RECIPES
Bread
SOUP
Is there any better way to start a meal? For me warm, fresh
bread is a real marker of what is to come. I really enjoy baking
bread, and even before I became a chef it was something I
would regularly make at home. This soda bread recipe is so
quick to make it has got me out of trouble on more than one
occasion. Funnily enough, it is also one of the recipes that I
get asked for most often.
Soups are something that are perhaps seen as boring or a
cheap option, maybe even long winded to make, but you can
make them quickly and easily and they can be served very
simply or elevated to a real gastronomic experience. A
well-made, well-seasoned soup with a hunk of fresh bread and
some farmhouse butter makes a wonderful but simple lunch.
Take the same soup and create a garnish in a bowl and pour
the soup from a jug at the table and the experience can be
completely different.
Apples and cheese are a natural pairing and cheese is
certainly something that is exceptional in the West Country.
The choice is huge but for the cheese and apple muffin recipe
just go with your personal favourite
WHOLEMEAL SODA BREAD
{Makes one loaf}
300ml buttermilk
50ml water
220g self raising flour
170g wholemeal flour
50g oatmeal plus extra for top
3g cream of tartar
5g bicarbonate of soda
8g fine ground Maldon sea salt
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CELERIAC SOUP
{Makes approx. 1.5 litres}
Put all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and use a whisk
to combine them fully. Mix the buttermilk and water together
in a jug and pour into a well in the middle of the flours. Start
with a wooden spoon and begin to mix the dough; when it
starts to come together, change to using your fingers. Briefly
knead the dough in the bowl and then form it into a disc
around 25cm across. Place on a floured baking sheet and brush
the top with the dregs of the liquid left in the jug. Scatter over
a spoonful of oats and gently pat them onto the loaf. Cut the
loaf in the classic cross, pushing the knife right down to the
baking sheet. In effect you will have cut the loaf into quarters.
Bake in a pre-heated oven for 10 mins at 180ºc and then lower
the temperature to 160ºc for a further 20 mins. The loaf will
be risen and a dark golden brown colour, and when you press
down in the centre it will feel firm and crusty.
1 medium celeriac, peeled, cut into 8 wedges and thinly sliced
300ml milk
300ml water approx
6 black peppercorns, tied in muslin
Maldon sea salt
50ml olive oil
In a large saucepan, sweat the celeriac in the olive oil until
it begins to soften. Add the milk and then enough water to
cover. Add the muslin bag of peppercorns. Bring to a simmer
and then cook until the celeriac is completely tender.
Place a colander or large sieve over a bowl and drain the
celeriac, reserving the liquid. Remove the bag of peppercorns.
Puree the celeriac in a food processor, adding enough of th B