Netherton Foundry Shropshire

Netherton Foundry Shropshire
Classic cookware, made in England

Sunday 19 April 2015

Wild garlic dumplings

Yet another way to make use of the abundance of wild garlic.  This came about as I was researching ideas for outdoor cooking - but more of that to come.
In the meantime make do with these little mouthfuls of moreishness.

6 medium floury potatoes

100g plain flour
Salt and pepper
2 eggs
A handful of wild garlic
50g butter
2 tblsp olive oil.




Boil the potatoes in their skins until soft.
Drain and allow to cool.
Peel them and place in a large mixing bowl.
Mash coarsely - you do not want a smooth mash, a few lumps are desirable.
Stir in the flour and eggs and season well.
Finely chop the wild garlic and mix in with the potato.

Bring a large panful of water to the boil.


Drop large teaspoonfuls of the mix into the water - do not overfill the pan: 6 - 8 at a time is enough.


When they rise to surface, lift them out, drain and set aside.

Continue until all the mix has been cooked.

Put the butter and oil in a frying pan - a 12" pan is ideal for this and heat until the butter foams.


Transfer the boiled dumplings to the frying pan and cook on all sides until golden brown







These are perfect with a bean stew, bacon and eggs, along side some smoked belly pork, or dropped into a tomato soup.




© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015

Friday 17 April 2015

Caramel banana pudding

A soft, sweet banana pudding - a great way of using up overripe bananas

400ml milk

150g sugar
3 eggs
2 bananas, mashed
125g breadcrumbs

Pre heat the oven to 180ยบ and butter a casserole dish 

Put 100g of the sugar into a pan our saucepans are ideal for this.
Heat gently until it turns golden brown.  Do not be tempted to stir it, just watch closely!!
Carefully pour in the milk - you may want to cover your hand with a cloth, as it can spit.
Stir well to mix and make sure that all of the caramel dissolves into the milk.




Beat eggs with remainder of the sugar
Heat the caramel milk to near boiling and pour over the egg mix. Whisk.
Mash the bananas to a smooth pulp
Put the bananas and breadcrumbs in a mixing bowl and pour over the egg and milk mixture.
Mix thoroughly.

Pour the mixture into the casserole dish and put into the oven
Cook for 20 minutes, until just set.
Remove from the oven and leave to stand for 10 minutes before serving




I served this with an orange caramel sauce made by melting a knob of butter, adding sugar and cooking until just brown.  Stir in the juice of a couple of oranges and a dash of rum. Pour generously over the pudding.
Alternatively, what about some banana and caramel ice cream?



© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015
www.netherton-foundry.co.uk

Sunday 12 April 2015

Coconut curry

We are very fond of spiced food here and our trip to India last summer heightened my interest in creating curry style dishes.
I make no claims for the authenticity of this dish, it is simply a combination of warm, fragrant spices that I happen to enjoy.
This is not a mouth blistering curry,but has a subtle blend of flavours, with an overlay of toasted coconut.

It works well with lamb, hard-boiled eggs or paneer.


You will need:

3 onions
3 garlic
1" ginger 
50ml water
2 tblsp coriander seeds, 
1 tblsp cumin seeds, 
2 tsp fenugreek, 
1 tsp white peppercorns  
10 cloves
1 tblsp turmeric 
1 tsp asafoetida
1 dried chilli
4 tblsp dessicated coconut.
500g lamb or 4 hard boiled eggs or 1 pack of paneer
500ml water
1 tsp salt
2 chopped tomatoes
1 teacup frozen peas.

Peel and roughly chop the onions, garlic and ginger and blend to a paste with the 50ml of water.

Dry fry the coriander, chilli, cumin, fenugreek, cloves and peppercorns,  Our blini pan is perfect for this.


Allow to cool and then grind with a pestle and mortar or in a spice mill. 
Dry fry the coconut and set aside.

Put 2 tblsp oil in a cast iron casserole dish, add the onion paste and fry gently for 5 minutes.

Tip in the ground spices, turmeric, asafoetida and coconut.

Cook for 2 minutes, adding more oil if necessary.
Throw in the cubed lamb (if using) and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add the tomatoes and water and 1 tsp salt.
If using eggs or paneer, add them now.

Cover with a lid and simmer for 1 hour.

Chuck in the frozen peas, cook for another 5 minutes and serve with rice or Indian breads.

You can make great chapattis in our crepe pan.




© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015




Friday 3 April 2015

Chilli

You may have seen our "guest photos" on Facebook and Twitter @NethertonNews.  We have certainly met some talented folk out there since we started selling our cookware and what is so wonderful is that they are prepared to share their talents with us.


This recipe is from the lovely Dan or @reddan956, as he is known on Twitter. You can see from this posting why we love him so much.............. flattery will earn you oodles of affection every time.


a variation on the but the best slow cooker on the planet no question!



Apparently the following recipe is from a a book called 100 Mexican Dishes that he bought when hanging out at Art College in the '80s.  Try it and tell us what you think.



















Wednesday 1 April 2015

Wild garlic season again

Regular readers of this blog will know about my passion for wild garlic - abundant, easy to recognise, versatile, good for you and downright tasty.

Here are a few more ideas for what to do with this seasonal sensation.

First of all, pop the kettle on, as you'll need some boiling water.....



Spaghetti with cherry tomatoes and wild garlic puree

Cook as much spaghetti as you fancy eating in a large pan of boiling water.

Meanwhile, heat a large knob of butter and a tablespoon of olive oil in a casserole dish 
Add 6 to 8 cherry tomatoes per person and cook gently until beginning to collapse.
Blanch 1 handful of wild garlic per person with the boiling water, strain and blitz to a puree with a stick mixer or in the food processor.
Add the garlic to the tomatoes with 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar and a knob of butter.



Warm through for around 5 minutes.
Strain the spaghetti, serve into warmed bowls and spoon over the tomato and garlic sauce.

You can add grilled Halloumi, crumbled feta or grated Parmesan to the finished dish if you wish.


White bean and wild garlic pate

                                       
Blanch a large handful of wild garlic, strain.
Drain and rinse a can of cannellini beans.

Put the beans and garlic into a food processor, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the juice of ½ lemon.
Mix until you have a smooth puree.
Serve with hot toast.

Finally, I added a handful of chopped wild garlic to a cheese souffle made with Red Leicester cheese, but you'll just have to take my word for that, as it disappeared before I got the chance to photograph it.


© Netherton Foundry Shropshire 2015