It’s been three weeks since we have opened the doors to the British Larder Suffolk. It’s been hard work and I relied heavily on preparing dishes like this herring escabeche to help me through very busy days. The beauty is that you can make the salad early in the morning or even the day before, and when it comes to serving the dish it’s perfectly pickled. I like the simplicity and pureness of this recipe, it’s not at all complicated. I serve this herring escabeche salad with pickled green beans and plenty of buttered brown bread, and the pickled vegetables are just as delicious.

Herring is a very bony fish and it’s not easy to remove all the bones, however the richness of the oily flesh is perfect for pickling. Alternatively, you can use sardines or mackerel - I buy the really small sardines and butterfly them, but again you end up with a bone problem.

The pickled green beans is a recipe from my mother. When she visited last summer she gave me this recipe from my grandmother’s recipe book and I have been making it regularly throughout the summer. It not only adds the perfect crunch to this dish but also makes a fantastic partnership with a good bit of cheddar on malted brown bread.

We stayed in the glamorous Hudson Hotel with it’s beautiful minimalistic but striking interior and super tiny rooms. You need to be a size 6 to stay in the rooms because there is no room to turn around, Philip Stark did a good job and designed a beautiful hotel but boy oh boy did he not allow any space for ones suitcase. Anyhow we did not spend that much time in the room as we were busy testing out all the foodie establishments.

The hotel is situated near the foot of Central Park near the Time Warner Building and home to Bouchon Bakery. Thomas Keller is a very creative and clever business man. We visited the bakery every morning for a coffee and a different treat every time. We loved sitting at the high tables, close to the counter to watch the chefs at work through the hatch. We found the perfect spot and sometimes found ourselves there for too long observing them. They were superb craftspersons and produced the most stunning and beautiful goods.

Mr.P became partial to a biscuit fairly similar to this salted peanut brittle biscuit. He had the ideas in his head for quite some time to recreate that indulgent buttery salty taste of those Bouchon Peanut Butter Biscuits. The recipe is entirely a development of our own and after a few attempts we finally recreated a recipe that we feel represents the taste sensation of the biscuits of New York.

Watching the world go by in New York City is wonderful and sometimes very amusing too. At Bouchon they baked Foie Grass Dog Biscuits as the early joggers with their posh pooches stopped off for a skinny de-caf, a slice of watermelon and a delectable treat for the dog. We struck up a conversation with the ladies behind the counter as they eagerly told us a tale about a chap that came in regularly to buy himself one of these doggy treats. He was constantly told that the biscuits were for his dog and not for  him but he insisted that  it was delicious and continued nibbling away. Well that story left us giggling all day, typically a tale of New York.

I used the cherries in three ways; raw in a delicious salad for superb freshness, cooked into a flavoursome and powerful compote and finally dried, and then using the dried cherries to make a fizzy sherbet to coat the freshly cooked dougnuts.

All the cherry flavours work incredibly well served with this very light goat’s milk, set into a soft pudding, and it’s best served in small glasses.

The goat’s milk pudding has it’s own unique natural fresh taste. If you make the goat’s milk puddings and turn them out, remember to add more gelatine to ensure that they do not collapse. This recipe is for a soft set.

If cherries is not available you can use other berries and seasonal stone fruits instead such as blueberries, blackberries; apricots and plums.

I came across this video of  USA baking legend Peter Reinhart and I must say he confirmed my feelings for baking bread. His passion together with his simplistic and humorous manner of explaining how to make the perfect dough, what happens during the “making” process and all things  technical  is just simply perfect!

If you have a  spare 16 minutes watch this video as it definitely clarified any remaining issues as to why I still sometimes bake bricks! Baking bread is the radical transformation of taking wheat or flour and making it into a tasty loaf, it’s a tricky process and the fate of your loaf lies in your hands. The baker makes the ultimate decisions on which flour or ingredients to use but a small fluctuation in temperature and timing  will effect the final outcome of your loaf.

In short you cannot fast track the process and without the true understanding and knowledge it’s a daunting task. Anyone can bake bread but armed with the knowledge and know how, it’s an even more interesting and exciting process.

