< Previous50 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY FOOD & DINING Summer July has come and gone but there’s still summer in the air. Try some of these delicious treats that can be cooked at home – or if you’re feeling a little lazy in the hot weather – one of our featured restaurants can take the hassle out. TOMATO, MOZZARELLA & BASIL PUFF PASTRY TART Serves: 4 Preparation time: 15 minutes Cooking time: 12-15 minutes You’ll need: 500g mixed Speciality Isle of Wight Tomatoes 1 x 320-350g sheet ready-rolled all-butter puff pastry 1 medium egg, beaten 25g finely grated Parmesan cheese, vegetarian if preferred 1 buffalo mozzarella cheese, drained then torn into small pieces 2 tbsp olive oil 1 garlic clove, crushed A small handful small, fresh basil leaves Sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper What to do: Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan200°C/Gas 7. Line a large baking sheet with non-stick baking paper. Thinly slice the tomatoes. Lay them flat on kitchen paper or a clean tea towel, sprinkle with salt and pepper and leave to drain. Unroll the pastry onto the baking paper and brush all over with the beaten egg. Fold over 1cm of each edge to form a rim and pinch at the corners to seal. Prick the base here and there with a fork then sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese. Bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes until puffed up and golden brown. Remove the tart base from the oven and sprinkle the base with half of the mozzarella cheese. Overlap the tomatoes slices on top. Mix the olive oil with the garlic, drizzle it over the tomatoes and then scatter over the remaining mozzarella cheese. Return the tart to the oven and bake for 5-7 minutes until the mozzarella has just melted and the tomatoes heave heated through. Remove from the oven, scatter over the basil leaves and serve immediately. Recipe courtesy of: www.thetomatostall.co.uk Scrumptious 50-53.qxp_Layout 1 19/07/2019 10:25 Page 1LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 51 FOOD & DINING Serves: 4 Preparation time: 5 minutes Cooking time: 30 minutes You’ll need: 400g Chantenay carrots, scrubbed (leave whole if small; quarter lengthwise if large) 2 tbsp olive oil 1⁄ 2 tsp Dijon mustard 1 tsp runny honey 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 2 large handfuls of salad leaves, including some rocket 4-6 slices prosciutto ham Shavings of Parmesan cheese Salt and pepper What to do: Preheat the oven to 220˚C/Gas Mark 7. Toss the prepared Chantenay in 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, along with a little salt and pepper, transfer to a roasting tin and cook in the oven for 20-30 minutes, turning once, until cooked through. While the carrots are roasting, prepare the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, mix together the mustard, honey and lemon juice. Whisk in 1 tablespoon of olive oil and set aside. When the Chantenay are cooked, remove them from the oven. Set aside and leave to cool. When you are ready to serve the salad, toss the salad leaves and Chantenay in the prepared vinaigrette, along with a little salt and pepper, and arrange in a serving dish. Top with some torn slices of prosciutto and shavings of Parmesan cheese. Recipe provided by: www.chantenay.com CHANTENAY PROSCIUTTO AND ROCKET SALAD Deliciously Deliciously Lincolnshire Platinum Awarded for outstanding quality and service by award WWW.LINCOLNSHIRETODAY.NET Award-winning family pub Swineshead Road, Boston, PE21 7JE Tel: 01205 361323 Email: wayne.salmon@btconnect.com www.hammerandpincers-boston.co.uk Hammer & Pincers is a family pub based in Swineshead Road, Boston. We serve an exclusive range of food and drink in a welcoming atmosphere. Sit back and relax with a pint of one of our fine cask ales or sample our range of premium lagers, wines and gins. We also have poker nights, team pool and darts nights in addition to showing all live Premier League football. Give us a call for further details. Hammer & Pincers is your first choice for freshly home-cooked food coupled with an extensive range of premium drinks 50-53.qxp_Layout 1 19/07/2019 10:25 Page 252 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY FOOD & DINING Picture your venue This super simple shallot satay sauce is the perfect go-to dip for chicken skewers, vegetable tempura or as a dressing for noodles. We use tikka masala paste, but any ready-made curry paste would work just as well. Serves: 8 as a dip Preparation time: 2 minutes Cooking time: 12 minutes You’ll need: 2 tsp sesame oil 3 shallots, roughly chopped 1 tbsp curry paste 3 tbsp smooth peanut butter 160g coconut cream Juice of a lime SIMPLE SHALLOT SATAY SAUCE What to do: Heat the oil in a small pan and gently cook the shallots for 3-5 minutes until they start to soften. Stir in the curry paste then the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a simmer and cook for 5-8 minutes until the sauce has thickened then whizz with a hand blender until smooth. Use as a dip for chicken skewers, vegetable tempura or as a dressing for noodles Note: We used Tikka Masala paste, use whatever paste is your favourite Recipe courtesy of: www.ukshallot.com To promote your services call Angie Cooper on 01472 310302 or email: a.cooper@blmgroup.co.uk