Recipe: Honey & mustard glazed ham

Serves 8 - 10

7-8kg cooked and cured leg ham
Whole cloves

For the glaze:

180ml honey
100g brown sugar
50g Dijon mustard

1. Preheat oven to 200˚C (180˚fan), 390˚F, gas 6

2. Use fingers to carefully remove the skin from the ham and score a diamond-cross pattern across the fat, about 5mm deep.

3. Place the ham in a large baking dish, lined with 2 layers of non-stick baking paper.

4. Stud the centres of each diamond with a clove.

5. To make the glaze, combine all ingredients in a saucepan and heat over a low heat for 15 mins, or until the sugar has dissolved and mixture thickens.

6. Brush 1/3 of the glaze over the ham and bake for 35-45 minutes, brushing with extra glaze every 15 minutes, until golden and caramelised.

7. Remove from oven and allow to stand for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

This recipe was first published in The Simple Things Christmas 2013 issue - buy back issues here. 

Recipe: Wassail - Christmas spiced ale

Wassail, from Middle English wæs hæl, means ‘good health’. So, here’s a hearty festive drink to welcome in the season. 

If you don’t have a punchbowl and ladle, improvise with the largest vessel you can find and, if it’s less than elegant, simply wrap it in a white linen cloth or pretty tablecloth, decorate it with ivy and ribbons and serve the ale with a small jug. This is a dry drink that works well with Guinness or stout as well as ale.

Serves 8–12
Handful of sultanas
150ml marsala, sherry, brandy or rum
100ml ginger cordial or 125g caster sugar
Pinch of grated nutmeg, ginger and cinnamon
2 litres ale, porter, stout or other dark ale
Ice, optional
Punchbowl and cups or glasses

1 Put the sultanas in the punchbowl, add the measured marsala (or alternative), plus the cordial or sugar, and the spices. Leave to macerate.
2 When your guests arrive, add ice (if preferred) and the ale. Stir and serve in the cups.

Plenty more festive ideas for gifts, food and fun in December's issue of The Simple Things - buy, download or subscribe now.

Recipes and images taken from Artisan Drinks by Lindy Wildsmith, photography by Kevin Summers (Jacqui Small, £25) 

Recipe: Stollen with dark rum and lemon marzipan

Stollen is the German Christmas cake. Dip it in coffee or eat with a piece of Hafod cheese.

The original German Christmas cake was from Dresden. It was a moist heavy bread filled with fruit, and the first recorded mention of it was in 1474. This official stollen is produced by only 150 bakers in the city, is still sold at the local Christmas market and has a special seal. All very interesting, but we bet it doesn’t taste any better than this one.

Stollen with dark rum and lemon marzipan

50g dark rum
75g raisins
75g sour cherries or cranberries 

Vanilla butter:

100g butter
Seeds of 1 vanilla pod (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)

Marzipan (or buy ready-made): 

100g ground almonds
35g icing sugar
10ml lemon juice
15ml dark rum
Seeds of 1 vanilla pod (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
1 large egg

Cake:

50g milk (room temperature)
250g strong white flour
5g quick yeast (7g fresh yeast)
25g caster sugar
5g fine sea salt
2 large eggs (room temperature) 
Chopped zest of 2 oranges and
2 lemons
5g ground spice – 50/50 cardamom/ cinnamon
100g butter, diced
Icing sugar to finish

