Archive for the ‘Recipes’ Category

A crusty delight…

Our reblochon is organic, aromatic and has some lovely nutty flavours. It makes a great match to our fantastic quality rocket! Don’t forget to visit our Real Food section to find out more…

Serves 4

For the Pastry:
1Tsp Poppy Seeds
Salt
1Tbsp Marjoram
100Gr Butter
200Gr Flour

For the Filling:
2Tbsp Breadcrumbs
2 Eggs
Butter
Salt
200Gr Wild Rocket
300Gr Ricotta
Pepper
200Gr Reblochon

Mix the flour with the poppy seeds, some salt and the chopped marjoram. Add chunks of butter, then start working the dough, adding enough lukewarm water to obtain a soft dough. Cover in cling film and leave to rest for an hour.

Wash the rocket and blanch for a minute in salty boiling water, drain and squeeze to get rid of any excess water. Place the rocket, all the cheeses, eggs and breadcrumbs in a mixer and blend at minimum speed for a minute or so.

Roll out the dough, place on the pie dish, cut out all excess dough, roll it out again and cut some strips. Pour the mix into the pastry, then arrange the strips in a lattice. Cook for 40 minutes at 180°C. Enjoy!

In need of some inspiration for Mother’s Day?

Mum’s everywhere are probably looking forward to a bit of rest and a big treat on Sunday 14th and we have a few ideas up our sleeve to help make sure that happens…

Thanks to home foodie and blogger Beth Sachs of Jam and Clotted Cream, we have created two delicious recipe boxes for hard-working mums. Inside you’ll find all the main ingredients to create a delicious treat…

	Mother’s Day Brunch Box (even the kids can help with this one!) All the ingredients to make Spanish style scrambled eggs, sweet rhubarb muffins and home-made pear and apple smoothies. £42.95/box
	Mother’s Day 3 Course Recipe Box Treat your mum to a 3 course meal at home! For starters is a refreshing endive, pear and roquefort salad followed by succulent lemon roast chicken and sides. Dessert will be tangy rhubarb and ginger crumble (plus a bottle of prosecco!) £89.95/box

Recipe: Rhubarb Delight

Serves 4

16 Thin Stalks of Rhubarb
200g Caster Sugar
2 Tbsp Water
200g Mascarpone
180ml Double Cream
2 Tsp Finely Grated Orange Rind
2 Tsp Gelatine
60ml Freshly Squeezed Orange Juice
2 Blood Oranges (optional)

First wash the rhubarb, scrubbing away any dirt. Cut away the leaves and white part of the stalk, then slice into 3cm pieces.

Heat a medium pan and add the rhubarb with 100g of the caster sugar and 1 tablespoon of water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved, then bring to the boil, simmer and cover for 10 minutes until thickened. Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool, then refrigerate.

Now in a small heatproof jug, add 1 tablespoon of water and sprinkle gelatine over the top. Stand the jug in a pan of simmering water, stirring the liquid until the gelatine is dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the orange juice.

Beat the mascarpone with 100g caster sugar until smooth. Add the cream and orange rind and beat until. Then beat the warm gelatine mixture into the mixture until combined.

Now the rhubarb is cooled, dived the mixture into eight serving glasses. Divide the creamy mixture evenly over the rhubarb and refrigerate for 3 hours or until set.

Serve decorated with fresh orange segments.

An amazingly tasty dish with a hint of lemon…

Serves 4

4 Ossobuco Steaks 300gr each
Zest of 1 Lemon
1/2 Litre Beef Stock
50gr Butter
1 Garlic Clove
1 Small Onion
4Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
300gr Peeled Plum Tomatoes
Freshly Chopped Parsley
1 Glass Dry White Wine

Pierce the filmy layer around the steaks and dust them with flour. Gently fry the chopped onion in oil and butter, then remove from the pan and sieve.

Brown the steaks on both sides on a medium heat and add the wine. Add salt, pepper, the chopped peeled tomatoes and the onion, cover and cook for at least 1 and a half hours. Shake the pan occasionally and add some stock when the sauce dries up.

Finely chop the parsley, the garlic and the grated lemon zest. This is the final touch to this dish and needs to be added in the last five minutes of cooking.

Add another little bit of stock, stir well and serve with some Milanese risotto or some hot polenta. Try it today with our quality Osso Buco from Moen and Sons!

A tasty way to enjoy swordfish

Serves 4

4 Swordfish Steaks 200gr each
200gr Cherry Tomatoes from Pachino
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 Fennels
1 Garlic Glove
20gr Taggiasche Olives
100gr Chopped Wild Fennel
Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Remove the skin from the swordfish, wash and finely slice the fennel. Wash the cherry tomatoes and cut in half. Heat 4 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil in a pan with the crushed garlic clove. Add the tomatoes and after a minute or so add the olives.

