• Warm salad of mixed local beetroot, English Goats cheese, salad sprouts, and summer herb dressing

  The ingredients in this delicious English salad are fresh and seasonal, and you should be able to buy them locally too. English goats cheese, is also one of the best in the world and can be found pretty much anywhere.

  Preparation time: 30 minutes
  Cook time: 45 minutes
  Serves: 4

  Ingredients:

  8 small beetroot, about 75g each
  3 tbsp English rapeseed oil
  3 x 125g English goats cheese such as (Capricorn or Gevrik or Welsh creamy)
  50g local summer leaves (from your local farm)
  100g sprouting beans or 50g seed mix
  Salt & freshly ground black pepper
  
  For the dressing
  50ml English EV rapeseed oil
  2 tbsp lemon juice
  Crushed clove of garlic
  2 tsp English clear honey
  1tbsp chopped chives, savoury or sorrel

  Method:

  Heat the oven to 200°C.

  Wash the beetroot and trim the root and the top. Cut in half and place in roasting dish
  Pour over the oil and coat the beetroots. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
  Place in the oven and cook for 30-40 minutes until tender.

  Place all the ingredients for the dressing in a jam jar and shake to combine.

  To assemble, place the leaves in 4 bowls, crumble over the goat’s cheese and sprinkle the sprouts or seeds. Arrange the beetroot around the edges and drizzle over the dressing.

  Serve with fresh country bread.

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• Cold Spicy Summer Tomato soup shots

  This is a deliciously fresh dish using tomatoes, which are in their prime over the summer months. In my opinion, tomatoes are a healthy and sun kissed fruit, but you can also use other fresh seasonal vegetables for extra crunch e.g. cucumber, pepper, red onion or fresh chilli. Buy from a local farm shop for the freshest ingredients and try to avoid the packaging supermarket vegetables usually have.

  Preparation time: 15 minutes
  Cook time: 0 minutes
  Makes: 12 soup shots

  Ingredients:

  2 flavourful ripe tomatoes (150g) roughly chopped
  1 small red pepper (150g) roughly chopped
  ½ small red onion finely (150g) roughly chopped
  1 clove garlic
  2 tbsp English extra virgin rapeseed oil (or EV olive oil), plus extra for finishing
  1 tbsp white wine vinegar
  2-3 drops Tabasco
  1 small chilli chopped
  ½ tsp sugar
  ½ tsp celery salt
  Salt & freshly ground black pepper

  Method:

  Place all the ingredients in a food processor and whizz until blended and smooth.

  Place a sieve over a bowl and strain the soup, pushing through as much as possible.

  Discard the solids and season the soup with sea salt & freshly ground black pepper.

  Chill, until very cold. (Or add a couple of ice cubes if you are short of time).

  Pour into shot glasses and drizzle with a little more oil and maybe a leaf of celery.

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• Ravioli of peas, spinach with soft British cheese and sage butter

  This recipe uses great, fresh British ingredients to create a delicious Italian dish with a very British twist. It’s quick to cook too.

  Preparation time: 1 hour
  Cook time: 10 minutes
  Serves: 6

  Ingredients:

  Pasta
  500g “00” pasta flour
  5 large free-range eggs
  Extra flour for dusting

  For the filling:
  200g podded peas, blanched and mashed
  100g baby spinach, wilted in a little oil, with salt & pepper
  100g British ricotta or soft goat’s cheese, finely grated
  Dessert spoon of chopped sage
  Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  To finish:
  100g butter
  20 sage leaves
  50g grated fresh British ricotta or a soft goats cheese

  Method:

  For the pasta:
  Place the flour and eggs in a food processor. Blitz until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs tip onto a floured surface and knead to bring together.

  Once the dough has been formed, shape into a big flat disc. Wrap in cling film and chill for 30 minutes. Remove from the fridge, cut in half and roll out with a rolling pin sprinkling with flour as you go, to a thickness of 1 cm. Pass through a pasta machine, on the thickest setting 3-4 times again dusting with flour. Repeat this through the settings of the pasta machine until the dough is about 1-2mm thick. Cut into a metre long length and lay on your work surface.

  For the filling:
  Mix the peas, spinach (squeezed really well) and cheese together in a bowl and season. Add the sage and mix again.

