Recipes of the month: November

Pearl barley with goats cheese, roasted pear, red onion and toasted walnuts Serves 4 as a hearty lunch or 6-8 as a side to a main

With the colder days drawing in, we need something hearty to fill us up and keep us going through the busy day. This is a perfect energy boosting lunch, packed with goodness

Ingredients: 250gg pearl barley 180g goats cheese

30g caster sugar 200g comice pears

60g walnuts 100g sultanas

300 fennel 1 red onion

100g rocket 1 lemon

A good glug of olive oil A good pinch of salt/pepper

Preparation: 1. Rinse the barley in cold water and place in

a pan of salted boiling water and cook for 25-30 minutes until al dente and chill.

2. Cut the pear into wedges, about 8 per pear, removing the core. Sprinkle with a little bit of sugar and roast until soft, and slightly caramelised.

3. Keeping the root on the fennel, cut in half and cut into slices of wedges, dress in a little oil and seasoning and roast. Do the same with the red onion, chop into large dice and dress with a little oil and roast until they are soft and sweet.

4. Place the sultanans in some hot water for 5 minutes, so they become lovely and plump and pop the walnuts on a tray and roast in the oven for 5 minutes.

5. Cool all the cooked ingredients and place everything together in a bowl and crumble in the goats cheese with the the washed rocket and lemon zest.

6. In a jug, whisk together the oil and lemon juice and season to taste. Pour oven the salad and mix really well – adjusting the seasoning if needed.

White bean, roasted garlic and rosemary soup Feeds a crowd, with plenty to freeze for a busy day

This soup has fantastic layers of flavour – it is rich with a velvet-like texture but really is a nutritious and healthy soup for cold winters day.

Ingredients:

4 x 400g tins butter beans 2 large onions

½ a head of celery ¾ sprigs of fresh thyme

30ml olive oil 2 heads of garlic

A large jug of stock 4 sprigs of rosemary A glug of coldpressed rapeseed oil

A good pinch of salt and pepper

Preparation: 1. Chop the celelry and onion roughly, and

along with the thyme, saute until really soft. The longer you sautee, the sweeter it will get.

2. Whist your veg is sweating away, pop the garlic heads, leaving whole, in the oven for about 20 -30 mintes at 160. They will go golden and are ready when they can be squeezed and smell lovely and sweet,

3. Drain the beans and rinse (you can used dried and soak over night, then cook – and

they can be added to the soup at this point) and add to the veg along with the rosemary leaves

4. Make up your stock if not using homemade, with some good quality bouillon to your own taste – and pour over the beans to cover. Simmer for 10 minutes and blitz.

5. Season to taste with salt and pepper and thin down to desired consistency if too think,

6. Serve with some crusty bread and a drizzle of cold-pressed rapeseed oil

Rich and dark sticky gingerbread Makes one loaf, but I can guarantee it will be gone in seconds!

It’s Saturday afternoon, it’s raining outside – whip this up, fill the house with it’s delicious spicy smells, stick a movie on and lather a slice with lashings of butter! Perfection in a mouthful…..

Ingredients: 225g butter

225g soft dark brown sugar 225g black treacle

340g plain flour 2 tsps ground ginger

1 tbsp ground cinnamon 2 eggs, beaten

290ml milk 2 tsp bicarbonate soda

200g icing sugar Warm water

Preparation: 1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees / gas mark

2.

2. Grease a 1lb loaf tin with butter and line the long sides and base with greaseproof paper.

3. Start by melting the butter, sticky treacle and soft brown sugar in a pan over a medium heat – allow to cool to room temperature.

4. Sift the flour, ginger and cinnamon into a bowl.

5. Pour in the cooled butter, treacle and sugar mixture and stir well with a wooden spoon, adding the beaten eggs.

6. Warm the milk to blood temperature and pour over the bicarbonate, stir and add to the batter, mixing well. Pour into the prepared tin.

7. Cook for 45 minutes and then for a further 15 covered in foil. When a skewer comes out clean – it’s done.

8. Cool on a wire rack and when cold mix the icing sugar with the water until it is at a drizzling consistenly and drizzle over the loaf.

9. This cake improves with age, but I can guarantee, it’s too good to leave untouched!

In season – Early winter

Seasonal food is fresh, vibrant and extremely tasty and tends to be more nutritious! Pack your shopping baskets, visit your local farm shop or pick your own!

3 ways to keep warm as the weather gets colder….

Fruit Vegetables Meat Seafood Apples Clementines Cranberries Passion fruit Pears Pomegranate Quince Satsumas

Artichoke Beetroot Butternut Squash Cauliflower Celeriac Celery Chicory Horseradish Jerusalem artichoke Kale kohlrabi Leeks Parsnips Potatoes Pumpkin Watercress Wild mushrooms

Beef Duck Goose Grouse Guinea fowl Hare Lamb Mallard Partridge Pheasant Rabbit Turkey Venison Wood pigeon

Cod Coley Crab Dab Haddock Halibut Herring Mackerel Pollack Prawns Sea bream Squid

1. Start your day with a big bowl of warming porridge. Pop some toasted walnuts, pumpkin seeds and cranberries in with a sprinkle of cinnamon and it will keep you going till lunch. 2. Rushing home after a busy day? Make life easier and make a warming lamb tagine in the slow cooker – youll be welcomed home to delicious smells and a warming meal to spice up the chilly weather! 3. Good fats help us to stop the winter colds getting to us, so stock up on good fats like almonds and brazil nuts to snack at and dark chocolate to fill up on the anti-oxidants!

@CafesbyHPL /CafesByHeritagePortfolio www.heritageportfolio.co.uk