1. Warm the rum and mix it with the dried fruit, cover and leave at room temp for 24 hours. To make vanilla butter, melt 100g butter and sprinkle with vanilla pod seeds; leave to infuse. 
2. The next day, make marzipan. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl, cover tightly and place in the fridge.
3. Warm the milk, add 25g of the flour and all the yeast. Mix well with fingers and cover tightly. Leave for 45 mins.
4. Add the rest of the flour, sugar, salt and eggs and mix it with the foaming yeast. When all flour is incorporated, turn dough onto the table and knead for 4 mins, cover tightly and rest for 30 mins.
5. Uncover dough and press out into an oblong. Put zest and spice on top of the dough, along with the butter. With your fingers, massage it all together. It’s very loose at this stage – almost a batter. Massage until the dough becomes a consistent colour. Scrape together into a ball, cover well and leave to rest for 30 mins. Use a very small amount of flour on your hands and work surface while shaping if you need to.
6. Add soaked fruit and massage into dough to combine. Sprinkle some flour on the table, scrape up dough, place on the flour and top with another sprinkling of flour. Stretch dough to create four corners and fold them in on themselves. 7 Turn dough over, bottom side up, shape into a ball and put back in the bowl. Cover tightly and leave for 2.5 hours.
8. Scrape dough out onto a well floured surface. Halve dough and gently press down to create 2 oblongs, arranged with one of the longer sides towards you.
9. Divide marzipan into 2 and roll each half into a sausage shape. Place each in the middle of a dough oblong, leaving a 2cm gap at either end. Fold the side nearest you over the top of the marzipan and tuck in on the far side. Then fold the side farthest away over the top of the marzipan and gently press the seam in. Make sure the seam is totally sealed by pinching with your fingers if necessary. 
10. Lift stollen carefully onto a baking tray covered with baking parchment. Bend it slightly so you’re left with a semi circular shape. Leave for 90 mins.
11. Preheat oven to 200C/Fan 180C/400F. Bake stollen for 25–28 mins, then remove from oven and leave to cool on tray for 30 mins.
12. Melt vanilla butter and pour evenly over the stollen. This will help to lock the moisture in when it cools down. Leave the stollen on the tray for 1 hour.
13. Cover stollen all over with a thick layer of icing sugar. Ideally place the stollen in a tin and leave until the next day to eat so the flavour can develop.

The stollen should last two weeks kept in a tin.

Turn to page 24 of December's The Simple Things for our baker, Alex Gooch's other Christmas recipes, including potato and onion bread with pickled chilli and Hafod cheese, and toasted hazelnut, apple and prune loaf. 

Buy, download or subscribe now.

Recipe: Chicken and quince tagine

Pumpkins are plump, orchard fruit is ripe. Lia Leendertz knows just what to do with quince and medlar.

‘I first came across the idea of using quince as the fruity element in a tagine in Mark Diacono’s River Cottage Handbook: Veg Patch, and it seemed just right. Quinces originate in the Middle East and sit happily in a tagine. I’ve used chicken, flavoured with saffron, ginger and cinnamon.’ Lia Leendertz

Serves 4
8 chicken thighs
3 tbsp olive oil
3 red onions, sliced lengthways 
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 small winter squash (I used uchiki kuri)
2 red peppers
5 dried apricots, chopped 
Small bunch coriander
Small bunch parsley
2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp saffron, in warm water
1 cinnamon stick
4 tbsp black olives
2 tbsp honey
1 preserved lemon
2 quinces
Juice of 1 lemon

1. Brown the chicken thighs all over then set aside. Take a large, heavy dish with a well-fitting lid and add the oil, red onions and garlic. Place over a low heat. Chop and add the other vegetables and the apricots.
2. Finely chop the herbs and sprinkle over, reserving half of the coriander. Add spices, olives and honey. Remove and discard the pith from the preserved lemon, finely chop the rind and add to the pot.
3. Arrange the browned chicken on the top of the vegetables, add 175ml water and set over the heat. Bring up to a simmer, cover with the lid and turn down to the lowest possible heat. Simmer for 45 mins.
4. In the meantime peel and quarter the quinces; drop into a pan of boiling water, with the lemon juice, and simmer gently for 30 mins. Drain and, when slightly cool, remove the cores and slice each quarter in two. Add to the tagine for final 10 mins of cooking. Sprinkle over the reserved chopped coriander before serving.

