NOEL CORSTON’S CARAMELIZED PIG’S HEAD

Caramelised Pig’s Head with Endive, Potato Purée & Golden Sultanas

Noel Corston is a pioneering, critically acclaimed chef. His Restaurant NC is located in the heart of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, where he works directly with farmers, fishermen, foragers, and hunters to create food that is simply stunning.

Ingredients to serve 4

1 pig’s head split in half by your butcher
A few leeks, carrots, celery & onions, light chicken stock
2 Belgian endive/chicory
4 Maris Piper potatoes
Sea salt, black pepper, lemon juice, butter, Flower Honey, double cream
Golden sultanas in Cider Brandy syrup
300 ml Ostlers Vintage Cider Vinegar

Equipment

1 x non-stick pan
1 x small sauté pan
2 x small saucepans
1 x cooked meat board, 1 x raw meat board, 1 x carving knife, 1 x boning knife
Muslin / Clingfilm

Method

Soak the pig’s head for 24 hours in water, then shave or singe off any hair.
Bring them up to the boil quickly in fresh water with bay, thyme, garlic and pepper, then as soon as they boil, refresh and rinse under cold running water.

Char the aromatic vegetables until blackened. Caramelise with honey and some cloves, put the scalded heads face up on top and deglaze the pan with the Cider Vinegar, reduce to a syrup.
Cover with chicken stock, bring up to a VERY SLOW simmer, offset the pan from the ring and braise for 24 hours. Cool in the liquid.

Pass off the liquid and rapidly reduce to keep in the flavour.
Meanwhile, remove the bones, glands and any sinew or unwanted bits, trim away about 20% of the fat from the cheek, and spread out the two head halves on greaseproof paper.

Season, sprinkle on some of the sultanas cooked in Cider Brandy, then roll the heads to form a tight cylinder about 10cms in diameter. Chill.

Pass the cylinder, once partially chilled, to a muslin cloth, and roll tightly, pushing out any excess fat through the pores in the cloth to achieve a very tight, dense roll. Hang in the fridge overnight.

Make a simple potato purée by washing some spuds, then baking them in the oven over sea salt. When cooked, remove the pulp from the skins, pass and add reduced cream and butter, season to taste.

Sauté the chicory leaves in foaming butter, then add some Flower Honey, colour, add chicken stock, season and reduce to a glaze.

To serve, heat through the potato purée and the chicory garnishes, slice the pig’s head into 4cm wide rounds and pan fry until golden and crispy, turn, glaze with Flower Honey, season with sea salt and warm through for a few minutes in the oven.

Spoon some of the potato on to the top end of the plate, and the chicory below. Place a slice of the pig’s head on the chicory, and glaze with the reduced cooking liquor finished with a knob of butter. Be sure to spike the sauce with a few drops of Vintage Cider Vinegar for acidity, richness and depth, then finish with a few of the golden sultanas.

Bon Appétit

LIAM GALLAGHER’S COCKTAIL

Made With Ostlers Apple Cider Vinegar

In a BBC documentary, during “Liam’s Cocktail Class”, we get an inside peek on how he makes his special Cocktail beverage featuring Ostlers Apple Cider Vinegar.

Combine
Hot Water
Ostlers cider vinegar
Turmeric
Honey

“Must be good for everything”

and then when drinking it he says…

“It’s Good man”.

POLLY GUY’S OSTLERS APPLE CIDER VINEGAR DESSERTS

Apple Custard Tart with Dry Apple Slices and Italian Meringue

Polly Guy is “Come Dine With Me Champion of Champions” winner and local TV presenter. As well as being a mum, Polly is a passionate food blogger and chef and has had considerable success in catering with her chutney and curd business: “Polly’s Pantries”.

