This dish is simple and delicious. The spices are complex and sophisticated but not too punchy to put you off your cuppa. I serve the curried mussels on sourdough toast – perfect for soaking up the sauce and maximising the enjoyment.

I use rope-grown mussels from the River Deben here in Suffolk. They are farmed all year round, but my preference is still to enjoy them in their natural season, which is during the months with ‘r’ in the name, when the water is colder and the taste of the mussels is naturally sweeter (then leave them alone during the summer when the water is warmer).

Always make sure you clean fresh mussels thoroughly, removing the beards and giving them a good scrub, as there is nothing more disappointing than gritty mussels.

We hand on heart support the Farm Animal Welfare Week. It’s important that we offer high welfare food items on our menus and tell everyone that we genuinely do what we say we do, and to highlight this, we have joined the Simply Ask Campaign.

The Freedom Food Food Simply Ask campaign is a unique UK assurance scheme run by the RSPCA; not only are all standards mandatory, the standards also cover every stage of the animal’s life from birth until slaughter in a dedication to improving animal welfare. Meat products, dairy and eggs are sourced ethically and locally at the British Larder Suffolk, reinforcing its commitment to animal welfare.

Once we started asking our suppliers about their credentials and “digging” a bit deeper into the rearing and welfare standards they follow we discovered that nearly all of them were either organic or freedom foods approved. I’m not entirely sure why I was a bit surprised, it was a good surprise after all. We realised we are “shopping” at the right places and buy from the right people. We urge chefs and restauranteurs to join the scheme. It’s good for business and if you already fit the criteria why not join the scheme, sign up and get the seal of approval.

Staff food at the British Larder does not consist of dishes from the menu but it’s cooked fresh every day using trimmings and leftovers. It’s also a great opportunity for the all the chefs to experiment, think outside the proverbial box and be creative. Most day’s it’s a bit of a “ready-steady-cook” affair as we might end up with a bit of pig trim, a couple of potatoes and a few hen’s eggs. This Pig Hash is one of Steve’s creations which started off as a staff meal recipe and turned into a “real”dish that we cooked as a lunch special on the menu. It’s a great brunch/ breakfast dish.

Pork is one of the best sellers on our menus. As we are approaching the one year anniversary mark we were talking last week about the amount of pig we have used so far here at the British Larder. Well we are none the wiser as we have no idea…unless I do some serious research…nevertheless we guess that each staff member must have eaten the value of a whole Dingley Dell pig by now! No… that can’t be right, surely…. now that is a scary thought!

We stayed in the glamorous Hudson Hotel with it’s beautiful minimalistic but striking interior and super tiny rooms. You need to be a size 6 to stay in the rooms because there is no room to turn around, Philip Stark did a good job and designed a beautiful hotel but boy oh boy did he not allow any space for ones suitcase. Anyhow we did not spend that much time in the room as we were busy testing out all the foodie establishments.

The hotel is situated near the foot of Central Park near the Time Warner Building and home to Bouchon Bakery. Thomas Keller is a very creative and clever business man. We visited the bakery every morning for a coffee and a different treat every time. We loved sitting at the high tables, close to the counter to watch the chefs at work through the hatch. We found the perfect spot and sometimes found ourselves there for too long observing them. They were superb craftspersons and produced the most stunning and beautiful goods.

Mr.P became partial to a biscuit fairly similar to this salted peanut brittle biscuit. He had the ideas in his head for quite some time to recreate that indulgent buttery salty taste of those Bouchon Peanut Butter Biscuits. The recipe is entirely a development of our own and after a few attempts we finally recreated a recipe that we feel represents the taste sensation of the biscuits of New York.

Watching the world go by in New York City is wonderful and sometimes very amusing too. At Bouchon they baked Foie Grass Dog Biscuits as the early joggers with their posh pooches stopped off for a skinny de-caf, a slice of watermelon and a delectable treat for the dog. We struck up a conversation with the ladies behind the counter as they eagerly told us a tale about a chap that came in regularly to buy himself one of these doggy treats. He was constantly told that the biscuits were for his dog and not for  him but he insisted that  it was delicious and continued nibbling away. Well that story left us giggling all day, typically a tale of New York.

I found the original recipe very rich and the treacle was a bit too much for me, especially when the loaf matured after one day, it was very strong. Nevertheless it’s a superb recipe and I love Dans reference to  this recipe being the original British “energy bar”.

We particularly enjoyed it toasted for breakfast with a thin scraping of slightly salted butter and a cup of ‘builders’ tea. It’s the perfect loaf to start my busy and hectic day.

When I first read the recipe I was baffled about malt extract as I had neither heard of  nor used it, so I was slightly unnerved as I did not no where to get it  or what I could use instead. I was determined to make this recipe as it was meant to be, so after a bit of internet research I realised it’s a normal regularly used ingredient. I found that the Julian Graves stores stock malt extract so I trotted off to our tiny town centre and to my sheer delight  I found a jar.

