Hugh Fuck Yeah Whittingstall

In a letter to the Times, Jamie Oliver and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall said "cynical" retailers paying less for a litre of milk than it costs to produce were making dairy farming "unviable".

By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from River Cottage 2009

Hugh revolutionises a breakfast classic with the help of some summer fruits in River Cottage 

Watch Hugh making eggy bread with macerated strawberries

Quick

INGREDIENTS

4 eggs

2 tbsp milk

About 2tbsp caster sugar

4 thick slices of slightly stale white bread, crusts removed

Butter and sunflower or groundnut oil for frying

For the macerated strawberries:

1 tbsp apple balsamic or other balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp caster sugar

½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

500g strawberries, hulled and halved, bigger ones cut into 3 or 4 thick slices

METHOD

How to make eggy bread with macerated strawberries

1. First prepare the strawberries: mix together the vinegar, sugar and pepper. Pour over the strawberries and leave to macerate for at least an hour - ideally 3-4 hours - to draw out the fruit's juices. Stir again before serving at room temperature.

2. To make the eggy bread, beat the eggs together thoroughly with the milk and about 1 tbsp sugar, then pour into a shallow dish. Add the bread slices and submerge them in the egg, turning to coat them well. Let them soak, turning occasionally, for at least 10 minutes, or up to half an hour. Ideally, the bread should absorb almost all the egg - but it never quite does!

Masala Dosa 

By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from River Cottage Veg

Dosa-expert Jagdish Ghelani showed Hugh how to make these authentic Indian pancakes on River Cottage Veg

Jag: "You can get packets of Dosa mix from Indian grocers. They are called Gits Dosa Mix and can be made by following the instructions on the packet. This will do the job just as well, but you can follow the slightly more lengthy method below."

Vegetarian

INGREDIENTS

For the dosa

300g rice

100g urad dhal (lentils)

For the masala dosa filling

1 tbsp oil

½ tsp dried fenugreek seeds

1 dried red chilli

½ tsp mustard seeds

1 onion finely, sliced

2 large potatoes, boiled finely diced

1 tsp salt

½ tsp ground turmeric

Method

For the dosa, place the rice in one bowl and the urad dhal in another. Cover with cold water and allow to soak overnight, or for at least 6 hours.

The next day, drain both and grind together until smooth. Add salt and enough water to make a batter, then leave overnight at room temperature.

For the filling, heat the oil in a big pan and once the oil is hot, add the fenugreek seeds, whole red chilli and the mustard seeds.

After a few moments put the onion in the pan and stir-fry till partly cooked. Add the boiled potatoes, salt and turmeric, and keep stirring for a minute or so more.

Add a little water, enough to just cook the potatoes and simmer gently for 15 minutes until tender.

Aubergine & Green Bean Curry

By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from River Cottage Veg

This vegetarian curry from Hugh is rich and packed with flavour. Make enough for two batches and freeze one.

Hugh: "This gorgeously rich curry uses my roasted tomato sauce as a base, though a good-quality passata would work well too. I’ve deliberately made twice as much curry paste as you need for the recipe – partly because it’s easier to blend that way, but also because it’s so useful to have a second batch either to make this again or for any other veg curry. Alternatively, use a well-sautéed blob of it as the base for a simple noodle soup or laksa. You can keep the paste, covered, in the fridge for up to a week, or freeze it."

Serves 6-8

Vegetarian

INGREDIENTS

Sunflower oil, for frying

5 aubergines, sliced into long wedges

400ml coconut milk

300ml roast tomato passata

300g green beans

For the curry paste

6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

5-6 shallots, roughly chopped

2 thumb-sized pieces of ginger, roughly chopped

4 hearts of lemongrass, chopped

5 green chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped

2 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp turmeric

For the raita

3 tsp mango chutney

8 tbsp plain yogurt

Fresh coriander, to garnish

Method

Put all the paste mix ingredients into a blender along with a couple of tablespoons of water and blitz, pushing the paste down from the sides of the blender periodically, you want a smooth paste mix.

Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan and fry the aubergines in batches until lightly browned.

In a deep saucepan heat a little oil and add half the curry paste, fry the paste for a couple of minutes stirring all the time.

Add the aubergines, stir to coat in the paste. Add the coconut milk and roast tomato passata. Bring to a simmer and add green beans and cook for about 10 minutes or until the beans are tender but still have a bit of bite.

Veg Sushi

By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall from River Cottage Veg

This vegetarian sushi is a simple recipe which makes a perfect light supper

Vegetarian

INGREDIENTS

Nori (seaweed paper)

Cooked sushi rice

Avocado, thinly sliced

Spring onion, thinly sliced

Carrot, thinly sliced

Cucumber, thinly sliced

Sesame seeds and wasabi (optional)

Method

Place a sheet of nori rough-side up on top of the bamboo sushi mat. Spread the sushi rice evenly over the nori so it’s about ½ cm in thickness.

Now you need to create a line of filling - if you want to use wasabi, now would be the time to add it. Spread it thinly though, it can be hot!! Suggested combinations are avocado and spring onion, carrot and cucumber.

Miso Soup

If it's good enough for a Buddhist monk, it's good enough for Hugh. Sachiko Saeki teaches him how to make a traditional vegan temple meal

Serves 6

Vegetarian

INGREDIENTS

750ml shiitake stock (see note)

750ml kelp stock (see note)

1 bunch Swiss chard, stalks and leaves separated and shredded.

5g dried seaweed, such as wakame

2-3 pieces aburage tofu, sliced (see note)

1½ tbsp brown miso

1½ tbsp white miso

2 spring onions, finely sliced

Method

Bring the stock to the boil, add the Swiss chard stalks and cook for 2 minutes. Add the chard leaf, dried seaweed and tofu.

Add the miso paste stir in thoroughly and bring to the boil again. Serve with a sprinkle of spring onions.

Note:

To make kelp stock, wipe one strip of kelp with a damp cloth, place in 750ml cold water and soak for 30 minutes. Pour into a pan and bring to the boil. As soon as the stock is boiling, turn off the heat and remove the kelp.

To make the shiitake stock. Place 10g dried shiitake mushrooms in 750ml cold water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 30 minutes and strain.

Chillies stuffed with beans

By Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Spicy stuffed chillies for the perfect starter or hearty veggie main from River Cottage Veg

Serves 6 as a starter, 2-3 as a main course

Vegetarian

INGREDIENTS

6 large, fresh poblano,

Beaver Dam or Hungarian hot wax chillies

1 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

2–3 shallots, or 1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped 150–200g tomatoes

400g tin beans, such as borlotti, pinto or butter beans, drained and rinsed

Bunch of coriander, chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp hot smoked paprika

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the garlicky yoghurt (optional)

6 tbsp plain (full-fat) yoghurt or soured cream

½ garlic clove, crushed

Method

Preheat the grill to high. Lay the chillies on a baking tray and grill, turning from time to time, until the skins begin to char. Leave until cool enough to handle, then carefully peel away the skins, taking care to keep the chillies whole. Cut around and remove the stalks and

a flap of flesh to form a ‘lid’. Carefully scrape out all the seeds and membranes from inside the chillies and lids, and tip out any juice.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas Mark 4. Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-low heat, then gently sauté the shallots or onion and garlic until soft, about 10 minutes. Slice the tomatoes in half and grate their flesh straight into the pan, holding back the skin. Simmer for a minute or two to reduce slightly. Remove from the heat.

Add the drained beans to the pan and roughly mash some of them with a fork, so they break up a little – don’t overdo it, you want plenty of them to stay whole. Add the chopped coriander, cumin and paprika, mix well and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stuff the mixture carefully into the chillies and top with the ‘lids’. Lay them in

a lightly oiled ovenproof dish and bake for 20 minutes.

While the chillies are in the oven, combine the yoghurt with the crushed garlic and some salt and pepper, if serving, and set aside.