Spring Greens Poached in Cider

Sorry for the absence of recipes the last few day, I've been away from my computer and ridiculously busy. Hopefully I'll be able to catch up with a few extra recipes this weekend.
Yesterday I went on a food foraging lesson kindly arranged by kaffeine's fruit and veg supplier 4DegreesC. A small group of us were guided through the Hackney marshes by foraging expert and author Miles Irving who really did blow my mind with just about every bit of weed, flower, shrub or insect he picked for us to eat. I ate ants that distinctly tasted of sherbet, a grass bud that had strong mushrooms flavours and bulrush which grows in swamps and dissolves on the tongue due to its starchiness.
I've now been exposed to a hole new way of life and cooking and there will a lot more to follow in the next couple of weeks. In the mean time here here's a simple little number I came up with last weeks and really quite tasty. Also I must thank Etienne for his fresh batch of photo's, seriously getting better and better with every photo session we have.

1kg spring greens
2 liters dry apple cider
100ml fish sauce
3 dried red chillies
70g peeled ginger
4 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
50ml sesame oil

METHOD:
Place in a large pot cider, dried chillies, bay leaves, fish sauce, finely sliced ginger and garlic, dark soy, and salt, put over a high heat and bring to the boil. Break spring green leaves away from the stem and wash thoroughly. Slice the leaves into 1cm strips and once the cider stock is boiling poach greens in the liquid for 4-5minutes then strain. Finally toss spring greens in sesame oil and serve either hot or cold.

Sage, Mushroom, Cider and Cheddar Muffins

I have a small confession, I cant stomach mushrooms! I know its a terrible statement coming from a chef but mushrooms honestly make me ill. Usually twice a year I'll attempt to eat them in some dish but the end result is me getting intimate with stomach acids.
However I do love cooking mushrooms and love the musty smell they give off (odd I know).
I'm pretty good at pairing mushrooms with complementary flavours such as these muffin's sage, mustard and cider all work perfectly. Tried and tested on customers and co-workers, no complaints just praise.

450g plain flour
2 eggs
100ml buttermilk
50ml milk
100ml cider
150g grated mature cheddar
2 tablespoons pommery mustard
100g butter
200g button mushrooms
6 sage leaves
2 teaspoons baking powder
Sea salt and cracked pepper

METHOD:
Slice the mushrooms and roughly chop sage then place a fry pan over a medium heat and melt the butter. Once butter has melted add mushrooms, sage and season with a pinch of salt and a good cracking of pepper. Cook the mushroom till they start to turn golden brown and remove from heat.
In a large mixing bowl add flour, baking powder, cheese, pinch of salt, crack of pepper and stir together till evenly combined. In a separate bowl beat eggs, buttermilk, milk, mustard and cider together, pour the wet mixture in to the dry and add mushrooms. Using a butter knife cut through both the wet and dry combining together till just under mixed. Grease a 12 hold muffin pan with either butter or spray oil and evenly distribute batter into the muffin pan. Bake in a pre-heated oven set at 180oC for 25 minutes. Once cooked leave to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the pan.

Hazelnut and Rosemary Brussels Sprouts with Savory Apple

I know many of you will hate brussels sprouts as much as I hate popular baby names. Probably because your mother or grandmother over boiled these wonderful bitter sprouts, I like to saute brussels in a savoury, nutty and sweet medley which makes them delicious and palatable. This winter lets make the unpopular, Popular!

500g Brussels sprouts 100g hazelnuts

2 apples (red delicious or egrmout russets)

1 brown onion

2 stalks of fresh rosemary

25g butter

125ml cooking white wine or apple cider

Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Roughly dice the onion, remove the rosemary from stalk, roughly chop the hazelnuts and rosemary together. In a large cooking pot melt the butter on a medium high heat then add onion, rosemary, and hazelnuts cook on a medium heat till the onion becomes translucent and hazelnuts start to brown. Wash the Brussels sprouts and stir into the pot coating the sprouts with sautéed mixture, add the wine or cider and cover. Peel and grate the apples add to the sprouts, cook for 5 minutes. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper before serving.