Food is our passion, especially using local produce from our wonderful Shropshire Hills area. Each Tuesday we will provide a recipe, cooking tip or introduce an ingredient which will hopefully fire your enthusiasm for cooking.
See below our Shropshire Hills recipes.
Check out our What's on page for upcoming cookery courses.
Real comfort food with the days turning colder. Interestingly, a Westernized, roux-based version of curry was introduced to Japan by the British Navy in the late 1800s and, over time, evolved to become a staple in Japanese households In the 1950s, store-bought curry roux bricks were created, there are many varieties in Japan.
Have you been looking speculatively at the small pumpkins to be found in the vegetable section? Well here is a treat you can make with one. To get pumpkin puree, cut the pumpkin in half, scoop out the seeds, put it on a tray, at 170C for about 45 minutes and there is your puree.
Along with the pulled pork baps, hotdogs and burgers we had on bonfire night add this delicious (and slightly messy) treat.
It has been a good year for tomatoes and if your plants are still producing too this is a recipe that will show them at their best.
Because you sear the broccoli instead of just boiling it, it adds a dimension of caramelisation; that with the parmesan, chilli flakes and lemon juice makes it something special. But happily it doesn't take long to make.
A rich and satisfying curry, the peanut butter and coconut milk blend beautifully with the tofu and sweet potatoes.
A great weekday recipe to have as you are coming to the end of your courgettes for the season. Several optional ingredients so an easy recipe to make your own.
An retro autumnal naughty but nice dish to make.
A dish with just enough zing to wake up your meal.
The dressing makes this a special salad. The chickpeas can make it into a meal - if you want.
Have a rainbow on your table with peas, carrots and beetroot making your potato salad amazing.
A simple pasta sauce with just enough of a kick.
A quick one pan dish with tender and golden brown gnocchi and bright and crisp asparagus and a creamy sauce.
Not only does this taste good but it is a perfect recipe to make with children/grandchildren as they love to be part of the assembly line dipping the slices in flour, egg and breadcrumbs.
A soothing, sweet-scented infusion said to aid relaxation and digestion.
Citrusy, sweet and sour the sauce gets caramelized by the oven’s heat, coating chicken thighs and cubed sweet potatoes with a sticky glaze.
A delicious and satisfying dinner salad adding no heat to your kitchen.
What do you like to do with lemon curd - have it on toast, between layers of a cake or perhaps in a pavlova (which also uses up the egg whites).
Sticky, hot, sweet and sour and vegan. A wonderful week day meal with a bit of a punch. Feel free to be more traditional and substitute paneer for the tofu.
Fight this rainy weather by bottling one of the essences of the summer, the white flowers are out (including our meadows – we are happy to share).
A quick salad for a hot day. Put the dressing on while the courgette is warm and it will soak up the flavour of the dressing.
One of the great things about courgettes are their versitility , in this recipe they make into a great pasta sauce.
Take advantage of British asparagus while available to make a meal that brings it own sunshire, no matter the weather outside.
The classic lemon, butter, caper sauce - but this time cloaking caramelized roasted cauliflower and chickpeas - a lovely twist.
Just the meal in the hot weather - either to eat on the patio or just to keep from heating up your kitchen.
Sweet, spicy, savory, this classic Taiwanese dish has it all.
When you deserve a quick treat when you have spent all afternoon working in the garden - or doing anything else in the spring weather.
Feta has a lovely creaminess when baked and the tomatoes and lemon brighten up the whole dish. It comes together quickly and is great served with orzo.
Are you one of those that not only made sourdough bread during the lock downs but have continued? This is a recipe that uses the discarded starter when you are refreshing it. Not only is it thrifty but it is wonderful watching the magic of the bubbles in the crumpets.
A soup that straddles wanting something warming and looking at the start of the sun on all the spring growth. Also a soup you can make after doing a bit of weeding.
This makes a really nice lunch or part of a Good Friday spread. Children might like to experiment with putting onion skins or beetroot in the water to dye the eggs.
