Summer has well and truly arrived the allotment is bursting with gorgeous vegetables such as calibres, broad beans, and cabbages. All wonderful items for a quick salad mixed with a light but slightly salty cheese such as Woolsery goats or Lyburn Gold. This week I discovered a great PYO called Bake Fruit Farm on the Salisbury Blandford road north east of us here in Cranborne. It has a lovely range of red fruit including a very simple but well designed raised area for disabled pickers. Whilst sampling a tea and cheese scone (excellent) from their tea room overlooking Salisbury cathedral spire I decided to match my current and strawberry summer pudding with vanilla ice-cream containing little pieces of clotted cream, a real fun texture. The summer puddings this week have proven to be a great success at La Fosse selling even more than our rich lemon custard tart.

Lobster is making many appearances across Dorset on restaurant menus even at the local pub. The reduced demand from high end catering companies has meant it is now available at a slightly more  reasonable price.This said I still believe however that brown crab is a tastier crustacean and is very economical. Crab is surprisingly versatile especially as snack food. Foremost on the list would have to be the classic wholemeal crab sandwich eaten best whilst watching fishing boats unload at a local harbour side (Christchurch, Lymington and Keyhaven are hard to beat) or mixed in with a salad for a rich delight. Pasta dishes are turned into gourmet treats with crab meat and zingy flavours like lemon zest, garlic, parsley and baby spinach. Crab has such a strong flavour little is needed so it is affordable for entertaining friends too.

Chefs secrets and tips

Poaching eggs is one of the simplest though thought of as a tricky task in cooking. I am frequently asked how we get perfect shaped poached eggs at La Fosse so below are a few tips.

Do you:

• Use grandmas egg poacher, getting rubbery greasy dome shaped bullets
• Use a shallow egg poaching pan, risking the egg sticking to the bottom
• Creating a whirlpool by whizzing a spoon around the pan, sending out whirls of egg white into the water like Saturn’s rings
• Use a deep pan of boiling water and end up separating the white from the yoke

All of these methods can work for people though probably won’t and have the above consequences. The biggest and most important factor in the art of egg poaching is to use an ultra fresh egg. As the egg ages the egg whites viscosity reduces and the white will no longer cling to the yolk.  Hence an egg laid ideally that morning or within the last 48 hours will create a lovely oval shape.  An egg with a best by date in two weeks time does not signify a very fresh egg, Thus a shop with a long supply chain is not the best place to buy eggs for poaching. Neither is a smallholder that saves eggs up for people over a period of time. A farm shop with its own hens and a high turnover is your best option unless you have your own hens!

My own technique is to use a tall small saucepan of salted lightly vinegared water, simmering and swirling the water and then cracking the egg into the center. If you are wanting to poach a number of eggs repeating this process and chilling in iced water,to be warmed when required.

 

If you do not have a fresh egg and still need a poached egg is to crack an egg into  greased cling film lined cup. The cling film will act as a skin for the egg  An alternative to a poached hen egg it to use a duck egg, these poach better as the egg white has a higher viscosity. As the egg changes with time it lends itself to being cooked differently, at La Fosse I use very fresh for poaching, then omelet followed by fried and scrambled.

Next month I will include some great bbq tricks, labour saving and creating some simple smashing flavours. Have a cracking time with the the poached eggs, this month, any questions I will try and answer. Untill next month enjoy the strawberries.