This year, the UK has experienced the most days over 30 degrees in its recorded history. With five near-continuous heatwaves that decided to concentrate most of their wrath on the south-east, dining al-fresco became more of a need than a want for many restaurant-goers during the summer months. And, as more and more chairs were hauled out of restaurants onto curbsides, and parasols hastily assembled above melting mains, what it meant to ‘go out to eat’ changed across the country.

Most of Hastings has been turned inside out this summer. Cosy pubs have turned into sprawled gatherings and the guts of restaurants have crept out from cramped kitchens into vacant interiors to give sweltering chefs relief from the inferno of ovens at midday. But for one restaurant, whose identity has always lain more on the exposed promenade and rocky outcrops beside it, this outward shift has represented a more internal, identity-based change.

St Leonard’s Goat Ledge may have been the town’s most popular restaurant regardless of its menu this summer. Having opened on the Warrior Square seafront nearly 10 years ago, Goat Ledge has spent most of its existence as a cafe-type joint, serving deliciously smashed breakfast baps in the morning, before giving way to fresh fish sandwiches, booze, and a host of incredible, obscure music in the afternoons and early evenings.

Often operating in view of the worst waves, and in the midst of the very worst weather, eating on their Balamory-coloured outside benches, rain or shine, has arguably been the defining part of the Goat-Ledge experience up until now.

But this year, as fine dining filled the pavements of King’s Road and George Street, Goat Ledge decided that the seafront wasn’t to be without an upscale kitchen of its own, and so was born Fire on the Beach. Serving the type of food that makes your mouth drip reading the menu (wood-fired prawns; skate wing with sobrasada and peppers; baked feta and cucumber salad), Goat Ledge has transformed from a place to go for lunch to the place to be for dinner.

And it’s not just the perfectly slow-cooked pigs’ cheeks that have done this; it’s the authenticity of being and eating outside at a place created with that in mind. The Fire on the Beach kitchen spills from a small wooden hut onto the promenade itself. Benches are stacked tightly with chairs dotted loosely around their ends. People sit in sprawling groups next to people they only half know, and food comes out in bowls designed for sharing; with their normal kitchen operating just feet away, sitting at Fire on the Beach feels like you’re being secretly treated to off-menu hits before they go mainstream. Every night is a dinner among friends, even if you’ve just stopped by on your own.

This spirit of being outside has crept from the seafront, through the town’s high streets and back up the hills towards our country pubs and towns. In Battle’s Crafted at Powdermills, nomadic dining became the defining feature of their summertime offerings. Evenings with featured guest chefs weren’t hosted in their restaurant, pub, or bar, but on sprawling tables set for 50 or more, at the edge of their lakeside woodland.

These candlelit evenings culminated in an appearance from hash-brown aficionado and Masterchef semi-finalist James Sharp, whose menu of perfectly grilled mackerel, cannons of sirloin, and charred allium salads turned a patch of woodland into the type of restaurant you dream about for a long time after. Served on large sharing platters, passed down the table family-style, the evening was just as much about food as it was about getting to know those around you, and smiling at the stranger who offered you the last, perfectly cooked piece of sirloin.

The feast was finished in the most delicate way, with a gently charred swiss meringue, made under the light of iphone torches as the sun set over the lake. Bought over in single servings by the team of waitstaff who had floodlit their creation, the little meringue felt like a microcosm of what these evenings were really about: people coming together.

So clear was this feeling, that people stayed on as summer sun turned to a first set of candlelight and then another when they had burned out. A small speech from the chef about how being part of an evening like this was really what his (and his teams) jobs were all about, put a neat bow on the evening, and Crafted’s ‘Forest Feast’ itself.

As the heat begins to relent and tables slowly creep closer to the doors of restaurants with each passing day, it’ll be easy to forget how the simple joys of summer dining can make any meal into a shared experience with place and people. So now, whether it’s sandwiches at Rock a Nore, spritz at The Selkie, or Sobrasada at Goat Ledge, make sure to enjoy the last embers of our scorching summer on dry chairs outside.

Or, if you want to bring some summer joy to your own home, here’s a showstopper BBQ recipe by The Crown’s Jody for fire-cooked pulled lamb flatbreads with roasted pepper sauce. This one is definitely for a special occasion!

Fire-Charred Pulled Lamb Flatbreads

A RECIPE BY JODY MORTON

Smoky pulled lamb shoulder in a charred roasted pepper sauce, served in charcoal-cooked flatbreads. Expect something between a slow-cooked lamb stew and an enormous, gloriously messy kebab.

Ingredients

For the lamb

• 1.5kg boneless lamb shoulder
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• For the sauce
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• 3 tomatoes
• 2 red peppers
• 1 large onion, peeled and halved
• 1-2 red chillies
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 300ml chicken or lamb stock
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
• Handful flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• Handful mint, chopped

For the flatbreads

• 500g strong white bread flour
• 7g fast-action dried yeast
• 1 tsp sugar
• 10g salt

Method

1. Light fire: Light charcoal, ideally in a chimney starter, (15-20 min), then place the hot coals on the bbq, concentrating most of them on one side, giving a hot side for grilling and a cooler side for slow cooking.
2. Make dough: Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt, then stir in 325ml warm water and 2 tbsp olive oil, combining to form a soft dough. Knead for 8 minutes, then cover and prove in a warm cupboard for 60–90 minutes.
3. Sear lamb: Cut lamb shoulder into 2-3 large pieces. Mix all the other ingredients (under For the lamb) as well as 2tsp fine salt, 0.5tsp black pepper, 1tbsp vegetable oil and an optional 1tbsp pomegranate molasses, in a bowl. Rub the mixture over the lamb, then sear in a casserole dish over the hottest coals for 3-4 minutes per side until well charred (not cooked through). Transfer lamb to a plate.
4. Char vegetables: Grill the tomatoes, peppers, onion and chillies over the hot coals, turning, until blackened and softened. Allow to cool slightly then peel most of the pepper skin, and roughly chop.
5. Make sauce: In a cast-iron casserole over the fire, combine the charred vegetables with the garlic, tomato purée, ground coriander and ground cumin. Cook for a few minutes, then add the stock, red wine vinegar and pomegranate molasses; season and bring to a simmer.
6. Slow-cook lamb: Add lamb to the casserole pot, cover, and move to the cool side of the fire (roughly 150–170°C). Cook for 2½-3 hours, turning occasionally and topping up liquid or charcoal as needed, until the meat is fork-tender.
7. Pull and finish: Rest the lamb for 10 minutes while the uncovered sauce reduces over stronger heat. Pull the lamb into rough chunks and return it into the thickened sauce with the chopped parsley and mint, adjust seasoning.
8. Cook flatbreads: Divide the dough into 8 pieces, roll into rough circles, and cook on a hot griddle over the fire, about 60–90 seconds per side, until puffed and charred. Keep warm under a tea towel.
9. Serve: Pile warm flatbreads with pulled lamb and sauce. Top with extra herbs to serve, with yoghurt on the side if you like. Fold and enjoy!

It’s Pancake Tuesday on 17 February. If you always make pancakes then you’ll be bemused at my decision to share a pancake recipe – but I’ve seen pancake batter in the supermarket which suggests some of you out there are buying that stuff, and maybe you’re doing it because you think it takes more than five mins to make the mix (it doesn’t!). So if you’ve never made your own pancakes – here’s the very simple recipe:

Ingredients

Makes 12 pancakes

• 300ml milk
• 100g of plain flour
• 2 eggs
• Pinch of salt
• Butter for the pan

To serve

• Caster sugar
• Lemon

Prep

• Hot frying pan
• Greaseproof paper

What is the secret to great pancakes? Just a few simple ingredients – eggs, flour and milk and a pinch of salt. I’d suggest you sieve the flour, then mix in the milk bit by bit and finally add the eggs and salt. My mum would rest the mixture in the fridge overnight, but I never do and it doesn’t seem to matter.

The key to success is a really hot pan and a small dollop of butter; once the pancake is done on both sides, flip them out onto greaseproof paper to soak up any excess grease from the pancake.

I advise against high hopes for the first pancake. It’s often too fat or too pale, or it simply smells of the last thing you cooked in the pan – so give that one up to the pancake gods and enjoy the rest. Word to the wise: the pan can get very hot so take it off the heat in between each pancake and add extra butter every few that you make.

Where did Pancake Tuesday come from? The tradition to eat pancakes is tied up in a Christian holy day called Shrove Tuesday: other names include Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras and in Hastings we mark it with a festival of live music and partying. Shrove Tuesday is the last day before Lent, marking 47 days to Easter.

The tradition in Christian faiths is to confess sins, to fast, to abstain and to pray during Lent. At one point meat, eggs and butter were forbidden during Lent so the intention was to use them up so they wouldn’t go off by Easter time. Thus the need to clear the cupboard of all the ‘goodies’ before the fasting commenced.

Modern Christian churches tend to be slightly more relaxed about Lent, but practising Christians are still encouraged to consider Lent as a time of restraint and penitence and some sort of abstinence which might relate to food.

Whether you’re observing Lent or not you can still enjoy pancakes – so what’s the best way to eat them?

I suggest you keep it simple: a sprinkle of caster sugar and a generous squeeze of fresh lemon juice gives you the sweet with the tart. You can add maple syrup for more sweetness but I’d suggest you pair that with an equal but opposite blast of tart with a raspberry or two.

My mushroom education began last year when visiting Basil’s Fungi Farm in Hastings, where Robbie showed me how he is growing mushrooms in the heart of Hastings. Then, a few months back, while waiting on a bagel in Sleeper, I saw a poster advertising flavour foraging with Fred in Brede High Wood. I love mushrooms and I wanted to understand more about what grows here, what we can pick, and what to avoid. So I decided to go on Fred’s Flavour Walk and brought my foodie friend Steven Short (thanks for the pics) with me.

Fred – or George Fredenham, is an avid forager, chef, guide and much more besides. Over two-and-a-half hours in Brede Woods in early November, he shared his knowledge and passion for wild mushrooms with us. He imparted identification techniques, folklore and history associated with foraging. The tour was a ‘look around and see what we’ve got’ experience with a lunch featuring a delicious ‘something Fred made earlier’ – more on that later.

On our walk we saw a range of beautiful, strange, colourful mushrooms and fungi. Mushrooms are the flowering part of the mycelium, the root system underground that communicates with tree root systems and which also trades moisture for nutrients. If you are like me, a visual learner, this will evoke an amazing image of a root system with nutrients flowing one way, moisture flowing another; a symbiotic relationship pulsing underneath the woodland floor and making the canopy of trunks, trees, leaves and branches possible.

We heard about what to look out for in order to avoid eating mildly or fatally poisonous mushrooms. I’m not going to try to advise you here – beyond – don’t eat anything you don’t know the name of (which I think might be a good rule of thumb for food in general!) get a few reference books and seek out the advice of experts before sticking anything in your gob.

