GUEST BLOG: Kneads must

By guest blogger SIOBHAN KELLY

There was another full house on Saturday morning (23 February) for one of Rob's famous breadmaking sessions. Despite it being so chilly outside, inside, the room soon warmed up with the heat from all the ovens - a perfect temperature to help the dough rise, and giving everyone rosy cheeks all round.  

On the menu today were basic loaves, garlic naan bread, and focaccia with olives, sundried tomatoes, rosemary and olive oil. As an added treat, two of the trainee cooks who were helping out made pizzas for us all to share for lunch - homemade dough and basic tomato sauce with toppings of cheese, anchovies and olives.

After the initial introductions, it was time for everyone in the group to start measuring flour, yeast, sugar, salt and water to make the dough for our loaves. Covering the bowls with tea towels, we left the balls to rest and rise in the warm atmosphere, while we tidied up before the kneading stage, learning that Bakers Mates are exactly that - a simple, essential and effective utensil, great for mixing ingredients, scraping off hardened dough mixture, and even cleaning down surfaces - a must for every budding breadmaker.

 Next, we split into groups to make naan dough and focaccia dough. No salt was necessary for the naan dough as it was already present from the handmade garlic paste, which we made by slicing and chopping fresh garlic and mixing with sea salt to form a paste. Yoghurt was used instead of water, gently heating it in a pan using a finger to stir rather than a spoon, enabling the correct temperature to be reached - and saving on the washing-up! Once ready, the naan dough was rolled out and fried in hot oil, taking care to avoid hot oil splashes. 

The loaves were put into the oven and then it was time to work on the focaccia. The dough was stretched to the size of a large roasting tin, left to rise then scattered with sliced olives and sundried tomatoes, folded over, rolled a little, then sprinkled with thick slices of organic red onions, fresh rosemary and rock salt. They then went in the oven for about 25 minutes.

It wasn't long before some heavenly bread smells filled the room, and soon the loaves were ready to check.  Rob showed us the best way was to fold a tea towel long ways and hold the base of the bread tin with one end, and let the loaf fall out into the other end and check it by tapping the bottom. 

There was time at the end of the session to sit down and admire and sample all the baking, then eat the freshly baked pizza slices together as a group. These are always sell-out sessions and it really is a great way to spend a Saturday morning - cooking from scratch, using fresh, locally sourced ingredients, learning new skills, chatting with fellow food lovers, being in a sociable, relaxed environment, and taking home a freshly baked loaf of bread, a spectacular rustic focaccia, and a garlic naan without going to the shops. 

There are more photographs from this session on our Facebook page. 

We're running our first full-day breadmaking session on Saturday 20 April; see the CGF website for full details. If you can't make that, we are planning more baking sessions over the coming months, so watch this space!

GUEST BLOG: Spice magic

By guest blogger KIM IRWIN

Cracking Good Food recently teamed up with Network Express International training providers to deliver a bespoke cookery course, both practical and theoretical, designed for three delegates who provide the meals on an oil rig in the Libyan desert. This was going to be a challenging session as the three oversee safe food production for over 500 hungry rig workers, three times a day, so we had a lot to live up to!

We began by exchanging personal experiences of day-to-day living in our respective countries, and we talked about foods we liked and didn't like, national dishes, herbs and spices. It really is true; food is a great way to find common ground between people - we all need to eat, don't we?

We set to work making lunch: Punjabi dhal followed by stuffed parathas (Cracking Cook Harjinder’s recipes were used), and everyone agreed that it was a fine meal - healthy and packed with flavour. During the afternoon, we ran a theory session based on health and safety and good governance while prepping food on a commercial scale, then finished off with a set of exercises 'What would you do if…'. It was a challenging experience which stretched the CGF team, but we hope the delegates took some of the Cracking Good Food ethos back to Libya with them.

There are more photographs from this bespoke session on our Facebook page.

GUEST BLOG: The art of foraging

By guest blogger SARAH BENJAMINS. Photos by BEN GREENAWAY

This unusual foraging event took place in Manchester Art Gallery in the heart of the city centre, as part of a special evening to celebrate Dickens’ 201st birthday on Thursday 7 February. The talk linked with a gallery artwork The Walk to Dover, inspired by Dickens' novel David Copperfield, in which Copperfield survived by foraging for food while walking to Dover to find his aunt.  

The event was hosted by medical herbalist and lifelong forager Jesper Launder, who brought a surprising variety of freshly foraged wild foods for us to try, despite this being probably the leanest time of year. Jesper is a big fan of finding uses for those Gardener's Question Time 'love to hate' plants, and he described how to identify and cook Ground Elder and Nettles, two favourite 'pests'. He also showed us how to tell your Cow Parsley, Hogweed and Wild Garlic (edible) from your Hemlock, Giant Hogweed and Lily of the Valley (err.. definitely not edible!). His medical herbalist training was also useful as he explained why people with kidney stones should avoid Sorrel, and how dried Wild Garlic seeds can be ground and used as a remedy for indigestion. 

