Saturday opening...

As part of trial run we are opening the shop and the farm in general to the public from 9am - 2pm. Our first Saturday went really well and so we hope we can build on this success.

With lovely animals (Including beautiful piglets and lambs) as well as fantastic products why not pop along for a visit this bank holiday weekend?

Pasta...

As you may be aware, we now stock a range of flour poduced by Stotfold Mill (@stotfoldmill). All of the grains are produced within Bedfordshire and the flour is unbleached and has no additives found in some cheaper commercial bread flours. Whilst it is perfect for bread and scones it has too much gluten for making cakes so you might think this limits it's use. In reality there are more things to be made with flour than just Bread...

Pasta is not something you always think of making but it is really easy and fun to make with the kids plus makes a quick and easy tea. We have provided a recipe for pasta below which can be added to any sauce that takes your fancy. We used Redborne Smoked bacon to make a lovely herby bacon and tomato sauce...

Ingredients

100g of flour per person
1 egg per 100g grams of flour (so for 4 people use 400g of flour and 4 eggs)
Coarse Polenta or Yellow Semolina Flour for dusting (The semolina comes off when cooking so has no impact on taste or texture)

Method

1. Mix the eggs and flour in a bowl
2. Knead the dough for at least 6 minutes but ideally 10
3. Form into a ball, sprinkle with Semolina, wrap in clingfilm and place in the fridge to rest fro at least 30mins
4. Either run through a pasta machine or sprinkle the work top with semolina and use a rolling pin to roll as thin as possible.
5. Using a pizza wheel cut into ribbons of pasta
6. Place in slated boiling water with a a few drops of olive oil for 3 minutes
7. Drain, stir into sauce and enjoy

Flour is available in a our shop priced at £2 for a 1.5kg bag

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...

Back on the Menu...

PARIS HOUSE ANNOUNCES FEBRUARY GALA DINNER

TO CELEBRATE BEST OF BEDFORDSHIRE

 

Award-winning Head Chef and new owner of Michelin-starred restaurant Paris House, Phil Fanning, has announced a one-off Gala Evening on Friday 28^th February to celebrate the region’s best food producers.

The mouth-watering ‘Bedfordshire’s Finest’ menu has been introduced especially for the event at Paris House and will feature the crème de la crème of the area’s food producers including Aylesbury Escargot, Mrs Middleton’s Oil, Redborne School Farm, HoneyMan, Wodehill, Stotfold Mill, Woburn Estate – Venison and Game products, Woburn Country Foods, Best Butchers and Wobbly Bottom Farm...

We will be supplying our bacon, eggs and black pudding for the tasting menu...

 

Combining natural flavours with local seasonal ingredients, the exquisite six course Tasting Menu welcomes a ‘Snail Garden’, ‘Eggs and Bacon’ and the ‘Woburn Venison’ course comes complete with Mrs Middleton’s Malted Rapeseed and Pumpkin. The stylish and innovative menu, carefully created by Fanning and his team to incorporate many of the finest local Bedfordshire based producers, is complimented by a warm and friendly environment to provide an unforgettable culinary journey...