to the hob, over a low heat.

Finish off the croutons by topping them with cheese and popping them under the grill. Divide the broth between two warmed bowls and then once the cheese is bubbling, lay the croutons on top of the soup and eat straight away.

POTTED GOLDEN TURKEY, HAM AND PARSLEY WITH SOURDOUGH SOLDIERS

Chef Rachel Green is the Select Lincolnshire Champion and demonstrates at many of our events. A Lincolnshire farmer's daughter, Rachel had 20 years as a chef before developing a TV career.

This is a great way to use leftover turkey and ham and it freezes beautifully. If not freezing, keep refrigerated and eat within 3 days of the turkey being cooked.

Serves 6

Preparation time 15 minutes, plus chilling

Cooking time 5-10 minutes

Ingredients

• 150g/5oz butter
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped
• 400g/14oz cooked Golden Turkey meat, white and dark, roughly chopped
• 100g/4oz cooked ham, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp grated nutmeg
• A pinch ground mace (Optional)
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp capers, rinsed (Optional)
• 1 x 400g/14 oz loaf sour dough bread, sliced and griddled or toasted, to serve.

Clarified butter seal

• 150g/5oz butter

Method

1. In a large pan, melt the butter slowly and soften the garlic without browning. Add turkey and ham and mix well. Add the nutmeg, mace, lemon juice, cayenne pepper and chopped parsley. When heated through, place all the ingredients in a food processor and whizz to a rough, coarse consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste then stir in the capers, if using.
2. Pack the mixture into 6 small ramekins, earthenware pots or Kilner jars and place in the refrigerator to chill.
3. To make the clarified butter seal, put the butter in a small pan over low heat until melted. Remove from the heat and cool a little. Skim off any foam and discard then carefully pour off the clear yellow fat (the clarified butter) into a container, discarding the milky residue left behind in the pan.
4. Pour the clarified butter over each ramekin to seal the potted turkey. If liked, you could top the clarified butter with juniper berries, a bay leaf or some chilli flakes, to garnish. Leave to set then serve with the sourdough soldiers.

GOLDEN TURKEY, HAM AND GRUYERE PASTIES

Chef Rachel Green is the Select Lincolnshire Champion and demonstrates at many of our events. A Lincolnshire farmer's daughter, Rachel had 20 years as a chef before developing a TV career.

These are great for packed lunches, or try making mini versions to serve as party bites.

Makes 6-8

Preparation time 25 minutes, plus chilling

Cooking time 25-30 minutes

Ingredients

• 400g/14oz plain flour
• Pinch of mustard powder
• Pinch of salt
• 200g/7oz butter, chilled and diced
• 1 medium egg, beaten
• A little milk

For the filling:

• 25g/1oz butter
• 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh sage leaves, chopped
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 250g/9oz cooked/roasted Golden Turkey, dark and white meat, cubed
• 125g/4 1/2 oz ham, cubed
• 125g/4 1/2 oz Gruyére cheese, grated
• 1 tbsp fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1 tbsp double cream
• 3 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 egg, beaten, for brushing and glazing

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C, 350°F, Gas 4 and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
2. First make the pasty. Sift the flour, mustard powder and salt into a large bowl then, using your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Add the beaten egg and mix well then ass enough milk to make a firm dough. Wrap the pastry in clingfilm and leave to rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, make the filling. Melt the butter in a pan, add the onion and sage and cook, stirring regularly, until the onion is soft - about 5 minutes. Season and leave to cool.
4. Add the turkey, ham, cheese, parsley, cream, mayonnaise and mustard to the onion mix and season. (If mixture is a little dry, add more cream)
5. Divide the pastry into 6 equal pieces and roll each out to a 23cm/9in disc on a lightly floured board. Lay the pastry discs on the board and divide the filling equally between the centres of each, leaving a margin at the edges. Brush the pastry with the beaten egg then carefully draw the pastry up to form a seam across the top then pinch together to create a seal.
6. Arrange the pasties on the baking tray, glaze with the beaten egg and bake in the oven for 10 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 170°C, 325°F, Gas 3 and cook for a further 15-20 minutes, until golden brown. Serve hot or cold.

WINTER GOLDEN TURKEY, VEGETABLE AND LENTIL BROTH WITH POACHED EGG

Chef Rachel Green is the Select Lincolnshire Champion and demonstrates at many of our events. A Lincolnshire farmer's daughter, Rachel had 20 years as a chef before developing a TV career.

