BCS Chef - Hannah

Introducing Hannah our Resident Chef

We are delighted to welcome Hannah who is going to be bringing you the very best of British food through her unique and exciting recipes and useful cooking tips. She is here to inspire you!

Having been experimenting with her own cooking style for over 15 years, cooking British food is her passion.

Hannah's ideas are strongly led by the seasons, loving to use the freshest ingredients and combining them with good British classics such as Colman's English Mustard or Tate and Lyle's Golden Syrup which are available here at British Corner Shop.

In fact Hannah's cupboards are filled with ingredients not dissimilar to those of her grandmother's larder fifty years ago - ingredients that never go out of fashion. It was her grandmother who ignited that cookery spark in Hannah when she was younger.

Fittingly, Hannah has experienced the expat lifestyle in France and says she understands the desperate urge for some key familiar British products amongst the wonderful foods available locally.

Hannah admits that she has a weakness for cookery books! She has a strong creative flair and cannot resist adding her personal touches to any recipes she tries – something she would encourage other people to do too.

There is some healthy competition in Hannah's household as her partner also likes to cook. And who knows her young son may follow suit too as he already has a taste for good food – not surprising really is it?

Hannah's recipes are traditional but with an often modern twist. We bet you can't wait to try them!

Hannah's ultimate ambition is to become a respected food writer combining her love of cooking and writing perfectly. She hopes one day to write her own cookery book – "championing the wonderful uniqueness of British cuisine".

Hannah's last word – "Seasoning, seasoning, seasoning!" Don't forget it!

Hannah's Blog

11th May 2012

With the Diamond Jubilee approaching, I thought it would be the perfect time to explore our great British culinary tradition.

We all know the dishes - the stick to your ribs food of childhood, each conjuring up a precious long forgotten memory. These dishes are the stalwarts of British food. Good regional produce, accompanied by sauces, relishes and beverages all too familiar, and all too soon forgotten in lieu of chilli sauce and mayonnaise.

Our 'Great British Dish of the Week' will hopefully inspire and enlighten, so let's begin!

Fish and Chips

There is something wonderful about the seaside - the taste of salt on your lips, the rustle of the chip paper, the translucent flesh, crisp batter and small vehemently green pot of mushy peas plus the promise of ice cream if you eat up all your fish and chips.

This is the national dish with which Britons were fortified through war and rainy days. Where would we be without the 'chippy'?

A fish supper is simple to make at home.

Peel and cut some potatoes, blanche them in oil at 160 degrees, drain them, and then fry them a second time at 185 degrees for extra crunch.

Take a good fresh fillet of haddock or cod (sustainably sourced of course), dip in a simple beer batter (made by combining 100g of flour with some salt and pepper and a good ale until the consistency of double cream), and then fry at 185 degrees until crisp and golden. Of course, dripping is the traditional frying fat and delicious it is too!

I think tinned Batchelors Chip Shop Mushy Peas are essential, as is a good dollop of Colman’s Tartare Sauce. Serve with salt and the obligatory Sarson's Malt Vinegar, quenching your thirst with the traditional accompanying drink of Ben Shaws Dandelion and Burdock. Perfection.

20th January 2012

This coming week, we have two 'events' on the calendar; the 24th marks my wonderful Grandmother's 101st birthday. Guess who's making the cake? The following day, I can indulge in a traditional Burns Night Supper (I do have Scots ancestry!). Traditionally opening with 'The Selkirk Grace':

Some hae meat and canna eat, And some wad eat that want it; But we hae meat, and we can eat, And sae let the Lord be thankit.
The Selkirk Grace

A Burns Night Supper is a perfect excuse to bring friends and family together.

So, this 25th of January wherever you are in the world, why not raise a wee dram to Rabbie and enjoy some fine Scottish fayre. Traditional Haggis, Scottish Rumbledethumps (potato, cabbage and onion) or Neeps and Tatties (potato and swede) are all wonderfully seasonal and form the basis of the Burns Supper.

Follow with a generous homemade Cranachan (recipe below) and some good single malt. Delicious!

Cranachan

Ingredients

80g of Pinhead Oatmeal
30ml of good Whisky
250ml of Double Cream
2 good tablespoons of Heather Honey
Fresh Raspberries (or defrosted frozen berries)

Method

Toast the pinhead oatmeal in a frying pan until lightly browned and then soak overnight in the whisky.
Whip the double cream with the heather honey.
Layer in pretty glasses with the raspberries - raspberries, cream, oatmeal and so on until full.

12th January 2012

Now that Christmas is out of the way and the summer seems so far away, I like to treat myself with true comfort food.

What could be more comforting than slices of bubbling Welsh rarebit and a nice cuppa? I like to add a little splash of Worcestershire sauce to mine. My son dips his in tomato ketchup and mayonnaise (each to his own!).

With the bleakest part of the year upon us, it's time for the brassicas; kale and cabbage, broccoli and sprouts. A good grilled lamb chop, a side of creamy mash and a pile of buttered green vegetables is definitely on the cards in my household in January, usually followed by a good wedge of apple pie made with the garden's autumn apples, picked, prepped and frozen to preserve all their fantastic flavour. My friend, from Yorkshire, recommends a good wedge of Wensleydale cheese with her pie. I'll let you decide.

