St George's Day - very English feasting

The Feast of St George - 23rd April

For Stokes marmalade and St George

Unlike the celebrations for St Patrick, St David and St Andrew, our poor old dragon-slayer and Patron Saint of England is celebrated by fewer and fewer genuine patriots.

The pubs of England won't bustle unduly and town squares won't resonate to merriment bursting forth from Englishmen in shining armour and ladyfolk sporting frocks and maiden comeliness.

But ...
we few whose pageantry admire,
and marcheth upon
bellies full of English fayre,
do celebrate this day and feast
for England and St George
flags raised mightily aloft
and tables wealthy laden
with Stokensian culinary flair.

Our Celebration of English Foodie Favourites


When you wander round the 'wikisphere' in search of English food favourites, you find many common threads including tea and toast, jam sandwiches, bubble & squeak, bangers 'n' mash, Yorkshire pudding, Piccalilli, ploughman's lunch, fish 'n' chips and - yes - chicken tikka masala.


Individual toads in their 'oles

To make individual Toads in the Hole, we're using muffin tins with the sausages divided and the batter poured into each. If you prefer one big one, replace the muffin tin with a large roasting tin. Perfect with peas and onion gravy. Tip - add 2 tablespoons of Stokes Red Onion Marmalade to the onion gravy for deeper, sweeter caramelised onion taste.

You'll need:

• 200 g of plain flour
• 5 eggs
• 100 ml of milk
• 100 ml of cold water
• 1 tbsp of Stokes Cider & Horseradish Mustard

Here's how:

Put all the flour in a large bowl adding two eggs and half of the milk and water, mixing well. Mix in the remaining eggs, milk, water and mustard and chill for 30 minutes or so.

Put a drop of oil in the base of 4 sections of a muffin tin and heat it up in a medium hot oven for 5 minutes. Put 2 half cooked sausages in each section and pour the batter mixture around the sausages.

Bake for 20 minutes and serve with peas and rich onion gravy.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Never ever has this dish been made or served in India either prior to or since independence. It was invented for us and is commonly listed as top of the English culinary pops.

There are many many recipes for this dish. It is the ingredients for the masala sauce that gives it it's wow factor.

Before this though, here's an instant way of cheating. In butter, fry a chopped onion and a chopped red pepper in a wok (or similar) until soft and juicy.

Now - tip a pack of pre-made supermarket chicken curry into the wok, add 3 tbsp of low fat yogurt, 2 tbsp of Stokes Curry Ketchup and 1 tbsp of Garam Masala. Cook through and serve. 

They'll think you made it from scratch - let them !

For the propper job...

You'll need:

• 2 tbsp of ghee or butter
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 4 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1 tsp of: ground cumin, chilli, ginger.
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp of ground turmeric
• 2 tsp of medium curry powder
• 1 tbsp of garam masala
• 2 tbsp of Stokes Curry Ketchup
• 1 x 400 g tin of chopped tomatoes 
• 175 g of low fat yogurt
• 2 chicken breasts, boneless, skinned and cut to mouth size pieces
• 2 chicken thighs - ditto.

Here's How:

Using a wok (or similar), soften the onion for 5 minutes then add the garlic, cumin, chilli, ginger, cinnamon and turmeric and stir for 2 minutes to release the spices.

Add the tomatoes and simmer for 5 minutes. Now add the yogurt and ketchup, curry powder and the chicken pieces and simmer on a low heat for 30 minutes.

Ideally, do all of this 2 or 3 hours before you need it and gently re-heat the dish before serving.

Ploughman's Lunch


It is a joy that this noble pub lunch is returning to some of the house specials boards, as there's little to beat a pint and platter of all things wonderful.

There has to be a pork pie and thick slices of English ham as well as some of the many wonderful English cheeses we produce. And of course pickles to bring it all together with a good helping of Stokes Piccalilli.

Piccalilli is a wonderful old English preserve for young vegetables. Our piccalilli offers crunchy garden vegetables in a sweet, tangy, mustard sauce spiced with turmeric.

One of its best buddies is ham hock or ham hock terrine - which you can get on an exceptional ploughman's lunch.


Fish 'n' Chips - yes please

Thank you Aldeburgh Fish & Chips ... it's just not right without sauces from Stokes.

