Rocquette Cider & Red Onion Soup with Guernsey Brie Croutons

(a local variation of French Onion Soup)

Serves two

Ingredients

250g/8oz sliced red onions
Salt and pepper to season
Caster Sugar
1 Large Cooking Apple, peeled, cored and finely chopped
250-300ml/7-8oz good clear beef stock
1 bottle 500ml Traditional Rocquette Cider
20g Guernsey Butter

For the Croutons
250g/7oz Guernsey Brie
1 egg, beaten
plain flour
dried, ground breadcrumbs

Method

Peel and slice the red onions very thinly, season well with salt and pepper and sprinkle with caster sugar. Add the chopped apple and set aside for one hour. Place the onion and apple mixture into a thick-bottomed pan with the butter and cook slowly and gently until the onion is very soft. Add the beef stock together with the Rocquette Cider and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for several mins before adjusting seasoning to your preference. Cut the Guernsey brie in to wedges before coating them with flour, then into the beaten egg and finally the breadcrumbs or almonds to ensure an even coating. Deep-fry the brie wedges in hot vegetable oil until golden. Drain onto kitchen paper to absorb any excess fat before serving.

Parsnip soup with Rocquette Cider

A deliciously rich and warming autumn soup. You can finish this in all sorts of ways, but I like to scatter some butter-fried diced apple and a few thyme leaves on top. You could make a similarly delicious soup with pumpkin or squash.

Serves four.

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil 

1 knob butter 

1 large onion, peeled and chopped 

500g parsnips 

2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced 

250ml Rocquette Cider 

500ml vegetable or chicken stock 

1 large sprig fresh thyme 

50ml single or double cream (optional) 

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
Heat the oil and butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Sweat the onion gently for a few minutes while you prepare the parsnips. Peel them, quarter them lengthways (remove the cores if tough or woody), and roughly chop. Add to the onion with the garlic, and sweat, stirring a few times, for five to 10 minutes.

Pour in the Rocquette Cider and stock, add the thyme sprig, bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, until the parsnips are soft. Remove the thyme, then liquidise the soup, adding a splash more stock (or water) if you think it needs it, but keeping it nice and thick. Return the soup to the pan, stir in the cream (if using) and adjust the seasoning to taste. Reheat if necessary and serve sprinkled with croutons, bits of crisp bacon or some little cubes of fried apple.

Rocquette Cider Cranberry Ham with Mustard Marmalade Glaze

This recipe will give you one of the sweetest hams ever. It requires the use of a pressure cooker, alternatively you could use a covered pan and increase the cooking time to 45-50 minutes per kilo.

Ingredients

One ham, boned, around 2.5kg (to fit in pressure cooker)
750ml dry artisan Rocquette Cider
750ml cranberry juice
6 tbsp dry mustard
3 tbsp marmalade
optionally, maple syrup
cloves for studding

Method

Place the ham in the pressure cooker or saucepan and cover with Rocquette Cider and cranberry juice.
Place on the heat and cover, securing the lid if using a pressure cooker. Cook for 30-35 minutes per kilo under pressure, or simmer for 45-50 minutes per kilo. Internal temperature after cooking should
be at least 70 °C / 160°F. For best results you can let the meat cool in the cooking liquor for several hours. Afterwards the skin should come off quite easily with a sharp knife. Save this! It makes delicious
scratchings if fried, but allow it to dry first or it will spit. Trim the fat to about 1/4″ thickness. Score the fat into diamond shapes and place a clove in the middle of each diamond, piercing the meat.
Trimming and scoring will be much easier if the ham is allowed to cool.About half an hour before glazing mix the mustard powder with enough water to make a smooth paste – this gives the flavour
time to develop. Add the marmalade and maple syrup if using. Using a palette knife or the back of a spoon, cover the mustard mixture all over the meat, especially covering the fat. Place in a preheated oven at 200°C / 400°F / Gas Mark 6, for about 15 minutes.