Ingredients

ACV Lemon Shortcrust Pastry

225g plain flour
140g salted butter
Zest of 1 lemon
1 dessert spoon caster sugar
1 dessert spoon acv mixed with 4 dessert spoons water

Apple Puree Filling

6 Cox apples
150g caster sugar
Splash water
1 dessert spoon lemon juice
2 dessert spoons acv

Egg Custard Top

8 egg yokes
100g caster sugar
250ml double cream
250ml full-fat milk
Lemon peel
1 tsp vanilla bean paste

Italian Meringue

4 egg whites
227 grams
6 tablespoons cold water

Apple Crisps

2 large eating apples
Sugar syrup

Method

1.)  Sift 225g plain flour into a bowl add 140g diced butter, lemon zest, 1 dsp caster sugar and then rub in with your fingertips until mixture resembles fine bread crumbs, then add your acv, water mixture.

2.)  Knead dough briefly, then bring to a ball on a well floured surface. Roll pastry out keeping it moving so it doesn’t stick. Make sure pastry is wide and long enough to fit your pastry ring.

3.)  Grease your pastry ring. Using a rolling pin, gently roll out the pastry and carefully unroll into the ring. Line a baking tray with baking parchment and put 8 inch ring in the center.

4.)  Push pastry into the sides, then using scissors cut away most of the overhanging pastry but leave enough to just hang over sides. Don’t throw away leftover pastry as you might need it to help seal cracks up later on. Chill in fridge ideally overnight.

5.)  To make the apple crisps to garnish, thinly slice 2 red apples, using the same amount of water to sugar, boil up to make your sugar syrup and then add your apple slices. Leave in for 1 min until soft and flexible. Pat dry and place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and place in a preheated oven for about 1 and a half hours. you just want them to dry out. Store in an airtight container. These can be made the day before, along with the pastry.

6.)  To blind bake tart, cut 4 pieces of clingfilm push down over pastry and pour in rice, baking beans and small pasta shapes. Bake in the middle of a preheated oven at 18 degrees C for 20 minutes. Take out and lift the clingfilm bag. Place back in the oven for 10 minutes to crisp up. If you see any cracks in pastry use leftover pastry to seal up. Set aside to cool.

7.)  To make the apple puree, core, peel and chop your 6 apples into small pieces. Put into a saucepan and add sugar, a splash of water, lemon and cook until soft. Blitz until soft and add your 2 dsp acv, you can add more if you like a sharp filling but remember you can add but not take out! Let puree cool.

8.)  To make the custard put 8 egg yolks, 100g caster sugar in a bowl then whisk together. Pour 250ml double cream and 250ml full fat milk, lemon peel, and vanilla bean paste into a saucepan and bring nearly to boil.

9.)  Place a sieve over the bowl and pour the hot liquid over egg yolks and sugar. Stir together making sure there are no foam bubbles as you don’t want that in your tart.

10.)  Using a spoon fill pastry case up with the puree first making sure you have an even surface, you can use as little or as much as you like. Now carefully pour over custard getting as close as you can as you do not want to disturb the apple layer.

11.)  Place in a preheated oven at 14 degrees C for 45 minutes, checking after about 35, when ready you can tap the tray and the tart should just wobble. Now leave to cool in the fridge for a good few hours.

12.)  30 minutes before serving make the Italian meringue by mixing 227g with 6 tbsp of cold water into a pan making sure you have a pastry brush in water to wipe sides down as it’s boiling away! Put on heat and don’t stir just let the temperature reach 118 degrees C.

13.)  While the sugar mixture is getting to temperature, whisk up the 4 egg whites until they have reached soft peaks, then with the whisk on full power pour in the hot syrup and whisk for a further 10 minutes. The meringue should be shiny and stiff, if it’s not whisked for long enough the meringue will shrink as you pipe it. Pipe onto tart any way you wish.

14.)  Serve with good quality ice cream!

Enjoy!

CAERPHILLY & CIDER WELSH RABBIT

From THE ETHICUREAN COOKBOOK

Buy THE ETHICUREAN COOKBOOK here

Caerphilly and Cider Welsh Rabbit, [photograph]. From THE ETHICUREAN COOKBOOK (pg. 83), ©Ebury Press – A Random House Group Company, 2013, photography by Jason Ingram.