This dish is also lovely with a spoonful of thick Greek yoghurt on top. If you like, you can replace the butternut squash with pumpkin or swede

Try this tasty recipe and see more at  the local kitchen tv web site -  localkitchen.tv

Serves 6

Preparation time 20 minutes

Cooking time 50 minutes - 1 hour

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and diced
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1/2 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
• 2 celery sticks, trimmed and sliced
• 2 leeks, washed, cut into rings and well rinsed
• 1/2 mild chili, deseeded and finely diced or a pinch of dried chilli flakes 
• 1 spring fresh thyme
• 1 tsp smoked paprika, plus extra
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
• 175g/6oz green lentils, washed and drained 
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed 
• 1.75/3pt rich home-made Golden Turkey stock or vegetable
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 175g/6oz cooked/roasted Golden Turkey, diced
• Handful kale, cabbage or spinach, chopped
• 6 eggs
• 2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped 

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large heavy-based pan, add the onion, carrots, butternut squash, celery and leeks. Toss thoroughly through the oil and brown very slightly. Turn the heat down and add the chilli, thyme, paprika, cumin, coriander, lentils and garlic.
2. Cook for a further 30 seconds, add the stock and season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper then bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer then cover with a lid and cook as gently as possible for 40 minutes. Add the turkey and kale or cabbage or spinach. Cook for a further 10 minutes then taste and adjust the seasoning as necessary.
3. Just before serving, poach the eggs to preference and stir the parsley into the soup.
4. To serve, ladle the soup into warm bowls, top each with a poached egg and sprinkle with a little smoked paprika. Serve with crusty bread, if liked.

CHRISTMAS PANCAKE BLINI WITH PARMA HAM, FAIRBURN'S LINCOLNSHIRE POACHED EGGS AND HOLLANDAISE

Chef Rachel Green is the Select Lincolnshire Champion and demonstrates at many of our events. A Lincolnshire farmer's daughter, Rachel had 20 years as a chef before developing a TV career. This is a bespoke Fairburns egg recipe from Rachel.

 Ingredients

• 15g butter
• 75g self-raising flour
• 50g whole meal flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 2 Fairburn's medium free range eggs, separated
• 150ml milk
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 8 sliced Parma ham
• 4 Fairburn's large free range eggs poached

To Serve

• Hollandaise sauce
• A handful of washed rocket leaves
• A pinch of paprika (optional)

Method

1. Melt the butter in a non-stick frying pan (23cm) and keep to one side. Sift the flours into a mixing bowl with the baking powder and 1/4 tsp. of salt and some black pepper. Mix together the egg yolks and milk. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and gradually beat in the liquid until you have a smooth batter then whisk in most of the melted butter.
2. In a seperate bowl whisk the egg whites to soft peaks and fold them into the batter.
3. Heat the frying pan with the remains of the melted butter then pour in the batter. Swirl around to cover the base of the pan evenly and cook for 3-4 minutes over a medium heat until the underside is golden and bubbles appear on the top side, which should be almost set.
4. Slide blini out on to a dinner plate, then using an oven glove, upturn the pan onto the plate, then turn the pan and plate over to cook the other side of the blini for about 2 minutes.
5. Remove from the pan on to a board. To serve cut the blini into 4 pieces and place them onto a warm serving plate and then top with the Hollandaise sauce, scatter over the rocket and top the poached eggs with a little paprika.

Hollandaise Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 Fairburn's large free-range egg yolks
• 125g cold unsalted butter, diced
• 1tbsp. lemon juice
• sea salt

Method

1. Place the egg yolks and lemon juice in a heat proof bowl, whisk well.
2. Place the bowl over a pan of barely simmering water, making sure the bowl is not in direct contact with the water. 
3. Slowly whisk in the butter, a few cubes at a time, until the sauce begins to thicken, continue adding the butter, whisking all the time, adding a splash of water if the sauce becomes to thick.
4. Once all the butter has been incorporated, season with a little sea salt and more lemon if necessary.
5. Remove from the heat and keep warm till needed.

TIP: If you can't use the egg whites up from the Hollandaise recipe straight away they will freeze.

UNCLE HENRY'S TRADITIONAL ROAST PORK WITH MUSTARD AND BALSAMIC GLAZE

A delicious Lincolnshire recipe which serves six people. 

Ingredients:

2.25kg Uncle Henry’s Lincolnshire Pork Lion, bone in

2 garlic cloves, halved

2 tbsp Rapeseed Oil (we love Ownsworth’s, made in South Lincolnshire near Grantham)

Sea salt

For the glaze:

3 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp brown sugar

3 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp honey

For the stuffed apples:

6 eating apples

60g butter

1 medium onion peeled and finely diced

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

1 tbsp rosemary, finely chopped

1 tbsp parsley, chopped

2 lemons, rind of, finely grated

1 lemon, juice

120g fine fresh breadcrumbs

Sea salt and black pepper

Method:

• Pre heat the oven to 220/gas mark 7.
• Rub the pork all over with the cut sides of the halved garlic cloves, drizzle with the oil and massage the sea salt into the rind.
• Place the pork in the oven and cook for 20 minutes, reduce the temperature of the oven to 180/gas mark 4 and cook for a further one hour.
• Mix together all of the ingredients needed for the balsamic glaze, remove the pork from the oven and brush with the glaze mixture. Return to the oven and cook for the remaining hour, basting every 10-15 minutes.
• For the stuffed apples, cut the tops off all of the apples approximately 1/3 down from the top and remove the entire core. Heat the butter in a frying pan and cook the onion and garlic until soft and golden in colour. Add the rosemary, parsley and lemon rind and stir well.
• Remove from the heat and add the mixture to the fresh breadcrumbs and use the lemon juice to bind. Season with sea salt and pepper to taste. Generously stuff the apples with the mixture and place the lid of the apples back on top.  Drizzle with a little pork juice over the top of the apples. Cook for 30-40 minutes at 180 until soft.

