Food & Drink

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THE CAKE WHISPERER Val Stones

SESAME, DATE, CRANBERRY AND SPICE COOKIES

In my early fifties, I broke my wrist and was given a bone density scan. I was diagnosed with osteoporosis in my hip, upper arms, and spine. I needed to find ways to include as much calcium as possible in my diet and so began my recipe development.

A recently new ingredient that I have added to my cupboard is date syrup; it is used widely in Middle Eastern countries where dates are grown. It has the consistency of a thick honey and lots of health benefits; it contains antioxidants, vitamin A, B6 and C. It’s easy to digest and though a natural sugar, it’s low in fructose and it doesn’t spike like other sweeteners.

This recipe contains iron, calcium, copper and magnesium from the black treacle and date syrup. The dates contain polyphenols and are the richest source of these than any other dried fruits. Sesame seeds contain calcium and vitamin E and add a nutty crunch to these fruity cookies. The sweetness comes mainly from the dried dates, date syrup and cranberries – there is no added sugar. If you wish, you can make up a double batch of dough, as it will keep in a covered container in the fridge for a week – ready to bake another day.

Preparation time 15 minutes to make the mixture, 30 minutes to chill the dough, 18-25 minutes baking time.

What you will need 3-4 flat baking sheets (if you don’t have 4 sheets, then bake in batches), lined with non-stick parchment or silicone mats, and an offset spatula

Ingredients Makes 18-20 cookies

25g black treacle 25g date syrup 50g dark brown sugar 1 egg yolk 125g unsalted butter, softened 180g plain flour 3g bicarbonate of soda 4g baking powder 2 tsp mixed spice 1 tsp cinnamon 100g stoned dates, chopped 80g dried cranberries 80g sesame seeds

Method 1 Weigh the treacle and date syrup into a medium bowl, add the sugar and butter and beat until creamy. 2 Add the egg and mix until fluffy. 3 Add half the flour, bicarb, baking powder, mixed spice, cinnamon and fruit then stir until combined.

Add the remainder of the flour and stir until all combined, cover the bowl and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. 4 Heat the oven to 180C, 160C fan, 350F, gas mark 4 5 Place the sesame seeds on a dinner plate. 6 Take a piece of dough about the size of a walnut and roll into a ball. Tip – to make the cookies all the same size, roll into 28g balls. 7 Flatten slightly on the work surface, then press into the sesame seeds on the plate, so each cookie is coated well. 8 Place on the baking sheet and then press down to flatten with the spatula – the cookies should be less than a centimetre thick and about 3-4 cm wide. 9 Bake in the oven for 18-25 minutes, checking after 15 minutes. The cookies are done when they are firm around the edges, evenly golden on top and on the base. 10 Leave to cool on the tray and when cold, pack into an airtight container.

Enjoy!

OPEN ARMS

Doune Mackenzie-Francis, The Queen’s Arms

The Queen’s Arms in Corton Denham has been a destination pub for years, and it’s now our time to prove ourselves as its new owners.

Simon and I have lived in the charming village of Corton Denham for fourteen years and have watched the pub grow and change under the management of Rupert and Victoria, followed by Gordon and Jeanette. We’ve always loved it as our village local, spending many a sunny afternoon on the terrace with a pint, daydreaming of what we would do, given the chance to own it one day. When the Queen’s Arms came up for sale in 2020 it was an opportunity too good to miss.

In many ways, purchasing the pub during lockdown worked to our advantage. We were able to see how it was managed and learn under the guidance of Jeanette, who stayed on after the purchase and ran it on our behalf from July to December 2020. We then took the opportunity to close in January, during the last lockdown, to carry out a full top-to-bottom refurbishment.

Being a Georgian building there have been lots of unseen challenges we have had to tackle, including a ‘spaghetti junction’ of wiring, the need to replace all the windows, as well as a series of burst pipes, which resulted in the need for completely new plumbing. It now means we know everything will work and there will be no hidden surprises behind the walls. We can hit ‘reset’ and start from scratch.

Well, I say ‘start from scratch’ but in reality, it meant that the ground floor has been completely reconfigured to open up and connect the downstairs rooms, bathrooms have been moved to the side, double doors have been fitted to open on to the terrace and a ‘Pub Hub’ has been added. The Pub Hub will have a café feel to it: it’s a place where people can meet for coffee and pastries and somewhere I hope the village will congregate when using our re-fillable milk machine and buying freshly baked bread.

