Eat Sussex Magazine

Issue 7 • November/December 2008

YOUR FREE COPY

ALDO ZILLI FEAST OF THE SEVEN FISHES

SEASONAL ALES We taste the best festive tipples

…AND The hens that got away P L U S : T he Gastro - Gno m e ’ s g uide to H O R S H A M

BA N G E R S & MASH

MADE W ITH‌

Harveys Be

st Sausage s from Holmansbri dge Farm S hop Potatoes fro m Park Farm Shop Tremains C heddar fro m High Weald Dairy Champag ne & Tarrag on Mustard by The Relish in Spice Co mpany Onions and

Greens from S.A. D eveson

LOCAL INGREDIENTS COOKED WITH PASSION Christmas Menu now available, phone 01273 607 765 for a copy

GOOD PUB FOOD RIGHT IN THE HEART OF BRIGHTON 1 2 5 G L O U C E S T E R R O A D B R I G H T O N . B N 1 4 A F T E L : 0 1 2 7 3 6 0 7 7 6 5 H E A D

C H E F :

S T E P H E N

A D A M S

THE EAGLE

Contents

Comment

CONTENTS

W

elcome to Issue 7 of Eat Sussex

and that time of year again.

It’s understandable with all the financial turmoil of the past year and the uncertainty of the coming one if some of us are approaching Christmas this year with less than the usual amount of enthusiasm. It all seems such a huge expense; every year the presents seem to have become more and more extravagant while the January credit card bills have grown longer. With the January sales now starting on Boxing Day, many retail staff barely get a day to spend with their family and for the rest of us, surely pushing a trolley around a shopping centre isn’t what public holidays were meant for. But Christmas never used to be like that.

In our interview, celebrity chef,Aldo Zilli, talks about childhood Christmases in Italy where presents didn’t feature at all. Instead, it was a time for families and friends to come together and enjoy each others’ company, to feast and to laugh and cherish a magical day off from the daily grind.And I’m sure many of our readers have many joyful memories of Christmases past, celebrations that were no less memorable for the absence of Sony Playstations, Xboxes or DVD Box sets.

I sometimes worry that in the rush to the supermarket, we’re in danger of forgetting how to have a feast in modern Britain; the simple but enormous pleasure to be had from a long and leisurely meal made with love and shared with the people we care about. For centuries this was the highpoint of the festive season and I think this might be the right time to put it back there.

So this Christmas, whatever the economic storms battering at the windows, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and let’s all hope for a peaceful and prosperous new year.

Tony Leonard, Editor.

03 Comment A few words from the editor.

05 News All the news that is fit to eat.

09 Column: Gilly Smith Gilly and the girls visit Hen Heaven.

10 In my own words Bek Misich & Paul Hutchinson, The Foragers Pub.

12 The chef and the showman Aldo Zilli talks exclusively to Eat Sussex and shares his recipes for a Feast of the Seven Fishes.

25 Peter Bayless: Something for the weekend Peter Bayless finds the best Christmas pudding he’s ever tasted.

Recipe Finder

28 Recipes: In Season Winter recipes by Stephen Adams.

39 The Gastro-Gnome’s Guide to Horsham The Gnome heads to the second best place in the UK (according to Channel 4).

45 Drink Sussex: Tis the season to be jolly David Furer tastes a selection of seasonal ales.

48 What’s on Farmers’ Markets all around Sussex.

50 Column: The Wild Side

by Fergus Drennan Fergus makes a foraged Christmas pudding.

Baked Stuffed Sardines...............................22

Mackerel with Mustard &

Braised Shin of Beef with Honey Roast Turnips...................................32

Lemon Butter...............................................13

Christmas Pudding Créme Brûlée............26

Oxtail Soup...................................................28

Christmas Pudding Fritters.........................26

Pork & Apple Pasties...................................29

Foraged Christmas Pudding......................50

Salmon & Crayfish Pie.................................32

Fried Lemon Sole with Tomato Sauce......18 Grilled Baby Squid with Sweet Chilli Sauce & Rocket..................................16

Southern Fried Rabbit.................................31 Spicy Roast Chicken....................................34

Grilled Dover Sole with Tomato and Pea Sauce.............................................21

Sweet Chestnut & Leek Risotto.................29

Grilled Sea Bream with Bay Leaves...........15

Turbot with Beetroot & Potato Rosti.........19

Lemon Posset with Passion Fruit...............37

Two-tone Chocolate Cheesecake.............37

TO SUBSCRIBE

To make sure you always get your copy of Eat Sussex Magazine, why not take out a subscription. For just £12.50 for six issues, you can have Eat Sussex delivered straight to your door. Just send a cheque, payable to Eat Media Ltd, to Eat Media, 13 Middle St, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1AL.

November/December 2008

3

Forth coming events

7EDDING RECEPTIONS BIRTHDAYS

Anniversaries, all parties

272 World tour

catered for.

Mexican menu Thursday 20th November 2008 £29.95 per person

Up to 70 guests.

For larger parties marquee available.

Christmas menus Two party menus available: three courses £30 or three courses £40

Individual menus designed

Restaurant

for your function from £25.00 per person

Traditional Sunday Lunch

Table D’hote Menu

£22.50 (£12.95 childs portion) For three courses

Two courses £13.50 Three courses £17.50

AA guide 2008

Tel: 01825 721272 s 7EB www.272restaurant.co.uk 20/22 High Street, Newick, East Sussex, BN8 4LQ

272 Restaurant HP 1008.indd 1

November/December 2008

Michelin guide

8/10/08 11:00:40

News

BACK TO SCHOOL

A

shdown

Cookery

School is a new cookery school based in Danehill, which specialises in one day hands-on courses using local and seasonal ingredients from Sussex. Courses are taught by professional chefs with a passion for good food.

The courses are small and informal with a maximum of eight participants so students can get all the individual attention they require.

Specialist courses range from Game Cookery and Credit Crunch Cooking, to Express Dinner Parties, Thai Cookery, and Men in the Kitchen. Course details can be found on the website www.ashdowncookeryschool.co.uk or call 01825 740770.

The Lighthouse Bakery School was founded by Rachel Duffield and Elizabeth Weisberg this year after previously running an awardwinning artisan bakery in Battersea.

Artisan baking uses no artificial enhancers,proofers or other chemicals, relying simply on skill and patience to produce loaves of amazing flavour, texture and superior nutritional value (look out for a special feature on artisan baking in a forthcoming issue).

A huge range of courses include an Introduction to Baking, Italian Baking,French Baking,Jewish Baking and, if you’re looking for a perfect gift but can’t decide which course would be best, gift vouchers are available.

Details of courses can be found at www.lighthousebakery.co.uk or phone 07946 530 969

Congratulations

It’s congratulations to High Weald Dairy again after they received six awards at the British Cheese Awards 2008. Organic Ashdown Foresters Smoked won a Gold and won its class of Best Flavour Added Cheese. Organic Ashdown Forester, Tremains Organic also scored Golds while Sussex Slipcote and Saint Giles were awarded Bronze. (www.highwealddiary.co.uk).

Swap shopping to beat the recession

Beverley and Luke Randall operate a unique swapping system at their shop, Passing Buys in Eastbourne where gardeners and allotmenteers can bring in their surplus fruit and veg and exchange them for cash or swap them for other groceries.

The shop started started with a small quantity of locally-grown vegetables in June and now stocks organic and pesticide-free fruit and vegetables, cakes, biscuits, milk, cheese, ice cream, preserves, meat and game, all from the local area. “We just started telling people, if you grow too much, bring it to us and we’ll pay you for it,” Luke told the BBC. “But some people said they didn’t want money but they really wanted a cucumber, potatoes or carrots.”

And so the idea for the swap shop was born.

Passing Buys is at 46 Ocklynge Road, Eastbourne, East Sussex, BN21 1TN.

Hand-made Chocolates and Confectionery Celebrating 60 years of hand-made, quality English chocolates.

www.audreyschocolates.co.uk HOVE Telephone 01273 735561 28 Holland Rd, Hove, East Sussex. BN3 1JJ

Audrey's Chocolates HP 1108.indd 1

BRIGHTON Telephone: 01273 325826 16 Regent Arcade, Brighton, East Sussex. BN1 1HR

November/December8/10/08 200813:50:21

5

News

Dates for your diary Saturday 1st November

Sunday 23rd November

Diwali, Celebration

Stir-up Sunday

The Indian Summer chefs will create a traditional Diwali menu of Gujurati dishes and Indian sweets accompanied by live music, dancing and fireworks.

Special set menu: £20.00 per head (booking: 01273 841489). The Summerhouse Restaurant, Hassocks Golf Club, London Rd, Hassocks, East Sussex, BN6 9NA.

A focus on Victorian Christmas puddings and cake-baking for Christmas. 11am to 4pm. Tickets: £4.50 to £8.50, underfives free (booking 01243 811348).

Weald & Downland Open Air Museum, Singleton, Chichester, West Sussex, PO18 0EU.

Sunday 2nd November

Diwali Celebration Live music, dancing and the annual Diwali Quiz. Special set menu: £19.95 per head (booking: 01273 711001).

Indian Summer, 69 East St, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1HQ. Friday 7th November

Sevendials Restaurant’s Seventh Birthday Sam Metcalfe is celebrating seven years since him and his family took over a former Burger King and created a Brighton dining institution with a Seven Sins Menu, of seven sumptuous courses. In addition, there’s a Seven Menu running all through November with each course costing £7. Seven Sins Menu: £49 per head (booking: 01273 885555). Sevendials Restaurant, 1 Buckingham Place, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 3TD Wednesday 12th November

Harveys meets Real Eating Harveys Head Brewer, Miles Jenner and the Real Eating Company Executive Chef, Steve Beadle, match beers with food for this four-course meal and tasting. 7.15pm for 7.30pm. Tickets: £30 per head (booking: 01273 402650). The Real Eating Company, 18 Cliffe High St, Lewes, East Sussex, BN7 2AJ. Thursday 13th November

Slow Food Brighton & Lewes Tutored Beer Tasting

6

Saturday 29th November

Open Day at Clayton Organic Farm Hen on the Gate Farm Shop will opening the gates at Clayton Farm to visitors for an annual Christmas celebration of local farming. Come along for a sizzling lunchtime barbeque of home produce, a farm trail(remember your wellies) and a chance to sample their delicious range of home-produced, award-winning meats and to place your order for your best ever Christmas turkey! 10am to 4pm. Hen on the Gate, Clayton Farm, Newick Lane, Mayfield, East Sussex, TN20 6RE. Sunday 30th November

The Lighthouse Bakery School ‘At Home’ at Much Ado Books Rachel Duffield and Elizabeth Weisberg ran the famous Lighthouse Bakery in Battersea before bringing their expertise and passion to the Lighthouse Bakery School. Come along and meet a pair of experts whose commonsense advice can make all the difference to your own efforts in the kitchen, sample their delicious baking and learn about their recommended cookery books as well. 4pm to 6pm.

Much Ado Books, High St, Alfriston, East Sussex, BN26 5TY. Saturday & Sunday 6th & 7th December

The Great Dixter Christmas Fair

7.30pm. Tickets: Slow Food members £5, non-members £10 (booking: John Kenward 01273 476444 or john. kenward@gmail.com). The Butlers Wine Cellar, 247 Queens Park Rd, Brighton, East Sussex BN2 9XJ

Christmas fair set in the stunning house and grounds of Christopher Lloyd’s famous home with stall-holders chosen for quality and originality, with a strong emphasis on local produce. 10am to 4pm. Entrance: £5 (Under 16s free).

Great Dixter, Northiam, Rye, East Sussex, TN31 6PH.

In season now Apples Beetroot Celeriac Chestnuts Duck Guinea Fowl Jerusalem artichoke

Leeks Parsnips Pears Swede Turnips Quince Venison

E AT M E D I A LT D

ADVERTISING SALES

13 MIDDLE STREET, BRIGHTON,

Emma Andrews

EAST SUSSEX. BN1 1AL

Tel: +44 (0)1273 579485

TEL: +44 (0)1273 302968 FAX: +44 (0)1273 272643

Email: emma@eatsussex.co.uk EDITORIAL

www.eat-media.co.uk

Tony Leonard

www.eatsussex.co.uk

Tel: +44 (0)1273 302968

Eat Sussex Magazine: ISSN 1756-3003

Email: tony@eatsussex.co.uk

November/December 2008

Sussex Spice The Chilli Pickle Bistro is a new restaurant in Brighton serving authentic recipes from India and Nepal, many made using Sussex ingredients. Coconut Pepper Crab using Hastings crab, Oxtail Madras with Sussex beef and Whole Shoulder of Mughlai Lamb with Romney Marsh lamb are a few of the specialties while a lighter daytime menu has an emphasis on regional street food to be mixed, matched and shared. The Chilli Pickle is at 42 Meeting House Lane, Brighton, BN1 1HB or go to www.thechillipicklebistro.co.uk for more details.

Love The Rainforest

Joining the considerable ranks of Sussex’s quality chocolate makers is Leah Star and her complementary companies, Love Chocolate and Love Chocolate Cakes. Leah’s products use raw cacao along with natural fruit and flower syrups instead of processed sugar as a sweetener. Cacao, the chocolate bean, contains more than 300 natural chemical compounds and has more antioxidants than green tea. It is a source of magnesium, phosphorous, proteins, fats, calcium, iron, thiamine, carotene and riboflavin, however many of its nutritional benefits as a ‘superfood’ are lost through heating above 42°C. And Leah insists that her chocolate bars are good for the planet as well with 100 per cent of profits invested in protecting the rainforest. Love Chocolate and Love Chocolate Cakes are available in all good health and wholefood shops in Sussex or phone 01892 610 887 for availability.