Serve the apples around the roast pork and enjoy!

For more information - www.unclehenrys.co.uk

CHOCOLATE ORANGE BONFIRE MUFFINS

Sadie Hirst is an award winning baker and member of the British Society of Baking. With her Husband Russell they a have a multi award winning butchers shop in Woodhall Spa.

With November 5th looming only a couple of weeks away, this month’s recipe is a bit of fun and perfect fodder for a Bonfire party. Like most people these days, we go to a safe organised event, we are lucky enough to have some terrific ones in our area; we really are spoilt for choice. You get all of the “whizz bangs” and a big bonfire and of course don’t forget the obligatory sparklers. We always go to the Lions Club event on top of Thimbleby Hill in Horncastle, the real highlight for us is the enormous bonfire. There is something very ancient and special about a group of people gathering around a big fire in celebration. We then trek home and have our bonfire food in the warm, in the Hirst household it’s Hotdogs made with Lincolnshire Chipolatas served with ketchup and onions, Steak burgers and for pudding – Chocolate Orange Bonfire Muffins.

This is my recipe that seems to have evolved over a number of years, tweaking here and there. It’s a bit on the modern side for me, but I do have a weak spot for classic American Muffins. They are really easy to make, you just have to remember that they require a very different approach to making them than our British Fairy Cakes. You need to handle the mixture really gently and not mix it too much at all, once the wet and dry ingredients are barely combined, that’s it –stop.

 This recipe is very chocolaty and orangey and there is nothing subtle or restrained about these muffins and they are massive. I always think there is something compelling about a cake that is not far off the size of one’s own head! Don’t think about the calories, if you are watching your diet, please don’t make them as they are irresistible and very very calorific. I’ve tried eating one with a diet coke to see if that balances things out, it appears not.

Equipment
You will need two big mixing bowls (one for wet ingredients and one for your dry)

Measuring spoons, sieve, big metal spoon, measuring jug, whisk, little saucepan to melt your butter in, chopping board, chopping knife, zester, lemon squeezer, scales, couple of spatulas, muffin cases (nice in orange or brown), muffin tins, mixer or food processor to make buttercream.

Ingredients
Bowl number one

• 12oz/350g plain flour
• 3oz/85g unsweetened cocoa powder 
• 260g chopped up orange Matchmaker Chocolates (2 boxes)
• 1tbsp/15ml baking powder
• ½ tsp/2.5ml bicarbonate of soda
• ½ tsp/2.5ml salt

Bowl number two

• 2 large eggs (lightly beaten)
• 4floz/ 120ml whole milk.
• Zest of 1 orange
• 4floz/120ml juice from the orange
• 6oz/175g butter melted
• 7oz/200g soft Demerara sugar
• Orange Butter Icing and Decoration
• 6oz/150g butter at room temperature
• 11oz/300g sieved icing sugar
• Drop of red food colouring, I used 1 drop of liquid red to five spots of Sugarflair yellow paste concentrate.
• Box of Orange Matchmaker Chocolates (so three boxes in total)
• Gold leaf if feeling really decadent
• Non toxic gold and orange glitter.

Method

• Preheat oven to fan 180c/gas mark 5/ 375F
• Sieve plain flour, cocoa, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into bowl number one.
• Chop up roughly two boxes of matchmakers and mix into your dry mix in bowl number one.
• Lightly beat your eggs in bowl number two.
• Melt your butter in a little pan
• Zest and juice your orange
• Add your milk, sugar, orange zest, orange juice and butter to the eggs and give it a good whisk together.
• Gently fold in the wet ingredients to the dry. Don’t over mix it; stop when it has just come together.
• Fill your muffin cases right up to the top, that way you will get your classic domed muffin top.
• You should get about 12 big ones out of the mix. 
• If you want to be a bit chefy, put a shallow tray of water in the bottom of your oven, the steam created will help your muffins rise a bit more.
• Bake for about 20min, you don’t want to over bake these.
• Take out of the oven when done, leave to cool for about 5 min in the tray and then take them out and put onto a cooling rack and leave until completely cold.

Now for the butter cream, either with a hand held whisk, a food processor or freestanding mixer start to whisk your butter, this does need to be butter and not stork or margarine as it needs to firm up in the fridge after you have decorated the muffins.

