Yemi Adelekan, Author at The Stray Ferret

Yemi’s Food Stories: a range of exotic sausages in Knaresborough

Yemi Adelekan is a food writer and blogger who was a semi-finalist in last year’s BBC TV’s Masterchef competition. Every Saturday Yemi will be writing on the Stray Ferret about her love of the district’s food – please get in touch with her if you want her to review a restaurant, visit your farm, taste the produce you sell or even share a recipe.

Many foods and ingredients scream ‘English’ whenever they are mentioned and one of them is sausages. You can’t have full English breakfast without sausages, there is no ‘Sausage and Mash’ without sausages, or ‘Toad in the hole’ without the toad.

A reader recommended that I go try the pies at Hutton’s in Knaresborough, but what caught my eyes when I got there were the varieties of sausages from their best selling pork sausage to others including the black pudding, pork and wild garlic, marmalade and ginger, Toulouse made from a meat blend that is half gammon and half pork and the Thai green curry.

What shone through from Alan who showed me around is the care and attention that goes into their products. They work closely with suppliers to ensure the animals used for their products are taken care of and dealt with ethically to making all sausages on site using their signature blends of spices.

Their products are proudly Yorkshire sourced as should be. Every sausage starts with a base of good quality meat, salt and black pepper before tailoring to achieve the desired flavoured profile.

Each variety of sausage inspired a different idea of a dish to pair it with.

The pork and wild garlic sausage immediately made me think of wild garlic butter and curry-oil cooked potatoes on a bed of crushed peas, wild garlic risotto or a bean cassoulet with garlic bread.

I could see the marmalade and ginger sausage working well with my breakfast of toasted bread and marmalade. It’s one of my favourite sweet and savoury breakfast pairings; I know it sounds odd having the sweetness of the marmalade with the sausage appearing to gate-crash the party but I have always had that combination. Finding this sausage resonated with me and was instant validation that I haven’t lost the plot.

Thai green curry was surprising and I reckon this would go really well with sticky rice and curry, sliced on top of noodles in a Thai inspired broth or in a flat bread with some satay sauce, crunchy carrots and bean sprouts.

The Toulouse with gammon and pork reminded me of my Christmas turkey and ham pies that’s made using left over roast ham, turkey, leeks, fresh tarragon, onions and cream with puff pastry to make the most delicious pies.

I expected this sausage to be mild in spice and meaty but when I opened it, the whiff of garlic, rich colour and spicing reminded me of chorizo so I concluded it would be perfect for a stew or cassoulet.

After watching a show about how black pudding was made, I steered clear of them for twenty years as I still remember seeing the buckets of blood. Alan persuaded me to try the Black pudding sausages and educated me on how the process has evolved over the years to incorporate blood powders. He was confident that I would like them and persuaded me to try some.

For dinner, I decided to use the black pudding and Toulouse sausages for a couple of toppings that could go on jacket potatoes. I cooked the Toulouse sausage with chickpeas in an Indian inspired spicy tomato, onion, pepper and ginger sauce (see below). The sausage held its own against the strong flavours and was delicious.

I oven cooked the black pudding sausage and served it with some peas, roasted piccolo tomatoes and finished the reduced roasting juice with some mint basil (see main image). The sausage had a good depth of meaty goodness; I could see the specks of black pudding but felt like I was just eating a quality sausage.

I am definitely a black pudding sausage convert and I am glad I trusted Alan’s recommendation. I will definitely be back to Hutton’s for their quality products, excellent selection and great value; I hope you check them out.

This weekend, I am cooking up a storm alongside some other chefs and foodies including renowned Italian Chef, Gennaro Contaldo, in London, followed by a demonstration at the BBC Good Food Show in Birmingham.

I am next at the Harrogate Food Festival on the 24 June so hope to see you there.

Yemi’s Food Stories: Café at The Himalayan Garden and Sculpture Park

I have lived in Yorkshire for ten years, and I am still pleasantly surprised when I discover places on my doorstep that I didn’t know existed. Growing up in Nigeria, my mum took my brother and I to look at sculptures and my love for the Arts was born.

So, when a reader, Margaret Smith, suggested I visit the Himalayan Gardens near Ripon to check out the sculptures and the café, I knew I had to go. A chance to be outdoors, get close to nature, see an array of plants was topped off with a promise of a ‘cherry on top’ visit to the café.