This is a staple at The Ethicurean and the smell in the morning as the rabbit is made is intoxicating. Served alongside a pile of Mark’s salad leaves, the flavours are acidic, sweet, salty, rich and, foremost, savoury. Many recipes call for the inclusion of stout or porter-style beers. Ours is very much a West Country affair and we choose Perry’s Morgan Sweet cider on account of its sweet acidic fruitiness, but any good medium-sweet cider will suffice. Cider pairs very well with Caerphilly. While beer would dominate this cheese’s citrusy and mushroomy earthiness, the cider sings in chorus.

The science behind using Caerphilly or a mature Cheddar is very straightforward: we don’t want a stringy Welsh rabbit. Cheeses such as Emmental contain casein molecules that are liked by calcium, forming long fibres – essentially the string in stringy cheese. Gorwydd’s citrus flavour indicates a high level of acidity, which removes some of the calcium. Its unctuous texture means a higher moisture content that will separate casein molecules. All in all, it’s the perfect cheese for rarebit. Mature Cheddar is a good alternative. The ripening enzymes are rather partial to casein and they devour it, preventing any long, string-like fibres forming.

SERVES 6

Ingredients

  • a large, unsliced white tin loaf
  • 100g very soft salted butter (or 100g beef dripping, melted)
  • 150ml medium-sweet cider
  • 100ml single cream
  • 2 tbsp vintage cider vinegar, such as Ostler’s
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 pinches of smoked paprika
  • 250g Gorwydd Caerphilly (if you can’t get Gorwydd, an aged Cheddar makes the best substitute), coarsely grated 2 egg yolks (omit if using Cheddar)

Heat the oven to 200°C/Gas Mark 6. Cut the ends off the white load and then divide the load into 6 slices. The thickness of the slices one of the factors that makes this rabbit so perfect, with a crunchy exterior that gives war to a brilliantly soft, white interior. Using a pastry brush, lightly brush the very soft butter (or the melted dripping) on both sides of the bread. Put the slices on a baking sheet and bake for 8 minutes, turning them over halfway through. Both sides should be very lightly golden. Leave on a wire rack to cool.

Put the cider, cream, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce and paprika in a non-stick saucepan, place over a medium heat and cook, stirring regularly, until the mixture has reduced to the consistency of double cream. It should be a deep shade of brawn. Lower the heat and add the cheese and the egg yolks, if using. Stir until the cheese has melted, then whisk the sauce until very smooth and glassy. Leave to cool and thicken to a paste consistency.

Spread the mixture edge to edge on the toasted bread. Return them to the oven for 4 minutes, then place under a hot grill until evenly browned. Enjoy with a generous helping of dressed salad leaves. As the local Bristolians would say,

‘Gert lush!’

Warm fennel salad

By Roo’s Kitchen

About Roo

Roo is a young vegan chef that runs a small vegan meal delivery service based in Exeter. He enjoys making his own recipes and cooking for people and making them smile. He also runs is own vegan food blog, which has been running for many years. 

Ingredients needed:

Roasted veg
Fennel
Onions
Aubergine 

Cold veg
8 diced tomatoes
Rocket
Sliced peppers 

Salad dressing
20ml OSTLERS CIDER VINEGAR
20ml olive oil
½ teaspoon English mustard
The juice of 1 fresh lemon
½ teaspoon of sugar
Cumin seeds to taste
Salt / pepper to taste
Fresh dill
Pinch of chilli flakes

Step 1) Chop your vegetables that are going to be roasted. 1 fennel bulb, half an aubergine and 2 onions. Place onto a baking tray and spray with oil. Oven until golden brown.

 

Step 2 Prepare the cold ingredients. Dice and chop 8 tomatoes, slice 2 peppers into batons and combine with your rocket salad.

 

Step 3) Make your salad dressing. Into a bowl add 30ml of Ostlers cider vinegar, 30ml of olive oil, ½ teaspoon of English mustard, the juice of 1 fresh lemon, ½ teaspoon of sugar, cumin seeds to your taste, salt/pepper to your taste, finely chopped fresh dill and a pinch of chilli flakes. Now mix well, and chill while you wait for your roasted vegetables to brown.