WIN A SIMPLY SUSSEX HAMPER

The Real Eating Company is offering readers of Eat Sussex Magazine a chance to win a Simply Sussex Christmas H a m p e r, packed with goodies from all your favourite local producers and worth £75. Like the others in their range, the Simply Sussex Hamper will make an ideal present for family, friends or to enjoy yourself. To enter, simply email competition@eatsussex.co.uk or send a postcard to Competition, Eat Media Ltd, 13 Middle St, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1AL with the answer to the following question: Which branch of the Real Eating Company is not in Sussex?

Entries must be received by Friday 21st November 2008, and the winner will be drawn from a hat.

PRODUCTION Dean Cook Tel: +44 (0)1273 467579 Email: dean@eatsussex.co.uk P U B L I S H E R Dominic McCartan Tel: +44 (0)1273 302968 Email: dominic@eatsussex.co.uk P R I N T E D B Y Warners Midlands

© 2008 Eat Media Limited.

All rights reserved. Eat Sussex Magazine is edited, designed, and published by Eat Media Limited.

No part of Eat Sussex Magazine may be reproduced, transmitted, stored electronically, distributed, or copied, in whole or part without the prior written consent of the publisher. A reprint service is available.

Opinions expressed in this journal do not necessarily reflect those of the editor or Eat Sussex Magazine or its publisher, Eat Media Limited.

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November/December 2008

Trinity Wholefoods Co-operative invites you to take the stress out of Christmas with a great selection of food and gift ideas under one roof with individual attention from our friendly and knowledgeable staff. s &OUR DELIVERIES WEEKLY OF FRESH ORGANIC FRUIT AND VEGETABLES s ,OCAL ORGANIC BREAD DELIVERED DAILY s $ELICIOUS 4RINITY MADE TAKE AWAY FOOD s %XTENSIVE SELECTION OF dried goods s #HILLED AND FROZEN VEGETARIAN AND VEGAN FOODS

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9/10/08 17:17:54

Indian food as you’ve always wanted it to be

Book now for Christmas & New Year Momos Tandoori Partridge Bombay Duck Yam Curry with Banana Dosa Thali Veg Tandoori Wild Boar Maple Gulab Jaman Crab & Codfish Shami Kebab Hare Tikka Luxury Loose Teas Belgian Beers Original IPA Wines We cater for parties of up to 50 The Chilli Pickle 42 Meeting House Lane Brighton House BN11HB

Daytime menu 11.30–5.00 Dinner 6.30–10.30 Closed Tuesday

Telephone: 01273 323 824 www.thechillipicklebistro.co.uk

Gilly Smith

Fowl play Gilly Smith attempts to recapture her foodie childhood as she spurns the supermarket and takes her daughters Ellie (13) and LouLou (10) deep into the forests, farms and seas of Sussex to find their food.

I

’ve got a confession. I

killed a chicken.

Now, I know that millions of people do this every day. Children do it at Indian picnics after lugging the birds along with all the other local, seasonal goodies to a family do in some beauty spot in the Himalayas, but my meat was murdered by a townie in a panic rather than a kid in touch with his food.

I had always wanted to live with chickens. In fact, when we were pondering the pros and cons of moving out of Brighton into a community of 22 families in the middle of nowhere, it was the chicken club that clinched the deal.

My mother’s tales of popping out the back to get some eggs from Hetty and Betty for tea had been a soundtrack to my childhood memories of Granddad’s fruit and vegetable garden where runner beans would snake up smart lines of canes beyond the rows of potatoes, lettuce, beetroot, onions and radishes and the bushes of redcurrants, apples and gooseberries with the smell of Felinfoel Ale wafting over the garden wall from the brewery next door.

Years later, as I watched my own kids skip down supermarket aisles of featherless, skinless, soul-less shrink-wrapped fowl, I dreamed of my granddad’s chickens and of giving my girls a basket of corn to scatter among our own free-range girls and marvelling at the deep gold of the yolks compared to the pale yellows of their battery cousins. Even Ellie, my vegetarian animal activist, eats eggs. I couldn’t fail.

The moment when the kids first lifted the lid on that egg box to find Hetty XXXVII looking at us with a mix of pride and suspicion and scooped her up to find a clutch of freshly laid eggs, I felt that my job as a mother was

done. I was Barbara Good and this was the life. As the years rolled by, our waste was reduced to virtually nothing as the 20 hens devoured our leftover pasta and peelings, speeding towards us like something out of Looney Tunes to see what was in the pot. Unfortunately we weren’t the only ones to become misty-eyed at the sight of a freeroaming chicken and, in similarly cartoon style, Foxy Loxy ran off with all but two.

So when Poppy, our newlyrescued Springer scampered off into the woods last Saturday morning and returned with Hetty in her mouth, proudly dropping her at my feet, I was appalled.

Hetty had flown the coop, leaving Betty alone behind the electric fence. My mind was spinning.

Poppy’s soft retrieving mouth is not designed to kill, but at 7.30 in the morning, someone might see us with a chicken and think the worst. I put her back in the coop, madly thinking that it would look like Foxy-Loxy had decided he was full. She looked at me like someone from Rotherham looks at a London TV researcher and I picked her up again to inspect the flesh wound, furtively scanning the meadow for any witnesses. I would have to put her out of her misery.

A quick twist of her neck spun me out about the fragility of life before the next dilemma flooded my hazy brain. Surely I couldn’t

eat her? Surely I should eat her?

Readers, the shocked expressions of the people to whom I have related the end of this story prevent me from doing it again here.

One of those expressions came from Linda Turvey at Hen Heaven, a rescue farm in Henfield (no, really) for end-of-lay hens and a handful of cockerels which wellmeaning townies have given to their newly rural mates before checking the packaging, if you know what I mean.

The kids were clucking over Matilda and her chicks, Milly,Tilly and Lily and Peter the shoulderperching cockerel as Linda showed us around the 500 or so chickens that live out their days with her.

“People don’t think,” she muttered, as she told us how she had spent the last 40 years clearing up the mess left by shallow consumers and city folk playing farmer. “I got Avril and her husband George after a family moved out of their manor house to go back to the city, leaving the elderly cat and the chickens.The estate agent rang me and said that if I couldn’t have them, they’d be put down.”

At Hen Heaven, ex-battery birds, de-beaked and often featherless after stress-pecking by their fellow hens join back-garden and smallholding hens to roam in total freedom around the farm, often laying well into their dotage under the TLC of their devoted

Linda.“This old speckled hen was replaced when she stopped laying and was then badly pecked by the new hen,” she told us, picking up the old dear’s still-warm egg. “I gave her some limestone grit as soon as she got here and she’s been laying for the past five years.” Lucky really as apart from donations, eggs provide the only income at Hen Heaven. “I could have given that one to those people who came this morning from Ealing,” she chuckled, looking remarkably similar to the Old Speckledy.

“I do wish people would ring before they come, especially at this time of year when they don’t lay as much.”

While we were chuckling, I told her the story of Poppy and the chicken. Her face fell and the place became eerily silent. Ellie was standing beside Linda now, their vegetarian solidarity failing to see the funny side. “A bit of arnica on the wound and some rescue remedy would have had her right as rain in no time,” she told me as she showed me to the gate.“Yeah Mum,” sneered Ellie and sulked all the way home.

I thought of Hetty in that wheelie bin and wondered if I could have eaten her. I managed to pluck, roast and eat the roadkill partridge, so what was the difference? As I walked Poppy and the pups that evening past the lonely chicken coop, I sat down and watched Betty casually scratching at the ground and I knew the answer. I can take the girl out of the town and play at self sufficiency, but I’ll be back to get my local, freerange organic chicken from the local butcher at least until the oil runs out.

For eggs and donations see: www.henheaven.org n Gilly Smith’s latest book, The Jamie Oliver Effect, is published

by Andre Deutsch. It’s a fascinating account of the Essex chef from the cheeky chappy of The Naked Chef to the nation’s favourite social campaigner.

November/December 2008

9

In my own words

Bek Misich & Paul Hutchinson Proprieters, The Foragers Pub

P

aul: We got tired of

10

working for other people.

We had the idea of doing something together and then found this place. We came up with the name, The Foragers Pub, and that gave us a mission statement too. There’s a lot of seasonal food out there but what we’ve done is to employ a forager who gets us wild greens and herbs...

Bek: ...Which does make our vegetable list quite different. It’s been a real up and down thing.

Initially people didn’t get what we were about and didn’t really understand it.

Paul: People were coming in expecting to see standard pub grub and were faced with a menu that had lots of things that they didn’t actually recognize. It was a bit difficult because we had to explain every time what we were about. But we’ve had quite a bit of publicity, an article in The Observer blew the whole story up and since then, we don’t have to explain what it’s all about any more, people know what they are going to get.

Bek: I’d been practicing foraging in my other business prior to this, trying to raise awareness and trying cooking with these things; just seeing what

you can do with them Paul: What we’ve tried to establish is very much a community pub doing good food, not take over a pub and turn it into a restaurant. We’ve not taken the soul, the bar side, out of the pub. We don’t want people coming in thinking that it’s a restaurant and they can’t just go to the bar and have a drink.

We want to keep that, so you’ve always got both sides going.

You’ve got the buzz of the bar and the buzz of the restaurant and they both work really well.A pub doing damn good food is what we were aiming for.

Bek: Every single thing on our menu is made by us. And it’s all locally sourced, it’s British, none of it is from anywhere else other than here. There’s no systematic theme to what we do because the menu changes daily. Sometimes we have wild mallard, sometimes pigeon, sometimes venison; it’s all down to what’s available.

Paul: We want to organise an apple-themed street party. Every single house on this street has an apple tree in the back garden.The railway workers all lived on this street, the workers on this side and the managers on the other, but they’ve all got an apple tree.We’d

November/December 2008

love to get the whole community together for an apple festival. We could harvest all the apples, make them into cider and then have a giant party.

Bek: The most popular dish on the menu is the rabbit. We can’t take that off. It’s a really lovely, simple dish, braised rabbit with truffle mash and wild leaves; whatever is in season at the time.

This week it’s buttered chickweed, sometimes sea kale or wild cabbage. Puffballs are very popular at the moment and also all the berries and plums are coming through as well. It’s an amazing time of year for foraging. From now until February it’s going to be great.You get three-cornered garlic and wild garlic. All the cookable greens, things that are comparable to spinach, kale or broccoli, are all coming up. It’s fantastic, the yummiest time!

Paul: For Christmas this year we’ve decided to go more traditionally English. More gamey with venison, pigeon and pheasant rather than American turkey.This menu is much more about what we’re known for.

Bek:We’re really excited about this. Last year, we didn’t really know what our market was and we compromised and had turkey, which was beautiful; the turkeys were organic and ticked all the

boxes, but it just felt a bit wrong and against what we’re doing. So this year we’ve decided that we really want to stick with what is available to us, what’s local but also what’s native, so our whole menu is based on that.

Paul: We are going to put together a glossary of what we use, and develop the menu to list what is foraged at the moment and a little explanation. Just to spread the knowledge, really. People are very interested. If you look at a few of our menus most people have no idea of what the hell these things are so it would be quite good to have, on the same menu, a brief explanation of where they come from and what they are and how best to eat them.

Bek: Initially when we started I had to retrain myself. There’s a lot of experimentation, particularly with the greens.We have had some things come in and they are just too bitter. We’ve tested them in every single way and applied every single food technique to make it taste better and it’s just not happened. Black mustard leaf, don’t ever eat black mustard leaf, no matter what you are told! n The Foragers Pub, 3 Stirling Place, Hove, East Sussex. BN3 3YU Tel: 01273 733134

Clayton farm eatsussex ad:Clayton farm eatsussex ad

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13/10/08 11:40:06

Christmas presents with a difference…

Llama Walk Gift Vouchers Season Tickets to the Park ● Llama and Alpaca Adoptions ● South American Crafts & Toys ● Luxurious Alpaca knitwear for men and women ● Gift Packs using hessian bags, ready made or select your own items from our shop ● Enjoy our delicious Christmas teas and lunches throughout December. ● See Santa and his Reindeer starting 29th November. Details on our website. ●

make this your tastiest christmas ever!

●

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our farm shop is open mon-fri 9am-5pm, Saturday 9am-1pm telephone shop: 01435 874852 farm: 01435 874849

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hen on the gate

feel good about farming, feel good about food 25/9/08 09:40:45

November/December 2008

9/10/

Feature

The chef and the showman Photography by Paul Cassidy.

Celebrity chef Aldo Zilli is looking forward to Christmas in Hove with his young family. Tony Leonard meets him at his Brighton restaurant to talk food, fatherhood, and the importance of working the floor.

12

November/December 2008

Feature

Aldo Zilli’s Feast of the Seven Fishes Photography by Jean-Luc-Brouard.

Families all over Italy come together on Christmas Eve to commemorate the wait for the birth of Jesus (Vigilia di Natale). with a celebratory meal with no meat, The Feast of the Seven Fishes. Aldo Zilli has created his own Sussex version of this festive tradition especially for Eat Sussex.

