The British Larder Inspirational recipe diary

It’s not often that I write recipes to serve one but this recipe is special. Ross and I only cook food we love to eat and that is perhaps a very selfish way to be when running a pub/restaurant. Well I’m the mussel lover in this relationship and it’s not often that I get a chance to eat them. Ross doesn’t really like any food that he has to eat with his fingers so he usually misses out on a mussel meal. When I see mussels on a menu I like to order it - BUT, and this is a big but, I have to trust the restaurant and also the chef. Now that might sound a bit controversial, however there is nothing worse than dirty mussels!! Gritty mussels with their beards attached is not my thing and it can easily ruin a simple humble and delicious dish in seconds.

Our friend

Even thought the game season has ended for now, I thought I ought to share this story and bank the recipe for when the next game season starts.

To put it all into perspective I thought that our move to Suffolk would be slightly harder than it actually has been. I’m talking about the integration with the local community and getting used to a slightly different way of life. Let’s face it - we are each working almost 100 hours per week and having to deal with all sorts of issues we frankly never ever needed to deal with in the past. But it’s like a marriage and we decided to take the leap into the unknown and pledge our vows for better or for worse, for richer or poorer and in sickness and in health…. and we are still here!  Happily united with the British Larder Suffolk.

At first we did

Since moving to Suffolk I became rather partial to a few things; one of them is the Aspall Cyder, also Dingley Dell Bacon, and strangely I fell head over heels in love with fresh horseradish and turnips… yes, you do read it correctly, turnips! I actually didn’t have a choice as one of our regular visitors often brings us Suffolk turnips… plenty of turnips too. It’s a well-known fact that the turnip is at the heart of the agricultural revolution, so I felt obliged to get up close and personal with the humble root vegetable.

At first I looked at them thinking oh gosh, what can I do with these boys. Let’s face it - a turnip is not the most exciting ingredient. Well then we learned that it can and will actually become rather delicious if used and cooked with a few of my favourite foodie ingredients. Mixing horseradish, Aspall

Scallops are one of my favorite foods and are bang on in season right now. Scallops are sweet and meaty; delicious! They are not only a delight to eat but a delight to work with… well that is if someone else does all the hard work in cleaning them for you. I have vivid memories of cleaning and opening scallops, then washing my hands using lemon dipped in salt, scrubbing for ages and then it still smells intensely after all the washing and scrubbing. The smell lingers on your hands for a long time.

The combination of cauliflower, scallops and apple is not new; no it’s done and dusted by fellow cooks for many years, but let’s face it, it’s rather good, and my old saying is if it is not broken then do not fix it. Cooking is not about re-inventing the wheel, no, for me it’s about doing a