Netherton Foundry Shropshire

Netherton Foundry Shropshire
Classic cookware, made in England

Tuesday 23 April 2013

The Kitchen Companion

I would like to introduce you to the Kitchen Companion, the very  latest addition to the Netherton Foundry range.
This is the perfect product for small kitchens, holiday homes, student accommodation and as an indispensible kitchen feature when the range is turned off for the summer.

Using all the characteristics that have made our slow cooker so popular, with the advantage of a high powered heater  base, this will boil, sear, braise, poach, sauté, pot roast, fry and simmer a huge range of dishes.  Complete with cast iron heat diffuser ring, 4 litre cast iron bowl and lid, seasoned with Sussex flax oil and, of course, the Netherton Foundry oak!

Naturally, we include a selection of recipes for you to try and here is one of them, little parcels of perfect pigginess.

Highley Hoggies
1 tblsp oil
250g minced pork
250g finely chopped pig’s liver
1 chopped apple
1 tsp chopped sage
Black pepper
8 rashers streaky bacon
1 large onion, sliced
300ml stock



Mix the pork, liver chopped apple, sage and black pepper together – this is best done by hand.
Place the bacon rashers between clingfilm and beat out thinly.
Place the cast iron diffuser ring on the hotplate and place the cast iron bowl on top.  
Add the oil to the boil on heat on Max and then add the sliced onion.  Cook until translucent.
While the onion is cooking, divide the pork mixture into eight equal amounts and shape each quantity into a ball.  Place a ball of mixture on to each bacon rasher and roll up into parcels.
Place the parcels on top pf the onions and ad the stock.
Cover with the lid and bring to the boil.
Turn down the  heat and simmer for approx 40 minutes.

Season with salt to taste, but remember that the bacon may be salty, so taste first!



Serve with mashed potato and peas.

Highly versatile, this will do virtually everything you need in the kitchen from boiling to braising, poaching to pancakes, searing to simmering.
Soups, stews and sauces, puddings and pot roasts, casseroles and crepes, fried eggs and fried rice, risotto and rissoles, a cup of tea or a pot of mulled wine.

Not just in the kitchen, this is ideal for entertaining, take it to the table for cooking and serving.
Use for accompaniments for the barbecue, party buffets and a whole host of other occasions

And what about those big occasions when your cooker just isn't big enough, Christmas dinner for example?
Another cooking ring will always come in handy - warm the gravy, cook the sprouts, steam the pudding, flame the brandy.

Supplied with our iconic cast iron casserole, the Kitchen Companion is multi purpose ,
so you can also use it with frying pans, saucepans, a wok or for boiling the kettle.


Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2013 ©

Friday 19 April 2013

National Garlic Day

Wild garlic soup


This is a very special and seasonal recipe.  It is a family recipe belonging to my friend Sophie, who has had it handed down to her by her paternal grandmother from the town of Liaoyang in Liaoning province in China.  She remembers eating it as a child, and recalls that none of her friends had ever eaten before they visited her grandmother.

She now lives in England, - Sophie, not her grandmother, who is sadly no longer around to share her recipes -  and is delighted to discover that wild garlic grows in abundance around here.
We have all enjoyed sampling the taste of her Chinese countryside childhood.


600ml chicken or vegetable stock
200~250g wild garlic, chopped
1 egg , beaten
80g plain flour, mixed with 200ml water
1 spring onion
2 tblsp  vegetable oil  
Salt and black pepper


Heat the oil in a saucepan over a medium heat
Put in the ground black pepper and spring onion and fry until the aroma of the onion is released
Pour in the stock and add the salt
Turn up the heat and bring the mixture to the boil.
Stir in the flour and water paste and boil for a minute, stirring continuously
Throw in the wild garlic and stir to mix.
As soon as the garlic is mixed in add the beaten egg and cook for a few seconds.

 Granny’s tip: Never cook wild garlic for more than 30 seconds or the flavour will fly away.



Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2013 ©

Monday 15 April 2013

Duck legs with port

We always love hearing from you and finding out what you are cooking.  Even better, is when we get to meet you - this is a fabulous sounding dish from a delightful lady, who came to visit us in Highley to buy her slow cooker.  It is just too good to keep to ourselves, so I have wasted no time whatsoever in sharing it with you.
Thank you , Jan.  Got any more?

"This weekend I cooked the following recipe in my lovely slow cooker."

Duck Legs with Port

2 duck legs
4 slices streaky bacon
2 sliced carrots
1 sliced leek
1 onion roughly chopped
2 crushed cloves of garlic
A few button mushrooms
Bay leaf
Star anise
2 cloves
150 ml port
500 ml chicken stock (cube)

Pour a little olive oil into the pot. Fry the duck legs and the bacon, making sure you tuck the bacon round the legs. Add all the vegetables and spices and the bay leaf. Pour over the hot stock and the port. Bring to the boil and transfer to the cooker  base. Cook on high for an hour, then lower the heat to low for the four or five hours further.
Serve with plain potatoes or jacket potatoes and an extra vegetable like cauliflower.


We'd love to know if you try this and we will be delighted to pass your comments on to Jan.

Sunday 7 April 2013

Keep it coming - more wild garlic


Spring does seem to be making an effort to fight off the Arctic winter, so we can look forward to more wild garlic in the coming weeks.
I have to admit that I'll be happier picking it in the sunshine, rather than trying to find it under the snow.

This is a risotto that I made with the last batch, which will still work well without the garlic once the season is over.
I have discovered however, that the wild garlic puree does freeze well - so if you are feeling "sensible", then stock up now for later in the year........ just imagine the asparagus, poached duck egg and a wild garlic hollandaise, or a tomato and wild garlic quiche perhaps.

In the meantime, here's my suggestion for

Wild garlic risotto

1½ litres stock - vegetable or chicken
50ml white wine
2 large leeks, thinly sliced
12 sun dried tomatoes chopped and added to the stock
100g butter
Handful wild garlic
50ml boiling water
1½ mugs arborio rice
50g grated Parmesan
6 stems purple sprouting broccoli



Put the garlic leaves and boiling water in to a jug and blitz with a stick mixer. Set aside
Bring the stock to the boil and then reduce to a gentle simmer.
Melt the butter in the Netherton Foundry cast iron bowl over a medium heat.
Add the sliced leeks and fry until soft. Do not let them colour.
Tip in the rice and cook until opaque, stirring regularly.
When all the rice has turned opaque and white, pour in the wine.  Cook for about 3 - 5 minutes
Add the stock and tomatoes a ladleful at a time, stirring constantly. Wait until each addition has been absorbed by the rice, before adding the next spoonful.
When around half of the stock has been added,  stir in the Parmesan.
When all but 2 ladlefuls of stock remain,  add the pureed garlic mix and the broccoli.
Add the last of stock and continue to stir until it has been absorbed.

Serve, garnished with extra wild garlic leaves.