Archive for September, 2010

Make the most of the British apple season with some inspiration from across the pond…

200g plain flour
150g butter plus 50g for topping
salt
sugar
olive oil
100ml water
2-3 apples
caster sugar
icing sugar
acacia honey
calvados
1 lemon

Make a fine pastry by combining in a blender 200gr flour, 150gr rather firm butter, a pinch of salt, 1 teaspoon of sugar and a little olive oil. Incorporate 100ml water and work together briefly (you should still see bits of butter). Roll the dough finely and cut 16 circles of about 12cm with a pastry cutter. Place on non stick baking sheets, cover them with very thin slices of apple, Brush with 50gr of melted butter and sprinkle lightly with caster sugar. Bake in a pre heated oven at 220*C for 15 minutes.

Turn each tartlet over with a spatula, dust the reverse with icing sugar and grill until the sugar is caramelised. Leave to cool for 15 minutes. Place 4 tartlets on top of each other (apple upwards) on the plates. Before serving, cover each jeu de pommes with 1 tbsp of warmed acacia honey and sprinkle with a little Calvados and a few drops of lemon juice. This dessert is wonderful accompanied by a lemon sorbet.

25th September – 3rd October 2010
There’s more to British Cheese than cheddar (although it is one of our favourites). British cheesemakers can boast creating an impressive 700 varieties. British greats such as Colston Bassett Stilton have even been registered as a Product of Designated Origin (or PDO), showing just how important these cheeses are to British heritage.

All of our British cheeses are selected and matured by Neal’s Yard Dairy, undoubtedly the finest British cheese affineur, meaning you can try the very best at Natoora. Click here to try some today.

Save over 40% on our exclusive three cheese selection

For British Cheese Week you can enjoy these fantastic cheeses for just £10* (usually £17.77).

*Only one cheese selection per order.

	Ragstone: A fresh and lemony goat’s cheesse with a close, creamy texture and a goaty tang. (Produced by Charlie Westhead & Haydn Roberts in the Neal’s Yard Creamery, near Dorstone, Herefordshire)
	Colston Bassett Stilton: This wonderful Stilton has a rich, minerally tang and a gorgeous buttery texture. (Produced by Billy Kevan and his team in Colston Bassett, Nottinghamshire)
	Montgomery’s Cheddar: The perfect cheddar in our book with its rich, sweet, fruity, nutty, beefy flavours. (Produced by Jamie Montgomery and Steve Bridges at Manor Farm, North Cadbury, Somerset)

Even better…spend £100 or more and get the selection for FREE.

How to claim your free cheese selection:

1. Place an order before 3rd October 2010
2. Spend £100 or more
3. Enter code CHEESEWEEK at checkout
4. Receive your free cheese selection!*

*Minimum spend excludes delivery fee. Offer valid once per address or account holder. No cash alternative. We reserve the right to refuse or restrict orders. Offer expires 3/10/10.
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British Cheese Soufflé

250ml béchamel sauce (40g butter, 40g plain flour and 200ml cold milk)
salt and pepper
nutmeg
70g Coolea or another hard British cheese
5 eggs (seperated)

Make a béchamel sauce or use a ready made one. Season with salt, pepper and a pinch of nutmeg and add grated Coolea.

Fold in the egg yolks. Whisk the whites to stiff peaks and fold them in too.

Heat to oven to gas mark 7 (220C). Butter a soufflé mould 8inches in diameter and lightly coat with flour.

Pour in the mixture, turn the oven down to gas mark 6 (200C) and bake for 30 minutes. No matter how good it looks, don’t open the oven door during cooking. When well risen and with a golden-brown colour on top, take out of the oven and serve immediately.

Happy eating!

On Wednesday I watched a very insightful program on Channel 4; Food, presented by journalist and food critic Jay Rayner. There was a great expose on the production of cherry tomatoes in Morocco for UK supermarkets – the resulting analysis poses the delicate question of water shortages vs. labour creation for the Moroccan people.

This a moral and environmental issue which, rightly, dominates the discussion. However, an often overlooked issue within this topic, and one I find it difficult to comprehend – is why, as consumers, we have come to accept foods (in this case tomatoes) which, moral issues aside, are completely lacking in taste and yet come at vastly inflated prices. Take a major supermarket’s cherry tomatoes on the vine at £5.73/kg. Top quality cherry tomatoes grown outdoors in Sicily, even from Pachino which is arguably the finest tomato producing region in the world, can be bought in the wholesale markets for £2.00/kg – even if you buy one lonely box. Given the disagreeable quality of supermarket tomatoes the price is ludicrous, an absolute rip-off. Consumers are paying for needless packaging, labelling, long storage and transit times. The tomato itself represents a meagre amount of the total paid.

Italian supermarkets, and for that matter those in many of our continental neighbour’s countries, are fully capable of sourcing a wide array of fresh, extremely local produce. These are the same supermarkets which source the majority of their meat from Ireland. On my recent holiday in the country, the Coop managed to display courgettes with their flowers still on which would have been harvested no more than 12hrs prior – this is magnificent.

You can read Jay Rayner’s article on the above issue here

Today marks the official start of Autumn (in case you didn’t notice from the weather!). To celebrate/cheer us all up, we’re giving away a delicious Autumn combination – creamy Taupinette goat’s cheese and sweet Chasselas Grapes…

How to claim your free gift:

1. Order before 8am on Friday 24th September
2. Spend £60 or more
3. Enter code AUTUMNGIFT at checkout
4. Receive your free gifts*

Click here to start shopping!

*Offer only valid until midnight 23/9/10. Minimum spend of £60 excludes delivery fee. Offer valid once per address or account holder. We reserve the right to refuse or restrict orders.

