Stray Kitchen: Embracing Veganuary, Steph’s recipe to cook for a vegan

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. 

Over a super Christmas and New Year spent surrounded by family, I did lots and lots of cooking. After a super turkey lunch, big breakfasts and far too much chocolate, like many people I am now trying to be good.

January is the Veganuary month, where more and more people cut meat and animal products from their diets. Whilst January is the worst time of year for ‘in season’ fruits and vegetables, what is around is superb, and there are some simple ways to pimp up your January vegetables to be a truly astounding experience.

I recently had a vegan cake and oat milk latte at Hustle & Co after a big walking session on the Stray. It’s one of the newest cafés in Harrogate, but these guys do vegan very well. My crumbly fruity slice was lip smacking stuff, and the young lady who served us was brilliant too.

In Harrogate we have many places that cater for vegans (and those of us want to bring plant-based food into their diet more often) and our local chefs do it so well.

So when a vegan friend popped round for tea during Veganuary, it was time to try out a new quick, easy meal… and hopefully impress!

Here’s what I cooked.

Buckwheat pancakes

Makes four large pancakes to serve two.

Method

Mix all together in a bowl to form a smooth batter (which it does straight away).

In a non-stick pan, heat some vegetable oil (rapeseed or olive oils are great too,) then tip out any excess oil.

Pour the batter into the pan with a ladle (so you have some control over how much goes in), and use a spatula to spread it around. Unlike normal batter, the spatula is needed to spread the pancake thinly as it doesn’t simply roll around.

Cook for about 30 seconds to one minute, until golden.

Using a flipper, turn the pancake over so that both sides cook.

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Topping

You could place anything on top but here I have opted for a mix of roasted veg.

Method

Slice the aubergine, rub with a little olive oil and place on a roasting tray.

Rip the stalks off the curly kale and discard, then rub the leaves in the olive oil and add a splash of balsamic vinegar. Place on the same roasting tray.

Rub the cherry tomatoes with the olive oil and place on the same roasting tray.

Bake at 170°C for 10 minutes, until the kale is crisp and the cherry tomatoes are cooked.

Remove the aubergine slices from the roasting tray and finish them in the same frying pan you used for the pancakes to get some golden-brown colour on them (they should take 1-2 minutes on each side).

Place the pancakes in the oven for a few seconds to warm in the residual heat from the roasting of the vegetables – there’s no need to turn the oven back on again.

Serve all items on the top of the Buckwheat Pancakes and add a dollop of Oatly crème fraiche.

The whole thing took about 15 minutes to prepare and cook, and was surprisingly delicious and fun to prepare.

Steph x

 

Stray Kitchen: Reading the awards submission made me tearful

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. 

The food awards season is in full swing, and awards are a way to celebrate success, get over those failures we all face in business, and demonstrate some strength. In fact, Garbutt and Elliot have an award titled “Yorkshire Grit” and I think it sums this up perfectly.

To see the value of an award, you only need to look on the shelf and the jar of honey with a ‘great taste’ sticker on it and it’s probably going to be the one you choose. The businesses that win get a well done pat on the back, increase their profile, and often get extra sales.

As a chef who has “been around the block a bit,” I have helped out judging quite a few awards over the years, including Harrogate Chef of the Year, Deliciouslyorkshire, Garbutt and Elliott, The Olivers, Welcome to Yorkshire’s White Rose Awards, Great Taste awards for the Guild of Fine Food, Yorkshire Life food & drink awards, York’s young chef of the year, and the Craft Guild of Chefs‘ national young chef of the year.

But this year one thing stands out like a shining beacon- just how many food businesses have given so much to so many in their community over the lockdown and covid year.

In Harrogate alone, establishments like the Fat Badger were cooking for NHS staff, and chefs like young Ben Wright from Rudding Park cooked at Harrogate Hospital. Companies like Harrogate Tipple diversified into a village shop and made hand sanitiser and food banks stretched themselves even further. On top of this so many individuals cooked for neighbours and used food to bring people together without actually getting together.

As we know, some chefs have egos the size of a house. But in reality, most are quite humble about this stuff, revealing little and helping lots. I like to think I fall into this second category and not the first!  So when looking at the entries for various awards and seeing so many businesses donating to food banks and going out of their way to cook for homeless people or neighbours, these acts of kindness have actually made me feel quite teary..

