The only thing that survived this winter’s frost in Olia’s garden was kale, so she is using it in anything and everything! Use any dark greens that you have – spinach, cabbage, spring greens, wild garlic or nettles if you go foraging. Leeks give this pie a nice body and sweetness.
Clean the leeks well and slice lengthways in half, then slice thinly across. I only trim the dry edge of the green part of the leek, but use up the rest of the green part. Heat the butter and oil in a large frying pan or pot and add the leeks, cook over a medium-low heat until they soften, then add the garlic followed by the spinach and the kale and a generous pinch of Maldon Salt. At this point I cover the pan with a lid, this will help steam the greens. You want everything to yield and become nice and soft. Add the spring onions at the very end and cook for 2 minutes.
Let the filling cool down a little, then stir in the feta and plenty of black pepper. Butter a pie dish or a small deep tray and put the filling in.
Brush the melted butter over each filo sheet and crumple it on top of the filling.
Preheat the oven to 180C fan. Cook for 30 minutes or until the top is golden and the filling piping hot.
Store-bought granola’s can be quite expensive these days – Why don’t you save your pennies and make your own!
This recipe is packed full of nutrients from the blends of toasted nuts and seeds. Swap your honey with agave syrup for this recipe to be completely vegan-friendly as well.
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
In a large bowl mix together the oats, nuts and seeds with the cinnamon and Maldon Salt. In a small pan melt together the coconut oil and agave syrup gently. Then pour this over the oats and mix well, making sure everything is evenly coated.
Spread it across the baking tray and place into the oven. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes until lightly toasted and golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly before stirring through the coconut flakes.
Add on top of your breakfast porridge, yogurt or even on a salad to add a new level of texture with the delicious crunch of the nuts and seeds!
We’ve teamed up with our good friend’s Bold Bean & Co in creating a perfectly spiced bean dish, accompanied with sweet, slow roasted carrots and crispy kale to add texture.
Bold Bean & Co’s Organic White Beans (haricot beans) are perfect to use for this dish as their bean’s are slow-cooked which allows them to hold their shape, creating the perfect, buttery and smooth flavour.
Amongst a bundle of spices such as chilli, cumin and garam masala, we add carrots to bring a gentle sweetness to the dish, with also a generous pinch of Maldon Salt to enhance the sweet notes and counteract the bitterness.
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Start by roasting the carrots. Peel the carrots and cut them into 2-inch pieces, then toss in some olive oil and 1 tsp of cumin seeds. Season with Maldon Salt and pepper and place in the oven to roast for 15 minutes.
While the carrots are cooking, start the spiced beans.
Melt the coconut oil in a large sauté pan. Add the diced onion and cook gently until softened. Then add the garlic, chilli, and ginger and cook for another minute. Then add the cumin seeds, turmeric, black mustard seeds, garam masala and ground coriander and cook for another minute. Follow this with the chopped tomatoes. Cook these down gently until they collapse and soften.
Once the tomatoes are soft, add the Bold Beans & Co White Beans – including their juices – and the coconut milk to the pan, and mix. Then gently simmer this for 10 minutes until lovely and thickened. Season well with Maldon Salt and cracked black pepper.
Once the carrots are cooked remove from the oven and tip out of the baking tray. In the same baking tray then add the kale leaves.
Drizzle in olive oil and a good pinch of Maldon Salt and scrunch together with your hands so they are well coated. Place this back in the oven for 5 – 10 minutes until crispy but still green.
Remove from the oven.
To serve, spoon the beans into bowls and top with the cumin roasted carrots, crispy kale, and some coriander. Serve alongside some natural yoghurt and mango chutney.
We recently caught up with the talented Imogen Davis, co-founder of Native restaurant, situated in London’s Mayfair. As previously noted in our article; In Conversation with Imogen Davis, Native is a zero-waste eatery with a strong focus on ingredients being foraged and sourced locally.
