Cibare 28

Editor’s Note

Well, that’s a wrap for the year. We started in lockdowns and we are finishing with changes of monarchy, Prime Ministers and having utterly thrown out our masks and into a recession. Great! And with that we are only online, totally free and here for you. As always, we are seasonal and try our best to bring you really tasty food that you can enjoy every day. Although we know that of course it’s the festive season but our recipes are for every day as they are filled with delicious, soups, salads, sides and general rainbow coloured happiness.

The entire Cibare team would like to send you all of our heartfelt gratitude for you reading our pages and cooking our recipes this year. We very much look forward to what next year will bring, what delights we will be inspired to bring you and hopefully a serious lack of butterboards!!! But a lot more cheese please!!! Love Your Editor of Food

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BITING BITING BY URVASHI ROE

By Despina Mina

Urvashi’s debut book ‘Biting Biting’ is a homage to her Gujarati family and to the western influences that surround her. It’s a combination of the food she grew up with, with an occasional modern European touch. I found a comforting affinity between Urvashi’s upbringing and my own, as my parents emigrated from Cyprus to the UK in the 1970’s due to the war between the Turkish and Greek inhabitants for ownership of the island. They initially lived with cousins, squeezed into a small London flat, found work and eventually moved into their own home. In a similar situation, Urvashi’s parents moved from their family’s adopted home of Tanzania to the UK, due to the African nationalist unrest bubbling away. Surrounded by their family who’d also made this big move, she spent her childhood with cousins, aunties and uncles, where I imagine it was much like my youth. Gossip, politics, tears of laughter and sorrow, children running riot, cooking smells

of her motherland and never an empty dinner plate. These are the precious memories that I hold close to my heart, and I get a sense that Urvashi does too.

As always when I start my reviews, I pick recipes that make up at least three courses. I’m often drawn to recipes that have familiarity to them, but I also like to pay attention to those dishes that are close to the author’s heart and discover why they’re important. So without further ado, I present to you a Gujarati style spread, brimming with nostalgia and flavour.

Mari Mogo (Black Pepper-Spiced Cassava) with Green Chilli Coriander and Coconut Chutney - I’ve earmarked heaps of recipes in the first chapter ’Beer Snacks’ but seeing as cassava is a relatively unfamiliar vegetable to me, I was curious to know what it tasted like. There are pros and cons to this: If I’ve never tasted it before, how do I know I’ve

Despina Mina

cooked it well? Judging by the photo, they look like chips, but do they taste like potatoes? Actually, they’re starchier and denser than a potato which makes them far more filling. This recipe requires them to be seasoned with plenty of lemon, salt, pepper and fresh coriander, so I didn’t notice the subtle sweet and nutty flavour that they’re known for. I served them with the green chilli, coriander and coconut chutney which has a stupendous kick and kept me going back for more. The chutney was especially delicious in my lunch time sandwiches, with leftover roasted chicken.

Naturally the next dish I wanted to try out was the Dhal. This is ‘the centre of the Gujarati universe’ as far as Urvashi is concerned, and who am I to argue! Traditionally eaten as a side dish, but for the purposes of this review I chose to make it the star of the show and keep it simple: topped with toasted seeds for a contrasting texture. As expected, it was extremely comforting with flavours that warm you from the inside out. I also tried my hand at making rotis, but to be honest (based on my previous bread efforts) I didn’t fancy my chances. After a promising start, puffing up as they took a hit of heat from the dry frying pan, they seemed thicker and smaller than I expected them to be. Having said that, they still tasted good and were gobbled up along with the dhal.

Another example of following a recipe where I’ve no idea of the desired outcome, is Burfi. In this case it’s the Millionaire’s Burfi, a fun take on the very delicious Millionaire’s Shortbread. As I didn’t know what Burfi tastes like,

I followed the recipe to the letter and found that I needed to add more milk in order to achieve what I thought was the soft and fluffy mixture expected. What I achieved was something similar to a crumbly fudge that was great with a cup of tea.

Perhaps living in multicultural north London made it easier to source all the ingredients, or maybe Urvashi took this all into consideration when compiling this book. I didn’t have any trouble finding the elements to these dishes - in fact, I think I found them all in my local supermarket. The recipes I’ve tried have been easy to follow, but in retrospect I would say trust your instincts. As with all recipes, they’re simply guidelines for you to adapt to your tastebuds. Some, like the roti, need practise to perfect but I think that’s part of the beauty of learning new techniques. An exciting cookery book should take you on food journeys with unexpected endings.

WORD PLAY CLAY

WORLD CHEESE AWARDS

By Eve Tudor

Wednesday 2nd November 2022

International Convention Centre Wales

4,434 cheeses from 42 countries 250 blind tasting judges from 38 different countries

The drive over to Wales on the morning of the judging was a long one but filled with excitement and absolute wonder of what on earth the day was going to be like.

But once I finally reached the Convention Centre, wearing my favourite Pickle jumper that I bought especially for the event as I wanted to pair with the cheese in a non-conventional fashion, I made my way to the judging room. I walked up the hallway to find all the entrances shut, and as I pulled the heavy door towards me, I found myself pulling the vast room of cheese into my face at the same time. And it was bliss. I breathed in deeply and smiled my best smile.

