Edible Flowers and Micro Herbs

RIP to the “LTC”
Chef & Food Features Editor – Nigel Brown

The days of the LTC – lettuce, tomato and cucumber garnish – fell by the wayside long ago to the point I think we could almost class it as an iconic statement of the mid 70’s and early 80’s era. It’s now just a distant memory of the days spent garnishing a prawn cocktail or a steak during my basic catering training days in the skyscraping tower know to all as Hull College. RIP to the “LTC”.

After falling out of favour for many years, cooking and garnishing with flowers is back in and on trend once again. Flower cookery can be traced back to Roman times, and to the Chinese, Middle Eastern and Indian cultures. Edible flowers were especially popular in the Victorian era during Queen Victoria’s reign.

I’ve been using edible flowers and micro herbs for some time now so I feel it’s my responsibility to enlighten you all into a little knowledge on the different varieties of edible flowers and micro herbs.

The secret to success when using edible flowers is to keep the dish simple, don’t add too many other flavours that will over-power the delicate taste of the flower.

To all you “budding chefs and cooks”, edible flowers and micro herbs are trending now, so jump on the band wagon and take your gardening and cooking skills to a new level; this nearly lost art is back to stay.

Here are some of the more popular edible flowers and micro herbs for you to clue up on to impress your dinner party guests with and why not try this little passion fruit soufflé recipe too, it’s a great dessert for dressing with Nasturtiums and Violas.

Top tip – If you’re going to grow your own edible flowers make sure you remove the stamens from the centre of the flowers before serving and eating!

Happy cooking!

Passion Fruit Soufflé

Ingredients

2 egg yolks

2 x 20g castor Sugar

30 ml strained passion fruit juice

2 egg whites

Salt

Method

In a bowl, cream the egg yolks with the first 20g sugar, until pale and the sugar has dissolved. Add the passion fruit juice, mix and set aside.
In a separate clean bowl, whisk the egg whites with a tiny pinch of salt.

When you are ½ way to peaks forming, add ½ the remaining sugar, followed by the rest shortly after. Whisk to firm peaks but be careful not to overbeat them.

Whisk some of the whites into the yolks then carefully fold through the remaining.

Spoon the mixture into a buttered and sugared ramekin. Bake at 190ºC for 12 minutes.

Serve hot from the oven with miniature vanilla ice cones decorated with edible violas and nasturtiums.

Edible Flowers

Nasturtiums
These rank among most common edible flowers. The blossoms have a sweet, spicy flavour similar to watercress. The leaves add a peppery tang to salads. Pickled seed pods are a great substitute for capers.

Violets
These have a sweet, perfumed flavour. Related flowers, Johnny jump-ups or violas and pansies now come in colourful purples and yellows to apricot and pastel. Eat the tender leaves and flowers in salads, also use the flowers in desserts and iced drinks and they may be crystallized as well. The heart-shaped leaves are edible and tasty when cooked like spinach.

Chive Blossoms
Use whenever a light onion flavour and aroma is desired. Separate the florets and enjoy the mild, onion flavour in a variety of dishes.

Garlic Blossoms
The flowers can be white or pink and the stems are flat instead of round. The flavour has a garlicky zing that brings out the flavour of your favourite food. Milder than the garlic bulb. Great in salads.

Micro Herbs

Pea Blossoms
Edible garden peas bloom mostly in white but may have other pale colouring. The blossoms are slightly sweet and crunchy and they taste like peas. The shoots and vine tendrils are edible with a delicate, pea-like flavour.

Scarlet Runner Beans
These have brilliant red blooms that are very tasty and can be served as a garnish for soups or in salads. The bean pods toughen as they age so make use of the young pods as well as flowers.

www.nigelbrownchef.co.uk

Cookery School Discounts

The Academy is having a super spring sale

For a fantastic 10% discount off all our one day courses in March and April, including Ultimate Michelin Star Magic, just enter VC10 in the discount box at checkout.
Only limited places available so book online now to guarantee your place.

Chocolate/Sugarwork Cookery Course

Imagine a day indulging in one of life’s finest pleasures awakening every sense and leaving you with that warm comforting feeling of pure contentment.

This course hits the spot every time. Using chocolate of every variety you can create ‘to die for’ desserts such as roularde, chocolate and caramel tart, truffles and honeycomb, make beautiful sugar baskets, spirals and butterflies and learn how to make the perfect ganach.