The experience was enriching and enjoyable. It turns out we have ALL of the most poisonous mushrooms right on our doorstep, as well as a range of delicious and edible ones. I enjoyed the colours, the walk, the variety we came across. My favourites were the candlesnuff fungus that look like little wicks and that release dust if you brush them gently. Their correct Latin name is Xylaria hypoxylon; according to the National Trust website these are pallid, petite, tumour-fighters. Turns out that candlesnuff fungi may be small but they are a medical force to be reckoned with. They contain both anti-viral properties and compounds that are active against some human carcinomas. Small and tough – not for eating.

Another caught my attention because of the parallels with the beloved aggressive and very territorial garden robin, who seems to hate to share space with other birds. In the mushroom world, this role is taken by the Birch Polypore or Fomitopsis betulina. It prevents other mushrooms from growing on the same tree trunk. This mushroom has been used for centuries as a tonic for the immune system and as an antiseptic to clean wounds and promote healing. Scientific studies have proven it has many compounds that are antiviral, antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and antiseptic. In addition, it is anti-fungal, which means you won’t find any other mushrooms growing where it is found.

Final fun fact of my adventure; I discovered why yew trees have a strong association with and are often found in graveyards. I knew they were poisonous but didn’t consider what this meant for the soil and surrounding area. Turns out that the whole tree is poisonous with the exception of the red flesh of the berry (but please don’t test that) and so not a food source for animals: as a result creatures don’t dig up around them, thus a great place to bury your dead – where they won’t be disturbed. Also a good idea then not to forage around yew trees.

Foraging walks are a lovely way to get out in the woods, learn some new information and share in someone’s passion for a wonderful local resource! Thanks to George for all of his rich insights; I hope I haven’t butchered too much of what he imparted but remember the most important thing he said – if you don’t know what it’s called, don’t eat it.

During our walk George fed us delicious sourdough, a mushroom, tahini and chickpea hummus with a nut and mushroom loaf on top. This mushroom and nut loaf will make an ideal alternative for a lighter and veggier Christmas feast item instead of turkey or ham (if you want a change or you’re cooking for veggies), I’m going to give it a try this year [see adjacent recipe].

For more info, posts and expert advice, check out George’s Instagram: flavourfred. Here, you can find details of his walks, forages and identification walks (like the one I did).

Mushroom, Brandy Soaked Chestnuts and Prune ‘meat’ loaf

Ingredients, serves six

• 200g Oyster Mushroom, diced (leftover mushrooms from the mushroom gravy
• below)
• 50g Carrot, diced
• 50g Onion, diced
• 50g Leeks, diced
• 5g Garlic, diced
• 150g Cooked Lentils
• 50g Prunes, chopped and soaked in Brandy
• 50g Sweet Chestnuts, chopped and soaked in Brandy
• 50g Grated Beetroot (raw)
• 1 Orange, zest and juice
• 2 Eggs OR 1 tin of Chickpeas (separate aquafaba) + 20g Flaxseed + 20g Chia Seeds
• 50g Breadcrumbs (optional)
• 25g Fresh Sage
• 10g Fresh Thyme
• Extra Mixed seeds and nuts (optional)
• Seasoning to taste

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180° Celsius
• Cook the mushrooms and vegetables in a pan with oil, salt, and pepper. Start with the carrot, then add the onion, mushrooms, and leeks. Mix these together.
• Add these into a mixing bowl with the rest of the ingredients and mix well
• Make a small patty from the mixture and fry it in a pan to check the flavour levels and adjust the seasoning if needed. If the mixture isn’t holding together well while cooking, add the breadcrumbs.
• Place the mixture into a loaf tin and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients

• 100g dried mushrooms (porcini preferred)
• Litre of boiling water
• Garlic, bay, Peppercorns
• Method

Using dried mushrooms, pour over a litre of boiling water and let it infuse. Once cooled, pour the liquid into a pot and reduce it, leaving the last 5% behind as it contains the mushroom grit. As you reduce, you can also add other aromatics like garlic, bay, and peppercorns. Reduce until you reach about 150ml and strain out aromatics. This liquid can be used as is or thickened.

As the evenings draw in and the temperature drops, there are few things more comforting than wrapping your hands around a steaming bowl of soup. It’s cheap to make, endlessly adaptable, and a brilliant way to use odds and ends lingering in the fridge.

Here in Hastings and St Leonards we’re lucky to have a wealth of culinary talent on our doorstep, from chefs and bakers to growers and greengrocers, all with clever tricks for coaxing flavour out of simple, affordable ingredients. Below, we asked a selection of the professional local food community for their favourite thrifty tips to help elevate your next pot of soup, along with two recipes for inspiration.

Chef Alfie Foster at The Cove, Fairlight says: “Save your left over cheese rinds in the freezer. Add it to your soup stock for a creamy umami hit. You can even chop up your parmesan rind into small squares, then microwave them on high for a minute and they’ll puff up into crispy cheesy croutons to top your soup!”

Mark Edwards at Supernature hard boils his chicken carcass with leftover veg for a quick stock which becomes a carrot and coriander soup for effortless weekday lunches.

Nigel Akehurst at Indie Farmer recommends beef skirt for meat based soups: “It’s a traditional butcher’s cut but without the cost associated with ribeye or sirloin. Cook it hot and quick like a normal steak, let it rest and slice against the grain for melt-in-the-mouth results.” Perfect as a topping for ramen!

The chef team at the Crown of James and Jody suggest making flavoured oils like chilli or garlic to elevate your weeknight soup. James also notes that if you are peeling vegetables for your soup, retain the skins, give them a good wash and combine with some flour, egg and herb or spices of your choice to make a shallow fried crispy bhaji or fritter garnish. Jody recommends freezing mugs of soup if you have made too much – get them out of the freezer on a night where you don’t have time to cook and you’ve got instant, wholesome ‘cup-a-soup’ with no mess and no effort.

Jordan Rogers, development chef at Bill’s, says old sourdough bread can be used to make pangrattato or ‘poor man’s parmesan’ as it’s known in Italy. Take stale bread, cut into cubes, drizzle with good olive oil and toast in the oven at 120°c until crisp and fully dry. Crush it or blitz in a food processor until it forms crumbs. Use as a soup or pasta topping as an authentic Italian replacement for cheese. Because the crumbs are dehydrated, they will last for a long time in tupperware in your kitchen cupboard.

Jay at Carrolls Greengrocers says: “Always ask your greengrocer for broken carrots and any other class 2 fruit and veg”. They will be happy to move on imperfect stock for a very reasonable price.

Freelance baker and baking tutor Emmanuel Hadjiandreou recommends making bread soups with stale bread. They are popular all over Europe including Tuscan pappa al pomodoro, which is made by simmering breadcrumbs in a simple tomato sauce – cheap, filling and delicious.

Tad at Bunka, Bun by Bunka and the West Hill Kiosk keeps the dripping from joints of meat to add flavour to soups during the week. He also says that if he’s short on stock, he boosts flavour to his soup by adding acidity at the end of the cooking process with a little lemon juice or red wine vinegar.

Steve at EAT@ recommends keeping a tub of tomato tops and bottoms discarded when making salads over the summer. He has recently made a tomato, butterbean and chipotle soup – perfect for autumn weather.

For those inspired to go further than a simple broth, two local experts share warming noodle bowls built for winter evenings.

Spiced Peanut Noodle Soup, Kim Duke at Tonka

Ingredients, serves two

• 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 2 spring onions, finely sliced
• 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, finely diced or roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 red chilli, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp chicken bouillon powder
• 600 ml cold water
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce or kecap manis (sweet soy sauce)
• 1 tbsp peanut butter or Jimmy’s Satay Sauce
• A handful of dry roasted peanuts 1 egg, boiled 7 minutes (optional)
• 250g egg noodles (ramen noodles also work beautifully)
• A couple of handfuls of greens — cavolo nero, sprouts, mange tout, or whatever’s in the fridge

“This time of the year the heart yearns for noodle soup — this one is rich with peanut butter, lifted with chilli and ginger, and endlessly adaptable.”

Method

• In a large pan, heat a tablespoon of oil and add two cloves of garlic, a thumb of ginger, and two spring onions, all finely chopped. Sauté for a few minutes until lightly golden and fragrant. Add half a sliced red chilli, then stir through a tablespoon of peanut butter or satay sauce and two tablespoons of chicken bouillon powder — or use miso paste, vegetable stock, or whatever stock you have to hand, bone broth would be a lovely alternative.
• Pour in 600ml of cold water and let it simmer gently for 2–3 minutes. Add a tablespoon of dark soy or kecap manis, then drop in 250g of egg noodles (or ramen) and a couple of handfuls of greens — cavolo nero, sprouts, mange tout, anything that needs using up. Cook for 1–2 minutes, just until the noodles are tender and the greens are still bright.
• Serve with a seven-minute egg, a scattering of sliced chilli, and a handful of dry-roasted peanuts for a flavour boost. Comfort in a bowl — creamy, crunchy, and nourishing.

Mushroom noodle soup, Robbie Kelly, Basils Fungi Farm

Robbie Kelly swears by this quick recipe for a Japanese-inspired noodle soup. It’s hearty and filling and uses inexpensive ingredients.

“We used Velvet shank mushrooms – a native equivalent of the Enoki mushrooms that you’ll commonly find in supermarkets. You can buy Japanese-style broths in supermarkets (just add water) or endeavour to make your own from scratch!”

Ingredients, serves two.

• 1l broth/stock
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp white miso
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 100g noodles
• 100g velvet shank mushrooms

Method

• Peel and grate ginger and garlic, add it to a pan with your broth and soy sauce and bring to a simmer for 5 minutes. Add the noodles to the simmering broth, we opted for rice noodles, but go for something chunkier if that’s your preference. Our noodles take 3 minutes to cook. In the final minute of cooking the noodles, add mushrooms to the pan.
• Meanwhile, ladle a small amount of broth out of the pan into a bowl and whisk miso into it. Pour back into the soup once noodles are cooked for a huge savoury kick.
• Finish by adding sesame oil and seasoning with extra soy sauce if necessary, and garnish with spring onions.

Soup may be one of the humblest dishes, but with a little imagination, it can also be one of the most satisfying. Whether you’re crisping stale bread into croutons, simmering a stock from leftovers, or adding a splash of citrus to brighten the bowl, small touches can transform everyday ingredients into something special.

We’re reaching that time of year when there’s a glut of vegetables and fruit from the garden or friends with allotments; there always seems to be a small bag of courgettes or tomatoes being thrust upon us at every turn. Listed here are a few suggestions of how to use some of these up. Whether as a whole dish as I’ve pictured or prepared individually, it should offer some ideas to make the most of these late summer beauties.

Celeriac and potato gratin

Ingredients

• 300g celeriac
• 300g mashing/roasting potato
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 150ml double cream
• 150ml milk
• 80g grated cheddar or gruyere

Method

Peel the celeriac and potatoes. Using a mandolin or knife, thinly slice them.