A

ldo Zilli is a hard guy

to pin down. He gives me a brief hello as he arrives at myhotel Brighton and then he’s off again into his restaurant, Zilli Brasserie, meeting and greeting the lunchtime customers. Charm m ission accompl ished, he returns to the bar and noticing a strange acoustic effect in the corner of Merkaba, the hotel’s spaceage bar, where myself and Cass, the photographer, have ensconced ourselves before an enormous fish tank, he confesses that he’s never sat in this particular spot before.

I’m not surprised, I don’t get the impression that Aldo spends much time sitting in any spot. He made his name as the ‘King of Soho’ by hopping from table to table, playing the convivial host and entertaining his guests, and although his restaurant empire is rapidly expanding, he’s not about to disappear behind the scenes anytime soon.

In his early career, as chronicled in his autobiography, Being Zilli, the young Aldo repeatedly swapped between working in restaurant kitchens and front of house, his loyalties torn between a deep love of cooking and the joy to be had from entertaining a crowd. It was probably only by

MACKEREL WITH MUSTARD & LEMON BUTTER Alternative fish: Sardines, Herring, Serves FOUR. Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 20 minutes

4 fresh mackerel, cleaned

225g (8oz) baby spinach

115g (4oz) butter, melted

30g (1oz) wholegrain mustard Rind of one lemon, grated

4 slices lemon

2 tbsp lemon juice

3 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

4 sprigs rosemary Salt and ground black pepper

Preheat the grill. Score the skin of the mackerel by making slashes into the skin of the fish, then season with salt and pepper. Insert one slice of lemon and one sprig of rosemary into the cavity of each fish.

Mix the melted butter, lemon rind, mustard, lemon juice and parsley, and season.

Place the mackerel on a grill and brush with the mustard butter, grill for about 10 minutes each side, occasionally brushing with more butter.

Arrange the baby spinach on a plate and place the mackerel on top, heat the leftover mustard butter until bubbling and pour over the fish before serving.

November/December 2008

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Recipe feature owning his own restaurant that he could ever hope to find a satisfying balance between the chef and the showman. “It’s in me, it’s a drug.”

He tells me,“I have to go and see my customers. I walk around and say hello to all my customers and my staff. I can go home and it’s sweet. I feel great.”

It’s understandable too how such an outgoing personality would make a mark as a television personality. An impromptu demonstration for a group of regulars at his Soho restaurant led to him launching the Carlton Food Network with Antony Worrall Thompson and Brian Tuner and his first television series, Perfect Pasta with Aldo Zilli. A stream of appearances since then have transformed him from friend of the famous to a celebrity in his own right. The week I met him, he’d been filming Ready, Steady, Cook along with a number of adverts that he’s not yet allowed to talk about.

He admits that initially the

attention went to his head,.“I was like a cocky teenager again,” he wrote, and like a lot of teenagers he loved to party. Teaming up with Chris Evans, the pair became notorious for their heavy drinking and intercontinental bar-hopping

but a financial crisis in his business brought Aldo to his senses and he credits meeting his second wife, Nikki, and a spot on Celebrity Fit Club with turning his life around (and gaining a new streamlined figure to boot). He‘s even

given up alcohol and talks with characteristic enthusiasm about the transformation: “I see life in a different light now. I see everything differently, I remember everything.

Just imagine never waking up with a headache. It’s fantastic!”

GRILLED SEA BREAM WITH BAY LEAVES Alternative fish: Grey Mullet, Grayling, Snapper Serves FOUR. Preparation Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 25 minutes

4 whole sea bream, scaled and cleaned

36 bay leaves

2 cloves garlic, finely diced

4 tbsp olive oil

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely diced

1 tbsp lemon juice

4 sprigs rosemary,

4 cloves garlic, crushed

4 sprigs thyme

4 tbsp finely chopped parsley Sea salt

Stuff each fish with a crushed clove of garlic, a sprig of rosemary and a sprig of thyme, brush with olive oil and sprinkle over some sea salt.

Heat the remaining olive oil and cook the garlic and chilli for about 5 minutes. Remove from, the heat and strain. Cool and then whisk in the lemon juice and parsley.When ready for the dressing just warm

through gently do not boil.

On a barbeque or grill pan, brush some olive oil and then place the bay leaves on top to form a bed for the fish. Cook the sea bream on top of the bay leaves for 10 minutes then carefully turn over and cook for a further 10 minutes. Serve with the dressing poured over the fish on top of some steamed spinach.

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Recipe feature

GRILLED BABY SQUID WITH SWEET CHILLI SAUCE & ROCKET Alternative fish: Octopus (but cook for a lot longer at least 5 minutes) or large Squid Serves FOUR. Preparation Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 10 minutes

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The new Aldo Zilli is a homebody with two young children.

His son, Rocco is two and a half years old and was joined by a little sister, Twiggy, two months ago.

He’s clearly enjoying fatherhood second time around. “I’m a very hands-on father,” he tells me proudly. “I go to work now for a rest.” His priorities have changed since his first marriage suffered from his single-minded approach to work and, this time he’s determined to put family life first. “In this business, running restaurants and having a young family is probably a recipe for disaster but I’m managing. It’s my second time around so I should have learned.”

He’s looking forward to Christmas in a new home the couple have had built in Hove.

“I can’t wait. I’m really excited about Christmas this year because my son is at an age where he understands what Christmas is all about. My daughter is obviously too young but my other daughter is 24 and hopefully she’ll be with us and we’ll all be in the new house, so it should be amazing.”

It couldn’t be further from the childhood Christmas he describes in the opening chapter of his book, when he had to accompany his father to the abattoir to kill the family pig. I remind him of this and ask if he has any happier Christmas memories from his childhood. “All my Christmases were happy,” he pauses, “eventually.” He puts the event into context: “As a young kid it upset me but when I was eating I was fine. As a kid you

November/December 2008

8 medium sized squid, cleaned 90ml (3fl oz) extra virgin olive oil

250g (9oz) wild rocket, washed and drained

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp fish sauce (Nam Pla)

1 tsp brown sugar

1 lemon, juice

2 tbsp water

4 red chilli, finely chopped Sea salt flakes & freshly ground black pepper Lemon wedges to serve

Using a thin knife, score the inside of the squid to form a diagonal pattern.

Heat a grill pan to medium hot. Place the squid, scored side down on the pan and brush with a little of the oil then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill for 4-5 minutes, then turn the squid over and brush with more oil and sprinkle with salt and black pepper. Grill for a further 3-4 minutes until the squid curls up and is tender. Slice each squid in half.

Meanwhile make the chilli sauce. In a food processor blend the fish sauce, water, chilli, lemon juice and sugar, process until the dressing is smooth (about 3-4 minutes).

Put the rocket in a large bowl and toss with oil and balsamic vinegar, and season. Place the rocket on four serving plates and arrange the squid on top of the rocket and spoon over the dressing. Serve hot with a lemon wedge.

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Recipe feature

FRIED LEMON SOLE WITH TOMATO SAUCE Alternative fish: Plaice Serves FOUR. Preparation Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 1 hour

4 lemon sole

25g (1oz) plain flour

2 eggs, beaten

75g (3oz) breadcrumbs

15g (½oz) butter

1 tbsp olive oil Salt and ground black pepper Lemon wedges, to serve For the tomato sauce:

1 tin chopped tomatoes or passata

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 shallots, finely diced

1 clove garlic, finely diced

8 black olives, cut in half

1 tbsp fresh basil leaves Salt & pepper

18

don’t want to see where what you are eating really comes from.

It was a big disaster for me losing my pig that we bought when he was little. He grew into a big pig and then goodbye, we’ve got to eat him. I felt very distraught that my dad was this murderer and I didn’t like him for it.” At the age of 11,Aldo’s family moved to the coast.“Fish were a different story. I didn’t feel sadness killing a fish.”

Despite the hardship,Aldo does indeed have fond memories of Christmases past. “Christmas as I remember was not about presents.

For us it was more about loving your parents, writing them a lovely letter and putting it under their plate. It was more about being together, loving each other and being in a nice environment and making lots of noise and playing together and having loads of food.” So will he be holding back on the presents for Rocco?

“Rocco will be spoilt rotten,” He says with a huge smile. “By me, by his mum and by all the other friends and family!”

But Aldo is aware that Rocco and Twiggy do have something in common with the child he once was. “I was born when my father was my age now so I have the same scenario coming around again.” He is determined that history won’t be repeating itself, though. “I will never make the same mistakes my dad made with me!” He is emphatic. What mistakes does he believe his father made? “Not paying any attention,” he replies grimly.

As the youngest of nine children, largely ignored by his seven older brothers and his father, it makes sense that Aldo grew up to love the attention he could command from a roomful of diners.

If the showman grew from a father’s disinterest, the chef ’s trademark style of fresh ingredients simply cooked was his mother’s gift. Not given to extravagant demonstrations of affection, it was through the food that she cooked, and the recipes she passed on, that Aldo’s mother showed her love for her youngest son. Cooking

November/December 2008

First make the tomato sauce.

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and add the shallots and garlic and cook for about 6 minutes over a low heat. Stir in the tomatoes and simmer for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the olives and cook for a further 5 minutes. Season to taste, rip the basil and add to the sauce.

Spread the flour on a plate,

pour the egg mixture into a dish, and place the breadcrumbs on another plate. Dip the sole in the flour, then the egg and then the breadcrumbs making sure it is well coated. Heat the butter and oil in a pan and pan-fry the sole for 4 minutes each side until a lovely golden brown. Drain and serve with the lemon wedges, tomato sauce and minted new potatoes.

Recipe feature

TURBOT WITH BEETROOT & POTATO ROSTI Alternative fish: Halibut or Tuna Serves FOUR. Preparation Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 45 minutes

4 turbot fillets (200g each) 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

For the rosti: 300g (10oz) Maris Piper potatoes, skin on

2 beetroot, peeled

1 tsp chives, finely chopped Sea salt and ground black pepper For the pepper puree:

2 whole red peppers

Preheat oven to gas mark 4 / 180ยบC / 350ยบF Cook the potatoes in boiling water for 8 minutes, drain and set aside to cool. Peel and grate.

Place the whole peppers on a baking tray, sprinkle with sea salt and cook in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove and place in a bowl covered with cling film. Once the peppers are cool, remove the skin and seeds and blend in a food processor.

Grate the beetroot into the same bowl as the potato, add the chives and season with sea salt and ground black pepper. Mix

together well.

Use an egg ring to make four rosti with the potato and beetroot mixture by pressing it into the ring. Place them onto a greased baking tray and cook for 20 minutes in the oven until cooked through.

Meanwhile pan-fry the turbot in the olive oil for 5 minutes skin side down. Place the pan in the same oven and cook for a further 10 minutes. Remove and serve on top of the rosti with the pepper puree and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

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Why not celebrate Christmas with a glass of English bubbly? Our Ginger wine is a wonderful accompaniment with Christmas pudding.

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Recipe feature with whatever ingredients were available, and above all, wasting nothing, his mother taught Aldo the lessons that have stood him in good stead throughout his career.

To this day he insists that his signature dish, spaghetti with fresh lobster, is actually his mother’s.

He ascribes his passion for local produce to this upbringing and, much as he loves his adopted home, he is bemused by the English attitude to food. “We had everything in the garden, and we picked it and ate it,” he explains. “I think this country’s a bit mad, we import more food than any other. Coming to a place like Sussex, I’m going to look for what’s in Sussex. What have we got here? We must be able to feed people from what we’ve got here.”

He’s impressed with the fish and is enjoying building relationships with local farms,“really enjoying the banter.”

Aldo says he was thrilled to be

a person he’s a great guy!” The tone is different though, when he brings up Gordon Ramsay.

He’s furious about a story in thelondonpaper that morning.

Apparently, Gold Radio breakfast DJ, James Cannon, gave Ramsay a chocolate pot telling him that it was Aldo’s recipe.“Bless him. No wonder his restaurants went bust,” was the spiteful (and inaccurate) response before the DJ revealed that the recipe was actually from Gordon’s new book. “That’s wrong, that’s awful!” Aldo rages.

“I could count the restaurants he’s closed down. He’s closed more restaurants than he’s opened. I think he should stick to his own business rather than talking down other people’s.”

While he’s taken advantage fully of the British public’s fascination with chefs, Aldo thinks we are missing a point. “The food is important but also the service is,” he argues, making a case for the

“I think this country’s a bit mad, we import more food than any other.

Coming to a place like Sussex, I’m going to look for what’s in Sussex.

What have we got here?

We must be able to feed people from what we’ve got here.” involved in the Brighton & Hove Food & Drink Festival this year and he’s keen to get involved in more local events. In particular, he’d like to see a regular market dedicated to local food in the city.

“I think it would be amazing.

People would flock in.” He’s even found the perfect site: “I would have it here in Jubilee Square.

Nothing happens here and it’s such a great space.” He also has plans for an annual charity ball, “like they do in Berkeley Square,” he confides. “I’m planning to do

it next year.”

