What to Eat this Month

Welcome to the last in our series of seasonal recipes. To send us off with a bang, Susie Carter of Hampshire Fare has created a whole meal of seasonal local produce.

The Starter: Smoked Trout & Watercress Tart with Horseradish Cream

– serves 6-8

This recipe can be made entirely from produce grown within the South East. A simple tart made with trout and watercress from the same river, in a wholemeal crust made from local wheat, milled at a nearby water mill tastes divine, because the ingredients have grown up together and are meant to stay that way.

For the pastry:
200g wholemeal flour
100g butter
1 egg yolk

 For the filling:
2 medium onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
200g hot-smoked trout, flaked
150g watercress, chopped
Small bunch chives, chopped
6 eggs
200ml double cream
2 tsp garlic & horseradish mustard

To decorate:
100ml double cream
2 tsp garlic & horseradish mustard
20g cold smoked trout
Small bunch of chives    

• Rub the butter into the flour with a pinch of salt. When the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, add enough cold water to bind into pliable dough.
• Rest in the fridge for 20 minutes, then roll out on a floured surface and use to line a 25cm flan tin, leaving the edges to overhang until after the initial cooking. Prick all over with a fork, brush with egg yolk & bake for 10 minutes at 180c / GM4. As soon as it comes out of the oven, use the rolling pin to roll over the top of the tin - this will neatly trim the pastry edges and give the tart a professional finish.
• Fry the onion & garlic in butter until golden and sticky, then season and sprinkle over the pastry base. Top with the smoked trout, then add the watercress and chives in an even layer. 
• Whisk the eggs with the cream & mustard, season with salt & white pepper, then pour gently over the tart. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes – it is ready when the centre is set, but still has a moist springiness. Leave to cool.
• Whisk the cream with the horseradish mustard and salt and white pepper to taste until stiff. When the tart has cooled, cut into thick wedges and decorate each one with a teaspoon of the cream, a morsel of smoked trout & a little tuft of chives.

The Main Course: Rabbit in Chapel Down Wine with olives & capers

– serves 6

Rabbit is a great source of cheap, free-range, low-fat meat. Unlike a lot of game it's available all year round - pick up a couple at a South East farmers' market or order them in advance from your local butcher.

2 large rabbits, jointed
A little seasoned flour
Rapeseed oil for frying
1 large onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 bottle Chapel Down white wine
150g good quality Kalamata olives
2 tbsp salted capers, well rinsed
1 tbsp quince jelly
Small handful fresh oregano leaves, chopped

• Dust the rabbit pieces in the seasoned flour. Heat 4 tbsp oil in a large cast iron casserole dish or saucepan and sear the rabbit in batches on all sides until golden. Remove from the pan and add a little more oil if necessary.
• Fry the onion until starting to caramelise, then add the garlic and fry for 2 more minutes. Return the rabbit to the pan and give it all a good stir. When it’s all sizzling again nicely, pour in the wine.
• Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat, add a lid, and simmer for 1 and a half to 2 hours.
• 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time, stir in the olives, capers, quince jelly and oregano.
• When the cooking time is up, taste the sauce for seasoning - the capers may have been sufficiently salty, but add a pinch if needs be, and a good grind of black pepper. Mashed potato makes a great accompaniment, or try this seasonal cauliflower recipe.

Italian spice roasted cauliflower

1 large cauliflower
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp white peppercorns
Small pinch dried chilli flakes
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ tsp salt
4 tbsp rape seed oil

• Pre heat oven to GM4 / 180c.
• Break the cauliflower into large florets.
• Pound together the spices, salt and garlic in a pestle and mortar until finely ground.
• Put the oil in a roasting tin and heat in the oven for 5 minutes.
• Add the spices to the oil and stir, then add the cauliflower and baste to coat.
• Roast for 30 minutes until golden brown and cooked through.

The Dessert: Rhubarb, Honey & Custard Tart

- serves 6-8

While the North may be famous for their early forced rhubarb, the South East produces delicious naturally-grown varieties from April onwards. Using honey in the custard instead of sugar gives the tart the most beautiful glaze and tastes fantastic.

For the pastry:
200g plain flour
2 tbsp icing sugar
100g butter or a 50/50 mixture of lard and butter
1 egg yolk

For the tart:
800g rhubarb, trimmed
50g caster sugar
6 egg yolks
6 tbsp local honey
584ml pot double cream

• Pre-heat oven to 180c / GM4. To make the pastry, rub the butter and lard into the flour and sugar until evenly distributed. Stir in enough cold water to bring it together into pliable dough, then refrigerate for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, roughly chop the rhubarb and tip into a roasting tin. Sprinkle with the sugar and toss to coat, then bake in the oven for  15-20 minutes until tender. Leave the rhubarb to drain and cool down in a sieve over a bowl - save the juice in the fridge as it makes a great pick-me-up in the morning!
• Roll out the pastry on a floured surface and use to line a 23cm loose-bottomed tart tin. Don't trim the edges at this stage, but prick all over the base and sides with a fork and brush with the egg yolk. Bake the case for 10 minutes, keeping an eye on it to make sure the pastry doesn't puff up, pressing it back with a fork if it does.
• Reduce the oven temperature to 150c / GM2 and continue to bake the pastry for 10 minutes more. When it's crisp and golden, remove from the oven and use a rolling pin to roll over the top of the tart case, which will neatly trim the edges. 
• Heat the cream until almost to the boil whilst you whisk together the egg yolks and honey. Still whisking, pour in the cream until smoothly combined. Scatter the drained rhubarb in an even layer over the pastry, then pour the custard mixture through a sieve on top.
• Bake the tart for 40-50 minutes until the centre is set with a slight wobble. Leave to cool, but don't refrigerate - it's best just warm or at room temperature to keep the pastry crisp.

To source these ingredients from the South East of England please visit www.southeastenglandfoodanddrink.co.uk .

 

Susie Carter - recipes & food styling

Susie Carter is a Hampshire-based food writer specialising in recipes that feature local produce. She was a quarter-finalist in Masterchef Goes Large and writes a monthly recipe column for Hampshire Life magazine where these recipes were previously featured. She also works for Hampshire Fare Ltd, a not-for-profit company promoting food, drink and craft produced in Hampshire.

Peter Dawes - food photography

Peter Dawes has worked as a commercial photographer for over 20 years, setting up Peter Dawes Photography in 1991. He works on location and in his studio, a 500 square-foot, custom-converted 1860s barn in Otterbourne, near Winchester in Hampshire, just off the M3. He was one of the early pioneers of digital photography in the UK and now shoots exclusively in digital media.