Caws Wedi'i Bobi (Welsh Rarebit)

This will keep for up to a week in the fridge.

Serves 8

Ingredients:

425g of strong Cheddar
1oz of Butter
100ml of Ale (traditional) or 100ml of Milk (modern)
2 tsp of mild Mustard
Pepper

Method:

Line a 425g loaf tin with cling film.
Melt the butter, stir in the cheese and heat gently until melted.
Add the ale or milk, mustard and pepper to taste.
Fill the tin and chill well.
Turn out and slice into 8.
When needed, lightly toast some sliced bread, top with the rarebit and grill until golden and bubbling.

30th November 2011

With Christmas just weeks away, we decided a weekend break in Wales' Black Mountains was a perfect way to start the season. Together with 10 friends and a box full of bacon, eggs and baked beans, we spent last weekend in a 'bunkhouse' midway between Abergavenny and the lovely Hay-on-Wye.

Although famous for its book festival, it was the winter food festival which we stumbled upon that proved a most welcome treat. Local producers offered samples of everything from artisan charcuterie and delectable cheeses, to delicious fruit liquors and stunning handmade chocolates.

Standing in Hay's little town square, a pint of mulled cider in one hand, a delicious minted mutton pie in the other and the Brecon Brass Band playing Christmas carols, really welcomed the festive season in with a memorable start.

Arriving home, I have thrown myself into baking and planning my festive menus. This year, I have been given Christmas Day off as we are going to family. However, my Southern Comfort and Mandarin Trifle will certainly feature as it does every year, combining Southern Comfort soaked sponge, tinned mandarin oranges, thick custard and whipped cream.

I shall also take some homemade white rum, coconut truffles and some brandy soaked maraschino cherries dipped in bitter chocolate. If we can't indulge at Christmas, when can we?

16th September 2011

Over the summer break, I somehow managed to find time to collect a few pounds of the fabulous cherry plums which grow wild on the edge of the river bank and are the first orchard fruit of the year.

These wonderful little jewels of sweetness make the most divine jam. Very simple and delicious. Boil your fruit (stones included) in 250ml water until soft and pulpy, press through a sieve to create an unctuous puree and then add 500g of jam sugar per 500ml of liquid.

Boil for about ten minutes then add a little of the scalding jam onto a chilled saucer, if it wrinkles when pushed with a clean finger (if it refuses to set - boil for a little longer and try again), it's ready to bottle in clean jars which have been popped in the microwave for a couple of minutes to sterilise.

Fill the jam to the top, adding a disk of waxed paper and finally the lid - perfect jam that will keep memories of the summer alive in the winter. This recipe also works very well with blackberries and elderberries.

As the nights begin drawing in, the need for comfort food prevails and over the next few weeks I'd love to share a few extra recipes with you - spiced vinegars, chutneys and pickles - all of which will make quintessentially British Christmas gifts for family and friends. How about beginning with a batch of jam?

5th July 2011

We've had a busy couple of weeks - a new kitchen is almost finished, we've squeezed in a day on the beach and my husband has started a new job. In food terms we've had to be quite creative due to lack of facilities and had some delicious meals with little effort. Our greenhouse is thriving and we've been enjoying trickles of home produced veg, my friend has given us some chicks which will be with us mid august so hopefully my egg bill will decrease.

We recently had guests for sunday lunch who were served a deep filled chicken, broccoli and mushroom pie with buttery homemade pastry and a touch of Brie for creaminess. Alongside some wonderful tomatoes, a waldorf salad and jacket potatoes it made a splendid alternative to a traditional Sunday lunch and suited the fine weather perfectly. Our menus currently include an enormous amount of salad which I think is most versatile - add a little protein and a few carbs and dinner's sorted.

At the beginning of August we're off to France for our annual holiday - my family have had a house in the south west for fifteen years - so we manage to pack our fortnight with wonderful food and great wine, all to excess. I have been thinking about British seasonal produce a great deal this week and have decided that many people no longer appreciate seasonality - one hundred years ago life expectancy was shorter, foods were available only in season so our chances to indulge were limited - the first strawberry meant something! Now we are spoilt, our food is a available all year round and for the most it's quality is poor - look to the seasons and appreciate them fully - we all know that a strawberry in winter is just wrong!

8th June 2011

Last week saw another tantalisingly brief glimpse of summer and we found ourselves entertaining twice. The first, a barbecue with homemade burgers, Jerk marinated chicken and a lovely selection of salads and coleslaw. One of our favourites being warm jersey royal potatoes sliced with radish and red onion and dressed in a simple vinaigrette - add lots of fresh chives and black pepper and you're away. I concluded with a baked cheesecake topped with some delicious plum jam made last year at our house in France.

Out second dinner party comprised free range chicken roasted and enrobed in a wonderfully decadent forestiere sauce with creme fraiche and wild mushrooms. Some good green beans and jacket potatoes accompanied beautifully. We finished that meal with a delicate creme brulee (still little ones passion). Not great for the waist but a real treat!

- Hannah Freeman

Recipes / Get in Touch

See Hannah's latest recipes.

Got a question for Hannah? Email her at: ask-hannah@britishcornershop.co.uk