First signs of Spring

It's a beautiful sunny day here today in Shropshire -  but still bitingly cold.  But, cold or not,  at least we are beginning to see the first signs of Spring.  The snowdrops are out, the daffodils are in bud and I have just been down to Dudmaston Hall, our local National Trust property, where they are getting ready to re-open on 17th March. 

What has surprised me this year however, is how early the wild garlic is coming up.  I would normally expect to see it appear as the bluebells flower, but Sophie went out and gathered 2 big bagfuls yesterday afternoon.  You can imagine what our office smelt like by home time!!
Keen to use it while it was still fresh, I decided to experiment with a new recipe last night and I'm delighted to say it went down a storm and so I'm now happy to share it with you.

White beans with wild garlic sauce.



400g cooked white beans (cannelini, haricot, butter beans - whatever you've got!)
200ml white wine
200ml chicken or vegetable stock
1 onion, sliced
1 dstsp grain mustard
100ml single cream
1 large handful wild garlic, washed and chopped finely
Salt and pepper

Put the wine and stock in a pan and bring to the boil.  Simmer until reduced by half.
Gently fry the onion in rapeseed oil in one of our frying pans, with a knob of butter, until translucent and soft
Add the onions and mustard to the reduced stock mixture and stir well.  Add the beans and heat through
Add the cream and warm gently
Toss in the wild garlic, season with salt and pepper.

Serve - with crusty bread, sausages, lamb chops or a nice piece of cod........... or any other combination that takes your fancy!
Not the world's best food photo, I admit, but teenage son was in a hurry to tuck in and not channelling his creative tendencies.  The moral being, never take food pics on an empty stomach!

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2013 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Food for a goddess

A little bit of mythology to start with.
Loki was one of the Norse gods, a blood brother to Odin the supreme deity, a giant and also known as the Mischief Maker .  He was first married to Glut, whose name means Glow and they had a daughter called Esia, meaning Ember.  Clearly a guy not to be messed with! 

So what, you may ask?  Well, my latest food critic was named after Esia and when you are cooking for the daughter of a god, you need to be sure of what you are offering.
Especially if you also subscribe to the old adage "Never work with animals or children"..........because this is Esia

And here is what I prepared for the baby goddess, or the Little Princess as her mother describes her (most of the time!)

Chicken Esia

1 free range chicken

1 tin chopped tomatoes

200ml water

1 onion, sliced

1 red pepper, chopped

2 tsp oregano

Splash of dry sherry

Salt and black pepper

Place the onions in the bottom of the cast iron bowl of your Netherton Foundry slow cooker.  Sit the chicken on top and then add all the other ingredients.

Cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours and serve with rice, pasta, potatoes or whatever your inner deity fancies!

As simple as that , leaving you plenty of time to do whatever it is that domestic gods and goddesses do when they are not on duty!

Obviously, Esia is not yet able to write her own review, but,  as her mother points out, if more of the food ends up IN the child, rather than on any other available surface (including hair, table, face, floor, wall), then you are onto a winner.
This will be featuring regularly on Esia's menu and when she's older, we'll be back with her comments!

If you have your own comments on Chicken Esia, or any of our other recipe ideas, please get in touch.

Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2018 ©

www.netherton-foundry.co.uk