Nettle Beer

IN these days of credit-crunching and frugality, let me give you the following recipe. I should warn you that I haven't tried it so have no idea how it tastes. The website it came from (www.selfsufficientish.com) says it creates "a delightful, if not usual, tasting beer". Make of that what you will!

Nettle Beer
This is an easy recipe to follow and creates a delightful, if not usual tasting beer. It is very cheap to make and follows a traditionally english recipe. Before hops were widely used in the 17th century all sorts of plant were used to flavor the ale including nettles.(Urtica dioica). It was also thought to help alleviate rheumatic pain, gout and asthma. Nettle beer can still be bought in the Czech republic and in the north of England where it is brewed with hops and is called internettle.

Ingredients
900grams (2lb) young nettle tops
3.8lts (1 gallon) of water
230 grams (8oz) of sugar, brown or demarrara sugar works best.
7.5 grams (0.25oz) of fresh yeast
small piece of toast
7.5 grams (0.25oz) of ground ginger

Method

Boil the nettle tops in the water for half an hour (you will need a very large pan for this or preferably a cauldron).

Keeping the mixture, strain and add sugar, stirring to dissolve. I mentioned keeping the mixture as the first time I did this I strained it and poured the liquid down the sink, so had to go out and pick more nettles. Also stir in the ginger. Pour mixture into a sterile container, ask at most home brew shops for details, if you don't have a home brew shop near you then a big branch of Boots should offer a Brewers bucket.

Spread the yeast onto the toast and float on the surface of the nettle liquid. Cover and leave for about 3 days at room temperature, do not allow the temperature to fluctuate too much as this will ruin the fermentation process.

Strain again and put into clean, strong screw top beer bottles, or sealable wine bottles (I used plastic bottles and it still worked). This can be drunk after about 2 days. Still not sure how alcoholic this beer is I have never drank more than one pint in a go, it does taste like it should be though.

To find the recipe in its original
click here

Stuffed Bass

MY nephew has been sea-fishing again and this time brought me a lovely big bass. I often let bass speak for itself and merely flash fry fillets. As I'm not too good at filleting, this time I thought I'd try something different and stuff the fish.

Here's the recipe I used. It's from www.bassonhook.com/fishforfood/ Let's face it, they ought to be experts on cooking bass! There were lots of bass recipes here but not that many for a whole bass. This was absolutely delicious. I left the bone in as it seemed very fiddly to remove it! It didn't affect the cooking time as 45 minutes seemed ample for a 2lbs bass. There's nothing worse than overcooked fish.

Stuffed Bass (serves 2)

Ingredients
2 lb bass
2 tbsp butter
onion, minced
2 tbsp parsley, minced
6 mushrooms, chopped
6 anchovies, chopped
1/3 cup breadcrumbs
10 cooked prawns cooked or 1 cooked fillet of flounder, sole, or halibut
1 egg slightly beaten
salt and pepper
lemon juice
2 rashers bacon cut in strips for larding
1/2 cup melted butter
1 onion sliced
2 tbsp parsley, chpped
1 cup white wine or fish stock
3/4 cup sour cream
Remove the centre bone but do not cut in half or behead. Wash, pat dry, sprinkle with salt and refrigerate 45 min. Preheat oven to 400.

To prepare stuffing, melt butter in skillet/frying pan and when bubbling saute onion, parsley and mushrooms 5 min. Mix in anchovies, breadcrumbs and shrimp or cooked fish. Toss and mix in beaten egg.

Rinse and dry fish, sprinkle inside with salt, pepper and lemon juice. Lard fish across back with bacon strips. Stuff the fish and truss with skewers or sew shut. Spread a little melted butter in a baking dish, add fish and top with onion slices and parsley. Pour the rest of the butter over the fish and vegetables.

Bake 45 min basting frequently with wine or stock. Add sour cream to the pan not on the fish for the last 10 min. When fish is done remove trussing and serve on a heated platter garnished with the vegetables and covered with the sauce.

