Thanks to Levi Roots Caribbean cooking is enjoying a much deserved renaissance -
to whet your taste buds why not try our easy recipe for Mojo chicken.

Mojo-marinated roast chicken, just like grandma used to make! Serve with white rice, which is the traditional way. It’s also great with mashed potatoes . You can use half the mojo recipe for a smaller bird, drumsticks, or thighs.”
INGREDIENTS
120 ml extra-virgin olive oil
3 g ground cumin
7 g kosher salt
0.8 g dried oregano
15 g minced garlic
45 ml lime juice
45 ml orange juice
1 (6 pound) whole chicken, cut into pieces

DIRECTIONS

Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until very hot. While the oil heats, mash the cumin, salt, oregano, and garlic together into a paste in a heat-proof bowl; whisk the hot oil into the paste. Allow the mixture to cool slightly. Add the lime juice and orange juice; stir. Place the chicken in a large sealable bag; pour the marinade over the chicken and shake to assure an even coating. Refrigerate at least 4 hours, up to overnight.

Preheat an oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Arrange the marinated chicken in a roasting pan.
Bake the chicken in the preheated oven until no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 1 hour.

If you would like to learn more about the delights and flavors of Caribbean Cookery come and join us on 17th October at Northampton College

Flambé strawberries with quick lemon cheesecake 

Thanks to everyone who came to visit us at the Simply Specialists marquee over the bank holiday weekend – as promised Richards delicious Strawberry cheesecake recipe – let us know how you get on.

Ingredients
150g                Ginger nut biscuits
50g                  Butter
250g                Mascarpone Cheese
250g                Quark
½                     Lemon juice
                          Rind of one lemon
50g                  Icing sugar 

Method

1. Put the Ginger nut biscuit in a food processor and blend until a fine crumb is formed, add the butter and blend on pulse until combined.
2. Mix the quark and mascarpone cheeses together, add the rind of the lemon, and the juice of half a lemon and the icing sugar to taste, chill in the fridge.
3. Press the ginger nut crumb mixture into the bottom of the moulds for the cheese cake, making sure the mixture is firmly pushed down.
4. Put the cheeses cake mixture in a piping bag and pipe into the moulds, smoothing the top with the back of a spoon that has been dipped into boiling water.
5. Cool in the fridge for twenty minutes, or until the strawberries are ready.

Strawberry Flambé    

Ingredients

½                     Punnet strawberries (250g)
25g                  Butter
25g                  Castor sugar
½                     Juice from a lemon
25ml                 Brandy 

Method

1. Heat a frying pan and melt the butter, add the sugar and caramelise.
2. Add the lemon juice and reduce the mixture to syrup.
3.  Toss the strawberries in the sugar mixture.
4. Flambé with the brandy.

To finish

Run a hot knife round the cheesecake moulds and spoon round the Strawberry Flambé.

During May we usually witness the first cherries making their appearance from different parts of the world . Unfortunately they can be very expensive and rather unaffordable at this time of the year. Domestic cherries become abundantly available in June and July.
If you cannot resist the temptation, it’s worth buying a few simply to whet the appetite. Once we get into June and ideally July, this is the time when domestic cherries become abundantly available. Once the supply increases, the price naturally comes down.

There are so many traditional cherry recipes prepared all over the world. Germany is known for a distilled cherry spirit (kirsch) and of course black forest gateau. On the other hand, sour cherries are soaked into a hot or cold soup in many parts of Eastern Europe, whereas the French make clafoutis, a delicious batter pudding made with sweet cherries.

Preparation time is less than 30 minutes and cooking time is 30 minutes or until firm to touch.
First the ingredients for the filling:
450g/1lb fresh stoned cherries
2 tbsp kirsch (or red wine);
2 level tbsp granulated sugar;
2 tbsp ground biscuit crumbs (prefer digestive biscuits);

For the batter we need:
2 whole eggs;
2 egg yolks;
30g/1oz cornflour;
85g/3oz sugar;
250g/9oz double cream

Preparation Method

Step 1: Preheat oven to about 220C/425F/Gas7.
Step 2: Combine the cherries, kirsch and sugar. Place in an ovenproof dish. Put in the oven for 5 minutes or until the cherries turn hot. Drain them, saving the juices and let them cool.
Step 3: Reduce the oven temperature to about 180C/350F/Gas 4.
Step 4: For the batter, whisk the egg yolks and whole eggs until light and frothy. Add the sugar. Whisk until well blended. Now add the double cream and cornflour, then set aside to rest.
Step 5: Mix the cherries with the digestive biscuit crumbs, sprinkle slowly into the ovenproof dish, pour over the batter. Bake for about 30 minutes until golden and firm.
Step 6: Leave to cool down to room temperature, dust with caster sugar. Serve with crème fraîche flavoured with fine cherry juice or vanilla ice cream.

Preparation tips:

• Tip 1: Add the cherry juice to red wine vinegar for superb cherry vinegar.
• Tip 2: Biscuit crumbs absorb excess cherry juice that stops the final dish turning soggy.
• Tip 3: Batter can be prepared up to 2 hours before. Just give it another good whisk before use.

Most of us are aware that we need to get the balance right between healthy eating and a few treats. As we move into the summer sticking with healthier food is usually easier, with an abundance of crisp salads, fresh peas and beans, plus a host of succulent fruits.

One of the best ways to buy fresh, local produce is to visit your local farm shops. Here are a couple of my favourites in Northamptonshire, Wakefield Farm Shop, situated on the A5 at Potterspury, couple of miles from Milton Keynes, www.wakefieldfarmshop.co.uk. Smiths Farm Shop, Brampton Lane, Chapel Brampton, Northampton, www.smithsfarmshop.co.uk

If you have a great local farm shop let me know and lets make sure we take advantage of all the local fresh produce available.

