IN SEASON
EATING SEASONALLY DOESN’T MEAN BORING MEALS
ANDY FUSSELL OF FUSSELS FINE FOODS EXPANDS HIS KNOWLEDGE OF SEASONAL EATING
I have to admit that whilst I do believe that food tastes best when it is local, fresh and grown as and when nature intended, my knowledge as to which vegetables are in their prime in any given month could do with a bit of brushing up. Who better to ask I thought, than Phil and Tracy Collins, who are regulars at the local farmers markets and only ever sell their own and seasonal vegetables. After a visit from a local American Airbase, they decided to grow pumpkins, years before anyone else knew what they were, and now they are a fi xed part of every autumn crop. They are also always looking for new trends to give them an edge over the supermarkets, which is why they were amongst the fi rst to grow multi coloured carrots, orange beetroot, black cabbage and seven different kinds of squashes. I did ask what the next best thing was going to be, but they went very quiet, so no doubt they have something exciting up their sleeve. Back in the here and now, I asked what would be the key seasonal vegetables for March and April and even though this is what they call ‘the Hungry Gap’ there seems to be a lot of good stuff on offer. Leeks, cabbages, curly kale, parsnips and carrots are still available as well as stored veg such as celeriac, potatoes and onions. I came away from their shop with a recipe for celeriac and leek soup, which I am looking forward to trying, especially after cold mornings in the fi elds. Even at this time of year, eating seasonally does not mean a lack of choice or boring meal options, on the contrary, it offers a chance to enjoy fresh home grown produce and to make some good old fangled and heart warming food for the family. What could be better?
ICED RHUBARB PARFAIT, MACERATED STRAWBERRIES,
ROASTED RHUBARB AND ELDERFLOWER MERINGUES
Head chef Peter Alcroft at the Dart Marina Hotel offers something a little more adventurous to try.
For The Iced Rhubarb Parfait ❤ 500g of rhubarb ❤ 220g of caster sugar ❤ 2 egg yolks ❤ 30g of honey ❤ 250ml of whipping cream
1 Chop the rhubarb, put in a pan along with 200g of the sugar, cover and simmer until reduced by half. Blend into a thick purée 2 Line a 225g loaf tin with 3 or 4 layers of cling fi lm in both directions to ensure a watertight seal 3 To make the sabayon, whisk the egg yolks, honey and 20g of the sugar together in a bowl over hot water until light and fl uffy. It should triple in volume and thicken 4 Semi-whip the cream into soft peaks 5 Fold the rhubarb purée into the sabayon, followed by the semi-whipped cream. Place in the lined terrine tin, cover with more cling fi lm and freeze for 2 hours.
For The Elderfl ower Meringue ❤ 2 egg whites ❤ Pinch of salt
26 | THE WEST COUNTRY FOODLOVER
❤ 110g caster sugar ❤ 1 tsp Elderfl ower cordial
1 Preheat the oven to 110c. Get a really clean bowl and add the egg whites with the pinch of salt. Whisk using an electric whisker until they just hold a soft peak. Once you get them there, start whisking in the caster sugar in a slow constant steam. Once all the sugar is incorporated beat in the elderfl ower cordial. 2 Get a baking tray and line it with baking paper, using a little blob of meringue mixture to hold the paper down in each corner. Scrape the meringue mixture into a piping bag and pipe onto the baking paper. Place in the oven for 1.5 hours and cook until crisp and dry.
For the Macerated strawberries ❤ 1 punnet strawberries, quartered ❤ 40g of caster sugar ❤ Good amount of fresh cracked black pepper
1. Sprinkle and toss the quartered strawberries with the sugar and pepper. Leave to marinade for 2 hours.
For the Roasted Rhubarb ❤ 550g peeled rhubarb ❤ 100g sugar ❤ 2 cardamom pods ❤ 1 star anise ❤ 25g grenadine
1 Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Rinse the rhubarb and shake off the excess water. Trim the ends and cut the rhubarb into batons the size of
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