A Pink Evening at Lotte Duncan's

Lotte Duncan, Thame Food Festival

Last year, I met the very cheery TV chef and food writer, Lotte Duncan, for the first time at IFE in London. At the time, Lotte was looking for stock for her new shop, "Lotte's Kitchen," so she enjoyed a thorough tasting of all our flavours on display. Sure enough, the first order came through shortly afterwards and now, Lotte wows her visitors with amazing dressings using our Cherry, Raspberry or Blackberry vinegars, in particular.

I was interested to see how Lotte uses our vinegars so was delighted when I spotted that she was doing an "Easy Summer Entertaining" cookery demonstration at Lotte's Kitchen. I immediately booked my place which was just as well, because it was sold out. Turning up on a balmy evening, the room was filled with 22 expectant women, all keen to learn a few Lotte tricks. Oh, and there were two other chaps there!
If you have never been to Lotte's Kitchen, let me tell you it is a veritable Pink Palace of Tasty treats. Talking to some of her regulars, I was delighted to hear tales of how much love and care goes into Lotte's dishes and how, for instance, salads are integral to her offerings rather than just a side issue.
On the evening, Lotte put everyone beautifully at ease with her entertaining and relaxed style as she constructed some fabulous recipes:
 

• Beetroot and Goat's Cheese Salad with Raspberry Vinegar (recipe below)
• Leek and Cheese Soda Bread
• Whole Salmon baked with Rosemary, Orange, Bay and Cloves
• Baked Sweet Potatoes with Leeks and Cream (lots!)
• Pink Meringues with Clotted Cream and Strawberries

It really was a fun evening as we were all looked after so well, everyone got a plate of each of the dishes and some even had a go at piping those pink meringues onto the tray...
In fact, the evening was such a success that Lotte has already decided to plan another one on July 3rd. I can strongly recommend it, but book NOW!

  Beetroot and Goat's Cheese Salad with Raspberry Vinegar

by Lotte Duncan

Serves 4

 

Ingredients:

8 rashers free-range dry cured, unsmoked streaky bacon

3 tbsp Rapeseed Oil

4 tbsp Raspberry Vinegar (or Cherry/Blackberry/Strawberry & Mint)

1 tsp Wholegrain Mustard

8 Medium, cooked baby beetroot (not in vinegar)

2 tbsp Chopped, fresh Mint leaves 

1 Cos lettuce, leaves roughly torn

110g Young Goat's Cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method:

Grill the bacon rashers until crispy, turning occasionally. Drain on kitchen paper and set aside.

Make the dressing by combining the oil, vinegar, mustard and a little seasoning together in a medium mixing bowl.

Cut each beetroot into four (or smaller, if preferred) and add to the dressing, stirring to coat.

Combine the mint and lettuce leaves and divide them between four plates. Place the dressed beetroot pieces on top of the leaves. Break up the goat's cheese into little pieces and dot on top of the beetroot. Finish with two rashers of grilled bacon on top.

*Optional: decorate with rose petals, as in the photo.

Beetroot and Goat's Cheese Salad with Raspberry Vinegar

And here is a picture of those meringues- I challenge anyone to eat these beauties tidily!

Pink Meringues with Clotted Cream and Strawberries

Lotte Duncan is also patron of the increasingly popular Thame Food Festival which takes place this year on 29th September (yes, we'll be there!) Last year was our first at Thame and it was a very busy day in glorious sunshine. You can read a little more about the day here.

STOP PRESS: SHOWS UPDATE

Malton Food Lovers Festival 
Saturday-Sunday19th-20th May 

For the first time ever, we are really thrilled to be exhibiting at the prestigious Malton festival, just north of York. Amongst the many chefs being presented by Elaine Lemm in the cookery theatres this year are Antonio Carluccio, Tom Parker Bowles, Matthew Fort, James Mackenzie, chef-owner of the Michelin-starred Pipe and Glass Inn, Rob Green, award-winning National Seafood Chef of the Year at Green’s of Whitby; Robert Ramsden of Deli Fresh, Stephanie Moon, chef consultant at Rudding Park and recently seen on BBC's Great British Menu.
Also, a bonus for us as we have this year's Masterchef finalist, Tom Rennolds, doing a demonstration on our stand on Sunday- one not to miss!

