A fun little snack to use this amazing wild foraged delicacy. These killer treats can sit in your freezer ready for a drink at the end of the day. Not every day, mind!
For the croquettes
50 g Butter
60 g Flour
160 g Milk
240 g Nduja
1 Egg yolk
100 g Breadcrumbs
Heat the flour and butter until it smells like biscuits and has gone brown. Whisk in the milk and cook to a thick bechamel.
Add the nduja and mix until smooth. Pour into a tub and chill in the fridge. Overnight is best.
Shape the mix into croquettes with two spoons, creating quenelle egg shapes between them and toss them in some flour.
Whisk the egg yolk with a little water in a bowl and toss croquette shapes.
In another bowl, add your breadcrumbs and toss the eggy croquette shapes until covered.
Store in the fridge or better yet the freezer, they can be cooked from frozen.
To serve, heat sunflower oil in a large wide high pot. Do not fill any higher than 1/3 full, heat to 170c. Fry in batches of 2 or 3 until they are all fried golden. Check the temperature inside is above 60c.
Sever with the wild garlic aioli and a squeeze of delicious lemon
For the wild garlic aioli
90 g Wild garlic
450 g Sunflower oil
3 Egg yolks
30 g Cider vinegar
15 g Dijon mustard
Blitz the oil and wild garlic until it becomes hot in a good blender.
Pour it through a very fine sieve or even better a coffee filter.
Whisk the egg yolk, mustard and vinegar together and then, slowly at first, the bright green wild garlic oil, whisk until it is nice and tight. Season with salt and pepper.
Store for up to 3 days in a fridge, use it liberally with everything, lamb chops are incredible.
Hares, rainbows and… purple sprouting broccoli, a UK crop that should have a much higher status. Bright green stems and dark purple flowers on this stunning late winter brassica. The taste is deep but sweet and suits simple pairings that let it speak for itself. Think asparagus but much earlier in the year.
Purple sprouting broccoli & gribiche
Feeds 4 (6 as a starter)
600g Purple sprouting broccoli
3 x 7 min boiled eggs
15g Dijon mustard
15g Red wine vinegar
150g Sunflower oil
20g Capers
20g Cornichon
Handful Parsley
Handful Chervil
8g Salt
Pinch of Pepper
Olive oil
Drop the eggs into boiling water for 7 mins. Run under a cold tap for a minute after cooking, then peel and chop.
Mix the vinegar and mustard and whisk in the sunflower oil.
Chop through the capers, cornichon, parsley and chervil.
Stir all of the above into a delicious melange and season. This keeps in a fridge for 1 day safely.
Cut the purple sprouting broccoli into long think stems.
Blanche for between 5-7 mins in salty water. Toss in a little olive oil and salt.
Serve on a big generous platter with a huge dollop of the gribiche beside it!
If ever there was a month to keep it simple it was February. And, we would argue, with as much colour as is allowed. Forced rhubarb! Why yes please! Hello, cavolo nero! Where have you been all my winter? Tasting their best when the world is at its coldest. Recipes so vivid and deliciously easy they will become instant classics.
A celebration of rhubarb
Everyone should have one dessert that is just so delicious that anyone will fall in love with you. This flamey, boozey hit of crepe suzette hits the spot. Here we have used our poached rhubarb but blood oranges, which are still brilliant just now, would be equally delicious.
Poached rhubarb
1kg forced rhubarb, cut into 1 inch batons
300g water
300g natural cane sugar
1 orange skin peel
2 star anise
4 bay leaf
5 pink pepper whole
5 green cardamom pods
Bring the sugar, water and aromatics to a boil for 5 mins
Slide the rhubarb batons in and immediately take off the heat.
Allow to cool, store in sterilised jars, or use straight away. Will keep for 3 months.
Rhubarb crepe suzette
Crepe(you can use bought, honestly, no one will know, but for the completists)
150g poached rhubarb juice
175g butter
100g poached rhubarb
80g rhubarb liqueur, or Grand Marnier
Blitz the melted butter, flour, milk & egg together, rest for at least 3hrs or overnight in the fridge
Warm a pan over a medium heat, add a little butter and wait for it to foam, add a ladleful of your batter and swirl to coat the pan as thinly as possible.
Once cooked you can save them stacked up on a plate. You should have about 10 crepes from this mix, you can make these in advance.
Bring the poaching juice and the butter to a boil and bubble away until it gets syrupy, about 10 mins. Again, this can be done in advance.