Peel and crush the garlic with a good amount of salt in a pestle and mortar or on a chopping board. The salt will help extract the juices from the garlic and work to grind it down. The more you chop alliums, the stronger the flavour, so you’ll get more from less.

Toss the roots with the garlic and add the cream and milk, adjust the seasoning. It will take more than you think, so you can go heavy, although you can always season at the table. Place evenly into a baking tray. Top with parchment paper and tin foil.

Bake at 180c for about 50 minutes until tender, remove from the oven. At this point you can top with the cheese and bake again for 10 to 15 minutes to serve straight away, or, if you are working ahead of time and planning to reheat, place another tray that fits just inside the first tray on top, and press with a weight – this can be a few cans from the cupboard. Cut to your desired shape when cold. Top with the cheese and bake until piping hot.

Celeriac and rosemary puree

Ingredients

• 200g celeriac, roughly chopped
• 1 sprig of rosemary
• 100ml milk
• Pinch salt
• Pinch white pepper
• Squeeze lemon juice
• 50g cold butter

Method

Simmer the celeriac in the milk with the rosemary until the celeriac is soft. Remove the rosemary, place the milk and celeriac into a blender with the salt and pepper, a good squeeze of lemon juice and blitz until smooth. Add cold butter gradually in pieces until it has emulsified and the puree has become smooth and glossy. This makes a fantastic dip for crudités and those guilty pleasure Kettle crisps of an evening.

Courgette fritter

Ingredients

• 250g courgette
• Good pinch of salt
• Chopped fresh herbs: dill, parsley, chive, mint or a combination
• Zest and juice of ½ a lemon
• 50g gluten free flour

Method

Either cut the courgette into fine matchsticks or simply grate. Salt the courgettes for 5 minutes to extract the juices, add a finely chopped selection of herbs and the zest and juice of the lemon. Fold through the flour to form a thick batter. We like to deep fry at around 170°c for a few minutes, turning to ensure crispness, but you can shallow fry so they are more like a scotch pancake.

These are very nice served with scrambled eggs and smoked salmon for brunch or used to top beans on toast with some crumbled feta cheese and a good chilli sauce.

Courgette and apple remoulade

Ingredients

• 300g courgette
• 1 green apple/crab apple
• Zest and juice of ½ lemon
• 1 spring onion
• 30g mayonnaise
• 20g crème fraiche/yoghurt
• 10g Dijon mustard
• Small handful of tarragon, dill, parsley, mint or chive, or a combination of what takes your fancy

Method

Mix the mayo, crème fraiche or yoghurt with the mustard, lemon juice and zest. Add the finely chopped spring onion.

Cut the courgette and apple into fine matchsticks and fold through the mayo mixture with your selection of fresh herbs.

This is great with lightly toasted walnuts and a wedge of Sussex Charmer cheese.

Shrunken tomatoes

Ingredients

• 4 x plum tomatoes
• A drizzle of light olive oil
• A drizzle of white vinegar
• Icing sugar

Method

Cut an x into the base of the tomatoes. Cover with boiling water for 60 seconds. Lift out of the hot water and into cold/iced water. Using a sharp small knife peel the skin from the tomatoes, trying not to take too much of the flesh with it.

Place the tomatoes on a tray lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle with white vinegar and a good shake of icing sugar. Bake at 90c for two – three hours depending on size (you will know they are ready when they look shrunken). Test one, eat them all and start again!

These are lovely tossed over pasta with some good olive oil, garlic, chilli flakes and plenty of parmesan.

Blackberry dressing

Ingredients

• 200g foraged blackberries
• 100ml balsamic vinegar
• ½ tsp pink peppercorns
• 3 tsp caster sugar
• 200ml extra virgin olive oil

Method

Blitz the blackberries, balsamic vinegar, sugar and peppercorns in a blender whilst gradually adding the olive oil.

This is great for dressing game birds and venison but also good over a tossed salad with roasted figs and fried croutons.

Fresh garlic aioli

Ingredients

• 5 cloves fresh garlic
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Good pinch of salt flakes
• ½ tsp Dijon mustard
• 200g mayonnaise

Method

A bit of a cheat here, but grinding the garlic, mustard, lemon and salt in pestle and mortar until smooth, then folding through the mayonnaise will give you a lovely condiment without the pain of making a mayonnaise from scratch. Fresh garlic is milder than the dry version in the shops, so you can go a little heavy with it without upsetting loved ones.

The addition of anchovy is well advised for those who like it, and it’s perfect for dredging radish and other vegetables through as a light supper.

For more about Matthew Kennard-Bowen events check out Instagram @mkbevents_

Cake

• Roughly 12 plums (550g) stoned and quartered
• 185g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 175g golden caster sugar
• 2 largish eggs (beaten)
• 75ml oat or dairy milk
• 125 plain flour
• 125g self raising flour
• Pinch of salt
• 100g ground almonds (or breadcrumbs if nut allergies are a concern)

Topping

• 50g unsalted butter
• 50g golden caster sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon powder
• 1 beaten egg

Directions

Cake

• Preheat oven to 180°c
• Use a 23cm cake tin – springform or regular – greased and lined with greaseproof paper.
• Cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
• Add milk to the beaten eggs and then add gradually to your butter and sugar mix and mix/beat well.
• Sift the flour into the mix in three batches with a pinch of salt and then fold in lightly with a metal spoon until incorporated.
• Scrape into the tin and sprinkle the ground almonds or breadcrumbs on the surface (this helps prevent the plums from sinking).
• Add the quartered plums cut side facing up starting from the outside of the tin and work towards the centre.

Topping

• Melt the butter in a small pan, stir in the sugar and cinnamon, remove from heat for five mins.
• Add the beaten egg and mix.
• Pour over the surface of the cake.
• This will create a lovely glaze and prevent the plums from drying out.
• Cook for about an hour and 10 minutes – use a skewer to check if it needs longer – when the skewer comes out clean, it’s baked.
• Leave the cake to cool for at least 10 minutes in the tin, then remove and cool on a wire rack
• Enjoy warm with a dollop of yogurt. Leftover cake wrapped in foil can be warmed through at 180°c for ten mins or so.

A little more about our contributing chef – Sian Coakley.  In the 90s and 2000s, Sian worked in film in Hong Kong.  After 20 years there, she wanted a change and left Hong Kong for London to become a self taught cook.  Sian set up her own catering business in 1999 and began by catering small events for interior design companies and businesses such as SCP and Roche Bobois, she then began catering private events and receptions for central government departments including the foreign office and even Number 10.  Sian came to St Leonards in 2021 and met Stephanie, the owner of Graze, who needed a head chef. Sian applied for and secured the role and is currently the head chef at Graze. From the beginning, Sian has championed vegetarian, seasonal, fresh ingredients. Alongside her role at Graze, Sian continues to cater small private events in the Hastings area and London specialising in canapes, small plates and, of course, baking!

Instagram @Coakley_Cooks

Refugee Week takes place nationwide from 16-22 June, and this year’s theme is Community as a Superpower. Across the country, people are encouraged to explore how collective support and neighbourliness can make a difference; and here in Hastings & St Leonards, local venues are getting involved in their own ways. Take a look at The Refugee Buddy Project’s Instagram for more details.

At The Crown Hastings, we’ll be marking the week by serving a traditional Ukrainian borscht, made in collaboration with Lidiya Khramenkova. Lidiya came to the UK through the Homes for Ukraine scheme and has been living in Hastings since 2022. Borscht is a beetroot-based soup that is a staple in many Eastern European households. The dish is based on her traditional family recipe, adapted to be meat-free. It will be available throughout the week at the Crown, with £1 from every sale donated to The Refugee Buddy Project, a local organisation that supports refugees and asylum seekers as they settle into life in and around Hastings.

Lidiya says “Borscht is not just soup – it’s part of our soul. Every Ukrainian family has their own way of making it, and every grandma swears hers is the best. In my family, it was my mother’s borscht that was the tastiest. I still remember being a little girl, running around in the kitchen while she cooked. I used to help her prepare the vegetables while she chopped them, probably more in the way than helping, to be honest!

“As kids, we couldn’t wait for the borscht to be ready. But in our house, there was a rule: once the pot was off the heat, you had to let it rest. This extra time lets the vegetables release all their flavours and ‘talk to each other’ as my mum would say. In our family, we always served borscht with a spoonful of sour cream and some fresh dill — it gives that perfect finishing touch.

“I hope my mum won’t be offended when I say this, but I cook it too now, and I’ve adapted her recipe in my own way. I like it a bit more bold. I call it ‘agent borscht’ – strong, vibrant, unforgettable! My favourite way to eat it? A hot bowl of borscht, a bite of black bread, and a crunchy green onion on the side. My son loves it so much that when there’s too little left to scoop with a spoon, he lifts the plate with both hands and drinks it like soup from a fairy tale.

So yes – borscht is food. But it’s also memory, family, and love in a bowl.”

During the week, the windowsills of The Crown will display a curated selection of arts and crafts created by Ukrainian refugees who now live in the area. All of these items will be available to purchase, offering customers the chance to support creative work directly.

Ukrainian borscht

This recipe serves 4–6 people:

Ingredients

• For the broth:
• 2 vegetable stock cubes
• 2.5-3 litres water
• 1-2 bay leaves
• 5-7 black peppercorns
• Salt to taste
• Vegetables:
• 2-3 medium beetroots
• 1 carrot
• 1 onion
• 3-4 potatoes
• 200-300g white cabbage (shredded)
• 2 tomatoes or 2 tbsp
  tomato paste
• 1 red bell pepper
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 1 can haricot beans
  (optional but recommended)
• Oil for sauteing

To serve:

• Sour cream (or yoghurt)
• Fresh dill, parsley, or spring onion
• Bread–ideally rye

Method

• Make the broth: In a large pot, combine the water, stock cubes, bay leaves, peppercorns and salt. Bring to the boil and leave it to simmer.
• Cook the vegetable base: Sauté the chopped onion in oil until soft. Add grated carrot and beetroots. After a few minutes, stir in garlic, tomato paste/chopped tomatoes, and haricot beans. Cook for 7–10 minutes on a low heat.
• Build the soup: Add diced peeled potatoes to the simmering broth. Cook for 10 minutes, then add the sautéed vegetable mix. Once potatoes are nearly cooked, add the cabbage and bell pepper. Simmer until all vegetables are tender (10–15 minutes).
• Final steps: Taste and adjust seasoning. Add chopped herbs and let the soup rest, covered, for 20-30 minutes before serving.
• To serve: Ladle into bowls, add a spoonful of sour cream, and garnish with herbs. Serve with bread.

Lidiya Khramenkova / Andrew Swan See more at instagram.com/therefugeebuddyproject

Asparagus season is upon us and should be rejoiced for the next two months. I’ve paired it here with crab and a browned butter hollandaise, as well as a few easy-to-gather items, some of which will be growing in yours or a neighbour’s garden.

