Food & Drink

SPROUTING BROCCOLI VINAIGRETTE WITH PENNY BUN MUSHROOMS, BLACK OLIVES AND EGG MIMOSA

Sasha Matkevich, The Green

Image: Clint Randall

This warm starter-salad is a timeless classic and is especially good when made with homegrown purple sprouting broccoli. Penny bun mushrooms go by many names. You might know them as ceps or porcini.

Ingredients: Serves 4 20/24 purple broccoli flower shoots 200ml red wine 800ml water 10 whole black peppercorns 4 sprigs fresh thyme 3 bay leaves 2 tsp Dijon mustard 2 tbsp cream 2 tbsp red wine vinegar 100ml extra virgin olive oil 3 tbsp good black olives, chopped 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped 1/2 small shallot, finely chopped 1 large red radish, finely sliced 200g penny bun mushrooms, washed 1 tbsp small capers 3 organic free-range eggs, hard boiled Dorset sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method: 1 Trim the broccoli and check that shoots are thoroughly clean. 2 Pour the red wine and water into a large pan and add the peppercorns, thyme, bay leaves and sea salt to taste. Put on a medium heat and bring to a gentle boil. 3 After three minutes add the broccoli shoots and reduce the heat slightly. Simmer gently for 10 minutes, or until tender. 4 Meanwhile, peel the hard boiled eggs and separate the whites from the yolks. Finely chop the egg white and place in a large mixing bowl. Grate the yolks on the finest grater and set aside for later. 5 To make the vinaigrette – add the chopped shallot, mustard and cream into the bowl of chopped egg whites. Add salt, pepper and wine vinegar. Whisk together and slowly add olive oil in a thin but steady stream. Whisk constantly to emulsify. Add the chopped olives and parsley and set aside for five minutes to allow the flavours to develop. 6 As soon as the sprouting broccoli is cooked, remove from the pan and drain on kitchen paper. 7 Lay the shoots neatly on top of each other on warm plates and spoon over half of the vinaigrette.

Scatter the penny buns, red radish, capers and egg yolks on top. Season with black pepper and Dorset sea salt flakes.

Drizzle over the last of the vinaigrette and serve.

ROCKPOOL SOUP WITH SQUID, CLAMS, MUSSELS, SEAWEED & SAMPHIRE

Mat Follas, Bramble Restaurant

Awonderfully dramatic dish, and a great talking point at the table. This dish should be reminiscent of childhood holidays spent rock-pooling at the beach. Have fun with the presentation by including some shells and using dark crockery (as pictured) to mimic a rock-pool. Instead of squid, you could use razor clams or winkles, or a whole cooked crab claw.

I buy my seaweed for the restaurant from specialist suppliers but do forage for some at the seashore for yourself – all seaweed in the UK is edible, but some has the texture of a leather belt! Smell and taste fresh seaweed, and choose from sites well away from boatyards and sources of possible pollution. My favourites locally are sea spaghetti and sea lettuce – both will work well in this dish.

Preparation time: 30 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes Serves: 4

Ingredients: 60g dried seaweed 400g surf clams 800g mussels, cleaned and de-bearded 200ml white wine 2 large brown onions, peeled and finely diced 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced butter, for frying 50g fresh flat-leaf parsley 4 green chillies, thinly sliced 1 litre clear fish stock 1 tsp miso paste a pinch of sea salt flakes 4 small squid or 2 large squid, cleaned and sliced 200g fresh samphire

Method: 1 To rehydrate the dried seaweed, put it in a bowl of cold, salted water and set aside in the fridge for 2 hours. Trim off any thick or coarse pieces and discard. 2 Put the clams and mussels into a hot saucepan set over a medium heat, then add the white wine – cover and cook until they just open. 3 Strain the clams and mussels, reserving the liquor for later. Remove the clams from their shells. Put the clam meat and mussels to one side. 4 Put the onion and garlic in a frying pan set over a gentle heat with the butter. Fry until fragrant and translucent. 5 Add the parsley, chillies, stock, miso and reserved clam liquor, and bring to the boil. 6 Reduce the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Season with salt, then strain to leave a clear, pale green liquor, or consommé. 7 Add the squid to a hot, dry frying pan set over a high heat. Cook for 30 seconds, turn over and cook for a further 30 seconds. 8 Add one-quarter of the consommé, the clams and mussels, then cover. 9 Dress your serving bowls with the seaweed and samphire, then add the squid, clams and mussels. 10 You can either add the hot consommé to the bowls and serve, or, for a more dramatic effect, put the consommé in small jugs and pour into the bowls at the table.

Recipe from Fish, by Mat Follas (Ryland Peters & Small) £19 (hardcover) is available from Winstone’s Books at a Sherborne Times reader offer price of £18.

bramblerestaurant.com

THE CAKE WHISPERER Val Stones

QUAIL SCOTCH EGGS

My family love Scotch eggs – crispy, full of flavour and the great thing about them is that you can be creative with additions to the sausage meat surrounding the egg. Finely chopped chorizo, pancetta, as well as herbs and spices, can be added to ring the changes. This recipe can be made vegetarian by using dried vegetarian sausage mix which can be bought very easily. I use panko breadcrumbs as they are crisp and give the Scotch eggs a crunchy shell.

