Posts Tagged 'Recipes'

Another great Cornish export not to be taken with a pinch of salt…

Published October 30, 2011 Food and Drink , Recipes Leave a Comment
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Cornish Sea Salt - Proud to be Cornish!

At the Falmouth Oyster Festival I was lucky to meet Graham from the Cornish Sea Salt Co. in the food hall.  Having used the salt for several years, both for cooking and as table salt I was keen to find out more about the company and the products they sell.

Cornish Sea Salt are based in Pol Gwarra, Porthkerris, Lizard Peninsula

Being based at Pol Gwarra, Porthkerris on the Lizard Peninsula in South Cornwall you could say they are pretty close to the sea! The salt which they harvest is hand harvested 8 metres from the Grade A classified water.

Cornish Sea salt not only looks great on the table, it retains over 60 naturally occurring trace elements vital for our wellbeing and gives more taste for less salt making it a far healthier alternative to the ordinary table salt most of us have in the cupboard.

When Becky first brought me back some Cornish Sea Salt smartly packaged in some trendy little box I remember thinking, wow what a great idea – so simple yet so brilliant! On trying a little on my finger, it’s a million miles from your basic table salt, in taste, texture and appearance.

If there is one thing you should do this week to kickstart a healthier diet then buy yourself some Cornish Sea Salt you will be glad you did! Now stocked at various food shops across the country you may be lucky for find some on your high street. Click here and enter your postcode for your nearest stockist or buy online here.  Once you have bought some why not try some of their gorgeous recipes here.

Cornish Sea Salt Products

Available in original or why not try their popular pinch pots where the sea salt is mixed with different flavours to further enhance your dishes. Flavours include Chilli, Onion, Smoked, Salt and Pepper and Garlic. Becky loves the chilli salt for jazzing up houmous, dollop the houmous (shop bought!) into an attractive bowl and a drizzle of oil and a sprinkling a chilli salt. Great flavour and looks more exciting too!

They are also great presents to take home from your holiday in Cornwall. Why not try a little stack of three rather than a box of fudge or biscuits for your friends and family or the neighbours who looked after your pet!  I’d look after anyones goldfish if it meant I got brought back some of these…

Used by many celebrity chefs including Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Mark Hix, Jason Atherton and Rick Stein its a must for any budding chefs.

www.cornishseasalt.co.uk

bit of hevva cake?

Published October 21, 2011 A bit of history , Food and Drink , Photography , Recipes , Word of the week Leave a Comment
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This post is killing 3 birds with one stone.

Its follows the coastal theme for the week, is a Cornish word of the week and also encompasses a recipe!

My mum has been making Heavy cake all my life and it’s not until you move away from Cornwall that you realise that heavy cake is a Cornish recipe of Cornish tradition.

Heavy cake or ‘Hevva’ cake comes from the Pilchard industry when, prior to the 20th century a ‘heur’ (person – generally fisherman’s wife, on a clifftop helping to locate shoals of pilchards) would shout ‘Hevva!’ to signal to the boats the location of the pilchards. It is also said the men would shout Hevva as they pulled the ‘heavy’ nets!

Cornish tradition states that it was the huers who would bake the Hevva cake on returning to their homes with the cake being ready for the crews on their return to land.

Heavy cake is made by rubbing the fat (lard and marg), flour and salt together, adding the sugar and currents and then mixing with milk and water. Then rolled to a thickness of 1/2″ and a criss-cross pattern scored on the top signifying the nets used by the fishermen.  Placed on a baking tray and cooked for 30 minutes at 325F.

Here is my mum’s recipe from her old recipe book

Ingredients

8oz plain flour

salt

5oz lard and margarine mixed

2oz sugar

3oz currents /sultanas

milk and water to mix

 

Method

1. Rub lard and marg, flour and salt to a crumbly mix

2. Add sugar and currents /sultanas

3. Mix with milk and water

4. Roll out to 1/2″, score a criss-cross pattern on top and bake for 25 mins at 220C (revised by mum on the phone!)

Wait to cool and have a slice with a cuppa tea. Ansome!

This slice didn't hang around for long...

Mum now also makes a wheat free version for Becky which she loves just substituting the flour for wheat free flour. We are also fortunate to bring one of each back to Oxfordshire which we really enjoy. The only problem is when it runs out we have to drive back to Cornwall for another! ha ha!

Recipe of the Week – Boiled Fruit Cake

Published September 29, 2011 Food and Drink , Recipes , Uncategorized 1 Comment
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Recently whilst in Cornwall I raided my mum’s old recipe book. It brought back some really happy memories, not only the recipes my mum has cooked and still cooks to this day but also those recipes from past relations that are sadly no longer with us. I will be showing these recipes in coming posts but for today lets look at one of my old favourites, Boiled Fruit Cake. This recipe is the one that must be used if entering section 78 (Boiled fruit Cake) of the Budock Water Garden Show. Enjoy with a cup of tea, ansome!

Boiled Fruit Cake Recipe

ingredients for an 8″ tin

12 oz mixed dried fruit

5 oz cherries roughly chopped

2 oz mixed peel

2 oz walnuts

6 oz brown sugar

4 oz butter

1 teaspoon mixed spice

1/2 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda

1/2 pint milk

12 oz self-raising flour (sifted)

2 size 3 eggs (med!)

Method

1. Put fruit, cherries, peel, walnuts, sugar, butter, spice, bicarb soda and milk into a saucepan.

2. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Leave cool to blood heat – I presume 37 degrees Centigrade!

3. Stir in flour and eggs

4. Bake at Mark 3 – 160’C/ 325’F for 40 minutes, reduce temperature to Mark 2 – 150’C/300’F for 1.5 hours

5. Allow to cool in tin for 5 mins before turning out.

6. Make a cuppa!

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