I have always lived my life with the attitude “you reap what you sow” – and I think this year, there will be plenty of growing for many businesses and individuals out there. And I’m looking forward to dusting off my best outfit and celebrating everything that’s great about my beloved catering industry at some of the above awards this year.

Steph x

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Stray Kitchen: the most fun you’ll have with a frying pan

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. 

 

 

Us Brits have loved pancakes since the 15th century and as a nation we devour over 53 million eggs on pancake day.

I think we are all happy to go a bit barmy on Shrove Tuesday, or so called ‘Shrive Tuesday’ because people would confess to their sins.

This is an excuse to go flippin’ crazy on Pancake day – anything to bring out a smile and a flash back to our childhood. I can more or less guarantee it, perhaps even a belly laugh if you try the tricky to master pancake art!

Art in a pancake is not as weird as it sounds and there are varying ways to do this. You can make a basic pancake batter and pour it into a squeezy bottle, then pour into the pancake pan in an artistic fashion. Chocolate cocoa pancake batter gives you more defined outlines alongside the basic mixture, and there are plenty of fun videos on the web to guide you.

Most people can eat at least two or three Pancakes and as a young girl my mother would cook us pancakes the traditional way, with sugar and fresh lemon juice. If we had not eaten the first one before the next one was ready, we had our noses dusted in soot from the fireplace. She explained this was an old tradition – although I have never heard or seen this since so I’m pretty certain she was playing a joke on us – but it did make us hurry up and eat our dinner!

Who gives a toss? Well, the highest recorded pancake toss was 31ft which is vertically impressive and I’m glad if I can successfully manage 2ft! if you are braving the toss always remember have a little extra batter ready for the ones that end up on the floor!

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So many countries have their favourite pancake batters: the Americans their pancake stacks, the French their crepes, and the Indians their dosas. As for Russia, I can honestly say I have tried Blinis in Moscow where I went to do a battle of the batters cook off in the kitchens of the Hotel Metropol in Moscow. The chefs were fiercely proud and their Blinis and Yorkshire puddings really did match up well (even though Yorkshire Puddings are technically not pancakes if you make them right!). Thankfully, we where declared equals by the general manager.

The batter for pancake day is amazingly simple and only really needs three main ingredients: milk, flour, and eggs. As a dairy farmer’s daughter, it’s no wonder it was a big day in our house!

Everyone has a pancake batter mix that is their favourite, but my top tip is to cook the pancake in melted bubbling butter instead of oil, unless you are trying pancake art then plain vegetable oil is better to see the outlines of the pancake art.

So get your pancake groove on and serve with fresh lemon juice and a spoonful of sugar, fill savoury pancakes with a rich prawn double cream and cheese mix, pack a pancake full of Nutella and bananas or try your hand at pancake art. Whatever you choose, it’s guaranteed as much fun as you can have in a frying pan!

Happy pancake day!
Steph x

Stray Kitchen with Stephanie Moon: How a chef tries to get thin

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. 

 

 

Never has it been more important to wish someone a Healthy and Happy New Year than at the start of 2021.

A new year and a fresh start and most of us are glad that 2020 has long gone and have an opportunity to make some great plans for the New Year. After a Christmas of too-many-good tidings and lots of socially distanced good cheer, now is the time many of us focus on being happy and healthy in the months to come.

Can you still fit into those pre-lockdown jeans? Or is it that we are all thinking it is time to go on that diet? As a Chef I am surrounded by food and I love food, so it is a constant battle. For me, the key is to get a balance right and not beat yourself up if you fancy eating something you perhaps should not!

How can we get fit? The old adage “never trust a skinny chef” just does not cut it these days; we are watching our weight and being sensible with our fitness – I know some chefs obsessed with fitness and a pastry chef who is now a personal trainer, thinking more about being body-beautiful than he does about his Choux Buns.

I am a far cry from that! But for me, it has always been a balance of dog walking and eating a plate laden with vegetables. Don’t get me wrong, I do fall off the wagon many times.

January is also Veganuary. As a young schoolgirl I once remember saying to my Dad (now retired, but then a busy farmer) that I wanted to became a vegetarian as one of my friends had just done. His curt reply was “over my dead body!”. The truth is I now love vegetarian and vegan food and relish the challenge of cooking this, but I personally enjoy meat too. It is about buying good quality local meat but less of it. Quality and less quantity are, in my opinion, the way forward.