Once the roasted vegetables are golden, plate up your cold ingredients. Then add your warm roasted vegetables, and then finally finish with your beautiful salad dressing.

 

‘TUCK IN!’

Pulled BBQ Mushroom Burger

By Peter Grant

Peter “Chippy” Grant is a Professional Caterer and Chef with a massive love of fusion flavourful, nutritional , experimental and vibrant food ,with over 9 years of experience and love of cooking different cuisines from all around the globe while on his catering travels.
He currently runs traders, banquets, crew catering and food related projects at a few international festivals and creative events including  Meadows in the Mountains in Bulgaria, The Palace Arts in Berlin/Poland and Tribal Gathering in Panama, Come Bye Festival and Medicine Festival in the United Kingdom and by using his craft of cooking in these wonderful places it has in return inspired his journey within food.
He also co-owns a vegan sustainable run catering company called ‘Trewhitts’ that promotes ethical ideas such as zero waste and using local producers, based in Bristol he has catered at tonnes of festivals, yoga retreats banquets, weddings and commercial events around the UK over the last 9 years.

Indgredients

7 tablespoons of coconut oil

1 medium red onion, thinly sliced

200g shitake, or chestnut mushrooms,thinly sliced

2 teaspoons Ostlers apple cider vinegar with mother

1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika

3/4 cup tomato passata

2 tea spoons of garlic powder

3 tea spoons if date syrup

1/2 cup water or low salt vegetable broth

Sea salt/ Himalayan pink salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 brioche buns

Then you can have your favourite toppings with creamy seedy coleslaw, rocket or lettuce and beef tomatoes or even guacamole.

Method behind the madness

 

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until very tender and slightly golden. Transfer to a medium bowl and set aside.

Melt 2 tablespoons of the coconut oil in the same pan over medium-high heat. Add a third of the mushrooms, stirring to coat in the coconut oil. Cook, mixing occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender and golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon each of ostlers cider vinegar that brings a tangy richness flavor to the mushrooms , then add garlic powder and smoked paprika to add a slight depth to the  flavour, stirring well to combine, then transfer the mushrooms to the bowl with the onions. Repeat with the remaining coconut oil, mushrooms, vinegar, garlic and paprika in two more batches.

Return the mushroom and onion mixture to the pan over medium heat. Add the passata and date syrup and water or broth, stir to combine, and cook until slightly thickened. Taste and season too preference.

To serve, toast or warm the brioche buns with a bit of garlic or chilli oil.

 Divide the filling between the buns and top with your favourite toppings either it might creamy seedy coleslaw, rocket or lettuce and beef tomatoes covered in extra virgin olive oil and ostlers apple cider vinegar or even a zesty guacamole.

Hannah’s Hummus

By Hannah McCollum

Founded by Hannah McCollum, ChicP was set up to bring healthy, colourful dips to the food market. A hummus lover, tired of bland and unhealthy options, Hannah decided to combine her creative cooking and eagerness to help prevent food waste, into healthy, punchy vegetable hummus from surplus vegetables.   

Over the last five years, Hannah has cooked for families in the UK and all over Europe, predominantly as a private chef. She would often convert the leftover Ottolenghi type salads into dips for the next meal. Nearly every day the question would be “what’s the dip of the day Hannah”?!

The inspiration behind ChicP was the overriding determination and passion to change the way we approach cooking and food waste.

Ingredients

1 can of chickpeas or 200g soaked and cooked chickpeas

1 large tbs tahini 

2 raw Carrots

1/2 juice lemon

1 garlic clove

2cm ginger (approx)

1 large tbs olive Oil

A few sprigs fresh thyme

1 dsp Ostlers apple cider vinegar

Tsp sea salt

Black pepper

Method

Wash and clean the carrots and cut into small chunks ready for your blender.

Pour in the chickpeas (soaking dried chickpeas overnight and freshly cooking them will be a lot nicer than chickpeas from a can).

Put all the ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth. If you need more liquid, add a tbs of chickpea water or tap water.

Season to taste.

*If you make too much you can freeze it.

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