The George Hotel 1 Boston Road, Spilsby, PE23 5HB Tel: 01790 752528 Web: www.spilsby.info/georgehotel The George Hotel guarantees a warm welcome and the perfect pub environment. Karaoke is on every Saturday night, and with live music held once a month and a large function room (available free of charge for parties), the George Hotel is the perfect venue for entertaining. The accommodation boasts eight letting bedrooms with TV, tea and coffee making facilities and free Wi-Fi. The China Royal Restaurant 6 Bridge Streets, Brigg, DN20 8LN Tel: 01652 650688 (reservations)/654762 (takeaway) Web: www.chinaroyal.co.uk The intimate, warm surroundings of the China Royal are ideal for the most romantic dinner or the largest banquet. Serving the best in Chinese cuisine, it has five stars on the doors, and is open throughout all Bank Holidays. Click’em Inn Swinhope, Nr Binbrook, Market Rasen, LN8 6BS Tel: 01472 398253 Web: www.clickem-inn.co.uk The Click’em Inn is a family-owned freehouse, established for over 30 years in its current incarnation. Steeped in history, the inn is open seven days a week, offering a wide choice of drinks, including six real ales available at any time, with a regularly changing selection of personally recommended guest ales. The kitchen is open all week for evening dining, plus lunchtimes on certain days of the week. The menu varies from day-to-day with the chef’s specials, alongside regular meals. 50-53.qxp_Layout 1 19/07/2019 10:26 Page 3LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 53 FOOD & DINING W ith our county home to some of the nation’s most quintessential seaside holiday spots, it’s easy to forget that more can be done with a cod fillet than simply dipping it in batter and dropping it in the deep fat fryer. A case in point was my main course, the cod supreme with cream wine sauce, a dish that more than lived up to its name. This was a fabulous fillet expertly paired with a velveteen sauce that worked with the delicate flavours of the fish rather than overpowering it. That alone would have made for a satisfying meal, but the addition of seasonal vegetables cooked to tenderest perfection and the fresh prawns took it to another level. My dining partner opted instead for the pan-fried rump steak with all the trimmings. It should be noted that The Queens Head does not scrimp with the trimmings, making this main not only delicious but great value for money. There was a side of vegetables, plus mushrooms, grilled tomato, crispy onion rings and fluffy chips. The steak itself had been cooked to order with a deep outer crust concealing pink tender meat inside. We’ve said it before, but it bears repeating, the rump is one of the tastiest cuts of beef and this was a dish that proved why. Dessert was a delight with several tempting options to tantalise the taste buds. For me and the mango and passion fruit Eton mess, it was love at first sight. I’ll happily snaffle anything where meringue is involved, but this was a complex and rather a grown-up affair. Fresh and fruity, of course, but there’s something still so exotic about passion fruit with its sweet- tangy flavour and pleasant texture. The homemade shortbread offered a more indulgent edge, but it was a pleasant way to end the meal without feeling lethargic or heavy. My partner, meanwhile, had gone for a true classic with the jam roly-poly with homemade custard. The sponge was soft and sweet ensuring each spoon was pure indulgent bliss. At least that’s how my partner phrased it between mouthfuls. There’s an infinitesimal gap in quality between homemade custard and the store-bought variety. The proof here is literally in the pudding and, frankly, the powdered stuff just can’t compare. It was smooth and rich and comforting all at once. I think my partner might have drunk it straight out of the jug had no one been watching. The summer berries on the side just took the edge off the sweetness and tied the whole dish together. By now, you’re probably salivating and trying to paw the pictures off the page. Wherever you’re based, a trip to Sleaford is never too far and we’d highly recommend a dinner or lunch at The Queens Head. To book a table for yourself, call 01529 305743. You can also check out the restaurant on Facebook @thequeenskirkby. The Queens Head Inn & Restaurant, Sleaford We recently paid a visit to a restaurant that boasts great food, an inviting atmosphere and plenty of character. 50-53.qxp_Layout 1 19/07/2019 10:26 Page 454 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY Museum Boston’s beautiful, medieval Guildhall can be the setting for your special day. Have your ceremony in the stunning banqueting hall, used for centuries for celebrations and have your photographs taken in any of our wonderful historic rooms. Boston Guildhall Museum @bostonguildhall For more information please contact us guildhall@boston.gov.uk www.bostonguildhall.co.uk South Street, Boston, PE21 6HT (01205) 365954 53 Bargate, Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, DN34 5AD Tel: 01472 356068 • www.millfieldshotel.co.uk Packages start from £2500.00 Included:- • Package price based on 60 day guests • 80 evening guests • Room Hire • Table Linen • Chair Covers & Sashes • Candelabras on each Table T: +44 (0) 1472 872248 E: weddings@oaklandshallhotel.co.uk Oaklands Hall Hotel Barton Street, Laceby, DN37 7LF OAKLANDS WEDDINGS www.oaklandshallhotel.co.uk The perfect backdrop for your big day. Get in touch with one of our Wedding Coordinators and come have a look around our beautiful grounds, choice of 3 function rooms and the perfect spot in our garden for your civil ceremony. Deliciously Deliciously Lincolnshire Platinum Awarded for outstanding quality and service by award www.the-masons-arms.com 01507 621200 • reception@the-masons-arms.com CORNMARKET, LOUTH, LINCS LN11 9PY A beautiful boutique hotel in a handsome 18th century grade II listed building is the perfect venue for weddings, christenings, birthdays and special occasions. • 10 en suite bedrooms • Cocktail Bar • Restaurant • Event Venue • Ballroom The perfect venue for your special occasion 54-57.qxp_Layout 1 19/07/2019 11:04 Page 1Marriage is a celebration of love and partnership, and while there’s no doubting it succeeds as that, there is a lot of hard work involved – more in the preparation than the actual `being married` aspect. For many people it’s something you only do once, perhaps two or three times at a push, so there is a real incentive to get it right on the first try. While many may have been dreaming about and planning their perfect wedding for years before, reality is often different to fantasy and there are unfortunately a lot less exciting aspects to consider than the dress and the party. Luckily, help is on hand – often in the form of wedding organisers, of which Lincolnshire has quite a few. A lot of that is thanks to the county being home to a host of fabulous venues and wedding experts who have the knowledge and experience to turn your plans into reality. Some people are wary of making use of wedding planners and specialists, though, envisaging that their own views will be marginalised and that they’ll become bit-part players in a standard tried-and-trusted wedding template recycled for every other couple. But that’s almost never the case. The role of a wedding specialist is to help make things happen, not tell you what those things are going to be. Their skill and experience in organising special events mean they have an innate knowledge of what will and won’t work in that context. This mean they’ll be able to let you know if one of your big ideas is likely to be unworkable before you’ve made a commitment to it – or think of a more effective way to do it that will be just as glamorous but less expensive. You LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 55 WEDDINGS can even outsource the parts of the wedding planning you find tedious, saving the exciting parts for yourself and asking the wedding planner to make sure everything else fits in line with your vision. When it comes to the ceremony itself, the traditional approach is there if you want it, and certainly many aspects of the ceremony are moving and poignant and aren’t things you’d like to change. This may be especially the case if you have a number of older guests attending who may well appreciate the traditional aspects more than most. There are plenty of opportunities to deviate from the norm, however. These days people are often getting married 56 Á © Shutterstock/Natalia Kabliuk The best bits Weddings can be a lot of fun, but when people say that they usually mean either the event or a few choice parts of the preparation. The reality is that weddings require a lot of planning – not all of it exciting. Outsourcing those bits, however, can let you focus on the truly exciting parts of your special day. The best bits 54-57.qxp_Layout 1 19/07/2019 11:04 Page 2later in life and have usually lived together for a couple of years. That means you may see the wedding as simply an excuse to get together your family and friends for a huge celebration with the actual formalities taking on a much smaller part of proceedings. Indeed, if the venue you’ve got your heart set on isn’t licenced for weddings, you may even take the opportunity to simply do the formal bit quietly in a register office before proceedings start in earnest. It’s more than likely that your wedding will be a cross between the two approaches – a slightly informal event with various traditional aspects sprinkled throughout proceedings. Lincolnshire’s venues can provide the perfect setting, but you don’t have to plan your wedding’s colour scheme or theme purely around the venue’s existing décor, nor insert your ideas in a well-worn template rolled out for every wedding held there. Most venues have a number of rooms that between them suit every shape and type of wedding – and if you want total flexibility there’s the opportunity of a marquee as well. Even the most lavishly appointed hotels usually include a marquee as an option because it provides a blank canvas for couples to project their own ideas and personalities onto. Entertaining though planning the wedding can be, there are aspects which aren’t quite so much fun – if you think choosing the dress and deciding on the music for the first dance is challenging enough, requiring extensive study, what about some of the less thrilling logistical aspects? Is the venue licenced to play music or serve alcohol? Are there going to be facilities to cook and store the food or will you have to hire some