Whilst the spider crabs, for the local fisherfolk of Hastings, can be a bit of a menace, they are a regular catch, and really should be celebrated, so I encourage us all to get down to the huts and utilise these beauties. At the very least it will help pay for some net repairs!

Serves 4 as a starter or light lunch

Ingredients

• For the salad
• 400g asparagus
• 500g white crab meat
• 4/5 mixed radishes
• 100g of peppery leaves like watercress
• 20g samphire
• violet/primrose/pansy/garlic heads
• 1 egg white
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp mayonnaise
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• a small amount of chopped garlic and ginger (optional)
• a selection of herbs from dill/chervil/flatleaf parsley/sorrel/chive
• Brown butter hollandaise
• 1 tbsp white vinegar
• A of pinch of salt
• 1 egg yolk (use the whites for the crystalised flowers)
• 125g butter
• Green oil
• herbs, blanched and frozen
• vegetable oil

Method

This recipe requires preparation a day in advance

Candied flowers

• The day before, candy the flowers. I used primrose and three-cornered leek from the garden. Lightly whip the egg white, then add a splash of water and whisk again. It should be just frothing.
• Using a small, clean paint brush, coat the flower petals on both sides and sprinkle thoroughly with the caster sugar. Gently tap off any excess and lay on some parchment paper overnight.

Green oil

• Take your blanched and frozen herbs and place them in a blender with enough oil to cover and maybe a pinch of salt.
• Blitz on high for 1 or 2 minutes.
• Because you’re using frozen herbs, the oil will take on a whitish colour, but it prevents the herbs from turning brown and will recover a vibrant green as it comes back to room temperature.
• Then pass the oil through a fine sieve/tea strainer and leave to slowly drip through. You can leave this overnight in a cool spot.

Crab meat salad

• If buying fresh, just drop the spider crab claws into boiling water for 8 minutes, refresh in cold water, then crack and pick out the meat. Leave to cool. Alternatively, you can buy a dressed crab, or some picked white crab meat. You can, of course, buy some tinned crab lump meat. If using fresh, you’ll want to pick through the crab meat to make sure there’s no shell.
• Start by finely chopping your herbs, fold into the mayonnaise with the zest of a lemon and a small squeeze of juice, add your crab meat, optional garlic and ginger, and season to taste.
• Thinly slice your mixed radishes, pick some peppery leaves and wash the samphire.

Hollandaise sauce

• For the hollandaise you will need to brown the butter over a medium heat for around 5 minutes until it takes on a biscuity smell.
• Remove from the heat and place into a jug for pouring.
• Heat some water in a pan and while it simmers, place a bowl over the top with a tablespoon of white vinegar and a pinch of salt. When the vinegar has warmed, drop in the egg yolk and whisk until it becomes light and frothy.
• Keep an eye out in case it overcooks. You can remove it from the heat and add a small splash of the hot water from the pan if it starts to dry out.
• Remove the whisked egg from the heat, placing it on a folded tea towel to prevent any slipping, and very slowly pour in the browned butter, in a thin stream, while whisking continuously until the butter is used up.
• Cover and leave close to the stove for warmth.

Asparagus

Blanch the trimmed asparagus in lightly salted water for 2 minutes, drain and ready your serving plates.

To serve

Place your asparagus on serving plates, dollop around your dressed crab meat, place your leaves, radish and samphire, then coat everything in the hollandaise and garnish with your flowers, a few drops of your herb oil and any other herbs that remain.

Chef recommendation

Optional side of Jersey royal potatoes with salt flakes for dredging through the hollandaise makes a more substantial meal!

Instagram: @mkbevents_

Warm up this windy winter with this nutrition-packed recipe for Green Thai soup using chard – also known as Swiss chard. Read how to boost your gut health with these humble greens! And boost your brain health with a spot of journaling!

Journaling is that free flow and expressive way of writing that can help you get those thoughts and worries out onto the page. Journaling – a recipe you might say, for feeling a little more positive for the wintry months ahead. 

Fun Facts

• The ancient Romans, Greeks, and Arabs ate chard, but it was a Swiss botanist by the name of W. D. J. Koch who classified the plant in the 1800s. Thus, the name of his homeland became part of the plant’s common name.
• It’s a relative of the beetroot.
• It can grow up to 28 inches high.

Nutrition info:

• Chard is a powerhouse of nutrients, and is a good source of fibre: 
• Vitamin K – supports heart health and lowering blood pressure
• Vitamin A – supports healthy skin and good eye health
• Vitamins C & E – powerful antioxidants supporting against the risk of cancer and oxidative damage
• Calcium – supports bone health
• Fibre – supports your health

Green Thai Soup

(Serves 6) 

This is a great soup for supporting the immune system, as well as being very warming. Full fat Greek yoghurt also brings additional probiotic benefits for your gut health.

The chard is around £1.65 for 200g, with kale and spinach being cheaper: 85p and £1.35 respectively – this will vary depending on where you buy your ingredients and the time of year.

Ingredients: 

• 1 large onion, peeled and diced
• 1 large carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 tbsp coconut oil
• 2 cm of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 4 large garlic cloves, crushed
• 150g curly kale, washed and tough stems removed
• 200g Swiss chard, washed and chopped, stems removed and chopped
• 300g spinach, washed and chopped
• 1 tsp dried coriander 
• 1 large green chilli, kept whole but sliced part way lengthwise in half
• 3 stalks of lemongrass (remove tough bottoms and tops)
• 1 ½ litres vegetable stock
• juice and zest of 1 lime
• sea salt
• a good handful of fresh coriander, stalks and leaves chopped 
• 4 tbsp Greek yoghurt or coconut milk
• red chilli, cut into slices for serving

Method:

1. Heat the coconut oil in a large pan and then add the onion and carrot and gently cook.
2. Add the ginger and garlic to the pan and mix well into the vegetables.
3. Wash all the green veg and remove any tough stalks, add to the pan and cook for a couple of minutes.
4. Add the dried coriander, the fresh green chilli and the lemongrass. Mix in before adding the stock.
5. Let the mixture simmer for about 20 minutes then add the lime juice and zest, some salt to taste and most of the fresh coriander.
6. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
7. Take off the heat, remove the lemongrass and chilli and, using a hand blender, blitz until smooth. (If you would like extra heat, remove the stalk of the chilli and return to the pan to blitz with the rest of the soup.)
8. Finally, stir in the Greek yoghurt or coconut milk.
9. Serve with a little more yoghurt, some coriander leaves and a few pieces of red chilli.

Substitutes

• No fresh greens? Use frozen spinach or other greens (or mix some fresh and some frozen). 
• You can also use dried ginger or lemongrass – you don’t get quite the same level of zing, but you do get the flavour and the nutrient benefits.

Storage

This soup is fine to keep in the fridge for 2-3 days, but it also freezes brilliantly.

At first, I wasn’t sure…

Courgettes, or zucchinis as they’re known in other parts, are the perfect summer ingredient. Colourful, healthy, versatile and surprisingly light! Maybe you pass them by in the supermarket wondering what else you can make with them? 

Wonder no more! Try this mouth- watering courgette tart – guaranteed to bring out the urge for a picnic in the park. Come on sun! We’re so ready! 

Journaling #1: Dear Courgette… [3 mins]

• Let’s confess! Write a quick note to a courgette. Declare your love – love at first bite? Or is it more a make-up letter: sorry for leaving you on the shelf! 
• Have fun!

Fun Facts

• Courgettes are a fruit as they come from a flower (which can also be eaten)
• Courgettes are relatively new to the UK, making an appearance on our tables in the 1960s 
• They have more potassium than a banana.
• Courgettes are 95% water, but high in fibre and nutrients!

Nutrition info:

• Vitamin A – supports eye health 
• Vitamin C – supports immunity and protects against oxidative damage
• Potassium – supports muscles and heart health
• Low GI as mainly water and a high fibre content, so good for stabilising blood sugars

Courgette and Cottage Cheese Tart (Serves 4)

Courgettes can be eaten raw, steamed, griddled, fried, baked or grated – as in this delicious tart:

Ingredients: 

• 2 large courgettes (any colour)
• 1 packet of ready-rolled puff pastry
• 1 egg
• 250g cottage cheese
• 1 lemon
• large handful of fresh basil, or a jar of pesto
• salt & pepper
• 50g pine nuts 

Method:

1. Grate 1½ of the courgettes into a bowl and then thinly slice the remaining half into rounds.
2. Take the grated courgettes, wrap them in a thin cloth (muslin works best as it is so thin) and squeeze out as much of the excess water as possible. Leave in a sieve to continue draining whilst you prepare the other ingredients.
3. Warm a griddle pan, if you have one, or a frying pan will do just as well. Lightly fry your courgette rounds on a high heat to get a bit of colour on both sides – leave to one side.
4. Heat oven to 180oC
5. Grease a baking tray and lay your pastry on it. Score a line 2cms from the edge all around the pastry to create a square inside the pastry.
6. Beat the egg and brush over the bottom of the pastry, and, using a fork, prick small holes over the pastry base – inside that square you have marked.
7. Put in the oven for a few minutes to pre-bake – around 5 minutes should do it.
8. In the meantime, put the now fully drained courgette into a bowl, add the cottage cheese, zest of half the lemon and either the basil, shredded, or a couple of teaspoons of the pesto (you can add more of both the lemon or the basil/pesto to taste). Season.
9. Mix these ingredients together, by which time the pastry should have had a chance to pre-bake. The pre-baking helps stop the bottom of the pie going soggy.
10. Remove the pastry from the oven and spread the courgette and cottage cheese mixture over it.
11. Place your courgette rounds on the top, and sprinkle with pine nuts and an extra pinch of salt and pepper.
12. Pull the edges of the pasty over the sides of the filling and brush with the remaining egg.
13. Place back in the oven for about 20 minutes until the top takes on a pale golden colour.
14. Serve with a tomato salad.

Substitutes

• Swap cottage cheese for ricotta.
• Other herbs can work instead of basil or pesto: mint, thyme or oregano – dried versions of all of these would be delicious.
• Puff pastry is notoriously difficult to make at home so it’s best to use shop bought. Alternatively, a homemade shortcrust would also work well.
• Pine Nuts work really well with these ingredients, but you could use walnuts, or sunflower seeds.

Storage

The tart is fine to keep in the fridge for 2-3 days, but it won’t freeze well!

JOURNALING #2 Once upon a picnic [5 mins]

• Bring on summer by writing into a fond food memory of a picnic gone by. 
• On the beach? In the park? In your own garden? Recall the foods you ate, helped prepare. Wander into the anticipation of the picnic. Who packed the blanket? Did you forget the forks? 
• And if some of those memories remind you of loved ones no longer here, what heartening sentence can you write now that captures what you loved about them?

JOURNALING # 3 Action!

• Grate, slice, action!
• Ever tried a yellow courgette? Pick up different colours next time you’re shopping. Add to favourite dishes such as pasta, salads or stir fries. Surprise your taste buds to boost your wellbeing!