To finish, fold the crepes into quarters, arranged in a heatproof dish or pan. Gently warm the crepes, poached rhubarb and the syrupy rhubarb juice together over a low flame. Heat the liquor in your once syrupy pan, pour over the crepes and set alight! Serve immediately with some ricotta or ice-cream for a little hot/cold fun.
Cavolo nero, almonds & spaghetti
1 bunch cavalo nero, picked and chopped
50g ground almonds
6 large garlic cloves
100g high quality olive oil
25g butter, unsalted
50g pecorino
1 lemon
1 pack spaghetti
Bring 2 large pans of salted water to a boil, add the garlic & cavalo nero. Set a timer for 7 mins one. Cook the spaghetti in the other pan.
Meanwhile, grate the pecorino, zest the lemon and select some good music for supper, maybe even light a candle or two, this is a romantic supper.
Once the timer goes off, take a cup of the cooking water from the cavolo nero pan, drain the rest into a colander before dumping garlic and into a blender along with the butter, pecorino and oil. Blitz until smooth, add enough cooking water to get a nice glossy sheen.
Drain the pasta before it is over cooked, remember it will keep cooking a little after you drain it, toss the pasta and the sauce in a large bowl, squeeze a little lemon & salt to taste, plate up with extra a few chilli flakes, pecorino & oil.
January is one of our favourite months for produce in the year, full of sour citrus and bitter chicories. Essentially salad based negronis! Here’s a larder project for January for you: a pickle and a salad that will have your tastebuds tingling.
Pickled fennel
Ingredients:
800g of sliced fennel. (Not too thin.) Keep the ends for soup.
1200g water
30g Maldon sea salt
500ml vinegar (raw cider, or even sherry or white wine)
50g sugar Blood Orange zest
Star anise, fennel fronds, black pepper, fennel seeds, pink pepper.
Instructions:
Slice the fennel, keep it a bit crunchy.
Whisk the salt and water to dissolve the salt.
Chill the fennel in the brine overnight in a large bowl in the fridge
Bring the pickle to a boil quickly & rest overnight on the counter.
Next day: Strain off the brined fennel. Mix all the spices, fronds and orange zest. Squeeze it all into the 1 litre jar and pour the pickle over the top.
The pickle will be ready in a couple of days. Or hours if you’re peckish.
Goes brilliantly with beef, fish or in the following little salad.
200g puntarelle, thinly sliced
200g pickled fennel (see recipe above)
1 blood orange, peeled and sliced
1 small tin of anchovies
1 small chilli
1 clove of garlic
50g Panzer’s olive oil
1/2 a lemon
Puntarelle is a bitter winter veg from Italy and tastes a bit mad on its own. But it will balance the sweet fennel and sour orange for the salad equivalent of a negroni!
Warm the olive oil in a pan gently, grate in the garlic. Slice the chilli thinly and add. Now add the anchovies and stir to break apart. Once it smells garlicky and fishy, it’s ready. Pour into a nice bowl. Throw the rest of the ingredients on top and toss lightly. Serve with your favourite glass of wine.
Candied peel, stone fruits and green apple flavours work wonders next to turkey and chestnuts. Silky, full bodied and opulent enough to stand up to a Christmas roast dinner.
Honeysuckle, orange zest, sweet peas and rich fruit. An opulent, mouth-filling food wine. A Californian wine made from grape varieties better known in the Rhône – Grenache Blanc and Roussane.
Vibrant, crunchy, redcurrant, black cherry and bramble. Bright & savoury spiciness. 100% Syrah (Unusual for Cotes du Rhone but perhaps not a surprise as it is made by a famous producer of Cornas).
Bold and lively with a seductive aroma, packed with red and blackberry fruit with a hint of pine. Classy tannins and ready to drink. Sits comfortably with turkey but grand enough for a special occasion.
Pale gold in colour with a delicate bead of bubbles, this is a stylish Champagne with citrus hints on the nose overlaid with touches of brioche and yeastiness. Wonderful for any special occasion but these bubbles shine with paired with mushroom dishes or sushi.
A perennial Panzer’s favourite – we’re sharing our pecan pie recipe! Perfect to grace your holiday table (or you can always grab a slice in store.)
Ingredients
400 g sweet shortcrust pastry
5g butter, softened
200g pecans
1 tablespoon runny honey
110g butter, softened
110g caster sugar
3 medium eggs, beaten
110g ground almonds
25g flaked almonds
Icing sugar to dust
Raspberries
clotted cream or creme fraiche
Method
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the pastry dough into a 1 cm thick large disc then place on a parchment-lined tray & refrigerate for 30 minutes. Grease the inside of a 24 cm diameter loose bottomed fluted tart tin with the butter and line with the chilled disc of pastry. Using a fork, prick the base of the pastry case all over. Put it in the refrigerator for 20 minutes.)
