We are featuring two special olives this week:
Nocellara del Belice, whole Sicilian olives, naturally vibrant green in colour, these olives have an amazing nutty, buttery taste! £5.00 per pot and Gordal olives from Andalucia, with a firm bite and mild refreshing flavour. Gordal means the ‘Fat One’ in Spanish – it is a table olive with a profuse juiciness, but not bitter – it has an almost citrus-like taste on the palette. £5.00 per pot
You will notice there is less fruit in your boxes at the moment. We are committed to bringing you only the best, in-season produce. Right now, some fruits are naturally out of season, and we won’t fill our boxes with poor-quality imports just for the sake of it. We believe in freshness and flavour, so while the selection may be smaller, you can trust it’s the best of what’s truly in season. We have included Ruby apricots in both boxes this week, with their bright orange skin with a deep red blush, they have a sweet aromatic flavour with a honey like after taste.
Early season Kent blackberries are now available, freshly picked, sweet, and juicy—marking the start of the British berry season. Grown in Kent, they’re full of flavour, great for snacking, baking, or freezing, a true taste of early British summer!
Alphonso Mangoes are in season, grown in India and are considered to be the most superior variety of mango, sought after by many chefs. Whilst the flesh inside the mangoes are a golden colour, the skin of the mango is yellow with red spots.
In India, the short season which is usually around 6 weeks, is a good reason to celebrate these little fruits at mango festivals where they are cooked with in a variety of ways in both savoury and sweet dishes.
Don’t forget English Asparagus, such a short season, ours is the finest Norfolk asparagus grown by J W Allen & Sons.
Golden kiwi are back in stock, these are so popular when we can get them. The flesh of the golden kiwifruit is a vibrant yellow colour with a smaller core and fewer seeds than the green variety. Cutting in half and scooping out the flesh with a spoon is one of the easiest ways to enjoy them.
Once again Sea Bass or Salmon will both go perfectly with this week’s recipe – Vietnamese Mangetout Salad. To finish the dish baste the fish in our new Coriander and Chilli Flavoured Butter.
To order go to the fresh fish section and click on sea Bass or Salmon or mention it if you are ordering by phone.
We will be open as normal this week just closing a little earlier on Good Friday 1.30pm
If you would like fish for Thursday, Friday or Saturday if you could please let us know by 4pm Tuesday to avoid disappointment.
All deliveries as normal this week, we just ask for Friday and Saturdays orders if you can confirm any changes or additions by 5pm Wednesday.
Please note we will be closed Tuesday 22nd April, if this is your normal delivery day we will contact you and arrange delivery for Wednesday 23rd April.
Shop Opening hours
Good Friday – 8.30am – 1.30pm
Saturday – 8.30am – 2pm
Easter Sunday – closed
Easter Monday – closed
Tuesday 22nd April – closed
We wish you all a lovely Easter break.
We are excited to have Amalfi lemons this week. Grown on the Italian Amalfi coast they are definitely the queen of lemons. These unusually large and fragrant fruit are grown on cliff-side terraces. Here, the groves have long played an important role in preventing landslips, and the harvest is done by hand. The lemons are heavy with juice, knobbly and pointed, with an intense fragrance and a balance of acidity; some like to eat them raw, like oranges. Because they’re unwaxed, Amalfi lemons are ideal for recipes which call for lemon zest or peel. These amazing lemons are harvested between March and July. They are perfect for making homemade Limoncello. £1.40 each
Grated Grana Padano, which is made throughout the Po River Valley in north eastern Italy, made from unpasteurised, semi-skimmed milk and generally aged for two years. At the end of the cheese-making process, Grana Padano develops a firm, thick and deeply straw-coloured rind protecting the fragrant, dry, flaking interior. Grana means “grainy” in Italian, which is reflected in the fine granular texture with an intensely sweet flavour. We have 2 sizes 80g (just enough for this recipe) £1.70, or 140g (perfect for adding to soups and pasta dishes) £2.70 or
Hand cut 18 month matured Parmigiano-Reggiano which has a stronger, more complex, nuttier and saltier taste than Grana Padano. £7.00 approx 200g
This weeks fish is Icelandic Plaice
Plaice is a very popular fish in northern Europe, especially in Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Norway and the UK, which border its main fishing area in the North Sea. It’s also found in much smaller quantities in the neighbouring seas – the Baltic, the English Channel and the Irish Sea as well as around Iceland, but is not present anywhere else in the world.
It’s a flat fish, meaning that it spends most of its time on the sea bed. Its underneath side is white and its topside is brown with orange spots. Lying flat on the sea bed, it is well camouflaged. Plaice can live for 40 or more years and grow to a metre in length at which the weight would be five kilos or more. Luckily ours aren’t that big.
Plaice is a delicate fish and only needs cooking simply, we like to dust the fillets in a little seasoned plain flour, then heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium/high heat. Add the fish, skin-side down, and cook for 2 minutes. Carefully turn over and cook for a further 2 minutes, or until cooked through.
One side of plaice has 2 fillets enough for 1 portion £8 per side
This cheese is made by a tiny family owned fromagerie Les Cateliers in Buchy, in the Seine-Maritime region in Normandy.
Neufchâtel is a soft, slightly crumbly, mold-ripened cheese made in the Neufachatel-en-Bray. One of the oldest kinds of cheese in France, its production is believed to date back to the 6th century. It looks similar to Camembert, with a dry, white, edible rind, but the taste is saltier and sharper. It has the aroma and taste of mushrooms. Unlike other soft-white-rinded cheeses, Neufchâtel has a grainy texture. It is most usually sold in heart shapes. It wasn’t originally heart shaped, however, the heart-shaped design wasn’t invented for St. Valentine’s Day, it did come about through love…During the Hundred Years’ War (1337 – 1453), the French dairymaids of Neufchatel naturally fell for their English occupiers.
Consequently they started to mould the cheese into a heart shape to give as gifts. It is typically matured for 8–10 weeks. £6.25
Godminster heart shaped smooth and creamy organic cheese, this Vintage Bruton Beauty is a multi-award-winning cheddar covered in burgundy wax. The cheddar is made to a traditional 90-year-old recipe and matured for up to 12 months. It has a rich depth of flavour with a wonderfully smooth texture. £8.50
It is always exciting in the shop when the first of the Yorkshire forced rhubarb arrives, Slender and bright pink, this elegant British speciality is ‘forced’ in the famously dark growing sheds of Yorkshire’s rhubarb triangle.
Yorkshire Forced Rhubarb is an out of season rhubarb that is first grown outside for a period of two years so that the exposure to frost toughens the roots. After initial exposure to the frost, the Rhubarb is lifted from the ground and placed into forcing sheds. Once in the darkened sheds, heat is applied causing the rhubarb to grow quickly in search of light.
The Rhubarb is harvested by candle light to maintain the tenderness of the shoots and ensure that growth continues. This growing process produces rhubarb that is sweeter and more delicately flavoured with an especially vivid red colour.
This really is the best of British produce.
We all have our favourite way of using Rhubarb, simply stewed, in a crumble (why not add our delicious crumble mix, you just need to add butter Fruit Crumble Mix – Village Greens, Charlesworth )
£6 for 500g