Devon Dough Cake

I WAS taking a look at the recipes on the UKTV food site when I came across one for Devon Dough Cake.

It brought back memories of my childhood, sitting around a big farmhouse kitchen in my grandmother's house, eating warm dough cake with homemade butter.

It was submitted to the site by a member of the public who says: "This recipe was cooked every week by my Auntie Paul in her home in Newton Poppleford, near Sidmouth in Devon. She made it every week of her life and it was made by her mother too I believe. It seems to be a Devon recipe and it is not one I've ever come across since she died 30 years ago. It is basically a fruited bread, but has a unique taste and one enjoyed by the Woodley family for generations. As a girl I would be given half a slice of dough cake and 2 chocolate buttons from Auntie Paul when I got home from school. If I was really good, she would butter the bread, but that was considered a treat!"

My grandmother was from Devon so I suspect she used much the same recipe. I hadn't tasted it for years so made some to try. It was delicious and I was immediately transported back to my days of pigtails and ankle socks!

Here's the recipe:

Devon Dough Cake

Servings: makes 1lb loaf

Ingredients

225g strong plain flour

25g butter 1 tsp fast action yeast

1 egg

50ml milk

pinch grated nutmeg

15g chopped citus peel

25g sugar

50g currants

Method

1. Sieve the flour with a pinch of salt and rub in the butter to make breadcrumbs.


2. Stir in the yeast.


3. Add 50ml water and the milk, together with the remaining ingredients.


4. Mix to a soft dough, a little softer than bread dough.


5. Knead well on a floured board for 5 mins, then place in a greased and warmed small 1 lb loaf tin.


6. Leave in a warm place, covered with oiled cling film until the dough rises to the top of the tin. Bake in a pre heated oven 375F/180c/160c fan, for 30 mins until golden and risen.


7. Cool and serve sliced.

Kohlrabi

MY brother gave me a couple of kohlrabi. Kohlrabi is a bit like a turnip but is mild and crisp with a delicate nutty flavour. I love them but I never quite know what to do with them apart from boil them or steam them. A quick search on the internet turned up the recipe below for Kohlrabi Salad from Riverford Organic Vegetables . It's delicious - fresh and summery yet substantial enough for a lovely lunch with the addition of some crusty bread. If you love vegetables, take a look at the site; there are some great recipes there.

Kohrabi Salad

Preparation Time: 15 minutesCooking Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
1 medium kohlrabi

2 carrots

1 apple

juice of 1 lemon

100g (4oz) peanuts

3 tbsp mustard seeds

3 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
1. Peel and grate the kohlrabi. Wash and grate the carrots and apple. Mix with the lemon juice and add the peanuts.

2. Fry the mustard seeds in the hot oil until they begin to pop. Pour the seeds and oil over the salad and mix well.

Strawberry Delight

IT'S summer (a bit soggy here in Britain at the moment but the sun is trying to peek through the clouds) and many of us will be planning long, lazy days in the garden.
No fruit says "summer" more than plump, juicy strawberries.
This versatile fruit not only tastes delicious but is full of goodness too. It's low in fat and calories and high in fibre, vitamin C, folate, potassium and antioxidants.
Strawberries are wonderful with nothing more than a dollop of clotted cream but there are lots of wonderful recipes you can try too - fruit salads, strawberry fool and strawberry shortcake are just a few.
But below I have two more unusual dishes for you to try. The first is a savoury strawberry salad with the fruit giving a fresh and tangy flavour and the second is a wonderful cooling and refreshing Strawberry Fizz by that great advocate of British food, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.

