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For ethical epicures

14 June 2013

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The Ethicurean Cookbook (Ebury Press, 2013) contains "recipes, foods, and spirituous liquors, from our bounteous walled garden in the several seasons of the year"; so the dishes are all composed from very English meat and veg.

The walled garden is Barley Wood Walled Garden, near Bristol, set up by Matthew and Iain Pennington, Paula Zarate, and Jack Adair-Bevan, who are committed to ethically and locally sourced food.

Ethical gourmet food is not available in your average supermarket- trolley dash, but alternatives are given. And there are detailed sections on forgotten cookery techniques.

Elderflowers are now with us; so if you make their Elderflower syrup, you will have the necessary for Cherry and elderflower sauce, to serve with Chocolate and salt-caramel brownies.

100 ml (3.5 fl. oz) water
100g (3.5 oz) caster sugar
2 large heads of elderflower

Dissolve the sugar in the water in a pan, and bring it to the boil. Immediately remove from the heat, and add the elderflowers. Infuse them for 20 minutes, and strain. It will keep in the fridge for a week. Heat 50g of syrup (or substitute elderflower cordial) with 100g frozen sour cherries for the sauce.

To make salt caramel you need:

200g (7 oz) caster sugar
2 teaspoons flaky sea salt

Heat the oven to 120°C/248°F/Gas ½. Place a silicone baking mat on a baking sheet, and put it in the oven. Have a small bowl of cold water and a silicone pastry brush ready. Put the sugar into a frying pan, and stir in 4 tablespoons of water. Then cook it over a medium-high heat without stirring.

Brush cold water on any crystal-lising edges, and scrape them towards the middle, turning it evenly. Check the colour by dripping a little on to a white plate. When it is golden, pour it on to the silicone mat, swirl it into a thin layer, and sprinkle over the sea salt. When cool, store it in an airtight tin.

For the brownies, you need:

250g (9 oz) dark chocolate (72%+)
170g (6 oz) unsalted butter
300g (10.5 oz) caster sugar
3 large eggs and 1 egg yolk, lightly  beaten
80ml (2.8 fl. oz) rapeseed oil
60g (2 oz) plain flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
70g (2.5 oz) organic cocoa powder
50g (1.7 oz) salt caramel

Heat the oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas 4. Lightly grease a 23cm spring-form tin. Melt 200g chocolate in a bain-marie. Beat the butter and sugar. Whisk in the eggs gradually, and then the oil, until it looks glossy. Sift in the dry ingredients, and then fold in the melted chocolate. Put the mixture in the cake tin. Chop the rest of the chocolate and salted caramel, and lightly press it on top. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve with the sauce.

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