Succotash is a North American vegetable dish with native American origins. It consists primarily of sweet corn with broad beans, a great pairing. But other ingredients can be added.
It is Wild Garlic Week here at the Centre! These wild garlic and cheese scones are always a hit in the Cafe, we hope that they will be as big a hit in your home. Please follow the foragers code when you pick some.
Generally deep fried, here is a quick (and healthier) version of General Tso's chicken for a weeknight
Looking for a new recipe for butternut squash, I found this delicious warm salad. Feel free to use green lentils, but if you can find them, use baluga lentils - the small black ones looking a bit like cavier, they have a wonderful creamy taste.
This Tuesday is the beginning of the Chinese New Year, it is the Year of the Fire Horse, symbolizing bold change, dynamic growth, and optimism. These meatballs could be a good way to celebrate.
Unlike how you usually prepare halloumi, it is finely grated to be incorporated in thie pasta and canalline recipe with its bright notes of pesto.
This Mexican feast is a great way to spice up a Shropshire Lamb shoulder. Barbacoa tradionally cooks the whole animal in a pit, though this recipe is for smaller amounts cooked in the oven. This delicious meat is then served with a salsa, guacamole and corn tortillas
It is easy to make this treat - as long as you have duck legs - and since it is served in a pancake, it could be served next tuesday on Pancake Day if you are a lateral thinker.
This is one of the Cafe soups that we can all agree is a favourite of ours. It has a wonderfully complex flavour, but few ingredients, so is easy to attempt to duplicate at home.
Something warming and comforting for these cold days. Plus if one of your new year's resolutions is to eat more pulses, this has you covered there too.
By this point in a grey drizzly January, you need something different - why not spagetti squash. Eat in the skin or transfer into a bowl. Cover with your favourite pasta sauce or just a bit of butter, salt and perhaps some grated cheese – you choose.
When you don't want to spend too much time in the kitchen this is a rich flavourful meal - use the vegetable suggested or what it is your house.
While we still have a few relaxed days left, why not make these rolls either for a breakfast or to serve with tea.
A treat for those who don't like to celebrate the end of the meal with Christmas pudding; for those who do, perhaps you could have this on boxing day...
An easy and quick store cupboard meal, but you wouldn't think so when eating it. It can be eaten on its own or as a side dish.
Elevate any meat or veggie main with this risotto subtly sweet with the freshly grated carrots, topped with a pile of smoky roasted carrots and the tingly, crunchy chile crisp.
A great meal for a relaxed get together, the maranaded oven roasted meat, almost, takes care of itself; and everyone puts into the pita bread whatever they want, whatever you provide
For breakfast on the go or when you need a delicious and healthy snack. Sweet potatoes are full of fibre and vitamin A and the oats may help manage cholesterol and balance blood sugar levels.
It is great when something so tasty is so easy to put together. It can be either a side dish with chicken or fish or a main course.
A rich, warming and filling soup to make you forget the weather - just don't let Garfield invite himself.
Two ingredients that go very well together.
Next time you speculatively look at a 'cooking' pumpkin in the store, go ahead and buy it and make these wonderful muffins. Put nuts in if you would like, take out some of the sugar; make them your own and have a recipe you can make each year.
Home grown courgettes is starting to slow but there is still enough for one more warm and satisfying dish this year.
A recipe, non-recipe, where you add the beans, greens and grain that you wish for a nutritious and delicious dish.
A light, delicious meal using minced chicken in flavourful meatballs with warm spices, paired with a lemony yogurt sauce.
Tahini, beside having a lovely flavour, when warmed turns sugar and syrup to a fudge-like state giving you a rich, halva tasting, flapjack.
If you are still picking a lot of cherry tomatoes here is a recipe for you (and I don't see why you can't use other tomatoes you have grown, or bought, too).
A great dish to accompany most meats, with a touch of the medieval and the Middle East about it.
This time you are poaching eggs without the tomatos and red peppers of the traditional shashuka, instead this uses all 'green' vegetables - put in what you like or what you have.
