Season: Winter

Both delicious and hearty, this pie recipe is a comfort food classic which is loved by many family and friends. Being the secondary part to the series of using chicken three ways, we use roughly 100g of leftover chicken from grilling it in our within Spatchcock BBQ Chicken recipe.

We use a filo pastry for a lighter topping option, however you are welcome to use shortcrust pastry instead for a firmer option.

You can serve this chicken pie with seasonal vegetables, including our delicious lemon & honey glazed roasted carrots, or our beautifully crispy Hasselback potatoes to complete the dish.

Here’s how to make our Chicken, Leek and Bacon Filo Pie…

  1. Start by making the white sauce for your pie filling. In a large pan add 100g of butter and allow it to melt. When the butter begins to foam, add the plain flour and use a wooden spoon to stir it in and create a paste. Cook this for couple of minutes until it begins to smell biscuity.
  2. Then take the pan off the heat and add a splash of the milk, use a whisk to immediately stir this in to avoid lumps. As soon as the milk is absorbed, add another splash making sure to whisk it in fully. Alternate doing this and placing the pan back on the heat to allow it to bubble and thicken between each addition. Keep going until all the milk has been added and you are left with a thick, creamy, and smooth sauce.
  3. Turn the heat off the white sauce and stir in the wholegrain mustard, Maldon Salt and cracked black pepper to taste. Check the seasoning and then set aside.
  4. In another pan, add the lardons and cook until they are beginning to turn crispy. Now add the sliced leeks and diced onions. Keep cooking these until they are fully softened and translucent.
  5. Once the leeks and onion are soft, add the garlic and cook for a further couple of minutes. Then add the leftover shredded chicken and warm through.
  6. Finally stir this mixture into the white sauce and add the chopped tarragon.
  7. Preheat the oven to 180C Fan.
  8. Take a small pie dish and pour the filling in.
  9. Take one sheet of filo pastry at a time and lay it onto your board.
  10. Brush both sides with the final 100g of melted butter, and then use your hands to scrunch the filo up and place on top of the pie filling. Continue to do this with the remaining filo sheets until the whole pie top is covered.
  11. Place it into the preheated oven and bake for about 15 minutes until the filo is golden brown and crispy on top.
  12. Remove from the oven and allow it to sit for a couple of minutes before serving alongside your favourite green vegetables.

Tiffin is a cake-like treat comprising of crushed biscuits, (which are usually digestive biscuits), syrup, cherries and cocoa powder, which were believed to have been invented in Scotland in the early 1900s, Unlike cookies, these do not require baking, so instead are made through being chilled until setting completely!

Our tiffin recipe is made with the addition of chopped pistachios and cranberries to give a gentle sweetness and nutty flavour to the dish. For best results, make sure to chill these in the fridge for a minimum of 2 hours for stability and texture!

  1. Grease and line a 20cm square tin with baking paper.
  2. Crush the digestive biscuits in a bowl, but still leaving some slightly larger pieces to add texture.
  3. To a pan, add the butter, golden syrup, sugar and cocoa powder and heat gently to melt everything together.
  4. Once it is all melted, remove from the heat and add the digestive biscuits, dried cranberries and chopped pistachios. Mix them in until everything is well combined.
  5. Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and press down firmly to make a smooth top. Place into the fridge for 15 minutes.
  6. Melt the milk chocolate in a bain-marie or microwave. Pour the melted chocolate over the tiffin base and smooth it into an even layer.
  7. Place into the fridge for at least 2 hours to set fully.
  8. Bring the tiffin out the fridge to allow to come to room temperature before slicing to avoid the chocolate cracking with the knife – or try a warmed-up knife. Slice and serve with a sprinkle of Maldon Salt.

Bao (bow) Buns, also known as steamed buns, are thought to be derived within the Chinese culture as a filled version of ‘Mantou’, which is a steamed dumpling resembling a soft-like textured bread. However, a dumpling is commonly boiled or pan-fried, whereas bao bun’s are to be steamed in either a steamer or a slow cooker.

These buns are utterly delicious, being warm and fluffy in the inside from the sweet, white dough. You can learn how to make the dough from our Sticky Miso Roasted Aubergine Bao Buns recipe, primarily consisting of flour, Maldon Salt, sugar, yeast, milk and a dash of oil.

In this recipe, we fill our bao buns with the succulent protein of pulled pork (boneless pork shoulder), coated in soy sauce, Siracha and honey to add a touch of sweetness. We also combine layers of finely sliced carrot, radish and cucumber to add a layer of crunch for texture.

  1. Start with the pulled pork. In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, siracha, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, Maldon Salt, and runny honey.
  2. Add the pork to a slow cooker and the pour over the sauce, mixing it well into the pork so it is fully coated. Place the lid on and cook on high for 4 -5 hours.
  3. After this time the pork should be completely tender, and you can shred it with two forks. Toss in the remaining juices and set aside.
  4. Make the pickled vegetables. In a large bowl mix the rice wine vinegar and caster sugar, whisking until the sugar dissolves. Peel the carrot and cucumber into long ribbons, and finely slice the radish, then place them into the vinegar bowl and toss well. Set aside to lightly pickle.
  5. To serve, steam the bao buns until fluffy and soft. Then fill with the pulled pork and some hoisin sauce. Then sprinkle with sesame seeds and some finely sliced spring onions.
  6. Serve alongside the pickled vegetables and some coriander for some extra crunch.