As you would hope from a man with so many famous friends, Aldo is fabulously indiscreet. He’s happy to share his memories of drinking champagne through the night with Freddie Mercury and drinking just about anything through the night with Chris Evans and he’s more than ready to voice an opinion about a pal’s last appearance on TV, but there’s nothing remotely malicious about his gossip and any barbs are softened with statements like:“As

GRILLED DOVER SOLE WITH TOMATO & PEA SAUCE Alternative fish: Plaice, Lemon Sole Serves FOUR. Preparation Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 35 minutes

4 small whole dover sole 2 tbsp olive oil 50g (2oz) butter

For the tomato & pea sauce: 400g (14oz) tinned chopped tomatoes or passata 350g (12oz) peas

4 tbsp olive oil

1 red onion, finely chopped

3 cloves garlic, lightly crushed

3 tbsp flat leaf parsley Pinch fennel seeds Glass dry white wine Salt and ground black pepper

Heat 4 tablespoons of oil in a pan and add the onion, garlic, parsley and fennel and cook until the onions are translucent. Remove the garlic cloves at this stage.

Add the wine to the pan and cook until it has all evaporated, then add the passata and cook over a medium heat for 8 minutes

until it begins to thicken.Add salt and pepper and peas and cook over a low heat for 12 minutes.

Pan-fry the dover sole in olive oil for 10 minutes each side. Just before they’ve finished cooking, add the butter to the pan. Serve with the tomato and pea sauce.

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Recipe feature

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importance of the front-of-house staff in a successful restaurant.“No one is taking any notice of the head waiter, of the sommelier, of the restaurant manager, of the waiter. That’s why service in this country is shit to be honest, excuse my French. We are not giving them any recognition. We think anyone can bring the plates from the kitchen to the table — no!

Not anyone can do that because if they could then everybody would be happy. It’s a skill and a job like any other.” He was a prominent supporter of the campaign to stop restaurants using staff tips to make up pay and is pleased that the law is to be changed.“Now we are all going to have to pay the waiters what they are worth.”

He has also been in the vanguard of the campaign against bottled water, after a couple of customers complained of getting a frosty response after asking for tap water. “So I responded by taking bottled water away completely.”

Coincidentally, then Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone had started to campaign on the same issue,“We sort of merged together and it went mad. I banned bottled water in my restaurant, Zilli Fish, and we had a massive amount of interest from the press, so we are now promoting it here, there and at all my restaurants in London.”

Customer reaction wasn’t wholly positive to the move.“We also had a lot of complaints, “If you don’t serve bottled water we won’t

come to your restaurant,” and,“I’m not drinking tap water, it’s been through so many pipes.” How do you know what your bottled water has been through? It’s been bottled!” Aldo remained resolute in the face of such protestations.

“I gained an office from all the storage space in Brewer St.” Since his life-chang ing appearance on Celebrity Fit Club, Aldo has found new opportunities as a result of his healthy lifestyle.

Kelloggs chose Aldo as the face of its cholesterol-reducing Optivita and his next restaurant venture is to be in conjunction with Center Parcs at Longleat, serving healthy food in the spa there. He’s full of praise for the programme, (“it changed my life!”) but he won’t be doing any more reality shows just yet. “I would never do Big Brother, for example, or Dancing on Ice, or something I wouldn’t be good at.”

I say goodbye to Aldo in Zilli Café doing what he does best, working the room, chatting to customers, smiling, laughing, taking some orders and bringing over the plates. I can’t imagine Gordon Ramsay somehow doing the same. n Zilli Brasserie & Zillie Café are at myhotel Brighton, 17 Jubilee Street, Brighton, BN1 1GE www.zillialdo.com

November/December 2008

BAKED STUFFED SARDINES Alternative fish: Herring Serves FOUR. Preparation Time: 25 minutes Cooking Time: 30 minutes

12 fresh sardines, scaled and heads removed

1 onion, finely chopped

75g (3oz) fresh breadcrumbs

1 clove garlic, lightly crushed

1 tbsp wholegrain mustard

2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped

1 egg yolk

30g (1oz) ricotta cheese

3 lemons, juice

1 tbsp olive oil Salt and ground black pepper

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180°C / 350°F. Clean the inside of the sardines and remove the bone.

Heat the oil and pan-fry the onions and garlic over a low heat until softened (approximately 5 minutes). Remove the garlic clove.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the breadcrumbs,

mustard, chopped parsley, egg yolk and ricotta. Stir in the juice of two lemons and season to taste.

Using a teaspoon fill the inside of the sardines with the stuffing and lay them on a greased ovenproof dish. Add the remaining lemon juice and rind, cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Garnish with lemon wedges and fresh parsley, serve immediately.

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Page 1

Something for the weekend

The Profs of the pudding…

Peter Bayless, chef, author and BBC MasterChef 2006, meets the Lewes sisters whose passion for Christmas pudding has built a thriving cottage industry.

Food Photographer by Jean-Luc Brouard

C

“

ome on son, it’s

your turn to stir the pudding.” This, I think, is the earliest recollection I have of my mother’s invitation for me to help her with the cooking. To be honest, it wasn’t really an invitation at all, it was more like a demand for me to add my five penny’th of elbow grease to the annual ritual of stirring the Christmas pudding. At this point, my sister, five years older than me, had already performed her part of the ritual, as had Grandpa who lived with us throughout my childhood. Dad always worked long hours as a chauffeur so he would have to add his turns to the pudding mix when he got home. Only then could it go into the basins, be covered, wrapped in cloth and steamed for five or six hours.

In order to stir the pudding I had to stand on a wooden chair to reach the table top, grasp the long handle of the wooden spoon with both hands and begin the first of my thirteen turns of the heavy, sticky, alcohol-smelling mixture. I was told that the number thirteen represented Jesus and his twelve disciples. I don’t know, maybe it had more to do with the thirteen ingredients in the pudding or even the baker’s dozen, the same baker whose day-old bread had to be grated into crumbs for the pudding mix. Anyway, you always had to stir from east to west, the same direction from which the Three Wise Men came to Bethlehem. Silver thre’penny Joeys were hidden in the mix so that whoever found them when the pudding came to be eaten, provided they hadn’t cracked their teeth, would be assured of wealth, happiness and good fortune for the coming year.

At that time, the stirring of the pudding meant much more than a simple kitchen task, it was the portent of wondrous things to come. It may well have been two or three months before Christmas, but stirring the pudding meant that preparations for the absolute best time of year had begun in earnest. I don’t suppose there are many families left now that continue to observe the ritual Christmas pudding making. Not many, that is, except for sisters Clair May and Pip Shorter who I am bound to say make the very best Christmas puddings I have ever tasted — sorry Mum. It all started 22 years ago when, as a 14-year-old schoolgirl, Clair first cooked a Christmas pudding to the recipe from her domestic science teacher. It was called ‘last minute Christmas pudding’ because it didn’t have to be kept for months to mature before eating. Incredibly, that

recipe produced a pudding that was less dense than conventional puddings, moist, slightly crumbly, chunky, lighter in the mouth, more easily digestible and utterly delicious. Clair and Pip remember carrying huge baskets of ingredients all the way to school and returning home with their puddings.That first pudding became the crowning glory of her family’s Christmas dinner that year. So much so that Clair’s mother insisted that she make the Christmas puddings every year thereafter. Thus she began not only to make puddings for her family, but also for relatives and friends and always the response was the same — everyone who ate them proclaimed them the best Christmas puddings they’d ever eaten. “Even people who don’t like Christmas pudding love this one,” Pip explains.

Over the years the recipe has been honed and improved, the

girls always seek out the very best of local, organic and free-range produce for their ingredients, to the point where they can now rightly claim that the current recipe really does belong to Clair Cooks. Understandably cagey about the exact recipe, Clair, and sister Pip, boasted that their eggs come from the freerange hens at Holmansbridge Farm, the suet is supplied by Lewes butcher, Frank Richards.

An obliging local bakery saves up its day-old bread for them and they source their stout ale from Harveys Brewery and their apples are either from their mum’s apple trees or Kentish orchards.

So now we are beginning to understand why their puddings taste so good. Clair and Pip start with the best local ingredients and mix them all together by hand on their kitchen table.

The only additives they use are a liberal dose of love and a lot of good humour. They are, by the way, a right pair of gigglers, which is probably just as well because mixing Christmas pudding can be very hard work indeed.

From producing the odd few dozen puddings that they gave away as corporate Christmas presents, last year they decided to really go for it and Clair targeted Bill’s Produce Stores to become their first retailer.Armed with one pudding in its festive wrapping and another already heated for a taster, Clair accosted proprietor Bill Collison in the street outside his Lewes store with the words: “We make the best Christmas puddings you’ve ever tasted — you really should be stocking them in your stores.” Feeling deflated like a naughty child and convinced that she’d made a hash of her pitch, she left the hot pudding behind and headed back home. No sooner indoors than the phone was ringing. “Hello is that Clair

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25

Something for the weekend

CHRISTMAS PUDDING FRITTERS Serves FOUR. For the fritters:

300g (6oz) Christmas pudding

115g (4oz) self-raising flour

25g (1oz) castor sugar 150ml (¼ pint) chilled sparkling wine, light beer or fizzy water Vegetable oil, for deep frying For the cream: 200ml (7fl oz) double cream

2 tbsp icing sugar, sifted

1 tbsp liqueur, (Benedictine, Cointreau, Gran Marnier etc.)

26

Cooks? Head chef of Bill’s here.

Listen this is the best Christmas pudding we’ve ever tasted [heard that before somewhere haven’t we?], we need to talk business.

Give us your prices. We’ll take 300 of them for starters.”

This was exactly the confidence booster they needed so when they weren’t mixing, cooking, wrapping and packing their puds, Clair and Pip set about developing direct sales through their website.

An impromptu email produced a live interview with Chris Evans on his BBC Radio 2 programme just before last Christmas. Being introduced as the ‘Christmas Pudding Expert’ was somewhat daunting, but it did wonders for their sales, as the BBC was inundated with enquiries. So often working right through the night, while their children were in bed asleep, the two of them produced and sold over 1,200 puddings.This year they look set to top that by a long way.

To enjoy a good pudding this Christmas, you could look up recipes from Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management (1861) or Eliza Acton’s Modern Cookery (1845). They are very good and Mrs Beeton even offers you a choice of five different recipes for Christmas plum pudding. Then you could go out and shop for all

the authentic ingredients. Maybe the children will help you wipe down the condensation from the kitchen walls and windows after five or six hours of steaming.

Or, if you wanted the very best pudding around, you could buy one of the Clair Cooks puds, pop it into the microwave for a few minutes and serve it, ablaze with brandy and decked with holly, to rounds of applause from everyone.

Not only will you then be able to enjoy this wonderful treat but you will also feel satisfied that the pudding is cooked with love and passion and using the very best of local produce.

If the proof of the pudding is in the eating then these two Pudding Profs have got it licked.

Below are a few of my ideas for using up left-over Christmas pudding — trouble is, as Clair said: “There are never any of our puddings left over because everyone loves them so much.”

“OK,” I said, “So tell them to buy two instead!” n For details and price list of Clair Cooks Christmas puddings go to www.claircooks.com, email cooks@claircooks.com or call 01273 479934 mobile: 07967 301338.

November/December 2008

Heat the oil in a saucepan or deep fat fryer.

Crumble up the Christmas pudding and roll into walnut-size balls.Whisk the flour, castor sugar and sparkling wine, beer or water.

Coat the balls in the batter and place into the hot oil.

Cook the fritters a few at a time until crisp and golden, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Whisk the cream with the icing sugar and liqueur to a soft peak consistency and serve with the fritters.

CHRISTMAS PUDDING CRÉME BRÛLÉE Serves FIVE. 100g (4 oz) Christmas pudding 300ml (½ pint) double cream

4 egg yolks

25g (1 oz) castor sugar Vanilla pod, split with the seeds scraped out Splash of brandy Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180°C / 350°F. Crumble the Christmas pudding into 5 individual ramekins.

Bring the cream and vanilla seeds and pod to boil. Whisk together egg yolks and sugar until pale and frothy. Slowly pour the hot cream through a sieve into the yolk mix whilst whisking, then add the brandy (wash and dry the vanilla pod then put it into a jar of sugar to make your own vanilla sugar for desserts).

Ladle into the ramekins, put them into a roasting tray and fill three quarters of the way up the ramekins with hot water. Bake until just set (about 15-20 mins). Leave to cool.

Sprinkle with demerara sugar and caramelize with a gas gun or under a very hot grill.

A

shdown Manna

cooker y school

cuisine

The complete culinary experience located in the heart of Ashdown Forest, East Sussex.

One day hands-on courses with professional chefs using local and organic produce:

• Learn new and exciting recipes • Brush up on old skills • Learn how to be more resourceful • Suited to both novice and experienced cooks •The perfect gift idea For a full list of courses, dates and prices, please visit www.ashdowncookeryschool.co.uk Gift or call 01825 740770 Vouchers

Available

Learn to bake this…

… or perhaps a Christmas Stollen, a French Pain de Campagne or just a beautiful, British farmhouse loaf.

At the famous Lighthouse Bakery School, overlooking Bodiam Castle, Liz and Rachel offer a diverse range of exciting one-day courses for beginners and seasoned bakers alike.

Treat yourself (or someone else) to a course at the Lighthouse Bakery which, it’s no exaggeration to say, could change your life (or someone else’s!).

Each course includes a delicious home-made lunch and, of course, you take home everything you’ve baked. But, more importantly, you take away new skills and the confidence to carry on baking when you get home.

