Sunday 10 July 2011

My First Review: Sharpham Park Organic Spelt

Do you love the British fashion brand Mulberry? Well, some say that fashion and food go hand in hand and Roger Saul, the founder of Mulberry has branched out into the food world with a range of organic spelt products. As an avid supporter of sustainable and organic farming, Saul uses traditional farming methods at Sharpham Park to harvest West Country spelt. Based on the Somerset Levels, the West Country spelt is milled on the farm and is the core ingredient in the Sharpham Park range.

For those who have never come across spelt, it is a grain that is a cross between Emmer wheat and Goat Grass and has been growing in Somerset since the beginning of the Iron Age, when it was brought over from the Middle East. Unlike the typical wheat that we encounter in many foods daily, spelt has a nutty taste and the unique brittleness of its gluten structure means that it is easier to digest. Although, not appropriate for diagnosed coeliacs, spelt is a popular alternative for those with a wheat intolerance.

The Sharpham Park organic spelt range is perfect for the kitchen cupboard and includes:
Flour for all your baking needs.
Cereals including porridge, honey puffs, granola and muesli.
Sweet snacks including a range of biscuits from shortbread to biscotti, brownies and flapjacks.
Savoury snacks with crackers, oatcakes and cheese straws.
'Speltottos' in pumpkin and shallot, courgette, garlic and thyme or sundried tomato and chilli flavours; and
Pearled spelt, which is the inner grain of spelt, used as an alternative to rice, lentils or couscous.
 

I was generously sent the three following products to test:

Pearled Spelt
As a staple food, pearled spelt is very versatile and works as a perfect substitute for rice, lentils or couscous in soups, salads, stews etc. I made a mushroom risotto to test the pearled spelt and was pleased to discover that it can be cooked exactly as risotto rice. Once I sweated chopped onions with butter in a pan, I added crushed garlic and brown mushrooms and then the pearled spelt. After ensuring all the grains were coated in the butter, I gradually added vegetable stock to create risotto al dente (Italian expression: cooked enough to be firm but not soft) and added cheddar cheese to finish. The nuttiness of the spelt definitely added an extra dimension to the dish and worked very well with the saltiness of cheddar cheese.

Recipes using pearled spelt can be found on the Sharpham Park website and a few can also be found on the packaging itself.
Sundried Tomato and Chilli ‘Speltotto’
This mixture of pearled spelt with a blend of sundried tomatoes and chilli was a delicious risotto (or rather 'speltotto') accompaniment to grilled chicken. All you need to do is add water to the contents of the pack and boil for 20 minutes. Perfect to have ready in your cupboards for a quick vegetarian meal on its own or a side dish.
Miller’s Muesli 
As an individual who routinely eats cereal for breakfast (and sometimes dinner!) I found this muesli was packed with dried fruit and nuts, which worked well with the spelt and kept me full until lunch time. It was a mix of spelt puffs and flakes tossed with barley flakes and jumbo oats with raisins, dates and apricots, crunchy sunflower seeds, almonds and walnuts. Terry Wogan has even commented on the Sharpham Park cereal range, "full of good things. It is all organic and locally grown and it's a British breakfast and best in the world." 
Spelt has a huge number of benefits, including:
-High protein content
-High energy content (more than other wheat varieties)
-High levels of complex B vitamins and iron.
-High levels of fibre (believed to reduce cholesterol and combat diabetes)
amongst others, which is why we are seeing it become more popular...

A Spelt bread stall at Taste of London June 2011

Wednesday 23 March 2011

Mad as a Hatter for Marvellous Macaroons Part II

What is the most logical thing to do after learning the art of making perfect Parisian macaroons!? Well, that would be to showcase your ‘baking talents’ at an event, thus Anna and I planned our first Mad Hatter Tea Party!


Two weeks before the party…
Our imaginations ran wild when we started compiling a list of the sweet and savoury treats we wanted to make. The initial draft included mini varieties of every dessert and baked good you could possibly think of (with the help of about 20 different cook books!) ranging from mini banoffee pies to classic cream and jam scones to woopie pies! Obviously, with only 2 pairs of hands doing the cooking, we had to cut the list down to ten items – five each.

The venue, date and time was set and the invitations were sent out. (There was no turning back!)

One week before the party…
With a week to go, the final menu was sent to our guests to get everyone's taste buds tingling and mouths watering!...