We will provide you with suitable containers to take home any dishes you have prepared.

For more details or to reserve your place on the next Cook With Chocolate Course visit www.nigelbrownchef.co.uk

Chocolate and Sugarwork Full Day
£175

7th September 2010 – 5 places left
25th November 2010 – 7 places left

info@nigelbrownchef.co.uk

The Nigel Brown Cookery Academy
The Ropewalk
Maltkiln Road
Barton upon Humber
North Lincolnshire
DN18 5JT

Christmas Cookery Course with The Nigel Brown Cookery Academy

For the perfect start to your Christmas season. why not join Nigel for a hands-on Christmas cookery masterclass. Throughout the day you’ll be making your very own hand raised pie with red onion relish, a decadent game terrine with cumberland sauce and preparing your traditional plum pudding in muslin to steam on Christmas day.

All ingredients, refreshments, lunch and a recipe booklet are included and at the end of the day you’ll take home all your work to either freeze or share with family and friends.

A Taste of Christmas
One Day Cookery Course
£175

Saturday 27th November 2010
Saturday 18th December 2010

The Nigel Brown Cookery Academy
The Ropewalk
Maltkiln Road
Barton upon Humber
North Lincolnshire
DN18 5JT

01469 530044
info@nigelbrownchef.co.uk
www.nigelbrownchef.co.uk

Saturday Cookery Course

Spend a Saturday in the kitchen with Nigel creating both sweet and savoury dishes based on seasonal ingredients. Each of these Saturday Cookshops will include easy to follow recipes that you can recreate at home to wow your family and impress your friends. This is a hands-on cookery course so whatever you make you can either eat or take home to share.

Saturday Cookshop
One Day Cookery Course
£175

Saturday 9th October 2010
Saturday 13th November 2010
Saturday 4th December 2010

Places are limited to 8. Bookings can be made by calling The Nigel Brown Cookery Academy on 01469 530044 or by email info@nigelbrownchef.co.uk with a good time and number to call you.

The Nigel Brown Cookery Academy
The Ropewalk
Maltkiln Road
Barton upon Humber
North Lincolnshire
DN18 5JT

www.nigelbrownchef.co.uk

Saturday Cookery Course with Nigel Brown

In top chef Nigel Brown’s diary, Saturday cookery courses in his kitchen in North Lincolnshire are as rare as the proverbial ‘rocking horse poo’. However, there is one Saturday date available on 16th January for the Cookery Academy’s popular one day course East Meets West – Nigel’s take on Indian, Chinese, Japanese and Thai food.

With a maximum of 4 to a class, this fully hands-on course ensures you get Nigel’s full attention throughout the day as well as lots of tasty goodies to take home and share with your family or friends.

For full details of the East Meets West course, visit http://www.nigelbrownchef.co.uk/East_Meets_West_Cookery_Course.html

This course is now full but further dates are available.

How To Make Sugar Baskets

Ingredients:
Caster Sugar
Olive Oil

Equipment:

Thick bottomed non-stick frying pan
Quality dessertspoon
Stainless steel ladle
Airtight container
Silica gel bags (the ones you find in shoe boxes/handbags etc)

Method:

Cover the base of your pan with a gentle sprinkling of the sugar until the surface is covered evenly. Place the pan over the heat and allow the sugar to dissolve from the outside in. Once the sugar starts to become a liquid, using your dessertspoon encourage the remaining granules to dissolve. When the sugar solution becomes a golden syrup colour remove from the heat (be very careful as this will be an extremely high temperature and very dangerous).
Place a liberal amount of olive oil over the back of your ladle. When the sugar has become a state of liquid thread, using your spoon scoop some of the sugar up and weave backwards and forwards over and around your ladle to form a fine and intricate sugar basket. Gently remove your basket from the ladle and store in an airtight container with silica gel packs.

These will keep for up to 3-4 hours in airtight conditions.

Serving suggestion:

Use baskets to enhance all your desserts.

www.nigelbrownchef.co.uk

Cookery School In Your Own Home or Business

OFF-SITE CLASSES

We are able to offer groups of 4 or more the opportunity to enjoy an Academy Day in your own home or business. You can choose one of our current classes or we can tailor one to your own requirements. As we bring all ingredients and equipment with us all you need to provide is a suitable kitchen large enough to accommodate your group. If you have any doubts about the suitability of your premises or have any special requirements just let us know and we will be pleased to advise you on how we can help.