It’s our first foray into the world of pub management but we are not new in the culinary world. I have a background in food and have a passion for local, sustainable produce. I spent eight years working at the renowned cookery school Leiths School of Food and Wine as their marketing and PR manager and I am also a trained cook, having completed the prestigious family-run course at Ballymaloe Cookery School in Ireland. I realise that whilst I have a deep love and understanding of food, I’m not experienced in many areas of the hospitality business though, which is why I’m delighted to have a fantastic team to oversee the running of the pub.

Our Operations Manager, Sharky Patterson, started his career at Soho House before becoming the General Manager at The Beckford Arms in Wiltshire, then going on to take up a position as Assistant General Manager at The Newt in Somerset and overseeing its launch. He’s joined by his friend and long-term colleague Danny Emney, who has similarly worked at Soho House, The Beckford Arms, Roth Bar and Grill and The Newt in Somerset, having first met when they were at school together in Bruton and then have worked together almost ever since.

Completing the new picture is Johnny Jones, who has moved to us from The Bird in Hand pub in London to take up residence in Corton Denham as The Queen’s Arms’ new head chef. Jones trained at Fifteen Foundation, the charity-based cookery academy established by Jamie Oliver, and went on to work at London-based restaurants Bibendum, The River Café and The Berkeley Hotel, before helping to launch Koji with the former head chef of Nobu. He has also worked for the private client boxes at Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur. Jones’ menu for The Queen’s Arms will combine a modern take on British classics with European influences (being married to an Italian means his homemade pasta is authentically delicious!).

There’s plenty for us to do (I've not even mentioned the 10 newly decorated guest rooms!), and though it’s a very busy time right now, it’s exciting. Our three children have been helping out and are just as excited about it all as we are. Amidst all these changes, we want to remain loyal to the roots of the pub and keep its down-to-earth ‘we love dogs and muddy boots’ philosophy – the thing that first made us fall in love with The Queen’s Arms in the first place.

The Queen’s Arms reopens in July. To make an advanced booking please go to thequeensarms.com or call 01963 220317

FRESH PASTA

Johnny Jones, Head Chef, The Queen’s Arms

Makes enough to serve 6-8 Preparation time: 45 minutes Cooking time: 3-5 minutes

Ingredients 350g ‘00’ flour 120g whole eggs (approximately 2 eggs) 90g egg yolks (approximately 4 egg yolks) Pinch of sea salt Semolina/plain flour for dusting

The dough 1 Measure flour into large mixing bowl, make a little well in the centre of the flour to weigh the eggs in the same bowl. 2 After measuring out the correct weight of eggs, add the salt and gently begin to mix the ingredients to bring them together. Tip – you can either mix with your hands or in a stand mixer, until a rough ball of dough has formed. 3 Knead the dough for a few minutes until smooth and completely combined. 4 Cover the ball in cling film and leave to rest in the fridge before using. Ideally 10-15 minutes or even longer if you have time.

Making pasta 5 To roll the dough out with a pasta machine, you need to first secure the machine to the table/counter.

Lightly dust the surface with flour and push your dough into a flat shape on the surface, otherwise the machine won’t be able to process it properly. 6 Adjust the machine to the largest setting and put the dough through at least 6 times. Fold the dough in half each time, before you put it through the machine - you are aiming for a very smooth finish on the dough. Once this texture has been achieved, you can start to go down in gradient on the machine 10>9>8>7 etc, until you have reached the desired thickness.

Tip – each machine is different so you will have to gauge the thickness. If you are making straight pasta (tagliatelle or pappardelle) you can leave the dough to be slightly thicker than if you were to make ravioli, as you are doubling the pasta thickness once you close the pasta shape. If you do not have a machine, you can roll the pasta out as thinly as possible using a rolling pin and semolina flour (or plain flour) to stop it sticking to the table.

7 Once you have your desired dough, gently fold the pasta over three times and slice across the folded pasta, which will then unfurl to created tagliatelle strands. 8 When you are ready to cook, bring a big pan of salted water to the boil and gently place your pasta in.

Cooking fresh pasta is surprisingly fast, around 2-3 minutes, so watch out, it is very delicate so be gentle.

For ravioli… cut the whole length of pasta in half and place one half under a clean tea towel. Lay out the other half and using a teaspoon, place your filling at even intervals along one side of the dough, before using water and a pastry brush to dampen around the edge of the filling, then fold over the rest of the dough to envelope the filling, gently pressing down around the edges. You can then slice between the fillings for your ravioli.

It is important to note the need to have the filling ready, when making filled pasta. Otherwise, it will dry out and crack one closure of the shape.

Serving suggestions In my family, we make fresh tagliatelle with cherry tomatoes, capers, black olives, fresh basil and a really good glug of extra virgin olive oil. I lightly fry the tomatoes until they start to break down and add the rest of the ingredients and cook for a further 2-3 mins then stir it through the pasta – very quick!