I’ll be honest, I was worried that I was going to be in a chamber that felt like a Stilton maturing room for the entire day, but instead I was greeted with this delightfully creamy aroma, infused with

a mature hum of quite basically… cheese. I could get seriously technical and say that I could pick out the different notes of this cheese and that, but truthfully as much as I envisaged that it was going to be quite pongy, it was amazing!! And I mean the kind of amazing that makes you hungry. ALL DAY LONG!!!

Now this day was really, really long. The judging started at 10am and all the judges were already there at their tables and in their teams, special aprons on, knives and noses at the ready. These guys are the best of the best in cheese. A mix of cheese mongers, cheese makers and chefs. They know their cheese, and I mean like no one else does.

Watching them was like watching a thought-provoking sport. The inspection of the cheese as a whole, the cutting and feel of the knife as it slices into its hard or soft textures. Then the things you can’t

Cibare Magazine

see. The judges are trained to be able to pick out each intricate and individual smell of the cheese even when the room is filled with so many other smells. Then of course they finally have to taste the cheese, analysing its delicious flavours, how it feels in their mouth and how long that flavour lasts on their palate. These flavours aren’t all punchy obvious ones, far from it. A lot of them are really delicate and it takes time.

This might all sound simple, but it takes years of training and understanding how the cheese is made to know the process of exactly what they can see, smell and taste. All that training has led them all to choose the best cheeses in the world for us to enjoy. After three hours of judging, the super jury takes over and its members whittle the huge number of super gold stars down to 16 and we watched the judging live as they gave us our world champion.

This year our WORLD CHEESE AWARDS Champion 2022 is Le Gruyère AOP. This cheese ‘blew the judges away!’ All the judges that I spoke to who had tried it said that it was absolutely delicious, and clearly exceptional in its flavours.

I have to say that the day was long, and honestly it was filled with excitement: because it was a competition, there were a lot of cheese mongers there and they were all exuding camaraderie as well as they congratulated each other on all their wins! Lots of Gold, Silver and Bronze stars went out too!! All of which are high accolades in the cheese industry. But it was lovely to see the sportsmanship (or if you want to call if that, cheesemanship?) with the love that was in the room. There

was a lot of love in the room. Almost as much as there was cheese…

Just so you know, although us Brits didn’t get the World Cheese Champion Award, we did pretty well!! We got 148 awards just for us. We are pretty amazing at making cheese too!

MAPLE AND HARISSA ROASTED RAINBOW CARROTS

By Sofia Gallo

This recipe serves two as a side dish

Ingredients:

Rainbow carrots - about 8/10 medium to large 2 tbsp harissa paste 4 tbsp maple syrup - you can use honey instead if you prefer 2 tbsp olive oil seasoning to taste To serve: 1 Burrata

Topping of choice between Urfa biber (dried Turkish chilli pepper) or sumac

Method:

Preheat your oven to 200°C.

Mix together the maple syrup, olive oil, harissa paste and seasoning in a bowl.

Rinse and trim the carrots. Depending on the skin you may want to peel them

and cut the larger ones lengthwise. If you are using a bunch of fresh ones, use the tips later as a condiment.

Place the carrots in a roasting tray and cover them with the syrup. Use your hands to make sure the carrots are completely coated.

Roast the carrots until slightly caramelised, this should take no longer than 30 minutes.

Whilst the carrots are roasting, prepare the topping. Place the burrata in a bowl and, using a fork, break it almost to a soft whipped consistency.

Once the carrots have cooled slightly, serve these with the burrata and top with your preferred spice.

Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

HEARTY MINESTRONE

By Dani Gavriel

Ingredients

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 large white onion, finely chopped

1 carrot peeled and finely chopped

3 sticks of celery, finely sliced

1 tin of chopped tomatoes

1 pint of stock of your choice

1 tsp dried mixed herbs

1 tsp dried oregano

1 courgette cut into small chunks

2 leeks peeled and cut into small chunks

½ head of broccoli, cut into small florets

2 large potatoes peeled and chopped into small chunks

1 cup of frozen peas

½ Savoy or sweetheart cabbage, shredded

1 can of mixed borlotti and cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup of small pasta shapes

Parmesan grated, to taste Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste Sliced and deseeded fresh red chilli (optional)

Method

Add the extra virgin olive oil into a saucepan and add the chopped onion, carrot and celery: fry gently until softened.

Add the tin of chopped tomatoes and then add your chosen stock. Add the dried herbs and then the potatoes and other hard vegetables and bring the mixture to a simmer. Cook for a few minutes and then add all the soft vegetables.

Add the beans then the pasta. Cook until the pasta and all the hard vegetables have softened and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Serve topped with grated parmesan cheese and the optional chilli.

CELERIAC AND POTATO GRATIN

By David J Rickett

Ingredients:

1 medium sized celeriac

6 medium sized Maris Piper potatoes

850ml double cream

110g unsalted butter

8 large garlic cloves

1 small bunch of fresh thyme

1 block gruyere cheese

1 block parmesan cheese

1 tsp ground nutmeg Salt

Method:

Peel the eight garlic cloves, then lightly crush them with the back of a chef’s knife so that each clove is still almost intact but is broken slightly.