Peter talks about the 12 stages of bread baking and explains the Bakers Mission of extracting flavour from wheat or flour:

1. Mis-en-place – weighing ingredients and getting everything ready
2. Mixing – developing the gluten to give the dough the strength to grow and activates the yeast
3. Fermentation – developing flavour – this is the stage  where the yeast ‘eats’ the sugars and starts to ferment by creating carbon dioxide and alcohol- in Peters words the yeast “burps” and “sweats”
4. Dividing – the dough into smaller pieces which makes it easier to handle
5. Shaping – Shape the dough into required shapes such as loaves, rolls, sticks etc..
6. Resting
7. Final Shaping
8. Panning – transferring the dough to suitable tins and baking vessel such as baskets, loaf tins or baking trays
9. Final Fermentation also known as proving stage
10. Baking – Three transformations take place: 1. the sugars caramelise and forms a crust; 2. proteins coagulate at 160°C, this forms the crumb of the loaf; 3. gelatinisation takes place when the dough reaches 180°C, all the moisture is absorbed and the yeast bubbles bursts and all the flavours are transferred to the bread
11. Cooling
12. Eating!

Click here to view the embedded video.

This lavish lobster macaroni is the exact dish that we have put on the menu for the opening and will enable me to produce proper costings  I thought it best if I cooked this dish to give all the British Larder readers a look test and once the doors are open you could happily tuck in on the taste test. It’s not going to be the cheapest dish on the menu as you can imagine but it surely will be lavish and cooked with a lot of love.

When I cooked this dish, I so enjoyed every moment as it took me right back to the years when I used to cook lobsters every day for the lobster raviolis on the exquisite  menu of the restaurant where I used to work . It was a daily task performed early in the morning and it was my job to cook the lobsters, pull them apart and prepare the meat for the raviolis. I have a mild allergy when I touch cooked lobsters, my fingers swell up and they itch fiercely. I remember how the boy’s used to call me a “pansy” for wearing the yellow marigolds, they thought I could not stand the pain  when the sharp bits of shell pierced my finger but it was due to the mild allergy. Boys!! I can eat it  which is a good thing because this is one of those dishes I would not miss for the world.

Lobster is still classed as a delicacy with its incredibly high prices. Lobster should not be taken for granted and for that reason I use the whole lobster to make this lavish dish. It takes the average lobster about eight years to reach maturity, hence the strict fishing regulations that ensure a caught lobster must measure at least 10cm from the eyes to where the tail is attached to the body. There are several groups of crustaceans known as lobsters. However, the most commonly known and used by chefs in the UK is the North American or European lobster, with its blue coloured armour. See the one in the picture above, it was brought in from the river Ore near Orford.

The living embodiment of the British Larder materialised with a bang at the official VIP launch party on Tuesday 3^rd August, and to our delight, approximately 180 guests turned up to see what the brand new British Larder Suffolk is all about.

With the doors thrown open and all the little finishing touches in place – the freshly painted walls, stripped wooden floorboards, pots of herbs on each table, jars of goodies adorning the bar, crates of vegetables and jars of jam – the British Larder, Suffolk is finally real. I can still hardly believe it…

Ross and I set to work in the kitchen to make tasters of food for guests, and the menu featured Dingley Dell pork belly, Hill Farm mash with a port wine sauce, Five Winds Farm shoulder of lamb, watercress pesto and cob nut garden salad, orange soused East coast mackerel, fennel and kohlrabi slaw and beetroot tart tatin with broad bean crème fraiche, among others.

Public speaking isn’t really my forte but I took great pleasure in welcoming all the guests to our new restaurant venture, and the food certainly went down a treat! From journalists and local suppliers to council representatives and British Larder fans, the guests seemed to be really savouring the wonderful food, drink and atmosphere at the British Larder, Suffolk. So exciting!

I have to admit it has been a challenging time for all of us – so many people have been involved in this project to make it happen and I can’t thank them enough for the support and effort they have given me. I do feel a sense of relief that it’s actually happening now, the limbo period of groundwork has been put in place, and now it’s time to really get things moving.

The British Larder, Suffolk has begun to feel like home for us – we have settled in and are incredibly excited to build upon this dream and make it a tangible, long-standing business success. It has been so hands-on from the beginning – I even personally planted all the trees and flowers embellishing the outside frontage!