 When it is starting to get pale and fluffy add in your sieved icing sugar. I use a food processor as it minimises clouds of icing sugar going all over your kitchen. At this stage I put my food colour in.  I don’t put any orange flavouring into the buttercream, as you have got it in the muffins and again in the matchmaker decoration. Chill the buttercream for a few minutes to firm up ready for decorating. It doesn’t want to be rock hard, as you need to be able to work it up into a bonfire shape.

Now for the exciting bit, I put a good dome of buttercream on top of the muffin in the middle. You don’t want to cover the whole surface of the muffin, or it is just too much buttercream. You need to be aiming for a big walnut size blob in the middle and drag it up into a peak, so you have a good shape to start with. Then break the matchmakers into rough thirds and stick them in the buttercream sloping up to a point to make a bonfire shape, with bits of the buttercream showing through to look like flames. I then used some edible glitter in orange and gold to sprinkle over the top (please check the label as there are different sorts of glitter, make sure it is edible) finally finish the top with a tiny bit of gold leaf. Gold leaf is expensive, so if these are going to be eaten outside in potentially foul weather I wouldn’t bother with it – your expense and wrestling with it will be lost. The only reason to use gold leaf is to show off and that’s it. The best way to handle it is to use a clean pair of tweezers; otherwise it will stick to your fingers and dissolve into thin air. Makes sure your windows and doors are closed too or it inclined to blow away into nothing. If these muffins are going to be inside as part of a party spread I think the extra touches are worth it as they do look quite impressive. When you have finished decorating them, pop them in the fridge to firm up. They will keep for a couple of days.

Wishing you all a happy, sparkling and safe Bonfire Night.

Do you have a recipe you'd like to share? Email Loryn Good with the full method, ingredients and a few nice pictures to be included!

BLACKBERRY SEASON

Here's an autumnal recipe by Select regular, Sadie Hirst of R.J Hirst Butchers!

Well last month I wrote about afternoon tea in the sun and since then the clouds have gathered and there is an autumn nip in the air. I do love this time of year, when the mornings are a bit more dewy and crisp and the nights start pulling in a bit. This is also the time to go “brambling” or blackberry picking. Some have been out for a good month now, but there is still some good foraging to be had. I like brambling, you know where you are with it and they aren’t ambiguous, as is sometimes the case with other berries that on a good day might kill you or at best render you out of action for a bit. Just as I like the idea of mushroom foraging but I’m not knowledgeable enough to risk anything more adventurous than an obvious field mushroom.

There is also so much you can do with the humble blackberry and let’s not forget the main attraction – it’s free if you go out and pick them yourself. I try not to go along hedgerows that are near a busy road, as you don’t want car fumes on them and I also try to avoid situations where they are likely to have been sprayed if they are next to a field. Other than that, armed with sturdy boots, thick trousers and a walking stick to tempt the tricky briars to be within picking reach, it gives a walk in the fresh air another dimension. You of course need to take some sort of receptacle to put your berries in , a few old margarine tubs do the trick. One word of advice though, in your quest to reach the berries that are always tantalizingly out of reach try not to topple over into a ditch or a patch of nettles, it hurts – I know from experience. Also look out for sleepy wasps hiding; they may pay you back for waking them up.

When you get your bounty home, they undoubtedly with have grubs in them. I just soak them in a bowl of water with a splash of vinegar in and the grubs don’t like it and float to the top. I rinse them off and do that a few times until you are grub free.

Once you have done that, the choice is endless really. I tend to have a bit of a pecking order on quality. The really big juicy ones end up in a cake – (recipe to follow) and the ones that are not quite so good get made into Bramble vinegar. If you have never tried this, I urge you to give it a go. There is nothing finer than homemade Yorkshire pudding with a good slug of bramble vinegar on top. My Dad Mick Carter remembers that his Uncle Bill Howsam would always start his Sunday lunch with Yorkshire pudding topped with Bramble vinegar. This of course hailed back to the days when meat was scarce and you needed to fill up before your main meat course, even though there was no reason for Uncle Bill to continue to do this, as there was always and abundance of meat available, he stubbornly refused to give up his Yorkshire pudding and bramble vinegar first. Born in 1901 he worked all his life on the land at Steadman’s in Bucknall, never having learnt to drive, he used to bike there and back from Horsington. He certainly wasn’t one for progress, so much so that he even refused to entertain such new-fangled gadgets as the thermos flask. Every week my Great Grannie Howsam would buy a bottle of Lucozade and when it was empty it would be washed and filled with the black tea left in the pot from breakfast and Great Uncle Bill would apparently take his cold tea with him to have with his packed dinner, refusing to accept that if he had a flask he could have enjoyed hot tea with his dinner instead!

I would like to share with you this family recipe, I believe it dates back to at least my Great Grannie Howsam’s era. I don’t think it is unique to Lincolnshire, as other old regional cookbooks and WI cookbooks have versions of this recipe; you quite often get them for Raspberry vinegar too.