We have the equipment to provide a first class cookery school experience even with very limited facilities. The cost of these courses will be the one day course cost per person plus travel expenses. (If your premises need essential kitchen facilities these will be charged separately.)

www.nigelbrownchef.co.uk

Competition Winners Make Pasta

Top foodie website MyDish.co.uk treated two ladies from Hull to a half day pasta masterclass with Nigel Brown at his cookery academy in North Lincolnshire this week.

Tricia was the lucky winner of a competition run by MyDish and invited her sister Sue to enjoy a morning making their own pasta which they then used to make cannelloni stuffed with chicken, cottage cheese and spinach baked under a fresh tomato and pesto sauce topped with parmesan.

They also made rustic ciabatta to which they added their own choices from a selection of mediterranean vegetables, herbs and oils and it would have seemed rude not to open the Chianti!!!

To find hundreds of free recipes, ideas or chat with other foodies visit www.MyDish.co.uk or to check out dates to join Nigel on this traditional italian pasta course go to http://www.nigelbrownchef.co.uk/Traditional_Italian_Pasta.html

Cookery School Review – The Nigel Brown Cookery Academy

The Nigel Brown Cookery Academy

Review by Tina Draper
Flavours Magazine

After an easy drive from Southwell to Goxhill in
North Lincolnshire, I arrived at The Nigel
Brown Cooking Academy to begin my course entitled
‘Meat, Poultry and Game Galore’. Nigel’s wife
Lisa greeted me as I pulled up in front of their
lovely home, and guided me through to the
kitchen, where I was introduced to Nigel, and
given a welcome drink of warm winter berry
mulled wine and a plate of perfect homemade
florentines. As Nigel and I began to chat, Lisa
made the first of many pots of coffee, so I knew
that I would be in for a great day with lots of
fresh coffee to help me along.

Nigel runs private cookery courses for
individuals and small groups of up to 4 people
at his home, but will host larger groups at other
locations. Nigel feels that it is good to give
lessons in a domestic kitchen, rather than a
large industrial restaurant kitchen, as it
demonstrates to his clients that they can achieve
the same results at home without the aid of
expensive equipment.

Nigel told me that they had received a late
cancellation due to a family bereavement from
the other guests, and that I would be having his
attention exclusively. This made for a very
relaxing day for both of us, as we were able to
chat about various aspects of the food chain,
from growing and sourcing quality raw
ingredients, through storage, preparation and
cooking, to finally savouring the delicious
results.

We soon began to prepare the first dish of the
day; a Game Terrine made with venison, rabbit,
pheasant, bacon and sausage meat blended with
sage and juniper berries. Nigel brought out the
meat we would be using, and we discussed the
merits of having a good, local butcher who takes
great care in sourcing the very best meat and
game.

Nigel explained that we would line the dish with
the bacon, then layer the strips of meat and
sausage meat until we had filled the dish. He
suggested that we add other ingredients, and gave
me the choice of pistachio nuts, fresh
cranberries, toasted pine kernals, quail’s eggs,
sundried tomatoes and soaked apricots. It was fun
to experiment with the different flavours and
customise the dish to my own taste. Nigel
recommended that the terrine be served with a
Cranberry Cumberland Sauce, and quickly
demonstrated how quick and easy it is to make
this wonderful accompaniment.

After a quick coffee, and some more florentines,
we moved on to the next dish, Chicken, Ham and
Asparagus Roulade.

We cheerfully set to, bashing the chicken breasts
to flatten them, and covered the raw chicken with
slices of ham. After seasoning, we added a layer
of fresh spinach, then blended another piece of
chicken with basil and seasoning. The resulting
puree was carefully spread over the leaves, and
a piece of raw asparagus was placed at the
centre. This was then rolled tightly into a
cylindrical shape, wrapped in cling film and
poached in simmering water.

Next, we prepared Anna Potatoes – an easy dish
made up of layers of thinly sliced potatoes and
onions, layered together with clarified butter
and seasoning. Easy to prepare and cook in
advance, it slowly bakes in the oven, and is a
prefect dish for a dinner party.