We moved on from green stuff to the wonderful and mysterious world of fungi. Jesper told us why winter is the safest time for novices to forage for mushrooms, why button mushrooms are best bought organic and eaten cooked, and why Oyster Mushrooms cooked in butter could be thought of as a 'balanced meal'! I also discovered that they have been found to lower cholesterol. His technical knowledge came to the fore when describing medicinal uses of mushrooms, and how they are part of mainstream medicine elsewhere in the world, particularly in Japan and China. We also learned about some of the many uses of the inedible but extremely versatile Razorstrop mushroom, the 'Swiss army knife' of the mushroom world.

Finally we cooked up and tasted a delicious mushroom and herb tortilla using the foods we'd seen, including the beautiful named-from-a-storybook Scarlet Elf Cup, and we went away very satisfied, with some fascinating insights into the world of our native wild foods.

Check out the Cracking Good Food website for details of upcoming foraging sessions "in the field" with Jesper.

GUEST BLOG: Game for it

By guest blogger SIOBHAN KELLY

What a treat was in store for the participants of the “Game On: Cooking with Venison” class on Saturday at Chorlton High School which was hosted by the award-winning Executive Head Chef Robert Owen Brown from The Mark Addy in Manchester.

On the menu were three delicious-sounding dishes:

1. Slow-braised venison haunch with claret and thyme

2. Butter-fried venison liver with baby onions and a dandelion and burdock reduction served with celeriac mash

3. Venison loin with red cabbage and chocolate

The session started with the group pairing up and each pair was given a Muntjac deer (Muntjac is smaller and much sweeter than Roe, and it's very lean – rarely any fat at all) to prepare and take off various cuts of meat. Robert shot the four deer himself three days ago, and explained the importance of knowing your source - if you're going to eat meat, be aware of it provenance, and, even better, cook it from scratch yourself and avoid pre-prepared food and ready meals (just look at the horse meat scandal!). Robert talked about how sustainable game is as he demonstrated some butchery skills for the various cuts of meat, then it was over to the participants - everyone was going to have a very real and hands-on experience! The silence that descended on the room meant that you could hear a pin drop, such was the concentration - the level of involvement was fantastic to see. The back strap of sirloin (venison loin) was removed with a sharp knife and prepared so that the meat didn’t shrink in the pan. As the pairs worked on this, Robert shared some tales of his shooting experiences and life in the kitchen - this friendly-chit chat throughout the session made it relaxed and fun, and a proper treat.

It was time to prepare the slow-braised venison haunch with claret and thyme. Large pieces of diced venison haunch were fried in oil, then removed from the pan. Chopped onion, swede and carrot were added, with juniper berries, a measure of flour followed by the braised venison. Now time for the claret and venison stock, and the dish was left to gently cook for a couple of hours, then redcurrant jelly was added at the end with seasoning.

Next it was butter-fried venison liver with baby onions and a dandelion and burdock reduction served with celeriac mash. The liver was a magnificent colour, so shiny, but after its very thin membrane was removed, it was a rather duller shade. The liver was sliced then the celeriac was diced and heated in milk, with a fresh bay leaf, then drained and mashed. The baby onions were heated in a pan and cooked rapidly till golden brown then the liver was pan fried adding butter and the dandelion and burdock reduction. Once cooked, it was presented on a circular bed of celeriac mash – fit for a restaurant!

The third dish of the morning was venison loin with red cabbage and chocolate. To save time, Robert had brought along a fondant potato for everyone (a disc of potato baked in the oven in butter, thyme, garlic and chicken stock). The red cabbage (in vinegar) was heated in a small pan while the venison loin was cooking gently in the oven next to the potato. Dark chocolate and butter were added to the cabbage pan and left to melt off the heat. Once each bit was ready, cabbage was piled on top of the potato and the venison, still pink in the middle, was sliced and displayed on top - a pure delight to the eye, as you can see from the photograph.

This was such a thrilling morning and a rare opportunity to prepare fresh sustainable meat with the chef who actually shot the animal locally a few days previously. To create such beautiful and stunning dishes to restaurant standard in a sociable friendly environment and then sit down as a group and eat the results of our hard work was amazing. A pure delight for all, and such a buzz throughout the whole session.

This session will be running again at Altrincham Grammar School for Boys on Monday 25 February, 6-9pm, and you still have chance to sign up. To book please contact Andrea Lacon on 0161 928 0858 or email her alacon@agsb.co.uk. Have a look at the Cracking Good Food website for more details www.crackinggoodfood.org. You won’t be disappointed!  

There are more photos from this event on our Facebook page.