So, I shall stop drinking alcohol this month, eat more vegetarian meals and eat smaller portions of locally sourced meats and fish. Importantly keep exercising and just do what I think most of us did last year too – try our best to get through it!

Happy New Year, much love for 2021 and happy cooking!

Steph x

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Stray Kitchen with Stephanie Moon: Did somebody say cheese?

Stray Kitchen is our monthly 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. 

 

 

I adore cheese… everything about it! And at Christmas, cheese is the thing we all love to nibble on, so let’s take a look at how to pick a good cheese and how can you make this years Cheese board the most interesting and fun board your family have tasted.

Where to buy your cheese.

If it is wrapped in clingfilm or shrink wrapped in a plastic wrapper, chances are it has been there for some time and has sweated. This will damage the cheese and should be avoided. Try to look for a specialist shop – we are lucky enough to be surrounded by them in the Harrogate district. In the town centre is The Cheeseboard– great ladies, plus The Artisan Cheese Company Wetherby, cheese counters at Fodder or Weetons, Bowe and Co deli counter in Boroughbridge and so many more to mention.

One of the best gifts I received in recent years was from one of my sisters and her family – 3 months of cheese from The Courtyard Dairy just outside Settle. Delivered to my door during the first week of the month, this box includes some great cheeses and crackers and even chutney.

Which cheeses to choose? 

Your cheese board needs to have variety. It can be international, British, or even Yorkshire cheeses only, but they must be different and offer a choice of textures and flavours as well as strength and depth. There are even some good vegan options out there too.

I would always try to have three different cheeses as a minimum and say five maximum- or things can get crazy!

I would recommend at least three Yorkshire cheeses on your board. These can be blue, goats, sheep, or traditional dairy cheese, but let’s support our artisan cheese makers.

It is important to consider your guests and their special likes – for the Moon family (although vastly depleted in number this year due to you-know-what,) we will be having a Yorkshire cheese board with a bit of runny Brie de Meux.

To cracker or not to cracker?

In my view, everyone expects crackers, although some use bread. You can buy a few more ‘unusual’ types like the charcoal Duchy crackers, but some people are much happier with a more traditional Bath Oliver, oaty Nairn, Carrs water biscuit, or even a box of Jacobs. Here in Yorkshire we know our crackers and there are many local companies that make a crispy favourite, from your local baker to Lottie Shaws, even Grandma Wilds gets in there.

What else do we need on a cheese board?

I love Quince Cheese – it is a real treat and not ‘actual cheese’, but a sweet, sharp, puree-like jelly that is heaven with your cheeses.

I do make chutney every year so we also have a jar of that too, but you can buy stunning Yorkshire chutneys like Rosebud Preserves, The Fruity Kitchen, Bracken Hill and Mercers.

Nuts – preferably in the shell (simply for the fun factor!), ideally walnuts but I love them all.

Celery – well worth it as celery is one of the only foods you can eat without putting on weight! The energy it takes to eat it burns more calories than you intake. So for that reason alone, it is a good idea to have that celery on your board too.

Grapes – I always buy both red and green as the board looks better, but the green ones are always left in the Moon household!

Apples – sliced up like little fans. This reminds me of learning how to do this years ago when I was a 17 year old student at Craven College, and still makes me smile today – get on YouTube and get creative with your apples.

Christmas cake? Or Dundee cake – as it is Christmas, some Christmas cake seems festive and bountiful (if a little decadent). Us Yorkshire folk know that Wensleydale belongs with fruit cake anyway!

Drinks

Lastly – but perhaps most importantly – what to drink with your cheese board?

Why not do a pairing of a different drink with each cheese? Set your cheeses out in a row, starting with the milder and finishing on the blues and stinkys! Pair these with interesting wines and ports. I love a glass of Dunesforde Yorkshire Wine – the Solaris with Shepherds Purse Harrogate Blue Cheese is really a great pairing. Or try a tawny port with Wensleydale Creamery‘s Kit Calvert – delicious!

Always remember to let your cheeses be served at room temperature, they will love you for this and taste so much better. Most of all, have fun with your cheese board.

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