Yorkshire weather was on its best behaviour when I visited the Himalayan Gardens, it was sunny without being too hot and cool without being too breezy; sky had the best shade of blue and it was the perfect day to take in the breath-taking beauty of the Garden.

It was a welcome assault on four of my five senses with the array of colourful flowers, buzzing bees, the singing birds, sweet smells and different textured plants. It was lovely to come across loads of locals and tourists and crack a joke with a few.

I couldn’t resist taking a lot of pictures as everywhere I turned, there was beauty waiting to be captured. With 45 acres of woodlands to cover, there were much needed places to sit and catch a breath, enjoy a drink and picnic or perhaps meditate.

My sense of taste had to wait until I was at the café. After three and half hours of exploring, I was ready to join a queue of people at the café to try the highly recommended food.

There was a good selection to choose from including four options of panini, five sandwich options, Gardener’s platter including pork pie and cheese, soup, four options of warm tarts, steak ciabatta, and lamb kofta.

I opted for the Himalayan Space bowl which included Himalayan spiced vegetables, with coconut and lime chicken and naan bread. It was either that or the lentil and chickpea dhal also served with a naan bread.

Poke is traditionally Hawaiian which along with the Korean and Japanese versions tend to include raw fish. The Buddha bowl is usually vegan or vegetarian with a warm or cold base. Most bowls have a base of rice or grains, topped with pulses, a sauce, crunch nuts, some raw or cooked protein and lots of vegetables.

The first time I had a ‘poke bowl’ type dish was at the Wild Plum in Harrogate and I couldn’t wait to get back home to recreate some of the elements.

What I love about poke bowls is the amount of varieties of ingredients and the consequent experience of flavours and textures from sweet, salty, umami, bitter, crunchy, and soft, to spicy and sour notes. With every bite, you can alter your taste bud experience as you mix and match the different elements.

One of my personal rules when I eat out is to never order something I regularly cook or can cook so it was easy to give the dhal a miss even though it sounded delicious.

I didn’t know what to expect with my pot of Yorkshire tea and I was pleasantly surprised by the deliciously creamy coconut sauce with a generous portion of grilled but succulent chicken pieces. The fluffy naan bread cut into perfect mini circles was topped with the chicken and some crunchy salad including pea shoots, cherry tomatoes and brown rice. I ordered a portion of oven baked wedges which was perfect for dipping into the rich and creamy sauce. The sign of an enjoyed food is an empty plate and my plate was definitely licked clean. My compliments to the chef.

The service was fast which is a good thing considering the queue was relentless and unending. The tomato and cheese toasty was popular as they ran out but there were loads more alternatives on offer including little pots of ice cream and a good selection of cakes and bakes with loads of gluten free options.

The catering manager and wait staffs were welcoming and worked efficiently to get the food out quickly.

I had an amazing day at the Himalayan Gardens and agree with Margaret that the café is well worth a visit.

My next stop will be to Hutton’s butchers in Knaresborough on June 3 followed by the Harrogate Food Festival on June 24.

Yemi’s Food Stories: Perfect pies in Pateley Bridge

Last week Yemi was in Pateley Bridge and wrote about her experience at Cocoa Joe’s. This week she continues her culinary journey in the town..

My day in Pateley Bridge did not end without me exploring the town from the butchers to the tea rooms and I couldn’t resist entering Glad Rags Boutique where I left with a pineapple patterned summer shirt.

Charles Andrew from Cocoa Joe’s told me there were two excellent butchers on the high street so I couldn’t wait to see what was on offer.

My first stop was at Kendall’s where I first feasted with my eyes before stepping through their doors. It was a funny sight as I joined others to peer through the clear glass at their arrays of pies wondering how I would choose which one to try. I felt like ‘Oliver Twist’ about to ask for more.

Armed with information from the locals, I already found out their preferences, so I thought that was a great place to start. I dragged myself away from the street to take in the rest of their indoor display.

Their sausage roll was still warm, so I started with that, and I was really delighted by the flaky, crispy, and light pastry around the tasty filling. This was in a class of its own and I soon began to understand why their pies were award winning.

There was no way I wasn’t leaving with some sausage rolls for my boys who live in London so a pack of their ready to cooked sausage rolls were instantly on my shopping list.

I chose their hog roast pie with pulled shoulder of pork with apple and stuffing which I thought would be too sweet, but it was just right, and the chicken pie. I am a sucker for mushy peas, so the mushy pea topped pork pie made the final cut.