You can get tickets online or on the day.



Wild Thyme Restaurant Food Festival, Chipping Norton
Sunday 27th May 11am-5pm

After enjoying a very busy day in Chipping Norton Town Hall last year, I am delighted that we have been invited back to my home town food festival at the end of the month. With Prue Leith as patron and, I am sure, a good turnout of "The Chipping Norton Set," this promises to be a vibrant day.
We are also fortunate enough to have Masterchef 2011's James Perry doing a cookery demonstration with our Cherry Vinegar as a macerator!

Tickets for this are only £3.00 on the door and FREE for under 14s.


BBC Good Food Show Summer, N.E.C. Birmingham
Wednesday-Sunday 13th-17th June 9am-6pm

It has been a few years since we last did the Summer show but since our fruity vinegars and dressings are the perfect match for your Summer salads and marinades for the BBQ, it seemed time we should return.
Being Diamond Jubilee year, we will surely be celebrating all that is Great about Britain at the show, too, including the food we produce in this country, which just keeps getting better and better. Check back here for updates soon on our plans for the show and of course we will have a good supply of our new and vibrant chutneys for you.
Tickets are available online.

Guest post from Simon Jury

After some months of Tweeting to each other, I was delighted to receive this guest piece from Chef Simon Jury recently and hope you will enjoy reading it, too:

"Duck and cherry, two of my favourite flavours. I love that gamey meat flavour of the cherry and fresh fruity freshness of the duck...... no, hold on, I think I may have got something mixed up there. I'm also a fan of flavoured vinegars but have found that many cherry vinegars are often lacking or are a bit sharp and, much of the time, too vinegary. Yes I know that sounds a bit odd saying they are a bit vinegary, there are just a lot of flavoured vinegars that really don't offer more than, well, vinegar.

"A few weeks ago, I happened to be talking on the subject of vinegars and dressings and Rupert from Womersley Foods joined in asking if I have tried their vinegars. To my shame I had to admit I hadn't. Shame because I've spoken to Rupert on Twitter for a while now and hadn't really looked at the products that Womersley do. So when Rupert offered a bottle to try, I jumped at the chance. Well I jumped after deliberating over which flavour to choose. I was allowed any bottle I wanted so I had to choose wisely. I saw the cherry flavour straight away and looking back, I'm not sure why it took me so long to decide.

"The package arrived and like an excited child on Christmas morning I tore it open and didn't wait to taste it, I tipped a bit out, dipped my finger in and couldn't taste a thing. This is no sleight to the vinegar, I had a stinking cold and hadn't been able to taste anything for days. A course of antibiotics later and the taste buds were back. I had another tasting session with a ciabatta loaf and dipping bowls with unrefined olive oil and the vinegar. The vinegar is great: fresh, full of cherry flavour and not the usual harshness of vinegar. You could get away with the vinegar on its own as a dressing as it is that smooth. Also it is the first cherry vinegar I've tasted for a while that actually tastes of cherry.

"Finally I got to match the vinegar to duck which I had been waiting for during my cold filled weeks. (Please note I did not have man flu, I really was ill!) I kept the duck salad very simple as the star here was to be the vinegar. I pan-fried two duck breasts, skin side down until the fat was rendered and the skin was crispy. I then turned the duck breasts over and took off the heat to continue cooking through while I made the salad.

"I made a quick red onion salad by peeling, halving & slicing one large red onion, added some chopped cucumber , quartered cherry tomatoes and a few sliced spring onions. I made a dressing using half and half of the vinegar and unrefined olive oil and a pinch of salt. That's all you need for the dressing as there is so much flavour and sweetness in the cherry vinegar. I put half of the dressing in with the red onion salad and mixed this to coat.

"To serve, I made a bed of peppery salad, rocket, watercress & baby spinach and piled the onions salad on top. The duck, now nicely rested, was sliced and placed on top. The remaining dressing was then drizzled over to flavour the duck breast and drip through the salad. Cherry and duck is always a winner and maybe a little bit predictable, but when it tastes this good, who cares?