The Lighthouse Bakery is an award-winning, independent artisan bakery championing traditional methods of producing and hand-moulding individual loaves.

For course availability, brochure and gift vouchers email liz@lighthousebakery.co.uk Bakery wholesale enquiries call Rachel 07946 530969 Call 01580 831271 / 07946 530969 or visit www.lighthousebakery.co.uk Lighthouse Bakery School, Ockham, Ewhurst Green, East Sussex TN32 5RD

Lighthouse Bakery School HP 1108.indd 1

November/December 2008 9/10/08

15:28:04

In season

In season Recipes by Stephen Adams.

Photography by Jean-Luc Brouard.

The weather may be bleak outside but the first weeks of winter are still a time of plenty in the seasonal kitchen. Hearty, slow-cooked meals, rich in flavour and texture, give us the sustenance we need to see us through the cold.

OXTAIL SOUP Nobody seems to make this wonderfully rich and full-flavoured soup at home these days although oxtail remains a popular choice of tinned soup. Give it a go and you’ll wonder how it ever went out of fashion.

SERVES FOUR.

28

500g (18oz) oxtail (on the bone), cut into pieces

150g (5oz) carrots

100g (4oz) swede

150g (5oz) onion

2 cloves garlic 1l (1ž pints) beef or chicken stock 250ml (9fl oz) red wine Chopped parsley Oil for frying

November/December 2008

Brown the oxtail in a large pan.

Add the wine, cook for a few minutes and then add the stock.

Simmer for two hours until the meat is tender but not falling apart. Remove the oxtail from the stock and leave to cool.

Skim off the fat from the stock with a small ladle or spoon.

Roughly dice the vegetables, fry them off separately and add them to the stock and cook until tender.

When the oxtail is cool enough to handle pick the meat from the bone with your fingers, discarding any skin or fat, and add it back into the soup. Bring it all back to the boil, season to taste, add the parsley and serve.

For Aga cooking:

Bring the stock to the boil on the Boiling Plate then simmer in the Simmering Oven.

In season

SWEET CHESTNUT & LEEK RISOTTO

PORK & APPLE PASTIES

You can make a risotto from virtually anything but this one bursts with winter flavours.

Pasties were the original packed lunch for Cornish tin miners and their popularity has spread all over the world. Originally they would have the meat and vegetables in one end, and fruit in the other for dessert, but here you’ll be glad to note that the pork and apples run all the way through.

Serves four.

150g (5oz) risotto rice 250ml (9fl oz) white wine

1l (1¾pts) vegetable stock

200g (7oz) onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, chopped

200g (7oz) leek, thinly sliced

200g (7oz) sweet chestnut, cooked and chopped

50g (2oz) Twineham Grange or Parmesan

50g (2oz) butter

1 lemon

1 tsp parsley, chopped Sprig of thyme Bay leaf Salt & pepper Oil

MAKES TWO LARGE PASTIES.

250g (9oz) belly pork (skin off)

2 sheets puff pastry

1 bramley apple

150g (5oz) onion, chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed 300ml (10fl oz) chicken stock

150g (5oz) swede, diced

150g (5oz) potato, diced

1 egg yolk

Fry off the onion and garlic in a hot pan. When they turn clear, add the rice and keep stirring it round the pan continuously until the rice begins to turn clear as well. Now add the thyme and bay leaf and slowly pour in the white wine which should cook off almost immediately. Add the sliced leeks and slowly add the vegetable stock a ladleful at a time and keep stirring.

When the rice is cooked but still retains a little bite, take it off the heat and stir in the butter, sweet chestnuts and parsley.

Just before serving, season to taste, add a squeeze of lemon and most of the Parmesan, saving a pinch to sprinkle over the top.

One amazing accompaniment to this dish is a little truffle oil if you fancy.

First roughly dice the belly pork and fry off until it starts to turn golden brown.Then add the stock and simmer for about 2 hours until most of the liquid is gone and meat is starting to become tender.Take off the heat.

Heat the oven to Gas Mark 5 / 190°F / 375°C. Peel and chop the apple and mix with the vegetables and the meat. Cut the pastry into circles around a large plate and place half the mix on one half in each. Mix the egg yolk with a little warm

water and dab it around the edge.

Fold over the pastry and crimp the edges with your thumb and finger. Brush the remaining egg mix over the top of each pasty.

Place in the oven and cook for 45 – 60 minutes then leave to rest for about 10 minutes more.

For Aga cooking:

Bring the stock to the boil on the Boiling Plate and simmer in the Simmering Oven. Bake the pasties on the lowest runners in the Roasting Oven.

November/December 2008

29

Grange Farm Shop & PYO

Funtington, 5 miles north-west of Chichester

One of the last growers of cox apples and comice pears in Sussex Apples, pears, plums, greengages, raspberries, damsons and strawberries – picked from our own orchard in season.

Farm shop stocks our own fruit, vegetables and much more local cheeses, preserves, bread, gifts and cards.

Open Mon to Sat 9am – 5pm www.grangefarmshop.com 01243 575372

OVEN-READY GAME THE HEALTHY, LOW FAT CHOICE

Locally-sourced game at very reasonable prices

PHOTO CREDIT: GAME TO EAT

Locally-sourced hand-made jellies, jams and chutney’s, free-range eggs, ice creams and home-made cakes.

PHEASANT DUCK PARTRIDGE PIGEON RABBIT VENISON GUINEA FOWL WILD BOAR QUAIL

CHANCTONBURY GAME At Chanctonbury Game we can supply you with the best free-range Game & Venison from the fields and woods of Sussex.

Then we dress and prepare it for the table in modern hygenic premises. Available direct from the farm or farmers markets.

Turkeys, Geese and other fresh poultry available for Christmas. Call to order.

CHANCTONBURY GAME North Farm, Washington, Pulborough, West Sussex. RH20 4BB

PHOTO CREDIT: THE ARGUS

Tel: 01903 877551 Fax: 01903 872868

South Brockwells Seasonal Farm Shop The Game Specialists – where food miles matter

The Asparagus Farm, Little Horsted, Nr. Uckfield, TN22 5QS Just off the A26 near Uckfield, East Sussex – just follow the signs Open Friday & Saturday 9am-5pm, September-February Farm & Shop: 01825 750 466 or visit www.southbrockwellsfarm.co.uk

OPEN

September to February February to August 6 days-a-week, Friday & Saturday only, 9am-5pm 9am-4pm

UK 6368 EC

November/December 2008

South Brockwells Farm QP 1108.indd 1

8/10/08 Chantonbury 13:17:52 Game QP 1108.indd 1

8/10/08 16:23:43

In season

SOUTHERN FRIED RABBIT I love finding new ways to cook game and this is a great favourite of mine. The preparation takes a little planning but don’t be put off by that, it really is very simple.The overnight brine takes out any bitterness and tenderises the rabbit.

Serves TWO.

1 rabbit, jointed

1tsp salt

1l water

1l chicken or veg stock

2 tbsp plain flour

2 tbsp Cajun spice mix

2 eggs

110g (4oz) breadcrumbs Oil for frying (optional)

Put the jointed rabbit into a container with a litre of water mixed with a teaspoon of salt.

Place a weight (a plate, for instance) onto the meat to make sure it stays submerged and leave in the fridge overnight.

The next day drain the rabbit and place it in a small saucepan with the stock, bring to the boil and then simmer for about two and a half hours until tender but not falling off the bone. Place the rabbit and stock in a container and once cooled, refrigerate until completely chilled.

You can bake or deep fry the rabbit. If you are baking, heat the oven to Gas Mark 6 / 200°C / 400°F. Beat the eggs and set out three

large bowls with flour in the one to your left, egg in the middle and the breadcrumbs mixed with the Cajun spice mix to your right.

Take the rabbit joints straight from the cold stock (don’t worry about excess liquid) and roll them in the flour, then the eggs and then in the breadcrumbs.

From here you can either deep fry until golden brown or drizzle with oil and bake.

For Aga cooking:

Bring the stock to the boil on the Boiling Plate and then place in the Simmering Oven. Bake the rabbit with the grid shelf on the first set of runners in the Roasting Oven.

November/December 2008

31

In season

BRAISED SHIN OF BEEF WITH HONEY ROAST TURNIPS Cheaper cuts of meat take long, slow cooking but the deep, rich flavour in this dish more than compensates for the wait.

SALMON & CRAYFISH PIE You can use any fish you have to hand in a fish pie, here’s a simple combination that works well, but feel free to experiment.

Serves TWO.

250g (9oz) salmon fillet (skinned and diced)

200g (7oz) crayfish tails (cooked and peeled) 600g (1¼lb) potatoes, peeled and chopped

600ml (1pt) whole milk

200g (7oz) onion, chopped

100g (4oz) peas

75g (3oz) butter

70g (3oz) plain flour

2 cloves garlic, chopped

4 spring onions, chopped

25ml vermouth

2 egg yolks

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp parsley, chopped White pepper Oil

32

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 6 / 200°C / 400°F. Simmer the potatoes in salted water until cooked. Strain and mash with a little milk and black pepper.

Soften but don’t colour the onions and garlic in a little oil and put to one side. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour to make a rue. Cook and stir for about five minutes until it smells like cookies, add the onion and garlic and then slowly add the milk a little at a time until you have a smooth, thick sauce (you probably won’t need all of the milk).Add the mustard, the salmon and finally the

spring onions then take the pan off the heat.

Add the crayfish tails to the partly cooked fish mix and stir in the vermouth, peas and parsley.

Season to taste. Pour the mix into one or more pie dishes.

Mix the egg yolks into the potato and spoon over the mix. For an extra touch add a little cheese to the mash or on top of the pie. Bake until the top is just turning golden.

For Aga cooking:

Cook in the Roasting Oven with the grid shelf on the second set of runners.

November/December 2008

Serves four.

800g (1¾lb) shin of beef (off the bone) 50ml (2fl oz) red wine

1l beef or chicken stock

1 onion, sliced 800g (1¾lb) turnips

100ml (4oz) honey

1tbsp parsley, chopped Salt & pepper Oil

Brown the beef in a hot frying pan with a little oil then place it in a large saucepan. Fry the onion in the same pan until soft.

Pour the wine into the frying pan while it is still hot, give it a stir to get all that lovely flavour out and then pour it into the saucepan with the meat. Top up with enough stock to cover the meat, cover the pan and bring slowly to the boil. Simmer for around three hours until the meat is tender but not falling apart. At this point take it out and leave it to cool, remove the lid and turn the stock up a little until it reduces to make a sauce.

Heat the oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180°C / 350°F. Roughly dice the turnips and fry them off in a pan until golden on all sides. Season and place in the oven for 15-20 minutes.

It’s good if they still have a bit of crunch to them.When they’re cooked, roll them in honey and parsley.

Cut the cooled, braised meat into four portions and fry again until it takes a little colour on the outside. Serve with the turnips and the reduced stock.

Bring the stock to the boil on the Boiling Plate and then place in the Simmering Oven.

Black Boys Inn 1-4:Quarter strip ad

20/6/08

09:26

Page 1

The Blackboys Inn

Magnet Media Limited, Unit 18 Silveroaks Farm, Waldron, Heathfield, East Sussex Telephone: 0845 872 2885 or 01323 895806 - Fax: using 01323locally 895806sourced - Email: kim@magn excellent cuisine

meat, game & seafood

High Class Butchers & Poulterers

extensive wine selection, Harvey’s ales

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new function room available for Civil Partnerships & parties DATE:

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ADVERT PROOF relaxing friendly ambiance

Specialising in Low Food Miles and Free Range Produce Free Range Eggs and traditionally hand reared Turkeys from our farm COMPANY:

Blackboys Inn

We are now taking orders for Christmas Log fire Hog RoastPROOF & BBQTO: available Paul James

PROOF FROM:

HOLMANSBRIDGE FARM September 2008 ISSUE:

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Townlittleworth Road, Barcombe, BN8 4TD Tel: 01273 401 964 Lewes Road, Sussex Please check and advise any corrections to this Blackboys, copy by 24 East August.

If we do not h Email: holmansbridge@aol.com

willtoassume Butchers Shop open: Tuesday Friday, 9amcopy to 6pmis Saturday, 9am to 5pm

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8/10/08 09:42:41

Traditional quality food from a traditional quality Butchers

The Blackboys Inn

A

WARDED BUTCHER OF THE YEAR 2006/07 at The Sussex Food and Drink Awards Bramptons Butchers is a traditional shop that has been trading for over 100 years. In 1902 it was granted a Royal Warrant by King Edward VII. Proprietor, Paul Williams, trained as a chef before serving an apprenticeship as a butcher at Bramptons. Paul is noted for his ‘naturally’ reared and produced products and principles.

BOOK YOUR FUNCTION IN

Bramptons ensure quality in specially selected Scottish beef and is the only shop in Brighton and Hove selling locally produced South Downs Lamb.

Well-known for producing our own recipe gluten-free sausages, linked by hand – just like the old days! We also sell additive-free pork and chicken.

Next to the butchers shop we have a cheese shop selling a variety of quality goods, particularly Sussex cheeses and many English and continental favourites.