Kendall’s is uttered in the same breath as pies so it is easy to think that’s all they do well but that would be mistaken because they also have an amazing selection of meat – cooked and raw. I left with some lamb rack which would make a delightful dinner centrepiece and I am looking forward to sitting down to enjoy it crusted with my African spices.

I crossed the road again and was soon in the Oldest Sweet Shop in the World established in 1827; it was nice to know that generations have had a sweet tooth.

From the Guinness world record by the door as you walked in, rows of sweet in glass jars, old tin jars fit for any museum to the weighing scale that took me back to my childhood, there were many moments of being wowed. It took every ounce of strength to resist buying the tiniest amuse bouche like lemon desserts which were so pretty and dainty.

I walked past a tearoom, Indian and Waffles and Crepe restaurants which offered even more selection of sweet delights.

My last stop was Wildings Tearoom which is just by the river where you can enjoy a cup of tea overlooking and listening to the soothing sounds of the river. With a good selection of cakes and a couple of plaques, I was already smiling whilst checking out the menu.

A quote said, ‘A balanced diet is a cake in each hand’ and who can argue with that?

The second quote, ‘Life is not measured by the breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away’ was my parting gift as I left Pateley bridge, a town that took my breath away.

The natural beauty, amazingly warm people and the food scene makes this a place I can’t wait to visit again with friends, family and guests.

Yemi debating which cake to eat at Wildings Tearoom

Yemi’s Food Stories: The perfect chocolate fix in Pateley Bridge

Charles Andrew from Cocoa Joe’s at Pateley Bridge invited me to check out what they are doing with chocolate. He was so proud that I was intrigued to sample what was on offer.

Off I went with my friend, Carolyn and hubby (aka Matthew) who offered to double as driver and photographer.

As a granddaughter of a cocoa farmer, I grew up understanding the front end of the process up to when the dried cocoa beans were sold to warehouses.

My grandfather knew every cocoa tree like the back of his hands, and he would regale me with stories about his life’s work — a continuation from the previous generations. During the harvest season, we would live on the farm for days but still ate food like we were at home, given the fully built and stocked kitchen on the farm.

We relied on good amounts of sunshine to dry the beans and several times a day, we used rakes to move the beans round so they could get evenly dried. I learnt how to test when the beans were dried enough for storage and was responsible for the stock taking when we visited the warehouse.

My next experience of cocoa came in the form of buying Bounty, Snickers and Kit Kat when I was in boarding house from the age of 10 but I never connected what I was eating to my grandfather’s job.

Many decades later, I find myself interested in the ethics around cocoa production, varieties of cocoa beans and making every bean count.

So it was a pleasure to see Charles being as passionate about making great chocolate drinks as my grandfather was about growing the bean.

I learnt about the origins of their cocoa beans, got to sample many including the 100% Madagascar which I found jarring, various dark chocolates, the ruby chocolate with its lemon notes and the sublime caramelised white chocolate.

The quality of their chocolates shone through with their high cocoa contents. The drink had a wonderful mouth fill, felt luxurious without being too heavy.

I left not feeling the need to hit a gym or check my blood sugar level. We enjoyed three flavours of chocolate drinks including Uganda, Sao Tome, and Ecuador dark chocolates.

I couldn’t resist their chilli chocolate drink and for even more exotic taste, there was lavender flavour.

After a few sips from my cup, the child in me asked for some marshmallows. Charles offered to toast them but that wasn’t needed as they melted into the chocolate doing a dance on my tongue and tingling my tastebuds.

Hmm … which flavour to choose?

Cocoa Joe’s is popular with the locals and tourists; I can see why. The skill and passion exhibited by the team and the quality of the varieties of chocolates available to choose from, keep their customers coming back.

I left with some ruby, caramelised white chocolate and Uganda chocolate and I am already dreaming and drooling about what I will make with them.

Charles was excited to tell me about everything the town had to offer, so I wandered around to take as much in as possible and crossing the road was all it took to get to Kendall’s butcher.

More about Kendall’s and the rest of my visit next week.

Next on my list is The Café at the Himalayan Garden, Grewelthorpe which I will visit on Saturday 27 of May from 12.30pm. Come join me and I hope to see you there.

Yemi’s Food Stories: a porky discovery at Crimple

Living in Harrogate means I am surrounded by amazing shops selling the wonderful produces of Yorkshire; but quite often I find myself falling into the habit of going to the same places which means I end up missing out on what might be available in other places or the experience of new sights and surprises.