Turn to page 44 of November's The Simple Things for the full menu, which includes Khobz (Moroccan bread), a quince & medlar cheeseboard,  buttery baked medlars, spiced pickled quince, and quince brandy. Buy or download your copy now.

Recipe: Proper custard

Top your pie or crumble with this delicately f lavoured custard made with your own fair hands, from Vanilla by Janet Sawyer.

Serves 4–6

100g golden caster sugar
1 tsp cornflour
250ml whole milk
125ml clotted or double cream
4 egg yolks, beaten
1⁄2–1 tsp vanilla paste (or seeds of 1⁄2–1 vanilla pod)

1. Mix the sugar and cornflour in a bowl. Whisk in the milk.
2. In a heavy-bottomed pan, heat the cream gently, adding the milk mixture a little at a time. Slowly bring to the boil, stirring constantly, and reduce heat when it starts to thicken.
3. Pour a little of the hot milk mixture onto the egg yolks, stirring well, then gradually stir this back into the remaining milk in the pan.
4. Gently bring the mixture back to the boil and stir in the vanilla paste or seeds. Serve the custard immediately, or cover with cling film to stop a skin forming, and reheat gently when needed.

Variations: To pimp your custard, add the finely grated zest of half an orange, a pinch of saffron or a tbsp of toasted flaked almonds. 

Recipe: Buttered bourbon apple cider

Make two batches of our November cover recipe – one boozy, one kid- and driver-friendly – for a warming autumn treat.

Getting together with friends and family happens so easily in summer – good weather and that holiday feeling being the natural allies of socialising. Yet there’s plenty to celebrate come bonfire season: autumn’s fiery canopy, the crisp, cold air and fast-falling dusk lend themselves to gathering outdoors, wrapping up, wellies donned, and feasting around the fire. We’ll raise a glass of mulled cider to that.

Recipe: Buttered bourbon apple cider

Serves 6–8

500ml apple cider*
100ml apple juice
1 tbsp light brown sugar
Cinnamon sticks (one, plus some to use as stirrers)
Cloves
Star anise
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of ginger
Sliced fresh fruit (orange, apple)
3 tbsp unsalted butter
150ml bourbon

1. In a large pot add the cider, apple juice and sugar; heat until it starts to simmer.

2. Add all other ingredients except for the butter and bourbon.

3. Let the spiced cider simmer for 10 mins, then add the butter and bourbon, stirring gently until the butter has melted.

4. Remove from the heat, pour into glasses, add a cinnamon stick to each glass and serve. You can strain the mixture before pouring, if you don’t want ‘bits’.

* To make a children’s version, replace the bourbon and cider with apple juice (600ml in total).

Salted caramel toffee apples

Possibly the best Bonfire Night recipe ever. Salted caramel toffee apples. Sticky, sugary heaven for children – and a salt-laced caramel treat for grown-ups.

You can make them to eat there and then or they’ll keep in the fridge in cellophane for 2-3 days, ready for your weekend bonfire gathering.

Makes 10

10 apples (Granny Smiths work well)

Toffee apple sticks*

300g light brown sugar

3 tbsp maple syrup

6 tbsp golden syrup

220g butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 heaped tsp flaked salt

Note: Unlike traditional toffee apples, getting a caramel sauce to stick to the apples is a little more tricky. You need a sugar thermometer and to work really quickly when dipping the apples. It may require a little more effort but the result is worth it!

