Seville Orange Marmalade

 (900 g) Seville oranges

 (225 g) lemons

 (3.4 litres) water

 (450 g) sugar per (450 g) pulp – of which 450g should be brown

1. Wash and dry the fruit. Cut in half and squeeze out the juice. Remove the pips, inside skin and pith. Tie these in a piece of muslin.

2. Slice the peel to desired thickness.

3. Put the peel in a large bowl with the bag of pips and the juice. Add 6 pints (3.4 litres) of water and leave to soak overnight.

4. Weigh the preserving pan and make a note of it. Put the soaked peel, pith and pips into it with the water and juice.

5. Bring to the boil and simmer gently until the peel is soft and the contents of the pan have been reduced to half its original bulk. This will take about 1½ hours.

6. Lift out the bag of pips and pith, squeezing it again the side of the pan with a wooden spoon.

7. Re-weigh the pan and subtract from this weight the original weight of the empty pan to calculate the weight of the remaining pulp.

8. Add 1 lb (450 g) of warmed sugar to each 1 lb (450 g) of pulp of which 1 lb (450 g) should be brown.  Stir until all the sugar has dissolved.

9. Bring to the boil and boil rapidly until the marmalade sets when tested.

10 Remove the scum and leave to cool slightly.

11. Pot and seal whilst still hot.

Ingredients

For the fruit filling

40g caster sugar

1 Local Bramley apple, peeled and cut into small cubes

1 Kentish Conference pear, peeled and cut into small cubes

1 tsp ground cinnamon

For the crumble

50g unsalted butter

50g self-raising flour

40g caster sugar

½ tsp salt

2 tbsp porridge oats

2 tsp demerara sugar

To serve

1 vanilla pod, seeds only

125ml Northiam Dairy double cream

Preparation method

 1.  Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

 2.   For the fruit filling, place half of the caster sugar and all of the apple and pear cubes into a saucepan. Add enough water to just cover the mixture and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 4-5 minutes, or until the fruit has softened.

3      Meanwhile, for the crumble, place the butter, flour, caster sugar and salt into a mixing bowl and rub together with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the porridge oats until well combined.

   4     Place two 7.5cm/3in chefs' rings onto a baking tray. Divide the fruit mixture equally between the two rings until it reaches two-thirds of the way up each ring (alternatively spoon the mixture into one large or two individual baking dishes). Sprinkle the fruit mixture with cinnamon, then top with the crumble mixture and sprinkle with demerara sugar. Transfer to the oven and bake for 7-8 minutes, or until the crumble is golden-brown.

   5.  Stir the vanilla seeds into the double cream and set aside.

   6.  To serve, carefully remove the apple and pear crumbles from the chefs' rings and transfer to two serving plates. Spoon the vanilla cream alongside.

Ingredients:

1/2 celery stalk diced

1/2 red pepper diced

1 tbsp Rapeseed Oil

170g Arborio risotto rice

250ml Apple juice

570ml Vegetable stock

1 fresh Pumpkin medium size

1 tbsp. Chopped fresh basil

150g Salted butter

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

   1. Heat the stock until almost boiling and then keep over a very low heat. In a separate heavy-based saucepan sweat the onion in the oil until soft but not browned add the celery & red peppers and sauté in the rapeseed oil over medium heat for a further three to five minutes

 2.  Add the rice and mix well for a few seconds to coat the grains with oil, then pour in the apple juice and cook for a few minutes.

3. Add one-third of the stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Cook until almost all the stock is absorbed. Add the pumpkin or squash and a little more stock, and continue to simmer gently until the stock is absorbed.

 4.  From then on add more stock a little at a time, until the pumpkin is soft and the rice nicely al dente. You may not need all the stock, but the texture should be loose and creamy.

 5 Stir the butter into the risotto, add the basil and season well with salt and pepper

(Kent is well known for cobnuts and the new season of cobnuts are once again delicious, what would a cobnut cake be without a taste of those fresh local apples.)

Ingredients

For the cobnut cake 

          450g self-raising flour      

          225g butter, melted, plus extra butter for greasing     

          1 tbsp ground ginger      

          225g light soft brown sugar      

          6 free-range Bank Farm eggs, beaten   

          110ml/4fl oz Northiam Dairy double cream

          150g Kentish cobnuts, shells removed, finely chopped

For the apple compôte 

          50g butter      

          4 local apples, peeled, cores removed, finely chopped      

          2-3 tbsp caster sugar      

          ½ tsp ground cinnamon

          200ml/7fl oz Northiam Dairy double cream, lightly whipped, to serve

Preparation method

1) For the cobnut cake, preheat the oven to 160C/325F/Gas 2. Grease a 1kg/2lb 2oz loaf tin with butter.

2)  In a bowl, mix together the flour and melted butter until well combined.

4) Add the cream and mix until the mixture forms a smooth, thick batter.

5) Stir in the chopped Kentish cobnuts until well combined.

6) Spoon the mixture into the prepared loaf tin, gently spreading the batter into all the corners and shaking the tin to make sure the mixture has settled.

7) Transfer the loaf tin to the oven and bake for 1-1¼ hours, or until the cake has risen and is golden-brown, and a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

8) Set the cake aside to cool slightly in the tin.

9) Meanwhile, for the apple compôte, heat the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat. When the butter is foaming, add the apples, caster sugar and ground cinnamon and cook for 4-5 minutes, or until the apples have broken down slightly and the mixture has thickened.

10) To serve, cut the cake into six to eight slices (it is best served warm). Serve each slice with a dollop of whipped cream and a spoonful of warm apple compôte.

Bubble and Squeak

A traditional recipe perfect for a September evening.

Here's what you need (serves 2)

3 tbsp Rapeseed Oil

2 leeks, washed, sliced

1.25kg /2lb 12oz potatoes, peeled, boiled, mashed and left to cool

 750g/1lb 10oz spring cabbage, finely shredded, blanched

sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

Here's what to do

1)  For the bubble and squeak, heat half of the olive oil in a frying pan and cook the leeks for 3-4 minutes, or until softened but not coloured.

 2)  Mix the leeks, mashed potato and cabbage together in a bowl. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

3) Heat the remaining olive oil in the frying pan. Place four 7.5cm/3in chefs' rings into the pan and spoon the bubble and squeak into the rings, packing down gently. Cook until golden-brown on the bottom, turn the rings over carefully and cook on the other side. Remove from the pan and keep warm until ready to serve, carefully removing the chefs’ rings before serving.