Further exclusive offers until midnight only…

Denis Race Chablis Usually £18.72, Now only £9.36 with the AUTUMNGIFT promotional code

Poilane and Fresh Bread One item half price with the AUTUMNGIFT promotional code

Taste the best in seasonal artisan goat’s cheese…

Goat’s cheese is one of those fantastic products that changes with the seasons and now is the perfect time to sample some late summer treats.

Why do the seasons affect goat’s cheeses?
It’s all down to nature. The goats naturally want to give birth in spring to give their offspring a good chance of survival. After giving birth, they will produce milk for 22 months.

That means that generally speaking, in spring the milk is full of nutrients intended for the new borns. You’ll find young, minerally goat’s cheeses, rich in flavour. In winter, goat’s cheeses are in shorter supply as some of the animals will have naturally stopped producing milk.

At this time of year, after feasting on the lush grasses of spring and summer, the late summer milk creates subtle flavours and a delicate texture in the cheeses.

What to try now:

La Bouyguette Best enjoyed from May to October, this beautifully aromatic cheese is smooth and creamy. Produced on ‘la colline aux chevres’ farm in the Garrigues region of Southern France, it is a true late summer delight. Try it today!

Balsamic Glazed Beetroot and Goat’s Cheese Salad

Serves 4
6-8 Bulbs of Raw Beetroot
3-4 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
Rosemary
Goat’s Cheese
150g Baby Leaves such as Pea Shoots
Handful of Shelled Walnuts
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Trim any leaves off the beetroot but don’t cut the bottom tail. Place in boiling water and leave to gently simmer for 40 minutes to an hour.

Drain and leave to cool for a few minutes until ready to handle. Then under running water, gently rub away the skin with your hands – it should come away easily.

Cut the beetroot into appealing wedges. Heat some extra virgin olive oil in a pan and add the beetroot. Spoon over 3-4 tablespoons of good quality balsamic vinegar. Add the rosemary, some salt and pepper and simmer for 5 minutes until thick and sticky.

Now to plate up. Add a handful of pea shoots or other baby leaves to each plate. Top with the balsamic glazed beetroot, crumble chunks of goat’s cheese over the top and sprinkle with shelled walnuts.

Happy eating!

Congratulations are in order for Claude Bosi and all the team at Hibiscus on an excellent cover article in this month’s Restaurant magazine.

It is a personal pleasure to see our clients thrive and earn the recognition of their peers. In our line of work the successes of our customers provides the ultimate validation for what we do. Having tasted my fair share of Claude’s food I certainly believe he deserves a third star.

I’d highly recommend any of our retail customers to pay Hibiscus a visit.

Plum season is in full swing and with our expert buyers in London, Milan and Paris, we are able to offer you the very best varieties available. This lovely Quetsche variety is from France and is fast becoming one of our favourites.

TASTE: Beautifully sweet, these Quetsche plums look very similar to the Damson variety, but have none of the sourness typical of the latter. While the Damson plums can only be eaten once cooked, these are amazing just as they are.

REGION: Quetsche plums are native to Alsace, and extremely popular in continental Europe, where they’re traditionally enjoyed in puddings, preserved in spirits or dried for consumption during the Winter.

QUALITY: Quetsche plums have just started their peak season, and together with Mirabelles are considered an Autumn fruit. We expect to be able to enjoy them for a good few weeks, but take advantage now because at the moment they taste just as they should be.

COST: We always let you know the price per kg so you can easily compare our prices. Our Quetsche plums are not only superior in quality, but they are also better value than what is usually found in the supermarket, and you will struggle to find this variety for sale anywhere else!

Natoora“ Quetsche plums“ £5.60/kg

Abel and Cole “Plums” £6.47/kg

To explore our whole range of gorgeous plums, click here!

The perfect late summer treat…

675g Quetsche plums, halved and stoned
100g amaretti biscuits
50g caster sugar
170g plain flour
75g butter
2 tbsp demerara sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
75g toasted and crushed hazelnuts

Set the oven at 180C.

Sprinkle the plums with the crushed amaretti and the sugar in an ovenproof dish.

Prepare the topping by sifting the flour into a mixing bowl and rubbing in the butter until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, cinnamon and hazelnuts. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the plums, pressing it down very lightly.

Bake the crumble for about 45 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the plums are cooked.

Serve with custard, cream or vanilla ice cream.

The taste of late summer…

The weatherman might say rain, but we’re still hoping for a sun-filled week and what better way to spend it than nibbling on some fresh seasonal produce. We’re right in the middle of the plum season so it’s absolutely the best time to enjoy these plump delights.

From the rich blueish purple of our newest arrivals the “Quetsche” plum to the sunset beauty of the honey sweet mirabelles, there really is a plum for all tastes and purposes. If they don’t take your fancy, try the confectionary sweet Reine Claudes and the rich red of Santa Rosa…

Mirabelles                                                  Reine Claude

Quetsche                                                    Santa Rosa

Shop for plums today!

Enjoy some delicious seasonal delights from Natoora…delivered for free!

How to claim your free delivery:

1. Visit natoora.co.uk
2. Place an order before 19th February 2012
3. For London deliveries: Enter code FD6F12SD at checkout (no minimum spend)
For deliveries served by TNT: Enter code FD6F12DEL (minimum spend £100).  See delivery FAQs for more details
4. Get free delivery!*

CLICK HERE TO START SHOPPING!

* Terms and conditions:  Valid until 19/2/2012. No cash alternative. Offer excludes premium delivery slots.  We reserve the right to refuse or restrict orders.