The following seasonal recipes have kindly been provided by Martyn and Damian from the Blue Anchor in Crowborough

Recipes for October

Will appear here very soon!

Recipes for September

Smoked Tomato Chutney
500g finely chopped red onions, 1 kg chopped tomatoes, 3 cloves of garlic smashed into small pieces, red chillies very finely chopped, 1 teaspoon All Spice, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 250g brown sugar, 200 ml red wine vinegar.
Put all of the ingredients into a pan and simmer for about 3 hours.

Pickled Peppers and Courgettes
2 large red peppers, 1.15 kg courgettes, 350g red onions, 850 ml good quality white wine vinegar, 225g Demerara sugar, 25g mustard seeds, 1 teaspoon celery seeds, 1 rounded teaspoon ground turmeric, 1/2 teaspoon ground mace, 2 red chillies de seeded and very finely chopped, 40g sea salt - crushed.

You will need 4 x 500 ml preserving jars that have been sterilised. To sterilise your jars wash them and the lids in warm soapy water, rinse well in warm water and dry them thoroughly. Place on a baking tray in a medium oven, Gas Mark 4 for a minimum of 5 minutes. Put the vegetables in whilst they are still hot. This first bit needs to be done the night before: Deseed the peppers and slice them into 2 inch strips. Slice the courgettes into 1/2 inch slices. Halve the onions and cut them into 1/4 inch slices.
Put the veg into a colander in layers, sprinkle each layer with salt. Put a bowl underneath the colander to catch the juices and another with a weight in it on top. Leave this overnight.
Next day rinse the veg off in cold running water and then press them to get rid of any moisture. Pat dry with a tea towel and then leave them on the tea towel for a couple of hours to really dry them out. Put the vinegar, sugar, chillies and all the spices into a pan over a medium heat stirring until all the sugar dissolves. Simmer for about 3 mins and then add the vegetables and simmer for another 3 mins. Fill the 4 preserving jars right to the top with the pickle. Make sure that all the air is expelled by swivelling the jars and make sure that the veg is really pressed down under the liquid before you put the waxed discs on top. Seal with vinegar proof lids and store in a cool dry dark place. Best left for 3 months to really let the flavours work but they can be eaten after about a month if you can't wait!!

Műcver with kisir
An easy, quick and very tasty Turkish dish: grate two or three courgettes and a small onion and squeeze out any liquid (by hand, over a sieve is easiest). Add about 2/3 of a cup of grated cheese (cheddar is fine, feta is more authentic), chopped fresh dill, 2 eggs and a cup of flour. Mix to a thick batter and shallow fry until golden.
Serve with kisir – cook bulgur wheat according to packet instructions and mix with loads of chopped ripe tomatoes, parsley, spring onions and lemon juice, sprinkle with salt. Add finely diced fresh red chilli to taste.
Variations – add grated carrot to the műcver; swap dill for parsley or use both, or fresh mint; flavour the batter with paprika or cayenne; serve with yogurt and a cucumber and dill salad; sauce with tahini and lemon juice; use in a wrap with salad leaves. Kisir is lovely with walnuts or hazelnuts added; bulked up with chickpeas or any crunchy salad vegetables. And you pronounce them “much vair” and “kiss ear”. Enjoy.

Recipes for August

Lubieh Bil Zait - (Runner Beans with Tomatoes & Garlic)
Ingredients:
500g Runner Beans - topped and tailed and cut in half
1 Onion - diced
6 tbsp Olive Oil
1 large head of garlic - finely chopped
6 fresh tomatoes
1 tsp sun dried tomato paste
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

In a large cooking pan, fry the diced onion in the olive oil for a couple of minutes, add the garlic and fry for a few more minutes. Add the topped & tailed and cut in half runner beans to the pan and fry on a very low temperature for at least 20 mins, stirring from time to time. Add the fresh tomatoes, sun dried tomato paste, salt and pepper and stir well. Cover the pan and cook for a further 20 mins stirring well from time to time. Serve hot or cold with Pitta Bread



Sichuan Fried Beans
Wash and trim 500g beans and cut to 1” to 3” lengths. In a very hot wok or deep frying pan, add 1 dessert spoon of oil until smoking and stir-fry the beans for 4-5 minutes until they are a bit wrinkly and browning. Scoop the beans out and put aside.

Finely chop one medium onion, 4-6 cloves of garlic and 2 inches of fresh root ginger. Add another spoon of oil to the pan and stir fry all the above with about 4oz of minced pork or leftover cooked pork. When the pork is cooked, add a teaspoon each of crushed Sichuan pepper and dried chilli (the dish is supposed to be hot, but you are free to chicken out and use less chilli) and 2oz of coarsely chopped pickled mustard green (optional – readily available in Chinese supermarkets). Stir in the cooked beans and heat through. Finish with a splash of sesame oil and eat.

None of the quantities are set in stone – adjust to your taste. Great with plain rice or noodles (or cooked new potatoes added in small chunks at the end). You can splash on soy sauce, add rice wine (or a dash of sherry), use fresh chillies instead of dry, and vary the vegetable and the minced meat to your hearts desire. Tofu can work instead of pork, but is best cubed and deep fried first.