I’m just back from a fabulous weekend at Ludlow Food Festival. I’ve been there each year for the last few years, and it’s a real highlight of the year. This is a wonderful food festival with a really special atmosphere in a truly beautiful town.
I started off a crazy schedule of events on the stage, demonstrating some of my favourite recipes to cook right now. I decided on my recipes on the morning, based on the best ingredients I could lay my hands on, and a little hedgerow foraging.
So, as promised, here are the recipes I made during my demo. I do hope you enjoy them.
Poached Pears with Elderberry, Juniper and Lemon
2019-09-17 16:21:03
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
30 min
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
2129g
Amount Per Serving
Calories 1661
Calories from Fat 12
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 1g
2%
Saturated Fat 0g
1%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0g
Monounsaturated Fat 0g
Cholesterol 0mg
0%
Sodium 48mg
2%
Total Carbohydrates 430g
143%
Dietary Fiber 37g
146%
Sugars 331g
Protein 9g
Vitamin A
5%
Vitamin C
108%
Calcium
15%
Iron
21%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Ingredients
- 6 pears, peeled
- 225g caster sugar
- 600ml water
- Zest of one lemon, peeled into large strips using a potato peeler
- Around 10 fully ripe Elderberry heads (the berries should be black, plump and juicy
- 12 juniper berries
Instructions
- Bring the sugar and water to the boil Turn it down to a simmer. Add the pears, whole, followed by the lemon zest, elderberry heads and juniper berries and cover with a paper lid and saucepan lid. Simmer until just soft.
- Remove the pears from the liquid and set aside. Reduce the liquid a little more so that it’s sticky and sweet. Serve the pears with the sauce drizzled over and maybe even with some cream, too. Delicious warm or cold.
Charlotte Pike https://www.charlottepike.co.uk/
Pork with Squash, Apples and Cider
2019-09-17 16:18:47
Serves 4
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
40 min
Total Time
50 min
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
402g
Servings
4
Amount Per Serving
Calories 492
Calories from Fat 250
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 28g
43%
Saturated Fat 10g
48%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 3g
Monounsaturated Fat 14g
Cholesterol 132mg
44%
Sodium 154mg
6%
Total Carbohydrates 27g
9%
Dietary Fiber 5g
19%
Sugars 19g
Protein 34g
Vitamin A
10%
Vitamin C
53%
Calcium
4%
Iron
13%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Ingredients
- 500g diced shoulder of pork
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 butternut squash, cut into half, deseeded, and cut into thick slices
- Sea salt and black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- Around 300ml quality cider
- 4 seasonal eating apples, cut into quarters and core removed
- 25g butter
- A good handful parsley, chopped roughly
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas Mark 6.
- Start by gently frying the pork in the oil over a moderate heat. A cast iron pan is ideal here.
- Separately, place the squash onto a baking tray, season well and drizzle over some oil. Roast for around 30 minutes.
- Now, add the garlic to the pork and fry for just a minute, followed by the cider. Reduce the oven temperature to 180C/ Gas Mark 4. Place the pan into the oven with a lid on and bake for 30 minutes.
- Put the squash into the pan with the pork, along with the apples and butter. Season again. Bake for another 20-30 minutes, lid off, until the pork, squash and apples are all tender.
- Spoon onto a warmed serving dish or onto individual plates. Serve topped with parley.
Charlotte Pike https://www.charlottepike.co.uk/
Damson Fool
2019-09-17 16:19:48
Serves 4
Prep Time
10 min
Cook Time
20 min
Total Time
30 min
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
94g
Servings
4
Amount Per Serving
Calories 291
Calories from Fat 74
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 8g
13%
Saturated Fat 5g
26%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Cholesterol 29mg
10%
Sodium 4mg
0%
Total Carbohydrates 55g
18%
Dietary Fiber 0g
0%
Sugars 53g
Protein 1g
Vitamin A
5%
Vitamin C
0%
Calcium
4%
Iron
0%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Ingredients
- 450g damsons, fresh or frozen
- 25ml water
- 200g caster sugar
- 600ml softly whipped double cream
- Plus shortbread biscuits to serve
Instructions
- Place the damsons, whole, into a pan with the water and sugar. Cook gently for around 20 minutes until the fruit is cooked through. They will start to break up. Set aside and leave until cold. Now, remove the stones from the cooled fruit and discard. It’s much easier to do this at this stage than before they are cooked. Taste and add more sugar if needed.
- Gently fold the cold damsons into the whipped cream. The fool is now ready to be served or can be chilled for serving later. I like not to mix it too evenly, so there is a distinct swirl in the fool, and serve a little extra fruit on top. Serve with shortbread biscuits.
Charlotte Pike https://www.charlottepike.co.uk/
