I just came across this post in draft. No idea why I didn't send it at the time, some time back last September or so, but it seems a world and a lifetime away now, doesn't it? Having people to dinner?!
Anyway, this was it:
Recently, my husband and I had friends to dinner and the main feature was rising to the challenge that every veg/fruit element or ingredient would be homegrown or foraged.
So, we had:
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| Ogen melon on left, gherkin on right! |
Canapés:
Water melon wrapped in basil leaves
Figs and mint
Ogen melon wrapped in parma ham
Starter:
Smoked mackerel paté on griddled aubergine slices (Disclosure: I didn't grow the lime or lemons! #fail)
with tartare sauce (including gherkins and tarragon), topped with a nettle crisp - yes, I grow nettles!
and basil-flavoured soft buttery rolls
Main:
Chicken balmoral (chicken stuffed with haggis and wrapped in prosciutto) with a creamy armagnac and juniper sauce (not homegrown junipers)Pink fir apple potatoes
Spinach and nutmeg puréeRoast deep purple carrots and baby courgettes with flowers on
Stir-fried savoy cabbage and other greens
Pud:
Hot chocolate fondants with blackberry ice-cream,
raspberries and a frosted mint leaf.
Obviously, most of these photos are not from the dinner. Too busy enjoying myself and talking to guests. I would not take photos of food during a meal!
And the best ingredients? Probably the figs, which honestly could not have been more perfect, and the nettle crisps, which were a) free and b) cook in literally two minutes and keep crisp for hours.
Most comments? The watermelon, definitely. Grown from seed, as were the ogen melons, in my greenhouse, though started in a heated propagator.
Most rewarding item: aubergines. Moneymaker, grown from seed. I got about 12 aubergines from each plant.
Most abundant crop this year: raspberries.
Why no tomatoes? One of our guests doesn't like them. All the more for me!
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