Raw pasta is so versatile; you can create any sauce of your preference. For filled pasta, I like to use ricotta, parmesan and lemon zest – it is a very simple but effective filling.

thequeensarms.com

AJAPSANDALI WITH BAKED SALMON

Sasha Matkevich, The Green

Image: Clint Randall

This is our take on a Georgian classic. It’s an aubergine stew of sorts, packed with flavour and summer veg - the perfect dish for a warm afternoon. We use organic sustainably fed salmon. Alternatively you can use sea trout, which works just as well.

Ingredients 1kg salmon, cut into 6 portions 8 onions - 4 diced & 4 finely sliced 1 lemon, sliced 170ml olive oil 2 cloves of garlic 1 chilli, chopped 1kg aubergine, diced 3 red peppers, finely sliced 1tbsp tomato puree 400g chopped tomato 1 bunch basil, chopped 1 bunch parsley, chopped 1 bunch coriander, chopped Sea salt Black pepper

Method 1 Place your salmon on a baking tray with the 4 diced onions and lemon, season with salt and pepper, give everything a good mix and cover with clingfilm,

then transfer to the fridge overnight. 2 For the ajapsandali, heat a large, heavy-bottomed pan on a medium heat and add 150ml olive oil.

Once the oil has heated up, add the 4 finely sliced onions, 2 garlic cloves and chilli. Cook until the onions become soft and translucent. 3 Add the aubergine and red peppers and continue to cook until the aubergine is soft (around 15 minutes). Add the tomato puree and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes or until thickened and incorporated with the other vegetables. 4 Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for a further 5 minutes. Whilst the ajapsandali is cooking… 5 Remove the salmon from the fridge, discard the lemon and put the onions to one side. Transfer the salmon to a baking sheet and cook for 8 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 200 degrees. After 8 minutes, add the reserved onions, drizzle with 20ml olive oil and cook for 8 more minutes until the onions are soft and the salmon is cooked

Just before serving, season the ajapsandali with salt and pepper and add the chopped herbs. Ladle the stew into 6 bowls evenly and top with baked salmon and onions.

Serve immediately and enjoy!

A MONTH ON THE PIG FARM

James Hull, The Story Pig

It’s 9 o’clock and the mid-summer evening sun is still beaming down on us. Charlotte and I walk handin-hand from our outside supper table to inspect our rows of lavender gently rolling down the steep bank. Their heads held high and tinged with purple, they are about to burst into bloom and provide the spectacle that I have wanted for years, having named the farm Lavender Keepers – it was only a matter of time. This is our short moment together, strolling through into our garden that is alive with the sound of bees of all description – busily collecting nectar from our cottage garden that has really burst into life over the last few weeks. Looking across the lawn to the nearest group of pigs greedily finishing up their supper – jostling and pushing each other for the last morsel – the evening shadows are long and the promise of another amazing sunset beckons. Summer fills the air with the sweet scent of cut grass and flowers on the gentle breeze. As we walk, I try and restrain myself from weeding along the way. Charlotte wants me to focus my attention on her and the flowers – not the pesky weeds that peep through as soon as my back is turned!

It’s been another busy and varied day on the farm. Starting early, as the morning sun was already beaming down with the promise of another scorching day, I fed the pigs first – it was still cool enough for them to enjoy their breakfast. During the heat of the summer, they seek out shade and water to keep themselves cool, covering themselves in mud if they can. Then, it was back to the farm to make sausages. Today, we made a thousand sausages for the next few days’ orders and markets. Although not my favourite job, it’s obviously a major part of what we do here at The Story Pig – I much prefer to be outside, so escape as quickly as I can.

We had a problem with our green energy supply today, too much sun beaming down was making our switches trip out, so a call to our electrician and a promise of a ‘Charlotte scotch egg’ quickly brought him to our rescue. Then, it was time for me to try and get our sheep into the cattle box and take them to a neighbour to be sheared. All morning this had been in the back of my mind. There was a small chance that they would trot out of the field in a group of seven and meekly trot into the cattle box – a small chance – but instead, they preferred the other option, where they make the slightly overheated farmer run up and down the paddock, shouting, whistling, and sweating while they run towards the open gate, before taking it in turns to make a break for it. And then, patiently, wait for me to repeat the process. After half an hour of this in the full mid-day sun, me promising that’s it – the sheep must go, and Charlotte’s ‘get a bigger lawn mower James – it will be easier,’ I give up the running and decide on new tactics. It’s time to borrow the very heavy pig hurdles and make the biggest pen I can, so that they won’t even realise it’s a pen. Then, once they are in there, gradually pull and push the hurdles down the field until it’s small for them to have no other option.