Preheat the oven to 190°C fan/210°C/gas mark 6/2. Once rested, trim away excess pastry from the top edge of the tin. Cover pastry with baking parchment and fill with ceramic baking beans. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, line a baking tray with baking parchment. Mix the pecans and honev and spread them across the lined baking tray. Remove the baking beans and parchment from the pastry case and return to the oven along with the tray of pecans for a further 10 minutes. Take the tart case and nuts out of the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 180°C fan/200°C/Gas Mark 6.
While the pastry and nuts are cooling, whisk together the butter and sugar until Pale. Gradually whisk in the eggs, then stir in the ground almonds. Pour the frangipane mixture into the pastry case. Evenly spread the pecans over the top, pushing them down into the filling, and then scatter the flaked almonds all over. Bake for 35 minutes or until the frangipane has risen and is golden in colour.
Lightly dust with icing sugar. Serve while still warm with a handful of raspberries and some clotted cream or creme fraiche on the side.
Fabiana Pragier’s gluten free cakes and desserts are undoubtedly one of our favourite discoveries of the last year. We asked her to share her story:
Your gluten free chocolate covered carrot cake is a huge success in store. Tell us a little bit about the cake’s origins back in Brazil.
The use of carrots in cakes dates back to 1700, but unlike the American carrot cake that uses grated carrots in the dough, we blitz the carrots in Brazil. Even though Brazil is one of the greatest sugar producers in the world, sugar was expensive, so carrots were used as a sweetener. We also use a chocolate sauce as frosting rather than cream cheese.
How did you come to launch your business in London?
I went to Le Cordon Bleu in London and my plan was to go back to Hamburg, Germany where I used to live to launch a business there. As I specialised in gluten and dairy free patisserie from the beginning and realised that London lacked products like mine, I decided to stay!
Tell us a bit about your exploration in gluten free baking & dessert making?
I am dairy intolerant, so I always tried to replace dairy in recipes. But when I started to sell cakes from home, neighbours and friends asked if I could bake gluten free too! I went back to study in Brazil but the climate, ingredients & food preferences between the two countries led me to conduct my own experiments. I’m now an expert in the chemistry of gluten-free flours and you don’t notice the difference to the classic flours in my desserts.
What are other Brazilian foods would you encourage us to try? (gluten free or not!)
Brazil is very rich in fruits and vegetables. I really love cassava and all you can create with that. pao de queijo (cheese bread) is also something delicious and special. In patisserie, I really love quindim (an egg yolk based custard with coconut) and walnut cake with dulce de leche.
What other products do you love at Panzer’s?
I love the bread selection, fruits and sushi. And the Italian patisseries.
Find Fabiana’s delights in our dessert fridges, delivered several times a week.
We caught up with our neighbour Varun Sarna to talk about his new spirit brand (we’re flattered, using our ingredients!) Kaveri.
What inspired you to create Kaveri?
Kaveri was actually created in my kitchen in St Johns Wood with fresh ginger, lime leaf and basil from Panzers, so it’s amazing to be stocked with you.
Kaveri was inspired by a desire to create a spirit that is truly natural. What we’ve created is one of a kind and completely unique. Instead of concentrates or processed flavourings, we blend in 100% organic Peruvian ginger juice which we lightly filter, so we look and taste like a fresh ginger shot. Unlike any other spirit, (and every other cold-pressed juice), you have to shake us before you pour. You’ll also see we look really different – more like a juice than a spirit!
Tell us about the magic of cold pressing ginger
The heat created by the blades in normal juicing alters the natural fibres in ginger, which makes for a duller taste profile that loses the freshness and power of our raw Peruvian ginger. We cold-press to protect those fibres and that natural zing.
Your product is truly global – tell us a bit more.
We juice and blend locally (in Kent & St Albans) to keep our carbon footprint low, but we’re global in inspiration. Kaveri is named after a river that flows through India, the country of my heritage. Our ginger is Peruvian, and our supporting ingredients from Ugandan Vanilla to Thai Lime Leaf are sourced from all over the world.
What is your idea recipe for serving?
For ginger lovers, I recommend taking the time to savour the spirit straight. We work amazingly well in a ginger spritz for warmer weather. As we move into autumn and winter, I would recommend trying us with hot water and a dash of honey (or agave for vegans) in a whiskey tumbler. Warming goodness!
