Kombucha is a deliciously cool, slightly fizzy, ginger flavoured, hardly sweet drink. It is my ‘go to’ non alcoholic drink. This is the low down on how to make kombucha at home.
You need to buy something called a SCOBY (or symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeasts). A SCOBY looks like a pale rubber disc and is home to the bacteria and yeasts that ferment the cold black teas which forms the basis of kombucha. The SCOBY arrives in a sealed plastic bag immersed in liquid.
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Young rhubarb growing in the garden is at its best early in the year. As the stalks get exposed to increasing amounts of light, they toughen. So cut them in the spring and make the most of them. Baked rhubarb is a quick pudding for me and if I haven’t time to make a crumble I serve it with granola and a dollop of thick Greek yogurt. To make it special you can flavour the syrup in different ways. I love to use lemon zest and crushed cardamom seeds but you can use ginger (either grated root or powdered), cinnamon, cloves, star anise and orange. It is worth experimenting with. Any left over baked rhubarb stores well in the fridge and is lovely served with breakfast cereals and porridge.
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It is now the end of March and a profusion of young, wild garlic leaves cover shaded river banks and woodland floors.
We are approaching the third week of COVID 19 ‘Lockdown’. I set off for my daily walk along the banks of the River Wharfe at Ilkley, to Addingham.
I spotted Sarah Walker, picking wild garlic leaves and stuffing them into a tote bag. It was a beautiful scene as she sat quietly among the garlic with trees to one side, warm sunlight shining gently on her face and beautiful Yorkshire landscape beyond.
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This is the third in a series of sharing dishes to be eaten with flat brad flavoured with za’atar. Sweet, roasted peppers are pounded and spiked with the flavours of fresh garlic, thyme, sweet smoked paprika and chilli. Walnuts give the paste texture and a dash of vinegar balances the flavours.
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Broad beans are a delightful vegetable but they can have tough skins which is why many chefs try to get you to pop them out of their skins. In this recipe you can process small, young, cooked and defrosted broad beans together with a well ripened avocado to create a sublime, silky textured paste.
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