recipes from organic local produce in our farm shops

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.

Fabada AsturianaBy Ben Watson

Tapas come in many guises, from simple tortilla to London-centric ‘picture on a plate’ restaurant creations but often in Spain, and also Chez Ben’s, they can just be a ladle of whatever is in the pot at the time. Spain has an abundance of bean stews and Fabada Asturiana is, without question, the best known – almost the paella of the north. It's as simple as they come but totally dependent on the quality of the meat ingredients. It's almost a religion and the packs of, ready to go, belly pork, morcilla and chorizo are available in every food shop (including Ben's Farm Shop). Complete authenticity requires fabes de la granja (large dried runner beans) and a lightly smoked, semi cured morcilla (black pudding), chorizo and thick slices of salted belly pork. In damp Asturia, they smoke all their preserved meats in the chimney. The morcilla is the only one that keeps it’s form when cooked so definitely isn't interchangeable. The real deal beans are expensive and hard to find so most people, including me, substitute fava/butter/judion beans. It's important to stir as gently and little as possible to keep the beans intact.

The end result isn't exactly short of flavour but the extremely inauthentic mojo picon adds a little body to what can be a pretty thin broth. As with all these dishes, a slow cooker is ideal.

Boston baked beans with baconBy Ben Watson

First Nation people were baking beans, sweetened with maple syrup, a long time before the Pilgrim Fathers arrived. A rum distilling industry soon developed in New England so the maple syrup was swapped for molasses or black treacle and Boston Baked Beans were born. It’s hard to imagine that tinned baked beans came from anywhere else. They were the first thing I cooked after my mother shipped me off to university with a slow cooker and a copy of Jocasta Innes’s Pauper’s Cookbook and they’ve remained a firm favourite ever since.

Crown prince and chard lasagnaBy Jess

This Crown Prince and Chard Lasagna is a hearty and satisfying dish that celebrates the natural sweetness of squash and the earthy flavours of chard. Perfect for a cosy dinner, it layers caramelised Crown Prince squash seasoned with warming spices, tender chard, and a rich, creamy white sauce infused with nutmeg and Dijon mustard. Topped with golden parmesan and baked to perfection, this lasagna is a delightful twist on a classic, showcasing the best of seasonal, comforting ingredients. Serve it up for a special family meal or as a delicious vegetarian centrepiece.

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.

Ultimate ChilliBy JasminThe best Chilli con CarneThere are few things as welcome and comforting as a bowl of chilli. A big pot just gets better and better as you go through the rice, baked potatoes, wraps stages and if there’s any left, or you just can’t face it on the fourth night, the filling makes a great a empanadilla that can be baked from frozen when unexpected visitors turn up at short notice.Minced beef is the norm but diced chuck, or even shin has more flavour and provides a little texture, even after prolonged cooking.I’ve only visited Mexico once, very briefly, many years ago and I had a lot of mushy beans, vegetable and rice burrito type things, all fairly spicy but not containing a lot of meat. Chilli-con-carne is very much a Tex-Mex thing and in typical fashion, they replaced most of the vegetables and beans with beef. In fact, just north of the border, they took out the beans altogether and called it, simply, ‘red’, probably because of the heat. Apparently, as you travel further north the beans make a reappearance but, for me, there are never enough - nor anywhere near enough vegetables. Onions, tomatoes and carrots are a gimme but there’s plenty of room for red peppers and butternut squash which make it a little more Mexican. The preferred heat level is obviously subjective but a good starting point is frying the onions and carrots in some of our nduja and adding chilli as it cooks. You can always add more but you can’t take it out.

Rainbow Goodwill PieBy Ben WatsonLoosely based on a combination of Anna Jones’s Christmas Goodwill Pie and Dan Lepard’s amazing rough puff pastry with a bit of our nut roast mix thrown in for good measure. OK; as I’m really coming clean, the inspiration for our nut roast comes from Felicity Cloake in the Guardian. Wherever it comes from, the stuffing adds a few Christmas flavours to the mix and makes it a bit more celebratory.

Montbelliard Sausage and Lentil casseroleBy Ben WatsonThis dish is a welcome addition on a cold day - a classic lentil and smoked sausage casserole. The perfect bowl of braised lentils is a special thing and, for me, this is as close as it gets...

Cordero Verde – Spiced Lamb CasseroleBy Ben Watson

Citrus and spice flavours make this one pot Spanish 'olla' perfect for seeing off the Autumn blues. In fact, the flavourings aren't all that different from those they would have used with mutton back in the day. Go large and make it last for a few days. Serves 8.

Sausages with fennel, borlotti beans and polentaBy Ben WatsonCognoscenti might recognise this as one of Nigel Slater's midweek suppers from The Observer magazine but the polenta and borlotti beans are my addition. It's equally good with soft/wet or firm polenta - timing is easier with the firm so I've done that.Serves 4.

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