Mannablog - Food In South Devon

We’ve just had a great weekend at the Cooking School.  On Saturday we had three young boys and their Dad learning how to cook great food on a budget; ideal for teenagers about to head off to college or similar.  On Sunday we ran an Eastern Mediterranean day as part of our Mediterranean Odyssey.  These days are always great fun but the food of this region, Syria, Lebanon, Asian Turkey, etc. is just so colourful and full of surprising flavours that Holly and I got really excited about it.  The food as it was presented looked amazing and I grabbed the camera to take a few snaps before the hungry hoard had a chance to get their forks into it.

Dishes included mutton and pistachio koftas (beautifully moist), blood orange and onion salad (looked stunning) , chicken with pomegranate, hummus with lemon and coriander, tabbouleh, pita and mannaeesh breads and a fabulous rice pudding flavoured with cardamom and served with apricot compote.  This is a fantastic but less well known cuisine and one we’ll definitely be doing lots more of especially during the summer, although the feast we produced was a very good way of brightening up a dull February day.

Also, there’s something about cooking whilst nibbling a few olives and some feta, or tasting dukkah coated grilled mackerel that just makes for a lovely relaxed atmosphere and easy conversation.  What a great way to spend a day!

Eleanor: I woke up this morning feeling like I had swallowed a whole elephant the night before and it wasn’t very pleasant but I knew I had a huge brunch coming up. First, we learnt how to poach, fry and scramble eggs and how to make omlette. Then we tried some smoothie and made compot and pancakes. I was feeling a bit more peckish by this point, especially with the smell of bacon looming in the air and soon we sat down for bacon sandwiches, compote and pancakes. It was delicious! Afterwards we cleared up and made some chocolate cake. I will be sad not to come back tomorrow but over the last couple of days I have learnt a lot of skills that I can use forever. (more…)

Eleanor: This morning, as soon as the sun was up so were we, and at 9.00 we met up to go shopping. We visited the fishmongers, grocery shop, delicatesson and butchers and we learnt a lot outside the kitchen. Then we collected our ingredients, had a few ice creams (a delicious lemon sorbet for me) and headed back to the house. Then we made some dips (dahl, hummus, smolked mackeral pate and tzatziki), a big salad and some coronation chicken and then ate it all up for lunch. Afterwards we started to prepare that nights dinner of dips with toast and carrots, porcetta, casarol, curry, bread and butter pudding, and rubarb fool. Then we had a very active break, playing a lot of ‘Bop-it’ and cheating a lot at table football. The meal was excellent and at the end wew all shared the feeling of satisfied fullness. (more…)

This morning started in Dartmouth with a wander round the shops discussing how to shop, what to look for, seasonal produce and other things as we went.  We visited Moby Nick’s Fish Shop, Cutmores Butchers, Jilly Farm Shop, The Smith Street Deli, Somerfield, Julian Graves and the good Intent (for ice cream).  Returning to Kingswear with our goods we planned the day over squash and brownies before starting work. (more…)

We spent the afternoon making pasta sauces, lasagne, salads, chocolate chip cookies and rhubarb fool. Just waiting for the lasagne to cook so time to get everyones thoughts on the day:

Harry: I walked through the door not knowing what to expect and when Charles and i made the carrott and corriander soup and chibatta bread i never believed it would taste good until i tried it. The first day was more useful than i believed the whole course would be before the start. It was a great start to the weekend and i’m looking forward to day 2 and picking up more useful tips. (more…)

Our first morning was spent making bread and soup. Soup is an essential; it can be made from just about anything and is capable of infinite variety. Not only that but it is satisfying, warming, homely and delicious (if made right of course).

The bread dough was made and put aside to prove first.  Then knives were sharpened, warnings given and evryone got to do plenty of chopping practice.  David was surprised, nay astonished because no one cut themselves, and he usually does. (more…)

“Survival Cooking” is our three day workshop for teenagers keen to get a head start with the cooking thing as seen on lots of telly. This morning we’re joined by Harry, Tom, Lucy, Eleanor, Charles and Hattie and we’ll aim to keep a regularly updated blog (2 or 3 times a day) with pics of what we’ve cooked and perhaps a little cooking action.

To start here’s the whole group ready to begin. From left to right: Eleanor, Lucy, hattie, Charles, Tom and Harry

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That may sound like the title of a limited release British Film from the 1970’s but it isn’t.  So if you like that sort of thing continue your quest elsewhere. It actually refers to me wondering what to do with a bag of beetroot that arrived in our Riverford Farm Veggie Box this week. 

Normally the beetroot decision is easy. Steam, cool, peel, slice, season, sweeten, pickle, wait 20 minutes, enjoy with sausages.  However, it is January and the humble sausage is currently persona non grata at Fir Mount pending my being able to do up my jeans. Obviously if you have come for B & B you may gorge on bangers at will, but I must be stoic.

Anyway, back to the beetroot.  Wondering what other exciting ways with roots I might try I consulted an old favourite, Madhur Jaffrey.  For some reason we have two versions of her fabulous ‘Indian Cookery’ which was first published in 1982 to accompany her BBC TV series in which introduced us all to Indian Cooking at Home.

Our copies have been well used over the years and are usually consulted whenever Indian Food is on the menu. In this case I went for Shorvedur Chukander or Beetroot with Onions. This is a very simple dish of beetroot wedges simmered with onions, garlic, chili, cumin and tomatoes to make a nice thick stew.

Served with basmati rice and spring greens with peas (Bund Gobi aur Matar) this made a great supper; delicious, colourful, nutritious, not a bit of saturated fat in sight and full of superfood beetroot .  Now where did I put those jeans?

We’ll be exploring a lot more interesting things to do with the vegetables you find in your weekly delivery during a series of Seasonal Vegetable Cooking Workshops  which we’ll be running in association with Jane and Martin Emmett at Riverford Home Delivery Torbay.  There will be one for each season and we’ll look at less well known vegetables as well as new ways with familiar ones.  The workshops will be suitable for both vegetarians and non-vegetarians.  Learn More

We had a totally delightful day last Saturday when we hosted a hen party for 11 at the cooking school.  All planned in secret, the friends, work colleagues, mum and mum-in-law to be opted for a Tuscan theme for the day and managed to keep it all from Lindsay, the bride to be, until they were actually in Devon on the evening before the event.  Luckilyshe was totally into it and was delighted when she turned up at the school on Saturday morning and found out exactly what we’d be cooking.

Tuscan cooking is all about simple, rustic fair; lots of beans, grilled steaks, baked fish and fresh, seasonal vegetables simple prepared and presented.  The area is famous for beef and of course chianti, so bistecca fiorentina had to be on the menu.  This consists of a huge chunk of t-bone steak, 2.5 kilos in this case, rubbed with oil and seasoning and chargrilled on the barbecue. (more…)

Did you realise that the lovely pork sausages you just tucked into for brekkie may have contained as little as 42% pork and of that pork much of it may have been fat or connective tissue and so your banger may have only contained 30% lean pork meat?  Me either!  But, having invited Lesley and Richard Goodman of Gara Barton Venison and Rare Breed Pork into the school, and spent a day making and discussing sausages, we now know a whole lot more.  Not only that but we also made a vast array of delicious sausages and sent everyone away with a a variety party bag to take home.  My favourites were the Toulouse Sausage, because I made them, which contained pork cut by hand rather than minced with garlic and red wine - delicious but a bit hot for brekkie.  We’re hoping to put together another sausage making course in the autum, let me know if you’re interested.