Within this article, Imogen gets creative in making a deliciously good punch made with mushrooms! (Yes, really mushrooms!). Being a non-alcoholic beverage, this drink is perfect for Dry January – to be enjoyed over ice to infuse the wintery, warming notes of the forest and freshly ground coffee. Additionally, we also managed to sit down and share a few details with the creator herself, where we get to know her tips for making a low/no alcohol tipple to understanding her own personal inspirations.
Mushroom Milk Punch
Imogen’s clarified milk punch with mushroom coffee takes a little advance preparation, but is 100% worth the effort for a showstopper of a silky smooth, slightly earthy non-alcoholic beverage – enhanced by a sprinkle of our Maldon Salt. The reason you add a pinch of Maldon to this drink is to enhance the sweetness and counteract the bitter notes of the ground and mushroom coffee.
Ingredients:
10g coarsely ground coffee
10g mushroom powder (Imogen used nootropics adaptogenic coffee)
200ml water
10g sugar
Pinch of Maldon Salt
100ml organic whole milk
10ml lemon juice
Method:
Brew the coffee, sugar and mushroom powder with 200ml boiling water, leave to infuse for a minimum 12 hours and then filter. As the mushroom powder is very fine, leave plenty of time to drip through.
Bring the milk to a slow boil in a saucepan over low-medium heat.
Once boiling, add the lemon juice and remove from heat, slowly stirring as the curds separate from the whey. Leave for 30 minutes until cool.
Strain the curdled milk through a fine cheesecloth into a large jug and watch the clear liquid slowly separate from the solid curds – have patience!
Once it has fully filtered and you have a clear liquid, stir the mushroom coffee cold brew into the whey, remove the curds from your filter and set aside to enjoy as a snack or to make a salted lassi.
Now reuse the cheesecloth to filter the mushroom-whey mix. You should see a very clear, golden liquid. Filter until you have the desired finish – it took Imogen three trips of drips.
Now to reap your rewards! Add a pinch of Maldon Salt (subbing in Smoked Salt will give a more wintery, rich notes) and 150ml of the punch mix you have made to a highball glass. Stir over ice.
Notes:
You can batch prepare this and keep in the fridge for 1 month.
If you want to add an alcohol element to the drink, just restrain together for a super silky, clear drink!
Tips, Tricks and More with Imogen Davis
Once the making this delectable punch was done, we were able to sit down and have a chat with Imogen, getting to know her tips on creating a low/no alcohol tipple, the benefits of Dry January and what motivates her being the co-founder of a restaurant with a zero-waste ethos and foraging fanatic!
What are your tips for creating no/low alcohol cocktail creations?
Just like all of our drinks, we look at classics and try and give them a native twist, I try not to define a drink by specifying that it contains alcohol or not, but create something that is inspired by the seasons, or a special ingredient we’d like to spotlight.
What are the benefits of Dry January?
January is a great time to reset and refocus for the year ahead. I tend to steer clear of demanding a whole dry month upon myself, but it’s definitely welcomed after an indulgent festive period – especially with the no/lo options that are now out there!
Name 3 things in your kitchen that you can’t live without.
A multi-tool! It’s so versatile- it’s a knife, I can take it foraging as well as the kitchen and even use it to fix broken things.
Kilner jars – kilners are perfect for organising everything from spices to my daily kombucha, as well as ensuring my freezer is prepared for all eventualities! It makes the mission of having no single use plastic a joy.
Maldon salt, of course!
What inspires/motivate you?
Bringing joy to people through food and drink – it really is as simple as that! (the process of getting there is often less-so!)
Still Wanting More?
If you are interested in creating more low/no alcoholic beverages during the month of Dry January, we have many delicious recipes to choose from! Our delicious Paloma mocktail using Feragaia is perfect to replicate a warming, wintery spice in the dark evenings.
Make sure you have your Maldon Salt ready for these recipes! If you are running out, please feel free to browse on our Where to Buy Page to find your nearest store in which stocks our beloved Maldon Salt.
Lastly, we LOVE seeing your creations – please tag us on Instagram using the #maldonsalt so we can share your cocktail masterpieces on our socials.
This sweet and sour chutney is made with a variety of home-grown tomatoes – I’m using un-ripened tomatoes, which are left behind at the end of the harvest but are delicious when fried or used in chutneys.