B R A M P T ONS

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B U T C H E R S

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114 St. Geor ges Road Brighton Sussex

email: blackboys-inn@btconnect.com www.theblackboysinn.co.uk

Tel: 01273 682 611 www.bramptonsbutchers.co.uk

November/December 2008 Bramptons Butchers QP 0308.indd 1

5/2/08 09:30:02

In season

SPICY ROAST CHICKEN This recipe works equally well with Guinea fowl. I like to serve it with rice, leaves and some Greek-style yoghurt to balance the spices.

Serves four.

34

1 chicken (jointed into wings, legs and crown) 400g (14oz) onion, finely chopped

1tsp ground allspice

1tbsp herbes de Provence (or mixed dried herbs)

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

1tsp black pepper, ground

1tsp white pepper, ground (or 2 tsp black pepper)

1tbsp nutmeg, ground

1tbsp cumin, ground

1tbsp paprika

2tsp cinnamon, ground

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1tbsp sugar 100ml (4fl oz) olive oil 100ml (4fl oz) honey

November/December 2008

100ml (4fl oz) orange juice

1 lime, juice & zest

1tbsp tomato puree Oil

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 4 / 180°F / 350°C. In a hot pan, brown the wings, legs and crown separately. Fry the onions until soft.

Mix together all the ingredients except the chicken.

Place the chicken legs and wings in a baking tray and pour over the sauce. Roast for 15 minutes in

the oven. Add the crown, spoon over the sauce and place in the oven for around half an hour until thoroughly cooked and the juices run clear. Leave to rest for ten minutes before serving.

For Aga cooking:

Put the tray on the lowest set of runners in the Roasting Oven.

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HIGH WEALD DAIRY PRIZE WINNING CHEESES Mark and Sarah Hardy collect 3 Gold Awards and the “Best in Class Award� for the Smoked Ashdown Forester at the British Cheese Awards in September

Using organic milk from the cows on Tremains Farm, we make the Gold Award winning Tremains Organic Cheddar, Ashdown Foresters (including oak smoked) and the deliciously fresh Cowslip, plain and with chives. Sheep milk is turned into rich Duddleswell, Sussex Slipcote in five varieties, as well as the Mediterranean Feta and Halloumi.

All are available from independent food outlets throughout Sussex. Please call us for your nearest stockist.

Sussex High Weald Dairy, Tremains Farm, Horsted Keynes, Haywards Heath, RH17 7EA Tel: 01825 791636 Fax: 01825 791641 www.highwealddairy.co.uk

Weald Dairy QP 1108.indd 1 9/10/08 High 14:30:12

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November/December 200817/10/08

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November/December 2008 8/10/08 17:04:55

In season

TWO-TONE CHOCOLATE CHEESECAKE This easy to make no-bake cheesecake is just the thing for a treat.

You might find the kids enjoy making this as much as you all enjoy eating it.

SERVES FOUR TO SIX.

200g (7oz) ginger nut biscuits

200g(7oz) mascarpone 400ml (14fl oz) double cream

70g (3oz) butter

70g (3oz) dark chocolate

50g (2oz) white chocolate

1tbsp cocoa powder

LEMON POSSET WITH PASSION FRUIT This is a very simple dessert that makes the most of good quality cream.

Crush the ginger nuts, melt the butter and mix together for the base. Spread onto the bottom of a 20cm springform cake tin lined with greaseproof paper.

Whisk the double cream until it forms soft peaks and fold in the mascarpone. Separate the mix into two bowls.

Melt the dark chocolate in a bowl over some simmering water (make sure that the water doesn’t touch the bowl) and then fold that into the contents of one of the bowls. Do the same with the

white chocolate and fold it into the other bowl along with the cocoa powder.

Spoon one chocolate mixture carefully onto the biscuit base in an even layer and then make a second layer with the other mixture. Decorate with some grated chocolate or a dusting of cocoa powder and let the cheesecake set for a couple of hours in the fridge.

Serves four.

500ml (18fl oz) double cream

120g (4oz) castor sugar

2 large lemons, juice

2 passion fruit

2 drops vanilla essence

Slowly heat the cream and sugar in a small pan, bring to the boil and then simmer for three minutes.

Take off the heat and stir in the lemon juice. Once the mix has cooled down a bit add the vanilla

essence, stir and pour into four glasses or ramekins. Refrigerate for at least two hours.

Squeeze half a passion fruit over to serve.

November/December 2008

37

We use only the finest ingredients to produce quality products for you to enjoy.

All handmade in Sussex.

The Beach House West Wittering

Licensed Café/Restaurant and Guest House Licensed restaurant specialising in fresh fish and local produce.

10 minutes walk from the beach, East Head and Chichester harbour.

Open Wed to Sun for Breakfast, coffees, snacks and lunch.

Open Fri & Sat all day and for dinner.

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Family & dog friendly.

Heated veranda.

7 en-suite twin, double and family rooms.

Ample Parking.

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7/10/08 13:21:04

Gastro-Gnome’s Guide

The Gastro-Gnome’s Guide to Horsham

South Lodge Hotel

The Gastro-Gnome visits Horsham for the annual Food Festival and finds a thriving collection of food businesses operating all year round.

Photography by Paul Cassidy.

Gastro-Gnome illustration by Joseph Loughborough.

T

he pretty market town

of Horsham is centred on the Carfax, a pedestrianised square where five roads meet.

The Carfax is an ideal place to meet and sit and watch the people of the town go about their business, as well as the perfect location for all kinds of local events, including t he we ek ly Hor s ha m Farmers’ Market which takes place every Saturday, 9am-5pm. The people of Horsham take great pride in their surroundings, last year winning the overall category of large town / small city in the Britain in Bloom competition. In 2006, Horsham was pronounced to be the second best place in the UK to live by a Channel 4 show, beaten only by Winchester.

Country Produce

The Gastro-Gnome was lucky enough to visit during this year’s Horsham and District Food & Drink Festival (www. horsham.gov.uk) with over 100 businesses coming together for a spectacular celebration of the best local produce from West Sussex.

The festival ran through most of September so keep an eye on

the district council’s website for details of next year’s events nearer the time.

Situated conveniently on the market square, Country Produce (44b Carfax) is an award-winning butcher with a fine range of Southdown lamb, local freerange pork, beef, poultry and game, as well as delicious home-

made pies, sausages and brawn.

Order early for their three-birdroast for a really spectacular Christmas dinner.

Horsham has a proud history as a brewing town.The famous King & Barnes Brewery was closed in 2000 when the company merged with Hall & Woodhouse, but the tradition of local ale lives on through the activities of no less than three craft brewers. The King family’s five generations of brewing history continues to this day through WJ King & Co (Brewers) (3-5 Jubilee Estate) which supplies a range of real ales to local pubs as well as selling directly to the public.

Former head brewer at King & Barnes,Andy Hepworth, founded Hepworth & Co (The Railway Yard) in 2000 with other former employees of the company.

Hepworth won Sussex Drink

November/December 2008

39

Gastro-Gnome’s Guide

The Real Eating Company

Producer of the Year 2007/08 at the Sussex Food & Drink Awards for an outstanding selection of cask, keg and bottled ales and lagers, which are enjoyed all over Sussex and beyond. A number of Hepworth’s beers are made exclusively from Sussex-grown ingredients and the company works in partnership with local farmers to source the ingredients.

Weltons (1 Mulberry Trading Estate) is a small independent brewer founded by Ray Welton in Capel, near Dorking in 1995 that later relocated to Horsham. The brewery aims to make beer with natural ingredients and although finings are used in the draught beer, all the bottled beers are suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

At only 2.8% abv, Pridenjoy is unusually low in alcohol with all the flavour of a stronger brew.

As you’d expect in a town with such a rich brewing heritage, there’s no shortage of pubs serving well-kept cask ales. Of particular note are the multi-award-winning Black Jug (31 North St), which dates back at least to Victorian times, and the equally celebrated

Restaurant Tristan

The Beer Essentials

Black Jug

Malt Shovel (15 Springfield Rd).

Another former King & Barnes employee, ex-retail sales manager, Gareth Jones, has also stayed in the business of real ales with The Beer Essentials (30a East St), which stocks around 150 bottled beers and ciders as well as draught beers straight from the cask.

Nearby, Steamer Trading Cookshop (24-28 East St) has an enormous selection of cooker y and kitchen paraphernalia beautifully displayed in a wonderfully bright and airy shop. On the same voluminous site is the The Real Eating Company Coffee Shop where you can grab a damn fine coffee or a freshly made smoothie with a sandwich, a bowl of soup or a scrumptious cake while perusing your purchases.

Michelin-starred chef, Tristan

Mason, is clear about his ambitions for the newly opened Restaurant Tristan (Stans Way, East St); he’s aiming for nothing short of making it one of the best restaurants in England. The Good Food Guide’s London Best Up and Coming Chef 2008 is determined to put Horsham on the food map with his classical skills combined with a modern and innovative approach. The restaurant, which opened in July, is open Tuesday to Saturday, serving lunch from 12pm to 2.30pm, dinner from 6.30pm to 9.30pm.

Pauline and Theresa always have an Aga-warm welcome to customers old and new at The Aga Shop (10 Market Square).

The shop holds regular and varied cookery demonstrations throughout the year, pop in for more details.

40

Malt Shovel

November/December 2008

The Black Horse Inn

What started out as a hobby soon became a family business for the Tobutts, who run Garden Quail Eggs (www.gardenquails. com), selling eggs from free-to-fly birds to local food outlets. A few birds purchased at an agricultural show soon become a large flock and Nik has now given up the day job to concentrate on the business. The birds are kept in large, open-air runs where they are free to fly and roost in deep straw, in an environment designed to mirror their natural heathland habitat.

The Goldings Restaurant at Mannings Heath Golf Club (Hammer pond Rd, Mannings Heath) was the first golf club restaurant in the UK to be awarded an AA Rosette.

Head chef, Robbie Pierce, has put together a menu of local ingredients to capture the tastes of the surrounding countryside.

Richard and Ann Walter, proprietors of The Village Store (Pound Lane, Mannings Heath) were once on the verge of closing down, unable to compete with the supermarkets or afford the £20,000 needed to convert it into a farm shop and deli. Local villagers came to the rescue, donating the much-needed money, and in return the couple have created a truly exemplary community shop that has won numerous accolades and is valued as the hub of village life.

The Black Horse Inn (Nuthurst Rd, Nuthurst) has recently received a Gold Beautiful Beer Award from the British Beer & Pub Association. This traditional country pub offers

EXPERIENCE THE FOOD LOV E R S DREAM

RESTAURANT TRISTAN. MODERN BRITISH FOOD FROM MICHELIN-STARRED CHEF TRISTAN MASON

This Christmas, give your family and friends a treat with our full range of Gift Boxes and Hampers to suit all budgets.

The menu champions the highest quality, seasonal ingredients to create a sensual dining experience with lunch dishes including: chicken liver & foie gras parfait, red onion marmalade, poilâne to start; rump of beef, wild mushroom ravioli, parsnip puree, onion compote as a main course; and to finish chocolate torte, warm white chocolate & drambuie shake.

Award-winning Smoked Foods, Cheese, Wine, Delicatessen, Gifts and much more.

Full Mail Order service and Corporate Hampers for Businesses.

Shop Opening Hours: Monday-Saturday 9am-5.30pm Sundays throughout December 10am-4pm

NOW OPEN FOR CHRISTMAS BOOKINGS RESERVATIONS: 01403 255688

The Weald Smokery

3 STANS WAY, EAST STREET, HORSHAM. RH12 1HU RESTAURANTTRISTAN.CO.UK

Mount Farm, Flimwell, East Sussex. TN5 7QL Tel: 01580 879601 www.wealdsmokery.co.uk

The Weald Smokery QP 1108.indd 1

Open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch and dinner Lunch: 2 courses 15 pounds; 3 courses 20 pounds Dinner: 2 courses 26 pounds; 3 courses 32 pounds

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Stray into the unknown to find the hidden treasures of Waterfalls Coffee Lounge

SK Hutchings Family Butchers & Graziers serving the community for 20 yrs

Farmer Direct Coffee Scrumptious cakes and delectable lunches Wine and Beer After, enjoy a moment in our gift shop 23 Robertson Street Hastings East Sussex TN34 1HL Telephone: 01424 431124

• All meat prepared by our own butchers and all animals either from our own farm or a selected few.

• Delicious homemade pies baked and made on the premises and so is our bacon which is dry cured and naturally smoked.

• Popular homemade variety of sausages with weekly specials’ board.

• Refridgerated deliveries / 24 hour answerphone for placing orders.

• Spit roast available for events,weddings and parties.

• All enquiries welcome.

Telephone: 01403 710209 High Street, Partridge Green, West Sussex, RH13 8HU (opposite the fire station)

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THE DINING ROOM

at Purchase’s

LUNCH, DINNER, PRE & POST THEATRE RESTAURANT & BAR

Come and celebrate Christmas at The Dining Room, one of Chichester’s crème de la crème restaurants!

We have a fantastic Christmas menu for everyone to enjoy.

If you would like a copy of our Christmas menu you can either download it from our website or we can post you a copy. Please call for u as men Christm more information.