What are your favourite bar snacks to serve alongside?
Two vegan suggestions as we’re an all vegan product. The Gordal Olives from Panzers are perfect for every occasion and every drink. I’m not joking! For something else fresh and healthy, bruschetta on rye pairs really well.
Find Kaveri Vodka in our spirits section near the wine racks in store.
Halfway between Modena and Bologna, you’ll find the home of La Cà dal Nôn (The House of the Grandfather) who have produced traditional balsamic vinegar of Modena for generations.
Traditional Modena balsamics can be found in two forms: “younger” aged 12 years or more and “extravecchio” aged 25 years or more. These are not the average vinegars found in your local supermarket. These are artisanal products; the result of generations of refinement. And a little bit goes a long way. “Franco” is a perfect go between the younger and older balsamic, best used whenever you want to give a fruity note to your dishes. Here is a family recipe straight from Modena, also using “SABA” produced from their pure grape must:
Pears & Parmigiano Crostini
4 slices of wholewheat bread
1 pear, skinless and quartered longways
3 tbsp SABA
juice of 1 lemon
60 gr Noto almonds
4 tbsp of Red Cow cheese or Parmigiano Reggiano, grated
extra-virgin olive oil
salt
black pepper
Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena FRANCO
In a bowl, marinade the pear slices with 2 tbsp SABA, 1 tbsp olive oil, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Blend the almonds, 4 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp SABA, salt and pepper into a smooth paste, eventually adding a little water. Grill the pear slices on a piping hot griddle pan or bake them for 10 mins in hot oven at 180°C, softening them, but still with a bite.
To prepare the crostini, put a little almond paste on each bread slice, then a grilled pear slice and 1 tbsp of the grated cheese. Grill in the oven for 3 minutes and serve hot with drops of Traditional Balsamic Vinegar of Modena “Franco”.
We quite simply adore Brogdale Collections, the Kent based charity that provides heritage fruit sales and public access to the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale Farm.
The National Fruit Collection, one of the largest collections of temperate fruits in the world, has been based at Brogdale since 1952. Set in 150 acres of luscious Kent countryside, they are celebrating their 70th anniversary this year.
The objectives of the Collections are to act as:
A ‘gene bank’ conserving the biodiversity of fruit
A source of plant material for propagation, research, and breeding
A living reference library of ‘heritage’ fruit varieties
From spring blossom to autumn harvest, they welcome thousands of visitors each season to enjoy guided tours, fruit themed family events, school trips, rural courses and of course fruit tastings.
On a guided tour you can learn about ancient and modern growing methods, the history of fruit, it’s cultivation and most importantly the reasons for keeping this living museum. In cherry season, try some 400 varieties, including the beautiful white cherries. You will see the Decio apple that dates to Roman times and sample fruit that Henry VIII enjoyed. By apple season there are over 2000 varieties to taste, including the pineapple flavoured Pitmaston Pine apple or the super ugly but delicious Knobby Russet! We highly encourage a visit or corporate picking event!
Britain’s longest-standing and bestselling guide to dining out is back after a two-year hiatus – and they’ve given Panzer’s their top restaurant recommendations for Kent.
As we celebrate 70 years of the Brogdale Collection, one of our favourite suppliers of cherries, apples and pears, the Good Food Guide’s editor Elizabeth Carter recommends give restaurants within less than half an hour drive of Brogdale to eat after visiting the orchard in the garden of England.
A crop of restaurants to visit in Kent
With the rich Kent countryside home to fantastic places like the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale, and stuffed with artisan growers and producers, it’s obvious that Kent is no longer a place just to pass through on the way to the Channel ports – it is there to be explored. Whether you are booked onto one of Brogdale Collection’s daily tours or short courses, or are just taking a gentle orchard walk, you’ll need feeding afterwards. Fortunately, this part of Kent is a magnate for talented chefs whose top priority is to promote the wealth of fantastic produce on their doorstep.
Suggesting a rare level of reliability and consistency this Kent veteran on Brogdale Collection’s doorstep, has been run for more than four decades by David and Rona Pitchford. It is a country restaurant of inestimable class, with boutique bedrooms cited as further incentive for bookmarking a visit. Staff do their level best from greeting to farewell to make all feel welcome, and the kitchen’s output – a very good-value set lunch and reasonably priced tasting menu – is dependent on seasonal and local supplies (from Stour Valley game to Kentish lamb), as well as produce from its own kitchen garden. Garden beetroot, for example, is served with locally made goat’s cheese, hazelnuts, basil pesto and pickled shallots, while fillet of sea bass is served with confit potato, prawns, spinach, samphire and red pepper sauce. The cheeseboard is British (of course) and soufflés – the raspberry especially – have been highly praised.