Remove the sauce from the pan, add the steaks and cook for a couple of minutes (make sure you do not overcook the fish or it will get a tough consistency).

Add salt and pepper, then add the wild fennel to the sauce and put back in the pan. Cook for another minute, then serve very hot topped with the sauce and a side of fennel dressed in oil and vinegar.

Don’t be put off by this winter wonder, you’ll get all the help you need at Natoora…

Some people love chocolate. We love artichokes. They are one of the great things about winter and well worth trying this month. They come in all shapes, colours and sizes and are absolutely delicious.

Since you are unlikely to have seen these delights on the supermarket shelves, they might appear a bit daunting (especially the spiky variety!), so this week we thought we’d take the time to explain a bit more about these winter wonders…

The Good and The Bad: To check if the artichoke is good, it needs to be firm and not speckled, and the leaves well attached to the heart. The stalk also has to be firm.

The Heart of the Matter: There’s alot of peeling away to get to the tender heart, but it’s definitely worth the effort! See our recipe below for a step by step guide.

Bearded Beauties: Sometimes they have a “beard” inside the heart that needs to be removed before cooking with the help of a sharp knife.

Tender Hearts: The first 4 cm of the stalk is absolutely delicious so do not throw away, but make sure to remove the outer strings by scraping with a knife, or by peeling the outer part.

Storage: They will keep in a plastic bag in the fridge for 5-6 days. You can take out the outer leaves and cut the top, wash thoroughly, blanch in water with some lemon and freeze. Or see our artichoke preserving masterclass to make your own deli delights.

Recipe: Stewed Mammole Artichokes

Serves 4

8 Mammole Artichokes
1 Clove of Garlic
1 Lemon
2 Tbsp Chopped Mint
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
50g Breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp Chopped Parsley

This is how they do it Rome!

First you’ll need to prepare the artichokes.
1. Remove the tough outer leaves.
2. With a very sharp knige, cut the top so that you are left with the tender part only.
3. Cut the stalk leaving only 4cm.
4. Put the artichoke upside down and press it down with your hand so that the leaves will separate (you will need to stuff them later, this way you can access the center of the artichoke).
5. Put them in a bowl with cold water and the juice of a lemon (to prevent discolouration).

Now finely chop the garlic and mix with the chopped mint, parsley, breadcrumbs and a little olive oil. Drain the artichokes of excess water. Using a teaspoon, stuff the mix into the artichokes.

Heat some oil in a pan. Then put the artichokes in the pan, head side down. Lightly fry for a few minutes, and drizzle with olive oil. Add enough water to cover the first half of the artichoke, then add salt and cover.

After half an hour, check with a fork. If it’s tender, it’s ready! Serve immediately and drizzle with the juice from the pan. This is a fantastic accompaniment to meat, cheese or eggs.

It’s pancake day today and we can’t wait to get flipping!
We always look forward to pancake day at Natoora. It comes at a time of year when citrus is at its best so what better way to flavour these doughy delights than with fresh oranges and lemons.

Shrove Tuesday arose through the need to use up food that were forbidden during Lent. So what will we be stuffing in ours this Tuesday…?

Large Sicilian Oranges: Make your own crepe suzette with these sweet, juicy oranges, sugar, butter and of course, some Cointreau.
Rhubarb: Our fantastic forced rhubarb from Yorkshire will be fantastic stewed with sugar and generously dolloped inside a fresh pancake.
Amalfi Lemons: The real classic, just squeeze over and add sugar or even better, try with Ricotta in our recipe below.
Hazelnut and Chocolate Spread: Rich, chocolatey spread, even better when a little melted.
Blueberries: Leave for an hour with brown sugar and creme di cassis and you’ve got heaven in a bowl.
Pears: Roast and serve with vanilla cream or ice cream.

It might not go in a pancake, but also well worth a try this week is the amazing wild pink radicchio. It is only around for a couple of weeks so make sure you don’t miss out. So beauitful it is just as at home on display as it is for eating!

Lemon and Ricotta Pancakes

Serves 4

1 Lemon
200gr Plain Flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 Egg, Beaten
200ml Semi-Skimmed milk
200g Ricotta
1 knob Butter
Icing Sugar (to dust)
250g Mixed Berries

Mix the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt. Make a well in the middle, then pour in the egg and a bit of milk. With a wooden spoon, gradually draw the flour into the liquid until you have a smooth batter. Mix in the rest of the milk and the juice of half the lemon. Beat in the ricotta.