5 6.9

£2 person per

CHRISTMAS MENU NOW AVAILIBLE

Tel: 01243 537 352 Book online at: www.thediningroom.biz or Email: info@thediningroom.biz 31 North Street, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 1LY

Pestle & Mortar QP 1108.indd 1

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British Best of

®

EXTRA VIRGIN

EXTRA VIRGIN

RAPESEED SUNFLOWER OIL OIL

COLD PRESSED FOR PURE GOODNESS

COLD PRESSED FOR PURE GOODNESS

Half the saturated fat of olive oil High in omega-3 No artificial preservatives

Made from sunflowers grown in Sussex High in omega-6 No artificial preservatives

Great for: �STIR FRIES �ROASTS �BAKING �DRESSINGS �MARINADES Contact: Priors Byne Farm, Bines Road, Partridge Green, West Sussex RH13 8EQ Tel: 01403 711956 www.sussexgold.co.uk

Downsview Farmhouse Ice Cream is made with the very best milk and cream from our own herd of cows.

Why not try our Honeycomb with pieces ice cream or any of our other 20 flavours?

We also make lovely Fruit Sorbets.

To find your nearest stockest phone Sarah on 01825 841002.

www.downsviewfarm.co.uk Downsview Farm, Laughton Road Ringmer, East Sussex. BN8 5UT

November/December 2008 Downsview Farm QP 0508.indd 1

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Gastro-Gnome’s Guide

SK Hutchings

Camelia Botnar Bistro

well-kept cask ales along with a hearty menu of pub favourites made in-house from local (and free-range) produce.

The White Horse (Maplehurst) is a freehouse with a great range of local ales and even serves JB Cider, made locally in Maplehurst

by John Batcheldor (The Orchard, Park Lane).

The Camellia Restaurant at theVictorian, country house hotel, South Lodge Hotel (Brighton Rd, Lower Beeding), has been awarded 3 AA Rosettes under executive chef Lewis Hamblet for his seasonal modern European menus created with low food mileage. By the time you read this, it will have been joined by The Pass, which has been designed to allow guests to experience all the theatre of a busy restaurant kitchen while enjoying a tasting menu made from the freshest local ingredients.

Duncan at The Black Horse

The Crabtree

Inn described the apple crumble at The Crab Tree (Brighton Rd, Lower Beeding) as the best he’d ever tasted, so the Gnome couldn’t resist a popping in.

Chef proprietor Nick Illes and his wife were at a wine tasting in London when he visited so look out for some special additions to the wine list.

The Camelia Botnar Foundation provides residential training to vulnerable young people. The trainees can learn skills including ironwork, cabinetmaking and joinery, catering, pottery, horticulture building and painting and decorating and many of the products made by the trainees are available through Camelia Botnar Homes and Gardens (Littleworth Lane, Cowfold), a five-acre nursery which is also home to the Bistro, which serves a varied and ever-changing menu of locally-sourced specials. Book now for the Christmas menu available through December.

Nearby, The Union Jack Farm Shop (Henfield Rd, Cowfold) offers home-reared meat, local game, English cheeses and freerange turkeys for Christmas.

The Countryman Inn (Countryman Lane, Shipley) has been under the capable stewardship of Alan Vaughan and his family since 1986. This traditional country pub with open log fires and a large restaurant has long championed the best local producers with a suppliers list that reads as a who’s who of the best of Horsham produce. It is surrounded by the Knepp Castle Estate which is in the process of conversion into a natural grazing

environment.

Sussex Food Producer of the Year 2008 and The Times/Soil Association Organic Food Hero, Cocoa Loco (Hill House Farm, West Grinstead) make scrumptious brownies, chocolates and truffles from fairtrade organic ingredients.

Shaun Hutchings at SK Hutchings (The High St, Partridge Green) is a top quality family butcher who supplies many of the best restaurants in the area.

Home-made pies are a speciality as is the much sought-after beef from Shaun’s very own herd.

Westons Farm Shop (Fulfords Rd, Itchingfield) has quadrupled in size since it first opened in 2003 and aims to bring together all the best produce from Westons Farm and the surrounding area in one convenient package. It’s also home to the recipient of the Gnome’s Most Amusing Root Vegetable Award 2008.

The Burdfields have been farming in Sussex since the time of William the Conqueror, so you be right in thinking that modern descendents, Peter and Anita, would know a thing or two about crops and livestock. In addition to growing crops and raising freerange pigs and turkeys at Rectory Barn Farm in Itchingfield, the couple have brought they expertise to Billingshurst in the form of Burdfields Country Market (Mill Lane, Billingshurst).

The shop sells the farm’s own produce, home-reared free-range turkeys, pork, and a huge range of organic, local and fairtrade goods. There is also a tea room with wonderful meals, cakes and a selection of local arts and crafts.

Veal has had a bad press due to images of calves kept in tiny crates and being shipped across the channel but the reality of traditional English veal is that the calves are raised naturally outside on grass and their mothers’ milk.

The Gnome is a great fan of this ‘rose veal’ and thinks more people should try it. Rudgwick Organic Beef, Pork and Veal (Canfields Farm, Rudgwick) sells direct to the public and is a fine example of what cruelty-free veal rearing should be.

Another place for traditionally reared meat is A & R Baileys (5 Church St,Warnham), a family butchers shop selling beef, pork, lamb free-range poultry and game along with home-made pies, sausages and burgers. The Sussex Oak at Warnham (2 Church St, Warnham) is a spacious village pub with beams, an inglenook fireplace and a large restaurant.

The Gnome enjoyed a well-kept pint at the bar while perusing a large menu of good, hearty pub favourites.

And finally, but well worth the wait, The Wise Old Owl Food Empor ium (Dorking Rd, Kingsfold) is a unique combination of pub, cafe, restaurant and deli has understandably attracted a lot of attention. There’s a small private dining area, perfect for a family meal and a a children’s menu is full of healthy choices rather than turkey twizzlers and the like. n

43

Westons Farm Shop

Rudgwick Farm

November/December 2008

The Black Horse BINSTED

Christmas Lunch Menu 2 courses: £13.50 per head 3 courses: £17.00 per head

Christmas Dinner Party Menu 3 courses: £30.00 per head 10% Discount for Dinner bookings before 1st December (discount applies to food only)

Christmas Day Lunch £60.00 per head including bucks fizz and canapes on arrival

The Crown & Anchor, 33 High St, Shoreham by Sea, West Sussex BN43 5DD Open 10.00am daily for coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner (bookings recommended) Tel: 01273 463500 Email: info@crownandanchor-shoreham.co.uk www.crownandanchor-shoreham.co.uk

Chris and Simon offer a warm and relaxed welcome to The Black Horse Freehouse in the idyllic location of Binsted.

While away the hours with our attentive service and sample our seasonal menu based on fresh, produce, locally-sourced where possible.

Our extensive wine list has been chosen to complement the menu. Be sure to save some room for our wonderful range of delicious desserts or perhaps a choice selection of cheeses washed down with a glass of port.

Reservations: 01243 551213 Our winter festive menus for December are now available.

Reservation recommended to avoid disappointment.

The Black Horse | Binsted Lane | Binsted | West Sussex | BN18 OLP

34274 CAA] EAT SUSSEX*.indd 1

reat beers, fine Gwines and

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souvenir gifts...

13/8/08 16:10:10

Coriander D E L I & R E S TA U R A N T

passionate about our produce. ... from the Brewery Shop in Lewes • • • • •

Firkins and polypins 48 hours notice Up to two gallons on demand Wines, spirits and ciders Glass hire service available Selection boxes of bottled beers

Direct from the brewery at brewery prices Open Monday to Saturday 9.30am – 4.45pm

Harvey & Son (Lewes) Ltd The Bridge Wharf Brewery • 6 Cliffe High Street Lewes • East Sussex BN7 2AH Tel: 01273 480217 www.harveys.org.uk

AWA R D W I N N I N G B E E R S E

S T

local organic fruit & veg, fresh Rookery Farm eggs an extensive selection of artisan cheeses speciality meats & charcuterie, Sussex sausages & bacon Spanish & Italian specialities Ecover cleaning products & refills Christmas hampers & foodie gifts Sussex Kelly Bronze turkeys & cold cuts

for more details of our menu & wines, opening times, special food nights & events, offers & seasonal produce, visit our website:

corianderbrighton.com

1790

5 HOVE MANOR • HOVE STREET • HOVE • BN3 2DF • 01273 730850

November/December 2008 coriander_eat_sussex.indd 1

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Drink Sussex

Harveys Copperwheat

A: Clear, golden.

N: Caramel malt aroma.

P: Carbonated, malty, touch of malt sugar left, cooked peaches. Soft, refined finish.

Ideal pairings: Partridge in a light fruit sauce, Roasted Portobello Mushroom, Garlic & Lemon Pate (see Issue 4).

Harveys South Down Harvest A: Clear amber.

N: Plum, pear, stewed yellow fruits.

Tony: “Really lovely alluring smells.”

P: Crisp, caramelised yellow fruits.

David: “Hops dry up the finish efficiently creating a crisp and classy end.”

Ideal pairings: Coq au Biere, Kedgeree (try grilled sweetcorn to substitute for fish as a vegetarian dish), Smoked Cheeses.

Tis the season to be jolly David Furer takes a look at the seasonal beers on offer from Sussex’s best brewers.

U

nlike rotationally

harvested agricultural and wild products, beers, manufactured with wet and dry ingredients available on a year-round basis, may almost always be brewed to specification on a whim.

However, traditions are difficult to break. The four seasons, coupled with the alltoo-human desire to celebrate, are the points at which a brewer is wont to brew up a batch to reflect a change of season or a holiday.

Spring beers hark back to pagan times; the warming of the earth allowed yeasts become active and ferment again following a frozen winter slumber. In northern Europe grains (and honey for mead) were the fermentables of choice. Later, Christian Easter and Lent provided respective rebirth and re-energizing opportunities for the true believer. Monks were

THE TASTING Accepting the limitations that any seasonal beer tasting will have, the Eat Sussex panel — editor Tony Leonard, publisher Dominic McCartan, writer and chef Stephen Adams, and your author — set about assessing examples from the three breweries which provided us with samples. Harveys, Hepworth, and 1648 all showed well; we only wish more breweries followed suit. The following are a round-up of our opinions, some expert and all from beer lovers, with suggestions for seasonal/regional food pairings. Without a doubt all of the beers we enjoyed were well worth seeking out and tasting on your own. However, at the end of our daunting tasting, consensus was reached that the star was the Hepworth Vintage Christmas Ale. My native US brewers are even more daring than those here in the UK but winter seasonal ales don’t get much better than these from Sussex.

A = appearance. N = nose. P = palate.

key in brewing in those times, with some today still brewing special beers, if not seasonal ones.

Medium to medium-high levels of concentration of malts, lowmedium to medium levels of hops are the norm.

Summer’s heat (well, in some countries) stipulates beers be made at lower alcohol levels so as to allow the drinker to slake one’s thirst while sweltering in the sun working in the fields. Or, playing on the beach. Refreshment rather than revitalization is the

buzz-word. Crisply hoppy, low to moderate maltiness is called for, so another, and another, can be enjoyed.

Harvest time — autumn — is the greatest focus for seasonal beers worldwide. German ‘Oktoberfest’ not only celebrates the harvest but allows excess beer brewed the previous year to be finished in time for new batches to be brewed from the most recent harvest.

Although these traditionally aren’t hoppy, modern tastes allow more diversity than in the past. Today

a wide range of styles abound; autumnal flavours associated with fallen leaves, fresh hops, and other aromas to tickle the nose as well as the palate. Halloween, Guy Fawkes Day, and other holidays worldwide are normally commemorated with autumn beers.

Winter holiday beers have the longest and greatest tradition.

Long, cold northern winters traditionally have spurred brewers to fashion strong — in malt, hops, and alcohol — beers so as to give the imbiber the necessary

November/December 2008

45

Drink Sussex

Harveys Thomas Paine A: Clear amber.

N: Cherry, mildly caramel malt sweetness.

P: Sweetish on palate, fuller body, a yeastymeatiness that puts me in the mind for eating meat. Tony: “A sweet entry that isn’t at all cloying.” Complex and satisfying.

Ideal pairings: Leek Rarebit (Issue 2), Steak.

46

Hepworth Old A: Very dark, near opaque.

N: Tobacco, leather, forest undergrowth, Dominic: “Smells cosy and a bit damp, like an old man’s pub.”

P: Bit foamy, chocolate, coffee, hint of liquorice, dry finish.

Ideal pairings: Venison & Mushroom Stroganoff (Issue 6), Braised Red Cabbage with Toasted Nuts.

1648 Chilly Willy

Harveys Porter

A: Cloudy, brown.

N: Aniseed, peardrops, forest floor on a misty morning. Tony: “Like an oldfashioned sweet shop.”

P: Chocolate, lashing of bittering hops, liquorice, short finish.

Ideal pairings: South Indian Chicken Curry, Braised Endive Tart.

A: Opaque brown.

N: Dates, tar, molasses.

P: Smoky, molasses, toffee, full-flavoured, touch of black currant on the finish.

Ideal pairings: Barkham Blue Cheese with Caraway Rye Bread, Pigeon Tagine.

Hepworth Vintage Christmas Ale

Harveys Christmas Ale

A: Medium brown.

N: Moderately herbaceous, browned apple, orange peel.

P: Beautiful balance. Dominic: “Runs over the tongue carrying a lot of flavour, velvety.”

Stephen: “Doesn’t taste as heavy as the 7.5% would indicate.”

Ideal pairings: Roast Turkey (Issue 2), Grilled Cumberland Sausages with Mash.

A: Brown with a green tinge to the rim.

