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.

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.

Ruth Rae’s Broad Bean and Goats Cheese PâtéBy Ben WatsonEdgy Veggie is a vegetarian and vegan takeaway that took off during lockdown and has since moved in a few doors down from our Totnes shop on the Totnes high street. It's broad bean season and our shops are brimming with them, so we asked owner and chef Ruth Rae to share her favourite broad bean recipe. A perfect dish for spring and summer, this earthy yet tangy and refreshing dish is light but satisfying.

Elizabeth David’s CaponataBy Ben Watson

Along with Tuscan Panzanella, Sicilian Caponata is a good way of pulling any mezze or antipasti style meal together and, as such and given how long it keeps, should have a berth in everyone’s fridge through the summer. Most people don’t see caponata as a pickle but it ticks most of the boxes and will keep for at least a week in the fridge. For an even longer life, put it in a jar, press down to get the air bubbles out and pasteurise to a core temperature of 72degC for twenty minutes.

Baba GanoushBy Ben WatsonWhether grilled, charred or cooked on an open-flame, 'smokiness' is what defines this classic mezze dish. There are many ways to skin an aubergine and it seems to be the fiddlier and messier, the better the result.

Rowley Leigh’s CaponataBy Ben WatsonTraditionally a Sicilian dish, caponata can be found in numerous variations of chopped aubergines, celery, capers and with older versions that even include cocoa powder. Although, this could be a step too far. Last July, chef Rowley Leigh hosted a Summer Feast with us and he opened with his classic caponata recipe served alongside our charcuterie.

Bengali baked cauliflower, brown rice and pickled onionsBy JasminChef James Dodd prepares perfect, easy dishes to cook for your partner on Valentine's day. Cauliflower is a superb and versatile bit of veg and a great alternative to a piece of meat.

Tasty BBQ spiced pork ribs, punched potatoes and slawBy JasminPotentially one of the more messy valentines meals you’ll eat and potentially reserved for the well-established couple who aren’t adverse to embarrassing themselves but seeing as we aren’t necessarily able to meet new prospective flames at this odd time in lockdown my assumption is that over the past year we have all learned to get to know one another even better so this recipe will certainly satisfy. The spice mix will make a little more than needed and I’d even recommend making double the recipe as its fantastic dusted on all sorts from nuts to tomatoes before roasting.

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.

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