Pork & Rocquette Cider Stew

Serves Four

Ingredients

2 sticks of celery
2 medium carrots
2 medium onions
olive oil
1 heaped tablespoon of flour
1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 sprigs of fresh sage
500g diced stewing pork
500ml Rocquette cider

Method

If using the oven to cook your stew, preheat it to 200 c, 400 f, gas 6. Trim the ends of the celery and roughly chop the sticks. Peel and roughly chop the onions. Peel the carrots, slice lengthways and roughly chop. Put a casserole on a medium heat. Put all the vegetables and the sage into the pan with 2 lugs of olive oil and fry for 10 minutes. Add the pork and the flour. Pour in the Rocquette Cider and tinned tomatoes. Give it a good stir, then season with 1 tsp sea salt (use less if table salt) and a few good grinds of black pepper. Bring to a boil , put the lid on and simmer slowly or cook in the oven for 2 1/2 hours. Remove the lid for the final hour. When done, your meat should be tender and delicious.

Sausages Braised in Rocquette Cider

Serves four

Ingredients

olive oil
8 sausages
2 onions , sliced
4 rashers streaky bacon , chopped (optional)
2 tsp flour
350ml dry Rocquette Cider
1 tsp mustard
1kg potatoes , peeled and chopped
150ml milk
1 bunch spring onions , chopped
50g butter

Method

Heat a little oil in a frying pan with a lid. Brown the sausages then remove from the pan. Add the onions and bacon (if using) and cook for 15-20 minues. Add the flour and stir until absorbed. Gradually add the Rocquette Cider, then the mustard, and stir until dissolved. Bring to a simmer then add the sausages, put on a lid and cook for 45 minutes.

To make the champ, put the milk and spring onions in a pan and cook for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat, add the butter and leave to melt. Boil the potatoes in salted water until tender. Drain and mash with the milk mix. Serve with the sausages and gravy.

Sausage and Rocquette Cider Hotpot

Ingredients

454g (1lb) Lincolnshire Pork sausages
½ Butternut squash, peeled and thinly sliced
2 Large potatoes, peeled and thinly slice
 1 Large turnip, peeled and thinly slice 
1 x 15ml (1tbsp) Vegetable oil
 1 Onion, chop 
2 Large sprigs fresh thyme 
150ml (¼pt) Rocquette Cider or apple juice
150ml (¼pt) Pork stock
 1 x 15mlsp (1tbsp) Gravy granules 
Salt and Pepper 
Knob of butter.

Method

Preheat oven to Gas Mark 5, 190ºC, 375ºF. Place sliced squash, potato and turnip in a large pan of boiling water. Gently simmer for about 5 minutes until slices have softened slightly, but still holding their shape. Drain and reserve.
In a large saucepan heat oil and lightly fry the sausages, onion and thyme sprigs until sausages have browned and onion begins to soften.
 Add the Rocquette Cider and stock, bring to the boil. Add gravy granules and thicken to your desired level of thickness.

Season with salt and pepper.
Place sausage mixture into a large deep ovenproof dish. Layer the vegetables on top of the sausages, allowing the sausages to ‘poke’ through.
 Dot the top with butter and place in a preheated oven. Cook for about 30 minutes covered in foil, remove foil and brown off for a further 25-30 minutes until the sliced vegetables are golden and cooked through.

Rocquette Cider Roast Turkey

Ingredients

For the Turkey
4.5-6kg/10-13lb turkey , giblets removed and kept
450g stuffing
2 leeks , trimmed and halved
2 carrots , halved
50g butter , softened
300ml dry Rocquette Cider

For the Gravy
300ml dry Rocquette Cider
600ml chicken stock
2 tbsp quince or redcurrant jelly

Method

Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Wash and dry the turkey, removing any feathers. Pull out the giblets and the neck, then set aside. Lift up the skin that covers the neck opening, then stuff the stuffing up and under the skin, securing it tightly underneath with a skewer or two cocktail sticks. Weigh the stuffed turkey, then calculate the cooking time, allowing 40 mins per kg (20 mins per lb).

Put the leeks and carrots along the bottom of a roasting tin in a single layer – this will make a trivet for the turkey to sit on and add flavour to the gravy. Add the neck to the tin. Sit the turkey on top and coat the breast all over with butter. Pour in the Rocquette Cider, cover with foil, then roast according to your timings. Keep checking the tin – if the vegetables look like they’re burning, add a splash of water or Rocquette Cider. At 30 mins before the end of cooking, remove the foil and season generously. To test that the turkey is ready, pierce the thigh through its thickest part; the juices should run clear. Take the turkey out and leave to rest, covered with a clean tea towel. Can leave to rest for up to 1 hr. Now make the gravy. Drain the fat and juices from the tin into a jug, discarding the veg and the neck. Place the tin over a flame, then pour in the Rocquette Cider, scraping up the flavour-filled crusty bits with a wooden spoon. Reduce the Rocquette Cider by half, then strain into a saucepan (this will save you hob space later).