In a large, non-stick frying pan, add the butter. Heat and swirl the butter aroud to cover the bottom. If there is any extra, tip out the excess and reserve. Here we are making 3 or 4 pancakes at once, so spoon in tablespoons of batter, spaced well apart.

Cook on a medium heat for a couple of minutes until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip over with a fish slice and cook for a couple more minutes until golden. Set aside and repeat until all the mixture is used up.

To serve, top with berries, grated lemon zest and a sprinkling of icing sugar.

We’re celebrating the Rye Bay festival this week, and what better way to appreciate the wonder of scallops with a delicious recipe!

Serves 2

6 large scallops, membrane removed and halved
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
The zest of one lemon, cut in strips
1 teaspoon of finely grated lemon zest to garnish
1 sprig of rosemary
1 teaspoon of finely chopped rosemary to garnish
Freshly ground black pepper
6 thin slices of pancetta – halved
Mixed leaves and Radicchio to serve

Put the strips of lemon zest in a bowl with the sprig of rosemary and some freshly ground black pepper. Lightly crush with a mortar, then add olive oil and mix well. Add the scallops, cover and leave to marinate for 2 hours in the fridge. In another bowl, soak 12 wooden toothpicks in water for 2 hours.

Once marinated, preheat the pan. Remove the scallops from the marinade and drain the toothpicks. Wrap each piece scallop half in a slice of pancetta, secure with a toothpick and transfer to the pan. Broil the scallops for about 1 minute per side, turning once, until the pancetta sizzles and the scallops are firm. It is best to place the scallops clockwise around the edge of the pan, then start turning over in order. Make sure you do not overcook them or they will get a rubbery texture!

In a small bowl, combine the grated lemon zest and chopped rosemary. Dip one end of each wrapped scallop in the lemon-herb mixture, transfer to a platter and serve. Serve with a mixed leaf and radicchio salad.

2 Sea Bass, cleaned and scaled, head and tail on, rinsed in cold water
4-6 Mammole Artichokes
1/2 Lemon (juiced)
4 tbsp Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper
1 tsbp Fresh Rosemary

Heat the oven to 220°C. Trim the artichokes until you are left with the tender hearts, and rub with  lemon to prevent discolouring. Cut them in quarters lenghtways, and then in thin slices. Sprinkle with lemon juice.

Mix the olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper in a small bowl and set aside.

Place the fish on a baking tray, add the artichokes and 3/4 of the lemon and oil mixture. Sprinkle the rosemary over the fish. Stuff some of the artichokes inside the fish. Coat the fish with the remaining lemon and oil and cook for 20 minutes. Baste the fish and stir the artichokes, then cook for another 15-20 minutes.

Transfer the fish to a heated serving dish, trying not to break it (use two spatulas). Spread the artichokes around the fish, pour over all cooking juices and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Bring a bit of sunshine to your dinner table with the combination of our amazing Sicilian oranges and deliciously fresh trout…

400gr Filleted Trout
200gr Lollo Biondo Lettuce
30gr Extra Virgin Olive Oil
150gr Potatoes
2 Unwaxed Oranges
1 ts Ground Pink Peppercorns
Salt

Fillet the trout making sure to remove all bones, then slice in 3-4mm thick slices like you would do with smoked salmon, starting from the tail of the fish.

Steam the slices for 2 minutes. Place the fish on a plate, seave the juice of one orange  and make a marinade with the peel of the second orange (cut in paperthin slices – only the orange part), salt, pink pepper and olive oil.

Pour over the fish and allow to marinate for 30 minutes.

While you do this, peel and dice the potatoes in reasonably small pieces, boil them for 10 minutes and allow to cool down.

Place the lettuce on the serving plates, then top with potatoes and trout, pouring over the remaining marinade.

Cranberry, Dark Chocolate and Almond Biscuits

Makes approximately 30

Ingredients:
75g Butter, softened
50g Light Muscavado Sugar
50g Golden Caster Sugar
1 Egg
A few drops of Almond Extract
100g Plain Flour
60g Ground Almonds
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
100g Dark Chocolate Chips
50g Dried Cranberries

Method:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 190c (170c Fan/375f/Gas 5) and line two baking trays with baking paper.

Step 2: In a standing mixer (or by hand) cream together the butter and sugar until smooth and well mixed. Beat in the egg and almond extract.

Step 3: Sift together the flour and baking powder and stir in the ground almonds then add this to the butter mixture and mix until combined.

Step 4: Roll large teaspoons of the mixture into balls and arrange on baking trays spaced apart. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden. Leave to cool on trays before transferring to a wire rack.

The biscuits can be frozen or will keep for 3 days in an airtight tin.