More foodie thoughts for the week:






Caption competition and other Facebook fun here.










Our baking series - the next tasty instalment here.











British Beef Week - watch 'the finest steak' video here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Coffee and cake - it's time to bake

UK Coffee Week 2018

There's nothing more delightful than a cup of coffee and a slice of cake on a Sunday afternoon, particularly if you have baked the cake yourself.

Coffee is on the calender this month with UK Coffee Week running between 16th and 22nd April. This is a nationwide celebration of coffee that unites the industry with its customers to raise valuable funds for the communities that grow our coffee.

All funds raised during this week go directly to Project Waterfall, an initiative established to bring clean water and sanitation to coffee growing communities around the world.

If you want to pop out for a coffee and support this great cause, click here for a list of participating coffee shops near you.


Let's Bake

Last week we enjoyed the humble scone and the promise of more baking in our new series this week.

Triple layer sponge

You'll need:

• 225 g of caster sugar
• 225 g of unsalted butter, softened
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 225 g of self-raising flour
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• 2 tbsp of whole milk

Here's how:

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 6. Grease and line three 18cm loose-bottomed sandwich cake tins. Beat the sugar and butter together until light and fluffy.

Add the eggs, bit by bit, beating well after each addition and adding a little flour if it starts to curdle. Now add the flour, baking powder and milk and beat to combine them.

Divide the mixture evenly and smoothly between the tins and bake for 20 minutes until golden and the cake springs back when lightly pressed with a finger. Turn them out on to a cooling rack and leave to cool completely.

Now assemble your cake with lashings of Stokes Extra Jam between each layer and a dusting of icing sugar to finish.

Lemon Brandy Snaps

You'll need:

• 50 g of dark brown sugar
• 50 g of golden syrup
• 50 g of butter
• 50 g of plain flour (plus extra to dust)
• 1 tsp of ground ginger
• 150 g of Stokes Lemon Curd
• 100 ml of double cream.

Here's how:

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 6 and line 2 baking trays with baking parchment. Melt the sugar, syrup and butter in a pan and remove it from the heat when the sugar has dissolved. Add the flour and ginger and beat the mixture to a thick paste.

Roll the paste into a ball, cling film it and chill it for 30 minutes or so. Divide the paste and roll to create 6 round disks roughly 2mm thick and bake for 7 minutes until crispy golden brown.

Whilst still warm, form each disk into a basket shape on the back of a ladle and leave to cool.

For the filling, whip the cream to soft peaks and fold in the lemon curd. Chill for 30 minutes then fill the baskets - yummy!

After licking your fingers to clean off all that sweet loveliness,

you deserve an equally tasty savoury break:

More foodie thoughts for the week:







Unusual methods with marvellous mayo here.









 

Spring is in the air but some romances might struggle here.










Springtime ingredients - seasonal sensations here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Make it with mayonnaise - unusual and oh so tasty

What, with mayonnaise? Really?

Now available in 345g and 210g jars.

Sometimes you hear or read a recipe and shudder at the thought of this or that ingredient - surely that won't work.

Like Letitia Cropley from the Vicar of Dibley who Geraldine Grainger dubbed the 'Queen of Cordon Bleugh'.

Letitia gave the village such delights as Marmite cakes, lemon curd with ham and cheese, and a bewildering concoction of chocolate with cod's roe - shocking !

The big difference with the following recipes is that they don't just work, they're amazing. And they all use Stokes Real Mayonnaise or Stokes Garlic Mayonnaise.


Scrambled eggs & smoked salmon

There are plenty of tips for making great scrambled eggs: Melted butter; fresh and free-range eggs; a drop of milk per egg and one for luck; reduced heat; constant movement and no doubt many more.

Try this - for amazingly creamy scrambled eggs, beat 2 teaspoons (for a 4 x egg scramble) of Stokes Real Mayonnaise into the eggs before pouring them into the pan to cook. 

You won't actually taste the mayonnaise, but benefit from the velvety finish that our adding extra virgin olive oil gives to Stokes mayonnaise.

Homemade chicken nuggets

It's frustrating when the breadcrumbs don't stick to the chicken or the whole thing goes soggy, but, thanks again to mayonnaise, this is a thing of the past.  Use mayonnaise as the 'glue' to attach the breadcrumbs and they'll stick and taste great too. 

