Method

1. Rinse the lentils in cold water, and put in a pan with a good thumb nail of water, a bay leaf, and half a teaspoon of vegetable stock powder. Bring to the boil, then leave to simmer gently for 20 mins until the lentils are soft and the liquid is absorbed. Once cooked, remove the bayleaf, and leave to cool.  Turn oven on to 170 degrees.

2. Remove the seeds from the pepper and cut each half into 2 or 3.

3. Peel the onion, cut in half, then slice lengthways into wedges. Lightly toss peppers and onion in a splash of olive oil, season. Spread out on a non stick baking sheet and bake for 20 mins-remove when the peppers and onions are soft and caramelised, and leave to cool.

4. Lightly flour the kitchen surface and roll the pastry slightly thinner than a £1 coin.  Have a bit of beaten egg and a pastry brush ready. If you don’t have a ring mould, use a ramekin to layer the filling, then turn it over in the centre of the pastry sheet.

5. Lightly press the lentils in the mould, then a layer of onion and pepper, then slices of goat’s cheese and topped with a few more lentils and fresh herbs.

6. Measure the amount of pastry needed to cover the filling, then neatly cut the excess. Brush the edges with egg glaze, then bring together and squeeze gently until the pastry seals the filling and you’ve no gaps. Using a palette knife carefully slide the parcel onto baking parchment and then on to a baking sheet.

7. Chill for 15 – 20 mins.

   Bake at 190/200 degrees for 25 minutes, and remove when golden.

   Serve hot or at room temperature.

    

Method

1. Make sure the leaves are free of any debris, wipe clean rather than wash. If they do need to be washed, leave to dry before using.
2. Heat cream in saucepan and when simmering, put in garlic leaves.  Stir until the leaves have wilted and the cream is boiling, then turn off the heat, place a lid on the pan and leave to steep for 5 minutes.
3. Soak the gelatine in cold water to soften.
4. Select 6-8 ramekins or moulds, and place on a stable tray and lightly grease.
5. Tip the contents of the sauce pan into the food processor and leave to run for several minutes.
6. Pour the garlic mixture through a sieve and back into the saucepan, some garlic bits can be left, but remove the majority, pushing the liquid through with a spatula or wooden spoon.
7. Add pre soaked gelatine to the warm mixture and heat gently until dissolved.
8. Leave to cool slightly.  Whisk in crème fraiche or yoghurt, and pour into moulds.  Set in the fridge for a minimum of 5 hours.

Remove from moulds onto serving plate.  Excellent accompaniment to fish or seafood or serve as a starter with tomato salsa.

Cheese Tuilles

1. Use a good quality mature cheddar or parmesan, and finely grate the cheese.
2. Cover a baking sheet with baking parchment. Place a biscuit cutter on the parchment and sprinkle a thin layer of cheese inside the cutter-make as many rounds as are needed.
3. Bake at 170 degrees, for 5 – 7 minutes, until the cheese has melted and a golden colour.
4. Remove and leave to cool.
5. Preferably use that day.

Method

1. Melt the butter in a pan, and when foaming add the onion. Soften the onion over a gentle heat without colouring.
2. Once the onion is soft, add the nettles, and wilt in the pan over the same gentle heat.
3. Add the stock powder and water and stir well.  Alternatively you can use 1 litre of home made vegetable stock here.
4. Simmer the soup for 20 mins.
5. Pour the mixture into a magi mix or blender and blend until smooth.
6. Adjust seasoning and serve.

Method

1. Put milk and salt in a pan, over a gentle heat, and heat to a temperature of 93 degrees centigrade.
2. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice; keep stirring until the curds have separated.
3. Pour the contents of the pan into a sieve lined with muslin, and leave in a fridge overnight to drip and set.
4. If using the cheese for a ravioli filling, allow it time to become quite solid as too much moisture will make the pasta soft, splitting when its cooked.

Method

1. Select the flowers and leaves that you will use in the pasta, remove any coarse or hard stems, and keep in the fridge until needed.

2. To make dough, sieve the flour on to a smooth work surface, make a well in the centre and break in the eggs.

3. With a fork, whisk the eggs and gradually incorporate the flour; as the batter gets thicker, use your fingers to bring it together. Knead the dough for a few minutes, it should be soft but have some resistance. If the dough is sticky, knead in a little more flour.  Wrap in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes, to give the gluten in the flour time to relax.

4. Remove dough from the cling film and cut into 3 even bits. Keep the dough that you are not using wrapped in cling film to stop it drying out.  If you don’t have a pasta machine, use a rolling pin, and plenty of flour.  If you have a pasta machine, dust liberally with flour then pass the dough through the widest setting a couple of times, then start to move the setting to a thinner size each time until setting  3 or 4.

