British Asparagus... eating it!

Here are some wonderful ways to enjoy asparagus…

As a trio: asparagus torte, chargilled spears, a quails egg and a shot glass of cool asparagus vichyssoise (see left)

As an incredibly elegant starter…
Saturn bowl filled with a salad of fresh asparagus, artichoke hearts, blistered cherry tomatoes and avocado with chervil and mustard dressing

As a natural way of adding some drama to a salad…
Fresh hand made asparagus ravioli with herb emulsion and micro shoots

Spring take on pasta…
Rare roast Sirloin of beef with wild mushroom jus, chargrilled asparagus and thyme Talegio potatoes

As a perfect partner to some phenomenal centrepiece…
Asparagus bundles tied with chives served with a vanilla and pomegranate mayonnaise

A stylist ingredient in a working brunch…
Fresh asparagus soup with crème fresh and sage parmesan bread

Stand alone stand out soup…
Poussin with fresh asparagus stuffing, lemon risotto and tarragon tus

And two ideas from the British Asparagus Growers website ...
Gizzy Erskine’s British asparagus, broad bean, mint and mozzarella brushetta
Tiffany Goodall’s British asparagus Thai coconut curry

Using Flowers

Valentines Day is upon us and the shops are bursting with flowers.

Flowers are not just for your loved ones, they should also be for your plates. They make a beautiful garnish, decoration or delicious ingredient.

Here are some examples:

* Crystallised violets and sugared rose petals add a delightful vintage touch to any dessert.
* Lavender flavoured biscotti with crème brulee or lamb marinated in lavender for a divine taste.
* Bright orange nasturtiums, marigold* petals, dandelion and tiny blue borage for garnishing salads.
* Courgette and squash flowers – tempura and garnish a risotto or fill them with fresh crab meat as a delicate canapé.
* Borage flowers – I can’t drink Pimm’s without them now (word of advice for gardeners – plant carefully – plant one borage plant and next year you will have ten).
* Hibiscus flower buds in glass cups, open into a beautiful tea.
* Daylily (lilies are poisonous but this isn’t a real lily) – fabulous if stripped into individual petals in a salad and also makes a great ingredient for an omelette.
* All herb flowers are edible, look pretty and often more flavoured than the herb leaves.
* Chive flowers – perfect to decorate delicate dishes such as smoked salmon parfait and cucumber salad.
* Pea shoots and bean flowers make for sophisticated toppings for sea bass.
* Camomile – keep calm with freshly brewed tisanes.
* Bergamot – amazing deep red and really useful in rice & pasta dishes, with pork or as a vibrant topping to salads.

NEVER use the following as garnishes or décor: foxglove, daffodil, crocus, lily of the valley. If you are in doubt, don’t eat it!

BE AWARE that asthmatics may suffer allergies to daisies and marigolds.

(I've also uploaded this article to my regular slot on The Wedding Community pages)

In Season - Elderflower

Last week the Bovingdons team threw themselves (literally!) into the hedgerows of Ripley and picked three huge sacks full of elderflowers. Chef David has since made bottles and bottles of syrup (about 102 litres!) and the office smells distractingly of English summertime.

Our syrup recipe is secret but you can find plenty online, it’s a very similar process to making homemade lemonade. You’ll need about thirty to fifty perfect heads of flowers (no brown ones), a kilo of sugar and some citric acid (find it in Waitrose or health food shops) plus any variety of secret ingredient depending on the chef. Once made, here are some ways to use your syrup:

- Make Bovingdons signature Apple Fez, cloudy apple juice, ginger ale, elderflower and mint sprigs.
- Whisk with creme fraiche, gooseberry compote and lemon zest for a perfect Fool
- Suspend summer fruits in elderflower and prosecco jelly
- Flavour pannacotta and serve with raspberries garnish with the flowers
- Fritter the flowers in the lightest tempura and serve beside strawberries
- Elderflowers can also be used in pork and duck recipes but I would proceed with caution here! It can be very, very sweet.
- Or simply add a drop to champagne, pink gin, vodka martini’s, Pimms … sip and enjoy...

In Season - British Asparagus

Be quick! You've not got long to enjoy this superfood delicacy. Asparagus has a teasingly short and notoriously unpredictable season which falls sometime between May and June depending on the fickle British weather. I am reliably informed by the British Asparagus Growers Association website that the 2010 season is well and truly here.

Appropriately perhaps for an aphrodisiac, the key to ensuring the best flavour is tenderness rather than length or girth. Colour is a good indicator, seek light green with closed tips and a hint of purple. British Asparagus is a hand grown crop which requires a huge investment of time and patience for a relatively low yield. Cooking it however, is almost totally the opposite case!