You'll need:

• 3 large chicken breasts
• 1 tbsp of Stokes Dijon Mustard
• 2 tbsp of Stokes Garlic Mayonnaise 
• 200 g of panko breadcrumbs

Here's how:

In a large bowl, mix the mustard and the mayonnaise. Place the breadcrumbs in a second bowl. Cut the chicken into 2cm thick strips and coat them all well in the mustard mayo mixture with a pinch of salt and twist of pepper.

In small batches, roll the strips in the breadcrumbs until they are all well coated. Place the strips on a greased baking sheet - avoid them touching each other - and bake at a medium high heat for 15 to 20 minutes.

For a scrummy sauce mix equal amounts of Stokes Dijon Mustard, Stokes Real Mayonnaise and runny honey - it's amazing !

They are naturally delicious dipped in any of Stokes Ketchups, Dips, Sauces and Mayonnaise.

Mayonnaise glazed chicken

It was Louise (one of our Facebook followers, left) who first raised my eyebrows to this. Since then I've seen more references and tried it - wow ... thank you Louise.

By massaging Stokes Real Mayonnaise over a whole chicken before roasting it, it comes out with a beautiful, glistening, crisp skin. We're pretty sure it's the mayonnaise rather than the massage that helps. 

Variations on the theme add tasty highlights which work wonderfully - to the mayonnaise add spices or herbs, lime zest, cheese etc before massaging the bird. 

Or switch our Real Mayonnaise for Stokes Garlic Mayonnaise. It works for weekday suppers of chicken breast or leg joints too.

Try this version yourself...

You'll need:

• 4 chicken breasts, supreme
• 4 sticks of celery
• 6 lemons, quartered
• A generous grating of Parmesan cheese
• 2 good tbsp of Stokes Garlic Mayonnaise

Here's how:

Mix the mayonnaise with the cheese and spread (or massage) it over the skin of the chicken joints. In a roasting tray, make a trivet with the celery sticks with the lemon on top of the celery and the chicken (skin up) on the lemon.

Add about 1 cm of water to the tray, sitting just below the top of the celery trivet and roast on a medium high heat for 40 minutes until the skin is wow and the chicken juice runs clear.

Set the chicken to one side and remove the lemons and celery. Add a good knob of butter to the pan on a hot hob and reduce the juices to a delicious pouring sauce.

So simple, so good.

More foodie thoughts for the week:






Baking time and 'National Coffee Week' here.










Spring is in the air but some romances might struggle here.










Sensational seasonal ingredients here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Seasonal ingredients - sensational flavours

More seasonal sensations

Spring is my favourite season. Whatever the weather, the spring harvest is good, the meat is sweet, the fish sublime, the vegetables, fruits and herbs are alive with freshness, colour and flavour.

Spring sits between borders of swaying daffodils and sheltered carpets of peaceful bluebells.

It sits between Wordsworth's romantic take as his

'heart with pleasure fills, and 
dances with the daffodils'

...and Mark Twain's realism as he

'counted 136 different kinds of weather 
inside of 24 hours'.

Romantic or realist - Spring tastes delicious

Asparagus and spring onion tart 

There are all sorts of variations to this basic open tart that once discovered, will become a feature of lunchtimes in your household as they have in ours. For this version:

You'll need:

• 375 g of ready made puff pastry
• 2 good bunches of asparagus, thin or cut in half lengthways
• 6 or 8 spring onions
• 1 leek, chopped
• 2 medium eggs
• 1 tbsp of Stokes Dijon Mustard
• 250 ml of double cream
• 40 g of grated Gruyère
•  40 g of grated Cheddar

Here's how:

Pre-heat a medium oven 180°C/gas mark 6. Roll the pastry into a 27 cm x 19 cm tart tin, folding in each of the edges by 1 cm to make a border.

Prick the base of the pastry (within the border) with a fork. Soften the leek in foaming butter until it caramelises and spoon it onto a plate to cool. Mix the eggs, cream, cheese, mustard and leeks and pour the mixture into the tart base.

Arrange the asparagus and onions on top (try to make them the same size by slicing them lengthways). Brush the raised border with a further beaten egg, then bake for 25 minutes.