1. Wash apples, dry thoroughly, remove the stalks and replace with sticks. Place the apples in the fridge (washing and chilling helps the sauce to stick).
2. Line a baking tray with parchment. Into a large pan, add the sugar, maple syrup, golden syrup, butter and vanilla, and stir over a medium heat until the sugar has dissolved – around 15 mins.
3. Add the thermometer, increase the heat, bringing the mixture to a rolling boil, stirring slowly but constantly until the temperature reaches 113 C/236 F (around 10 mins).
4. Carefully pour the caramel into a glass bowl, stir in the salt. Add the thermometer and allow the caramel to cool to 99C/210F (this should take around 10–15 mins).
5. Have your apples and baking tray ready and, working really quickly, submerge each apple into the caramel, twist, ensuring all but the top is covered and place on your baking tray.
6. Continue til all the apples are done. You can then go back and tidy up the bottom of each apple: either press into shape or scrape off excess caramel if you so wish.
7. If the temperature cools too much the caramel will slide straight off, so you may need to reheat and recool the remaining caramel to finish coating your fruit.
8. Allow the coated apples to set (2–3 hours) before placing in cellophane bags; store in the fridge.

* Toffee apple sticks are a seasonal supermarket buy, or surf for confectionery or lolly sticks; skewers work, too.

If you want more bonfire party inspired recipes, we’ve got pumpkin soup, vegetable skewers, chicken & chorizo jambalaya and buttered bourbon apple cider in the November issue. On sale in newsagents now or you can buy a print copy here and download the digital version here.

Two ways: the jam tart

November's The Simple Things features Alice's favourite bake - the jam tart. Want two more ways to make them? Try these alternative methods fit for a Queen (of Hearts).

The Lattice jam tart

This effect is achieved by criss-crossing strips of pastry over a tart filling. These strips can be plain or decorative, laid flat or twisted, or even woven. Use cloves to anchor the pastry strips together where they overlap. Neaten the edges of the tart by laying a pastry rim over the ends of the strips. Brush the pastry with milk syrup and bake.

Slits Tart

Cut a covering strip of pastry for neatening the edge of the tart; set aside. Roll an oval the width of your pie plate, using the remaining scraps. Cut lengthways down the middle then cut a slit lengthways down the middle of each half. Pull the pastry apart to create the shape of a capital D. Moisten the pastry with water and then lay both D-shaped pieces of pastry back to back, with a small space in-between. Your tart should divide into 5 crescents. Glaze and bake blind. Fill each section with a preserve of a different colour.

From Great British Bakes by Mary-Anne Boermans (Square Peg)

Image: Pinterest

Recipe: Garibaldi biscuits

Lia Leendertz, our regular Seed to Stove columnist, remembers forgotten foods in the November issue of The Simple Things. Here, she shares her delight in the Garibaldi biscuit, plus a tried and tested recipe. “The garibaldi is one of the oldest biscuits on the block, and is mentioned in Mrs Beeton’s original ‘Book of Household Management’ in 1861. It has stood the test of time, and I thought it might make a lovely fruity addition to the savoury biscuits on my cheese board. I was right.”

Garibaldi biscuits

110g self-raising flour Pinch of salt 25g spreadable butter 25g golden caster sugar 2 tablespoons milk 50g currants A little egg white, lightly beaten A little granulated sugar

A large baking sheet, with a non-stick liner

1. Put the flour, salt and butter into a mixing bowl and rub to the fine crumb stage. 2. Then add the sugar and after that enough milk to mix to a firm dough that will leave the bowl clean. 3. After that transfer it to a lightly floured surface and roll it out to a rectangle 20cm by 30cm. 4. Now sprinkle the currants over half the surface and then fold the other half on top and roll everything again so you end up with a rectangle 20cm by 30cm. 5. Then trim it neatly using a sharp long-bladed knife, so you end up with a shape about 18cm by 28cm. 6. Cut this into 24 fingers approximately 3cm by 7cm. 7. Now place the biscuits on the baking sheet, brush with a little egg white and sprinkle with granulated sugar. 8. Bake near the centre of the oven for 12–15 minutes, then cool on a wire tray and store in an airtight tin.

Recipe from Delia's Cakes by Delia Smith.

Image: Pinterest

Cake in the house: Sticky toffee loaf

Gooey, gingery and cockle-warming, this sticky toffee loaf is comfort on a plate.