Strawberry Salad
Serves 8

Ingredients
8 oz of mixed lettuces (try to include a red leaf lettuce for contrast)
8 oz fresh spinach, torn into bite size pieces
1 medium avocado, peeled and sliced or chopped
Half pint strawberries, halved or sliced if they are large
Half a cantaloupe melon, scooped into balls
Half pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
4 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced

Method
Combine the lettuce, spinach, avocado, strawberries, cantaloupe, cherry tomatoes, cucumbers and mushrooms in a large salad bowl. Add your favourite dressing and toss lightly. Below is a poppy seed dressing that goes very well:
Dressing:
Half cup vegetable oil
Half cup tarragon vinegar
Half cup sugar
2 teaspoons poppy seeds
Half teaspoon salt
Half teaspoon dry mustard
Half teaspoon grated onion
Quarter teaspoon onion salt
Place all of the ingredients in a jar and shake vigorously to mix. Pour enough over the salad to coat the leaves when ready to serve.


Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Strawberry Fizz
Preparation time less than 30 mins

Ingredients

4 strawberries
icing sugar, to taste
1 glass sparkling wine (champagne, cava or prosecco)

Method

Crush some strawberries and rub them through a sieve. Sweeten with a little icing sugar, mixing thoroughly to dissolve. Fill one champagne glass a third full with the strawberry juice and top up with ice cold sparkling wine. Drink quickly and pour yourself another one.

Potatoes

NEW potatoes are in the greengrocers' and markets now. If you boil them they are delicious just as they are or you could add a little chopped mint and butter to liven them up. At the bottom of the page is a recipe for roasted new potatoes with garlic and lemon that's just delicious.

Different types of potato
Boiling potato, waxy potato, new potato: These keep their shape after cooking, so they are good for making potato salads or for eating early in the season as part of the traditional meal. They are not good for mashing, baking, or making chips. Examples of waxy potatoes are Charlotte, Pink Fir Apple, new potatoes and salad potatoes. Examples of waxy new potatoes: Jersey Royal, most salad potatoes, Record, Rocket.
Floury potatoes: These are good for mashing, frying, baking and for chips. For frying, the harder and drier the potato, the better it will fry; you can judge this when you cut it through with a knife. Examples of floury potatoes: Golden Wonder, British Queen, Maris Piper, Edzell Blue, Shetland Black.

Multi purpose potatoes: These are sold everywhere because they are easy to cook in any method. However, if you want a good full flavour it's better to get a variety that's suited for the purpose. Examples of multi-purpose potatoes: Desiree, Wilja, Nadine and Romano.

Purple fleshed potatoes: These are a speciality potato that have an interesting colour when mashed and in salads. They will go mushy if cooked too long. Examples: Salad Blue, Congo.

Roasted New Potatoes With Garlic and Lemon
Serves 4
Preparation time less than 30 mins
Cooking time 30 mins to 1 hour

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil

700g/1lb 9oz British new potatoes, scrubbed and quartered

4 whole cloves of garlic (optional)

1 lemon, grated rind of

salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method

1. Heat the oil in a roasting tin then add the potatoes, cloves of garlic, lemon rind and seasoning.

2. Mix well and roast for 40-45 minutes or until tender, turning once.

Rhubarb Custard Bars

EARLY rhubarb is in season so have a look around the markets. Recipes abound for this versatile fruit but for a change from the usual rhubarb pie or crumble, below is a recipe for a delicious rhubarb and custard bar.
Also in season in March: sardines, carrots, leeks, purple sprouting broccoli, lobster, sorrel, beetroot and mint.
If you want more recipes or information on how to grow rhubarb this site has everything you need: www.rhubarbinfo.com


Rhubarb Custard Bars

Ingredients:
Crust:
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, 1 stick, room temperature
Filling:
1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp flour
4 eggs beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
4-5 cups rhubarb
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with cooking spray.
Crust: blend flour & sugar together, then cut in the butter with a fork or pastry blender. Press crust into a 9x13 inch baking pan that has been sprayed with a cooking spray. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned. Prepare filling while crust is baking.
Filling: in a large mixing bowl blend sugar and flour, then add eggs, vanilla and rhubarb and blend well. Pour mixture over partially baked crust and continue baking for 30-35 minutes. Serve warm or cooled. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.