It has long been one of the top dining destinations in the country – a remarkable achievement considering its refusal to conform to the dictates of fine dining. Indeed, The Sportsman could hardly be lower key if it tried, evident in the paper napkins and scrubbed wooden tables. While it is well worth the pilgrimage, be warned, a table here does require planning well ahead. Stephen Harris’s vision is delightfully simple, obsessively influenced by the raw materials available on the doorstep. His produce-first approach can be seen in the constantly changing five-course tasting menu (with several choices per course), which integrates local ingredients with some up-to-date flourishes and a good measure of comfort – from crab, with carrots and hollandaise, wild sea bass with lobster and herbs and vegetables from the garden, or pink, succulent roast lamb with artichoke hearts, to elderflower posset or strawberry and custard tart.
If there’s one thing better than a good farmers’ market, then it’s a good farmers’ market that does the cooking for you. This former railway shed next to Canterbury West station is just that – alongside the stalls selling local fruit and veg, meat, cheese, fish and more, there’s a sit-down restaurant with a simple, bare-brick fit-out, amiable service, diners generating a lively buzz, and exactly the right take on seasonality. The result is a blackboard roster of up-to-the-minute dishes that might offer (on a warm summer’s day) a simple dish of tomato, anchovy, basil and croûtons or raw beef with beetroot, green peppercorn and mayonnaise, followed perhaps by hake with tomato, mussels, clams and kalamata olives with aioli, or a roast summer quash with white beans and walnut dressing. To drink there are local ales, ciders, and there’s a selection of Kentish wines on the brief European wine list.
The candyfloss-pink frontage and walls crowded with maritime pictures announce one of Whitstable’s most cherishable assets, a seafood haven since the mid-Victorian era, still serving boat-fresh fish and shellfish to the discerning. A roaring takeaway trade might send you off with a prawn and crab tartlet to treasure, and there are seasonal pre-orderable boxes to furnish the most sumptuous beach picnics – should the weather be co-operating. Mark Stubbs embraces a dazzling range of culinary styles that might bring on a ceviche of brill alight with lime, ginger and chilli, with crab and pickled kohlrabi salad and pink grapefruit granita, just to get started. Among principal dishes, the halibut in mulligatawny with saffron aïoli mash stands out, while a lobster version of lasagne incorporates chanterelles and stem broccoli. The lightest option for finishing could be a passionfruit and orange crumble soufflé with white chocolate ice cream. Unlicensed – but nip into the ‘Offy’ opposite for a bottle of wine.
Whatever the weather, Nikki Billington’s seafront restaurant has a sunny disposition that is matched by the cooking. The bare wooden tables and floor, and light, bright dining room set the tone for fuss-free tapas that are Mediterranean in style but anchored by impeccably sourced ingredients including the freshest fish and seasonal herbs and vegetables, occasionally own-grown. Kicking off with a vegetarian or charcuterie-based sharing platter is a must for most visitors, and mutton and feta koftas and deep-fried calamari – the best in the area – are menu mainstays. There’s plenty of chargrilling, mackerel fillet (with a side salad and seasonal dip) or bavette steak (with sweet potato and horseradish and mustard crème fraîche), but expect to see imaginative tapas getting their moment of glory on the specials board. Do reserve a table (online bookings are taken up to 31 days in advance). The sea and sunset make for a pretty irresistible vista from the dining room or little terrace.
Join The Good Food Guide Club
As a customer of Panzer’s, you can join The Good Food Guide Club for a special price of £29.99 for one year saving £20 (normally £49.99/year) during the whole month of September. Use promo code GFGPZR when signing up to the Club via this link.
DELIVERY ZONE INFORMATION
Local London Delivery
Due to the nature of our range, some items can only be delivered within the London area. If your order containers any flowers or fresh fruit then you will need to live locally to be able to have it delivered. Sushi is delivered within a 3 mile radius of our store.
Nationwide Delivery
All other goods can be delivered nationwide (excluding Highlands and Islands) via our partner couriers. There is a slightly larger delivery cost for this service outside of London.
Collection In Store
Everything on the store can be ordered for collection from our store. Orders must be picked up on your chosen collection date, and can be picked up from the store between the hours of 9am – 6pm, seven days a week. If your order was placed online, please bring your order confirmation when collecting.
Certain goods can be sent overseas, please call for more information.
