FLOWER POT KITCHEN: NOT MAC BUT CORN CHEESE

28 Jan 2018

NOT MAC BUT CORN CHEESE

I stumbled across this brilliant Korean spin off from Mac n Cheese, one spoonful in and it was a winner dinner with my gang! Gorgeous creamy cheese sauce, peppered with crispy sweetcure bacon, fresh red Serrano jalapeños and grilled corn off the cob with the ultimate cheese pull!

Prep time 20 minutes / Cooking time 15 minutes

Ingredients

(serves 4)

4 corns on the cob

4 rashers sweetcure bacon unsmoked

1 red Serrano chilli fine diced

50g butter

50g flour

400ml - 600ml full fat creamy milk

100ml double cream

1 pinch Himalayan sea salt

1 pinch white pepper

200g cheddar grated

100g Parmesan Reggiano finely grated

100g mozzarella grated

50g fontina optional

Bring a pan of water to a rolling simmer, season the water with sea salt, add the corn on the cobs and simmer for around 15 minutes until the corn is tender, drain and remove the cobs, leave to once side to slightly cool, then carve off the corn from the kernel and reserve to one side while you make the bechamel sauce.

In a cast iron skillet or hob to oven casserole dish melt the butter then add the flour and stir to combine, add 400ml of the milk and whisk until smooth, add the cream and leave to gently bubble away meanwhile heat a skillet medium hot add a glug of olive oil then the chopped bacon and sear until crispy, add the chopped Serrano chilli and the corn stir to combine.

Back to the bechamel sauce, add all the cheeses but only half of the Parmesan, stir in until melted, if the sauce is too thick add a little of the reserved milk to loosen, next add the sweet corn mixture and mix, top the dish with the remaining Parmesan cheese and bake in the oven for 15 minutes until bubbling and browned off, serve immediately.

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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.