Rocquette Cidered Chicken

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 Chicken Quarters
2 tbsp Olive Oil
25g/1oz Butter
1 Onion, chopped
1 tbsp Plain Flour
½ teasp ground Ginger
1 teasp Paprika
450ml/15fl.oz. Rocquette Cider
1 tbsp Tomato Purée
1/4 teasp Sugar
1 tbsp freshly Chopped Parsley
Salt and Black Pepper

Method

Heat the butter and olive oil in a large frying pan until very hot. Add the chicken pieces and brown on all sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the onion to the pan and fry until soft and golden. Sprinkle in the flour, ginger, and paprika and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring. Add the Rocquette Cider a little at a time, mixing well between each addition and cook for 1-2 minutes to make a sauce. Then stir in the tomato purée, sugar and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Return the chicken to the pan and baste with the sauce. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, basting occasionally. Alternatively, cook in the oven at 180C, 350F, Gas Mark 4 for 30 minutes.

Rocquette Cider Chicken Pie

Ingredients

500 g Puff Pastry
3 Large Leeks, trimmed and sliced into rings
450g Chicken breast, skinned and cubed
250ml Rocquette Cider
50g butter
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg, beaten

Pre-heat oven to 220ºC/gas mark 7. Fry leeks in butter until just soft. Remove with a slotted spoon. Add chicken to pan and seal on all sides. Add Rocquette Cider and thyme to the pan, bring to the boil then simmer for 5 mins. Stir in apples and cooked leeks, season and leave to cool. Put filling in deep pie dish, cover with puff pastry lid, brush with beaten egg and bake for 15-20mins until the pastry is risen and golden brown. Serve immediately.

Chicken and Vegetable Stew with Horseradish Dumplings

Ingredients

For the stew
1 free range chicken, jointed
4 slices of smoked streaky butchers bacon, cubed
1 pint dry artisan Rocquette Cider
1 large onion
6 garlic cloves, crushed lightly
2 carrots, cut into chunks
2 small turnips, cut into chunks
3 stalks celery, chopped
3 – 4 potatoes cut into chunks
1/2 pint chicken stock
2 tbsp olive oil
sprig of thyme
1 tsp black peppercorns, freshly crushed
sea salt, to taste

For the dumplings
1/4 lb self raisng flour
1/4 lb cottage cheese
2″ fresh horseradish grated
salt and pepper to taste
1 -2 tsp milk, to bind
more flour for dusting 


Method

Heat a casserole dish or large saucepan, when hot add the olive oil and bacon, fry until the bacon renders a little fat. 
Add the chicken and cook on all sides until lightly browned. Add the onions and garlic and turn down the heat, cook until the onions are wilting, and then add the rest of the vegetables, the thyme and black pepper and cook slowly for another 2 minutes, stirring. 
Deglaze the pan with the Rocquette Cider and chicken stock. Cover the pan and lower the heat until just bubbling. 
Meanwhile put the flour, cottage cheese, horseradish salt, pepper and enough milk to bind in a bowl mix lighty and set aside for 20 mins. Divide into golfball sized dumplings and dust with flour. 
After the chicken has been bubbling for 40 minutes add the dumplings to the pan and cover with a lid. 
Cook another 20 minutes, take off the heat, let rest for 10 minutes and serve. 


Rocquette Cider Moules

Ingredients

2 pints fresh mussels, cleaned
1 clove garlic, crushed with the side of a knife
1/4 pint artisan Rocquette Cider
1/4 pint of fresh double cream
1/4 stick of west country butter
1 tbsp black peppercorns, freshly crushed
large sprig of fresh parsley, finely chopped
salt to taste

Method

Place mussels, Rocquette Cider, garlic and butter in a large saucepan, bring to the boil and cook until mussels have just opened. Discard any mussels that don’t open.

Drain mussels and return cooking liquid to saucepan. Bring to the boil until reduced by half. Add cream, black pepper and parsley to the pan and mix. Return mussels to the pan, mix gently and add a little salt to taste.