Sticky toffee ginger loaf

Serves 6–8

200g pitted dates, halved 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 75g unsalted butter, softened 115g soft brown sugar 2 tsp ground ginger 3 eggs 80g (about 4 balls) stem ginger, finely chopped 225g self-raising flour, sifted

For the caramel glaze: 110g caster sugar 40g butter 225ml single cream

1. Line a 900g loaf tin with baking parchment and grease it. Preheat oven to 180C/Fan 160C/350F.

2. Put dates and bicarbonate of soda in a large mixing bowl, cover with 330ml boiling water, stir and set aside for at least 20 mins.

3. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar until thick and pale. Add the ground ginger, then the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

4. Stir in the soaked date mixture, the stem ginger and flour and mix until well combined – the mixture should be quite loose. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 50-60 mins until a skewer comes out clean.

5. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in the tin for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

6. To make the glaze, choose a pan large enough to ensure the sugar is no more than 2mm thick over the base, otherwise the heat won’t distribute evenly through the sugar. Set the pan over a gentle heat and add the sugar and 1 tsp water. Shake the pan rather than stir it with a spoon to avoid the sugar hardening before it liquifies – this will take around 15 mins and you want a deep, golden caramel. Remove from the heat and whisk in the butter until melted and well combined.

7. Heat cream in a separate pan over a gentle heat, then whisk it into the caramel until smooth and glossy. Set aside to cool and firm up slightly so that it has a good spreading consistency. Spread over the cooled cake and serve.

Recipe taken from Café Kitchen by Shelagh Ryan (Ryland Peters & Small, £17)

Recipe: Tangerine and nutmeg hot chocolate

There is a spectrum of hot chocolates. At one end, the instant and saccharine; at the other, chunks of the real deal – melted and laced. This warming number sits at the luxurious end, with hints of citrus and aromatic nutmeg lifting it onto an altogether cosy, autumnal plane.

Tangerine and nutmeg hot chocolate

Makes one small cup 20g plain chocolate (at least 70% cocoa) 1 piece dried tangerine or orange peel 100ml cold water 1–2 tsp icing sugar, according to taste and quality of chocolate

To serve: 1–2 tsp double cream Extra nutmeg

You will need: Nutmeg grater Small skewer or cocktail stick

1. Put the chocolate and tangerine peel in a non-stick pan. Add the water and gently bring to simmering point on a low heat, stirring to melt the chocolate. 2. Add sugar to taste, simmer and stir for 5–10 mins until the mixture just begins to thicken. 3. Remove the peel and pour into a small cup or tea bowl and float cream on the top, swirling or marbling using a cocktail stick or small skewer. Serve sprinkled with a grating of nutmeg.

Tip: For a comforting bedtime treat, add 100ml milk to the pan and, once the chocolate has thickened and heated through, pour into a mug to take to bed.

Variation: Try adding a 1cm piece of vanilla pod and a pinch of ground cinnamon or chilli in place of the tangerine and nutmeg.

Hot chocolate recipe from Artisan Drinks by Lindy Wildsmith (Jacqui Small, £25)

Three new baking bibles

In celebration of National Baking Week (13-19 October) – in case you needed an excuse - here are three new baking bibles…

Great British Bakes by Mary-Anne Boermans (Square Peg, £20) A collection of ‘forgotten treasures for modern bakers’ from a previous Bake Off finalist. Find yourself back in Granny’s kitchen with Chelsea buns, King and Queen cakes and Bakewell pudding in wonderful variations and designs.

Making Bread Together by Emmanuel Hadjiandreou (Ryland, Peters & Small, £17) Grab a little helper or two and knead, sprinkle, twist and plait your (play) dough together while discovering all the joys of bonding over baking.

Pâtisserie Made Simple by Edd Kimber (Kyle Books, £20) The book that makes all those things you thought you couldn’t possibly create (tarts, choux pastry, macaroons…) seem easy. For the home cook, there’s minimal equipment, ingredients and fuss.