Like my Boiled Fruit cake recipe which was featured in this column last Autumn, the copy of the recipe I have is written on an old Prudential Assurance Company Limited Card, as my Aunty Carrie (Holland) nee Howsam, who lived in Horncastle was the Pru’s Agent covering all the Wolds Villages to the East of Horncastle. She covered this huge area on her push bike! There must have been some blank cards lying around at home and the recipe is tucked inside a Warnes’s Everyday Model Cookery Book, which was compiled and edited by Mary Jewry and this edition was published in 1886. There were many different versions and editions of this book and it was one of the main competitors to the Beeton’s Books, the most famous of which “Mrs Beeton’s Household Management”, which was first published in 1861.

Howsam’s Bramble Vinegar.

Equipment

You will need a bowl big enough for your brambles, a maslin or big pan, measuring jug, wooden spoon and a funnel. Clingfilm.

Method

1. Cover the brambles with white vinegar (not posh white wine vinegar, normal white vinegar), cover with clingfilm and leave for 24 hours to stew. I give them a mash up every now and again.
2. Keep your vinegar bottle you will need it. Give it a good wash and then sterilize it in a hot oven when you are boiling your bramble vinegar. You will need a jug and a little funnel too to pour your vinegar in when it has cooked.
3. To every quart (2 pints) of liquid add 1lb of sugar and boil for 20 minutes until it thickens. 
4. I have made two tweaks to this recipe, but I’ll leave it to you whether you wish to stick to the original. I strain my brambles after they have had their soaking in vinegar and then add the 1lb of sugar to the beautiful brambly pink liquid that is left. That’s because we don’t like the pips, but they might not bother you.
5. The second tweak is that I use jam sugar as it ensures that you get a nice syrupy consistency, which is what you are aiming for and I don’t find that it compromises the flavour.
6. When it’s at the right consistency pour it into your vinegar bottle, put the lid on whilst it is hot. It should keep fine in a cool dark cupboard for a year, if it lasts that long. Remember to label it so you know when you made it.
7. Don’t over boil it like I did the first time I tried to make it, I ended up with bramble vinegar flavoured toffee, it was not good but it did make my Gran laugh for about a week.
8. For your A class brambles, this is a lovely Mary Norwak cake recipe from the 1970’s, if you haven’t got time to do anything with your blackberries at the time of picking, you can always freeze them on a baking tray and when frozen bag them up for when you are ready to use them.

Blackberry Cake

Equipment

Mixing Bowl or free standing mixer, wooden spoon, measuring spoons, measuring jug, scales, another bowl for your crumble topping, little bowl for your egg, 20cm/8” loose bottomed round tin, baking paper and scissors.

Method

4oz/100g butter

4oz/100g caster sugar

1 egg

8oz/225g plain flour

2 tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt if using unsalted butter, don’t put salt in if your butter is salted

¼ pint/150ml milk

8oz/225g blackberries (make sure they are well dried or you will have too much moisture in your cake batter and it will make it heavy)

Topping

2oz/50g butter

4oz/100g caster sugar

2oz/50g plain flour

1/2tsp ground cinnamon

Method

1. Grease and line a 8in/20cm loose bottomed round tin.
2. Preheat oven to 350f/180c/170c fan/gas mark 4
3. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy 
4. Gradually add in the egg
5. Sieve together the flour, baking powder and salt
6. Fold into the creamed mixture with the milk
7. Put the mixture into the prepared tin
8. Sprinkle the blackberries on top
9. Make the topping by creaming together the butter, sugar; flour and cinnamon until the mixture is like coarse crumbs.
10. Sprinkle your crumble mixture on top of your blackberries
11. Bake for 1 hour keep an eye on it especially if you are using a fan oven.
12. Lift carefully out of the tin and cool

This cake can be served warm as a pudding with custard or cream or leave it to have cold as a cake.

Do you have a recipe you would like to share? Send it to Loryn.Good@lincs-chamber.co.uk and we will publish it here!

HOW TO MAKE THE PERFECT CAPPUCCINO

Do you ever wish you could re-create a barista style coffee? Do you long for the perfectly crafted caffeine fix you would get in the coffee shops? Well now you can with the help of Stokes guide to making the perfect cappuccino!

How to make a perfect cappuccino

The espresso

The perfect latte, cappuccino, or mocha all rely on one thing: the ability to make a perfect espresso. We use our Full of Beans espresso blend in our own cafés - the mature thickness of Indonesian coffee combines with fruity South Americans and earthy African beans to give a perfectly balanced flavour with a strong, smooth, stimulating flavour.