Place the garlic cloves, 6 sprigs of thyme and the butter into a saucepan and gently cook until the garlic is golden. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes.

In the meantime, peel the potatoes and the celeriac and thinly slice (about 1/3 of a centimetre) using a sharp knife or mandolin.

Pour the double cream into the saucepan with the garlic, butter and thyme and stir thoroughly. Cook on a very low heat for about 15 minutes to allow the cream to take on the flavour of the garlic and thyme. Season with about ½ tsp of salt.

Pass the mixture through a sieve into a pouring jug.

Take a pie dish (or oven proof pan) and make one layer of the potato and celeriac. Sprinkle that layer with a little salt, some fresh thyme leaves and a thin grating of the Gruyere cheese. Then pour on some of the butter/cream mixture so that it just about submerges the potatoes and celeriac.

Repeat the last step until you have run out of the cream/butter mixture or the potatoes/celeriac.

When you have finished the final layer, cover this with a generous grating of Gruyere followed by a very generous grating of the Parmesan (there’s no such thing as too much cheese!). Then finally sprinkle the nutmeg evenly over

the top of the gratin (don’t overdo it with nutmeg).

Cover the gratin with foil and bake at 160C (fan) for roughly 60 minutes. To check the gratin is done, take it out of the oven, peel back the foil and you

should be able to slide a blunt knife right to the bottom of the pie dish with little resistance. Once the gratin has reached this stage, place the gratin back in the oven without the foil and cook until the top has browned nicely.

TOM ZAB MOO (SPICY PORK SOUP)

By Ying Bower

Ingredients

200g of pork sirloin or shoulder of pork

(I prefer the shoulder as it is juicier)

Half of a large onion

2 large tomatoes

3 Bird’s Eye chillies

3 tbsp of fish sauce

1 pork stock cube

3 tbsp of lime juice

1 lemongrass stalk

3 lime leaves

Method

Dice the pork into bite sized cubes Chop onion and tomatoes into medium chunks and finely slice the lemon grass and the chillies.

Boil 300ml of water then add the cubed pork with the lemongrass and the pork stock cube.

Return to a rolling boil over a medium heat for at least 30 minutes, then add the onion, tomatoes and chillies.

Leave the soup to boil for another 5 to 10 minutes then remove from the heat.

Add the fish sauce, lime juice and lime leaves, then garnish the soup with chopped fresh coriander.

WINTER VEGGIESSQUASH

By Emma Sousa

Squash is such a great and versatile winter veggie. It can be used in everything from soups to curries to roast dinners - and it’s packed full of vitamins and antioxidants as well as being rich in potassium, magnesium and manganese and packed with fibre. Squash is good for gut health, skin health, hair and nails… you name it! This colourful and vibrant winter staple is one you should definitely be adding to your shopping list. Here are a couple of my favourite recipes which are warming and hearty. The Hasselback Squash makes a great centrepiece to a vegan roast and the additional of chilli flakes gives it a bit of a kick if that’s your thing. You can play around by adding different seasonings and herbs depending on what’s growing in the garden or what’s stored in the cupboard. The nutritional yeast in the risotto makes it really creamy and gives it that Parmesan flavour - and it’s super good for you too. I usually add air fried asparagus to top off my risotto, but you could add any vegetable that you prefer such as broccoli or spinach…the more

veggies the better. Vegan Butternut Squash Risotto

Ingredients

1 medium butternut squash

2 cups Arborio rice

3 cloves of garlic

1 medium onion Olive oil (for roasting the squash) 50g vegan butter Salt and pepper

2 heaped tablespoons of nutritional yeast Fresh sage leaves (dried sage is fine if you don’t have fresh)

Chopped chives

1 bunch of asparagus 100 ml of white wine Approx 1 ltr of vegetable stock

Method

Cut the squash in half, coat it with olive oil and roast in the oven for 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and, using a vegetable peeler, remove the skin then cut the flesh into 1 cm cubes.

Drizzle the cubes with olive oil, salt and pepper and roast for a further 15 minutes or until soft.

Heat the plant-based butter in a pan on a low temperature then add chopped garlic and onions and gently cook until soft.

Add the rice and gently stir it in the melted butter until it becomes slightly translucent.

Add the white wine and allow the rice to absorb it. If you prefer not to use wine, you can add an additional 100ml of vegetable stock instead. Keep the vegetable stock at a very gentle simmer on the hob.

Keep stirring and add the rest of the liquid in small cupfuls, allowing it to be absorbed by the rice each time, when you should add the next cupful. Do not let the rice dry out and keep stirring continually. Use a little boiling water in addition to the stock if the rice is not cooked when you have used all the stock. When the rice is cooked (this should take around 20 to 30 minutes) add the nutritional yeast and stir it in. Then gently fold in the roasted squash cubes, without breaking it down. Roast or air fry the asparagus (optional) and serve on top of the risotto with a sprinkling of chopped chives. Serve immediately with a crisp side of salad or steamed veggies.