 - Simple: Steamed with a splash of olive oil, black pepper and parmesan

 - Hot: Fresh asparagus soup with crème fraiche and sage and parmesan bread

 - Brunch: Asparagus bundles tied with chives served with a vanilla and pomegranate mayonnaise

 - Fish: Asparagus icecream with salmon toasts - recipe here!

 - Main: Pan roast asparagus with rare roast beef, wild mushroom jus, thyme and talegio potatoes

 - Summer Buffet: Prosciutto or Parma ham involtini of chargrilled asparagus

 - Stuffed: Baby Pousin with fresh asparagus stuffing, lemon risotto, French beans and tarragon jus

 - Vegetarian: Fresh handmade asparagus ravioli with herb emulsion and micro shoots

In Season - Winchester Watercress

It’s only a couple of weeks until the Alresford Watercress Festival which takes place just a few miles down the A3 from me. During a day of community celebration, the elected Watercress King and Queen travel down the main street atop a horse and cart and distribute the first of the season's harvest to festival goers.

Iron rich, vitamin fuelled, nose twistingly peppery and utterly delicious, watercress is often overlooked as an ingredient despite its similarity to rocket. For the best of the crop look for fat clusters of wet, deep green leaves and eat as soon after picking as possible (it is notoriously perishable)

Here are some delicious watercress menu ideas for your next event...
- Starter: Gingered watercress soup with toasted sesame seeds
- Main: Duo plate of watercress blinis with smoked trout and cucumber vermicelli
- Salad: Organic watercress with roasted sweet potato and toasted walnuts
- Canapé: Seared fillet of beef in Yorkshire puddings with watercress hollandaise
- Fish: Roast monkfish on crushed potatoes topped with watercress
- Afternoon tea: Finger sandwiches of wafer honey baked ham, cream cheese and watercress

In Season - Forced British Rhubarb

I was delighted to read this morning that forced rhubarb has recieved EU protected status officially making it a jewel in the crown of British foods.

The North of England has long been known amoungst chefs as "The Pink Triangle" as this is where this humble vegetable (yes, vegetable) is still grown in darkened sheds and harvested by candlelight.

Now is the best time both to eat and to sow a crown or too. A great option for anyone seeking a guaranteed high-return for the bargain price of the occasional bucket of manure.

- Orange braised rhubarb with cool ginger soufflé
- Cardamom scented panna cotta with rhubarb coulis
- Rhubarb crumble and fresh vanilla ice cream

In Season - English Oysters

Fresh oysters from Kent, Essex and Cornwall are considered to be amoungst the world’s finest food. They can be eaten all year round but are at their best outside of the May-August spawning season and, of course, must be as fresh as possible.

“He was a bold man that first ate an oyster” and indeed it is a brave host who chooses to serve them. Not everyone appreciates their bracing taste, but for those looking to impress, to indulge or to make use of their potent aphrodisiac qualities, they are a remarkably flexible additions to your event menu.

- For purists - passed raw from the shell on frozen trays with an offer of lemon or tobassco
- To impress - shucked to order from an iced bar and taken with Bloody Mary shot
- As a starter - poached oysters with blood orange jelly
- As a canapé - oyster beignet on a prism skewer with a ginger and chilli dipping sauce
- As a robust main - Oyster, beef and Guinness pie

In Season - Jerusalem Artichokes

The fine specimines on the left as spotted whilst out on a trip to Borough Market.

Don’t be afraid of these strange little things! They may look unappealing, like muddy ginger, but they are January's nutritional stars, full of taste and low on calories.

Perfect for guilt-free New Year menus.

 - Rustic - rinse and scrub roughly with a brush before boiling
 - Roasted - mix half and half with your late winter roots
 - Gratin - slice wafer thin before adding the cream

Fungus Forray

This cold, wet time of year always reminds me of the time when head chef David and I took part in a "forray" at River Cottage headquarters.

Fuelled by our passion for food and intrigued by the idea of foraging for our own ingredients we found ourselves heading down to deepest Dorset at 5.30am on one very brisk November morning. Like ten or so other eager foodies, we were hoping to tap the expertise of John Wright, Ricer Cottage's  resident mycologist and wild food expert. We spent the most wonderful day foraging and, under the guidance of an incredible teacher, amassed the most incredible collection of mushrooms during our "forray".

After a delicious lunch, we endeavoured to identify our finds but this proved to be much more difficult than we ever imagined! Chanterelle, Cep, Velvet Shank, Horn of Plenty, Amethyst Deceiver, Giant Puffball, the Death Cap and the Destroying Angel... the more we learnt, the more we became aware that foraging is both an art form and an incredible risk.

Whilst we will definitely continue to buy our mushrooms from the market every morning, I would thoroughly recommend a course at River Cottage - great fun, well organised and worth the drive. Click here to view their courses.