Dan’s recipe says that you can use raisins or prunes, I decided on prunes as I’m not a great fan of raisins. I also chose to use St Peters golden ale and Woodbridge Mills whole meal flour that I had bought from the Snape farmers market last month. I could nearly call this loaf a Suffolk Power loaf, I wonder if Dan would approve ?

I liked the tip of lining the loaf tin with oats, I thought it gave my loaf the perfect professional touch. It looked well rounded off and also added to the final taste.

I feel less guilty about indulging in this loaf as it’s got all the makings of a healthy product, shall we just turn a blind eye to the butter and golden syrup!?

As I found this loaf keeps well and after a day or two it’s even more delicious. I have frozen a few leftover slices and it comes in very handy to be toasted for breakfast.

This malted prune loaf will be lovely in a picnic basket at the seaside as it gives everyone extra energy to enjoy a swim in the sea.

This time of the year when the days are getting longer and there is more light I feel more alive and have more energy to do lots.  Easter is approaching and I have had my fair share of Easter buns  but then I can never get enough of these.

Last month I bought two freshly baked Chelsea buns at Great Garnets farmers market from an old lady and gent who bake bread and buns in their kitchen at home. I was gobsmacked as they were both of  retiring age and I could not believe that they were baking so much for a farmers market. Once we arrived back home we enjoyed the Chelsea buns, slightly warmed, with a cup of tea. When I took the first bite I gasped as it was the most delicious Chelsea bun that I have ever tasted. It was feather light, moist, the glaze was just right not too sweet and just simply memorably delicious.

I analysed the buns and was wondering if she had used suet as they where incredibly light. I was on a mission looking for the perfect recipe and must have paged through at least 18 bakery cookbooks and scoured the web but not even Dan Lepard’s bun recipe came close. Not one suggested using suet so I set off working on my own recipe, trying to recreate the taste and feather lightness of those Great Garnets buns.

So I have been pondering for a month on how to replicate these incredibly delicious Chelsea buns, and yes it took a month before I felt I had the right ammunition and knowledge to attempt the baking challenge.

Well the results were absolutely fantastic!!! Feather light, moist and simply delicious!!!

I had to add my own twist and as I love both cinnamon and Chelsea buns I thought I should combine the two and add my own addition of orange and blossom honey. Even though this is not close to the traditional hot cross bun it makes a well deserved alternative, perfect for breakfast and the spring picnic basket.

There is nothing more pleasing than enjoying a toasted hot cross bun with a mug of hot coffee on a sunny spring morning in the crisp and cold kitchen, planning  the ‘ to do list’ for the day. As a matter of fact I’m still nibbling one of these lovely fragrant cardamom and golden sultana hot cross buns. I baked them two days ago and was just thinking how soft and fresh they had remained since I baked them.

This recipe has been created in the true British Larder fashion with a slight twist from the tradition. I infused the milk for the dough with crushed green cardamoms and made a honey glaze using gelatine and infused this further with more green cardamom pods and a few drops of fresh lemon. The lemon compliments the citrus tones of the cardamom and together with the honey it lifts the mixed spices.

I used a 1/3 plain flour and the rest strong bread flour. Most recipes call for all plain flour but I find the texture of the cooked buns too close to the texture of cakes. I was also fairly conservative with the use of sugar as the golden sultanas are naturally sweet and add enough sweetness.

I baked these buns in a loaf tin and if you do not want to break them into individual buns you can keep them as a loaf and slice accordingly.

If you like to experiment then you might also like  my fig and sour cherry hot cross muffins recipe using spelt flour and a touch of orange.

If you believe in superstitions then it’s said if you share a hot cross bun with others it will secure friendship for the year to come. Well I hope its true and for that reason I could not keep this delicious recipe to myself but to share it with you! Happy Easter

Mr.P and I decided to treat ourselves with this delightful breakfast of fried goose eggs on ‘ Springstep Dairy’ smoked goats cheese potato rostis. Breakfast was a team effort, we work well together….. Mr.P makes the mess and I clean up! That’s a bit of a joke, it’s not always the case we have a good healthy synergy and the best dishes normally appear when we are happy, having a laugh and enjoying ourselves doing what we both do best and that is cooking.

We have never had goose eggs before so it was an experiment as much as a treat, though the eggs  are rather large and filling.

The potato rostis where delicious too, laced with fresh spinach and crumbed smoked goats cheese from Springstep Dairy.

As we sat around the kitchen table assessing our breakfast, eating, drinking coffee and writing notes we both agreed that this dish would not only make a filling breakfast but also be a delightful starter in a pub….note  to ourselves….when we open a place of our own this will definitely feature on the specials menu…..note complete…

We love a good pancake, there are so many different shapes and techniques but everyone has their own special recipe to enjoy this indulgent and delicious snack.