The last time I went into Crimple in Harrogate was years before their renovation. Every week, I drive past it on my work commute and make a mental note to check it out.

It was a lovely surprise when I eventually went into the food hall a few weeks ago to discover an array of local Yorkshire produces from chutneys, cured meats and bakes to fresh meat.

I only went in to have a quick look but came out with fresh sourdough bread, Portobello mushrooms, eggs, and smoked salmon for brunch. I also found a gem in a balsamic reduction glaze and fresh beetroots that I needed for my next food event, and a tiny gadget that would be great for dipping strawberries into chocolate sauce.

As I continued my wander around the food hall, I spotted a cut of pork that had the kidney attached which really fascinated me. The butcher wasn’t at the kiosk, but my curiosity made me hang around until he came out from the back room.

I told him I had never seen a cut of meat that intentionally had offal attached and he explained that this was an historic way of cutting pork chops and that only a few chops would benefit from having a cross section of the kidney attached.

He said he was on a mission to bring back old butcher traditions; that is noble from a sustainability point of view and considering the ‘nose to tail’ revolution that many chefs are championing.

I grew up in Nigeria on ‘nose to tail’ eating and we never wasted any parts of an animal with the skin of larger animals used by local artisans to make leather products.

Anyone who knows me well would correctly guess that I walked out of Crimple with some Pork and Kidney chops. I figured it would go well with a honey mustard sauce served with creamy mashed potatoes and some purple broccoli.

I ended up serving it with a gravy alongside potatoes finished with a chilli and herby mustard seed coating which went down a treat. See below.

On my way out I wandered into the garden section, but I didn’t get to really explore it because my arms were filled with my food hall shopping, and I was in a bit of rush. I am going back to the garden centre, with plans to sample food from their bar and kitchen.

If you haven’t visited Crimple, it is worth a visit -there’s so much to love.

I would love to hear about your visit and any exciting food, produce or interesting garden gnomes that you find, so drop me a comment.

Yemi: Out and About

I am in Pateley Bridge today, (Saturday 13 May) to sample Chocolate at Cocoa Joe’s and Kendall’s pies from 12 noon. You can read about it next Saturday on The Stray Ferret.

Next on my list is The Café at the Himalayan Garden, Grewelthorpe which I will visit on Saturday 27 of May from 12.30pm.

Yemi’s Food Stories: A Royal quiche affair

Today, May 6, 2023, is a milestone in British history, the coronation of a new King after 71 years since King George VI who reigned from 1936 to 1952.

It’s also the D-day for my first food feature, which I am honoured coincides with the King’s coronation and I couldn’t be prouder.

It’s only fitting that this feature celebrates the King’s coronation. My son, as part of Blackburn Cathedral choir, sang for Prince Charles many moons ago and I was opportune to be a Princes Trust mentor for some years.

Many of us only knew the Queen growing up and even though we knew this day had to come, we clung on in hope for our Queen to live as long as possible. God rest her soul.

Today’s celebration calls for something special. The Royal family has never failed to inspire, and make us proud when it comes to pomp and pageantry; this time will be no different.

We can’t think of things that are quintessentially British without certain foods or ingredients coming to mind: afternoon tea, asparagus, rhubarb, quiches, coronation chicken and my favourite which is Victoria sponge cake.

So, in celebration of the King’s coronation, it’s only fitting that we have a dish that screams ‘British’ but also reminds us of the Commonwealth nations that are part of this celebration. The King and the Queen Consort have asked for quiche to be on the coronation menu.

The quiche, a staple in many homes and pub menus, is mostly served cold but I love to eat mine when it is slightly warm. Eating quiche feels a tad more elevated than eating cold sandwiches which I personally find to be soul crushing.

Here’s my version of quiche created to celebrate the King’s coronation. It is a play on coronation chicken using ingredients and some bold flavours of many Commonwealth nations.