Vegan Hasselback Squash

Ingredients

1 medium butternut squash

3 tbsp of olive oil

50 grams of vegan butter

2 tbsp of maple syrup

3 tbsp of soy sauce

Freshly ground black pepper

Fresh sage leaves (dried sage is fine if you don’t have fresh) Rosemary

Chilli flakes (optional) Crushed garlic cloves Method

Cut a medium sized squash in half lengthways. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes and then remove from the oven and place the two halves on a flat surface

Place two chopsticks or thin chopping boards either side of the squash and carefully cut along the entire length (slice side to side, not top to toe) of the squash into thin slices - the thinner the better. The chopsticks/boards are there to prevent you slicing the entire way down, so that the squash remains intact Mix the olive oil, soy sauce, butter, pepper, herbs and chilli flakes (if required) in a bowl: melt the butter for 15 seconds in the microwave first. Drizzle just over half of the mixture over the squash and place it back in the oven to roast until soft (around 20 minutes). When cooked take the squash out of the oven, season it with more black pepper and drizzle the rest of the liquid over the top.

This dish works as a main for a vegan roast, as a side dish or accompanied by rice or quinoa and salad

TOMATO AND ONION SHAAK

By Urvashi Roe

In Sanskrit saka means ‘vegetable’, but in Gujarati it is the word we use for ‘curry’. Depending on which part of Gujarat you are from, you might say shaak or saak. My family all say shaak. It can be dry or with sauce, and it can feature a stuffed vegetable, a single vegetable or a combination of vegetables.

Usually on weekdays we have one shaak with roti. On a weekend or at family functions we may have a few more.

When I have a bare fridge and am not in the mood for a complex cook, this is my go-to recipe. It is guaranteed to fill the kitchen with a wonderful aroma and bring warmth and comfort at this time of year. It’s fast to make and you can eat it unceremoniously with your fingers on cold leftover rice, crusty day-old bread or even in a sandwich. You can omit the ghee but I find it adds a velvety, buttery sheen, making this dish one you’ll want to lick off your plate.

I was late planting tomatoes this year and so of course I had a glut of green ones at the end of the summer. Some of them

ripened well in the greenhouse but most stayed green so this Shaak has been on our menu a lot lately!

Ingredients

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 tbsp ghee

2 tsp mustard seeds

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 large onions, thinly sliced

2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp amchur

1 tsp salt

2 cloves garlic, grated (optional)

4 large tomatoes, halved and cut into 2cm slices

Method

Heat the vegetable oil and ghee in a wok or large saucepan until the ghee has completely melted and has started sizzling. Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and allow them to fizzle and pop for a few seconds. Quickly add the sliced onions and sauté them briefly so they are well coated. Add the chilli powder, turmeric, ground cumin,

amchur and salt and then toss well so everything is thoroughly combined. Add a shot glass of water and the garlic if you are using it, cover and cook for five minutes on a medium heat until the onions are just starting to soften.

Take a moment here to inhale the aromas and commend yourself for making this epic dish.

Carefully fold in the tomatoes, then cover and cook for a further two minutes so the tomatoes are soft but still retain their shape. Eat immediately!

This recipe is extracted from Urvashi’s debut cookbook Biting Biting, published by KitchenPress. https://www. kitchenpress.co.uk/portfolio-item/ biting-biting-snacking-gujarati-stylecook-book-urvashi-roe/

FERMENTED CARROT SOUP

This time of year is my absolute favourite. Its ingredients, root vegetables and brassicas are just waiting to be transformed into something special. Autumn is fantastic for getting out into the mud and hunting down those ever-elusive mushrooms such as ceps and chanterelles, but if you can’t get out there to find them, they can get a bit pricy to buy in the markets. We are all feeling the pinch from the current situations that seem to keep battering only us, the consumers, and not the people in charge. So spending a little extra on certain things like seasonal mushrooms just isn’t practical for some people.

As the days grow colder and darker, the leaves start to change colour and fall, and the grey drizzle of rain doesn’t show signs of ever letting up, what could be more comforting then being wrapped up inside with a warm bowl of soup to make all those things just melt away, at least until the bottom of the bowl. Which is why I’ve chosen for this issue

By Anthony Raffo Cibare Magazine

of Cibare to share a recipe of just that - a warming bowl of carrot soup. A humble ingredient which is at its peak right now, so that everyone has in their mind’s eye that bright autumnal orange colour with a crisp snap and a crunchy, naturally sweet flavour and mouth feel. We could just leave it at that right? A steaming bowl of creamed carrot soup maybe with a little garnish of parsley. But where’s the fun in that? At my restaurant I play around with lacto fermentation a lot: I love the way it can transform the flavour of produce such as carrots with cheap ingredients that we all have readily available at home, simply salt and water. So here is my recipe to you, the reader, for my Lacto Fermented Carrot Soup that I’m actually serving on the menu at Anglo Restaurant as a warm and welcoming autumnal second snack. It’s sharp, moreish, comforting and simply yummy. Easy and cheap to make so enjoy!

For the fermented carrots:

Ingredients:

8 large carrots

Table salt - 2% of the weight of the prepared carrots Water

Method:

Peel carrots and chop roughly into pieces. Weigh carrots and then add 2% of said weight of table salt. Place both into a jar and fill the jar with water. Leave for around two to three weeks at room temperature.