It’s a battle of wills now; I’m not giving in – I will get them in if it kills me. Face red as a beetroot and dripping with sweat, legs covered in white stinging nettle spots, where I hadn’t noticed a small patch springing up behind me, I heave and pull. After another half an hour of me going slightly crazy, they quietly run in to the trailer – they know when they are beaten. That was it, we drove down to the neighbours’ farm, they were sheared and home. No more dramas. I have let them back out and will just keep my distance from them for a few days until my farmer brain tells me once again that they are not so bad after all!

And guess what, the farmer now also makes the coffee in our new Lavender Keepers Café. we have been open three weeks and it’s going well. We are learning all the way; Charlotte is baking day and night; both Sten and I nearly look like sausage rolls with the amount we have had to test, but imagine, we got there! We are open and waiting to welcome you to our amazing spot any day – as long as it’s Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

CHENIN BLANC

David Copp

Stellenbosch, Cape Town

Iam not quite sure why my interest in white wines has developed as it has done in recent years. Perhaps, it is a function of age. For whatever reason, I find myself wanting to write about yet another white wine variety, hitherto not so well known, but now producing attractive wines to compete with Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.

Chenin Blanc, the white wine grape of the middle Loire, makes a range of stunning wines which, at their peak, produce the truly great wines of Savennières and Domaine Huet in Vouvray. If I was asked to list some of the finest wines I have most enjoyed, I would include Domaine Huet, developed by Gaston Huet but now owned by Antony Hwang – a highly successful American businessman whose interest in fine wine was stimulated by Istvan Szepsy in Tokay.

Against a background of renaissance chateaux, ancient towns and a majestic meandering river on its 1000-mile-long journey to the Atlantic, Chenin Blanc came of age and began to produce wonderfully zippy wines perfect with seafood as well as pork, chicken, turkey and the finest cheeses of the region.

What is of particular interest to white wine drinkers is that over the last two decades Chenin Blanc has found itself a new home in the soils and climate of South Africa. In Swartland and Stellenbosch, outstanding growers such as Ken Forrester have shown how well they can compete with the best growers of the Loire and elsewhere. I believe the best is yet to come.

Chenin Blanc loves the warmth of the sun, but it also welcomes the cool currents of air that come up from Antartica. The Cape Doctor as the breeze is known, helps keep the acidity high and offers the additional benefit of warding off mildew and rot in wet weather.

Chenin Blanc is now the most widely planted vine variety in South Africa and growers are beginning to refine their wines making them a good match with Asian foods and sea food.

The popularity of the grape has grown because it has its own distinctive character and aromatic qualities. California and Argentina have found some good sites for it and I for one will not be surprised if more suitable

Finn stock/Shutterstock

growing areas are uncovered.

I think back to the 1980s, when Australian Chardonnay first hit our supermarket shelves. ‘Sunshine in a glass’ was the most commonly used caption for the print and poster ads. I would not be surprised if Chenin becomes more and more popular.

Whereas I still retain a soft spot for Riesling, particularly from the Moselle, I am always pleased to find a relatively new-to-me-variety, which offers freshness and flavour, to accompany our preferred foods - fish, white meats and creamy cheeses.

I like the freshness of Chenin Blanc: it retains its acidity well and I have found some really good wines at £6 a bottle. If you do find you like the variety, talk to your wine supplier about the next stage up in the offerings from South Africa and surprise yourself by looking at the late harvest wines and sparkling wines from the Loire. When Gaston Huet died, his wonderful vineyards were bought by Anthony Hwang, an American businessman whose introduction to fine wine was developed by Istvan Szepsy in Tokaj.

LOCAL KNOWLEDGE

Afrikan Ridge Chenin Blanc, Bergsig Estate, Coastal Region £7.50 Vineyards Made by Bergsig Estate who are based in the Breedkloof area of Breede River Valley. A great introduction to South African Chenin Blanc. A fruity, dry wine full of juicy melon, pear and citrus. More rounded than Sauvignon and less aromatic than a Riesling – have a try!

‘Steen Op Hout’ Chenin Blanc, Mulderbosch Wines, Stellenbosch £12 Vineyards Absolutely everything you want from a delicious Chenin Blanc made from the ‘masters’ of this grape variety. A vibrant, fresh expression with lively pear, apricot and subtle oak spice. It’s like nectar and from the minute you open the bottle, undeniably South African Chenin Blanc. An absolute experience in a bottle for the price.

vineyardsofsherborne.co.uk