Dirk's Paella

There are as many recipes for this quintessential Spanish dish as there are small villages and towns in Spain. Regionally, the ingredients vary - from predominantly fishy in the south to meaty around Madrid and central Spain. Generally the spicing in paella is very laid-back - chorizo, pimenton and a little turmeric being the main influencers of heat. Rather untraditionally I add a little fresh chilli to mine as I love its wee kick that seems to lift the other flavours in the dish.

This recipe (except the chilli) was taught to me by my good Spanish friends in Madrid - Alberto and Carlos. Use it as the basis for fish, meat or vegetarian paellas, and like me, adapt it as you see fit. It works well at any time of year - but is best served lookwarm, outside, on a warm summer's evening, just as the heat of the day is starting to fade and the rose wine is suitably chilled.

For 4 hungry Earthlings
Ingredients:
For the spicing: 1 tsp each of sweet, smoked paprika (pimenton), turmeric, salt & a good pinch of saffron threads.

500g 'Bomba' paella rice; 2-3 peppers of any colour or shape, de-seeded and cut into thin strips; 1 small head of fresh fennel, finely chopped; 4 chicken legs and 4 chicken thighs - each chopped into 2-3 pieces; 1 spicy chorizo sausage; 250g fresh squid (cleaned and cut into thin strips); 150g 'French' beans; 1 medium hot red chilli (optional); 2 cloves of garlic, minced; 500g (total) of mixed fish (a mixture of shellfish and/or salmon, hake, ling or other sustainable white fish works well); 500ml of good chicken stock a good glug of Spanish olive oil.

Heat a paella pan and add the oil. Brown the chicken pieces all over in the pan, then remove. Add the chorizo and then the squid, and then the peppers, chilli (if using) and the garlic, turning well. Add the rice and coat well with the oil. Now add around half of the stock and mix well. Add the spice mixture and stir in. Finally return the chicken pieces into the pan and give it one final stir. Simmer gently, topping up with the stock but DO NOT stir from this point on. When the rice is almost cooked and has soaked up all of the liquid, add the french beans before covering over the paella pan with either a lid, or a piece of tin foil. After 5 minutes, add the fish and re-cover with the foil so that the fish gently steams. Cook for a further few minutes until the fish is just cooked through. Turn off the heat and leave to cool a little before serving. The ideal paella has some of the rice sticking to the bottom of the pan - this caramelised rice is almost the best bit of a paella and is often 'fought' over in Spanish households. Salud!

Indigo's Tantalising Tomato Recipes

Earthy Chef Indigo Wheelaghan is a big fan of Jim Craig's tomatoes so when we asked for a couple of recipes he wasn't short on inspiration.

Confit cherry vine tomato soup.

750g Jim Craig's red cherry tomatoes.

250g vine tomatoes

4 red onions

1/2 a head of celery

one large carrot

one bulb of garlic

generous bunch of rosemary

generous bunch of thyme

tablespoon of sherry vinegar

teaspoon of brown sugar

basil leaves and creme fraiche to garnish

Slice tomatoes in half, roughly dice red onion, cellary, carrot and garlic.

Place in a large roasting tray, add picked herbs sea salt, cracked black pepper, cherry vinegar and a very generous glug of extra virgin olive oil, mix through the vegetables.

Cover the tray with tin foil, place in the oven at 180 degrees C, leave for one hour.

Remove foil then place back in oven for 30-40 mins until the tomatoes begin to char.

Place in large saucepan, blend until smooth adding water and seasoning to taste and texture.

Finish with torn fresh basil, creme fraiche and extra virgin olive oil.

Panzanella Salad

500g Jim Craig's mixed cherry tomatoes

1 red onion

small bunch of basil

small bunch of oregano

small bunch of parsley

some old bread

3 cloves of garlic

cherry vinegar

Slice tomatoes in half. Finely slice red onion. Add a 2 tablespoons of cherry vinegar, and 3 of extra virgin olive oil, season with sea walt and cracked black pepper.

Tear old bread into chunks, place in a roasting tray with garlic cloves, not pealed, drizzle with olive oil, season and roast in oven at about 150 degrees C until golden brown.

Pick some parsley, oregano and basil and add to the vegetables.

