Dinner

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.
DinnerCategories
All CategoriesMain IngredientBeefChicken and poultryGameLambMuttonPorkSausageSeafoodVegetableMeal  DinnerLunchSeasonAutumnSpringSummerWinterSweetDessert
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.
Pesto alla Poly TunnelBy Ben WatsonLike many, I think I might have overdone it a bit on the tomato planting in the poly tunnel yet again this year, so any way of preserving them in their semi fresh state is to be jumped at. My basil is also entering its 'use it or lose it' stage so when Rachel Roddy started eulogizing about the about pesto alla trapanese in the Guardian a few weeks ago when I was on the verge of binning bucket loads of its two main ingredients, I sat up and took notice. The third ingredient, almonds are far cheaper than pine nuts, but I still couldn't resist substituting a part ration of sunflower seeds. That seemed to work, leaving the possibility of swapping olive oil for rapeseed oil, for a true Pesto alla Brexit. Rightly or wrongly, I've always been a bit wary of the neonicotinoid/rapeseed connection so tend to avoid it, but I'm sure it would work.A brief online search revealed that the Pesto Trapanese recipe is about as loose as they come - the main areas of divergence being the amount of garlic and whether or not to add a pecorino type cheese. I quickly decided that the cheese was best left until the end but the garlic was more difficult. Rachel Roddy's 1-3 cloves seemed more reasonable than others' 6-10 but whilst the latter puts me in quarantine for a week the former was a bit insipid. Tempering the full amount by lightly roasting might seem cowardly but it bought about benefits in terms of body, depth and untuosity (good word).I imagine it would be good with pasta but it never gets further than a piece of toast in my house - maybe with a slice or two of griddled courgette - I have an abundance of those too.
Green Eggs Over LentilsBy Ben WatsonThe best things are often afterthoughts and this was just that. I was tweaking Nigel Slater's 'hangover' beef salad and I ran out of beef. I thought the eggs, lentils and Mojo Verde worked a treat together. As you might have noticed, Mojo Verde seems to have sneaked its way into a lot of my suggestions. As I've said, it's become a sort of green ketchup chez Benz!
Rare Roast Beef and Lentil SaladBy Ben WatsonRare roast beef and lentils are a great basis for any salad but what really gives this it's oomph is the addition of a few roast vegetables and our Mojo Verde. Adding the beef juices into the dressing will take it to the next level.
Sticky Shiitake MushroomsBy Ben WatsonCooking the mushrooms in cornflour gives them a rich, meaty texture that pairs beautifully with the sweetness of the caramelised ginger and garlic. Tasty and satisfying.
Beef and Mushroom StroganoffBy Ben WatsonSome would insist that only fillet steak should be used for a classic stroganoff. Most people would disagree and go for frying steak, cut into the requisite sized strips. If you don’t fancy pasta, this goes well on sourdough toast, or as a side.
Irish Stew for St Patrick’s DayBy Ben WatsonChef, Richard Corrigan, came up with the idea of using two sorts of potatoes and it works a treat. The floury ones disintegrate while the waxy remain just that. As a stew, it’s fairly wet but the flavour is in the juice so have some good bread handy. Using shoulder steaks, rather than neck fillets or best ends, makes it far cheaper but it will take a bit longer to cook. See the original version here. There is some controversy about whether carrots should be included in this dish. Escoffier says no, but what would a Frenchman know about Irish stew? I like them. Cold pickled red cabbage is a traditional accompaniment in Ireland.
Lamb braised in milk with garlic & fennelBy Ben WatsonThis recipe is rather rich and luxurious, hailing as it does from New York's Italian super chef, Mario Batali, and adjusted to use shoulder steaks. The Florentine fennel is a BFS addition. For some reason wild fennel seed and Florentine fennel bulbs are rarely used together but I can’t think why. It seemed to work.
Kimchi noodle soupBy Ben WatsonKimchi is good in simple ramen style noodle soup. You can make it as simple – or as complicated as you like. Soft boiled egg, nori, chashu pork etc are all optional.
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