For the fermented carrot soup:

Ingredients:

540g fermented carrot juice 140g unsalted butter 200g double cream 20g caster sugar 12g table salt 40g lemon juice

Method:

Drain the carrots from the brine and pass through a juicer. Put the resulting juice into a pan with the butter, double cream and sugar. On a medium to low heat slowly stir until the butter and sugar has dissolved fully. Do not boil. Add lemon juice and salt to season. Stir well and enjoy.

FLAVOUR FRED

By George Fredenham

My interest in flavour, particularly wild flavour, started very early on in life. I remember many days when I was very young spent picking blackberries and making cakes or sweets with my Nan. Also watching my mum make jams and jellies from what was grown in the garden, more often than not tended to by my dad, who to this day loves gardening. There was always a job in the garden to do or even making food for my parents or four siblings. I guess I was very lucky as to where I grew up as there was a lot to do outdoors, but it wasn’t until I had started working in my twenties that I realised how much those early years inspired me.

As a child I was always getting my hands dirty and, when out for dinner, I would ask for the most elaborate item on the menu. I remember in France, at the age of six, having no fear of many of the items on the menu whilst everyone else ordered burger and chips. After school and university, I spent about eight years working in an arena decided upon by a degree in Business Studies. I didn’t have a clue why I took the university place, nor did I know what I wanted to do but due than the lack of grades I had very

few options. I ended up working in a sales role, travelling to various countries talking about business strategy. Initially this was incredibly rewarding as I was good at the selling bit and financially, I lucked out. Many weeks I would be in three different countries by myself, so I was spending time working hard but also rewarded myself with eating out or enjoying street food. I really travelled around quite a lot and eventually it took its toll. I was extremely unhappy and whenever I could, I ended up spending time outdoors whether it was in the woods or by the coast, but most of it on my own. My head felt like it had exploded in the end and that was that for me - I just quit my job and spent six months not working.

By this time, I had started cooking for friends and with no experience I offered to work for free in a bunch of restaurants. No one took me on, so I started working on market stalls and this blossomed into an area I enjoyed, making jams and chutneys to sell alongside breads and some ferments. At this point I was foraging for a lot of the ingredients but also taking inspiration from my travels. It went well and after a while a I met a

friend of a friend who had an empty pub. I eventually rented this with my brother’s (now) fiancée’s dad Gerald and my brother Ed. Ed was probably the one everyone else expected to go into the food industry and indeed he did - or should I say we did. The Foragers @ The Verulam Arms ran for ten years but sadly went out of business in 2019. During its lifetime, we turned a back street pub into a thriving wild food venue serving wild brew, alcoholic infusions and food along with experiences from foraging courses to immersive weekends away on remote Scottish islands.

Losing the pub was yet another big hit so I decided to leave my issues behind and learn some more. I also didn’t want to deal with money for a bit too. I left the UK with my partner Emily and our dog and travelled whilst working for food and board in various Eastern European countries. My aim was to gather more knowledge and help with eco-projects, whether it was cooking or physical labour, with like-minded individuals. Loved it and couldn’t recommend it enough. Here I learnt so much about wild flavour infusions using fruits, bitter herbs and much more. This really inspired my range of drinks. I also tried my first fermented pinecone syrup which to this day I cannot believe I didn’t try to make until recently - I make a fermented noble fir cone syrup right now which is an incredibly powerful syrup with great complexity in its flavours.

As a part of our trip, we stopped in Slovakia and briefly visited Austria where we had spätzle, which I also served on the menu at the pub, as many of my trips were to Germany. Now we are plant-based at home and in this issue of

Cibare I have included my favourite way to make it using pumpkin, its seeds and some spices for the season.

Picking sweet chestnuts whilst out walking simply reminded me of being back home as well, we certainly did that growing up. I vaguely remember a sweet chestnut butter with rum & vanilla. Incredible. I also remember cooking them on a fire on the end of a spade. These memories feed into everything I do now. The simple oven bake that is also featured is the kind of accompaniment and simple cooking I love at this time of year.

There was such an abundance of mushrooms whilst we were away that it was like a dream come true. But there were very few places to grab some spicier food especially when we were in more remote areas. So the recipe for the Wild Mushroom Bhaji is a really simple one and you can substitute different mushrooms depending upon the time of year. I remember making this in January with Jelly Ears and Oyster mushrooms whilst in autumn I used Girolles and various Boletus mushrooms, often shop bought ones too.

One thing really hit me whilst we were away. I enjoy being outdoors and learning new things and being with nature: back when we all started The Foragers we sat down and wrote out how we felt about the business and came up with some pillars to hold it all up. I still feel the same about them now as the day we wrote them down.

Wild Flavour

We like flavour to be natural, honest and with a bit of earth still on it. There are

Emma Croman

no convoluted supply chains here, and no air miles, only what’s real and what’s good.

Old Ways

We like to pick things from the ground and put them into our mouths because that’s what hands are for. We believe in hunting and gathering and feeding ourselves. Not so very long ago, human life depended upon a relationship with the natural world that has been almost lost today. We want that skill and knowledge back. We want to keep tradition alive. We want to survive the winter.