Curried chicken, onions, peppers, and chilli Quiche

Ingredients:

Quiche base

250g block of ready-made shortcrust pastry

Quiche Filling – for a 23-inch pan or two 15-inch pans

Poached or Roasted Chicken – breasts or thighs – 100g

1 red pointed pepper or bell pepper

1 medium red onion

½ chilli – chipotle, habanero, or scotch bonnet

2 eggs

125ml of milk

175ml of double cream

100g of grated cheddar cheese

Tart base – using short crust pastry

1 tsp of curry powder

½ tsp Kashmiri pepper flakes

Smoked sea salt to taste

½ tsp of fresh mixed herbs – parsley, thyme, and rosemary

Method

Preheat your oven to 190°C
Roll out the dough into your quiche tin and line with baking paper; add some baking stones and blind bake for 15 minutes. Remove the baking paper and stones
Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C
Cook and shred the chicken or use leftovers from your roast chicken dinner
Add a little oil to a pan over high heat; fry the sliced onions, chillies, and pepper; season with salt and curry powder; add in the shredded chicken and cook for 3 minutes allowing the flavours to infuse into the chicken. Set aside to cool down
Beat the milk, cream, eggs, Kashmiri pepper, herbs, and salt together in a bowl
Scatter half of the grated cheese in the blind-baked base, evenly top with the chicken and peppers before adding the custard mixture
Sprinkle over the remaining cheese. Place into the oven and bake for 30-35 minutes until set and lightly golden. Check at the 25-minute mark.

Tips for getting a great pasty base:

To avoid the side collapsing: allow the pastry to overhang the tin and trim once it’s cooked, make sure the tart is filled to the brim with the baking beans or rice so the weight pushes back against bottom and sides.

Also I always put my pastry in the freezer for about 15 minutes to harden up before baking which slows down the shrinkage.

To avoid a soggy middle – once pastry is part baked, remove the beans and brush with whisked egg yolk, return back to oven for about five minutes to help seal it before adding the filling.

Serve warm with some salad, spiced chips, and curry-mayo.

Long live the King! Happy celebrations!

Masterchef semi-finalist to write for the Stray Ferret celebrating district’s food

The Stray Ferret is delighted to introduce Yemi Adelekan who many will recognise from her success on BBC TV’s Masterchef last year. Every Saturday Yemi will be writing about her love of the district’s food – please get in touch with her if you want her to review a restaurant, visit your farm, taste the produce you sell or even share a recipe.

My name is Yemi Adelekan, welcome to my food stories.

From food and restaurant reviews, highlights from county food events, recipe creation to dining experiences, farm to table and nose to tail cooking, allotment to combatting food waste, foraging, visits to market stalls and independent shops to showcasing diversity of flavours and ingredients, nothing is off the menu.

We live in a beautiful district with amazing food scenes; I want to showcase, celebrate and champion our community, people, food and what we have to offer through my food stories.

So here’s a little about me.

I am married and a proud mother of two wonderful young men. I grew up in Nigeria, moved to Nevis Island, West Indies for a few years before relocating to the UK where I forged a career in Banking and now Telecommunications.

I moved from West to South Cumbria, made a pit stop in Manchester, spent ten years in Lancashire and finally settled in Harrogate for the past decade.

All of these places and holiday destinations have influenced my food from Cumberland ring sausages, Lancashire hotpot to Yorkshire pudding. I came to Harrogate with the red rose of Lancashire and was gifted the white rose of Yorkshire; both plants have their pride of places on my front yard.

I have had a long-standing love affair with food, a passion for cooking and baking that led me to the Masterchef UK kitchen in 2022. From not daring to dream about being on the show, I ended up as a semi-finalist making it to the top 6 showcasing a fusion of my Nigerian flavours with other global food influences.

I was gutted to narrowly miss out on finals week but really grateful for the opportunity. I didn’t know I could wee every five minutes until I went on the show and found nerves that were previously undiscovered.

My first food memories include me using tin cans and sticks for my ‘pretend’ kitchen, tasting my mum’s food as she put a little taster on my palm to being trusted to go buy an ingredient. I was never far from the kitchen and learnt by watching others like a hawk.

My mum didn’t allow me to be hands-on in her kitchen because she took pride in doing her own cooking but thankfully my dad believed that mistakes help to make us better people. He lived away to avoid a long commute and allowed me to cook whenever I visited him giving me feedback and what I definitely now know to be undeserved compliments.

Here’s what you can expect from me; personal, witty, open and honest food writing without any pretentiousness.

My goal is to make it just what you need to kickstart your weekend with a smile, bring your community to you, get you out with a little luck and encourage you to attempt new recipes.

I am a local who doesn’t get around enough so I need you to tell me what and where you want me to check out, what’s going on in your part of the county, also comment and share recipes you want me to try out.

If you have a wow experience that you would like to shout about from the roof top, then drop me a line so I can go sample and write about the experience.

Welcome to my food stories. I will see you next Saturday.

To read more about Yemi visit her website here.

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Yemi: Out and About

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Curried chicken, onions, peppers, and chilli Quiche

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