Nigel then took me out into the garden, and we
looked at the various home grown vegetables,
fruit and herbs which are thriving in a small
greenhouse and vegetable patch. The rest of the
garden was beautiful, and perfect for summer
entertaining – Nigel even runs outdoor cooking
courses when the weather is fine.

Back into the warm kitchen, it was time for
lunch, so I took the opportunity to have a break
and chat to Nigel while he cooked a wonderful
meal of Fillet Steak with a Blue Cheese Crust,
accompanied by finely chopped baby courgettes,
broad beans and asparagus tips, which Nigel
quickly sautéed in rape seed oil.

Nigel was born in Bridlington, into a family who
have spent a lifetime in the Hotel and Catering
industry. He spent much of his teenage years
helping in their family restaurant, and his
formal catering training started when at 16 he
spent 2 years at Hull College, 2 at Scarborough
and a year each at Grimsby and Beverley College.
Nigel told me of his great admiration for Ken
Allison, former Senior Lecturer at Scarborough
Technical College who had a profound influence on
Nigel’s style of cooking. James Martin whom Nigel
occasionally works alongside, was also a former
student of Ken Allison’s.

During his years working at some of London’s
biggest and busiest hotels Nigel enjoyed
competing in many national competitions. He won a
place in the Trusthouse Forte Chef of the Year
competition and entered the London Hotelympia
Salon Culinaire competitions on several occasions
where he thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere and
camaraderie amongst his fellow competitors. He
became a qualified teacher at the age of 21. In
his more advanced training, Nigel spent time at
the highly acclaimed French cookery school Ecole
Le Notre where he picked up a wealth of
experience and knowledge in areas of specialist
patisserie work.

In 2007 Nigel and Lisa launched Superchef Secrets
Ltd and produced their first set of 3 cookery
school DVD’s. These were aimed at teaching
children and young adults and students how to
produce nutritious food, bearing in mind the
budget, and adhering to food hygiene practices. A
sophisticated dinner party for adults was also
demonstrated; an easy to follow guide, from
initially writing a shopping list, through to
presenting guests with a stunning 3-course
dinner.

The DVD’s were an instant success, and due to an
ever increasing demand for real hands on cookery
courses, Nigel decided to open a Cookery Academy
at his home in Lincolnshire

Nigel particularly enjoys demonstrating his
skills on stage at many of the UK’s biggest food
festivals, and welcomes the opportunity to meet
people from all over the country to discuss his
recipes and cooking styles. He is the resident
celebrity chef for BBC Radio Humberside, and has
recently done a screen test for Ready Steady Cook.

Nigel also works closely with Jean-Christophe
Novelli at The Novelli Academy offering corporate
entertainment and teaching specialist
patisserie/cookery courses, and is currently in
discussions with Highgrove House regarding their
organic food programme.

Whether Nigel is filming, writing, demonstrating
at food festivals, catering for high profile
private functions and VIP hospitality he so
obviously loves the world of catering, and is
passionate about spreading the word about good
quality, healthy food.

I was telling Nigel how much I enjoy canapés, so
we spent the afternoon experimenting with some
delicious combinations: simple basil leaves with
balsamic vinegar, and baked brioche with a
spinach and goat’s cheese filling, finished off
with a thin layer of fois gras. When the dishes
of the morning were cooked, we tasted the Game
Terrine with Cranberry Cumberland Sauce, and the
Chicken, Ham and Asparagus Roulade with Lime and
Chilli Dressing, two more ideas to add to my
party canapé repertoire. We also had fun with
some napkin folding, and Nigel kindly made no
comment as my gondola turned out to look more
like a shipwreck!

This wonderful day was too quickly coming to an
end. I thoroughly enjoyed the easy company of
Nigel and Lisa, and so appreciated that Nigel was
flexible enough to tailor the course to my own
requirements. I learnt not to be overwhelmed by
the idea of cooking sophisticated dishes for my
guests, and to prepare in advance to make
entertaining a much more relaxing experience.

By Tina Draper
—
Adelanta Travel Services
2, Commercial Road
Nottingham NG6 8HA England
Tel; (44) 115 975 6979
Fax; (44) 115 975 6907
Free FAX from the USA; 1-800 688 0345
Web; http://www.adelanta.co.uk

For information about cookery courses with Nigel Brown visit http://www.nigelbrownchef.co.uk