The idea behind Eat the West is to get you sampling the vast array of fantastic foods available on your doorstep. Hopefully our recipes will inspire you to buy more local ingredients. When buying seasonal foods from farm shops and markets it is always a good idea to go shopping with a blank piece of paper, taste, touch and feel the produce and cook what you feel confident with. All recipes are copyright Rob Rees - follow the link to his website on the right. Skate Wing with a White Wine Sauce
Baby Vegetables and a Beetroot Mash Cooked on Bridgwater Bay, with fish from Stolford Fish, caught the old fashioned way with a Somerset mud horse!  | | Skate wing cooked on Bridgwater Bay |
In a large frying pan melt a touch of butter and some olive oil. Next, add some garlic and cracked black pepper. Place into the pan your trimmed skate wing. Start cooking the skate on a gentle, low heat. Once cooked all the way through, turn the heat up to give the fish more colour. After two minutes moisten the fish with a dash of white wine. Once the liquid has reduced, turn the skate over in the pain and repeat the process. Then, add some baby carrots and courgettes. Cook the vegetables in the juices with the fish and wine. Top up with a little more wine/stock or water. Once reduced nearly to a glaze add a drizzle of whipping cream and bring it to the boil. Slowly stir in a couple of knobs of butter, with a good squeeze of lemon juice and some chopped fresh dill. To create the mash you will need two separate pans - one for the boiled diced potato, the other for the beetroot. Cook both till they are tender and drain the liquid. Place into one pan and mash over a very low heat. Finally, add a knob of butter, some chopped parsley and grated Double Gloucester. Mix well and keep warm until ready to serve. Pork Chop in Honey Glaze with Herby Bulghur Wheat and Beer Batter Tempura We used pork reared by Cameron Naughton and Chris Coombe at West End Farm, Devizes.  | | Pork chop reared near Devizes |
Heat a frying pan with a touch of olive oil, chopped ginger, garlic and rosemary. Next add the pork chop and fry till golden. Then turn it over in the pan and repeat on other side. Turn the heat down slightly to allow the chop to cook thoroughly or place in an oven. Approximately two minutes before serving glaze with a teaspoon of local honey to provide a sweet glaze and a rich dark sauce. Bulghur wheat is like any pulse and absorbs anything you cook it with. On this occasion sauté some tomatoes and caraway seeds and add chopped red onion. Place them in a saucepan with the wheat and cover with either local apple juice or beer. Allow the liquid time to simmer away gently- you will find the bulghur expands and is cooked when it is soft to taste. Finish with some diced cucumber and fresh coriander herbs. For a beer batter mix two eggs with two ounces of flour and enough beer to make a thin, yet consistent coating. Add a little of your favourite spice to give the batter an extra lift. Place your fresh vegetables into the batter and as you lift them out ensure that you drain of any excess batter before placing in a hot frying pan with olive oil and garlic. Cook the vegetables till golden and crisp. Serve the pork chop on top of your bulghur with a drizzle of honey glaze around the outside and the local beer tempura vegetables scattered on the top. Frocester Fayre Pork Medallion with Ruddle Court Cheesy Lentils Cooked with pork from Frocester Fayre, Gloucestershire, and cheese from Ruddle Court Farm, Gloucestershire. Serves 2 2 x 6 oz pork medallions
1 chopped red onion
3 tablespoons lentil du pay
6 oz diced and chilled Ruddle Court camembert
1 teaspoon Cajun spice
1 diced beef tomato
3 sprigs rosemary – finely chopped
¼ pint Days Cottage apple juice or water
Watercress garnish
Olive oil
2 rashers of diced bacon
1 tablespoon grain mustard
Chopped coriander - Heat a frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil.
- Add the medallions and fry gently for one minute.
- Using the same pan add the onions and cook till soft.
- Turn over the medallions and cook till golden on other side.
- Add the lentils, tomato and diced bacon.
- Sauté for a further three minutes on a slow heat.
- Add the juice or water and gently simmer.
- Reduce till the lentils are soft to the bite - if the liquid drains before this happens, simply top up with more juice or water.
- Add the spices and mustard.
- Stir well and simmer for another 30 seconds.
- Add the diced cheese and chopped rosemary and coriander, and stir well.
- Serve the pork in the centre of the plate with a spoonful of lentils, sprigs of watercress and a drizzle of olive oil.
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Brown Cow "to the Moon" Burgers Cooked with organic meat and yoghurt from Brown Cow Organics, Somerset. Serves 2
12 oz Brown Cow minced beef
½ chopped onion
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
2 freshly baked and toasted baps
1 clove chopped garlic
Olive oil
2 tablespoon Brown Cow yoghurt
2 leaves of washed and chopped mint
1 teaspoon of horseradish relish
Salad garnish - Mix the mince with the chopped onion, caraway and nutmeg.
- Shape into two six-ounce "patties".
- Heat a pan with olive oil, add the garlic and gently fry for a minute.
- Add the burgers.
- Fry till golden brown then turn over and repeat on other side.
- Cook till all the juices are clear and no pink blood is left inside the burger. Test with a knife or skewer.
- Mix the yoghurt, horseradish and mint together to make a dressing.
- Garnish the baps with crisp English salad leaves or watercress.
- Gently place the burgers on top and drizzle with some yoghurt dressing and add the top of the bap.
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