N: Toffee apple, oxidized.

P: Slightly sweet entry, dense, tamarind note, dates, surprisingly short. Low hop notes. One for the cellar.

Ideal pairings: Slow-cooked Shin of Beef, Mince Pies with Brandy Butter.

calories (and stimulation) to make it through the long nights. Malts used here tend to be darker, aged characteristics may often be found.

Flavours of spices are encouraged, whether or not spices are in fact added. Some brewers have been known to add tree bark, fruits, herbs & spices, and other atypical materials to add bursts of flavour to their brews. Sussex’s Hammerpot uses ginger in their seasonal Shepherds Warmer. Others merely focus upon higher levels of hops

and malts. Higher levels of residual malt sugars are also common in these beers, better to pair with sweeter sauces and condiments served during the holiday season.

Harvey’s and Hammerpot both make a dark beer, porter, more bitter than a typical stout, to enjoy during this time. Ray Welton, at Weltons Brewery, has gone so far as to create 12 Beers of Christmas.

Look for them but, please, give yourself more than one sitting to enjoy them! n

1648 White Gold A: Cloudy, amber.

N: Mild toasty aroma.

P: Soft entry, toasty with a moderately brown malt character. Good balance with hops showing on the palate only on the end. Lingering, mildly tannic finish. Stephen: “It doesn’t taste like it’s 4.9%.”

Ideal pairings: Baked Ham with Caramelised Root Veggies, Gammon Steaks with Boiled Potatoes.

Californian David Furer is a drinks/food/travel writer and marketer based in Brighton. When not tasting, teaching, or writing of wines & spirits he may be found scouring Sussex for its grainy quaffs.

November/December 2008

The Countryman Traditional country charm in a rural setting

The Countryman is set in open countryside close to the small village of Shipley. Inside you’ll find it warm and cosy in the winter and light and airy in the summer. There are cask-conditioned ales and 40 wines from around the world as well as fresh ground coffee and a range of classic and herb teas. Free-range meat and vegetables from local farms make their appearance on the menu alongside fresh fish from Shoreham and Newhaven with local game in season.

We serve a range of ploughman lunches with home baked bread, various grills and freshly made sandwiches & snacks.

BOOKINGS FOR CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR NOW BEING TAKEN

Table reservations: 01403 741383

The Shepherd & Dog Relax in the countryside

A traditional country pub nestling at the foot of the South Downs in the picturesque village of Fulking.

Outside you will find two terraces and a large garden with side-seating overlooking the freshwater spring which makes this a popular retreat on a warm summers day.

The Shepherd & Dog’s Sunday Roasts have been voted in the Top Ten in the country by The Guardian Newspaper and last year voted as a ‘Hidden Gem’ in Wine & Spirit Magazine.

Excellent choice of quality wines and at least six real ales including

Open all day for food from midday to 9pm (Sundays until 8.30pm ).

COUNTRYMAN INN, SHIPLEY, WEST SUSSEX. RH13 8PZ

The Shepherd & Dog

Web: www.countrymanshipley.co.uk Email: countrymaninn@btopenworld.com ,ES 2OUTIERS $INING 0UB OF THE YEAR s .OMINATED FOR 5+46 ,OCAL &OOD (ERO 7ILLIAM 2EED 0UBLISHING "EST &OOD 0UB s !! PUB 'UIDE 0REMIER 0UB 2ESTAURANT @"%34 ,/#!, &//$ 05" FOR ,ONDON 3OUTH %AST AS JUDGED BY THE 0UBLICAN -AGAZINE

The Countrymann QP 1108.indd 1

Harveys, Old & Best, Dark Star, Hophead and various guest ales.

The Street, Fulking, West Sussex. BN5 9LU

01273 857382 Half way between A2037 (Upper Beeding) and A23 (Poynings)

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The Oak Ardingly Welcome to The Oak, a picturesque & friendly Grade II listed country pub serving real ales and good home cooked food.

home-cooked food local beers varied wine-list regular events and live music

The Standard Inn

Caters for private functions for up to 60 people & separate room for smaller parties, an ideal place for Seasonal parties.

Please visit our website, www.theoakardingly.co.uk, for our Christmas Party Menu OPENING TIMES Monday-Thursday ,11.30am-2.30pm, 5pm-Midnight Friday & Saturday, 11.30am, all day until Midnight Sunday, 12.00, all day until Midnight

The Mint Rye East Sussex Tel: 01797 225996, www.standardinn.co.uk

Telephone for bookings 01444 892244 The Oak Inn, Street Lane , Ardingly, West Sussex, RH17 6UA www.theoakardingly.co.uk

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Farmers’ Markets in Sussex East Sussex Battle 3rd Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, Battle Abbey Green Tel: 01424 751575

Bexhill 4th Thursday of every month, 9am-12noon, Parkhurst Methodist Hall, Parkhurst Road Tel: 01424 222969

Brede Every Friday, 10am-12noon, Brede Village Hall Tel: 01424 882836

Brighton & Hove 1st Sunday of every month, 10am-3pm, Ralli Hall, next to Hove Station Tel: 01273 323200

Brighton & Hove 4th Saturday of every month, 10am-3pm, George Street, Hove Tel: 01273 470900

Crowborough 4th Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, Wealden District Council car park Tel: 01892 664064

Crowhurst Village market 1st Saturday of every month, 10am-12noon, Crowhurst Village Hall Tel: 01424 830461

East Dean Village Market Every Wednesday, 10.30am-12.30pm, East Dean Village Hall Tel: 01323 423481

Firle 4th Sunday of the month, March to November, 10am-2pm, Middle Farm on A27 near Firle Tel: 01323 811411

Hailsham 2nd Saturday of every month, 9am-12.30pm, Hailsham Cattle Market Tel: 01323 833359

Hastings 2nd and 4th Thursday of every month, 9am-2pm, Robertson Street (next to Debenhams) Tel: 01424 457109

Heathfield 3rd Saturday of every month, 9am12.30pm, Heathfield Co-op car park Tel: 01435 862798

Lewes 1st Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, Cliffe Pedestrian Precinct Tel: 01273 470900

Pevensey Bay village market 2nd Saturday of every month, 8.45am-11.45am, St Wilfrid’s Hall, Eastbourne Road Tel: 01323 460178

West Sussex

Petworth 4th Saturday of alternate months (Dec, Feb), 8.30am-1.30pm, Market Square Tel: 01243 785166

Arundel

3rd Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, Town Centre Tel: 01903 884772 / 07881 687694

Pulborough

Billingshurst

Last Saturday of every month, Feb to Dec, 9am-12noon, Pulborough Village Hall Tel: 01903 891476 / 07752 364832

Chichester

2nd Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, East St Tel: 01273 263152

East Grinstead

4th Thursday of every month (excl.

Dec), 8.30am-12.30pm, Coronation Hall, Reynolds Lane Tel: 01243 814777

3rd Wednesday of every month, 9am-1pm, Jengers Mead Tel: 01403 215386

Shoreham-by-Sea

1st and 3rd Friday of every month, 9am-2pm, East St & North St Tel: 01243 785166

Slindon

Every Thursday 9am-2pm, High St Tel: 01932 788001

Hassocks

Southwater

4th Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, National Tyres Forecourt Rachellovell@hotmail.com

Every Tuesday, 9am-1pm, Lintot Square, Tel: 01243 814777

Haywards Heath

Steyning

2nd and 4th Thursday of every month, 9am-2pm, The Orchards Shopping Centre Tel: 01932 788001

1st Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, High St Car Park (opp Clock Tower) Tel: 01403 711057

Henfield

West Chiltington

3rd Friday of every month, 9am-1pm, Henfield Hall Car Park Tel: 01273 492595

2nd Saturday of every month, 9am-12noon, Village Hall Tel: 01798 815455

Horsham

Rye

Wisborough Green

Every Saturday, 9am-5pm, Carfax (Town Centre) Tel: 01403 215386

Every Wednesday, 10am-1pm, Strand Quay Tel: 01797 280282

2nd Thursday of every month, 9am-12.30pm, Village Hall Tel: 01403 700624

Midhurst

Uckfield 1st Saturday of every month, 9am-1pm, Luxford Car Park Tel: 01825 760646

Worthing

4th Saturday of alternate months (Nov, Jan), 8.30am-1.30pm, Capron House Car Park Tel: 01243 785166

4th Saturday of every month, 9am-2pm, South St Square Tel: 01903 203252

Local Produce Specialists Bespoke Sussex Hampers and Christmas Gifts

A subscription makes a great all year round Christmas gift for family or friends.

A whole year’s subscription for just £12.50.

Guarantee your copy now with each issue delivered direct to you.

Order by post or online at www.eatsussex.co.uk For just £12.50 for six issues, you can have Eat Sussex delivered straight to your door. Order online or send your name, telephone and address details with a cheque payable to Eat Media Ltd, to Eat Media, 13 Middle St, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1AL.

November/December 2008

8-10 East Street, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex BN43 5ZE Tel: 01273 455515 Email: paula@toastbythecoast.com

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7/10/08 18:27:40

The Wild Side

Fergus Drennan Foraging a festive feast

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ne of the most satisfying aspects of foraging is the way

it encourages a conscious and thoughtful response to both the abundance and vagaries of seasonal availability.

Primed to take advantage of what nature has to offer, every month becomes a celebration of exciting yet fleeting flavours, often epitomised by one particular plant or other. Of course, the fresh flavours may be fleeting, yet preserved in various ways they can be both long-lasting and even intensified.

If I were to choose just one dish that epitomises seasonal

Christmas pudding (made in November)

50

When the individual fruit come into season (except for the medlars and haw berries), halve or quarter, remove seeds/stones where necessary (plums, cherries, grapes and firm rosehips — do the latter under a running tap to remove all the fine hairs as well), slow dry all the fruit except the rosehips on wire racks in an airing cupboard or warm place such as on top of a radiator, aga or immersion heater (Do not dry till the fruit are crisp though; they should remain slightly moist). For the rosehips, chop finely and boil in a cup of apple juice for five minutes before straining.

Roughly mince the dried fruits in a food processor. Score the chestnut shells with a sharp knife, place in a roasting tray and bake for 20-30 minutes in a hot oven (Gas Mark 6 / 200°C / 400°F);

once cool, remove the shells and chop have the chestnuts very finely. Boil the hawthorns for 10 minutes in the apple juice, strain and press pulp through a sieve. Into a food processor place the remaining whole chestnuts, hawthorn and extracted medlar pulp, apple syrup, birch sap syrup, cider and liqueur. Blend to a smooth paste. In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly combine this paste with the dried fruit, the chopped nuts, beaten eggs, suet and breadcrumbs.

Lightly press the mixture into a large greased pudding bowl or divide between two smaller ones. Cut out a circle of baking parchment somewhat larger than the top of the bowl, placing it together with a similarly sized piece of aluminium foil over the top of each basin, fold over

November/December 2008

responsiveness and the celebration of seasonal variety, it would have to be the Christmas pudding I make ever year from 100 per cent wild and foraged ingredients.

This year is my fifth attempt; the challenge being to improve on last year’s successful recipe. So, putting all thoughts of convenience food aside and, in a challenging seasonal celebration of the slow, fantastically inconvenient, absurd and impractical, here is my recipe for a completely foraged Christmas pudding.You may, of course, use some of the ingredients in your own recipe if you wish. n SERVES FOUR TO SIX.

100g (4oz) sweet chestnuts (October)

100g (4oz) fresh hawthorn berries (October)

100g (4oz) dried bilberries (Late August)

150g (5oz) dried deseeded grapes (September)

10 dried apple rings (October)

100g (4oz) dried stoned plum halves (August)

60g (3oz) dried Physalis halves (Chinese lantern fruit) (September) 75ml (3fl oz) concentrated apple syrup (October) 75ml (3fl oz) birch sap syrup (March) 50ml (2fl oz) rosehip syrup (September)

4 medium sized dried fig quarters (July)

100g (4oz) dried stoned wild cherries (July)

50g (2oz) deseeded rosehips halves boiled in apple juice (dog rose) (September)

50g (2oz) dried fuscia berry halves (September)

10g (½oz) staghorn sumac berry powder (Late August)

2 large bletted medlars (November)

10 finely chopped walnuts (October)

10 finely chopped hazelnuts (Late September)

1 cup home-made cider (October)

1 cup apple juice (October)

½ cup Physalis fruit and blackberry infused liqueur (October)

150g (5oz) badger suet (November) — or vegetable suet if you think this somewhat gross

110g (4oz) bread crumbs — from Reedmace (January) and fallow-field wheat (August) bread

2 beaten duck eggs (June)

the edges and tie securely with string. Invert a saucer and put on the base of a pan. Place the bowl on top and pour in boiling water to a third of the way up the sides of the bowl. Cover with a lid and steam for 5-6 hours for single large puddings and 4-5 hours for smaller ones. Remember to keep the water topped up. Set aside for Christmas, and steam for 2 hours before serving.

This is the simplified method.

For a more detailed account, please visit my website at http://

www.wildmanwildfood.co.uk.

Hopefully this has put you in a Christmas mood; one that looks positively on the dark winter months. From a foraging perspective there is still much to find and inspire enthusiasm for getting outside. So if you’re stressed from pre Christmas shopping or feeling sluggish from post festive indulgence, why not have a change of scene, get out and see if you can find any of the wild foods that are now in season.

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