Category: All Areas

October is all about wholesome, nutritious, heart-warming, health-giving food. Food replaces sunshine, warming us from the inside out rather than outside in! Katie Kindsley brings us her recipes…

Scallops with apple & bacon

(allow three or four scallops per person)

Perfect for this time of year, bringing scallops and apples together in perfect harmony, this is sour, salty and sweet success. Remove the rind from three slices of thick-cut smoked bacon and set aside. Chop the bacon into small pieces and fry in a little butter until brown. Peel and cut half a green apple into small cubes, heat 1tbsp of butter in a small pan and add the apple and bacon then continue to cook while you cook the rind in the pan just used. Add a small knob of butter and fry until the bacon fat renders. Add 50ml bourbon to the apple mix and let it bubble for a minute before adding 50ml maple syrup and continue to simmer so it reduces by at least half to a thick sauce. Place your scallops in the pan with the sizzling bacon fat and cook on high for a minute or so on each side, seasoning with salt until they’re nicely brown. Toss some watercress in a little lemon juice and heap on each plate, laying your scallops on top. Spoon over some apple and bacon mix and freshly grind some black pepper.

Thai noodles

This is versatile so use whichever vegetables you have to hand or whatever’s in season. All you will need to gather from your pantry is noodles, curry paste, coconut milk and fish sauce (or soy for vegans). Heat 2tbsp of coconut oil in a pan and sauté a finely chopped onion for about three minutes. Add three cloves of minced garlic and 1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger, cooking until fragrant then add 2-3tbsp of red Thai curry paste for a minute and then a 400ml can of coconut milk, 1tbsp of honey and fish sauce to taste. Stir then boil for five minutes or until the sauce is thick. Add your veg at appropriate times so they are cooked but have bite (I used fresh corn kernels, broccoli and aubergine). Remove from the heat and stir in cooked rice noodles, Thai basil and serve with lime wedges and fresh chilli.

Boston beans with pork belly

Serves 4-6

Definitely a weekend treat to relish and as wholesome as a corn-fed farm boy. The night before soak 500g haricot beans in water for at least 12 hours. Rinse and place in a heavy, five-litre casserole pan covering with water by about 3cm. Boil hard for about 10 minutes then lower to a simmer, cover with the lid and cook for 1 hour. Take a 400-500g piece of pork belly (rind on), cube then add to the beans with 50g soft dark brown sugar, 3tbsp black treacle, 1tbsp English mustard, three peeled crushed garlic cloves and 3tbsp of tomato puree. Peel about 10 pickling onions and insert five cloves into one before adding to the beans with a generous seasoning of black pepper, giving a mix. Preheat your oven to 140°C, place the lid on and cook for 3 hours. Remove the lid and drag the pork chunks to the top before cooking for a further hour uncovered. The beans should be soft and the mixture glossy and thick, (cook for longer if it is still a little watery). Season to taste and remove the clove spiked onion before serving with crusty buttered bread and fresh coriander.

Blueberry buttermilk pancakes

Serves 2-3

My son will be raised on these and not just on special occasions, as they are easier to whip up than French toast and twice as delectable. A recipe to scribble down and shortly after memorise through repetition! Sift 200g self-raising flour into a large bowl then add 2tbsp caster sugar, 1tsp lemon zest, a lightly beaten egg, 1tbsp melted butter and 380ml buttermilk. Stir with a wooden spoon until combined (a few lumps will not matter). Add one or two handfuls of blueberries or raspberries, stirring gently to combine and without breaking up the fruit. Heat a small knob of butter in a pan and cook spoonfuls of batter on a low-medium heat for a few minutes on each side or until browned and cooked through. Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Summer is here which means al fresco aplenty and Katie Kingsley has rustled up some delicious ideas to enjoy on the side!

Giant couscous salad with roasted peppers, tomatoes, pesto and feta

If you can’t find Israeli/giant couscous, small pasta shapes or orzo work well. This salad packs a lot of flavour; a more than worthy accomplice to any barbecued protein! Measure 200g giant couscous (I used wholewheat), rinse well and add to a pan of simmering vegetable stock (500ml). Once back to a rolling boil, turn down to a simmer and cook with the lid on for 6-8 minutes then drain, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, stir and leave to cool.

Cut two red and one yellow pepper into chunky slices and place cut-side up on a foil-lined baking tray. Halve a pint of cherry tomatoes and place with them in the tray then slice a whole garlic bulb through the middle and place, cut-side-up, in the tray. Drizzle with olive or rapeseed oil and season before placing in a heated oven for about 40-60 minutes and the edges are nicely charred. Remove the garlic halfway through (it will have turned a light gold) and cloves and pound into a paste with a pestle and mortar with a sprinkle of rock salt and glug of extra virgin olive oil. Stir the paste through the couscous then add the roast veg, dollop on fresh pesto and crumble feta on top.

Griddled cos with anchovy butter

Almost everyone who tries this will want the recipe and it’s a pleasure to disclose in its refreshing modesty. Ideal for barbecues, there is something alluringly unconventional but worthwhile in grilling the salad. Halve three or four cos lettuces then heat a grill pan or barbecue to hot, brush your cos with olive oil and grill cut-side-down for a few minutes before turning and grilling for an extra few minutes. You want nicely charred griddle lines and edges.

Transfer to a serving dish. Use a small pan to melt 80g butter then sauté two garlic cloves until golden before adding three finely chopped anchovy fillets, 2tbsp of finely chopped rosemary, the grated rind of a lemon and juice of half. Season to taste and drizzle over your charred lettuce.

Toasted caramel pineapple with coconut ice cream

Dress this dessert up into an exotic sundae with chocolate, coconut shavings and rum or keep it simple on a platter with scoops of ice cream and generous drizzles of caramel sauce. End your barbecue on a high as pineapple is said to contain significant amounts of the feelgood chemical serotonin. Peel and core a pineapple then cut into about 10-12 wedges. Place wedges on the barbecue and cook for a few minutes on each side until you get griddle lines then transfer to a serving dish.

To make your caramel sauce, measure 100g granulated sugar into a large clean pan, heat to medium and once the sugar has started to melt shake the pan occasionally until all the sugar has melted. Cook and stir with a spatula until the sugar has turned a light brown then add 30g butter and whisk vigorously until the butter has melted with the sugar. Remove the pan from the heat and add 60ml of single cream, whisking rapidly again until combined. If you have any sugar crystals, pass the caramel through a metal sieve, leave to cool then drizzle sparingly over charred pineapple and ice cream scoops.

Easiest ever flatbreads with herb butter

I have made these countless times; a delicious accompaniment to any barbecue. I like to pre-roll these so when people arrive, you aren’t in and out the kitchen all day – just separate them with baking paper or cling film. Place 350g natural yoghurt with 350g self-raising flour into a large bowl then add 1tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt. Use your hand to bring the dough together (it will feel a bit sticky so add more flour until you can).

Once you have the dough in one lump, give it a bit of a knead in the bowl then lightly flour your work surface and divide into 12 pieces. Roll each piece out to about 5mm thick and cook on a hot barbecue or griddle pan for one or two minutes on each side. Melt butter and sauté minced garlic cloves before adding fresh herbs then brush the herb butter over the flatbreads. Enjoy your summer!