Yemi’s Food Stories: Celebrating World Baking Day with delicious watercress cakeYemi’s Food Stories: A recipe fit for a Yorkshire tea tableYemi’s Food Stories: Knitting flavours from my two worldsYemi’s Food Stories: Recipe for a Thai sea bass feast with coconut riceStray Foodie: Chicken & Oregano Patties with Mozzarella, Asparagus & Broad Beans

Stray Foodie Lockdown Recipes are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years.

“I’d love to see how you make the recipes your own – let me know by using #StrayFoodie or tagging @thestrayferret in your social media posts.”

 

At this time of year when our weather seems to be cooler than expected, I am always delighted to see the resilience of oregano and experience the delight of this flavoursome herb.

Oregano is a flowering mountain herb related to marjoram, sometimes referred to as wild marjoram. It is a perennial and seems to be fairly resistant to our climate even though it has Mediterranean origins. Like most herbs, its flavour is in the leaf and can sometimes be more powerful dried than when used from fresh. It has warm, aromatic and sensual flavours and its leaves are just stunning when put through mixed salads. I love this herb and grow it in abundance.

This recipe is for Chicken and Oregano Patties. Once again this recipe can be built on and extended to suit your individual requirements.

For 4 Starter Size Portions, you will need:

Frances’ chicken and oregano patties

Method:

Bone out the chicken thighs and mince (or very finely chop) the chicken, ham, anchovy fillet, breadcrumbs, onion.

Mix well and add the lemon zest, pepper and the herbs.

Separate the egg, whisk the egg white until stiff, mix the yolk into the chicken mixture and lastly add the whipped egg white. The whipped egg white ensures that the patties are light and soft when cooked.

With a little flour, shape into small, round patties.

Put the olive oil in a small roasting pan, heat through and place the patties in the roasting pan. Give them a good shake so they don’t stick!

Put them in the oven on 180c – 200c, dependant on oven variation, for 20 – 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven, take out the chicken patties and keep warm.

Place ½ pint of chicken stock in the still warm pan. Reduce by half with a squeeze of lemon juice and pour over the Chicken Patties.

Serve with sliced Mozzarella, Broad Beans, fresh Asparagus and Lemon Zest.

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Stray Foodie recipe: Spring Vegetable & Herb Delice

Stray Foodie Lockdown Recipes are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years.

“I’ll be bringing you some of my favourite recipes each week. I’d love to see how you make the recipes your own – let me know by using #StrayFoodie or tagging @thestrayferret in your social media posts.”

 

Since outside hospitality has been allowed, Harrogate has got back it’s great vibe!

There are so many small hospitality businesses popping up, exciting delis with pavement seating springing up everywhere. On a grander scale, astro turf is making an appearance as never before.

Don’t forget with the amenities that are locally offered, takeaways are also still a safe option to be enjoyed within your bubble in this lovely weather. It has been a saving grace giving hospitality a kick start back in to life again and I think we are all looking forward to 17 May when we can safely enjoy what we do so well locally, with all our super hostelries and eat indoors.

For the moment outside dining can be enjoyed by us all, and in warmer climates lighter food is favourite. This week’s recipe is a Spring Vegetable and Herb Delice. I like to think all my recipes are versatile and this dish is great to go with a BBQ when entertaining. You essentially make the base cake and pile it high with vegetables with a little chilli aioli to finish off. It suffices as an accompaniment or a dish in its own right.

Spring Vegetable & Herb Delice

Frances’ spring vegetable and herb delice

You will need:

Method:

Cut the cabbage into 4 and season and oil it.

Place in the oven at 200c for 20 minutes. The cabbage should be crunchy.

Remove the outer burnt leaves and chop the centre of the cabbage finely.

Add the goats curd or cheese.

In your food blender whizz your green crumb with your parsley and tarragon (or any other fresh herb you have to hand).

Add the egg to the cabbage mixture, and season with the chilli powder and nutmeg.

Place in a silicone lined cake mould, approx. 120cm.

Place in the oven for 25 minutes at 160c.

Remove from oven and top the cake with fresh vegetables, herbs.

Pipe on chilli aioli, mayonnaise or spiced yoghurt.

 

Stray Foodie recipe: Salty fingers, samphire, leek & mussel

Stray Foodie Lockdown Recipes are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years.

“I’ll be bringing you some of my favourite recipes each week. I’d love to see how you make the recipes your own – let me know by using #StrayFoodie or tagging @thestrayferret in your social media posts.”