  Place a heaped teaspoon of the filling at one end and roll up. You should have 18-20 small balls of filling. Place each ball on the pasta leaving about 2 inches between each ball. Repeat until all the balls are on the pasta. Brush water round the edge of each ball and lay another sheet of pasta loosely on top. Using your fingers, push gently around the filling to push out any air surrounding the filling in the pasta. Seal each one and then cut with a sharp knife or pasta cutter or pastry cutter. Place each ravioli on a floured board or tray.

  Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add salt and cook the ravioli for 3-4 minutes. Drain and arrange 3 on each plate.

  To finish:
  Melt the butter in a frying pan until foaming. Add the sage leaves, pour over the pasta and sprinkle with the cheese.
  

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• Barbecue Organic British pork chop with green herb sauce & summer bean salad

  This dish uses local organic pork (bought from a farm shop if possible). The summer bean salad and green herb sauce are both made using fresh, local ingredients, and there are many places around the country where you can even go foraging for these ingredients – a much more interesting way of sourcing your food and a great day out.

  Preparation time: 40 minutes
  Cook time: 45 minutes
  Serves: 6

  Ingredients:

  6 x British Organic Pork chops weighing about 200g each
  1 tbsp fresh thyme roughly chopped
  4 tbsp mustard (English)
  Juice and zest of 3 lemons (keep the lemon shells for grilling & serving with the pork)
  3 x tbsp English rapeseed oil
  Salt and freshly ground black pepper

  For the green herb sauce
  2 cloves garlic
  25g fresh tarragon leaves
  50 sorrel leaves (plus a few to finish)
  25g fresh dill
  100ml Ev olive oil (or English EV rapeseed oil)
  salt & pepper

  For the summer bean salad
  250g broad beans
  250g shelled peas
  170g fresh cannelloni or tasty broad beans, rinsed
  100g radish topped, tailed & sliced
  Zest & juice of 2 lemons

  Method:

  For the pork:
  Mix all the ingredients together and use to marinate the pork. Chill for 30 minutes (make the green sauce).

  Heat the gas barbecue (or if cooking inside use a char grill/ridged pan).

  Cook the pork chops over a medium heat turning occasionally until the chops are fully cooked. Test near the bone with a small knife, there should be no pink meat and the juices should run clear.

  Rest for 10/15 minutes in a warm place.

  For the green herb sauce:
  Place all the ingredients in a small bowl or jug and blitz using a small hand blender (or food processor).

  For the salad:
  Blanch the beans & peas in salted water until tender (about 2 minutes).

  Drain & refresh under cold water. Mix with the other ingredients and season to taste.

  Place on 6 plates, place the pork chops on top and drizzle with green sauce and finish with a few sorrel leaves.
  

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• Summer berry & cherry mess with raspberry coulis

  This delicious desert smacks of summer with its fresh seasonal fruits. Try going to a fruit farm to pick your own, as a great way of saving money and getting the freshest ingredients around. English summer berries are some of the best available, and the sharp fruit, combined with the sweet meringue creates a dish to die for.

  You will need knickerbockerglory glasses.

  Preparation time: 30 minutes
  Cook time: 2 hours
  Serves: 6-8

  Ingredients:

  For the meringue:
  4 egg whites
  200g caster sugar – (alternatively use 6 shop bought meringue nests)

  For the coulis:
  200g raspberries
  50g icing sugar
  568ml double cream, lightly whipped
  500g mixed summer berries (strawberries, raspberries, currants, tayberry etc)
  200g English cherries, stoned

  Method:

  Heat the oven to 130°C.

  Grease and line a baking tray with parchment.

  Place the egg whites in a large bowl, whisk with beaters until foaming and then add the sugar gradually. Keep whisking until the mixture is very white and shiny and holds its shape (try the bowl upside down test).

  Spread the egg whites on the tray and bake for 11/2 hours or until the meringue lifts off the tray easily and allow to cool.

  Make the coulis by mashing the raspberries and then adding the sugar and pass through a sieve to remove the pips.

  Prepare all the berries and keep in a separate bowl.

  Arrange the “mess” by starting with berries at the bottom, then crushed meringue then cream then coulis. Repeat and finish with a few berries on top.
  

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