Amongst other things that come up during my conversation with Kimberley Duke is what she’s been up to since recently moving to the Hastings area. She tells me she has started to create beach/street food – think taste-laden loaded fries and pastries – and plans to sell it on the St Leonards promenade in collaboration with Jeremy and Justine of ‘Barista and the Shack’. She also runs a micro-bakery and is head chef at The New Inn in Sidley (seasonal European food).

Kim is clearly someone who likes to have her fingers in several pies (or pastries). But after hearing about her amazing project, Life Kitchen, I was particularly keen to learn about this not-for-profit cookery school she co-founded together with author and cook, Ryan Riley.

The ethos of Life Kitchen is to help people whose taste has been affected by cancer or who have an altered sense of taste due to Covid. Their focus is on enjoyment more than health: creating tastes and flavours that help people to really enjoy food again. 

Audacity and spontaneity seem to have been key elements in Kim and Ryan’s lives. They were good childhood friends, and after Ryan won £28,000 at a casino, they moved to London and both worked in publishing until they managed, on a whim, to get a food stall in Camden Market. A few years later, Kim, who was particularly interested in taste and flavour, trained as a head chef.

Both had lost parents to cancer, and with them in mind, they wanted to help people suffering from illness rekindle their pleasure in food. Professor Barry Smith, founder/head of the Centre for the Study of the Senses at the University of London, advised them on choosing ingredients for people living with an altered sense of taste. The result was their cookery school, which runs free cookery classes.

Although Kim and Ryan’s work originally had cancer sufferers in mind, the Covid pandemic broadened their focus. They adapted their strategy for an emerging class of smell-challenged eaters and devised “a range of recipes and products helpful for people living with a lessened sense of taste for whatever reason.” They worked with the ‘Altered Eating’ group and attracted support from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Sue Perkins among others – and wrote a recipe book: Taste and Flavour. 

Life Kitchen has also designed a range of products for Holland & Barrett. These are grouped according to the five tastes – sweet, sour, salt, bitter and umami. They include seed, kale and wasabi seasoning, miso and raspberry white chocolate (dangerously more-ish) and miso honey (the umami of the miso adds a boost to the sweetness of the honey). 

According to Kim, they use five elements: aroma, umami, texture, layering and food sensations to create their recipes. “There are certain ingredients and methods that just work: umami is ‘one of the big ones’, as well as ingredients that stimulate the trigeminal nerve.” That’s the nerve that connects your nose, eyes, and mouth and is important in chewing and swallowing. “Even if you’re experiencing a loss of taste, you can still get a sensation from some ingredients like mint, wasabi and horseradish,” she explains. 

Umami can be used for a base layer with some trigeminal stimulation, and a mix of hot and cold ingredients are also helpful. For example, umami tomatoes with garlic and cream cheese (cold) on a flatbread (hot) has got all of those layers.

The recipe here (soon to be available at Barista and the Shack) is another taste explosion and a favourite of Kim’s. It creates nostalgia for her childhood when “getting a peshwari naan bread from the local Indian restaurant was the absolute highlight of culinary joy”.

Peshwari Swirls

You will need:

For the mapled cream kale:

• 2 tbsp flavourless oil
• 2 onions finely chopped
• 3cm piece of fresh ginger peeled and chopped
• 6 garlic cloves finely chopped
• 300g kale tough stems removed and sliced into 1cm strips
• 1½  tsp + 1 tsp garam masala
• 1½ tsp + 1 tsp ground coriander
• 4 tbsp maple syrup or honey
• 200ml double cream
• 150g paneer cut into 1cm cubes
• 50g ground almonds
• 50g desiccated coconut

For the pastry:

• 7 sheets spring roll pastry
• 1 egg lightly beaten
• 1-2 tsp nigella seeds (optional)

Method:

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over low heat. Add the onions, ginger, garlic and season with salt. Fry for 7-8 mins until the onions have softened and then tip the mixture into a bowl.
2. Immediately tip the kale into the frying pan, season and fry over a high heat, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 mins. Add a splash of water and cook for 4-5 more mins until tender. Add the onion mixture back into the pan.
3. Once most of the liquid has evaporated, add the garam masala and coriander and cook for 1-2 mins to toast the spices. Then add the maple syrup or honey and paneer and stir in the cream. Cook for 4-5 mins to warm through, then season with salt and pepper to taste. Use 200g of the mixture for the pastries.
   Note: The leftover mapled cream kale can be used to make a delicious toasted sandwich with mature cheddar cheese and mango chutney or eaten on its own (It will keep for up to three days in an airtight container in the fridge.)Heat the oven to 180°C fan / Gas 6 and then bake the almonds and coconut on a baking tray for 4-6 mins, until golden brown.
4. Place the mapled cream kale in a bowl with the extra tsp of garam masala and coriander and mix in the toasted almonds and coconut until combined to make the peshwari filling.
5. Place 1 pastry sheet on a clean work surface and brush the left edge with beaten egg.
6. Divide the peshwari filling into 7 equal portions. Spoon the first portion in a sausage shape along the edge of the pastry closest to you, leaving a 2cm border. Then carefully fold the pastry edge nearest you over the filling and roll up the pastry so the filling is fully enclosed. Curve the pastry roll to form a spiral ‘swirl’. 
7. Repeat with the 6 remaining sheets of pastry and portions of filling.
8. Place the swirls on a baking sheet lined with greaseproof paper and brush them with more beaten egg. Finish with a sprinkling of nigella seeds if using. Bake the swirls for 30-35 mins until golden.

This recipe is from Weekly Provisions: How to Eat Seasonally and Love What’s Left Over by Kim Duke (Penguin Random House)

Find out more
about Life Kitchen on lifekitchen.co.uk
or facebook.com/LifeKitchenCookeryor on instagram:
@lifekitchencookery

It was once thought that sleeping with a leek placed under your pillow on St David’s Day would enable young girls to see their future husbands. Maybe not such a selling point these days, but leeks have plenty of other things to recommend them: high in fibre, good for the blood, and they keep colds at bay. They are also relatively cheap, versatile and sweeter than onions. Eat them roasted, poached, braised, or pan-fried – or try one of these delicious recipes from British Leeks.

Vegan Leek, Coconut & Coriander Thai Curry

Serves 2

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 20 mins

Ingredients: 

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 200g leeks
• 1 heaped tbsp red Thai curry paste
• 1 lemongrass stalk, lightly crushed
• 2 lime leaves, torn
• 50g mangetout
• 50g baby corn, roughly chopped
• 1 x 400g can coconut milk
• 200g tinned peeled new potatoes, drained and halved
• Small bunch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• Long grain rice, to serve

Method:

1. Place a large pan on high heat and add 1 tbsp veg oil. Finely slice the dark leafy end of the leeks and fry on high heat for around 5 mins until bright green and crispy. Remove from the pan and leave to drain on a piece of kitchen towel. 
2. Turn the heat down and add 1 tbsp of veg oil to the pan. Add the curry paste and stir for 2 mins until fragrant. Slice the rest of the leeks into 1cm rounds, add to the pan along with the lemongrass stalk and torn lime leaves, and stir well. Add 150ml water to the pan, stir again and cook for a further 5 mins. 
3. Add the mangetout, chopped baby corn, coconut milk and new potatoes to the pan, stir well and simmer for 5 mins. To serve, add the rice to a bowl, top with the curry, then scatter over the crispy green leeks and chopped coriander.

One Pan Creamy Leeks, Salmon, & Spinach  

Serves 4

Prep time: 5 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 salmon fillets
• 2 large leeks, sliced into 1cm rounds
• 2 banana shallots, sliced
• 1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
• 1 tbsp dijon mustard
• 200ml double cream
• 100ml veg stock
• 2 tbsp dried tarragon
• 200g babyleaf spinach
• 1 x 500g can peeled new potatoes in water, drained and halved
• 1 x 30g bunch flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1/2 lemon, zest and juice

Method:

1. Place a large pan on medium heat and add the olive oil. Season the salmon fillets well, then place skin-side down in the pan and fry for approx 7 mins, turning halfway through. Once cooked, remove from the pan and cover in foil to keep warm. 
2. Keeping the pan on a medium heat, add the sliced leeks and shallots and cook for 10 mins until soft. 
3. Stir in the mustards, then add the double cream, veg stock, dried tarragon and bring up to a simmer. Add the spinach and stir in until wilted, followed by the new potatoes, chopped parsley, and lemon zest and juice.
4. Check the sauce for seasoning, then place the salmon fillets back into the pan; cover and simmer for a further 5 mins until the salmon is piping hot. Serve immediately.

Recipes by Matilda Bourne

Twice Baked Potatoes with Leeks, Spinach & Feta

Serves 4

Prep time: 45 mins

Cooking time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

• 2 leeks
• 4 large baked potatoes
• 2 tbsp crème fraiche
• 1 egg
• 150g frozen spinach
• Half a block of feta cheese
• 1 tsp spoon garlic granules

Method:

1. Finely slice 2 leeks, wash well in warm water, then soak in boiling water for at least 30 mins to soften.
2. Scoop out the insides from 4 baked potatoes and combine with 2 tbsp crème fraîche, 1 beaten egg, 150g frozen spinach (defrosted and squeezed out), half a block of feta, 1 tsp flaked sea salt, plenty of black pepper and 1 tsp garlic granules.
3. Add half the softened leek and mix well, then pile back inside the hollowed-out potatoes.
4. Mix the rest of the leeks with some olive oil and the rest of the feta. Pile on top of the filled potatoes and bake for 20 to 30 mins at approximately 200°C until lovely and brown.

Recipe by Elly Curshen

It’s good to back at Hastings Independent after a very busy few months for me. As the weather was still unseasonably glorious last Friday, we grabbed the last table at Cumbia Kitchen for their Peruvian Night meal. We certainly didn’t regret it: it was an absolute explosion of flavour – in seven courses.

We were welcomed with a Pisco Sour and ‘Mussel a la Chaleca’, an amuse bouche of mussels with corn salsa. Then ‘Tiradito’, a Peruvian sashimi with a zingy pineapple hot sauce. The soup course, ‘Lawa de Choclo’ was a bit like a chowder with broad beans: hearty yet subtle. After that was my favourite – the Ceviche: local fish marinated in ‘leche de tigre’ a complex citrus-based marinade. 

All this was followed by a palate cleanser: a cremolada (sorbet) made from Soursop – a superfruit which boosts the immune system, and which was new to me; like a hybrid of apple and strawberry with a bit of lime thrown in – it looks like a prickly avocado. 

By this time I was getting pretty full, but there were still two courses to go! ‘Chorrillana Tacu Tacu’, which consisted of rice and bean cakes with tempeh for us (or chicken for meat-eaters) with a tangy yellow chilli sauce. 

Finally, an insane pudding called ‘Suspiro Limeño’ (The sigh of a Lima lady) made from dulce de leche and meringue infused with port. It is very creamy and incredibly sweet and rich, but somehow, I managed to eat it all!

