TO mark their sixth anniversary at the helm of the Barrington Boar, husband and wife team Alasdair Clifford and Victoria Collins are delighted to bring these seasonal dishes to your table this June.
'Our pub sits in the centre of Barrington, a small and pretty village lined with thatched cottages in the heart of rural Somerset. We aren’t far away from the towns of Bruton, Frome and Taunton so we often welcome customers visiting from there. And, with both Bath and Bristol just over an hour away, people make the journey to us specially for lunch and include a wander around Barrington Court which is a short walk away from us. We have a lovely group of regulars from the village who come to the pub for a drink and a chat, but most of our customers come for a meal and stop by early to sample some local drinks before dining. Our pub offers many different things to different people - its the beating heart of the local community and a special place to dine with friends and family but also a relaxed hideaway for a weekend getaway.
Our approach is to build close and trusted partnerships with the finest local producers and suppliers. Many of them drink in the pub and we visit them regularly to keep abreast of what is in season. It’s an incredible landscape in South Somerset; there’s fertile soil around here so it’s no wonder we have some of the most diverse arable farms in the country, offering everything from organic vegetables, orchards, vineyards and fantastic dairy. We are also slap bang in the middle of what is essentially the Champagne region of cider country. It really wasn’t hard to find great, independent local suppliers and shops around us and even now, after six years at the Boar, we're still picking up new local suppliers to put on our menu – there’s just such an abundance around here. We have always been passionate about the ‘great British pub’ and fell in love with the village of Barrington instantly, and now we're looking forward to working our land here too - we'll be creating a market garden to supply our kitchen, along with a bakery too. There's more to come!' thebarringtonboar.co.uk
Kelp-cured Chalk Stream trout with rhubarb vinaigrette and radish recipe
Rhubarb Vinaigrette
• 100g forced, bright red rhubarb
• 30g caster sugar
• 30g Rice wine vinegar
• 30g orange juice
• 50g Mirin
• 100g light soy sauce
• 1 small glove of garlic sliced
• 1 small thumb of ginger peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 lime
• 10g dried kelp or kombu
-Dice the rhubarb into small 5mm cubes. Take your time, it's important they are not too large.
-Add all the ingredients into a container, then cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, strain through a sieve and set aside the remaining liquid and the diced rhubarb.
Kelp cured trout
Serves 6
• 600-700g of Chalkstream trout or salmon, filleted, skinned and pin-boned
• 24g fine sea salt
• 24g caster sugar
• 10g kelp/kombu blended to a fine powder
- Combine the salt, sugar and kelp. Sprinkle over both sides of the trout. Cover and refrigerate for 3 hours.
-Thoroughly rinse off the cure and pat dry with a paper towel. Return to the fridge uncovered and allow to firm up for a further 2 hours.
To make the trout tartare
• 600-700g of kelp cured trout
• 2tbs finely chopped chives
• 8 red radishes, finely sliced into rounds
• 3tbs finely diced Daikon or salad turnips
• 100ml rhubarb vinaigrette
• 3tbs of the reserved diced rhubarb from the vinaigrette
• Lime juice
• Shiso or coriander to garnish
-Slice and dice the trout into small pieces roughly 5-8mm and put into a mixing bowl. Squeeze the juice of half a lime over the trout and leave to rest.
-Add to the bowl the chives, daikon, the reserved diced rhubarb and 100mls of the rhubarb vinaigrette. Mix everything together and then season to taste with table salt and add more lime and vinaigrette to taste.
-Using a round pastry cutter, press the tartare into chilled bowls. Garnish the top of the tartare with sliced radishes and shiso.
Roasted carrot hummus served with pickles and warm flatbread recipe
Serves 6 as the base of a salad or 10 as a dip
For the roasted carrots
• 500g carrots peeled and chopped into 2cm chunks
• 5 whole cloves of garlic
• 6g cumin seeds
• 60ml olive oil
For the hummus
• 90g of tahini
• 100ml olive oil
• 30ml lemon juice
• 7g ground cumin
• 2g turmeric
• 6g fine table salt
• 3g ras el hanout
• 2g ground black pepper
• 250g drained chickpeas
• 2 small minced garlic cloves
• 100ml of ice cold water or ice cubes
-Add everything for the roasted carrots to a large tray and roast at 220 degrees until the ingredients are coloured and the carrots are cooked and tender. Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then refrigerate until cold
-Add the cold-roasted carrots to a Magimix (or food blender equivalent) and blend until smooth
- Add all the other ingredients to the blender including the ice cubes or chilled water. Blend until smooth adding more water or ice as necessary until the desired consistency is reached. Season to taste with salt and pepper and more lemon juice if needed.
- Garnish with a swirl of olive oil, and serve with diced pickled carrots and warm flat breads.
Pickled carrots
• 600g peeled carrots
Pickle ingredients
• 300ml water
• 300ml cider vinegar
• 300g caster sugar
• 2 bay leaves
• 10 black peppercorns
• 1 tsp of fennel seeds
• 2 cloves of garlic
- Lightly toast the fennel seeds and peppercorns in a hot dry pan until fragrant.
- Add the rest of the pickle ingredients to the toasted spices in the pan. Bring to a simmer then remove from the heat and transfer to a bowl, allowing to cool to room temperature.
- Whilst the pickle juice is cooling, peel the carrots and cut roughly into thin battens. Sprinkle ½ tsp of salt on to carrots and leave for 30 minutes. Combine with the pickle juice and leave for at least 6 hours in a glass jar.
Flatbreads
Makes 10 portions
• 320g bread flour
• 80g plain flour
• 220ml warm water
• 50g greek yoghurt
• 8g fresh yeast (or 5g dried yeast)
• 9g salt
• 10g sugar
• 50g Melted butter
• 50ml water
- Add the warm water, yoghurt and yeast to a large bowl and stir until the yeast is dissolved.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until combined and sticky.
- Turn the mixture out onto a lightly oiled surface and knead by hand for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
- Place the dough in a lightly oiled container or bowl, cover with cling film and refrigerate overnight.
- Divide the dough into 10 x 90g portions and then roll into balls. Cover with a damp cloth and leave to rest for an hour.
- Bring a large heavy bottom pan or skillet to a medium heat on the stove. Roll the dough portions out on a lightly floured surface into flat ovals, then fry for 1-2 mins on each side until golden brown and slightly charred in spots.
This feature was first published in Somerset Life magazine. To subscribe, visit www.greatbritishlife.co.uk/subscribe/somerset
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