FLOWER POT KITCHEN: CHORIZO AND PANCETTA MACARONI CHEESE

13 Mar 2013

CHORIZO AND PANCETTA MACARONI CHEESE

A MOUTHFUL OF COMFORT, HAPPINESS AND LOVE IN EVERY BITE

I know it has only been a few weeks since I did mac n cheese but we had a really craving for this today and what with a fridge full of home cured pancetta, chorizo and cheese so it felt a natural choice to va va voom the mac n cheese, not that this is va va voomed, if I was to do that I think it would be with a hint of cream, posh cheese and lobster!

INGREDIENTS

(serves 6-8)

100g pancetta

200g sliced chorizo sausage

50g butter

2 cloves garlic sliced

60g plain flour

1 ltr whole milk

pinch grated nutmeg

2 bay leaves

1 sprig of thyme

350g mature cheddar

100g Parmesan grated

fresh ground black pepper

500g cooked macaroni pasta

Pan fry the chorizo, pancetta and garlic in a heavy bottomed pan, (one you can pop in the oven) until crispy and the garlic has that nutty brown chewy texture, add the butter, as soon as it is melted add the flour and stir to make your roux, cook out for a few minutes to help remove the raw flavour of the flour. Now start to add your milk approx 150ml at a time to start, and stir well into the roux until it is smooth again, once half of the milk has been added and smoothly incorporated you can add the rest of the milk and stir in well, add the bay leaves and thyme.

Bring to almost a simmer and cook for 10 minutes of so, stirring most of the time, add the cheeses, pepper and nutmeg, taste and adjust seasoning if needed, I dont feel the need for salt (What! No don't panic the salt police did not get to me!), I feel the pancetta and chorizo season the dish enough. The sauce is now ready to pour over your cooked macaroni, stir well and return back to the sauce pan, sprinkle with more grated Parmesan and place in the oven 190 degrees for 30 minutes until bubbling over and all browned off adding that extra flavour mmmmm... I want more now !!!

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LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.