PYO

Never could resist a forage me: mushroom hunting, nut gathering, or nipping the tender shoots from samphire growing in the salt marshes on Mersea Island. We were there today for lunch at The Company Shed and before leaving stopped off at The East Mersea Nurseries and Pick Your Own. I know it's not quite foraging but there is something really enjoyable about snipping food straight from the plant. Anyway, it was a bit disappointing - even though we're well into strawberry season, most of the berries were still green, and the majority of runners still small - just the lack of sunshine I suppose. Still, we picked carefully and came back with berries, beans, flowers and some wet garlic, potatoes and tomatoes from the shop. I think they taste better than any supermarket produce but I might just be imagining it.

Runner Beans With Chilli-Herb Butter
Very nice with roast chicken and potoatoes. Make the butter first: in a small food processor, whizz together a small garlic clove, grated rind of 1 orange, 1 chopped and seeded red chilli and a handful of parsley leaves until finely chopped. Beat in 100g room temperature butter and a handful of snipped chives and some ground black pepper. Chill. Cut the runner beans into 12cm lengths then slice lengthways. Cook in lightly salted boiling water for 3 - 6 mins depending on how you like them. Drain and toss with some of the chilli herb butter.

Ham & Leek Pie

I made this today for tea tonight, I know it's July and I should be making salads but I wanted some comfort food, alright!
This is very straightforward but just delicious - leave the cheese in cubes rather than melt it into the sauce, that way you get little pockets of molten cheese throughout the pie. Serve with soft mash.

Serves 4
3 eggs
large knob of butter
3 leeks, sliced
1 large garlic clove, finely grated or crushed
few sprigs of thyme
300g piece smoked ham, torn into bite-sized pieces
800ml chilled white sauce (home made or shop bought bechamel or fresh cheese sauce will do)
200g good Cheddar, diced
1 tsp Dijon mustard
100g frozen peas
small bunch chives, snipped
1/2 x 500g pack shortcrust pastry
1 beaten egg, to glaze

Simmer the eggs in boiling water for 10 minutes, then cool, shell and quarter.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a pan and add the garlic, leek and thyme and cook for 10 minutes or so until softened.

Gently stir together the leeks, ham, sauce, cheese, mustard, peas, chives and finally the eggs. Season generously.

Preheat the oven to 190C/ Gas 5. Tip the mixture into a pie dish the roll and the pastry and use to top the filling. Brush with beaten egg and bake for 30 - 40 minutes until dark golden.

Lemon Curd

I do like lemon curd, especially in tarts or on toast. Waitrose have a very good soft set lemon curd recipe that you make in the microwave. Otherwise, you can, of course, always rely on Delia.

If you're not in the mood to make it yourself then I highly recommend Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Lemon Curd. One 325g jar and one 375g pack of ready-rolled (roll it out a bit thinner) shortcrust will make 12 tarts. My tip is to keep the oven low so the pastry gets crisp and the curd doesn't get hot enough to bubble up over the edge of the pastry and make the tarts stick to the tin.

Pie, Mash and Liquor

Years and years ago I had an obsession with pie and mash shops. My idiot boyfriend at the time was studying interiors at the RCA so he was fascinated too and over a year or two, the pair of us visited every single pie and mash shop that London had. I looked at the pastry and he looked at the tiles. It always felt to us like these places were running out of time and all these years later, lots of them have now closed down.

After a hectic morning at Peckham Pulse doing soft play and swimming in the hydro-pool, me and Scrap walked round the corner to Manzes on Peckham High Street (on that spot since 1927). We both loved it - it was packed with all ages, everyone seated beside strangers along the marble tables and all eating exactly the same. Scrap cleared his plate and while he was still eating was asking if we could come again. Well, yes we can. Everything we ate tasted great, was very fresh and was cooked from scratch on the premises that same morning.
A fine example of British food at its best.

Other recommended pie and mash houses:
Arments, Westmoreland Road, just off Walworth Road
Manzes, Tower Bridge Road
Bert's, Peckham Park Road, just off Old Kent Road
G. Kelly, Roman Road, Bow
F. Cooke, Hoxton Street

Anniversary Marmalade

It’s our 10th anniversary today. Not of marriage but of our first get together, but still something to celebrate. I’ve had breakfast in bed and tomorrow we’re spending the day in town together and the evening at Locanda Locatelli. Can’t wait.

But today, I've been told to stay in and wait for my present to arrive......Scrap and me have got our fingers crossed for a cake.
In the meantime, he's watching The Lion King (never seen it before) and I’m making my lemon marmalade for the Bellenden Bun Fight, the week after next. Here are the details again in case you forgot:

Saturday 16th June
Review Book Shop
Entries in 10 – 12pm, judging at 3pm
Categories:
Baking
Preserving
Kids

Lemon and lime leaf marmalade
Makes 10 jars
1kg lemons
2.2 litres water
6 kaffir lime leaves
1 star anise
2.5kg granulated sugar


Place the lemons and water in a very large pan and bring to the boil. Cover and cook on the lowest setting for 2 hours.

Leave until cool enough to handle.

Halve the lemons and scoop out the pulp, pips and pith and add to the pan along with the star anise. Shred the rind as you go and set aside .

Bring the pan to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Pass through a fine sieve, lined with a cloth back into the clean pan. 

Add the shredded rind and sugar, gently bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves then boil vigorously for 15 – 20 minutes.

Test by putting a little onto a cold saucer and returning to the fridge for a few minutes – push the marmalade with your finger and if it wrinkles, it is ready to set. If not, keep boiling and testing.

Carefully ladle the hot marmalade into warm sterilised jars (wash then put in a cold oven, turn to low heat and leave for 20 minutes), then top with a wax disc and circle of sellophane. Leave to cool and set then it’s ready to eat.

Tea tonight

It's cottage pie for tea tonight. I'm going to be home a bit late though, Robert, so you'll have to put it in at 180C for about half an hour to warm it up.

Cottage pie
Enough for 6
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 teaspoons caraway seeds
2 tbsp plain flour
750ml beef stock
1 kg minced beef
2 tablespoons brown sauce
150g frozen peas
handful fresh flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1 kg floury potatoes, peeled and cubed
100ml (1 /4 pint) milk
knob of butter
150g mature Cheddar
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onions, garlic, carrots and caraway seeds and cook for 3 – 4 minutes then add the flour and cook for a couple of minutes.

Pour in the hot stock then add the mince and brown sauce and simmer gently for 30 – 60 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil the potatoes for 15 – 20 minutes until tender then mash well and stir in the milk, butter, cheese and seasoning. It’s a good idea to warm the milk first as it blends in more easily.

Preheat the oven to 180C (fan oven 160C) gas mark 4. Stir the peas and parsley into the mince and add salt and pepper. Spoon over the mash then bake for 45 minutes until bubbling and golden.