Something quite delicious to do with part of the bounty of apples to be had at this time.
A family pleasing way to use up some of those courgettes.
What toppings will you put on?
A mind-blowing and amazing rich chocolate mousse for everyone and anyone made from 3 ingredients. It is for anyone as it is vegan.
A very simple sauce to make and like most, always tastes best fresh. Use it with pasta, chicken or fish.
These smoky aubergine with minced pork in a lime sauce - a great dinner for a hot day. And yes you can char an aubergine on an induction hob.
From our cookery workshop last sunday everything you need to involve the whole family in putting a favourite meal on the table.
Have your courgette plants started producing yet? Here is a lovely, light and simple main course.
A great lunch for a warm day. Feel free to use chicken or change the type of wraps - it's your lunch after all.
A summery dish - perhaps using your own tomatoes. As you are asked to marinade the chicken for 30 minutes - it takes a little menu planning.
A relatively quick weekday dish with a very satisfying blend of savory and sweet.
This stew is something to look forward to at the end of the day - and just happens to be vegan.
The elderflowers are out (and we are happy to share). Here is something fun to have with your cordial.
Easy, one-ingredient banana ice cream is naturally sweet and so satisfying. No ice cream maker needed. Just freeze a banana, blend until creamy, freeze and serve!
Not as sweet as the original but a lovely, interesting, rich treat. You may have to go on a supermarket scavenger hunt to get all the ingredients, but that is part of the fun.
This quick weeknight dish, which is built primarily from pantry staples is made special by the coarsely crushed black peppercorns. In Roman times, black pepper was the most expensive of all spices and in 1668, the price of a pound of pepper in London was three times the average weekly earnings.
Batch cook this sauce and you can make a bolognese, a curry, and a chilli. That and a versatile white sauce were the first recipes on our cookery course. Look on our website for the other dates that you can join in.
On a drizzly day, it is always nice to have a trick up your sleeve. Make it together and enjoy.
If you want to try something different than overnight oats for breakfast, this simple pudding doubles as both breakfast and dessert and gets its silky texture from chia seeds.
It is relatively quick to make, packed with vegetables and with a tangy sauce. Just what is needed at the end of the day.
There is nothing more fun than seeing how things are made. Do something creative and enjoyable and make butter in a jar.
There is something magical about the way the ingredients of mayonnaise come together when mixed. Homemade mayonnaise is simple enough to just make when needed and then it will last for two weeks.
Everyone has their favourite dish from the Cafe, several of us find it hard to pass up the mushroom quiche, it is so rich and delicious. Debatable as to whether we can ever do as well as the cafe, but we got them to reveal the recipe.
Spring is here and with it the first courgette recipe of the season! Scarpaccia is variously translated as bad shoe/old shoe, I don't know why. It is a delicious way to use some of your first courgettes.
Whether or not you were fortunate enough to be at last month's Lamb Supper, here is the main course. If you serve it for a special occasion, no one will guess how simple it is to produce.
Celebrate Pancake Day with a savory recipe instead of or as well of a sweet one. This recipe is surprisingly quick, easy and delicious.
Some say this is a midnight pasta recipe, but I found it was great lunch while working outside, few ingredients and comes together quickly. One doesn't live with peanut butter sandwiches alone.
If you weren't fortunately enough to attend one of Grant's Wild Garlic Walk and Pesto Workshop, here is the recipe so that you can still forage and make some at home.
Smooth, creamy and oozy, it can be considered comfort food. Also another great way to use butternut squash before we have to say good-bye to it as the seasons change.
Girls Group had an evening of Hogwarts last night. One of the things done was make a favourite from the Hogwarts Express trolley. Even a muggle would like this.
Whether or not you were fortunate enough to be at last week's Lamb Supper, here is the first course. It makes a delicious starter or light lunch. Originally a Greek dish, the word means “slipper” and refers to the shape of the cut aubergines
Homemade hummus is a thing of beauty and you don't have to tell anyone that it is really a store cupboard recipe.
