Our Dartmouth Food Festival Recipes 2022

Wow what a weekend – despite the changeable (!) weather, this year’s Dartmouth Food Festival was a huge success so our congratulations to Julie the Festival chair and her team. From the chefs’ dems to the markets to the talks and book signings, wine tastings and events, there was something for everyone all set among the stunning backdrop of Dartmouth and the River Dart.

As normal we were having too much fun to remember to take any photos but do check out the festival instagram feed to get a little flavour of what was on.

We were delighted to be asked back to cook in the chefs’ theatre and promised to put up our recipes so here they are. Based on our travels in Spain, they are packed full of flavour and easy to recreate at home (all the recipes serve 4).

Happy cooking!

Tuna & White Bean Salad with Brown Rice

100g tinned tuna – drained

400g tin of white beans, drained and rinsed (we used canellini beans)

1 med onion, peeled and very finely chopped

1 green pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

2 sticks celery, washed and finely sliced

Large handful of fresh spinach

120g cooked brown rice

2tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Finely grated zest and juice 1 lemon

2 large cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

6tbsp olive oil

2tbsp sunflower seeds

Salt and pepper

1. Make a dressing by mixing the lemon zest and juice with the parsley, garlic and half the olive oil. Season well.

2. Mix the beans and the tuna together gently with the dressing in a large bowl.

3. Heat the rest of the oil in a frying pan and gently fry the onion, green pepper and celery until soft but not coloured.

4. Stir in the spinach and allow to wilt. Stir in the cooked brown rice.

5. Serve the bean and tuna mixture on top of the rice and sprinkle the sunflower seeds over the top.

Chorizo Albondigas with Tomato & Orange Sauce

4 fresh chorizo sausages – ones that need to be cooked

1 med onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 stick celery, washed and very finely chopped

1 med carrot, peeled if necessary and very finely chopped

1 large clove garlic, peeled and chopped

Juice of 1 orange

2tbsp olive oil

1 x 400g tin good quality chopped tomatoes – we use Mutti

1tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Salt & Pepper

1. Gently heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan and cook the onion, carrot and celery with a pinch of salt until tender. Cover the pan with a lid. Once ready, stir in the garlic and cook for another minute or so.

2. Stir in the tomatoes and the orange juice with a pinch of pepper and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5-7 minutes.

3. While the sauce is cooking, take the sausages out of their skins and take equal sized pieces of each one to roll into a small ball. We get about 8 small balls out of each sausage – each around 1.5cm in diameter. Wet your hands to do this then the sausagemeat won’t stick.

4. When the sauce has cooked, pop the sausagemeat balls on top and poach gently for about 5 minutes, turning them over half way through cooking. Test the meatballs are cooked by inserting a probe thermometer if you have one – they should be 73C or above. If you don’t have one, cut one in half to check they are cooked through and piping hot.

5. Stir the parsley into the sauce and serve with creamy mashed potatoes or rice.

Roast Stuffed Aubergines with Red Peppers & Garlic

2 medium aubergines – cut in half lengthways and scored into 1cm diamonds on the cut surface

6tbsp olive oil

1 red pepper, deseeded and finely chopped

1 med onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 large cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1tbsp chopped fresh parsley

Finely grated zest 1 orange

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Salt and pepper

1. Put 4tbsp of the olive oil in a large frying pan and heat up. Add the aubergines cut side down and cook gently until the flesh of the aubergine is golden brown and feels tender when you insert a sharp knife into the cut side but isn’t collapsing.

2. While the aubergines are cooking, make the topping. Heat the rest of the oil in a saucepan and add the onion and red pepper. Cook until tender and stir in the garlic, parsley, orange zest and cinnamon. Season well with salt and pepper.

3. Take the aubergine halves out of the frying pan and put cut side up on a baking tray. Press down on the surface with the back of a spoon to create a boat out of each aubergine half. Divide the topping between each of the boats.

4. If you aren’t ready to cook, cool the stuffed aubergines and put in the fridge until you are ready to cook.

5. If you are ready too cook, put the tray of aubergines into a medium oven at about 190C and cook until the topping has dried out a little and the aubergine flesh is tender all the way through.

6. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil and serve with a green salad and some good bread.

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