Resourcefulness

We like to rummage through the hedgerows like a child in a sweet shop, but we never take too much, and we’re always sure to make the most of what we take. We value the root as much as the bloom. We try to avoid waste in everything we do.

Spreading the Word

Most of all, we believe in the sheer joy of foraging. Share it with us! Wrap up warm and head into the forest, get mud under your fingernails. With our wild food banquets, walks, talks, demonstrations and expeditions, we want to find the natural forager in everyone.

CERLIAC, CHESTNUTS, SHALLOTS, THYME BAKE

By George Fredenham

This is really easy to do as long as everything is prepped, and it can just be put together and placed into the oven. These are very wintry flavours and this bake will also complement many other dishes as a side.

Prep time: 20 mins. Cook time: 45 mins. Serves 6

Ingredients:

400g or 2 large celeriac (peeled and cubed into ½ inch pieces)

250g cooked chestnuts

150g shallots (peeled and sliced in half)

10g thyme

15ml extra virgin olive oil

1g salt

1g ground black pepper

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Place the diced celeriac into a roasting tray. You will need to leave space so it can be tossed in the oil and seasonings and the other ingredients can be added, so don’t go more than halfway up the side of the tray. Add the olive oil, seasoning and mixed herbs, mix around and put into the oven, tossing occasionally during roasting.

After 20 minutes add the shallots, drained chestnuts and thyme then roast for a further 20 minutes, turning occasionally.

This is ready to serve, or it can be set aside and covered with foil so it can be reheated later.

Taste it before serving and add more seasoning if need be. Extra garlic can be added if you like but only roasted at the end to avoid burning.

TAOSTED NETTLE SPÄTZLE, SPICED PUMPKIN CREAM AND PUMPKIN SEEDS

By George Fredenham

Spätzle (German noodle) - not quite a dumpling and not quite pasta, Spätzle are a starchy Germanic delight. Traditionally they are egg noodles, but this has been made into a plant-based dish.

Ingredients

NETTLE SPÄTZLE DOUGH

500g strong white flour (spelt and ancient grain flours are wonderful and more textured)

500ml plant milk of your choice

200g nettles (you can use other greens or omit entirely)

80g semolina

5g salt

½ tsp Kala Namak (Himalayan black salt) 1 tbsp olive oil

PUMPKIN SAUCE

1 medium pumpkin 50ml olive oil 3 garlic cloves 50ml plant milk

2 lemons for zest and juice ½ tsp salt ½ tsp nutmeg (grated) ½ tsp cayenne pepper

OTHER 20g vegan butter 10ml olive oil

Method

NETTLE SPÄTZLE DOUGH

Utensils etc

- 1 deep pot of boiling salted water

- 1 large bowl of iced water

- Slotted spoon

- Potato ricer/colander

Pre-heat oven to 180°C to bake the pumpkin for 1.5 hours

Blitz the nettles into the milk. Once well blended the rest of the dough ingredients can be mixed into a batter. This should be loose enough to push through a potato ricer or dropped through a colander.

Fill a deep pot with salted water and bring it to the boil. If using the potato ricer, you can create nice noodles. If using a colander droplets shapes are the result. Both are fine but I prefer the noodle shapes. Once dropped into the boiling salted water they will start to float in a minute or two. Use the slotted spoon to remove them and transfer into the bowl of iced water to chill them down ready for use later.

This process means you can create quite a large volume if you want to. Strain the Spätzle well and mix in a bit of oil so it doesn’t stick together, then lay flat on a tray. The Spätzle can also be put into a tub in the fridge if preferred.

PUMPKIN PREPARATION

Utensils etc

Oven at 180°C 2 baking trays Blender

The baked pumpkin should be nice and soft all the way through. Cut the pumpkin open and scoop out the seeds. These can be cleaned in a colander and put back in the oven on a baking tray with some salt and a pinch of grated nutmeg and cayenne.

Scoop out the cooked pumpkin flesh along with the remaining ingredients

and blend till smooth. Keep checking on the pumpkin seeds and remove once browned and allow to cool.

BRINGING IT TOGETHER

Place a large frying pan on a medium to high heat and add the oil and butter. Once the butter has melted completely scatter the Spätzle and toast them in the pan. Once nicely toasted and crispy add them to the pumpkin sauce so that they are warmed through and place on plate. Decorate with toasted pumpkin seeds & chopped parsley.

WINTER ON THE PLOT

By Emma Sousa

Winter is a quiet time in the garden and at the veggie plot, and it can be a welcome change from all the hustle and bustle of Summertime when there always seems to be so much to do. The short days and the long dark nights tend to put people into hibernation mode when it comes to heading outside, but there is plenty to be getting on with. For the savvy gardener, it’s a great time to get ahead for the busy Spring season that’s just around the corner. On those bright crisp days get out into the fresh air and really knuckle down and get things prepared, especially before the ground gets too hard and frozen to work. You will feel all the better for it, and the sooner the better so you can soon put your feet up knowing everything is waiting for the first spring shoots to start to appear.