Want more cookbooks? This month, Team Simple Things digs out our most-thumbed volumes and the memories they hold.  Turn to page 74 of October's The Simple Things for a look at what makes a cookbook great.

Buy or download your copy now.

Want, knead, love: Real, down-to-earth bread baking

There's something about bread that is so fundamental, so magical, so right. Our passionate baker boy, Alex Gooch, is here to pass on his bread baking knowhow.

Meet Alex Gooch, our new baker boy, in the first of his new series about baking bread.

“Good bread takes patience, passion and instinct. Making it brings you into the moment completely. It stimulates all of the senses, whether it be the feel of the dough, the sweet smell of the baking bread, or the crackle as you squeeze a ciabatta. “When I was growing up, my brothers and I ate toast, toast and more toast! And that was about as close to bread as I got until I started as a kitchen porter when I was doing my A levels. “I loved the camaraderie of the kitchen and felt at home there. They offered to train me, so I ditched the idea of college and settled into the chef’s life of long hours and a surrogate family of fellow foodies. “I liked baking bread and worked at a few Italians where I mastered focaccia pretty well and at hotels I made plenty of pastry and croissants. But it was while at Penrhos Court in Herefordshire that I started experimenting, encouraged by chef Daphne lambert (who I named my first sourdough starter after). In 2007 she let me take over one of the kitchens at night and this was my first bakery. I began selling bread and jams at farmers’ markets and food festivals, then the following year I opened my bakery called Alex Gooch Artisan Baker in Hay-on-Wye. “There are so many possibilities with bread: rye sourdough, mixed grain, ciabatta, brioche but one of the things that keeps me excited and inspired is following the seasons, and letting them dictate the bread I make. It turns out that pink fir apple potatoes make the most scrumptious potato and onion bread, and the magical cep makes a mind-blowing garlic and cep foccacia with herb oil. “Baking is a hard job – pulling all-nighters and the need to step up a gear when things are busy. But baking at home is different: one of the reasons I think it is now so popular is because the results are so rewarding. The process is so enjoyable, too. It is very natural; you can listen to the radio or chill out for a while – bread is at its best when it is left to rest a lot.”

Turn to page 49 of October's The Simple Things for Alex's seasonal bread bakes, including Black garlic flatbread with sesame, nigella and a kale, miso dressing; Roast pumpkin and apple rolls; and Plum and ginger bread with a cider and honey glaze.

Buy or download your copy now.

Alex Gooch supplies restaurants, hotels, delis, functions and events and sells at markets in different towns four days a week. He also runs bread-making courses: www.alexgoochbaker.com. Tweet Alex @alexgoochbaker to let him know how your bread bakes.

Recipe: Vibrant autumn coleslaw

No need to wait till next summer with this vibrant autumn salad from The Natural Cook by Tom Hunt.

This slaw is a great way to ‘eat the rainbow’ – colourful veg contain a range vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to ward off winter bugs.

Vibrant autumn coleslaw

Serves 4

200g carrots 1 small beetroot 3 beet tops or kale leaves, shredded 2 tbsp sunflower seeds 2 tbsp pumpkin seeds Juice of 1 lemon Small bunch of parsley, roughly chopped 150g blackberries Extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp sesame seeds

1. Grate the carrots coarsely, dress with a splash of extra virgin olive oil, a little lemon juice and salt and pepper. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan until they brown slightly. mix with the carrots.

2. Grate the beetroot and add it to the dish, but don’t mix the salad until you’re ready to eat, so the colours stay separate.

3. Add all of the remaining ingredients and season the mix to taste. Toss gently with a glug of the oil to coat, then serve.

Seasonal twist

Play around with different ingredients as the seasons change. As winter arrives, substitute the blackberries for dried fruits and grate in whatever raw root vegetables you have handy, from kohlrabi to celeriac.

