What’s cooking?

Bread that converts non-believers!
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I took this rye bread (which is a beautifully sweet Russian-style loaf) to a friend’s house last week. She bought some ‘normal’ bread as she has historically disliked rye.
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She (and her children) tried it and we completely converted. I left the rest of it there and she’s asked for more.
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Besides liking the compliment, I’m glad she wants more as I have a freezer full of rye sourdough bread!! I’ve been working on my upcoming rye course for @thefermentationschool for months and I think I can see the light at the end…maybe two more days of filming to go!
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If you’re near Florence and like rye sourdough (or even if you think you *don’t* like rye!) I’ll happily give you a loaf. It’s great with avocado and sumac, as I’m eating for lunch today.

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Yesterday’s oxtail made the most amazing supper with a slice of sourdough bread generously coated with lard.
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After I’d finished eating, I sat down to read Dorothy Hartley’s classic, Food in England, which @charlieb_eattheearth recommended. As if by magic, I landed on the ‘Oxtail Pot’ and ‘Oxtail Soup’ recipes. Now I want to have another go! And I’m looking forward to chatting about the possibilities with @farmandhearth in our next ’round-the-table’ patreon-exclusive podcast.
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There’s a video of the falling-off-the-bone meat in my feed yesterday and lots more pics in my nose-to-tail highlight.
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As always, thank you @valledelsasso for the oxtail and the backfat and the incredible work you do.
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If you make oxtail, let me know what you do with it!

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Did you grow up with tins of oxtail soup in the cupboard?!
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Here’s my first foray into ‘proper’ oxtail.
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If you want to taste (and I’m telling you, it’s delicious!) do the following:
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Purchase an oxtail from a farmer doing good things (thank you @valledelsasso).
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Fry it till sealed, adding some red wine to the pan at the end.
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Transfer to a slow-cooker or big pot on low. Add water, root veg and a bit of tomato paste. Leave it to do its thing.
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Remove when falling off bone. Eat as is, with the stock (which is crazily-good) or shred and mix into dishes, or blend and make soup.
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I’m doing this again in future. It’s much, much better than the tinned soup of my childhood 🙂
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Lots more pics and videos in my story today which will be saved to my nose-to-tail highlight if you’re here later.

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New video: How to make crunchy pig skin.
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These treats are light, ridiculously crunchy and so good. And they are made from pig skin…something that, before @mereleighfood showed me what was possible, I would have discarded.
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Watching the frankly magical process of a pan of hot lard transforming dense leathery pig skin into puffy ‘ancestral popcorn’ is a wonder. Having made these, I’m asking my farmer for the skin every time now 🙂
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I’ve made a video showing step-by-step what I do. You can find it (and written instructions) by clicking on the first button in the ‘recipes’ section of my profile link.

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I strive to create beauty with my food explorations and I love it when someone takes my version of beauty and makes something even better by adding theirs!
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Mary at @bigbank2riverbank took my sowans course over the @thefermentationschool and look what she’s made! My pics made me swoon…thank you Mary, can’t wait to see what you make next!

Reposted from @bigbank2riverbank Sowans sourdough and a swig of swats. Say that ten times fast!

Or don’t and just make this beautiful and healthy ancient fermented ‘haute’ oat cuisine that I continue to be excited to have learned about through @ancestral_kitchen and @thefermentationschool.

This is a wheat and malted buckwheat loaf with a sowans scald (fermented oat endosperm), for a distinctly zingy taste and super soft crumb, as well as swats (the resulting probiotic drink) as part of its high hydration. Finally, it’s coated in the oat flakes and fermented overnight.
A mini loaf that packs a punch of delicious flavours -my Munro ancestors would be pleased.

#sowans #swats #sourdoughbaker #fermentista #scottishfood #zerowaste #sourdough #buckwheatmalt #baker #fermentedoats #fermentationschool

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Today’s podcast episode is all about fat.
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Listen in to hear us talk about why fats are important, the fats we use in our kitchen (and why) and the fats we avoid.
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The mainstream health narrative about fat has been so wrong for so long. It’s harming our bodies and planet (but, as with most of these examples, making a few people a lot of money).
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If you like this episode, please share it. The more people turn back to delicious, nutritious, traditional, locally-processed fats, the better the world will be 🙂

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How do you render lard?
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I do mine by dicing the fat so it looks like this and then putting it into my slow cooker. I leave it for a few hours and then drain off the liquid that has formed by pouring the contents through a metal sieve into a bowl. I then return the diced fat to the slow cooker continue the cooking.
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I repeat this draining and replacing until the pieces of fat that are left are tiny, golden brown and solid.
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I was interested to watch @thefunctionalforce’s reel last week where Ximena used salt and water in the process (and does more than one render using the later ones to make fat for skin products).
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And I was reading the ‘fats’ section of Food in England by Dorothy Hartley this weekend where yet another process is described.
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I’d love to hear about your way.

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Flaking whole oat groats today in order to make Sowans, the traditional Scottish oat fermentation that results in both a porridge and a probiotic drink.
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Oat growers in Scotland would have historically made this ferment with what was left *after* the processing of their sacks of oats at the local mill. They’d take their grains in and get two bags back – one as the rolled oats and the other was the ‘crumbs’ that were left over. Not wanting to waste, it’s these crumbs that they fermented to make Sowans.
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I don’t grow oats and I don’t have access to the crumbs left over when they are milled…but I do have a Marcato Marga grinder that allows me to flake the oats and then use the crumbs to recreate this amazing ferment!
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It’ll be 5 days until this is ready. I’m a bit of an extreme fermenter and I like my food sour 🙂
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I’ve a course on how to make Sowans (whatever equipment you do or don’t have) over at @the fermentation school. There’s a link to it in my profile.

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