Clear any spent crops from beds and give them a quick weed, tidy bed edges and if you have been composting give the beds a good mulch. If you live in a wet clay area lift dahlia tubers around seven to ten days after the first hard frosts,

clean off the tubers and store for the winter. I store mine in cardboard boxes filled with wood shavings, but I have in the past wrapped them in newspaper or stored them in straw and they have been fine. As long as you check for any rot and remove diseased tubers partway through the winter, they will have a pretty good survival rate.

If you only grow a few dahlias in pots, then move these indoors into a greenhouse or shed/garage and they will be fine left overwinter. Because I grow on a larger scale any beds that I clear I cover with cardboard and mulch over the top - this saves so much time with weeding and the card breaks down over the winter ready for planting in the spring. For beds where I have perennial crops, I do my best to give them a tidy up and remove weeds, but I don’t worry too much about everything looking too neat and tidy. If you don’t compost (you should be) then buy in some topsoil, it’s worth it to ensure your soil health is tip top for the following season. But try not

Cibare Magazine

to buy in when you can get it for free by making your own, as discussed in my previous Cibare article on composting.

Don’t go mad with tidying up the garden at this time of year. Areas where there are leaf piles and log piles are a haven for wildlife, including hedgehogs, so it’s vital you don’t start tidying too much. Leave areas where animals can shelter undisturbed and don’t forget to leave out fresh water daily for the birds and any passing foxes. Some bird seed to feed the birds is good too as food is scarce at this time of year. Growing dense evergreen shrubs and trees in your garden will attract birds into the garden and is especially useful in the winter months when the leaves have dropped from most of the trees. Check and clean up tools and store them away for the winter, put away garden furniture or cover to protect it from the wet weather ahead.

Now is the time to plan the plot for next year if you haven’t already done so. Sit back with your seed catalogues and make a list of what you will grow. Don’t be tempted by those glossy images, only buy what you absolutely need and more importantly, what you will use. Each year I get tempted into buying seeds that I just don’t have the space to grow, or I grow some things that I just don’t use. Try and maximise your space no matter how small and utilise every centimetre. Think about crop succession where you have stepped sowing stages for crops or replace one spent crop with a new one. This takes some planning but once you get into the habit of doing it, it really does maximise your growing space and crop yield.

Where are you going to start your seeds? Do you have a greenhouse, or will you start seeds on the kitchen window ledge? Are you growing in pots on a balcony? If you don’t need lots of seeds look at a local seed swap scheme, most areas have one or contact your local allotment association and see if they have anything in place where you can swap seeds with fellow growers.

Quick check list of things to do: Prepare the plot before the busy spring season kicks in and before the weather gets too cold. Plan your plot and order in seeds ready to start sowing in the new year. Clean and store tools away for the winter. Wash out pots and seed trays to eliminate any diseases that may be lurking. Put away garden furniture to protect throughout the winter. Bring in vulnerable plants and lift pots off the ground to protect from water and frost.

Most importantly rest and relax. You have a busy season ahead so make the most of some down time!

THE INSIDER’S GUIDE TO GIFTING THE PERFECT CHRISTMAS HAMPER

By Katy Truss

Thinking of putting together a foodie hamper as a gift this year? I’ll let you in on some of my secrets, as a professional hamper creator for my business, Fabulous Food Finds. There’s an art to creating the right line up of products and making it beautiful without blowing the budget. Choosing the right mix of food and drink to go into your box is key: you want treats they can dive straight into, like chocolates or crisps, ingredients that they’ll keep going back to, condiments that perk up midweek meals, luxury store cupboard staples and goodies that get them talking and bring a touch of festive cheer.

First you need to decide whether you want to include anything fresh, or whether you’ll only include ambient products, that is, items that don’t need to be refrigerated. My advice is to keep

things simple and steer away from chilled products like cheese, meat or seafood. You can find some excellent charcuterie and pâtés that don’t need to be kept cold, and which make a great treat.

Here are a few of my favourite finds for this festive season that are ideal for hampers – so perfect that I’ve chosen them for the special festive edition of our Tasting Boxes.

I’m sure most home cooks worth their salt can ace a roast potato, but Ross & Ross Roast Potato Oil really does take roasties up a notch in the flavour stakes. With a Cotswold rapeseed oil base, you can bring your oil to a really high temperature before adding par-boiled potatoes. Infused with smoke, garlic and rosemary it adds a subtle umami flavour to roast potatoes without making them

PICTURE CREDITS: Katy Truss

too ‘non-traditional’ for the big day.

There’s no better way to fill the house with the smell of Christmas than by getting a bottle of wine (or two!), cider and apple juice on the hob (or in the slow cooker), gently infusing with mulling spices. The Spice Kitchen Mulling Spice Kit will prevent loved ones choking on chunks of cinnamon by using this handy teabag of glorious spices: mixed peel, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves and more. This would make a perfect stocking filler too.

With a lower sugar content than the mainstream versions, Puckett’s Pickles Cranberry, Clementine & Redcurrant Sauce tastes fresher and fruitier and would most definitely pass as homemade if that’s your goal. It’ll go really well with goose, turkey or duck and really is a festive must-have.