Start by slicing the onions and dicing your tomatoes. Put both in a pan on a low heat along with cloves, star anise, sugar, wine, pepper and a good sprinkle of Maldon Salt.
Slowly cook the ingredients on a medium heat, stirring regularly.
The chutney is ready when it has reduced by about 3 quarters and the texture has turned jammy.
Serve on fresh toast with a poached egg, add pepper, a final pinch of Maldon Salt and enjoy!
Homemade jam using foraged fruit is a labour of love. This delicious, sweet spread is made with blackberries that I foraged during the summer and stored in the freezer.
This method of foraging and freezing means that you can enjoy making jam all throughout winter.
Simply mix together your berries, sugar, and lemon juice – pips and all, for a healthy dose of pectin, which will help to bind the jam. Add a pinch of Maldon Salt to enhance the flavour and temper any bitterness. Cook on a low heat, stirring regularly.
Once the fruit has thickened and turned jammy, remove from the heat and add to a sterilized jar.
There’s nothing better than warm jam on toast, so make sure you try a bit before sealing. Delicious.
We’ve teamed up with the talented Olia Hercules to create a refreshing and zingy salad, perfect for light lunch or as a side dish to a hearty meal like spatchcock chicken.
The salad contains all the flavours that Olia enjoys! Beetroot is paired with vibrant chicory wedges and bursts of orange segments to bring a gentle sweetness to the dish. The salad is inspired by an amazing dish from Georgia called charkhali. The original dish is fantastic, and involves boiled beetroot tossed in a spicy sour plum puree, flavoured with pennyroyal mint, garlic, dill and Georgian spices. Olia goes a step further by charring the beetroot and cooking the plum sauce over fire, adding an amazing smokiness to the whole dish!
A quick pickling recipe
The pickling section of this recipe is very important to bring life to the dish. It is also very easy and quick to do in the comfort of your own home! With a combination of vinegar, honey and Maldon Salt, you need to mix the beetroot slices into the season vinegar for 15 minutes. However, if you would a stronger pickling flavour, you can leave the beetroot slice in the mixture overnight to really elevate the flavours!
Here is how to make the beetroot and chicory salad…
To boil the beetroot, simply put it whole, skin on into a pan of cold water.
Bring to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes or until a knife can pierce them quite easily.
Cut the chicory into thin wedges.
Segment the oranges (do watch a quick video online if you don’t know how to do it).
Add the vinegar, honey and the 1 tsp Maldon Salt into a large bowl, mixing well. The vinegar will help dissolve the honey and sea salt flakes. Set aside.
In the meantime, the beetroot should have cooled off by now. Begin rubbing off its skin and cut into thin slices.
Drop the beetroot slices into the seasoned vinegar. You can leave it there to pickle for as quick as 15 minutes or do this in advance and leave them macerate in vinegar overnight for a stronger flavour.
In a large bowl, add the now pickled beetroot slices. Next, begin adding the chicory wedges, orange segments, olives and onion. Give it all a good mix until everything is blended together.
Arrange on a serving plate, drizzle over oil and add the dill.
Serve immediately. If there is any leftover, you can store in the fridge for up to 1 week.
What dressing could you use for this salad?
A dressing that would pair perfect with this salad would be a vinaigrette using fruit vinegar and honey. It is very easy to make and requires very few ingredients
In a bowl, add the ingredients and mix well, ensuring everything is coated evenly.
Add a few dill fonds into the mixture.
Once finished, let it chill in the fridge for a few minutes to let the flavours infuse together.
Once your salad is assembled, drizzle the dressing over the dish generously.
Fermented food is great for your gut and this organic sauerkraut is such a treat to make and eat.
Chop the cabbage or put it through a mandolin, adding the spices or herbs of your choice. Put the cabbage into a mixing bowl and add Maldon Salt.
Massage the cabbage for about 3-5 minutes until moist. You should see liquid start to appear when you squeeze it. Salt plays a key role in the fermentation process, encouraging the growth of healthy bacteria whilst also killing off any bad bacteria.