Finally add the bread, removing the garlic cloves and serve straight away.

Perfect with white fish, or chicken.

Producer of the Month - June 2011 - Jim Craig

The Earthy Producer of the Month

Jim Craig

Jim Craig is one of the last of a once mighty breed, the Clyde Valley tomato grower. Up until the 1930’s the region was Scotland’s orchard, with acres of apple trees, some stretching back for hundreds of years. Seeing their livelihoods whittled away by cheaper English & continental imports the farmers embarked on what is still reckoned to be the biggest single investment in Scottish agricultural history – they built state of the art, water heated greenhouses of a size & scale never seen before. So successful was the gamble that, by the 1950’s the Clyde Valley was synonymous with tomato production, but just as in the 30’s, growers in the 60’s & 70’s found themselves undercut as better transportation allowed Spanish & Italian growers to deliver their tomatoes all over Europe.

Always price conscious, supermarkets squeezed the pricier, but fresher and better tasting Scottish tomatoes off the shelves. Facing this huge drop in demand dozens of the Clyde Valley growers either sold out to garden centres & nurseries or simply allowed their majestic green houses to fall into disrepair & collapse. Slowly, but surely, however, a mini revival is occurring. Spurred on by the increased consumer desire for local produce, growers like Jim are circumventing the supermarkets to sell directly to the public either at farmers markets or at stores like Earthy where the fuller flavour and firmer texture that only fresh Scottish tomatoes can provide are appreciated. Jim admits that Scottish tomatoes are now a niche product, but that allows them to specialise in heritage varieties & even expand his range to include strawberries and cucumbers.

Available from late April until early November, Jim Craig’s tomatoes are a taste of the past. So next time you are hankering for tomatoes ‘like they used to be’ try one of Jim’s.

Byam Trotter's Hot Pepper Chocolate Cake

Byam Trotter of Trotter's Independent Condiments is one of our favourite & most inventive suppliers. From his seasonal & entirely Scottish Wild Garlic Pesto to his boozily brilliant Mojito Jelly (fantastic with barbequed fish), he rarely fails to hit the mark.

Not content with simply creating tasty condiments, he trys to inspire you to get cooking as well. His website is a mine of cracking recipes of which this scrumptiously spicy cake is a recent favourite.

Ingredients

• 1tbs ground almonds (extra for dusting)

• 300g dark chocolate (65% minimum)

• 220g caster sugar

• 110g Hot Pepper Jelly

• 165g unsalted butter

• Pinch of sea salt

• 5 large eggs

• Icing sugar

• 20cm round cake tin (with removable base)

Method

Preheat the oven to; 180C/375F/Gas mark 5 or bottom right in an Aga

Brush the tin with a little oil, sprinkle in half the ground almonds and spread around evenly.

Melt the chocolate and butter with the sugar, salt and Hot Pepper Jelly in a heatproof bowl over simmering water or in a low oven or the top left of an Aga

Whisk the eggs with the remainder of the ground almonds and fold it into the chocolate mixture

Pour into the cake tin and bake for 30-40 mins (check after 30)

Remove cake from tin and leave on base to cool

Eat... yum yum!

The cake should be thick and a little gooey in texture.

Celeriac Schnitzel

The Earthlings are talented & cosmopolitan bunch - outwith their phenomenal knowledge of fruit, veg & food in general, we have experts on everything from Scandinavian poetry to particle physics - which means that we get a fantastic range of recipes from our staff. This simple take on a German classic, which makes brilliant use of the unusual texture & flavour of celeriac to really make it the star of the show, was suggested by Esther Kuck (Bonus Talent - Trained Florist) one of the shopfloor Earthlings.

Ingredients

1 good sized celeriac

100g breadcrumbs

2 medium eggs (beaten)

Salt & Pepper

Method

Peel the celeriac and cut into ½ inch slices, then season each slice with salt and freshly ground black pepper, dip into beaten egg and ideally you own home made bread crumbs (the organic boxed ones we sell are good if you are feeling lazy).

Fry on both sides in butter and olive oil until golden brown. This leaves the schnitzel with a bit of crunch.

Serve with sauce hollandaise and buttered potatoes with lots of fresh flat parsley. You can also throw a handful of chopped capers through your sauce for really tart accompaniment.