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The West Dorset Magazine, July 29, 2022
Vittles (food & drink) Karen Broad lives in Burton Bradstock, with her husband and two mad dogs. She ran The Mousetrap in Dorchester, has lived in France and loves discovering new food producers. Its official, this country is ‘weather’ obsessed! Yes, it was hot, but seriously, how many of you can remember the summer of 1976, when there was no rain for four months and we basked in 15 days of relentless scorching sunshine and soaring temperatures? I remember it well, as I was in labour. Give it a month and it will be the beginning of the storm season, and colour-coded warnings will be issued with possible ‘threats to life’. Walking down the road can be a ‘threat to life’. Like me, you have probably experienced reduced appetites during the hot weather? There are a couple of reasons for this, firstly, your body is fighting to keep itself cool. All our body’s functions create heat, especially the digestion, so a body that is working hard not to overheat will shut down your appetite to lessen its load. The other reason
IDEAL FOR SUMMER: The ham hock terrine
When it’s too hot, time for the hock
is that slaving over a hot stove is ‘not’ an attractive prospect, that’s reasonable! In countries more accustomed to heat, they have adapted the way they eat. Little and often! Lots of ‘picky’ foods, tapas for example, tempting one’s appetite, including salty hams and pickles, increasing the need to drink. A trick adopted by medieval Andalusian
taverna owners, the saltier the meats, the more alcohol consumed. Centuries later it’s a technique still used today in various guises. Today I have come up with an easy, refreshing, and cheap recipe to enjoy with a lush green salad and sour dough toast. Ham hock terrine 1 ham hock (cheap joint from the butchers)
Mum’s Kitchen... Raspberry, Ricotta and Hazelnut Cake This unusual cake might also work well with blackberries as these come into their season Ingredients 100g blanched hazelnuts 200g caster sugar 175g plain flour 2 teaspoons baking powder
3 eggs 250g pot of Ricotta 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon 150g raspberries Method: Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan. Spread the hazelnuts out on a baking tray and roast for around eight minutes or until they are golden. Set them aside to cool.
Half a jar of gherkins Few capers (optional) 3 Leaf gelatine Baby carrots, blanched 4 tablespoons of cider vinegar Tarragon and parsley Wholegrain mustard (optional) Method Boil the ham hock for a few hours, or until meat falls off the bone When cooked remove hock from the liquid and allow to cool. Do not discard liquid. Strip the lean meat from the bone, discarding fat. In a bowl chop the ham. Chop the capers and gherkins, herbs and mustard and add to meat. Mix and Season with pepper. Bring one litre of the fluid to the boil and add vinegar, to boil reducing liquid by half, add gelatine. Line a terrine dish with food safe cling film Layer the hock mix, adding the cooked carrots for colour and texture. Pour over liquid and refrigerate until set.
with Diana Holman Reduce the oven temperature to 170C/160C fan. Put the cooled hazelnuts into the food processor with 1 tablespoon of sugar taken from the measured 200g and whizz until the nuts are finely ground. In a bowl, stir them into the sugar, flour and baking powder. In a large bowl whisk together the eggs, ricotta, vanilla and lemon zest until it is soft and fluffy. Add to the dry ingredients and gently