With all the hard work that has demanded pretty much all of my time and energy, I have been slightly less involved in my website blogs, but fear not, it’s all settling down and I will establish a routine that will allow me to balance cooking, writing and running the restaurant (phew!).

I am really excited about getting down to writing more recipes and gathering some fantastic inspiration from my new rural surroundings. Having a daily changing menu is a wonderful way of demonstrating the best of the local, seasonal produce at its freshest, as well as expressing our creativity in the kitchen!

We really look forward to welcoming you through our doors to visualise, taste and experience the British Larder, and to share our passion for food and drink in the beauty of the Suffolk countryside, so pop in and pay us a visit!

For bookings please contact us on: 01394 460310

I found the original recipe very rich and the treacle was a bit too much for me, especially when the loaf matured after one day, it was very strong. Nevertheless it’s a superb recipe and I love Dans reference to  this recipe being the original British “energy bar”.

We particularly enjoyed it toasted for breakfast with a thin scraping of slightly salted butter and a cup of ‘builders’ tea. It’s the perfect loaf to start my busy and hectic day.

When I first read the recipe I was baffled about malt extract as I had neither heard of  nor used it, so I was slightly unnerved as I did not no where to get it  or what I could use instead. I was determined to make this recipe as it was meant to be, so after a bit of internet research I realised it’s a normal regularly used ingredient. I found that the Julian Graves stores stock malt extract so I trotted off to our tiny town centre and to my sheer delight  I found a jar.

Dan’s recipe says that you can use raisins or prunes, I decided on prunes as I’m not a great fan of raisins. I also chose to use St Peters golden ale and Woodbridge Mills whole meal flour that I had bought from the Snape farmers market last month. I could nearly call this loaf a Suffolk Power loaf, I wonder if Dan would approve ?

I liked the tip of lining the loaf tin with oats, I thought it gave my loaf the perfect professional touch. It looked well rounded off and also added to the final taste.

I feel less guilty about indulging in this loaf as it’s got all the makings of a healthy product, shall we just turn a blind eye to the butter and golden syrup!?

As I found this loaf keeps well and after a day or two it’s even more delicious. I have frozen a few leftover slices and it comes in very handy to be toasted for breakfast.

This malted prune loaf will be lovely in a picnic basket at the seaside as it gives everyone extra energy to enjoy a swim in the sea.

One place I cannot resist visiting is Brinkley’s Shed on the quay and run by local fishermen. It’s here that I found this marvelous local caught seabass and when I faced  the sea, I discovered the wonderful sea purslane growing nearby. I like to visit Brinkley’s as each visit has it’s own mystery finds. They sell what’s in season and fish caught on that particular day. It’s wonderful that there are businesses that focus mainly on the seasons.

Other places I love visiting  in Orford are two smokehouses. one attached to Pinneys restaurant and the other is Richardson’s. They both sell the most amazing smoked products however each specialises in their own field. Pinneys also have  a famous oysterage and  sell the most wonderful smoked prawns. Richardson’s treacle cider smoked ham hock is simply mouthwatering and makes my delicious warm treacle cider smoked ham hock and spring barley salad.

For me seabass still remains a special treat but it very much depends on the season. Seabass is versatile and can be  paired easily with a large range of flavours and ingredients. It is also delicious baked whole en-papilotte or tastes   exceptional when pan-fried in this Orford-Landed Sea Bass with Warm Smoked Bacon, Broad Bean and Sea Purslane Salad. The seabass is one of the many species which have suffered from intensive fishing and high demands however the extensive conservation project that has taken place over the past years has meant that we can now enjoy the return of the local caught seabass from our British shores. It’s a true delight and fantastic feeling walking along the beaches and harbours of the Suffolk coast, typically at places such as Southwold, Orford and Aldeburgh and find freshly landed seabass, skate and cod, all of which have benefited from the intensive conservation projects.