Makes 12 using quail eggs or 6 with hens’ eggs

Preparation time: 22 - 28 minutes Cooking time: 10 - 13 minutes

What you will need: •A pan for boiling the eggs – add 2 teaspoons of vinegar and a teaspoon of salt to the water as this will stop the eggs from bleeding out if the shells crack. •A bowl filled with water and ice cubes. •2 bowls deep enough to place in the beaten egg and the breadcrumbs. •A deep frying pan or sturdy pan to allow 5cm of oil to be used for frying. •Kitchen paper for the eggs once out of the frying pan. •A slotted spoon for lowering and lifting the eggs from the pans •Baking tray to finish off baking the eggs.

Ingredients: 12 quail eggs, or 6 free-range eggs 500g good quality sausage meat 2 leaves finely chopped fresh sage 2 sprigs finely chopped fresh thyme 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg 1/4 tsp cinnamon 1 large free-range egg, beaten 125g panko breadcrumbs Cooking oil sufficient to come 5-6cm up the pan Salad greens for serving & a chutney of your choice (fig & apple works well)

Method 1 Set the oven at 160C fan, 180C. Fill a pan with sufficient water to cover the eggs, bring the water to the boil and then lower the eggs into the pan – boil for 2 minutes for a soft yolk or 6 minutes for a firm set one. Lift the eggs out of the boiling water and place them in the iced water, swishing the water to cool the eggs quickly. When the eggs are cold

remove the shells and dry them in kitchen paper. 2 Place the sausage meat, sage, thyme, nutmeg and cinnamon in a bowl and combine well together. 3 Divide the sausage mixture into 12 equal balls (I weigh out 40g of mixture to create a ball – this ensures each egg is the same size when cooked). 4 With your thumb make an indent in the sausage meat ball and place an egg in the hole, gently enclose the egg in the meat and seal. Finally roll into an evenly shaped ball and repeat for all the eggs. 5 Dip each egg in the beaten egg allowing the excess to drain off, then roll in the breadcrumbs, ensuring each ball is completely covered in crumbs. Set aside. 6 Set the frying pan and oil on the hob and heat to 180C. If you haven’t got a cooking thermometer the oil is sufficiently hot enough when a cube of bread is dropped in the oil and becomes crisp and golden in 30 seconds. 7 Place 3-4 eggs in the oil and gently swish them around for 2-3 minutes until golden brown. Lift out and place onto kitchen paper to drain. 8 When all the eggs are fried place them on a baking sheet and bake for 8-9 minutes. These can then be served immediately on their own or with the salad greens and chutney.

A MONTH ON THE PIG FARM

James Hull, The Story Pig

It’s dark, dark, dark - 6am on a Monday morning early into the new year. I’ve made a steaming coffee for both of us, lit the fire in the office, the radio quietly garbles away in the background. As the light pushes back the darkness and I can make out the shapes of the hills I pull my overalls on – they need washing again. In fact I need new ones – these hang with many holes and rips flapping open, a broken zip and generally an air of dishevelment that even I can see is coming to an end. Will they see the winter out though? Quite possibly. They are stiff with mud that takes a minute to feel normal as they are yanked on for another day. My wellies are nameless and the mud hides their shape – they are cold and damp and feel unpleasant at first, until my feet have become accustomed to the dampness.

I let Blue out – he bounces around excitedly as if we have been apart for days. We have our ritual; as long as I have my overalls on he can jump up and plant his paws on me. We have a hug and say hello. I load the Polaris, our trusty steed with bags of pig feed, glancing up at the sight glass on the feed bin - feed has gone up by nearly a third in the last year and it’s our biggest cost. There are four sight glasses at different heights, as the bin empties another glass goes clear. It makes my stomach flip slightly – we will have to order more feed. It seems to go so quickly.

Then up the drive and into the first pig field, tap the four-wheel drive button and bump my way through the muddy ruts. Even with the engine noise as I approach the first group I can hear the pigs screaming

Image: Katharine Davies

in anticipation. They are waiting at the troughs where they know I will arrive, jostling, biting and pushing each other for the best spot. Now, I have to work fast - stop in the right spot, jump out, pour the first bag in along where the fewest pigs are standing, then back for the next bag. By now the whole group are trying to get to the first feed – they have no manners whatsoever and shove from behind, sometimes pushing the front pigs up in the air and forcing them towards the electric fence. Imagine a rugby scrum with no rules and you might have some picture of the mayhem. As the last bag is emptied, the noise stops as if by magic – they have spread out along the length of the troughs, and apart from some squabbling calm has returned.