Suspiro Limeña

If you want to experience an authentic taste of Peru at home, try this delicious dessert recipe.

You will need:

• 1 can evaporated milk (340g)
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk (296g)
• 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Alternatively, you could cheat and use a can of caramel, but it won’t be the same!
• For The meringue
• 1/2 cup caster sugar
• 2 tablespoons port
• 2 egg whites, at room temperature
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

Method:

1. Place the evaporated and sweetened condensed milk into a large, shallow pan. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10-20 minutes or until it starts to caramelise. Then turn off the heat and measure out ¼ cup of the mixture.
2. Put the egg yolks in a bowl and whisk them. As you do so, pour in the ¼ cup of milk mixture, a little at a time.
3. Pour the milk/egg yolk mixture back into the pan with the rest of the milk and add the vanilla extract. Mix well and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes until thick. 
4. Transfer the mixture into individual glasses, filling only half way.
5. For The meringue
6. In a small pan, over a low heat, boil the sugar and port for 3 minutes to make a syrup; then set aside.
7. Put the egg whites in a clean bowl and whip them in a food mixer until white and fluffy. With the mixer still on, slowly add the port syrup. Beat again until the meringue is glossy and forms stiff peaks.
8. Fill a piping bag with the meringue and pipe over the dulce de leche.
9. Once assembled, sprinkle with ground cinnamon.

Jackie at Cumbia Kitchen always puts on a brilliant night – the food was delicious and authentic, the atmosphere was buzzing and the staff excellent. Here is a list of events coming up:

Friday 27 October: ‘Dia de Los Difuntos’ another opportunity to try the Peruvian menu and join in the Day of the Dead celebrations.

Friday 3 November: seven-course Nikkei (Japanese-Peruvian) Tasting Menu which reflects the strong influence that Japanese immigrants have had on Peruvian cuisine.

3, 10, 17 December: Christmas Sunday Lunch – a chance to try an alternative South American Christmas Menu.

14 and 21 December: Vegan Christmas dinner 

31 December: a New Year’s Eve Celebration with Colombian NYE traditions and a nine-course tasting menu, hosted by Cumbia and Marlyn Lopez.

There’s also a Christmas Tapas Menu available for Private Christmas Parties throughout December.

Please look on the website or social media for more details:
cumbiakitchen.com Instagram @cumbia_kitchen
Helen Groves www.food-comes-first.com

There are several good reasons to eat plums: they contain a lot of vitamins and minerals; they are particularly high in antioxidants and hence reduce inflammation; also, like prunes, they relieve constipation. 

This year, we’ve had a glut of plums and have overdosed on plum sauces, compotes, chutney and jam. This recipe is a simple but slightly different way to use up the last plums of the season if you like them in cakes and crumbles.

You will need:

• 7 chopped plums
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 2 tbsp cornflour
• 1 tsp cardamom and/or ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger (optional)
• pinch salt
• Crust and Crumble
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup soft butter or margarine
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 

Method:

1. Sprinkle the sugar, cornflour, spices and salt over the chopped plums. Set aside while you make the crust and crumble.
2. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Line a 9-inch square cake tin with parchment paper. Cut enough parchment so the ends overhang on two sides so you can lift the bars out after they’ve cooled for easy cutting.
3. Sieve the flour and mix it with the baking powder and salt; set aside. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy in a food mixer, about 3-4 minutes; add the vanilla. Then, with the mixer on low, slowly add the flour and mix until just combined.
4. Reserve about 1/5 of the dough and press the remaining dough firmly into the prepared cake tin. Spread the plum mixture evenly over the dough. Crumble the reserved dough over the plums (add a little extra flour if necessary).
5. Bake for 50 minutes or until the fruit is bubbling and the top is golden. Cool completely on a wire rack. When it’s cool, lift the crumble out of the tin and place on a chopping board. Slice into 16 bars.

I recently read that 14-25 May is ‘Be Nice to Nettles Week’. Recalling the ear-splitting howls when small children brush against the smallest of plants, I initially thought it was a joke. But apparently not: it’s a week that recognises the nettle’s critical role in preserving wildlife – ladybirds and a range of butterflies lay their eggs on stinging nettles.

Healthwise, the stinging nettle is also good to eat: strongly diuretic, stimulating the kidneys and activating the secretion of bile in the liver. It also has anti-inflammatory properties, so nettle tea works well for arthritis or hangovers – or both. 

Nettles are also great pureed and go particularly well with scallops.

Scallops with crispy prosciutto and a nettle sauce (serves 2)

You will need: 

6 scallops

2 slices of prosciutto ham

100g salted butter

200ml vegetable stock

100g young nettles plus a dozen or so to garnish

Juice of half a lemon

50g wild garlic

75g cooked frozen peas 

2 shallots finely diced

100ml of vegetable oil

Method

Place the prosciutto ham on a baking tray with some grease proof paper. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180oC for 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove ham from the oven, place on some kitchen towel and allow to cool. 

For the crispy nettle garnish, heat oil in a small pan to approx. 180oC. Add a dozen or so small nettles for 30 seconds. Remove from oil and place on paper towel to cool and crisp up.

In a medium pot, melt 25g of butter. Add the nettles and cook on medium heat until the leaves have wilted and water is released. Add stock and lemon juice, puree until smooth and season to taste. 

In a small pan add 25g of butter. Sautee the diced shallot until soft. Add chopped wild garlic and peas, season to taste.

For the scallops, melt 50g of butter on a plate, then place the scallops in the butter to coat them on both sides. Pan fry the scallops on medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes each side.

The scallops should be served immediately, so plating the other accompaniments while they cook is recommended. 

Spoon the nettle sauce onto a large plate and, using the back of a spoon, spread into a circle with a well in the middle. Add the pea and wild garlic mix to the middle and serve the scallops on top. Garnish with shards of prosciutto and crispy nettles.

Don’t like pancakes? Bored of cheesecake? Key lime pie is a great alternative and is cheap and easy to make. In this version, the biscuit base has a slight caramel twist and the citrussy filling is light but rich. Perfect for the start of spring, Easter or Mother’s Day. 

You will need:

• packet Biscoff biscuits (250g)
• 50g melted butter (unsalted)
• 395g tin of condensed milk
• 3 egg yolks
• 3 large limes
• Raspberries or other fruit to decorate (optional)

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 160°/140° (fan).
2. Crush the biscuits in a food processor or by putting them in a plastic bag and breaking up with a rolling pin until you have fine crumbs. 
3. Put crumbs in a mixing bowl and add melted butter. 
4. Grease and flour a 12-inch flan tin, then press crumb mixture into the base. Bake for 10 minutes and allow to cool.
5. Meanwhile make the lime custard. Pour condensed milk into a large saucepan together with lime zest, juice and egg yolks. Whisk vigorously on a low heat until mixture has doubled in size.
6. Pour custard onto the Biscoff base and cook for a further 15 minutes.
7. Allow to cool in the fridge for at least one hour. Then decorate with raspberries or fruit of your choice and serve with cream.

Originally from China, ramen is a noodle soup that can be made with almost any ingredients you have knocking around the kitchen, served in a rich broth. It was exported to and developed in Japan, where it is much-loved: Tokyo alone has 5,000 ramen shops. But you might have noticed there’s a global ramen boom at the moment, with ramen restaurants like Bone Daddies, Shoryu and Tonkotsu hugely popular in London. 

My son used to work as a high-end chef and has been making some fantastic ramen recipes at home. I’m a convert for all of the following reasons: 

1. Winter warmer: in the colder regions of Japan, ramen is the dish of choice when life is hard and temperatures are low. It’s relatively cheap and easy to make but is always warming and filling.
2. Convalescence: when everyone in our house was recovering from flu this winter, ramen was something we all craved. Full of vegetables and generally high in protein, a home-made ramen bowl will make you feel nourished and restored.
3. Healthier option: home-made ramen is a completely different experience to cheap, instant noodle versions available in shops. You can control the ingredients and include the things that make you feel good: plenty of garlic, seaweed, fresh vegetables and high-quality miso. And best of all, take the time to make your own stock for a perfect ramen experience.
4. New and exciting: bright colours, gutsy flavours – what’s not to like? If still unsure, watch the Japanese movie Tampopo: the “ultimate cult classic food film” in which ramen plays a starring role.

Kieran’s Roast Chicken Ramen – Serves 2

You will need:

• 200g fine wheat/ramen noodles

Broth

• 100g broccoli
• 1 red pepper
• 1-2 red chillies
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 700ml of chicken stock
• 1 tbsp of Worcester sauce or 1 tsp of fish sauce
• 2 tbsp of soy sauce
• 1 tbsp of mirin (sherry or rice/white wine vinegar with sugar can be substituted)

Roast chicken

• 500g chicken thighs (skin and bone on)
• 1 tsp of brown sugar
• 1 tsp of five spice
• Salt and pepper

Garnish

• 2 soft boiled eggs
• 1 green chilli
• 100g of beansprouts 

Method:

1. Remove skin from chicken thighs and set aside. Coat chicken thighs with brown sugar, five spice and salt and pepper. Cook in a pre-heated fan oven at 200°C for 35-45mins depending on size. 
2. Lay chicken skin out flat on grease-proof paper and season. Cook in oven until golden brown and crispy. Remove excess grease and allow to cool. Slice chicken skin and set aside for garnishing later.
3. When chicken is cooked through, remove from oven and allow to rest. When cool enough to handle remove bones and cartilage from thighs. Slice the meat and
4. set aside.
5. In a hot wok add some vegetable oil or peanut oil. Remove excess and add broccoli and peppers. Stir-fry for two minutes stirring occasionally. Add chopped red chilli, garlic, Worcester sauce, soy sauce and mirin before adding chicken stock. Bring stock to the boil before serving. 
6. Meanwhile boil noodles as per the packet instructions. Drain and add to serving bowl. 
7. Add chicken meat and beansprouts to the bowl. Pour over boiling broth and garnish with halves of soft-boiled egg, sliced green chilli and the crispy chicken skin.

Miso Mushroom Ramen – Serves 2

You will need:

• 200g fine wheat/ramen noodles

Broth

• 200g mushrooms
• 100g baby corn
• 2 tsp miso paste
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp grated/finely
• chopped ginger
• 700ml vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp mirin (sherry or rice/white wine vinegar with sugar can be substituted) 

Garnish

• 1 green chilli
• 2 small pak choi
• 100g beansprouts
• 1 sheet nori
• 2 spring onions

Method:

1. In a hot wok, add some vegetable or peanut oil. Remove excess and add mushrooms and baby corn. Stir-fry for two minutes stirring occasionally. Add miso paste, ginger garlic, soy sauce and mirin before adding vegetable stock. Bring stock to the boil before serving. 
2. Meanwhile boil noodles as per the packet instructions. Drain and add to the serving bowl. 
3. Add pak choi, nori and beansprouts to the bowl. Poor over boiling broth and garnish with sliced green chilli and spring onion.