Serve immediately with fresh crusty bread to mop up the juices and a glass of artisan Rocquette Cider on the side.

Seared Scallops with Crab, Apple & Rocquette Cider Dressing

Serves Three

Ingredients

9 fresh Guernsey Scallops (out of shell)
Salt and Pepper
Knob of Guernsey Butter

For the Dressing
1 Apple, peeled, cored and diced
2 tbsp Rocquette Cider vinegar
2 tbsp cider vinegar
2 tbsp shallots, chopped
250ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp toasted cumin seeds
1 clove of garlic, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

For the Salad
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped in to matchsticks
200g celeriac, peeled and finely shredded
3 tbsp mayonnaise
lemon juice, squeezed
2 red chillis, finely sliced
30g fresh coriander, chopped
300g fresh picked white crabmeat

Method

Place all dressing ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth, season to taste. Mix all of the salad ingredients just before serving and divide between three plates. Season the scallops and place in a hot frying pan to brown for 2 mins. Reduce the heat, add knob of butter and continue cooking on a low heat for another min. Remove the pan from the heat. Turn the scallops over and leave to rest for one min before serving. To serve, drizzle the dressing over he salad and place 3 scallops on top of each plate.

Mackerel with Horseradish & Rocquette Cider

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 Medium-sized Mackerel
2 tsp grated fresh horseradish root
1 tsp onion, grated
4 oz cream cheese
½ pint Rocquette Cider
Salt and freshly ground Pepper to taste
4 Bay leaves

Method

Pre-heat the oven to 170ºC/gas mark 3. Pour the Rocquette Cider in to a saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Add the onions and green pepper, reduce the heat and simmer for 5-10 mins until the liquid has reduced a little. Remove from the heat. Put the fish in a flame-proof casserole and pour over the Rocquette Cider mixture. Add the tomatoes, majoram, mustarm, lemon rind and seasoning and mix carefully. Cover the casserole and bring to the boil over a medium heat. Transfer the casserole to the oven and bake for 30 mins, or until the fish is cooked. Pre-heat the grill. Mix the breadcrumbs and cheese and spread over the fish casserole. Place under the grill until the cheese browns. Serve at once.

Lamb stew with Rocquette Cider

Rocquette Cider is often paired with pork or chicken, but it works a treat with lamb too.

Serves four to six.

Ingredients

2-3 tbsp sunflower
rapeseed or olive oil 

2 large onions, peeled, quartered and sliced 

2 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced 

2 celery stalks, thickly sliced 

1kg stewing lamb, such as neck, cut into large chunks 

Salt and pepper 
300ml Rocquette Cider 

1 heaped tsp English mustard 

3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary 

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme
A good splosh of Rocquette Cider
3 bay leaves

Method

Heat the oven to 130C/260F/gas mark ½. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large casserole dish over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot and celery, and start them cooking. Once they are sizzling nicely, turn down the heat and let them sweat, stirring often, for a good 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add a third to half the lamb (depending on the size of your pan), season and cook, stirring from time to time, until well browned. Transfer to the veg pot and repeat with the remaining lamb, adding a little more oil if need be.

With the now empty frying pan over a moderate heat, deglaze with the Rocquette Cider, scraping up the brown bits stuck to the base. Add this to the casserole with the mustard and herbs, pour in enough water barely to cover the meat and veg, bring to a simmer and transfer to the oven. Cook until the meat is tender: about two hours, but start checking after an hour.
Season again to taste, then serve with creamy mash and lightly cooked gre
ens. Apple sauce or some lightly fried slices of apple are a very nice addition on the side.

Slow Cooked Shoulder of Lamb & Rocquette Cider

Ingredients

1 large shoulder of lamb 3 – 4 lbs in one piece
2 large onions, chopped finely
4 large carrots, cut into chunks
3 – 4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 head garlic, seperated into cloves and peeled
2 pints Rocquette Cider
3 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp black peppercorns, freshly crushed
1 sprig fresh rosemary
1/2 lb dried borlotti, canneloni beans or butterbeans soaked overnight

Method

Drain the soaked beans and place in a saucepan, bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes in order to release any toxins.
Drain the beans from the water they were boiled in and place in a large casserole dish and with the rest of the ingredients and cover extremely tightly with a lid, foil or both.