Sterilize a jar with boiling water and then fill the jar with the cabbage, pushing it down so that the sauerkraut has no air bubbles in it. Ideally you want the cabbage to be fully submerged in the liquid.
Leave in your kitchen for at least 5 days. You can leave it for longer if you prefer a tangier flavour, but once open, be sure to store in the fridge.
A Premium Alternative to An Alcoholic Drink
We are delighted to team up Feragaia, the first ever working alcohol-free distillery in Scotland! Co-founders Bill Garnock and Jamie Wild combine traditional distillery methods with a bountiful of 14 botanicals from both land and sea, including seaweed, bay leaf and chamomile.
It is this reason that makes Feragaia so unique, as the brand does not rely on alcohol to carry it’s flavours unlike other alcohol-free spirits; they use natural flavours and qualities to transform the spirit into having a complex yet clean taste which is making powerful movements within the drinking scene.
Traditionally distilled and bottled in the beautiful Scottish Lowlands, the natural flavours go through distillation runs, which are then blended with fresh, Scottish water to create a perfect balance of earthy, spice notes.
In Conversation with Feragaia
We recently had the opportunity to sit down with Feragaia and explore the inspirations behind the brand, from Bill and Jamie’s story to them letting us know the perfect food pairings that go well with the spirit. Make sure to have a tea and biscuit in hand as this makes a perfect read!
We are BIG fans of your drinks! Tell us, what inspired you to make an alcohol-free spirit?
We love to hear it, thank you! We’re huge admirers of the heritage and quality of Maldon. For me, Feragaia started with a question that I kept on coming back to. It was ‘why do I feel so trapped by alcohol?’ Working in spirits gave me a high exposure to alcohol, combined with a traditional English drinking habit – I found it relentless and restricting. I concluded that confidence could answer my question and so I set about developing a premium, unapologetic and confident alternative. So people can have a equal choice – very democratic!
How would you describe the taste of Feragaia?
It’s an original and unique taste, with a refreshing depth of flavour. 14 carefully selected botanicals create a layered and wild journey through land~sea~spice.
We’ve done some research and found that ‘Feragaia’ translates to ‘wild earth’. Is there a correlation behind your name and your drinks?
You got me! In a small way perhaps, but Wild fortunately evokes so much more than just me. Like so many, Earth’s wild places are places that Bill and I greatly value and crave connection to. It was this shared core belief that established the Wild/Fera seed!
Courier – Food & Drink – Julia Bryce – Feragaia Distillery story – CR0038565 – Glenrothes – Picture Shows: Bill Garnock (31) and Jamie Wild (31) at Feragaia Distillery, Scotland’s First Alcohol Free Spirit Distillery – Tuesday 27th September 2022 – Steve Brown / DC Thomson
What an accomplishment in becoming the first working alcohol-free distillery in Scotland! We would love to know Jamie and Bill’s story on how Feragaia was born to where it is now.
Thank you. It is something we are incredibly proud of. We’ve always wanted to set the benchmark for transparency and quality in this category, there is too much ‘smoke and mirrors’ and it’s hurting the reputation of alcohol-free spirits. Bill is the Scottish one in Feragaia and was the driving force behind our provenance and process, out of which was born Feragaia’s respecting of Scotland’s rich heritage of premium spirits and progressive nature.
Would you say the alcohol-free movement is becoming more popular as the years go on?
Absolutely! Since launching Feragaia in 2019 we have sampled thousands of people. I can confidently say people’s curiosity and confidence in alcohol alternatives has and continues to grow. I expect this to be the case for some time.
We’ve seen you make many delicious cocktails, what would you say your top 3 favourites are?
In order of simplicity. I love our perfect serve ‘Wild Ginger’ 50ml Feragaia, Ginger ale and a slice of lime. Next up, our most popular cocktail serve – ‘Paloma’ 50ml Feragaia, Pinch of Maldon salt, squeeze of pink grapefruit and topped with tonic. Finally, it took me months to perfect this one, but the ‘Smokey Old Fashioned’ with a large ice block brings me great joy. Lapsang Souchung tea, ginger syrup, lime and Feragaia. It really redefines in my mind what an alcohol-free drink can be.