For alternatives add chorizo or smoked ham.

Simple plaice and potatoes

Both the fish and the potatoes are in season, as are radishes - the suggested side dish.

You'll need:

• 300 g of baby new potatoes (approx)
• A bunch of parsley
• A plaice fillet each
• The juice of half a lemon
• 1 tbsp of rapeseed oil
• 2 tbsp of plain flour
• 1 tbsp of Stokes Creamed Horseradish Sauce
• 2 tbsp Stokes Real Mayonnaise
• 25 g of butter.

Here's how:

Boil your potatoes, drain and coat well with the oil, the horseradish and the mayonnaise.

Dust the fish with a little flour and fry skin side down in foaming butter for 2 minutes. Gently flip them to cook the other side for 1 minute. Remove them from the pan and plate up with a serving of the potatoes.

Quickly add another knob of butter to the same pan with the lemon juice, some chopped parsley and a couple of good grinds of black pepper. Pour the lemon butter over the fish and enjoy.

 Pan roasted radish


This makes a really tasty seasonal side dish for the plaice (above). Here's something to note - don't discard the radish greens, they are delicious with the same peppery taste as rocket.

Here's how:

In an oven-proof pan, gently soften a handful of sliced shallots in butter for 5 minutes. Add two good handfuls of halved radishes with two chopped spring onions and fry for 2 minutes then transfer to a hot oven.

After 15 minutes, return the pan to the hob, add the radish leaves and wilt them with the radish and onion before serving.

Spring slaw

With a work surface of fresh spring ingredients, a mandoline, large bowl, wooden spoon and a jar of Stokes Real Mayonnaise (or our Garlic Mayonnaise) you can create a tasty seasonal accompaniment to - well just about anything.

What shall we put in our slaw: hispi cabbage, fennell, radish, spring onion (cut lengthways into ribbons), celeriac, red onion, watercress. Try adding pieces of segmented grapefruit which is also at its best right now and adds a sharp fruity 'twang' to the affair.

More foodie thoughts for the week:





Baking time and 'National Coffee Week' here.











Spring is in the air but some romances might struggle here.











The unusual magic of mayo here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Facebook favourites and springtime tweets

Life and lives @stokessauces

Rick @Stokessauces  is the life and soul of all things Stokes.

Seen here with two of his friends behind The Old Stables in Rendlesham, his personality and passion for great taste and superlative ingredients is enthusiastically shared by the whole team.

We met Charlie, the Rhea, last week when he and his girlfriend Hilda were having a little chat and followers were invited to enter a caption competition.

One might say 'Fool (if you think it's over)' - but two?

The previous week's winners to the Wallaby caption competiton (below) were: Mandy Richardson, Annie Taylor and Matthew Brooks-Phillips.

Matthew's was my favourite with (think Spice Girls):

If you wallaby my lover, 

you got get with my friends  

 
What else has been happening 
on Facebook & Twitter

Spring is certainly in the air but this is a relationship that just might have problems

...ahhh !

More signs of Spring, in the kitchen this time where lunch can be simple and delicious.

This is such a good place to find and share tasty ideas ...

... hmmm Stokes Sweet Chilli Sauce - that's taste.

It's always a joy to stumble across restaurants, shops and friends with equally great taste in ketchups, relishes, mustards and mayonnaise. From Suffolk to Conwy ... and beyond.

More foodie thoughts for the week:







Baking time and 'National Coffee Week' here.










Sensational springtime ingredients here.











The unusual magic of mayo here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150

Spring's seasonal larder - for tasty seasonal dishes

Seasonal sensations

Spring is bountiful in its seasonal ingredients. Nature has pushed the gloom of winter aside to open its doors to delicious offerings from land and sea.

The season at its best includes: Cauliflower, Cabbages, Lettuces, Radishes, Purple Sprouting Broccoli, Broccoli, Spring Greens, Sea Kale, Watercress, Morel Mushrooms, Wild Garlic, Sorrel, Rocket, Rhubarb, Wood Pigeon, Jersey Royal New Potatoes, Cod, Clams, Crab, Halibut, Sea Bass, Lemon Sole, Salmon, Sea Trout, Sardines, Cockles, Spinach and Spring Lamb.

