OTAGO FARMERS MARKET
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| Photo thanks to Sarah Cowhey |
I really don't need to explain to you all just how fantastic the produce is that i get to create and cook with week after week. Nigel from Brydone Growers is always so informative and enthusiastic about what is going on in his garden, i love the fact that i feel included. If it has been raining excessively or the frost have halted the fennel it helps to understand "mother nature" a little more and for me that is what it is all about! Just like a few weeks ago when Ray from Goddards couldn't pull up his carrots because the land was covered in snow, it was as simple as that "no" carrots were available!
½ cup milk
¼ cup veg oil
2¼ cup flour
1 ½ teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 ripe, firm pear
Sugar and cinnamon for dusting
Warm milk, oil and honey together. It must not be too hot or it will kill the yeast. Sprinkle over yeast and mix to combine. Sit in a warm spot until the yeast starts to bubble and froth - 10 minutes.
Meanwhile add the flour, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg into a good size bowl. Mix to combine and make a well in the centre. When the yeast is ready pour into the dry ingredients, along with the lightly beaten egg. Mix well until the mixture is like a thick, stringy batter. Add the chopped pear and mix again. Cover with glad wrap and let sit somewhere warm and cosy - 1 hour.
When your mixture has increased in size, give it another mix, and get 2 dessertspoons ready.
Add enough vegetable oil, to 2/3 full a deep sided pot. Heat gently until the oil starts to shimmer.
Always keep children away from hot oil and never leave it unattended. Never use wet utensils and don’t throw the mixture into the hot oil!
Have a bowl or plate ready with a paper towel on it, to absorb any excess oil. Also have some sugar and cinnamon ready to sprinkle over the fritters whilst hot.
Once the oil is hot enough (check by dropping a little mixture in, if it immediately bubbles, then it is ready), using one spoon scoop enough mixture on it to fill it up. Carefully using the other spoon, scrap the mix off into the hot oil. Don’t do too many as you don’t want to over crowd the pot. They will puff up and start to float when ready. Using a holey spoon, carefully remove and put on kitchen paper to drain, sprinkle well with the sugar and cinnamon, toss well to coat and serve while warm with either vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.
SILVERBEET STEWED WITH EGYPTIAN SPICES
You may never look or eat silverbeet the same after trying this wickedly spiced and aromatically sweet combination. It is worth the effort!
1 cup fresh coriander
½ head of garlic, cloves peeled
80ml olive oil
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1 leek, finely sliced
1 bunch silverbeet, stems removed and cut roughly
1 clove garlic, crushed
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt and pepper
1-2 tsp Tabil sauce
Method
Firstly make the Tabil by whizzing all the ingredients together, slowly add the oil until a smooth paste has formed. Set aside.
Heat half the oil in a pot and cook the onions over a medium-high heat for 10-15 minutes so the onions go soft, sweet and caramelised. Stir in the vinegar and set aside.
Heat the remaining oil and sauté the leek until it softens, add the silverbeet and garlic. When it has wilted, add the lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Cover and lower the temperature and braise the silverbeet for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and turn up the heat and stir in the Tabil.
Remove from the heat and serve on a platter, piled high with the sweet, sticky onions and scatter over some wedges of lemon.
Brydone have these fantastic little salad potatoes available in all varieties – agria, nadine and desiree. They are a perfect surprise for this time of the year, get experimental with them as they can be baked, boiled, sautéed and fried.
2 handfuls fresh walnuts
1 bunch spring onions, finely sliced
2 Tbsp fresh cream or crème fraiche
Generous squeeze fresh lemon juice
Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp Dijon mustard
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C
If using fresh walnuts, lightly crack and remove the nuts and continue until all the walnuts are done. Lay the nuts onto an oven tray and dry roast in the oven for 6-8 minutes. Shop purchased nuts in general have a slight bitter skin which I highly recommend rubbing off. New seasons won’t require this stage.
Put the potatoes into a suitable size pot with a little salt and bring to the boil, reduce the heat so they gently simmer. As soon as they are just cooked, remove from the heat and drain immediately.
Make the dressing by whisking together all the ingredients until combined.
Toss the warm potatoes and walnuts through the dressing, adjust the seasoning and enjoy.
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| photo Sarah Cowhey |
Today I will be showing you all just how fantastic and versatile Waitaki’s ever increasing range of sausages are.
Chorizo and pepperoni work well cooked gently in a little oil so their natural spices seep and flavour the oil. Fantastic tossed through a salad (especially potato,) they are the perfect partner with potatoes and tomatoes with a fried egg on top. Also great in soups and stews.
Pork and lemon or pork and fennel are a wonderful European coarse styled sausage. They cook up fabulously on the BBQ or I like to remove the flesh and use them like little meatballs which I add tomatoes, cavolo nero etc and toss through pasta.
Bratwurst are milder in flavour but great on texture. I like to grill them or try braising them with leeks, cannellini beans and cavolo nero for a one pot wonder.
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| selection of their extensive range of sausages from Waitaki Bacon and Ham photo Sarah Cowhey |
ETTRICK GARDENS
WAITAKI BACON AND HAM
BRDONE ORGANIC GROWERS