It’s been a cold December this year. Time to batten down the hatches, throw some spices and wine in a pan, then serve it in a glass or mug to breathe in the festive fragrance and warm everyone up. Mulled wine – it’s simple.

This version is packed with berries and apples (plenty of antioxidants) so feels like it might be extra good for you …

You will need:
• 1 bottle of affordable fruity/spicy wine such as Merlot, Zinfandel or Garnacha  
• 1-2 tbsp maple syrup or honey, to taste 
• 500ml cloudy apple juice
• 2 whole cinnamon sticks
• 2 star anise
• 3 tbsp orange Curaçao or Cointreau (optional)
• 100g frozen whole berries: try redcurrants, blackcurrants, blackberries, mulberries and/or cranberries 
• 2 small red apples sliced into rounds or half moons.

Berrylicious mulled Wine
CREDIT: Fiona McGarry

Method:
1. Pour the wine into a heavy-bottomed saucepan with the apple juice. Stir in the maple syrup or honey and the spices.

2. Gradually heat the mixture over low heat until steaming (about 5 minutes). When you see small bubbles at the surface, reduce the heat to very low.

3. Taste and add more syrup/honey (or some sugar) to taste if it’s not sweet enough. Stir and then continue warming over very low heat for 10 to 15 more minutes.

4. Stir in the Curaçao or Cointreau and then throw in the frozen fruit and the apple slices. Then ladle into strong glasses or mugs to serve.

5. If you plan to keep some of the wine for later, remove it from the heat, cover, and rewarm over low heat when needed. Leftovers will keep in the fridge for a couple of days, but strain to remove the star anise and cinnamon if you don’t want it too spicy.

This mulled wine goes nicely with blue cheese, devils on horseback or roasted nuts – especially almonds. Merry Christmas!

These days, tomatoes are everywhere. Supermarkets stock so many varieties at such varied prices, it can make you dizzy. Greengrocers have them piled high, and gardeners and tomato fanciers are giving them away (especially the green ones). They even grow wild in all kinds of nooks and crannies including on railway lines and close to where Southern Water pumps human waste into the sea …

But this doesn’t seem to put us off. During lockdown, everyone started growing them and tomato-growing became a competitive sport with people posting photos of ever more outrageous varieties on Twitter (including tomato champion, Janet Street Porter). This year, drought and hot weather meant summer tomato harvests were smaller than usual, but over the past few weeks they have rallied and are especially tasty and appealing. Here are some ways to use up the current glut.

Autumn Chutney

You will need:

• 1 kilo of mixed tomatoes, chopped (up to half can be green)
• 450g onions, chopped
• 2 large, or 3 small apples, peeled, cored and chopped
• 250g sultanas
• 2-3 garlic cloves
• 225g light brown muscovado sugar
• 2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
• 2 red chillies (optional)
• 2 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 cloves
• 1 tsp salt
• 600ml red wine vinegar

Method:

1. Put all the ingredients except the vinegar into a preserving pan or large, deep saucepan. Add half the vinegar and season.

2. Place the pan over medium heat. Slowly bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly, until the sugar has dissolved. Simmer for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. If you don’t want it too chunky, you can use a hand-held blender to make it a bit smoother at this point.

3. Stir the rest of the vinegar into the chutney. Cook for a further 30-45 minutes, stirring often until it thickens.

4. Divide the hot chutney between sterilised jars and set aside to cool.

5. Seal with airtight lids and store in a cool, dry place, away from direct sunlight, for at least one month before eating. Chill after opening and use within two months. 

Jollof Rice

You will need:

• 400g basmati rice
• 3 red peppers, quartered and deseeded
• 6 medium-sized plum tomatoes, halved
• 75g tomato purée
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 onion, sliced thinly
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1 Scotch bonnet chilli (optional)
• 5 tbsp rapeseed or sunflower oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tbsp dried thyme
• 2tsp curry powder 
• ½ tsp ground black pepper
• 600ml vegetable or chicken stock

Method:

1. Rinse the rice in a sieve under cold water, drain. Blend the tomatoes and tomato puree in a food processor. Set both aside.

2. In a large pan, heat oil and add the sliced onions. Season with a pinch of salt, stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, then add the bay leaves, curry powder, dried thyme and black pepper for 3-4 minutes on medium heat. Then add the tomato mixture – stir for another 2 minutes. 

3. Meanwhile, put the peppers, quartered onion, garlic, ginger and chilli in a food processor and blend for about a minute. Add this to the pan, stir, and set on medium heat for 10 minutes till reduced by half, with the lid partly on. 

4. Stir in the rice to coat. Pour in the stock, stir, cover with some foil and the saucepan lid to seal
in the steam. Then cook on a low heat until the rice is tender (about 30 minutes).

5. Let rest, covered, for 5-6 minutes before serving. If you like, you can add some butter and more tomatoes (or tomato chutney) before serving. 

By Sally O’Connor & Ben Bruges

Local activist Claudine Eccleston set HIP a challenge to collect meals for under a fiver to help people in Hastings struggling with the increasing cost of living. We would like our readers to send in ideas for meals; you can either email us your recipe or send in a video showing how it’s made. 

So, here are not one but five meals for a fiver each to set the ball rolling. These are four-person meals, so you can adjust accordingly. Our recipes are based on ingredients that can be bought in Aldi with prices at the time of writing. Most are easy, family friendly and for people in a rush. If you have kids, the pizza may be a good Sunday activity – they can design their own. 

If you are looking for more recipes, Tesco is currently doing a ‘five meals for a fiver’ meal plan and updating it each month. M&S is doing something similar.

• Send us your fiver-a-meal recipes to food@hastingsindependent.co.uk

Southern spiced chicken, potato wedges and salad  

£5 exactly!

• 1kg chicken thighs (8 or 9) £2.25
• Ready, Set…Cook! Southern fried seasoning 79p
• Four Seasons lightly spiced potato wedges (frozen) 89p 
• Nature’s Pick baby leaf salad 57p
• Pack of Everyday Essentials cherry tomatoes 50p

1. Preheat oven to 180C/160C Fan/Gas 4. 

2. Pat chicken dry. Coat lightly in oil, cover with seasoning. 

3. Leave for ten mins or so.
Keep skins on as they are nice crisped up. 

4. Cook in pre-heated oven for around 30 mins. Check they’re cooked by sticking in a sharp knife – if juices run clear, they’re cooked. 

5. At the same time, pop wedges on a baking tray (instructions on packaging) and cook with chicken. 

6. Prepare the salad. Enjoy! 

Sausage Roast Dinner with Gravy

£5.27

• 8 x Cumberland sausages £1.49 (two each) 
• 2.5kg red potatoes £1.29
• 500g carrots 24p
• 1 sweetheart cabbage 55p
• gravy granules 85p 
• sage and onion stuffing for stuffing balls 35p

• 15 Yorkshire puddings 50p

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees. Peel potatoes and cut into good sized pieces. 

2. Par-boil the potatoes for 5-10 mins. Meanwhile pre-heat oil in a roasting tin. 

3. Add drained potatoes to oil, season and spoon over hot oil. Cook for 25 mins. 

4. Remove potatoes from the oven and turn. Put sausages on a greased baking tray and cook alongside potatoes for 25 more mins.

5. Make stuffing according to the packet and roll into balls. Sit for 10 mins and cook for 20 more mins with the sausages and potatoes. 

6. Shred cabbage and cook in the microwave for best nutrition. Peel and cut carrots into circles and microwave as well. 

7. Put Yorkshires alongside sausages for the last 4 mins. Prepare gravy. Serve up.

(Any leftovers will make tasty bubble and squeak the next day.)

Bacon and tomato pasta with broccoli

£4.56

• Everyday essentials penne 500g 32p
• 8 smoked lean rashers bacon £1.79 
• 2 tins chopped tomatoes 52p
• onions 55p (some left over) 
• button mushrooms 85p
• broccoli 53p

1. Fry one chopped onion in a little oil in a saucepan. 

2. Once softened, chop bacon and fry with onion. 

3. Add tomatoes (and tomato puree and veg stock cube if you have them). 

4. Cook for 5 mins, then pop in chopped button mushrooms. 

5. While the sauce is finishing, cook penne (around 100g per person) in boiling salted water in a large saucepan (around 10-11 mins). Then strain ready to serve with sauce. 

6. While preparing the penne, cook broccoli in a microwave or in boiling water. Serve. 

Vegetable korma curry

£5.03

• 1kg long grain rice 45p
• 1-2 onions 55p 
• 3 loose potatoes 60p
• 240g spinach 75p
• 1 aubergine 69p
• tin chickpeas 45p
• korma cooking sauce 69p
• 8 poppadums 85p
• garlic and ginger (optional)

1. Peel and boil potatoes until soft. Cube then set aside. 

2. Fry onions until soft. Add garlic and ginger if you have them. Dice aubergine and fry with onions for 5 minutes. Add korma sauce (or other choice) and cook for further 5 minutes. 

3. Add spinach – if frozen, wilt with hot water. Strain and add tin of chickpeas. 

4. While curry is cooking, boil the rice. 

Serve with poppadums. 

Cheese, tomato and ham pizza (cooked from scratch)

£5.13 

The basic pizza
• 1.5 kg plain flour 55p
• easy-bake yeast sachets 65p (some left over)
• Everyday Essentials tinned, peeled tomatoes 28p
• tomato puree 39p
• onion 55p 
• jar of dried oregano 49p (some left over) 

Suggested topping (or choose your own favourite)
• 2 x Everyday Essentials mozzarella (400gm) 98p
• cooked ham, 10 slices 79p
• tin sweetcorn 45p

1. Weigh 500g flour to make four pizzas. Mix in a sachet of yeast and add about 400ml of water. 

2. Mix and knead by hand –this should absorb all liquid and form a ball. Add a bit more flour if sticky. Add warm water if too dry and mix again. 

3. Remove from bowl and knead for 10 more mins on a flour-covered surface. 

4. Lightly oil the mixing bowl, put the pizza ball back in. Cover with plastic wrap or tea towel and leave to prove for 2/3 hours. 

5. Make tomato sauce by frying onion (add garlic if you have it). After 5 mins add chopped tomatoes and tomato puree. Add half tsp oregano (a bit more if you like flavour) and season. 

6. Cook for about ten mins to make a thick sauce. 

7. Take the pizza ball and divide into four. Dust with flour and shape into frisbees. 

8. Add sauce, then decorate with choice of toppings (mozzarella, ham and sweetcorn). 

Cook on a baking tray (or pizza tray) in a pre-heated oven (200 degrees) for 15 to 20 mins. Keep checking after 10 mins so as not to overcook.

You will need:

• 950ml whole milk 
• 25g cornflour
• 50g plain flour 
• 100g caster sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• Strips of lemon peel
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract 
• 120ml olive oil 
• 2 eggs
• sugar and powdered cinnamon to garnish

Method:

1. Whisk cornflour, sugar, and half the flour together and combine with 1 cup of milk. 

2. Heat remaining milk in a large saucepan until it starts to boil. Add cinnamon stick, lemon peel, and vanilla. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes.

