Wild Food Larder

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It has always surprised me that one cannot buy products such as these from shops and delis alike. I love em and a real treat there are.  I have designed a number of different recipes for a white sausage and this variety is just one of.

Mushroom season is upon us and i love giant puffballs to eat, being so versatile as they are. It still Surprises me  though so few English people know what they are and what possibilities they hold

Pork and giant puffball boudin blanc

Ingredients

500g white pork meat

500g flair fat

200g puffball

100g butter

100g diced onion

2 tsp white pepper

Chopped parsley

5 egg whites

15 floz milk

2 fresh bay leaves

2 sprigs thyme

Method

1. Mince the pork through fine plate followed by the flair fat
2. Remove from mincer into food processor and whizz until amalgamated and almost whitey pink in colour.
3. Melt butter and add onion followed by the blitzed puffball
4. In a separate pan bring  milk thyme and bay to the boil
5. Remove and pour onto the onion and mushroom mix. Give a quick whizzz before refrigerating until  quite cold
6. In your magimix add all or part of the now cold meat paste, to this begin adding the egg whites and onion and milk mixture.
7. Repeat untill all are combined.
8. All that is needed now is to pipe either into hog skins or piped onto clingfilm to be rolled up into sausage shapes. I prefer hog skins.
9. Now poach for twelve to fifteen minutes

Once again my puffball spot has produced as regular as clockwork. Three weeks on the trot every Thursday has produced several mushrooms. This week as many as nine.

My imagination is running riot already in terms of recipes. If you would like to purchase some then attend Bath Farmers market this Saturday, at Green Park Station. I will have several related products and various wild fungi to sell.

Holy cow i found a dog and a load of space ships

400g wild mushrooms

This is one of only two of the Amanitas which are edible and good. However, it is always best to err on caution if in doubt of a fungus identification. The Blusher (Amanita rubescens) can be confused with the Panther (Amanita pantherina)

100g butter

2 fat cloves garlic

100g finel diced onion

1 tbl sp soy sauce

milled black pepper

100g butter

2 fat cloves garlic

100g finel diced onion

1 tbl sp soy sauce

milled black pepper

Method

1. Melt the butter in a heavy based saucepan and add the  onion and garlic. Sweat off for five mins. Do not brown.

2. Add the already magimixed mushrooms and slowly cook out  with the onions. This will take forty five minutes.

3.As it reduces and thickens and the water evaporates away the mixture may stick. So be sure to stir occasionally.

4. Add the soy sauce and continue to cook out. The colour will darken.

5. You should finish with a thick paste like mushroom duxelle. Check for seasoning and chill until ready for use.

The wood pigeons are fattening themselves up around the county following another successful harvest. This is the time to be getting hold of a few and doing their flavoursome flesh  some justice.

The inspiration for this recipe came  about through making a wild mushroom duxelle.  As i was reducing the mushroom mixture, and on checking my larder fridge i realised i  still had a small quantity of my rich pigeon pate and some short crust pastry left  from quiche making a few days previous. the rest should be obvious i suppose but for you here are the instructions. Oh and the recipes for all components.

Pigeon pate

12 skinned breasts of wood pigeon

2x onions

4 cloves garlic

6 junioer berries

2 fresh bayleaves

200g butter

salt and black pepper

15ml double cream

Ingredients

1. Melt half the butter and saute the onions with the garlic for a few mins. Then add the chopped pigeon breasts and hearts and livers. /saute for just a few mins

2. Liquidise the above mixture adding the  remaining ingredients. Adjust seasoning to taste. Pour into suitable moulds and refridgerate.

As summer  draws to its climax, nature is full and in fruit. This time of year i move inexorably toward game in various forms. this week we  concentrate on Wood pigeon.

Since restaurants around the country have chosen to glorify and exploit this humble and cheap source of meat/ bird and turn it into the truffle of vermin, pigeon has gone from strength to strength. Yet in many ways it has been fucked about with over cooked and served with a strange and unneccesary variety of ingredients.

For all your information a whole wood pigeon costs from 30-50 pence per bird wholesale (on the feather) to £3-5 at a game dealer, farmers market etc which willl be dressed. However, you will never get the liver, and heart unless you know the shooter or person who butchered it. THAT person will have thrown the offal away.Wasteful Bastards…

For this entry though i have posted my dry cure for the breasts. These can then be hot or cold smoked later.

Dry Cure

300g sea salt

1 tbl sp brown sugar

12 juniper berries

3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary or thyme

1 tbl sp white peppercorns

2g Potassium nitrate(optional)

Method

1.In a coffe grinder or blender whizz up all ingredients barr the salt.

2.Now mix salt with whizz up bits.

3. Dust pigeon breasts in the  cure and place on a wire rack. Repeat

4. After 30mins remove breasts from cure and wash under cold water. Dry off with paper towel and leave to develop  a pellicle.

To Smoke

I have a Bradley cabinet smoker which i use for hot smoking which i set to cook at 80 degrees centigrade. I then add a quantity of oak shaving ligtly dampened. I thensmoke for one hour.