| SPRING HAS FINALLY SPRUNG! | SEASONAL PRODUCE | ||
| Spring is finally here. So much excitement surrounds us with warmer days, brighter evenings and finally being able to enjoy the outdoors. It is also the time to look forward to months of seasonal produce. | April & May | ||
|
|||
| A recent trip to Hampshire has inspired me to cook recipes using wild garlic (only available for six weeks). Wild garlic is one of the first signs of spring with an intense, delicious flavour. Wild garlic soup is currently on the menu at Archie’s with one client saying, “it was the perfect starter and absolutely delicious”. | |||
| It’s so important that we are able to look forward to our British produce, with its wide seasonal variety, but this is only if you’ve have managed to avoid temptation and not indulged in buying strawberries or asparagus during the winter periods! | |||
| It is really worth waiting for the real thing, the quality of British grown produce is absolutely fantastic and with farmer’s markets or ‘direct to the door’ organic co-op’s growing in popularity, local, direct and seasonal are now more accessible than ever. | |||
 |
It's also the season to revel in watercress, sample spinach, try turbot, make the most of purple sprouting broccoli and asparagus, which have a short yet bountiful window and are delicious lightly steamed with butter and lemon juice to let them speak for themselves. Jersey Royals are available from April and have a sweet, earthy flavour. Add a sprig of mint to the water whilst cooking to enhance the spring flavours. |
 |
 |
| Sign up for my new monthly recipe for delicious, simple food using easily available ingredients. | |||
| ARCHIE'S FOOD & WINE | ARCHIE'S AT HOME |
Archie’s celebrated its belated first birthday in March with our first Food and Wine Experience together with Haynes, Hanson and Clark. This was a great success and a fantastic opportunity to thank our client’s for their support and of course, to sample a little bit of what makes Archie’s so unique. Huge thanks must also go to HRW for providing a stunning venue. |
Archies is a catering company, created to meet your every possible food need. From private dinner parties, to corporate events, we do it all. We work closely with you to understand precisely what you want, then deliver this with passion, care and fantastic food, ensuring every occasion is one to remember. |
| We will keep you posted on future Archie’s events. | We have a range of services available (click here). Have a look around, and get in contact to explore how we may be able of help. |
| RECIPE OF THE MONTH | |
| Slow Roast Shoulder of Spring Lamb | Pour 300 ml of water into the baking tray to help stop the wine from reducing too much. You may need to top up with a little more throughout cooking. |
| Serves 4/6 Ingredients: |
|
| 2 kg lamb shoulder (with bone in) 1 bunch fresh rosemary 1 bulb of garlic, broken into unpeeled cloves 300ml water olive oil 1 bottle of red wine Preheat your oven to 250c. |
Place the lamb in the oven for half an hour, then turn the heat down to 160 °C. Cover the tray with tin foil, place back into the oven and leave it to cook for at least 3 ½ - 4 hours. It does not need much attention; it will quite happily cook away to a deliciously soft state. |
| After the 3 - 3 ½ hours of cooking your lamb it should be lovely and tender. Remove the tin foil and pour three quarters of the gravy into a saucepan, letting it reduce slowly. Remove and discard any sprigs of rosemary. Don’t worry about the little leaves that have fallen off the sprigs. | |
| Place the lamb in a baking tray on top of your rosemary and half of the garlic. Then pour the wine over the meat. | |
| Pour olive oil over the lamb - enough to coat it - rubbing it in well. Then sprinkle with sea salt and ground black pepper, making sure the seasoning is evenly spread and rubbed in. Scatter the rest of the garlic evenly over the top. | To serve rip the lamb away from the bone, and serve with some watercress or seasonal veg. Also great with Aioli or Salsa Verde. |
| ARCHIE'S LARDER | ||
| We still have plenty of Jams & Chutneys available from Autumn 2009 which are now perfect for eating. If you are running low, please don't hesitate to order more from our larder. | Plum Chutney Apple & Pear Chutney Onion Chutney |
Plum Jam Crab Apple Jelly Damson Cheese Chilli Oil |
| WINES OF THE MONTH | ||
| Chinon Goutte de Rosé, Domaine de la Noblaie 2009 |  |
|
| Here is a delicious rosé with bags of character and bottled under screw-cap to make life simple when planning picnics and bbqs . The colour is a shining, pretty, pale pink with fresh, floral aromas. Ripe and racy, this is a bone-dry, silkily textured, creamy wine that will delight you all summer long. - £103.60 per case of 12 bottles, inc. VAT | ||
| Quincy Villalin, Domaine Jacques Rouzé 2008 | ||
| Quincy is a village in the Central Loire Valley making wonderfully fresh, intense Sauvignon Blanc. Worked meticulously by the somewhat larger than life Jacques Rouzé, excellent quality wines are produced here year on year. This 2008 is a beautifully fresh, vivacious mouthful with thirst quenching white peach and citrus flavours. - £125.30 per case of 12 bottles, inc. VAT | ||
| Château Barreyre, Bordeaux Supérieur 2003 | ||
| A brilliant bottle for Sunday lunches, Château Barreyre comes from a single plot of vines overlooking the Gironde estuary in Bordeaux. Rich in aroma, this is a fabulous, mouth-filling wine, with luscious, fleshy textures. - £122.80 per case of 12 bottles, inc. VAT | ||
| Archies’ Mixed Spring Case - 4 bottles of each of the above: £122.45 | ||
If you cannot see this newsletter please click here