A delicious hearty meal for these cold,damp days - and if you are very lucky you can pair this with some freshly made bread.
Also if one of your new year's resolutions was to have more plant proteins or fibre in your diet then you're onto a winner.
Especially at this time of year as your try and wean yourself off of all the treats you have been eating, you crave a little something. These biscuits that we made at our winter children's holiday club fit that bill - they are made simply with banana and oats, though you are welcome to add a little dried fruit, nuts or spices.
This recipe has some great flavours and a secret ingredient that makes the chicken brown better, prevents the lime zest and ginger from burning and gives you a tender, juicy piece of meat - mayonnaise. Before you dismiss the idea out of hand, give it a try.
Filled with mediterranean flavours, warm, it can be a great main course; cold it can be equally good in a packed lunch. It freezes well so it will be ready to have when you want.
Been wishing you had made stollen, but don't have the time to let it rise? Try these stollen bites which are more of a scone stollen - you can either grate the marzipane and taste it all through each one, or put a cube of marzipane in to make it more like a stollen log.
In a way this is a bit of Boxing Day before we have even had Christmas. But for anyone loving Brussel sprouts, why wait? Very nice sauce too.
This is a popular and comforting autumn dish from the northern region of Iran, flavourful with chickpeas and prunes besides the butternut squash.
Soon to have leftovers which can then be turned into a light meal or snack. This is a no recipe, recipe to make with the ingredients you have on hand.
Always great to find new recipes using butternut squash and spinach. Besides tasting delicious it is a great source of fiber and has beta-carotene and vitamin A.
As Christmas rolls around you may start wondering what you can do with the dates - here's an idea. The recipe asked for one Medjool date, here several dried ones have been used, very nice.
Proziaki is a Polish bread made at home instead of being bought. This recipe has been used during some bread workshops carried out at schools. A simple recipe making delicious rolls - 3 schools can't be wrong.
A beautiful sun drenched dish perfect to counter the weather we have been having.
Have a delicious dinner without a lot of washing up. I have seen other recipes like with using orzo if you want your meal ready a bit faster, I used brown rice.
A casserole needing little effort then giving you time to get other things done while it cooks. Warming but light with great flavours for our changeable weather.
The culinary world is an interesting place to explore and the Australians and Americans call a Yorkshire pudding a Dutch Baby. Theirs can be savoury or sweet and often has a filling, as this one does. If you can get over the sacrilege, have a go.
This Mary Berry Apple Cake was served as the snack for the Craven Arms Girls Group last night and quickly disappeared, it will do the same in your house. Even better, it not only tastes delicious but the apples can be windfalls or even old ones left in the fruit bowl.
In Japan, teriyaki, which means to shine and to grill is a mix of soy sauce, sake and the rice wine mirin. In the west the ginger and garlic show a bit of Korean influence. This dish is especially good if you have the time to let the chicken marinade over night.
A wonderfully rich and hearty stew for these rainy days. Use whatever sausages you like best.
While we were being Anglo-Saxons at the Ludlow Food Festival one of the things we did was make this cake. Obviously worthy of the event since we were using some of our precious honey and made with the only bean known to Europe before contact with the new world.
Come forage in our meadows for the makings of an incredible dessert.
Some days you want that tang but don't have a lot of time to cook. This vegetable filled sweet and sour chicken fits the bill.
Peanut butter is not only for sandwiches but also for making great sauces.
This dish can be just as delicious made at home as it is when you have it in a restaurant with friends. It is surprisingly simple to make with its rich flavourful sauce.
Amasing melt in your mouth biscuits with a lovely lemony taste from Jane's Patisserie given a twist from my son who put a spoonful of melted white chocolate on each one - very memorable.
This time of year doesn't last long - gather your whinberries while you may - and make them into a delicious pie!
When you have people visiting over the summer, there is nothing better than to ask if they would like pancakes with this fresh raspberry syrup for breakfast.