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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. Brush the melted butter over each filo sheet and crumple it on top of the filling.
  4. Preheat the oven to 180C fan. Cook for 30 minutes or until the top is golden and the filling piping hot.

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.

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
  2. 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.
  3. While the carrots are cooking, start the spiced beans.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. Remove from the oven.
  9. 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:

Method:

  1. 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.
  2. Bring the milk to a slow boil in a saucepan over low-medium heat.
  3. 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.
  4. 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!
  5. 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.
  6. 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.
  7. 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:

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.

  1. 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.  
  2. 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. 
  3. 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.

For this Shakshuka dish, I’m using eggs from my hens, and cooking it over live fire, but this can just as easily be made on the hob at home.

  1. Finely slice a white onion, add a pinch of Maldon Salt and cook until softened.
  2. Add chopped garlic, cloves, smoked paprika, tinned tomatoes, sherry vinegar, pepper and another sprinkle of Maldon Salt.
  3. Reduce the tomatoes slightly. At this point you could also add other veg like chestnut mushrooms or finely chopped courgettes but on this occasion, I’m keeping it simple.
  4. Using the back of a spoon, make small divots in the tomato sauce for the eggs, cover, and leave to cook on the coals or place into the oven until the eggs are cooked.

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…

  1. To boil the beetroot, simply put it whole, skin on into a pan of cold water.
  2. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 40 minutes or until a knife can pierce them quite easily.
  3. Cut the chicory into thin wedges.
  4. Segment the oranges (do watch a quick video online if you don’t know how to do it).
  5. 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.
  6. In the meantime, the beetroot should have cooled off by now. Begin rubbing off its skin and cut into thin slices.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. Arrange on a serving plate, drizzle over oil and add the dill.
  10. 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

  1. In a bowl, add the ingredients and mix well, ensuring everything is coated evenly.
  2. Add a few dill fonds into the mixture.
  3. Once finished, let it chill in the fridge for a few minutes to let the flavours infuse together.
  4. 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.

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.

This recipe will show you how to bake a potato in an air fryer to achieve a deliciously crispy skin and a fluffy centre.

Air-fried foods, like jacket potatoes, are taking the world by storm due to the many benefits it can bring, from being energy efficient to speeding up the cooking by 40 minutes! In contrast, baking a jacket potato in the oven at 200C will take roughly 1 hour – 1 hour 20 minutes – that’s a pretty long time when you can have a perfectly baked potato in minutes. Plus, it’s a easy to make, you simply put the potato in the air fryer basket and bake!

You can use two methods to make a showstopping jacket potato in the air fryer:

  1. Microwave them first, and then finish off the baking process in the air fryer.
  2. Air frying them for the full length of time.

Our recipe follows the second method, where we will be air frying the jacket potato for the whole duration. This is the easier method to follow as you do not need any further equipment!

If you are wanting to microwave the potatoes first, we recommend cooking on high for 8 minutes, and then air frying for a further 8 minutes. This method will is quicker than our method, as you are speeding up the cooking process with heating the jacket potato in the microwave first, softening the outer, hard skin.

When choosing what type of jacket potato to bake with, we recommend medium to large varieties that have soft, fluffy centres. Specific types of potatoes you need to look for are Maris Piper or King Edwards as these are considered the best for baking. If you are based in America, we recommend looking for Russet Potatoes, which are also known as Idaho potatoes.

How to cook jacket potatoes in an air dryer?

  1. Start by washing the potatoes to remove any dirt and impurities. Then, pat dry with kitchen paper or a towel.
  2. Begin pricking the potatoes with a fork. We recommend pricking about 4 times around each potato.
  3. Transfer the potatoes to a plate or bowl, rubbing with olive oil and a generous sprinkle of Maldon sea salt flakes. Set aside.
  4. Spray the air fryer basket with cooking spray or cooking oil to create a non-stick layer so that the potatoes will not stick together.
  5. Arrange the potatoes in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
  6. Set the air fryer to 200c and cook for 40 minutes until the potatoes are crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middles. We rotated the potatoes after 20 minutes to have an even bake on each side. The baked potatoes should be done when a sharp knifes can go through them easily.
  7. When baked, the skin on the jacket potatoes should be perfectly crisp and the inside tender and fluffy as you cut through the centre.

What to have with jacket potatoes?

Toppings and fillings:

We chose to fill our jacket potato with a classic tuna mayonnaise. The combination of tuna, creamy mayonnaise with a handful of spring onion and chives gives this lunchtime favourite plenty of flavour and is easy to make.

Here is how to make tuna mayonnaise:

  1. Drain the tuna and add to a bowl.
  2. Mix with the mayonnaise, a pinch of Maldon sea salt flakes, cracked black pepper, chopped chives and spring onions.
  3. Open the jacket potatoes and melt some butter on first.
  4. Spoon in the tuna mayonnaise, and top with grated cheddar. Sprinkle with a final few chives.

Other toppings can include:

What to serve with jacket potatoes:

Can you cook frozen jacket potatoes in an air fryer?

The simple answer is yes!

You can certainly cook frozen jacket potatoes in the air fryer. We used McCain Ready Baked Jacket Potatoes, which are already pre-oven baked and are super convenient if you are struggling for time and want a tasty, fuss-free meal!

As the jacket potatoes are already pre-oven baked, simply put them in the air fryer at 180C for around 20 minutes. Depending on the size of the potato, cooking time may vary slightly so keep having intervals between baking to see if they are baking evenly.