Recipes

At the Farm Shop we don’t treat cooking as a precise science, nor are we trying to give a comprehensive list of recipes. These are some of our favourite dishes and we hope you’ll give some of them a try. They’ve worked for us on countless occasions but that doesn’t mean, with a bit of imagination and a few tweaks, they can’t be improved. Good luck.
<img alt='' src='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bafce3d67ba5226356f86d6f725ea24ecc054998d1b1e00682cd7d2d7ef7a38a?s=96&d=mm&r=g' srcset='https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/bafce3d67ba5226356f86d6f725ea24ecc054998d1b1e00682cd7d2d7ef7a38a?s=192&d=mm&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-96 photo' height='96' width='96' />Recipes by Ben Watson
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Chinese Style MeatballsBy Ben WatsonBeyond the holistic perfection of leek and potato soup, I don’t have much appetite for the old fashioned ‘cream of whatever’ concoctions. I’m much more a ‘stoup’ fan, whether it be chowder, minestrone or something similar, and few ‘Cook’s Cheats’ work better than our Miso Ramen Broth and Fish Soup bases. We’ve done the work for you and all you need to do is chose your seafood or ramen additions.Char Siu pork is probably the most common ramen meat ingredient, but I’m a big fan of a Chinese style meatball. Lion’s Head Meatballs with vermicelli noodles, bok choy and Chinese leaves/Napa cabbage are a good place to start. It's really more of a noodle soup than a classic ramen; a Shanghai classic and easy to make. Traditionally, they’re made big – one per person – and served in a bowl with the vermicelli and bok choy ‘mane’ beneath – hence the ‘lion’s head’. Ignoring the aesthetics, small meatballs win hands down on all other counts, so that’s what I do, and the danger of ending up with broth all over your table cloth and shirt front is averted.
Marmalade MarzipanBy Ben WatsonWe only tend to use it at Christmas but marzipan is wonderful stuff and incredibly easy to make. Easter is on the horizon and if you’re Simnel cake inclined, homemade marzipan is so much better than shop bought. Well chilled, you can grate it into Hot X buns and tea cakes. It’s really not hard either and it doesn’t have to be ultra sweet. Many recipes call for orange zest but a few spoonful's of marmalade are so much easier. Most home made recipes call for egg as a binding tool but the marmalade does much the same thing.
Lily Watson’s Whipped Tofu with Harissa ButterBy Ben WatsonDaughter Lily has been vegan for many years, so I thought she might be better advised than myself as to what’s happening on the edge, so here is her second recipe contribution in celebration of Veganuary. I've had enough bland, cardboard like tofu over the past few years. I'm not saying it can't be good - it can - but it can also be pretty disastrous. However, blended until creamy and topped with something fun, it's hard to go wrong.
Mayo-Roasted (a month after) Thanksgiving Turkey with GravyBy Ben WatsonTime: about 2 hours, plus overnight dry-briningSome recipes for mayo-roasted turkey promise extra-juicy results with minimal effort. This one does no such thing. The mayonnaise won’t help the turkey stay juicy; only salting and resting (a light curing process known colloquially as dry-brining) and carefully monitoring its internal temperature as it roasts will.The mayonnaise will, however, produce a turkey with glistening, burnished, golden-brown skin evenly flavoured with herbs, no basting required. The mayo’s viscosity helps it stay in place as it roasts, while the extra protein from egg aids in browning.This recipe will make a little more mayonnaise than you’ll need. Use the excess for leftovers sandwiches, or toss it with roughly chopped vegetables (carrots, broccoli, brussels sprouts, courgette or squash) before roasting at high heat for 10 to 15 minutes.
Simple Fish Soup with SofritoBy Ben WatsonI’m never sure where a fish soup crosses the line and becomes a bouillabaisse but suspect that my cooks cheat version sits somewhere in the middle. Rouille spread on toasted bagette, saffron, a handful of mussels in the shell and a selection of Mediterranean fish would definitely make it a bouillabaisse but, given the Spanish sofrito base, I think we’ll stick with fish soup. For the fish stock, I prefer something reasonably light but for a classic Provence or Basque fish soup or bouillabaisse they really go to town making sure there is plenty of fish heads and skin as well as white fish frames and intentionally boil the bones to produce a thick cloudy stock. Some recipes even call for blitzing the bones and passing it through a potato ricer / food mill. The choice is yours. For the fish, to keep it simple and cheap, I use those little red mullet fillets you can quite often get from the fish van in Totnes market and, correct me if you know something I don’t, I can’t see anything wrong with frozen precooked and shelled mussels. After all, we are cheating.
Panissa alla VercelleseBy Ben WatsonA classic nose to tail Piedmontese risotto. Harry and I cooked this in preparation for our Piedmont wine evening at the bar, and I thought it was absolutely delicious. Unctuously moreish would be an understatement with lardo, pork rind and bone broth all adding to the ‘cucina rustica’ party.
Spanish SofritoBy Ben WatsonI’ve been making, and preserving Spanish style sofrito using the water bath method, for some time and, as mentioned, it’s a great base and speedy cook’s cheat for everything from fish soup to paella to bean stews. I wouldn’t leave, or stay at, home without it.
Plum FrangipaneBy Ben WatsonFrangipanes of various kinds have been my go-to dessert for years. Let’s face it; it sounds, and is, a bit more impressive than Bakewell tart. The frangipane is easy-peasy, and doesn’t change much and for the fruit – the choice is yours. And varying, all year round, seasonal frangipane is a distinct possibility because forced rhubarb works a treat – as does all the end of season pears, blackberries, damsons etc. Bottled, spiced plums are good but fresh, slightly underripe ones are just tart enough to keep it interesting. Using, and blitzing, a third, whole almonds adds a bit of texture. Homemade pastry is always best but if you’re feeling lazy, just go and buy some. It will still be good. The quantities below make a Watson sized, 26cm (approx. 3cm deep) tart but you can never have too much frangipane.
Lily Watson’s Grilled ‘Kimchi Hispi CabbageBy Ben WatsonForty years is a long time in the food business and I have to confess that staying ahead of the game in the food world can be trying. So, I’ve delegated to my daughter Lily. Since running the Smokehouse last summer, she’s actually moved up to the smoke and been working in some uber cool coffee joint in Shoreditch. I thought it might be a good idea if she brought us up to speed on what’s happening on the edge. First up is her grilled ‘kimchi’ hispi cabbage that worked so well last summer. The world seems to have slightly fallen out of love with kimchi (let’s face it, it is a bit overpowering) and moved on to other ferments, but this is a great recipe that doesn’t blow your head off.
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