Puddledub Chorizo and Broad Bean Risotto

• 75 – 100 gms smoked bacon or pancetta lardons
• 3 – 4 shallots – finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic – finely chopped
• 3 – 4 Puddledub chorizo sausages – cut into chunks about 1 cm thick
• Approx 200 gms broad beans – fresh or frozen – blanched with skins removed
• Approx 400 gms Arborio or carnaroli risotto rice
• Approx 1+1 ½ litres chicken stock
• 2 tbsp crème fraiche
• 50 gms butter
• 50 gms freshly grated parmesan
• Fresh chives and parsley – chopped
• Salt and pepper
• Glass of white wine
• 1 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

Have 2 saucepans ready, one for the stock and one thick bottomed larger one for the risotto. Bring the stock to a simmer and keep simmering. Heat the rapeseed oil in the other pan, add the chopped shallot, garlic and bacon and cook gently for a few minutes before adding the chorizo pieces.

Continue cooking to bring out the colour and juices from the sausages before adding the risotto rice, stirring well through all other ingredients in the pan.

Just before the rice starts to stick in the pan add the glass of white wine and reduce down, stirring constantly. Just as the wine has evaporated add two ladles of simmering stock, stirring all the time. As the stock becomes absorbed add further ladle fulls, repeating the process for about 15 minutes then add the blanched and peeled broad beans.

Continue stirring and cooking out for another 2 minutes by which time the rice should be just cooked and stock absorbed. Take off the heat and add the crème fraiche, butter and parmesan.

Serve in bowls garnished with chopped chives and parsley.

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Stir Fry of Lamb with summer Vegetables

Serves 4

Allow 100 – 150 gms lean lamb per person, loin would be best or chump end or leg. Remove all fat and sinew, then slice into strips 5 – 10 mm thick. Season the lamb with five spice powder, freshly ground pepper and ground cumin.

Vegetables: all cut into strips, a selection from:

• Peppers – at least two colours
• Courgette
• Red onion
• Fine beans
• Mange toutes
• Young cabbage leaves
• Carrots
• Baby white turnip
• Small beetroot
• Pak choi

For finish

• Bean sprouts
• Spring onions
• 1 fat clove garlic – smashed and chopped
• 1 finger ginger – finely chopped
• 1 green chilli – finely chopped
• Rapeseed oil for frying
• Light soy sauce
• Hoi sin sauce
• Honey
• Fresh mint and parsley –
• Salt and pepper

Ideally use two woks – larger one for the vegetables

Heat both woks, add ½ tbsp oil to the smaller one and add the seasoned lamb with the chopped garlic, ginger and chilli, keep stirring and moving the contents of the wok for a few minutes. Tthe meat will cook very quickly and is best kept slightly pink.

Meanwhile add 2 tbsp oil to the larger wok then add your selection of vegetables and stir fry quickly until wilted but “al dente.” Add a dessert spoon runny honey with a similar quantity of soy sauce and hoi sin, again keeping all the contents in the wok moving. Add the meat etc from the other wok, mix through quickly then finish with some bean sprouts and shredded spring onions, seasoning to taste and finally a good handful of shredded mint and chopped parsley.

Serve just as it is or with rice or noodles.

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Summer Fruit Fools

Gooseberry fool:

• Approx 400 gms slightly sharp gooseberries rather than very ripe and sweet
• Approx 3 tbsp caster sugar and 2 tbsp water
• Dash vanilla extract
• 300 mls double cream

Place washed and topped and tailed gooseberries in a pan with sugar and water. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 10 minutes until the fruit bursts, cool then chill right down. Remove from fridge and crush with a fork.

Whip the cream with the vanilla carefully so that it does not go too thick. Fold in most of the chilled and crushed fruit. Serve in glasses fluffed up with drizzles of extra fruit over the top.

Apricot fool:

• 500 gms ripe fresh apricots, halved and stoned
• Grated zest and juice of one lemon
• 150 gms caster sugar
• 2 tbsp orange flavoured liqueur – curacao or grand marnier for example
• 250 gms mascarpone and 300 mls double cream
• Amaretti biscuits

Place halved fruit in a pan with lemon zest and juice, heat gently until soft – about 10 minutes. Whizz up in a blender to a puree, stir in the liqueur, cool then chill well. Soften the mascarpone with a fork, lightly whip the cream, combine the two carefully then fold through the chilled puree. Spoon into glasses and top with a little crushed amaretti biscuits.

Raspberry fool

• 500 gms fresh raspberries
• 1 tbsp icing sugar
• Approx 300 mls double cream
• 200 mls Greek yoghurt

In a bowl sprinkle the icing sugar over the berries and gently crush them.

Lightly whip the cream then fold through the Greek yoghurt very carefully followed by most of the crushed raspberries taking great care not to over mix.

Carefully spoon into glasses finishing with a spoonful of the remainder of the fruit on top so that the juices run down over the fool.