While himalayan balsam has many bad points, it does have a high nectar production which attracts pollinators and also makes a nice jam.
This is the time of year with an abundance of fruit. It is simple to make that fruit into jam. If you have never made jam you should give it a try - delicious spread on your toast
I go back and forth between summery salads and something more warming - back to something more warming. Barley takes longer to cook but makes a great change from rice and pasta.
When taking a walk, have you ever looked down and noticed these yellow flowers? If you pick one and pinch it - it smells like pineapple. This syrup is aromatic and citrussy; delicious drizzled over yoghurt, diluted for drinks.
At the last Girls Group before September, we made some quick and delicious mug cakes, giving us energy before going down to the river. This is our tweaked recipe as we found the cakes too sweet.
Depending on where it is growing this plant can be considered invasive, so what better to do than use some of its seeds? This mustard is hot like wasabi or grated horseradish and will keep for a year, a little going a long way.
The elderflowers are out and there are many things you can make with them including Elderflower Sorbet! Now all we need is some sun to pick them in...
This is definitely the weather for salad meals, plus you can show case the courgettes you are growing - a win/win.
Something to really make your weekends special.
Meatloaf is a 'blast from the past', this one is moist and delicious because of the added vegetables. Also quick enough to be a weekday meal.
For this warm bank holiday, I decided to turn a favourite side salad into a main. So here is a version of panzanella with more vegetables and either chicken or paneer added. Not traditional, but delicious.
Just one of my favourite recipes. I love pak choi - and so do my slugs - and the lime, coconut milk and green curry paste make for a magical accompaniment.
This is one of the recipes that lead to a wonderful smell during the morning's plant based Spanish Tapa Cookery Course. I watched with envy as they went out the door at the end of the workshop, but of course with this I can make them myself.
I toyed with the idea of making a rhubarb sorbet but by the time I had come in from cutting the rhubarb out in the cold only a warm, comforting rhubarb crumble would do.
We've had requests for the recipe for our 80K Festival Fidget Pie (they certainly feature in the memories and photos of participants). Well, on the day they are made by the experts at A. Ryan & Son Butchers in Much Wenlock, but this is our recipe for homemade ones.
One of the joys of taking part in the Shropshire Way 80K Festival is the food. And we have had requests for this recipe our wonderful chefs make.
Naturally one of the most wonderful things about our cooking courses are the recipes you take away with you. If you were not on last week's course, let me share this one with you.
Spring may have sprung but there are still days when a warming curry hits the spot.
Have a fresh take on your baked beans and make them yourself!
The Centre is lucky to have staff with very talented daughters who can make things like these traditional currant buns.
It is time! Here is a recipe to make lovely, soft hot cross buns.
Something magically simple from yesterdays workshop
Everyone needs a list of comfort food recipes – and this one is also fibre and nutrient rich – so win, win.
If you would like a change from crepes with lemon juice and sugar or golden syrup, try these cardamom crepes from Somalia, where they are called malawax (pronounced ma- la-wah)
From Friday’s Lamb Supper, a Greek recipe that is simple to prepare but elegant enough for an evening at the Centre.
While both the Shropshire weather on Candlemas and Punxsutawney Phil predict an early spring, it is still soup weather. Here is a filling soup as we continue to search for signs of spring.
A dish to fight the gloom of a grey day. Also a forgiving dish, it asked for ricotta cheese and cream, but I have found it just as delicious when using up cottage cheese and cream cheese. I love the crunch of the pine nuts set against the pasta.
Either part of a light supper or a lovely lunch. With the added benefit that sardines are full of omega-3 fatty acids and often found as part of the Mediterranean recipes.
Just the thing for cold weather, hearty but the lemon and coriander giving it a bit of a sparkle.
Healthy, simple, delicious! If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to get more beans into your diet, add this recipe to your rotation of menus.
Families prepared to welcome in the New Year last Saturday, making among things, these muffins, which are said to bring prosperity in the New Year, though they will taste good anytime.
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