How would you try and convince someone who has never purchased an alcohol-free spirit to give it a try?
“I still drink alcohol, but sometimes I can’t or I’d rather not. In which case why should I sacrifice my experience, and feel left out?” Feragaia, is the original-free spirit that is redefining alcohol-free through its refreshing depth of flavour that’s distilled at our very own distillery in Fife, Scotland. It allows you to have a sophisticated and delicious drink to savour and enjoy during those moments where alcohol is to be avoided – how about a taste?”
What food would you say pairs well with Feragaia?
We talk about depth and length of flavour as this is what slows you down and makes Feragaia ‘a drink’ apart from a soft drink, juice, tea etc. The long finish is very complimentary when eating as there isn’t too much of a clash on the top of the pallet. I’ve always liked the combination of some savoury appetisers like roasted nuts and Feragaia in that aperitif moment. If I’m really pushing the boat out then the link between our land & sea botanicals and oysters are quite special!
Your bottle and cap are both 100% recyclable and the botanicals used are composted after distillation. Is this a topic in which you are passionate about?
We tried to register ourselves on B Corp before we registered on companies house! Then we realised we needed to have a registered business to apply for B Corp. At the core of our business lies a belief that truth, authenticity and purpose are ‘must haves’ today. We have developed a sustainable foundation on which Feragaia can grow and meaningfully support the changes that we need to make together in the world.
Now…we are very much excited to announce that Maldon Salt is in the Paloma recipe. What is your favourite way to enjoy Maldon Salt in a drink?
I love the story of land and sea, which could be more apt for Maldon Salt. Salinity when used in drinks correctly is really effective. You just can’t better the Paloma, bitter citrus, saline complexity and the defining depth of Feragaia – It is complete! Sláinte
Feragaia x Maldon Salt Cocktail
In celebration of Dry January, Feragaia and Maldon have come together to create a ‘Paloma Cocktail’.
This cocktail has a beautiful, fresh taste of citrus from the courtesy of Feragaia’s blackcurrant leaf and lemon verbena and Two Keys Pink Grapefruit Soda. Being naturally sweet, the flavour is hightended from a generous sprinkle of Maldon Salt on top to emphasise the sweet notes and counteract the bitterness…delicious!
Add 50ml Feragaia, 15ml Two Keys Pink Grapefruit Soda and a pinch of Maldon salt to a highball glass.
2.Stir until dissolved, add ice cubes and garnish with pink grapefruit.
Win a Bundle of Goodies!
You could be in the chance of winning one of our limited edition bundle packs, which includes a bottle of Feragaia, Two Keys Grapefruit Soda and an exclusive Maldon Salt Pinch Tin…the perfect combination to create our deliciously good Paloma cocktail!
Head over to our Instagram Giveaway now to enter… But be quick! There are only a number of limited bundles to win.
Lastly, we LOVE seeing your creations – please tag us on Instagram using the #maldonsalt so we can share your cocktail masterpieces on our socials.
Squash is one of the most exciting vegetables to grow as they come in so many shapes and sizes. One of my favourite autumn recipes is squash soup, seasoned with fresh herbs, Maldon Salt and topped with crispy mushrooms.
Pre-heat your oven to 220 degrees Celsius. Start by taking the skins off the squash. The best way to do this is with a knife rather than a peeler.
Chop up the squash into cubes and place on a baking tray with red onions and garlic cloves in their skins. Add thyme, a drizzle of olive oil and plenty of Maldon Salt and pepper.
Once the vegetables are soft, take the skins off the garlic and add to a pan with the squash, vegetable stock, a tin of chopped tomatoes and a pinch of Maldon Salt and pepper. Cook for about 10 minutes and then blitz with a hand blender or food processor.
Place the mushrooms on a lined baking tray with olive oil, season with Maldon Salt and roast them until crispy.
To serve, spoon the soup into bowls, add the crispy mushrooms, pepper and a final sprinkle of Maldon. Delicious