Place in a very low oven (we put ours onto start and wedge the door open a 1/4″) for 24 – 48 hrs, cooking time dependant on heat.
The lamb is ready when it is literally falling from the bone. By this time the fat and sinews will have completely rendered in the Rocquette Cider and been absorbed by the beans.

Serve with creamy mashed potatoes and lightly cooked green vegetables.

Rocquette Cider Apple Cake

A lovely, light, egg-free fruitcake, made in the mould of a traditional vinegar cake – that is, it’s the baking powder in the flour, combined with a splash of Rocquette Cider vinegar, that creates the “rise”.

Serves eight to 10.

Ingredients

250g self-raising flour 

125g cold butter, cubed, plus extra for greasing 

125g soft brown sugar 

125g sultanas 

100ml Rocquette Cider 

2 tbsp Rocquette Cider vinegar 

1 large cooking apple (such as a bramley), peeled and sliced 

Demerera sugar, to finish

Method

Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Butter a 20cm, round springform cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.
Put the flour in a bowl, add the butter and rub in with your fingertips until the mix resembles breadcrumbs (or do this in a processor). Stir in the sugar and sultanas. Combine the Rocquette Cider and vinegar, pour into the dry ingredients and mix lightly but thoroughly. Finally, fold in the slices of apple.

Spoon the cake mix into the prepared tin, smooth it out until reasonably flat and scatter the top generously with demerara sugar. Bake for 40-45 minutes, until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool before serving.

Rocquette Treacle Tart

Ingredients

1 x 500ml bottle traditional Rocquette Cider
½ cup sugar
Sweet Pastry
1 loaf white bread
300g treacle
4 apples, grated

Method

Boil the Rocquette Cider and sugar and reduce to a sticky syrup. Pre-heat oven to 160ºC / Mark 3. Line a loose-bottomed tart tin with the sweet pastry. Cut off the crusts from the bread and crumb the remainder. Mix the treacle with the apples and breadcrumbs and pour into the pastry case. Bruch over with the syrup. Bake for about ½ hour until the pastry is golden. Serve hot or cold with whipped/ice cream.

Rocquette Cider Chilli Sauce

Ingredients
6 large red chillis
2 cups (400ml) dry artisan Rocquette Cider
A large thumb of ginger
4 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons of maple syrup, or 2 dessertspoons demerara sugar
Oil for frying

Method

This recipe is quite sweet, but if you include the seeds from the chillis it will also be very hot. If you want a milder chilli sauce, remove the seeds and zest as these are the hottest parts. Finely chop the chillis.

In a saucepan heat the oil. Add the chillis and ginger and reduce the heat to a simmer while you chop the garlic. Allow the chillis to take on a translucent sheen, and then add the garlic and a pinch of salt.

Add the Rocquette Cider, and increase the heat. You might want now to use a hand blender to break up the chillis and garlic, or else you can wait until the end when the mixture has cooled and blitz it in a food processor. Now’s the time to add the maple syrup, or sugar, and reduce the whole thing down to a syrupy sauce. Cool and serve. Goes very well with a good strong Somerset Cheddar and a glass of artisan Rocquette Cider.

Rocquette Cider Apple Sauce

Ingredients

4-6 medium sized Bramley apples
300ml Rocquette Cider
Knob of butter
3 cloves
½ tsp mixed spice
1 tbsp vinegar
2-3 tsp sugar (more or less to taste)

Method

Core, peel, and roughly chop your apples and place in a saucepan. Add the Rocquette Cider, butter, cloves and mixed spice and simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the vinegar and the sugar to taste, around 2 or 3 teaspoons should do it. Serve alongside any pork dish.

Braised Red Cabbage With Rocquette Cider, Apple and Caraway

Ingredients

1 head of fresh red cabbage, chooped finely
2 medium onions, chopped finely
2 large Bramley apples, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed with side of knife
1 tsp muscovado sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 pint Rocquette Cider
2 tsp caraway seeds
2 tsp black peppercorns, freshly crushed

Method

Place all the ingredients in a large casserole dish and cook in a low oven for 3 – 5 hrs. A fantastic accompaniment for pork, beef or game. Serve straight from the dish. Even better if left to cool, refrigerated for 2 -3 days and then reheated.