GUEST BLOG: Curry on cooking

By guest blogger KIM 

last Wed 13th, at the Approved Premises.

It was a cold spring morning when Alison turned up at the Approved Premises last Wednesday, carrying a bag full of fresh ingredients ready for another morning session with the clients. Once our room was set up, the day's ambitions set out and a timeline roughly plotted, we were ready to start.

Chicken jalfrezi, Mumbai lentils and naan in a pan were all on the menu so we had a fair bit to get through.  The group soon got stuck into veg prep, chicken thighs entered the oven for a roasting and flour was weighed out to make the bread dough. All the guys were enthusiastic and as banter bandied about, the aroma of spice filled the room and before long it was time for a break - the morning had flown by. As the curry sauce reduced down, lentils with tamarind bubbled away on the next hob, it was set to be a fine feast. The guys rolled out their own naan breads with a garlic paste added earlier in the process and decided to add chopped coriander at the end, then everyone enjoyed frying their bread. Wow, best naan bread… ever! The chicken was shredded off the bone and Alison shared how this cheaper cut of meat is very economical and contains more flavour…great tips.

The table was soon loaded with what looked better than any takeaway extravaganza I have ever seen. And it all tasted amazing. With punchy flavours and full of vitality, the food got the thumbs-up all round.

You can see more photographs from this session on our Facebook page.

GUEST BLOG: Stuff it

By guest blogger KIM IRWIN

Saturday 9 February saw the Cracking Good Food team run another booked-up session at Chorlton High. Harjinder's ever-popular Punjabi cooking sessions are always great fun, and Saturday's did not disappoint. On the menu were stuffed parathas with homemade yoghurt. To get the keen cooks started, Harjinder demonstrated the traditional technique to make atta dough from stoneground wholemeal flour, using her hand as an implement for measuring the water, then making a claw shape to pull the dough together. After kneading, Harjinder left her dough to rest and the cooks divided into small groups to make their own.

Next up was making the fillings for the parathas, of which there were two types. For the first, potatoes were mashed in their skins then we added a selection of aromatic spices including lovage and pomegranate seeds, plus chopped fresh herbs and finely sliced onion. Harjinder shared with the group her family's blend of spices which make up traditional masala mixes, and I jotted down the recipe to add to my own spice collection. Shredded mooli was transformed with a vibrant cacophony of fresh herbs and spices (pictured above), and the result could have been served as a dish by itself, but this was another filling for the parathas. I could hardly wait to taste the finished product, my mouth was watering…

Harjinder heated the traditional tawas (cast-iron, flat pans) and soon the first roti was rolled and on the tawa, expertly manoeuvred around by Harjinder's quick hands. Once the cooks felt confident to tackle their own, rotis were rolled and stuffed with the mouthwatering fillings to transform them into parathas, and soon the smell of freshly cooked bread wafted through the air. Harjinder had brought with her a big bowl of homemade yoghurt and she talked the group through the different stages of making it, and we all agreed that it seemed like a straightforward process to try at home. A dollop of the yoghurt was served on the side of the parathas, which were sprinkled with salt and some masala spice mix… mmmm, delicious!  

TOP TIP: Have a window open at home when frying the roti/parathas as they create a very smoky atmosphere and you don't want to set your smoke alarm off like we did! Ooops.

You can see a full set of photos from this session on our Facebook page.

GUEST BLOG: Wild times

By guest blogger BETH CREEDON

As something of a wild food aficionado, I was excited to build up my repertoire by joining the foraging trip last Sunday with Jesper Launder and Cracking Good Food, and, despite normally being something of a fair weather forager, braved the drizzle to meet at 11am at Fletcher Moss Park in Didsbury.

I know Jesper Launder as a very knowledgeable herbalist and wild food expert, and he taught us how to identify common plants in their first flushes of early spring growth. For ten years I have been foraging mainly in the summer and autumn, so finally learning how to spot Garlic Mustard, Cow Parsley (and how to tell it apart from its deadly relative Hemlock), Ground Elder, Cleavers, Hogweed and Three Cornered Leeks in February felt very exciting. In the boggy parts of the park we searched for and found Wild Garlic then discovered a huge bounty of Scarlet Elf Cups (pictured above) on the mossy logs. They are just so beautiful and the group got stuck in and collected a large bounty.

We took our five-month-old baby in a sling and our dog, both of whom became a little impatient with the slow stooping process around the park, so we had to depart early, unfortunately missing out on sampling the cook-up at the end. However, in the one and a half hours we were there, we collected some Cow Parsley(above) and feral Chives, and some peppery Hairy Bittercress to add to a homemade tabbouleh, and took home a wealth of seasonal wild food expertise to last a lifetime. Thank you Cracking Good Food and thank you Jesper!

You can read a review of Beth's wild food evening in Chorlton here.