The Preservation Society’s Boozy Buttery Mincemeat does just what it says on the tin! Rich, fruity, buttery and boozy, this handmade mincemeat is full of juicy fruits, hazelnuts, spices and brandy. I often make a huge batch of mincemeat on Stir It Up Sunday, but this year I’m sticking to this beauty for pies, ice cream toppings, festive cupcakes or just straight from the jar.

Although alcohol can be a real treat for some, I tend to leave booze out of the boxes as so many people are cutting down these days. Miniatures would be a great addition if your budget is limited or just stick to some gorgeous soft drinks. I’m putting a mocktail and a luxury flavoured water into the Festive Box.

More ideas of products to include are some luxury artisan chocolate truffles, shortbread or festive spices like cinnamon or mixed spice. A fantastic jar of curry sauce will make a quick turkey curry on Boxing Day, and I’ve chosen a delicious one from Aagrah Foods. A wonderful chutney and some posh crackers will make a brilliant addition to any cheeseboard. How about pickled onions or pickled walnuts to go with cold meats and bubble and squeak, which is my Boxing Day tradition.

Then there’s the packaging. It’s easy to get tempted into all that glitters in the world of packaging, but if you’re buying for someone who really loves their food, they’ll appreciate substance over glitzy wrapping. Tissue paper inside a box with some coloured zigzag shredded paper looks great and, as they open the tissue paper, they’ll get the super surprise of what’s inside. Don’t forget to fill and pack your box so that your goodies don’t rattle around and get damaged and think about keeping any glass containers away from the corners where possible.

Finally, the postage. If you need to post your precious parcel, be sure to investigate your options well in advance of sending. I’ve wasted many hours and cried tears of frustration over deliveries: tipping over the weight limit, smashed glass, missing parcels and so on. In the past I’ve found Royal Mail to be the most reliable, but this year they’ve decided to add strikes into the mix which only adds to the overall fun! Wrap any glass with an extra layer of packaging than that which you first thought adequate, tape up your sturdy box really well and use fragile stickers all over the package: just

imagine how many times your parcel will be moved from van to conveyor and back again, dropped, kicked, poked and so on and prepare for the worst!

If you’re thinking that a hamper would make a great gift this Christmas, but you don’t need the hassle of sourcing the products and building your own, you may want to try one of the Fabulous Food Finds’ Festive Tasting Boxes. They’re packed full of fabulous foods and drinks and they come complete with a virtual tasting guide, in which I talk through all the products, how to use them, telling their stories and introducing some of the faces behind the brands too. A subscription to the quarterly Tasting Boxes would make the ultimate gift for the food love in your life. Find out more at www.fabulousfoodfinds.co.uk. Prices start at £39.95 including postage and packaging.

PICTURE CREDITS: Katy Truss

The Brum Beer Club Festive Social

I hurried through the twinkling lights of the bustling Christmas Market in pigeon park on a chilly December evening. My destination was the bright lights and clean lines of the shiny new North Brewing Co. taproom at Snow Hill.

There I attended my first Brum Beer Club, an informal collective of local beer lovers who meet regularly around the city. Their mission is a simple one. They bring together like-minded individuals through a love of great beer. Along the way, they support local bars, pubs and breweries through their regular jaunts and meet-ups.

Founded at the start of 2020 by Kimberley Owen, a social media manager, beer writer and Instagram legend, this is my kind of club. Planned drinking with people who share my love of beer is the dream. And this was a cracking start.

By Laura Hadland Cibare Magazine

The bar was bustling and loud. After introducing myself and enjoying some shouty chit chat with my fellow Beer Club attendees, we settled down for a tasting of some core beers from the Leeds craft masters. It was, in fact, so busy in the bar that the poor Rich, our guide, had to deliver his spiel about the beers at least three times so that we could all hear him.

Of the beers we sampled, Sputnik was my favourite. It was my favourite when I arrived too, so I felt vindicated in my life decisions. The 5% hazy American pale ale is dry hopped with modern classic US hops Ekuanot, Columbus and Citra. As you lift the glass to your face, a wave of fruity hop aromas fill the senses. When you drink, this soft, velvety ale fills your mouth too. It has beautiful body, strong flavours of mango and tangy grapefruit, all balanced with just the right amount of bitterness.

PICTURE CREDITS: Laura Hadland

Sputnik is a precisely crafted piece of beer engineering. Echoing the beer, the tap room is carefully considered, tied together with a motif of parallel diagonal lines which dart throughout the interior. Negronis are literally on tap and food comes courtesy of Little Bao Boy’s onsite kitchen. Honestly, they didn’t the best buns I’ve seen, so I gave it a swerve.

Simultaneously contemporary and cosy, this Snow Hill venue is a great spot to draw in commuters for postwork schooners. It’s notable that North have already lined up some wonderful collaborations with Midlands brewers to really integrate themselves with the

local scene. A what a scene it is. I hope to be a regular attendee to the Brum Beer Club from now on.

https://www.northbrewing.com/venue/ north-taproom-snow-hill/ https://www.instagram.com/ brumbeerclub https://www.instagram.com/ craftbeerpinup

PICTURE CREDITS: Laura Hadland

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