5. Lay the sheet of pasta on the surface and arrange the flowers and leaves on one half of the sheet, then fold the other half on top to make a sandwich. Gently press together.

6. Set the machine back to setting 1 and pass the sheet through the setting again until you reach the desired thickness. Making the pasta thin will distort the flowers and leaves – for the best result stop after setting 4/5.

7. Either cut rounds for ravioli or cut into strips for fettuccine.

8. Cook in plenty of salted boiling water with a dash of olive oil for 2 – 3 minutes.

Method

1. Remove the flowers from any stalks, shake in a colander to discard any insects, then place in a pan and pour over milk and cream. Heat gently to simmering point, simmer for a couple of minutes then allow to steep – this gives time for the milk and cream to take the coconut flavour and aroma from the flowers.
2. Whisk the egg yolks and sugar in a bowl until light and fluffy.
3. Once milk and cream is cool, pour through a strainer on to the egg mix, rinse the pan to remove any remaining flowers, then add the mixture back to the pan.
4. Heat oven to 160 degrees, and prepare a deep roasting tin big enough for the entrée dishes or ramekins
5. Return the mixture to a gentle heat, stirring continuously to stop it catching, or cooking to quickly and curdling.
6. When the foam on the surface of the custard has disappeared, pour into entrée dishes or ramekins.
7. Surround the dishes with enough boiling water to reach halfway up the sides.
8. Bake for 20 minutes, until the custard has a slight wobble and a thick skin.  Remove from hot water and leave to cool, store in a fridge until needed.Preferably make a day before required, to allow the custard to set.  Before serving, sprinkle with demerara sugar and using a blowtorch melt the sugar to caramelise it and form a crisp crust on the cream. Alternatively use a grill, and place the ramakins in a tray surrounded with ice cubes.Leave for a moment before serving.

Warning: Always be careful when handling gorse, it can be very prickly!  The flowers and buds should not be eaten too often or in large quantities as they contain small amounts of toxic alkaloids.  The peas and pods are toxic and should not be eaten.

Method

1. Roll out pastry and line the pastry tin, and leave to rest for half an hour in the fridge.
2. Cover pastry with baking parchment and fill with baking beans, bake at 180 degrees for 20 – 30 minutes. Turn oven down to 160 degrees.
3. Gather nettles, a thick pair of washing up gloves provide good protection. Pick the bud and first set of 2 leaves.
4. Wash in plenty of cold water to remove any debris. Plunge into a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds, drain and refresh in a bowl of cold water. The nettles can now be handled without gloves.
5. Drain and squeeze any remaining water, then loosen back into the individual buds.
6. Lightly whisk eggs and cream, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg.
7. Sprinkle cooked pastry case with half of the nettles and cover with two thirds of the cheese. Then add the cream mixture and the remaining nettles and cheese.
8. Bake for 40 – 45 mins, or until top has risen and is golden in colour.

Please do not use any foraged ingredients unless you are absolutely sure you have the correct plant.

Method

1. Collect nettle leaves with the protection of protective gloves.
2. Wash leaves in plenty of cold water. Dry thoroughly- a salad dryer is the best option.  If not use a tea towel to shake them dry.
3.  Drop leaves on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and spray with oil.
4.  
   Bake at 180°C for 6 – 8 minutes.
5.  
   Use as a topping for salad, as a vegetable side dish or just as a snack!

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.  You will need a 23cm flan tin, preferably with a loose base.
2. Blitz the butter and flour in a food processor until it looks like fine breadcrumbs.  Add the egg and blitz again until it comes together in a ball.  Add a little water if its too dry but you’ll only need a splash so be sparing!
3. Wrap the ball of pastry in cling film and rest in the fridge for 20 mins.
4. Finely slice the onions and sweat gently in the oil with a pinch of salt.  Blanche the wild garlic in boiling water for about 20 seconds and then refresh under cold water and leave to drain in a colander.  Squeeze out as much moisture as you can and then chop fairly finely.
5. Once the pastry has rested, roll out and line the tart tin.  Put some baking paper in the bottom, fill with rice or baking beans and blind bake for 20 minutes.
6. Remove the beans after this time and bake for another 5 minutes to dry out the base.
7. Place the onions and wild garlic evenly over the base of the tart.  Mix the cream and eggs together and then add the grated cheese, salt and pepper to the mixture and pour evenly in to the pastry case.
8. Cook for 30 minutes in the oven and allow to rest a little after cooking before serving.  Enjoy!