I count each group as we go, check the water troughs and make sure the electric fences are not shorting – they can be quite destructive, digging and pushing mud or straw up against the fences. Then it’s onto the smaller groups – mothers with piglets. We have so many new piglets on the farm – they tear around in a mob stealing their mothers’ food and testing the electric fences. We had varying litter sizes ranging from 6 up to 11 so fairly normal for our Tamworth’s. It’s always an exciting time waiting for them to farrow. I love it when there’s a big heap of piglets – generally if it’s hard to count them there must be quite a good litter. The mothers are ravenous and scream for their food. The piglets are either tiny and stay in their nests, cuddled up to each other in their straw beds, or, as they grow they start to come out with their mothers. Most of the time all is well but sometimes we will find a dead piglet, squashed by its mother – it’s always horrible but unfortunately it does happen. Once all are fed it’s back to the farm and breakfast for us – slightly quieter, calmer and with a few more manners. Pig feeding never changes, it’s a battle every day and definitely harder in the mud.

Outdoor pig farming for the next couple of months is pure drudgery. Short days and mud everywhere makes the simplest of tasks a logistical nightmare. Moving and loading pigs is the hardest – pig hurdles sink into the mud in seconds and big pigs fly around the pen sending smelly mud over anything in their way, usually me!

Pigs aside, I have finally got our polytunnel empty of building materials and finished. I have just to build some staging and then start sowing seeds – I can’t wait. I need to get some lights strung up and it can be my new happy place. By the time spring comes it should be brimming with new life and plants for you all to buy. Ever since we made our garden we had a problem with standing water on the paths and in the beds, and after two years of umm-ing and ahh-ing we hired a mini digger and put in drainage pipes over the slope to the lavenders. Instant results – no more standing water in the garden.

So, farming carries on whether the cafe is open or not – the wheels still turn and it still rains. Today I saw the first bulbs poking their tips through the wet soil – I love watching out for the first signs of hope. Admittedly you have to look quite hard at this time of year but the days are already getting a bit longer. Let’s all look forward to next month!

thestorypig.co.uk @thestorypig

ARGENTINA AND URUGUAY

David Copp

Both wine regions of these countries have developed rapidly over the last 20 years. Argentina is by far the most interesting, but Uruguay should not be forgotten.

In two decades, Argentina has advanced its reputation for producing very fine wines. I first took notice when celebrated oenologists such as Michel Rolland and Paul Hobbs began to invest their money, time and energy there and reputable journalists such as Tim Atkin MW enthusiastically described what they and others were doing to produce world-class wines. The net result has been the production of some very fine, precise, terroirdriven wines that hold their own in any wine competition. The top end of the market has been dominated by Catena, Luigi Bosca, Susan Balbo and Zuccardi, but there are many others on their way to join them.

What lies behind their astonishing rise in the world of fine wine? I believe the main factors are superb soils, almost perfect growing conditions and gifted winemakers who sought and found the best advice. What I particularly like is the freshness and vigour of Argentinian wines. They have a distinctive character which comes from their soils which are well suited for Malbec, but also other varieties which are made with

Alexandr Vlassyuk/Shutterstock

precision and definition, just like the great Clarets and Burgundies.

Ten years on the best wines are more subtle than they were ten years ago: there is less alcohol, extraction is lighter, there is greater balance and subtlety. Research, development, experimentation and hard work has been rewarded handsomely. I think this has been helped by Argentinian winemakers getting out around the world and learning from the more established growers not only in France, Italy and Spain but also Australia and South Africa. Sometimes I am asked if they keep well. They are so well made I would put my life on them lasting as long as most other great wines from around the world.

When I think of Argentina I think mainly red but their white wines will perhaps surprise those of you that have not already tried them. Torrontés is my own favourite particularly when grown at altitude because the diurnal temperature difference increases fruit flavour and zest. Although Torrontés is Argentina’s signature white wine, they also produce outstanding Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc.

I last visited Uruguay about 15 years ago but follow the progress of their wines with great interest. Most of the winemakers I met were descended from French, Spanish and Italian winemakers with winemaking in their blood. Most of them came to Uruguay in the 1850-1900 period bringing cuttings of their native grapes with them including Tannat, a popular variety in southwest France and northern Spain. It settled easily in Uruguay’s soils because the soil and climatic conditions were similar to those of southwest France: Tannat likes a long growing season which allows grapes to get fully ripe. Tannat is now the recognised signature grape of Uruguay, just as Malbec is in Argentina, Cabernet Sauvignon in the Medoc and Coonawarra, Pinot Noir of Burgundy and Oregon, and Shiraz on the banks of the Rhone and in Australia’s Barossa Valley.

The leading Uruguayan producers have refined their wines considerably. When I bought the 2000 vintage, I was recommended to keep the wine for at least 12 to 15 years. It was already a robust wine when I first tasted it: pronounced black fruit flavours, tannic, and happy to be in wood. If I remember correctly, it was quite influenced by the wood. At a tasting of more recent vintages, I found them still robust but rather more elegant and refined. Growers such as Bouza, Carrao, de Lucca, Toscanini, Pisano, and Pizzorno produce very fine wines which show at their best with roasted meats. They have a complex aroma, and an intensity which develops in the glass. I would advise serving in a large glass only a quarter filled.

When I visited Uruguay there were three million people and nine million cows, and we had beautiful beef steaks for breakfast and dinner every single day. I have never found anything better to go with Tannat. But they also make some fine Cabernets and I warmed to these open-faced, earnest and hard-working winemakers who are all football mad. In case you had forgotten they were the very first winners of the World Cup in 1930.