Today I made fluffy, spongy, sweet and superbly yummy pancakes. I have chosen to make mine fairly small, 6cm in diameter to be precise, well it allows me to be indulgent and they do look rather pretty on a plate. I have served these for breakfast with a large dollop of crème fraîche, a swizzle of local honey and a big squeeze of lime juice.

Actually to be completely honest I did not buy any of the ingredients to make this delicious breakfast, it was more a make it up as you go along idea. In my terms whatever I have in the larder.

I found one lime, plenty of fresh free range eggs, dessicated coconut that I bought a while ago to make lamingtons, which  never got made and then the berries from the freezer. I love my freezer, or shall I say freezers. We have nothing of great value stored in them. Mainly frozen seasonal berries and fruits, ginger, lemongrass, chillies, home made curry pastes, chicken stock and even more berries!

Mr.P’s dad Roy has the most fantastic redcurrant bush that produces more berries than the three households in the family could possibly eat in one season; hence I store them so that we can enjoy them the year round. The same goes for the raspberries, we had a fantastic harvest last summer and finally the last few went into this recipe. The combination of raspberries and redcurrants is one of my favourites, bizarrely they work incredibly well together. I suppose the raspberries counteract the sharpness of the redcurrants and visa versa, I make a stonklingly good Raspberry and Redcurrant Jam that I class as my signature jam.

I hope this recipe will encourage and inspire you to make up your own Shrove Tuesday delight, go on rummage through your larder it’s amazing what one can find. You could make savoury or sweet pancakes or why not go the whole hog and make both!

Happy flipping,but make sure they do not stick to the ceiling!

I have chosen not to use a traditional loaf tin to bake my bread , instead I felt ready for a free form and shall we say a more organically shaped loaf of bread. I must admit it’s fun and you are not quite sure what the end result will look like. I’m pleased and it’s looking great, very home made indeed!

Spelt is also a grain I have been supporting for a long time now. I like the nutty flavour it gives my bread. You should remember that if you use wholemeal or spelt flours in your bread baking you need to make sure there is enough water to support the flour, it’s dry and generally absorbs a bit more than white bread flour. If the dough looks a bit sticky at the beginning, do not worry, just knead the dough and it will all come good as the gluten delveops and the flour starts absorbing the water. If there is not enough water the loaf will be heavy and it will not prove as well as you would expect.

This spelt, honey and walnut bread is not only hitting the health spots but its remarkably delicious. This recipe makes two generous loaves and as it’s freshly made with out preservatives it will not stay fresh for very long. So I sliced the remainder and froze the slices of bread for a rainy day. It’s superbly delicious with cheese and chutney or you could challenge yourself by making your very own best ever sandwich

My best ever sandwich must be the one I made with this very loaf. I could kick myself for not taking a photo of this amazing sandwich, I suppose I was more interested in getting it down the “hatch”. Anyhow the sandwich consisted of two slices of this spelt, honey and walnut bread, fairly thinly sliced; flaked roast chicken; a tablespoon of freshly made grain mustard, celeriac and apple remoulade and crisp fresh watercress. As I’m writing this recipe and reminiscing about that superbly delicious taste combination my mouth is watering and I think I’d better get baking and making again!

The challenge for today is then to think about the best  sandwich you ever made and tell me all about it. I do not mind if it’s a virtual one, go wild and feed the imagination!

The Seville orange season is short and is over before you realize it. The season runs from December to February. I love using the Seville oranges for making marmalade, as they are extra bitter and somewhat uncomplicated but sophisticated at the same time. I have cooked and eaten several various marmalade combinations in my life time but in my opinion the absolute sophistication of Seville oranges makes the best tasting marmalade.

The oranges also freeze well, so if you buy some but  do not get the chance to make the marmalade immediately, I suggest freeze them whole. Defrost them completely before turning them into a delicious marmalade.

I cooked this recipe for the first time last year and have adapted it along the way so that my marmalade is fairly loose and soft just how I like it. The addition of the vanilla is fantastic, perhaps a little self indulgent, as the beans are not cheap. My reasoning is that for something this special it’s definitely worth spending the extra penny.

I love the simplicity of this recipe as there is minimal waste as you puree the flesh and add the julienned orange skins to the boiling fleshy pulp. This gives you a real sticky light jammy marmalade instead of a dark thick zesty marmalade. The marmalade makes a very good filling for cakes and is ideal for cooking with meat dishes such as Marmalade glazed gammon. I whisk a spoonful of this Seville orange marmalade into my Moroccan chicken tagine, it gives the dish that slightly sweet citrusy fruity flavour, it’s special and superbly delicious.

Seville ornages aslo makes a delcious and interesting vinaigrette and can add a touch of zing to lovely raw salads. One of my favourites salads is this Raw Salad of Fennel, Seville Orange, Chicory and Kohlrabi.