Being an altruistic sort, little gives me more pleasure than to plug the wares of small producers but only if those products cut muster. Theres no point posting negative reviews about products Im sent: it just leaves a bad taste in everyones mouths.
On that basis, I tell producers Ill post if their products great. And I am very pleased to report that these Rapeseed Oil-based culinary delights from Farrington Mellow Yellow Oils are very good indeed.
The company is the labour of love of Duncan and Eli Farrington, based at Bottom Farm (snigger) in Northamptonshire. In fact, theyve got a family Open Day coming up in June, so check it out.
Ive cut and pasted some fast facts about rapeseed oil from their website, below, because theyre both fascinating and illuminating.
But this is essentially a cooking site, so now I will share with you a couple of supremely simple recipes using Farringtons Rapeseed Chilli Oil and their Rapeseed Mayonnaise (with a warm hint of Dijon mustard).
Rapeseed Chilli Oil Chicken
Serves 2
Half free-range chicken 100ml
Farringtons Rapeseed Chilli Oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
Farringtons Rapeseed Mayo Potato Salad
400g salad potatoes 3-4 spring onions, topped, tailed and sliced
2-3 tbsp Farringtons Mayonnaise
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to season
1. To make the chicken. Use a very sharp knife to make deep slashes in the chicken flesh to allow the chilli oil to get deep into the meat.
2. Put the chicken and the chilli oil in a freezer bag and marinate for a couple of hours, or in the fridge overnight.
3. When youre ready to cook, pre-heat the oven to 180C/Gas 4 and transfer the chicken to a roasting tin or baking tray. Cook the chicken for 50-60 mins until the juices run clear when you insert a skewer into the thicken part of the thigh. Remove and transfer to a warm plate to rest.
4. To make the potato salad, chop the potatoes into 2cm cubes. Cooked in boiling water for approx. 10 mins, until tender. Be careful not to overcook.
5. When the potatoes are cooked, drain and allow to rest for a few mins to allow the steam to evaporate, then while still warm, transfer to a bowl and mix in the mayo, spring onions and seasoning.
6. Serve the chicken and potato salad warm or cold, with baby plum tomatoes and a green leaves.
FARRINGTONS RAPESEED OIL FAST FACTS
1. A truly versatile all purpose culinary oil; cold pressed rapeseed oil contains the optimum ratio of 1:2 of omega 3 to omega 6, as well as being a natural source of vitamin E.
2. It has the lowest saturated fat content of any widely available culinary oil half that of olive oil!
3. Cold pressing is the traditional and natural way to produce oil. It is gently squeezed out of the seed at temperatures below 40C ensuring that the natural goodness and character of the oil is preserved.
4. The delicate, gentle flavour makes it an ideal partner for almost any food, great for drizzling or dipping.
5. Farringtons Mellow Yellow emulsifies beautifully making it perfect for dressings, mayonnaise, pesto and hummus; a healthy compliment to starters, salads and vegetables.
6. With a smoke point of 220C, cold pressed rapeseed oil is a wonderful high temperature cooking oil, making the most perfectly golden and crispy roast potatoes, and aromatic, nutty stir-fries.
7. A delicious and healthy substitute for butter and margarine, when you bake with this oil it produces deliciously moist and light cakes that feature a subtle nutty flavour. Its fabulous used in flapjacks and brownies. When substituting butter with our oil, add a little less, about 80% of the total weight required and make up the remainder with a liquid such as milk, rice milk or soya milk. This is to account for the milk part and the fat content of the butter. If substituting for margarine, the rapeseed oil content would need to be less, about 75% (with more milk) as there is a higher water content in margarine.
8. As we only use oil from the first pressing of our rapeseed it is the culinary equivalent to extra virgin, cold pressed olive oil.
9. There is no such thing as commercially grown GM rapeseed in Britain.
10. First cultivated in Britain by the Romans; rapeseed oil has been used throughout Europe since the 16th century.
And heres a bonus¦Why not try the mayo with steamed asparagus. Gorgeous!
