Sloe picking season is here! If you’ve still got some sloe gin from last year lurking in the cupboard, put it to good use with this Sloe Gin Pancakes recipe from the team at Malton based Sloemotion. For more recipe inspiration and to buy their award-winning range of hedgerow spirits online visit www.sloemotiondistillery.com
Blackberry foraging season is well underway and what better way to use these abundant gems of the British hedgerows than by pairing them with a deliciously creamy panna cotta. This recipe from the original hedgerow foraging enthusiasts, Malton based Sloemotion, uses their award-winning Sloe Gin to create a deliciously decadent seasonal pudding – perfect for the bank holiday weekend. Find Sloemotion at this weekend’s Malton Food Festival or buy their award-winning range online at www.sloemotiondistillery.com
Delicious enough to seduce even the ardent Valentine cynics, if you’re setting out to spoil the one you love this February 14th, why not get creative with this simple Sloe Gin Chocolate Torte.
Cooking time: 11/2 hours plus overnight chilling # Preheat the oven to 160°C/gas mark 3 # To make the pastry, first warm a mixing bowl and sift the flour and salt into it. Make a well in the centre. Heat the lard in the milk and water in a saucepan over a medium heat until just reaching boiling point, then pour into the well in the flour and stir quickly with a wooden spoon until thick. # Continue working by hand to form a smooth dough. Cool slightly, then use the dough to line a greased 20cm tin, keeping some of the dough for the lid separately in a warm place. Put the tin onto a tray. # Line the pie case with the pastry and cut out a disc of pastry for the lid. Cut all of the game breasts into strips lengthways approximately 5mm thick. Season the pork and the game meats. Now layer the pork and breast meats inside the pie case, repeating until all the meats have been used. Brush the rim of the pastry with the egg yolk, cut a small hole in the centre of the pastry lid (through which the jelly will be poured when the pie is cooked), then seal to the base. # Egg wash the lid and cook the pie in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Towards the end of the cooking time for the pie, soak the leaf gelatine in a little cold water, until soft. Then bring the game stock, sloe gin and redcurrant jelly to the boil in a small saucepan, then remove the pan from the heat and add the soaked gelatine, whisking until this is dissolved. Add the juniper berries and allow to cool a little without setting. # After the pie has been removed from the oven, use a funnel to pour the sweet jelly through the hole in the lid, into the pie. Allow to cool, then refrigerate overnight. The jelly will set in a similar way to that in a traditional pork pie. Enjoy!
# Add a couple of handfuls of ice to a large jug and then add 200ml SLOEmotion, sloe gin, 100ml of Dry Vermouth and approximately 500ml Blood Orange juice. # Then take three limes and add the juice of one and the roughly cut segments of the others and mix well. # Pour into ice cold glasses and serve.
# Season the duck breasts with salt and pepper and cook (with the skin on) in a hot pan until they have colour on both sides and then cook in a hot oven at 180°C for approximately 5 minutes. # Remove the duck and allow to rest in a warm place.
# Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. # Place the grouse on an oven tray, season, then take the pancetta and cover over the bird's breasts, to keep them moist, and roast for about 16 to 18 minutes. # Then remove from the oven and leave to rest.