Storage

The salad will keep for three days in a sealed container in the fridge, but is best eaten straight away.

Recipe from The Natural Cook by Tom Hunt.

Buy or download October's The Simple Things now.

Recipes: Garlic

Spicy or smoked, raw or roasted, garlic comes in many guises and varieties to make your dishes sing. Try these three garlic recipes.

Is there a more amazing a plant than garlic? Venerated by the Egyptians, eaten by the first Olympians before competitions and worn as buttonholes by Palestinian grooms to guarantee potency on their wedding night, it has been credited with medicinal, aphrodisiacal and magical powers. Ulysses apparently used it to escape from the clutches of Circe the witch, while King Tut took enough into his tomb to last him for all eternity.

In September's issue of The Simple Things, we meet Mark Botwright, who owns South West Garlic Farm in Dorset and believes “there is nothing more beautiful than a field of garlic.”

Three garlic recipes

In celebration of the stinking rose, we've hunted high and low for three top garlic recipes that really bring out the best of allium sativum.

Fancy a fragrant garlicky mayonnaise? Try aioli - perfect with prawns in this recipe.

Ottolenghi's legendary caramelised garlic tart recipe brings out the sweetness without the stink.

But if it's vampires you want to avoid, go for Alice Hart's very garlicky roast chicken - the epitome of garlic recipes.

Turn to page 47 of September's The Simple Things for the full garlic feature. Buy or download now.

Recipe: Chocolate rum and raisin fudge

There’s something satisfying about making fudge. This chocolate rum and raisin fudge recipe from Will Torrent’s Chocolate at Home is a great place to start.

Chocolate rum and raisin fudge

Makes about 40 pieces

100g raisins 50ml dark or spiced rum 1⁄2 vanilla pod, split 500g caster sugar 170g evaporated milk 170ml whole milk 50g unsalted butter 125g dark chocolate (70%), chopped 1 tbsp cocoa powder, sifted

You will need: 18–20cm square pan, lined with baking parchment

1. Tip the raisins, rum and split vanilla pod into a small saucepan set over a low heat. Gently warm but do not allow rum to boil. Stir well, remove from the heat and set aside until the mixture is cold and the raisins have absorbed all of the vanilla-scented rum.

2. Place the sugar into a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan (at least 2 1/2 litre capacity). Add the evaporated milk, whole milk, butter and salt. Simmer over a medium heat and stir gently to dissolve the sugar.

3. Put a sugar thermometer into the pan and bring the mixture to the boil, reduce the heat and continue to cook, without stirring, at a low, steady boil until the mixture reaches 114C (230F). Add the remaining rum and immediately remove the pan from the heat. Set aside for a few mins until the bubbling subsides.

4. Tip the chopped chocolate and sifted cocoa powder into a large mixing bowl and pour over the hot fudge. Stir gently until the chocolate has melted, the mixture combined; leave to cool for 10 minutes.

5. Using a wooden spoon, beat the fudge until it thickens, cools and becomes slightly grainy. Add the rum-soaked raisins and mix thoroughly. Pour the fudge into the prepared baking pan and level using a palette knife. Set in a cool, dark place for 3–4 hours, or overnight, until firm.

6. Once firm, cut the fudge into small squares before serving or store in an airtight container for up to one week – you’ll be lucky if it lasts that long!

Recipe from Will Torrent’s Chocolate at Home (£20, Ryland Peters and Small).

Want more homemade sweets? Try these recipes.

For the rest of our Could Do list, turn to page 17 of September’s The Simple Things. Buy or download now.

Fruits of the hedgerow

Go foraging this month and find out what you can make with the fruits of the hedgerow.

More than mere borders, our hedgerows host amazing biodiversity. Here's a little of what they hold.

Turn to page 127 of September's The Simple Things for a guide to hedgerow berries, and try these ideas for using them in the kitchen.

Rosehip

Jekyll and Hyde of a species. Rich in vitamin C, delicious in wine and jam. Just avoid the fine hairs - a key ingredient in itching powder.

