Gloucestershire food with Rob Rees June 2011

From picking fresh cherries and making elderflower cordial to stuffing courgette flowers, Gloucestershire is a great place to enjoy June’s fresh summer harvest, according to the Cotswold Chef Rob Rees.

Can you believe we are nearly at the longest day of the year – where do all the seasons go? But as fast as time flies, I have to say that June is my favourite month – simply because the harvest at this time of year is truly sensational, and Gloucestershire has to be one the best places on the planet to enjoy this fresh foodie month.

Let’s start with one of the countryside’s most delicate of wild harvest products – elderflower. According to the National Trust, the Elder Tree was once believed to have mystical powers and thought to ward off witches and evil forces. But, today it is better known for the delicious wines and cordials that can be made from its fruit and flowers.

And the time is just right for harvesting elderflowers for cordial making right now. While there is an abundance of simple recipes online, most combine sugar, citric acid and a good old soak for 24 hours before storing in sterilised bottles. Then you are ready to mix with lemonade, spring water, gin or vodka, or perhaps drizzle onto ice creams and fool desserts.

Globe artichokes are also starting to flourish in June. These are related to the thistle and have a huge edible bud, but be careful on eating some of the older ones as the ‘choke’, the inside furry bits, are not pleasant at all.

The simplest way to prepare an artichoke is to steam the bud until tender, before melting some unsalted butter and adding finely chopped tarragon and garlic, and stirring into the butter to infuse. Pour the butter mixture all over the artichoke and indulge in the delicate leaves one by one. Artichokes are full of anti-oxidants and believe it or not can even be made into tea and alcohol!

Talking of leaves, another June product will be courgette flowers. If like me you plant lots of extra courgette plants you will enjoy harvesting the flowers sometimes more than the final courgette. These bright yellow flowers can be stuffed with minced lamb, spices and baked in a moderate oven or perhaps used as a starter by shallow frying in local rape seed oil after dipping into a tempura batter. Serve the finish product with a drizzle of Gloucestershire honey and some home grown land cress.

Courgettes themselves are very versatile and can be tender and full of flavour and if you harvest the small and unblemished ones. Courgette soup, cakes and muffins are all amongst the favourites and steamed ribbons of courgette with saffron, red onion, Cajun spice and rosemary is a delicious accompaniment to grilled shoulder of lamb at this time of year.

If we are very lucky then June may also bring the first harvest of cherries. I just adore cherries. You need to buy a special stoner gadget and get to work taking out all the pips, then it’s time to get cooking with them. Simmer the cherries gently in a dry pan with a sprinkle of caster sugar until they just start to crack open a little. Next add a dash of cassis, the insides of a fresh vanilla pod, a teaspoon of honey and some freshly chopped mint. Stir all the ingredients together for no longer than a minute on a gentle heat and then serve with some local vanilla ice cream… pure heaven.

The June list could go on and on with gooseberries, spring onions and salads to name but a few. And don’t forget that it’s Fathers Day on Sunday 19 June 2011 and so many of Gloucestershire’s great pubs and restaurants will be putting on special Sunday roasts for the man of the house. For me a great Sunday will be enjoying a huge bowl of freshly picked English strawberries with some Cotteswold Dairy Double Cream, sprinkled with delicate lavender flowers – all washed down with a glass of bubbles, of course.

See you again in July for more sizzling summer highlights from the Gloucestershire larder.

Rob Rees
14 June 2011