There are few things more satisfying in life than eating a delicious bowl of fresh pasta – even more so if you’ve made, rolled and filled it yourself. You need little equipment; a worktop, a rolling pin, a sharp knife and lots of elbow grease. A pasta machine will make life easier, particularly if you’re…
Foraged Food
Panna cotta with Rosehip Coulis
Panna cotta is possibly the most delicate of all desserts, an extremely fragile mound of cream and milk, occasionally dusted with vanilla, and set with the merest amount of gelatine to just hold its form. The main ingredient is of course cream, so don’t use anything less than the best, a good organic double cream…
How to make Rosehip Jam
Autumn brings a whole host of delicious fruit for us to cook and preserve. Among them are blackberries, crab apples, sloes and rosehips. Well, what are rosehips? They’re the fruit of the rose plant, orangey-red in colour, ready and ripe to pick in early September in the UK. The most common rose hips are from…
Elderberry & Pear Frangipane Tart
I’ve taken this classic French tart and added a delicious flavour twist. If you read my last post you’ll know that I prepared Elderberry Poached Pears, a simple and delicious dessert. However this takes them to another level. Crisp, buttery shortcrust pastry filled with almond cream and those glorious deep magenta pears. It’s an enticing…
Elderberry Poached Pears
I love to forage as autumn arrives, it’s not just about finding free food, I feel a real connection with nature. Our ancestors foraged for almost all of their food, but this fell by the way side with the agricultural revolution. However in the last decade, foraging has made a big comeback. No longer a…
Slow Cooked Duck with Pickled Blackberries
This mouthwatering slow cooked duck recipe is a simple one, resulting in juicy tender meat with a crispy skin. A perfect balance between the sweet blackberries and the acidic pickling vinegar. I have served the duck legs with roasted carrots, hasselbacks potatoes and greens. The bonus is that this dish tastes better the next day…
Berry & Lemon Custard Tart
Autumn is almost upon us, August brings a softer golden light and a slight chill to the evening air. I seized every opportunity I could this last week to forage for blackberries as they are so incredibly sweet this year. This dessert was inspired by my love of lemon tart. I adore the citrusy, creamy,…
Pickled Blackberries
I love the ritual of blackberry picking, time spent, basket in hand choosing the ripest juiciest fruit for dessert. When my children were small it was a family affair and a competition as to who could pick the most berries. Now I’ll take a friend and my dogs to forage and chatter. Is it me…
Spelt, Apple, Blackberry & Cobnut Crumble Cake
This cake puts two ingredients together that make the season worth celebrating: apples and blackberries. Paired with warming spices, they make the most delicious treat. I store apples from the garden in my shed for winter usage, blackberries have been picked and frozen in batches to dip into for crumbles and cakes throughout the rest…