For the Sugar Daddy:

- Macaroons: Lemon Buttercream and Chocolate & Coconut Ganache
- Lemon Bars: Sticky Lemon Goo on a Shortbread base.
- Cupcakes: Double choc & Vanilla, with a Jam filling and Fudge icing.
- Profiteroles: Choux pastry puffs filled with Mascarpone Cream, topped with Chocolate.
- Raspberry & Almond Cake with a Vanilla glaze.
- Homemade Scones, Jam & Clotted Cream.
- Ginger & Lemon cake, with drizzle topping and a Lemon Buttercream.
- Choc n’ Choc Cookies.


For the Yummy Mummy:

- Sandwiches: Tuna & Cucumber, Salmon & Smoked Cheese, Egg mayo, Cheese avec Cheese
- Cheese twists


A selection of Teas & Coffees

Day before the party...
Even with all the ingredients bought and ready, I had completely underestimated the amount of time and effort it took to make multiples of five different tea party foods. I was in charge of the macaroons, profiteroles, double chocolate cookies, the raspberry & almond cake and all the sandwiches!

My best plan of action was to start with those that were the most time consuming to make and so at noon, I began with the macaroons. After a full day of manic multitasking, I successfully finished the macaroons, cookies and the raspberry & almond cake. However, through my fatigue in the evening, the profiteroles weren't such a success. They left the oven as solid savoury biscuits instead of light and airy puffs! In light of this, I decided it was time to sleep!

Day of the party...
It was fortunate that my final attempt at making choux pastry in the morning went well as there were few hours left until the start of the party. Once I added the finishing touches to the profiteroles by piping mascarpone cream into the choux pastry puffs and drizzling chocolate sauce over the top, I made four trays of sandwiches and was ready to go! I thankfully arrived at the venue just in time to finish laying the table before the majority of the guests arrived. Nothing could beat the overwhelming feeling of satisfaction once the table was fully laid…

Yes, Mad Hats were mandatory!


There was a fantastic turn out of almost thirty of our family and friends and the party continued well into the evening…with everyone leaving gleefully glutted! After the whole experience, I would definitely recommend throwing your own Mad Hatter Tea Party as an alternative social event.

Saturday 19 March 2011

Mad as a Hatter for Marvellous Macaroons Part I

I hope that everyone has been busy attending food events and experimenting with new ingredients and recipes! So, what have I been doing with myself? Since the Chocolate Unwrapped Show, I have attended the BBC Good Food Show Winter in Birmingham, tasted top grade coffee in Panama, eaten the best slices of pizza in New York City, overindulged at Christmas time with plenty of Brussels sprouts and celebrated Burns Night with haggis, neeps and tatties! However, this post will be focused on my most recent culinary adventure…a baking one.
Bocas Blended: a unique snack bar I visited in Panama.
One of the most exciting presents I received at Christmas was a cooking experience at L’atelier des Chefs in London. This cookery school, based on Wigmore Street in central London, was created in 2004 by French brothers Nicolas and Francois Bergerault. The brothers wanted to rekindle the French’s passion for cooking by opening the original school in Paris and they now have twelve other cookery schools in France, Belgium, Dubai and London.

The gift was a two-hour ‘All about...’ cookery class that taught you four recipes about a particular ingredient, type of food or cuisine of your choice. As a joint present with a friend, Anna, we decided to book the ‘Marvellous Macaroons’ class to brush up on our baking skills. Macaroons are meringue based cookies that usually contain ground almonds and have a variety of fillings. They are typically brightly coloured and have a melt in your mouth texture that makes them unique compared to other patisserie treats.

After putting on some dashing plastic aprons, we were greeted by our chef, Fabricio Cano Davila. As an accomplished chef, Fabricio worked in Michelin-starred restaurants including Devos Belgium before beginning to teach his craft in London cookery schools. The class was completely hands-on and we created dozens of macaroons with four different fillings under the instruction and support of the chef who demonstrated techniques at each stage of preparation. Overall, we successfully made pink, purple and yellow macaroons with raspberry and rose water cream, lemon buttercream, chocolate & coconut ganache and salted butter caramel fillings.

These were packaged for us to takeaway, but were promptly demolished on the journey home...yum!

*Anyone who has tried to make macaroons may have found them to lose their shape during baking, but the chef provided us with valuable tips to prevent this, including:
- Do not overwork the initial meringue and almond mix as this removes the air that makes them light and airy.
- Use powder food colouring as liquid affects the consistency of the macaroon mixture and can make them flat.

And onto a Mad Hatter...(See Part II)