I guess you are wondering what sea purslane is, well I only discovered it last year myself when I went on a Food Safari Seafood in a Day event. Sea purslane is a fantastic wild coastal foraging find with its matt green colour and slightly swollen leaves. The taste is interesting and is almost a reminder of salt and vinegar crisps. When the leaves are freshly picked early in the morning they are still crispy with a lovely salty taste of the sea. Sea purslane is mainly found on salt marches, which are flooded at high tide. It is particularly delicious used as an ingredient with seafood dishes served raw or cooked as per this recipe.

Well, to begin with, Mr.P and I arrived shell-shocked in the middle of the countryside, proud new owners of our own establishment but a bit dazed by the prospect of how much work there is to do.

There we stood with the keys in our hands and stars in our eyes, and a whole load of boxes to unpack! It wasn’t long, though, before an army of workmen trooped in and brought us back down to earth and onto the job in hand.

Almost immediately, carpets were ripped up, woodwork was being sanded, walls were being painted, and the hectic creation of the British Larder, Suffolk is in full swing – if slightly hard to visualise in the midst of a building site!

It really rang home when I woke up this morning to look out of my window to see bunnies chomping on the grass and butterflies dancing in the country air. We had taken a walk across the field behind the pub the night before, only to discover a delightful lake inhabited by playful otters. This was truly it – rural reality.

The most exciting news came when we took a stroll around the grounds only to stumble across a small meadow right next door, and there over the fence was a little herd of rare Hebridean sheep grazing contentedly in the sunshine. We happened to get chatting to the owner of our new found friends, and to our delight, it transpired that it was the Wildlife Trust sitting practically on our doorstep.

With a hop and a skip of an explanation about the British Larder, Suffolk, we made an agreement to be able to select out sheep from the herd and (vegetarians close your eyes now!) send them to a local abattoir, so that we can use the fresh meat to make wonderful dishes! Now you can’t get more local than that!

The bucolic idyll didn’t last long though, as important things that needed our attention flooded in like a great tsunami wave of exclamation marks. Between finalising menus, ordering stock, overseeing the ‘building site’, organising the installation of the kitchen and unpacking boxes, I’ve even had to cook lunch for all the hungry workmen!

It’s so exciting I can hardly express it, but with so much to do before the British Larder, Suffolk is ready to open its doors and offer a fantastic wealth of food and drink to locals and beyond, there’s not even a single second to take a breather.

I have to admit, there have been times where I have been filled with fear, but it’s a journey of discovery and new experiences, and while it might be stepping into the unknown, it is my passion for food and everything I have created in the British Larder that is keeping the momentum going!

While I might be hammering nails and cleaning paintbrushes at the moment, it certainly won’t be long before I’m over the fence picking out one of our Hebridean sheep friends to feature on the British Larder Suffolk menu, gathering dandelion leaves from the meadow, and baking fresh bread in the kitchen…

Elderflower cordial has so many wonderful uses and is not only good for a refreshing elderflower drink on a hot summers day but is also perfect for delicious jellies and works a treat in sorbets and ice-creams. The flowers  could be dipped in a light tempura batter and fried until crisp to serve as a garnish for added texture.

I used the elderflower cordial to flavour this delicious crème fraîche tart and paired it up with a lovely array of strawberry treats. Its great fun, you might not have all the tools to make all the garnishing bits, but if you can give the tart a go as it’s simply wonderful.

The recipe for this tart has been in Mr.P’s little black recipe book since he began cooking in 1996. This recipe did cause us a bit of drama and distress as we had filed it’ in a safe place’. We must have  tipped the house upside down looking for it, you can imagine as I do not quite know what it looks like, all I know it’s written in pen on a small piece of paper belonging to this little black book that had lost its cover. We were searching high and low for about a week, Mr.P hardly spoke to me as I obviously got the blame for it’s disappearance. He was walking around like a bear with a sore head who had just lost his best friend. Finally we found the piece of paper and  we could actually get on with making this dish.

To top it all off, the ingredients that we had purchased to make this dish had gone off by the time we found the recipe, so back to the beginning and we started the journey again from scratch. It was definitely worth the effort as it’s delicious and well worth the time, tears, tantrums and effort. I think the lesson learned was not to store things’ in safe places’ or do not purchase your ingredients until you have located the recipe. We are now giggling over the chaos that we caused ourselves; at the time it was quite a traumatic event. Boy’s and their….not really toy’s…but …..well recipes!