 

For those not in the know, Harrogate now has a wonderful fish shop, Tarbett’s on Commercial Road. Their service is exemplary and their fish a joy to behold.

Salty fingers is a coastal succulent (salicomia). Like samphire, any good fishmonger sells it, and it has a delicious salty, juicy flavour which compliments fish dishes beautifully – as well as many other foods.

Salty Fingers

Leeks – where would we be without a Leek? A fabulous vegetable that can be the base for a sauce, especially with mussels, or as a starter eek vinaigrette, or as a vegetable crumble with lentils. The list is endless and they are always something I have in my flavour tool box.

This weeks’ recipe shows poached cod, leek & mussel finished with salty fingers, samphire and sea vegetables. Broken down, a very simple dish to execute and a great dish to put with all those spring vegetables that will soon be available.

You will need:

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Method:

Season the cod and steam or poach, this should take no longer than five minutes and the cod should be opaque.

Wash and finely chop the leek, sweat off in a little butter and a tablespoon of water until very soft. Unlike any other vegetables, leeks should always be well cooked, otherwise they can be chewy!

While the leek is cooking, wash the mussels thoroughly and discard any that have a hole, are cracked or slightly open. This is important as these are not usable.

Heat a pan until very hot, put in the white wine, chopped shallot, some thyme and the mussels and put the lid on.

Steam the mussels in the white wine until they open.

When opened, cool and remove from shell.

Strain the juice into the softened leeks, and blend.

Pass through a sieve then add the cream, bring to the boil and finish with a knob of butter.

Place the finished sauce on the plate.

Place the cod in the centre with the mussels around.

Garnish with washed salty fingers, samphire and sea vegetables.

In the photograph you will see I have also used crispy potato balls. It is up to you – but perhaps some jersey royals would be preferred at this time of year.

To finish your meal, why not try some specialist cheese from The Cheese Board opposite the fish shop – a cheese lovers heaven!

Stray Foodie recipe: the versatility of celeriac

Stray Foodie Lockdown Recipes are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years.

“I’ll be bringing you some of my favourite recipes each week. I’d love to see how you make the recipes your own – let me know by using #StrayFoodie or tagging @thestrayferret in your social media posts.”

 

Celeriac, or celery root, is an underrated root vegetable. Because celery tastes strong and herbaceous, especially the leaves, many people could be put off by using the root.  The root is, in actual fact, a marvellous chef’s tool.

It has a milder flavour and is therefore great served raw as a remoulade, fabulous for puree, a great soup thickener and best of all, a good substitute for flour in this case. I steam the root whole in the oven with oil, garlic and seasoning for approx. an hour at 180c. Of course this is dependant on the size of the root. Once cool it can be sliced wafer thin and used as perhaps you would use pasta sheets. It is great for stuffing, making vegetable gratin, and enhances lentils and pulses. Its texture and light flavour is a great adage to any food.  Please note that it will discolour so it is recommended, if not baking in approx. 50g of olive oil, then once peeled it is placed in acidulated water. If you are using it as a base for a sauce or puree, cook it in a little milk which will then preserve the white intensity.

Smoked Haddock (or White Fish) Wrapped in Celeriac with Pickled Vegetables & Greens

Serves 2

Ingredients:

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Method:

Slice the fennel and cabbage very thinly and place with the florets of purple sprouting, cucumber and peas in the white balsamic vinegar for 1 hour.

Slice your steamed celeriac as thinly as you can.

Chop the leek and cook it in the cream with some seasoning until soft. Cool.

Lay out the celeriac on a piece of cling film. Spread the leek mixture on top of the celeriac and place the fish of your choice down the centre.

Wrap into a neat parcel and place in an oiled oven proof dish.

Place in the oven at 180c for 15 – 20 minutes, dependant on oven variation.

Remove from the oven, cut in half widthways, and place on a plate with mixed herb leaves and pickled vegetables.

Grate some fresh parmesan over and if desired serve with a tomato or turmeric sauce, as in the picture.

Stray Foodie recipes: Some like it hot!

Stray Foodie Lockdown Recipes are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years.

“I’ll be bringing you some of my favourite recipes each week. I’d love to see how you make the recipes your own – let me know by using #StrayFoodie or tagging @thestrayferret in your social media posts.”

 

A little heat in our daily diet is nourishing and comforting.  As I have mentioned before, my extremely talented Grandmother would always have a glass of Crabbie’s Ginger Wine in the winter after a walk, often followed by a hot and spicy vegetable soup, stacked with ginger.

