Fancy Something Slightly Different...

People often stick to their comfort zone when it comes to dinner, after all in the week it's tough to have time to experiment. With a little bit of planning and some old fashioned technology it can be made very easy, especially if you use an old fashioned cooking method on one of our cheaper cuts of pork.

Many top restaurants use a technique called Sous Vide (Under Vacuum) this is better known as boil in the bag. We decided to give a cheats version ago, we sealed a joint of belly pork in a vacuum bag and popped it in the slow cooker before school started, once home (8 hours later) the fats had rendered leaving lovely tender meat not the fatty lumps that some people associate with this cut. If you fancy playing around with this method try our recipe below...

Method:

1. Grab yourself one of our pork belly joints (They are already vaccuum packed so you don't need one)
2. Place in a slow cooker for 8 hours on high
3. Pop out, go to work, whatever you have planned for the day
4. 8 Hours later remove from the bag and drop into a hot and dry frying pan
5. Fry for a few minutes until crips and delicious

A suggestion for serving...

Serve with a coconut dahl, yoghurt, fresh coriander, mango chutney and chillis for a little spice

Dahl Recipe:

1. Fry one finely chopped onion until browned and add minced ginger (A godd 3 teaspoons or more if your feeling spicy)
2. Add 1 tsp of mustard seeds, 1 tsp of tumeric and 2 teaspoons of cumin
3. Add 150g of red lentils and stir for 1 minute
4. Add 1 tin of coconut milk and the same volume of water and top off with a vegetable stock cube
5. add a pinch of salt and cook for 35 minutes until soft

(As a little bit of luxury add just a pinch of saffron with the coconut milk)

We sell belly pork for £5 per kg from our farm shop along with a fantastic range of amazing local products...

New Suppliers, still keeping it local...

Bedfordshire has so much to offer in the way of local producers selling ingredients of the highest quality. We are very pleased to announce that we will be stocking 2 of them on our shelves as of Friday (21st March).

Firstly we will be stocking Mrs Middletons Cold Pressed Rape Seed Oil (http://www.mrsmiddleton.co.uk/). Rape Seed Oil is extremely healthy and is much better for you in many respects than Olive Oil. This is because Rapeseed oil has a favourable balance of 'good' and 'bad' fats:

• Less unhealthy saturated fat than all other cooking fats and oils - e.g. 50% less than olive oil
  
• High in the healthy mono and polyunsaturated fats omega 3, 6 and 9
  
• It is also a rich source of vitamin E, a natural antioxidant
  
• And contains plant sterols - which may contribute to the cholesterol lowering properties of rapeseed oil

And it is absolutely delicious...

We'll also be stocking White Flour, Wholemeal Flour and Oats from Stotfold Mill (www.stotfoldmill.com). The flour is milled from grains grown within Bedfordshire at the historic Stotfold Mill. The flour is top quality wheat flour suitable for breadmaking and we're looking forward to trying it out.

A Pancake is not just for Tuesday...

Why when they are so delicious and flexible why have pancakes just once a year?

We had ours with Redborne's treacle cured bacon and maple syrup. Why not try our recipe for American style pancakes?

Ingredients

135g/4¾oz plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp caster sugar

130ml/4½fl oz milk

1 large egg, lightly beaten

2 tbsp melted butter (allowed to cool slightly) or rape seed oil, plus extra for cooking

 

Method

 

1. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and caster sugar into a large bowl. In a separate bowl or jug, lightly whisk together the milk and egg, then whisk in the melted butter.
2. Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and, using a fork, beat until you have a smooth batter. Any lumps will soon disappear with a little mixing. Let the batter stand for a few minutes.
3. Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add a knob of butter. When it's melted, add a ladle of batter (or two if your frying pan is big enough to cook two pancakes at the same time). It will seem very thick but this is how it should be. Wait until the top of the pancake begins to bubble, then turn it over and cook until both sides are golden brown and the pancake has risen to about 1cm (½in) thick
4. Repeat until all the batter is used up. You can keep the pancakes warm in a low oven, but they taste best fresh out the pan.
5. Serve with lashings of real maple syrup and extra butter if you like.

 

I love it when a plan comes together...

Hard work is something that our students come to learn. Their has been celebrated this week by at a special Gala event held by Paris House. Local suppliers such as ourselves, Mrs Middleton's Oil, Wally Thrale and Woburn Estates were able to see how our products end up and it was very special...

Redborne Bacon and Smoked Egg Yolk Ravioli with Black Pudding courtesy of Paris House...