• Pre-heat a cappuccino cup with hot water. This keeps the drink warmer for longer later, and will prevent your espresso from being subject to temperature variations that can make it bitter.
• Dispense a 7g portion of coffee into your porta filter. Tamp with good pressure ensuring the top is level to the fill line, and dust off any excess coffee.
• Flush the group head to remove any old coffee and lock the porta filter into place.
• The coffee starts to burn as soon as the porta filter is in place, so it is important to press your brew (or ‘one shot’) button as soon as you have locked it into place – the coffee will not stop flowing for 4-5 seconds, so you will have plenty of time to place a jug or cup under the spout.
• Ideally, it should take about 24 seconds for about a shot of espresso to come out. Note the appearance of the espresso as it flows into the cup – it should look like a mouse’s tail. Your water temperature should be at about 92˚C, to extract the most flavour from your coffee and avoid burning it.
• NOTE: if your espresso flows out too quickly, your will end up with a bitter-tasting coffee (to rectify this, adjust the grinder to produce a finer coffee, which will slow down the extraction time, and make sure you tamp it down with plenty of pressure) If it dribbles out too slowly, your coffee might taste burnt (adjust the grinder to make the grounds a little coarser. This will speed up the extraction time).
• Note the colour, density and amount of crema. On the perfect espresso, you can identify the heart at the bottom, the body rising to create a crema.

Milk

It is important that you steam your milk properly, so that the milk is thick and creamy throughout. This will stop you from having a layer of hot milk and another of over-frothy foam, and will ensure that your finished drink tastes wonderful.

• Always release a little steam from the steam wand first ( this is to get rid of any condensation or old milk that might be trapped in the wand – things you would rather not have in your finished drink) 
• Begin with a cold jug and fresh, cold milk. This will allow you longer to bring the milk up to temperature, and to texturise the milk properly. Your jug should be at least 1/3 full of milk.
• Place your jug under the steam wand so that the wand is submerged. Then, open the steam wand.
• The steam quickly heats up the milk. Hold the wand in place near the surface of the milk (it might be easier for you if you tilt your jug slightly here). You will know that you are steaming correctly if you can see the milk swirling around the jug in a spiral motion, and if it is steaming almost silently. If the milk is screaming at you, your final drink will be of poor quality.
• Steam the milk until it reaches about 65˚C (a thermometer is crucial here – overheated or burnt milk will not taste nice). At this stage, the milk will have puffed up by at least a third.
• Before adding the milk to the cup or glass, give the jug a swirl and tap it firmly on the counter. This will get rid of any big bubbles (you want microfoam – microscopic bubbles – rather than big frothy bubbles) and leave you with smooth, glossy, creamy milk.

NOTE: We use whole milk at Stokes, as it tastes the best. As it contains the most fat, it is the most difficult to texturise, as the fats in milk tend to inhibit the foaming process. Freshness is also a factor, because milk fats do begin to break down into fatty acids which are even more destructive to milk foam. Always use the freshest milk that you can find.

Coffee Art

• Once you have perfected your milk and espresso, you can begin to play with decoration and patterns. To produce a leaf:
• Add a shot of espresso to a wide mouthed cappuccino cup.
• Hold the cup on a slight angle, with the back of the cup raised up and the edge of the cup that is closest to you being slightly lower.
• Pour your milk starting in the centre of the coffee. It might help you to rest the jug on the edge of the cup at this point.
• As you pour, you will need to gradually but steadily raise the bottom of the jug so that the milk continues to pour at a consistent and even rate. The jug will be almost horizontal.
• When the cup is about 2/3 full, give the jug a little side to side shake, and you should see a smooth, wiggly line of white appear against the brown of the coffee.
• The shake should be slow – don’t get nervous and don’t try to rush things.
• As you shake, the leaves should move away from you on the surface of the espresso. After 4-6 shakes, begin moving the jug towards the edge of the cup nearest to you, and make your shakes a little tighter.
• Now, run a line of milk back through the centre of the wiggly line to create a stalk. Do this slowly, and elevate your pour a little to keep the stalk slim.
• You should now have a beautiful leaf in your coffee.

MEMBER EXPERIENCE: GAINSBOROUGH OLD HALL

Image credit: John Spooner

Select Lincolnshire regular, Sadie Hirst, recently sent us another of her wonderful recipes. This time however it came with a story about another Select Lincolnshire member. We enjoyed her story so much we have decided to introduce a new feature to the blog about your experiences with Select Members. Here is Sadie's experience of Gainsborough Old Hall, complete with a recipe of course.

I wanted to share with you a wonderful day out I had last week with a class of Year Three children from Horncastle Community Primary School. Under the attentive eye of Mrs Deas and a band of helpers including myself, we all set off to Gainsborough Old Hall, which is a Medieval Manor House that dates back to around 1460.

I’m ashamed to admit that I have never visited before, which is my loss. For someone who is interested in English food history especially in Lincolnshire, the kitchens are the best I have ever seen. So often you visit these sorts of places and although interesting, they are removed and you are left feeling it is all too remote to visualise people living and working in these environments.

Not so with Gainsborough Old Hall. To begin with it only took us an hour to get there by school bus from Horncastle, so I suppose you could do it a bit quicker in a car. On arrival we were greeted by three guides, all impressively clad in period costume. The outside of the Hall is surrounded by beautifully kept lawns and gardens and the Hall itself is of a Timber frame construction. The Guides led us through to the Great Hall which has the most stunning arched ceiling which was made of oak.

