Events

Timber Festival 2022 

Slow Food talked about food and the climate at the Timber Festival on Saturday 2nd July. 2022. This is the second year we have been at Timber in the National Forest. Last year we discussed food and health while this year the theme was Food is the Solution. We often hear about the problems our food system creates for our rapidly warming planet so we explored how following the principles of Good, Clean and Fair can help.

You can find a special Slow Food membership offer available to celebrate Timber here. Be sure to sign up to our newsletter to keep up to date with all our news, events and special features.

Speakers

Dan Saladino best known for his part in the BBC Radio 4 Food Programme,  Dan talked about his award winning book Eating to Extinction – The World’s Rarest Foods and Why We Need To Save Them, and the role Slow Food international Ark of Taste is playing in preserving them.

Steve Guy aka “The Hungry Guy” ran two cooking demonstrations, one using food that is often wasted and the other about making vinegar and ferments. Steve’s recipe for Mexican street food, Piedrazo and Pineapple Vinegar are below. 

David the Bee Farmer – long time Slow Food supporter, David talked about the rise and fall of pollinators and how looking after honeybees can benefit the wider pollinator population. He also talked about how to spot fake honey, which is a global issue.

Recipes

Lavant inspired Marinade for Lamb or Mushrooms

To make the marinade:

Combine everything except the water lamb/mushrooms in a blender, taste and adjust if needed. Reserve a ⅓ to dress the finished dish.

Add the water to the remaining marinade to ensure a good coverage. 

Dice the lamb for quicker cooking or score the joint to allow the marinade to soak in. If using a whole shoulder – marinade for as long as possible.

If using mushrooms, slice or roughly chop mushrooms. And marinade only for 20 – 30 mins.

Lamb shoulder – Pressure cook for 90 minutes, or for 7 hours in a slow cooker or 4 hours in a covered casserole pot at 150C  – if meat is not falling apart, cook for another 30 minutes.

Diced Lamb – Pressure cook for 45 mins, or slow cook in an oven for 1 hour.

Remove the meat from the pan and set aside to rest. 

Mushrooms – saute in batches if you like firmer mushrooms, be careful not to burn the sugars in the marinade, or use a covered casserole in a slow oven for 40 mins.

Depending on how you are serving you may want to reduce the cooking liquor on a low heat to the consistency of a thick gravy. Or just drizzle the reserved marinade that has not touched the raw meat.

Serve with hummus and sauteed seasonal greens, with flatbread.

This is the base recipe, you can use any type of legume or dried pea, we recommend British grown Hodmedods  – once you master the basic concept you will never buy a tub of shop bought hummus again. Switch it up by adding roasted aubergine or peppers, even pureed beetroot. 

Aquafaba is the liquid from either a can of chickpeas or beans or the liquid they are cooked in at home. It’s a vegan substitute for eggs and egg white, with a wide spectrum of uses – emulsifying, foaming, binding, gelatinizing and thickening properties, but in this case it helps us cut down the amount of oil needed. 

Place all ingredients, start with ¼ cup of AquaFaba, in a food processor or blender and mix until smooth.  

Add some more AquaFaba if it is too dry.
Taste, and adjust to your palette.

Spoon into a bowl and dust with paprika/ Cumin/ cupped coriander.