3. Gradually strain the milk from the saucepan into flour mixture and stir until combined.

4. Return to saucepan and heat over medium-low heat, stirring until the mixture thickens considerably (at least 15 minutes).

5. Pour mixture into a large, oiled baking dish (about 2cm deep).

6. Cover with plastic wrap or wax paper and refrigerate for 4 hours (or overnight) until it has solidified. Then turn out cooled mixture and cut into small squares.

7. Heat olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat.

8. Beat eggs in a small bowl. Put remaining flour into another bowl. Then dip each piece into the beaten eggs and then the flour to form a light coating.

9. Fry in the oil until the coating turns golden (1 minute on each side). Cool on a paper towel, then roll in sugar and cinnamon.

10. Serve warm or at room temperature, ideally with fruit or ice cream!

I recently noticed a large plant springing up everywhere I looked on my allotment. I discovered that it’s garlic mustard – or Jack-by-the-hedge as it used to be known – and that it is good for eating during April and May. It is pretty prolific in the parks and gardens of Hastings, including Alexandra Park.

Garlic Mustard or Jack-by-the-Hedge
CREDIT: Fiona McGarry

Looking back at an old issue of HIP, I found that professional forager and wild food teacher, Geoff Dann, had written all about this invasive plant (FORAGING: Garlic Mustard HIP122) including where you can find it (if it isn’t taking over your garden). Geoff uses the chopped leaves to make a sauce “reminiscent of mint sauce, which makes a fine accompaniment to lamb or strongly flavoured fish (traditionally, salted fish)”. 

After a bit of experimentation, I decided that in later spring I prefer the taste of the stems; they don’t have the bitterness of the leaves and the flavour is less robust, more like a cross between asparagus and broccoli. They make a great side dish, especially if served with a wild garlic butter and sesame seeds.

CREDIT: Fiona McGarry

Garlic Mustard shoots with wild garlic butter

1. Make the wild garlic butter by chopping up a handful of wild garlic leaves. Then mash up the butter with a fork and add the chopped garlic leaves (approximately 50g of garlic per 250g butter). You can use a food processor to make this easier if you don’t mind the size of the garlic being less uniform.

2. Make the butter into a sausage-shape and wrap in baking parchment or clingfilm. Chill in the fridge until needed.

3. Pick some garlic mustard stems and flowers or buds (about 12cm long). Wash them and remove the larger leaves.

4. Blanch the stems for two minutes in a saucepan of salted boiling water. You can allow a little longer for older, thicker stems or if you prefer your vegetables a bit softer.

5. Drain the water away and add a large knob of wild garlic butter to the saucepan. 

6. Sauté gently and then serve with a sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds.

• Check out the fantastic foraging recipes by Geoff Dann in earlier issues of HIP online You can also find a wide selection of recipes by many other food writers, including ideas for interesting and economical meals, store cupboard staples, seasonal bakes, cocktails, smoothies and a range of vegetarian and vegan dishes.

Nettles are high in Vitamin C, Vitamin A, and full of calcium, magnesium, iron, and potassium; they are also a good source of protein and are said to reduce inflammation, so good for those with arthritis. 

Wear rubber gloves when you pick them and go for the young nettle tops. Wash them well before using them. You can make them into tea, use them in soups and quiches or just eat them sauteed. This recipe is a good way to ‘discover’ them as it’s very straight forward.

Nettle and Blue Cheese Rarebit

You will need:

• 200g nettle leaves

• 200ml tub crème fraiche

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard

• 140g blue cheese

• 4 slices sourdough bread.

Method:

1. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan. Add the nettles and sauté for 1 minute until wilted. 

2. Chop the nettles or whizz with a hand-held blender. Then place in a bowl with the crème fraiche, mustard, half the blue cheese. Mix them together and set aside. 

3. Lightly toast the bread on both sides and then divide the cheese and nettle mix between the slices of toast. Top with the remaining cheese and grill until golden. Serve immediately.

Commercial marmalade tastes nothing like home-made – it’s well-worth making your own. Seville oranges are the most sought-after fruit for making marmalade, although the season for Seville oranges is very short – from late December to mid-February. Luckily, you can buy them now and freeze them until you want them. The flavour
of organic oranges is incomparable, and Trinity Wholefoods is a good place to buy them.

Ingredients

• 700g (about 7 or 8) Seville oranges

• 1 large lemon

• 1.4kg of granulated cane sugar

• 1.75 litres water. (3 pints)

You will also need a large stainless steel or enamel pan (24 by 11cm), a smaller pan, a stick blender or sieve, a lemon juicer and some sterilised empty jam jars.

CREDIT: Mick Studd

Method 

1. Halve and juice the oranges and the lemon.

2. Remove the inner mem-branes with a teaspoon, chop them and put in the small pan with the pips and pith from the juicer. If you have a stick blender, you can blend pith and pips into a sludge.

3. Cut the orange ‘shells’ into quarters and then chop as finely or as chunkily as you like. Put this peel and the juice in the larger pan.

4. Add 1 pint of water to the small pan and 2 pints to the larger pan. Ideally leave to stand overnight to allow the pectin to seep into the solution.

5. Simmer both pans gently for up to two hours until the peel is tender, and the liquid has reduced by about one third. Stir occasionally so they don’t catch and burn at the base. 

6. When cooked, add the membrane and pips ‘sludge’ into the large pan (or strain through a sieve if you didn’t use a stick blender). 

7. Add the (warmed) sugar to the large pan and heat slowly, stirring until it is completely dissolved. 

8. Bring the large pan to a rolling boil until a temperature of 104.5°C is reached. After five minutes, start testing to see if the setting point has been reached: spoon a small amount onto a cold plate and see if, when cooled, it wrinkles when pushed. When the setting point is reached, leave it to cool for 10 minutes and then ladle into jars.

If you put the marmalade in jars but it remains runny when cool, you can try repeating the setting boil with an extra 200g of sugar and the juice of an extra half a lemon.

More information, recipes and pictures can be found in First Preserves by Vivien Lloyd, Citrus Press. 

As an alternative try lime marmalade – it’s easier because you can put the juice and chopped peel with the pith in just one pan and soak overnight, then add the sugar and hard boil as for orange marmalade.

Although Halloween is past, the season for squash and pumpkins certainly isn’t. There are many varieties of squash around: pumpkin, butternut and the smaller varieties of gem, acorn, dumpling and buttercup to name a few. 

Here are a couple of quick and easy recipes as well as a trickier one for Pumpkin Torte.

CREDIT: Helen Groves

Buttered Gem 

This is a traditional, simple but delicious South African dish made with gem squash, but it works with any of the smaller varieties. 

Simply cut the squash in half, scoop out the seeds and boil in salted water until tender. Add plenty of salt, pepper and melted butter and mash in the skin. Great as a light supper or serve as a side dish. 

CREDIT: Helen Groves

Butternut or Pumpkin Soup

Cut the squash or pumpkin into chunks and scoop out the seeds from the pumpkin. Put the chunks on an oven tray with a peeled sweet potato and sprinkle over some cumin, coriander, salt and pepper and rapeseed oil. Roast in a hot oven with a whole red onion until tender. 

Scoop out the flesh from the pumpkin chunks and put all the veg in a pot and cover with vegetable stock. Bring to the boil and cook for 20 mins, then blitz, adding more spices and seasoning if needed. 

Serve with some creme fraiche, fried sage and crusty bread. 

Pumpkin Torte with Salted Almond Crumble and Espresso

You will need:

• 1 pumpkin or squash (about 1 kilo)
• 1 cup coconut milk
• ½ cup maple sugar
• ½ cup coconut sugar
• 6 tbsp cornflour
• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice (or mixed spice)
• I tsp ginger
• 1 cup almonds
• 1 tbsp dark brown sugar
• salt
• pinch of chilli powder
• 1 cup good espresso 
• 1 cup maple syrup
• ½ cup water
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Method

1. For the torte: cut up a pumpkin or squash and scoop out the seeds. Roast until tender and then put the roasted chunks in a blender with the coconut milk, maple and coconut sugar, cornflour and spices.

2. Bake the mixture in a 9-inch greased baking tin at 170° for about an hour. Cool and then chill for at least two hours. 

3. For the crumble: toast the almonds, then blitz in a food processor with the dark brown sugar, a pinch of salt and chilli powder. 

4. For the espresso syrup:  put the espresso, maple syrup and water into a saucepan with the  vanilla bean paste and a pinch of sea salt. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer until syrupy – about 30 minutes. 

5. To assemble: sprinkle some almond crumble on a plate, top with a slice of the torte and finish with a generous serving of the espresso syrup. Great with an espresso martini!

This pizza dough recipe uses only a few ingredients and, when made ahead of time, actually yields a more flavourful, chewier crust. If making ahead, just keep in the fridge until ready to use (but not more than three days) and make sure you take the dough out of the fridge and into a warm place a couple of hours before shaping. Alternatively, if you want pizza straight away, let the dough rise for 1½-2 hours (or until doubled in size) before shaping. 

Recipe adapted from thekitchn.com

Recipe makes enough for two 10-inch pizzas (so size up accordingly) 

You will need
• 177g lukewarm water (not too hot so as to deactivate your yeast!)
• 1 tsp active dry yeast (use ½ tsp if you are planning on leaving your dough overnight or longer)
• ½ tsp sugar (optional, to help activate your yeast)
• 240g white bread flour
• 1½ tsp salt
• Olive oil

Method

1. In a jug, mix your yeast with the water and sugar. Cover and leave for 10 minutes or until the mixture is bubbly. 

2. Mix flour and salt together in a large bowl. Pour in your yeast/water mixture and mix with your hands or a spoon until a shaggy dough has formed.

3. Knead the dough either in a stand mixer (fitted with the dough attachment) for 5 mins, or by hand on a clean surface for about 8 mins until the surface of the dough becomes smooth and feels springy.

4. Place the dough in an oiled bowl. Give the dough a ‘fold’ (folding the dough up and over itself from each corner), and either let rise in a warm place (covered with a cloth) or leave covered in the fridge (you can leave out for 30 mins before placing in the fridge to get the yeast active if you have time).

5. When ready to bake, arrange a rack in the bottom third of the oven and place a baking/pizza stone or upside-down baking sheet on the rack. Heat your oven as hot as it will go.

6. Divide the dough in half and stretch/shape the dough into a 10-inch round (for those lacking confidence in shaping, many useful videos can be found online!) Transfer the round to a piece of baking paper before covering with topping. Be frugal with sauce as too much can lead to the dough ripping.

7. Bake your pizza anywhere from 5 to 10 mins. This will vary depending on your oven and how thick or thin you’ve rolled your crust but look for a golden colour and charred edges as a guide. Let cool slightly before devouring!