What really brought it to life for the children straight away was being able to dress themselves up in Tudor outfits. We had our very own King Henry V111. The real one had visited the Hall in 1541 with his then very young bride Kathryn Howard. Good job she didn’t know what the future held for her. They stopped en route to their pilgrimage to York, astonishingly they brought along 7000 people in their group and the guide advised us that more people joined them on the way. Goodness knows where they all stayed, that’s more than the population of Horncastle.

Once the children had a chance to get their costumes on, to get us all in the mood, they tried their hand at some traditional dancing accompanied by some authentic music. We were then taken on a tour of the Hall. The most impressive area for me was of course the kitchens. What made it stand out and be so realistic was the attention to detail on the props and equipment. The children had a go at preparing a medieval banquet albeit with “pretend” food, but it gave them a real opportunity to think about all of the work it took to prepare a meal without the aid of our kitchen gadgets, electric ovens and mixers, all of the things we take for granted in our modern way of life. They also tried out a butter churn, which in reality would have taken 6 back breaking hours to churn butter. We had a look at a model of cake made out of marzipan and covered in gold leaf. It would have been called Marchpane then. It was said that if you ate the gold leaf it would give you blue blood inferring that you would be akin to royalty.

There is actually an historical interpretation and living history society called “Lord Burgh’s Retinue”, named after the Burgh family who built the Hall. They have a website if you would like more information www.lordburghsretinue.co.uk They specialise in bringing to life history from the period 1460 – 1496.

After thoroughly exploring the kitchens, the children had a chance to re-enact their own Banquet with King Henry VIII and Kathryn Howard at the top table, along with serving staff, court jesters, soldiers and medieval music. The King really got into character, and could be heard bellowing “off with their heads” on several occasions when the entertainment and food fell short!

We all then enjoyed our own less formal picnic lunch in the grounds on what was the hottest day of the year.

After our picnic the afternoon was spent exploring the rest of the hall including climbing the spiral staircase up to the Tower, which rewarded us with fine views of the surrounding countryside.

After thanking the staff of Gainsborough Old Hall for making us all so welcome, we all boarded the bus a bit weary and hot, but having had a really interesting day. To top the day off wonderfully, The Red Arrows were out practising and we were all rewarded with our very own display, which seemed to run along the bus journey as far as Lincoln, much to the delight of everyone.

The best support we can give organisations like this is to go and visit them and do our bit to preserve these local treasures for the future. If you are looking for a fun, educational and interesting day out for all members of your family this Summer holidays, then I really do recommend a trip there. For details of opening times etc visit www.gainsborougholdhall.com

To find Sadie's recipe, please click here.

Do you have a tale to tell about one of our members? Tell us about your experiences and we will publish it here! Send your stories to charlotte.goy@lincs-chamber.co.uk

GAINSBOROUGH OLD HALL INSPIRED RECIPE

Image Credit: Alpha

Sadie Hirst is an award winning artisan baker and member of the prestigious British Society of Baking. Sadie is passionate about preserving our English Baking heritage and local Lincolnshire recipes. This recipe was inspired by her recent visit to Gainsborough Old Hall. You can find her story about it here.

Here is a very simple recipe, adapted from one of the Lord Burgh’s recipe pamphlets. It would be easy enough to do with the kids and it tastes delicious too.

Honey Toast with Nuts

• First of all lightly toast four slices of “doorstop” white bread. By doorstop I mean hand cut thick white proper bread.
• Butter your bread lightly.
• Slather some good Lincolnshire Honey on top.
• Sprinkle some ground ginger and cinnamon to your taste.
• Sprinkle either Pinenuts or walnuts on top of the honey , the original recipe uses pinenuts.
• Pop it under a medium grill, but keep a keen eye on it or the nuts and honey will burn. It is a good idea to put some baking parchment or foil at the bottom of your grill pan to save you trying to get molten honey off later when washing up.
• Cut into quarters and serve straight away. This is lovely as a brunch dish or supper dish.

Do you have a recipe you'd like to share? Email Loryn Good with the full method, ingredients and a few nice pictures to be included!

THE QUINTESSENTIAL ENGLISH AFTERNOON TEA IN THE SUNSHINE

Image Credit: Benson Kua

Sadie Hirst is an award winning artisan baker and member of the prestigious British Society of Baking. Sadie is passionate about preserving our English Baking heritage and local Lincolnshire recipes. This week she is offering up an old favourite for an afternoon tea; summer scones.

As we have been enjoying such a wonderful spell of good weather, I thought we might partake in a spot of dainty refinement this month with my recipe for making traditional scones.

The quintessential English ritual that is Afternoon Tea is thought to have been invented by Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford in the early 1800’s. She was inclined to get a bit peckish mid to late afternoon, she described it as “having that sinking feeling”. When it got to around 3pm she just couldn’t wait until the customary 8 or 9pm for Dinner, so got into the habit of ordering tea, bread, butter and cakes to be served in her room. This was seen to be a splendid idea and it soon caught on, very soon it was deemed respectable enough for all fashionable society to indulge in Afternoon Tea.