"Many thanks for the vinegar, it really is great and found out a friend of mine is a big fan too..."

You can follow Simon on Twitter @Simonlovesfood 

Simon also has a lovely blog title: saidsimontothepieman.com

BBC Radio 4 Food Progamme Recipes

On a lovely warm, sunny day in April, we welcomed Sheila Dillon and Dilly Barlow to my mother's house to record part of a special programme they recorded on Vinegars. We were also joined by Seafood Chef of the Year 2009, Rob Green.

Rob Green, Sheila Dillon, Rupert Parsons

On a break from his excellent restaurant, Green's of Whitby, Rob cooked the most amazing dishes to tempt us all and here they are, in full for you now:

Oysters with red onion and
Womersley Golden Raspberry & Apache Chilli Dressing
Ingredients
1 small red onion
4 oysters
50ml Golden raspberry and Apache chilli vinegar

Method
Finely dice the red onion and marinade in the vinegar for at least 1 hour
Open oysters and spoon over the dressing and onions

Smoked salmon with fresh herb salad and
Womersley Lime, Black Pepper & Lavender dressing
Ingredients
Use a quality smoked salmon for this dish.
Mixed garden herbs (chives, parsley, thyme) dressed with a little virgin oil
Lime, black pepper and lavender vinegar to taste

 

Method

Slice the smoked salmon thinly, sprinkle over the herbs and drizzle over the dressing. Leave to stand at room temperature for around half an hour. 

The action of the Lime dressing on the smoked salmon makes it really succulent and brings out a fabulous flavour in the salmon.

Hot smoked Whitby Seafish salmon with English asparagus and Hollandaise made with
Womersley Lemon, Basil, Bay & Juniper Dressing

Serves 2 as a starter

Had to snap this fast, it was eaten in seconds!

Ingredients
1x 250g fillet of hot smoked salmon
8 English asparagus spears, washed and trimmed

For the hollandaise

250g melted unsalted butter
2x egg yolks
75 ml Womersley Lemon, Basil, Bay & Juniper dressing

 

Method
Place the salmon fillet in a pre-heated oven (180°C)
The salmon is already cooked, so we are just gently warming it through.
Place the Asparagus in a pan of boiling salted water and cook for 2-3 mins until just tender, sprinkle with sea salt and keep warm.

 
Whisk the egg yolks and dressing in a small mixing bowl over the pan of water which we used to cook the asparagus until it starts to thicken and go slightly pale. Slowly whisk in the melted butter until you have a thick rich hollandaise.

Place two of the asparagus spears on a serving plate and half the oak smoked salmon on top.
Place two more asparagus spears on the salmon and spoon over the hollandaise.


Sautéed Whitby queen scallops with Yorkshire chorizo, spring onions & chilli with a Womersley Cherry Vinegar butter sauce.

Serves 4

Ingredients
32 Queen Scallops, shucked, cleaned and washed. Wash and reserve the shells
¼ of a Yorkshire chorizo diced
3 Spring onions, sliced
1 Green chilli sliced, seeds removed
25g Cold, unsalted butter, cubed
75ml Womersley Cherry vinegar
Virgin oil for cooking

 

Method
Pre heat a non stick pan over a high heat. Add a little oil and wait until it starts to gently smoke. Carefully add the queen scallops. Leave for 30 seconds then add the spring onions, chorizo and chillies. Toss the pan and sauté for another 30 seconds. Remove from the pan and keep warm.
De-glaze the pan with the cherry vinegar and reduce by ½. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter.
Place the scallop sauté mixture into the shells on a serving plate and spoon over the cherry vinegar butter reduction.



Marinated strawberries with ground black pepper and
Womersley Strawberry & Mint dressing

Method
Wash and chop the strawberries in half. 

Cover with strawberry and mint vinegar and a few grinds of black pepper. 

Leave the strawberries at room temperature for 20 mins before serving. 

This is particularly good for slightly under-ripe strawberries as the action of the vinegar makes them lovely and sweet and tender.