Ingredients
For the sweet potato chips
30g/1oz butter
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into thick chips
1 garlic clove, lightly crushed
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1 sprig fresh thyme
For the battered trout
100g/3½oz plain flour
2 tbsp cornflour
handful ice cubes
small bottle sparkling water
vegetable oil, for frying
1 trout fillet, skinned
For the mushy peas
30g/1oz butter
1 garlic clove, crushed
100g/3½oz frozen peas
2-3 tbsp water or vegetable stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
2. For the sweet potato chips, heat the butter in an ovenproof frying pan over a medium heat and cook the sweet potato, garlic and herbs for 5-6 minutes, or until slightly browned.
3. Transfer to the oven and cook for a further 10-12 minutes, or until the sweet potato chips are golden brown and tender. Remove the thyme and rosemary sprigs and discard.
4. For the battered trout, place the flour, cornflour and ice cubes into a bowl and whisk in enough sparkling water to make a batter the consistency of double cream (you may not need it all).
5. Fill a frying pan to a depth of about 2.5cm/1in with vegetable oil and place over a medium heat.
6. Dip the trout fillet into the batter to coat on both sides, shaking off any excess. Carefully place the battered trout into the pan and fry for 3-4 minutes on each side, turning carefully with a fish slice, until the batter is crisp and golden-brown and the fish is cooked through. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
7. For the mushy peas, heat the butter in a small saucepan and cook the garlic for one minute.
8. Add the peas and the water or stock. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Allow to cool slightly.
9. Pour the peas into a food processor, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper and blend until smooth.
10. To serve, place the sweet potato chips onto a plate, top with the fish and serve the peas alongside.

This is the taste bud bonanza that all students on our A Taste of the Cotswolds course cooked, which took place on the 18th February.

If you like the look of this be sure to place your booking for our next A Taste of the Cotswolds course

Ingredients
For the soup stock
1 x 1.5kg/3lb organic free-range chicken
3 free-range chicken carcasses, roughly chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled, finely chopped
2 sticks celery, finely chopped
4 fresh parsley stalks
4 litres/7 pints cold water
For the chicken livers
100g/3½oz chicken livers, trimmed
100ml/3½fl oz buttermilk
salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g/2oz butter
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley, to garnish
For soup garnish
4 baby courgettes, sliced into rounds
1 bunch baby carrots, sliced into rounds
4 spring onions, cut into batons
100g/3½oz barley, cooked
100g/3½oz peas, shelled and cooked
100g/3½oz broad beans, out of their pods, inner membrane removed, cooked
For soda farls
450g/1lb plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1 heaped tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp cream of tartar
300ml/½ pint buttermilk
1 free-range egg, beaten
drizzle vegetable oil
100g/3½oz unsalted butter

Method
1. For the soup stock, remove the breast and leg meat from the chicken and reserve in the fridge. Place the rest of the chicken along with the chopped chicken carcasses into a large pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Drain, then return the chickens to the pan and add the finely chopped onion, carrot, celery and parsley stalks. Cover with the 4 litres/7 pints fresh cold water and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
2. Add the reserved chicken legs to the pan and cook for a further 20 minutes, or until cooked through. Remove the legs from the stock and shred the meat with a fork. Place the meat into a container and chill in the fridge until needed.
3. Allow the stock to reach room temperature, then cover and chill in the fridge. When chilled, strain the stock through a muslin cloth then freeze overnight in a container.
4. Dip the sides of the container in hot water for a few seconds to loosen the frozen stock from the sides, then tip the frozen block of stock into a sieve lined with a muslin cloth, placed over a clean bowl. Allow the stock to defrost, until all of the melted stock has dripped through into the bowl, leaving behind any impurities in the cloth.
5. For the chicken livers, place the chicken livers into a bowl. Cover with the buttermilk and leave to soak, covered, for two hours in the fridge. Drain, then pat dry and set aside until needed.
6. For the soup garnish, bring the chicken stock to the boil in a clean pan and blanch the courgettes, carrots and spring onions in the stock for 2-3 minutes, or until tender. Add the shredded cooked chicken leg meat, along with the cooked barley, peas and broad beans. Warm through for 4-5 minutes, then remove from the heat and keep warm.
7. For the soda farls, mix the flour, salt, sugar, bicarbonate of soda and cream of tartar together in a bowl. Make a well in the centre, then pour in the buttermilk and crack in the egg. Mix lightly together, drawing in the dry mixture from the sides, until the mixture comes together to form a dough.
8. Roll the dough out on a floured work surface until 1cm/0.5in thick and cut into 4cm/1.5in rounds with a pastry cutter and lightly flour both sides.
9. Brush a frying pan with a little vegetable oil, then fry the soda farl rounds over a low heat for 4-5 minutes on both sides, or until golden and cooked through.
10. In a separate frying pan, melt the butter until foaming, then fry the cooked soda farls for 2-2 minutes on both sides, or until crisp and golden-brown.
11. Season the chicken livers with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Melt the butter in a frying pan until foaming, then fry the livers for 2-3 minutes on both sides, or until golden-brown but still slightly pink in the middle. Transfer to a bowl and crush the livers with a fork. Spread the chicken livers onto the toasted soda farls and garnish with the finely chopped parsley.
12. To serve, bring the chicken soup to the boil. Ladle the soup into four serving bowls and serve the soda farls with chicken livers on the side.