This evolved into the “At Home”, which if you were the hostess involved receiving invited guests at your home and serving them with tea, cakes and sandwiches. Sometimes there would be entertainment, but mainly it was an opportunity to gossip. It was seen as the height of bad manners if you were invited and didn’t turn up. In etiquette ridden Victorian England the potential social pitfalls and need to try and outdo one another must have been a minefield to navigate. With this being a new social arena, the rules of engagement must have been very confusing, even the name wasn’t simple. The upper classes would have served a “Low” or “Afternoon tea” at around 3 to 4 pm just before it was fashionable to promenade in Hyde Park. The middle or lower classes would have eaten a more robust “High tea” at around 5pm in place of a late dinner. The names derive from how high your table was that you ate from – high tea being served at a proper dinner table.

A traditional afternoon tea consists of a selection of small finger size sandwiches to start, such as smoked salmon with lemon and black pepper, egg and cress and thinly sliced cucumber with cream cheese, all crusts removed please!

The second course is where your scones come in; scones are at their best freshly eaten on the day they are made, as they don’t keep very well. If serving with cream and jam you will need to let them cool down sufficiently in order for everything not to melt in a runny mess.

The final course would be a selection of gorgeous cakes .If you are going all out for the Victorian Afternoon Tea then a Victoria Sandwich is the way to go and if made well takes some beating. I’m a bit of a purest when it comes to a Victoria Sandwich, just a top quality homemade jam in the centre and a sprinkle of caster sugar on top; a good one doesn’t need anything else really.

In keeping with the Victorian theme you could perhaps go for having your own tea party next Wednesday 6th August to celebrate the Birthday of Lincolnshire’s world famous Poet Laureate, Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

He was born in the Rectory at Somersby on the Wolds in 1809 .Two of his most famous poems “The Miller’s Daughter” and “The Brook” are said to be connected to Stockwith Water Mill, which is a 17th Century Water Mill situated near Hagworthingham. The Millers Daughter is of special significance as it was this poem that first brought Tennyson to the attention of Queen Victoria, who later made him Poet Laureate after Wordsworth died. The Brook was inspired by the stream that starts in Holywell Wood on a hill above Somersby and meanders its way down past the Mill. He was so captivated by the sight and the sound of it that “The Brook” is forever immortalised in his poem.

I think it is remarkable that this man who grew up in a little rural hamlet in the Wolds went on to be the most notable poet of the Victorian era. There is actually a Tennyson Trail you can follow around the Wolds that takes in lots of local places of interest that are connected to him and his poetry. Local tourist information centres can give you information about it or search on the internet. www.lincstothepast.com is a really interesting website. We are so fortunate to have a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty in our county. I think that living here we sometimes just need reminding of what’s on our doorstep.

Sadie’s Summer Scones

Equipment – You will need a baking tray lined with baking parchment, a large mixing bowl, a broad bladed knife, 2 inch metal cutter, a pastry brush, measuring spoons, measuring jug, fork, rolling pin, scales, oven preheated to 220c

Ingredients

I use Bicarbonate of Soda and Cream of Tartar, rather than baking powder or self-raising flour, it gives a much better rise, but you must make sure that these are fresh for the best results.

• 8oz/225g Plain Flour
• 1tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
• 2 tsp Cream of Tartar
• 1 ½ oz /40g Block Stork Margarine (cut into small cubes)
• 1 oz/ 25g Caster Sugar
• Pinch salt
• ¼ pint/150ml buttermilk (you may need more depending on your flour)
• Extra buttermilk for glazing

Method

1. Put the lined tray into the oven to heat up as your oven is preheating
2. Sieve together the flour, bicarb and cream of tartar
3. Rub in the margarine until mixture resembles breadcrumbs
4. Stir in the sugar, salt and buttermilk
5. Work together with the broad bladed knife until the mixture is soft but not overly sticky. If you need to add a little bit more buttermilk do so, but only a little bit at a time.
6. When you are happy with your dough, sprinkle your hands with some flour and your work top and put the dough there, very lightly knead it to bring it together and make it smooth. Do not overwork the dough, it is the exact opposite of bread, handle it as little as possible.
7. Roll out to ¾ inch thick, don’t be tempted to do them any shallower as you won’t get a good rise.
8. I use a 2” metal cutter, try not to twist the cutter as you cut them out as that distorts how they rise.
9. Glaze carefully with your left over buttermilk, try not to get it down the sides as again it stops them rising so well.
10. Take out your preheated tray, pop your scones on, I put mine on quite close together. Put straight in the oven just above the centre tray. Bake for 7 to ten minutes, cool on a wire rack.
11. When cool enough, spread with jam and top with whipped cream, or the other way around, I’m not getting into that debate! Serve as part of a Summer Afternoon tea or on their own with a lovely pot of Ceylon.