Try: Rosehip syrup

Damson

Higher in sugars than its kin in the plum family, and the go-to ingredient for a flavoursome home-pimped vodka. Peak harvest time is right about now.

Try: Damson cheese

Rowan

Too sharp in taste to enjoy solo, but a piquant addition to many a conserve. Try with roast meat. Note to bee lovers: its scent is catnip to pollinators.

Try: Rowan and rosemary jelly

Hawthorn

Staple hedging material. Fruit good for syrups, magnificent for brandy. Beware pedants insisting that, botanically, they're not berries, but pomes.

Try: Hawthorn berry ketchup

Sloe

A foraging favourite, the fruit of the blackthorn tree is among the last around before winter. Pick from now until early November, bottle with gin and sugar.

Try: Salted sloes

For the rest of our Fruits of the Hedgerow identifier, turn to page 127 of September's The Simple Things. Buy or download now.

Recipe: Shakshuka

Shakshuka: Tom Hunt's Middle Eastern breakfast, taken from The Natural Cook.

A breakfast of substance - for traditional Brits, at least - involves quite a bit of frying. How lovely, then, that this Middle Eastern-hailing dish poaches its eggs. In spiced passata, no less.

"We serve this in huge pans from my festival cafe," says Tom Hunt, "with hundreds of eggs poaching in the rich tomato sauce."

We'll take four, please.

Shakshuka

Serves 2

For the passata:

600g ripe tomatoes
2 basil leaves

For the shakshuka:

1 red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp sweet paprika
Glug of light olive oil
1 mild green chilli, sliced (optional)
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
4 eggs
3 sprigs of parsley or coriander, roughly chopped

1. To make the passata, wash the tomatoes, then blend to a fine pulp in a food processor. Gently simmer in a wide saucepan for 15-30 minutes, until they have reduced to a thick sauce. Taste them as they reduce, decide when you have reached your desired consistency and flavour, then stop cooking.

2. To store passata, line a sterilised jar with basil, pour in hot passata and seal.

3. Gently fry the onion with the cumin and paprika in the light olive oil, adding a pinch of salt and half the chilli for ten minutes until soft. Add the garlic and fry for a further five minutes.

4. Add 300g passata and simmer for 10 minutes. If the sauce becomes too dry, add a little water.

5. When you're ready to eat, make four hollows in the sauce and crack in the eggs. Cover with a lid and simmer for five minutes for soft yolks, ten minutes for hard. Serve, sprinkled with the herbs and a little pepper, on your favourite toast. Sprinkle with the rest of the chilli.

Taken from the book The Natural Cook by Tom Hunt.

Organic September

Make one small change this month with Organic September.

That's the theme of Organic September: whether it's trying out an organic veg delivery box or swapping your usual face cream or chocolate bar for an organic product, every little helps to make a difference.

Here are ten ideas to make it easy to go organic:

Eat at least one piece of organic fruit each day Switch one beauty product such as shampoo Sign up for an organic veg box Join the Soil Association Have an organic cake bake off at work Buy organic tea & coffee Plant organic bee-friendly seeds Take part in #organicbeauty weekend Buy an organic pair of jeans Throw an organic dinner party

Find out more by visiting the Soil Association's Small Change Big Difference website.

Autumn fruit jam recipes

Go foraging for fruit and get jamming with some autumn preserve and jam recipes. Make the most of all the blackberries, plums and damsons this month. Stew with a bit of sugar and serve cool with cream on late summer days when you want to be outdoors, or pass a rainy afternoon happily in the kitchen making jars of homemade jam or jelly.

Jam recipes

How about trying one of these jam recipes for rosewater plum compote, bramble jelly, damson jam, or plum and Earl Grey jam?

For more ideas on our September 'could-do' list, turn to page 17 of The Simple Things. Not got your copy? Buy or download now.