Ginger has been cultivated for centuries, its popularity as a spice gradually spreading from China and India to the west. Today it is probably one of the most used and universally popular spices. The tuberous root stock joints are laterally compressed, producing amazing flavour that once again can also produce oil that is used for medicinal purposes. Ginger is now very commonplace and, perhaps because of its availability, slightly undervalued. It belongs to the same family as turmeric, which again is a root which also serves many health benefits.

As a chef I would not be without fresh and dried ginger in my larder; it is one of my flavour building blocks. As a strong root it is a great base for complementing herbs such as lemon thyme, crushed lemon grass, coriander and cardamom seed to name but a few. So when slow cooking, such as stews, belly pork and stir fries, grated ginger should be part of one’s aromas.

Dried ginger is a great additive to cakes and puddings, again stimulated other spices and sugars. Watch out, ginger can be addictive! The more you use it the more compelling it becomes.

Frances Atkins's Yorkshire Parkin

Yorkshire Parkin

Last week I gave a recipe for Seville Orange Marmalade. This week I have a Yorkshire Parkin with lots of ginger and a Seville Orange Marmalade topping. Yorkshire Parkin could be classed as a gingerbread with oatmeal and has a wonderful nutty flavour and is great to eat as a sweet or a savoury. A very competitive cake in Yorkshire households and so therefore many different views, recipes and opinions on it.  A lot of people will argue that it should have treacle and dark sugar, but I prefer to produce it with a lighter, more fragrant and modern touch.

Yorkshire Parkin

 Ingredients:

Method:

To make the batter, place the butter, sugar and syrup in a saucepan and melt down, do not boil. Stir in the oatmeal, flour, ginger and salt until all blended together.

Add the beaten egg and milk and pour in to an 8 inch square silicone paper lined tin. Bake at 150C for 35 – 40 minutes.

Let it cool before removing from the tin.

 

Frosting

Ingredients:

Method:

Add together and beat well. Spread on top of the Parkin and top with Seville Orange Marmalade. This is delicious!

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Stray Kitchen with Stephanie Moon: Green shoots of hope will spring through snow

Stray Kitchen is our column all about food written by renowned local produce expert, food writer and chef, Stephanie Moon. Stephanie is a champion of food produced in the UK and particularly in Yorkshire and the Harrogate district. 

 

 

When I was a kid, I loved sledging. We had a field on the farm where you could really pick up some speed and hurtle down the hill holding your nerve before you caused yourself to stop in an unladylike crash. The alternative was to continue on and be impaled on a barbed wire fence below!

As Harrogate has been covered in snow, it has given lockdown a magical quality that takes me right back to the bright red faces of my sledging youth. With big smiles, wet socks, and old feed bags full of straw that was the farmers’ kids’ sledges.

It seems so weird to be stuck at home again! This lockdown is the toughest I am sure for many, and what we are all needing right now is comfort food and nostalgia – and lots of it. It could be a heart-warming crumble & custard or a simple bubbling cheese-on-toast with a hearty splash of Henderson’s relish, that famous Sheffield sauce. I have just had a big bowl of sausage & mash with gravy for lunch and the local farm shop sausages did the trick – I am feeling nostalgic in the snow.

I think the birds in my garden are loving the fact the Moon’s All-You-Can-Eat buffet on my bird feeders is in full throttle – niger seed and sunflower seeds meet fat blocks and peanuts – I must admit feeding the birds this lockdown has been a great pleasure (once a caterer always a caterer, we chefs are feeders!). I have learnt what each species likes now and like a demanding guest with the goldfinch, nuthatch and woodpecker being regular dinners to impress. With all this coming and going it is the busiest bird restaurant for miles around.

Under all the snow lies the green shoots of spring. They seem so far away right now and the thoughts of sitting at a table with the family a distant memory that I long to recreate. A big family meal with all the laughter and joy that will bring is my own motivation to stay the course and do our bit to get through this lockdown.

If you are looking for some foodie ideas to get through lockdown, a great idea for a seasonal food is our friend forced rhubarb. A great way to cook it is very simply:

Cut your rhubarb into sticks about 3 inches long, place them on a tray and sprinkle over some caster sugar before you place on a tin foil lid to the tray – place this in an oven at 180C for 8-10 mins and your rhubarb will be perfectly cooked; it won’t be mushy like when you cook it in a pot on the stove. Serve with lashings of custard or some heathy yoghurt and granola. Either way – yum!

So my advice now is to find your comfort food, no matter how simple, and take a moment to look ahead to when we can sit with family again. Lord knows it does us all good from time to time.

Stay safe,

Steph x