Monday 15 March 2010

My pro-Aga rant on The Guardian's "Word of Mouth"



Earlier today, Oliver Thring wrote something for Word of Mouth at The Guardian about Agas and all that's wrong with them.  http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/wordofmouth/2010/mar/15/aga-cooking 

I was pretty incensed so quickly knocked-up the following as a "reply" in the comments section below his article.

So read on.......

My Guardian AGA rant
What twaddle! You don't need one of those silly tennis racquet thingys to make Aga toast!
I run a busy bed & breakfast business and since installing my Aga I've turned off three radiators, don't use an electric kettle, toaster, bread maker, microwave or use other heat source for drying clothes. I'm very capable of cooking souffles, stir-fries and charring the best steaks on a griddle to perfect "blueness". Anything can "grilled" in the oven from comforting cheese on toast to rosy-pink lamb cutlets. The crackling from our own home-reared pork is the stuff of (culinary) dreams and amazing Yorkshire puddings are perfectly possible! There is nothing it can't cook. It's ready to go all the time and can turn out a five course dinner for 25 in two hours. Anytime! Oh and I rarely do stews! A properly running Aga does NOT take ages to heat up & doesn't cool down at the drop of a hat. Breakfasts are the best!
My Aga is like the Olympic flame: it never goes out. On its six-monthly service days I leave home, allowing my husband to tinker with its bits & I won't return until it's up to speed again! Sadly (luckily for me!) any hot summers we may have never permeate my kitchen enough to consider turning it off. Anyway it's my work-horse from which I earn my living. I also run Cook Days & Demonstrations from around my Aga specialising in cooking with local seasonal food from small-scale artisan producers.
There are no cooking smells, grease, condensation and steaming up to contend with. It's clean, cosy and comforting.
Never mind the stereotypical reasons for Aga ownership to dry boots & dogs, hatch eggs & keep tiddly lambs alive and just be a glorified meringue-maker! The Aga is truly my necessity and is absolutely not an extension some ego-centric-country-dwelling dream! (Although I do dry boots, make meringues and live in the country!).
I'm sitting beside it right now, laptop on knees, tea on the side and scones in oven, waiting for guests to arrive......
Come and experience my Aga in action! Stay at http://www.lowerbuckton.co.uk or follow me on http://www.twitter.com/agaqueen

Thursday 11 March 2010

Brock Hall Farm's Brockette goats' cheese with new-season's Worcestershire rhubarb & Seville orange relish.

Sarah at Brock Hall Farm near Ludlow rears and keeps a dairy-herd of goats and makes the most delicious, fresh-tasting cheeses.  Brockette is her latest addition and I think it makes a creamy partner to this zingy rhubarb sauce.

Serves two as a shared dish for light starter with some crusty bread

1 whole Brockette

for the relish..........

3 cups diced rhubarb (rinsed)
¾ cup sugar
1 Seville orange, zested & juiced
quarter tsp chili flakes
1 tsp grated fresh ginger
1 small onion, minced
(extra liquid)

Place all relish ingredients in a medium saucepan. Slowly, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, stirring every so often, for about 10 minutes or until mixture thickens. Add more juice/water as required.  Cool and serve alongside the cheese

Tuesday 2 March 2010

Fried smoked salmon skin

"Fried smoked salmon skin" doesn't sound like the most appetizing description for my next recipe!  You can hardly call it a recipe either: it's so simple and the best way to use up something that would in all probability be thrown away.  That's just pure waste.  So the next time you have a side of skin-on smoked salmon, here's what to do with it after you've enjoyed the flesh.

I get all my smoked salmon from The Organic Smokehouse which is just up the road from me at Clunbury Hall about seven miles away.  Michael and Debbie Leviseur have recently been awarded a Royal Warrant from HRH Prince of Wales and when I went there the other week their (huge) plaque had just arrived and they were lunching at the House of Lords!  All very grand.  However, they truly deserve it, their salmon is delicious and they smoke all sorts of other products including butter, cheese and salt.  So now you know!


Cut the salmon skin into strips, heat a heavy-based frying pan with a little olive oil and toss in a few strips at a time and fry until crisp and puffed.  Tip out onto absorbent paper and do the rest.  Easy!  Just serve on a platter with maybe a wedge of lemon, although I don't think they need it and they certainly don't need salt.  Eat alongside a glass of champagne as an appetiser before dinner or just anytime to you damn well like!