Plates of food become lighter, look prettier, taste sensational and are generally better for you. All you need to finish a dish is a drizzle of dressing or immodest spoonful of mayonnaise.

Today, we have three simple yet delicious recipes using
crab, clams and fresh Cornish sardines.


Spaghetti alle vongole

Clam spaghetti. This is probably one of my all time favourites partly because it is so simple and partly because of the natural sweetness of the clams contrasting the delightful zing of the chilli jam.

You'll need:

• 140 g of dried spaghetti
• 500 g of small fresh clams (in their shells)
• 3 tomatoes, skinned and diced
• 2 tbsp of finely diced shallots
• 2 tbsp of Stokes Bloody Mary Ketchup
• 2 tsp of Stokes Chilli Jam
• 1 x 250 ml glass of dry white wine

Here's how:

Rinse the clams, discarding any that have opened. Whilst the pasta is cooking, soften the shallots in hot oil, then add the tomatoes, chilli jam and ketchup.

Tip the clams into the mixture with the wine and simmer with the lid on for just 4 minutes.

They say to shake the pan to move the clams about but do it gently to avoid breaking the shells. In a large serving bowl, combine the clams and their cooking liquor with the cooked, drained spaghetti.

It's a joy.

Sardines with wilted cos

Walk anywhere at any time on the Algarve and you will smell the ubiquitous aromas of grilling sardines. Yet these lovely little things are often overlooked in Britain, despite being landed in their hundreds and thousands, particularly now, around the coastline of Cornwall.

People are often put off by their tiny bones. Now, you can buy them filleted and if served on toast, the crispy bread acts as a psychological decoy for any tiny hair-like bones that may remain.

You'll need:

• 12 sardine fillets from 6 fresh sardines
• 3 tbsp of rapeseed oil
• 2 tbsp of lemon juice
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely grated
• 2 tsp of Stokes Chilli Jam
• 3 or 4 baby cos lettuces
• 2 tbsp of Stokes Creamy Caesar Dressing
• And a handful of chopped parsley to finish

Here's how:

Brush the fillets with a little oil and lemon juice whilst heating the garlic and chilli jam in a large pan. Put the fillets in the pan, skin side down. Add a twist of salt and pepper and cook for just 3 minutes - no need to turn them.

Remove the fillets from the pan and set aside, keeping them warm. Now cut the cos hearts lengthways in half or thirds and fry them with a good coating of the Caesar sauce in the pan from which you have just removed the fillets, having first turned the heat up high. You are looking to wilt the outside but leave the hearts crispy.

Now put the fillets onto toasted rye bread, drizzle with the remaining oil, lemon juice and a scattering of parsley and serve with the spectacularly tasty greens.

 Crab cakes

This is a good but basic crab cake recipe to which you can add, replace or remove any variation.

You'll need:

• 250 g potatoes, boiled and mashed
• 300 g of white crab meat
• 1 tbsp of drained, chopped capers
• 2 finely chopped spring onions
• The zest and juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp Stokes Sweet Chilli Sauce
• 2 tbsp of plain flour
• 1 beaten egg
• 85 g of panko breadcrumbs

Here's how:

Mash the potatoes without cream and only a little butter as we need this to be a fairly dry ingredient and set them aside to cool.

In a large bowl, mix the crab meat, capers, spring onions, lime and sweet chilli sauce. Add the potato mash until the ingredients are well combined and form into 12 equal patties. 20 minutes in the fridge will firm the patties up for frying.

Taking 3 plates, put the flour in one, the egg in another and the breadcrumbs in the third. Now in that order - flour, egg, breadcrumbs - coat each of the cakes. In gently foaming butter, cook the cakes in batches for 3 or 4 minutes each side until golden and crispy.

You'll enjoy this particularly with two side dressings: Stokes Garlic Mayonnaise and Stokes Sweet Chilli Sauce.

More foodie thoughts for the week:







Facebook and Twitter, updates and winners here.










Bakers if you're ready - let's bake here.









12 tasty ideas using horseradish sauce here.

If good food makes you happy
...adding Stokes will make you smile ;)

 FOOD MADE BETTER 

www.stokessauces.co.uk

01394 462150