equipment? Might you need insurance in case something crops up at the last minute? One does have to consider what kind of people will be coming to the event, however. Unique among anything you plan it’s likely that your wedding guest list will be far more diverse than any other event, with guests’ ages ranging from nine months to ninety years. They’ll all have different tastes and expectations of the event and while obviously it’s your big day and you’ll have the final say, you wouldn’t want your guests to go home disappointed. This applies to food and drink as much as it does the entertainment – especially when you might have guests not © Shutterstock/katielittle It is our mission to deliver the largest selection of the best quality, handmade chocolates on the market. Along with a vast wealth of knowledge in the award-winning products we sell, Special Edition Chocolate provides a taste sensation for all chocolate lovers, including diabetics, coeliacs, vegetarians, vegans and sufferers of allergies like nuts or dairy. Special Edition Chocolate Willingham Hall, Market Rasen, Lincs. Tel: 01673 844073. www.specialeditionchocolate.co.uk SPECIAL EDITION CHOCOLATE 56 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 54-57.qxp_Layout 1 19/07/2019 11:04 Page 3LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 57 WEDDINGS only with different palettes, but also things they can or cannot eat. Accommodating all of this can be difficult but most venues will be able to handle it as par for the course. They are no doubt more used to preparing for a wide range of fussy eaters than you will ever be and will have a menu filled with alternative options to reflect that. It’s always a good idea to ask. That’s not to say you have to bland everything out and do everything by the book – but if you are planning a rather radical diversion from the norm, you’ll probably want to make that clear when you’re sending out the invitations. If your guests arrive expecting a full wedding breakfast and all you’re serving up is canapés then you may find the music drowned out by rumbling stomachs later on. Similarly, if part of the day you’ve planned involves an excursion to some out of the way location, you might want to emphasise that in case your older guests don’t fancy the travelling. This kind of thing shouldn’t limit your imagination, however, and as long as your guests know what to expect, there are opportunities to reflect your own tastes and make the event particular personal to you and your relationship. Lincolnshire’s venues and wedding specialists are on hand to help make your dreams a reality. © Special Edition Chocolate © Shutterstock/Jacob Lund Wedding Fayre Sunday 22 nd September 11am 3pm Wedding Open Day Sunday 27 th October 12 noon 4pm Church Hill, South Cave, East Riding of Yorkshire, HU15 2EU www.cavecastlehotel.com info@cavecastlehotel.com For enquiries & bookings please call 01430 422245 54-57.qxp_Layout 1 19/07/2019 11:04 Page 4Lincolnshire wildlife © Shutterstock/Rudmer Zwerver 58 LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 58-59.qxp_Layout 1 19/07/2019 10:30 Page 1T here’s a certain magic to those long summer evenings with the setting sun painting the sky in pastel shades. It’s also the perfect time of year for bats and if you look close enough, you’ll be able to see them flitting about as they come out and hunt. Of Britain’s eighteen species of bat, the smallest is the Common Pipistrelle, weighing the same as a 20 pence piece and able to fit inside a matchbox. Don’t let their size fool you, these are adept little hunters with a massive appetite to match, easily eating 3,000 insects a night. They’ll tuck into an aerial buffet of gnats, midges and moths. The little flying mammal can be seen flitting around the garden or by a lamp post as it makes rapid twists and turns to chase its prey. In fact, this jerky flight pattern gave rise to the ancient name for bats – flittermouse. They’re as commonly found in urban areas as grassland, so if you’ve been lucky enough to spot a bat recently, chances are it was the Pipistrelle. If you’ve got kids or grandkids, they may have even been able to hear the bats as they occasionally call out to each other. This is a lower pitched sound than their echolocation and while it’s difficult for adults to hear, children can often make out the sound, best described as a clicking or slapping. The Pipistrelle has dark golden-brown fur like the colour of autumn leaves, with a slightly paler underside and a dark mask around the face. It roosts in tree holes, bat boxes and often in small colonies in the roof spaces of houses. During the mating season, males become highly territory. Females, meanwhile, form maternity colonies and have just a single pup. After about three or four weeks, the young bats are ready to fly, and they leave the roosts in August. It’s only been recently discovered that there are two species of Pipistrelle bat – the common and soprano. They’re difficult to tell apart by appearances but can be distinguished by the frequency of their echolocation calls. But both are equally as vulnerable to hungry house cats and they’re susceptible to insecticides and the chemicals used to treat roof timbers. The Pipistrelle can live on average between four and five years, though the maximum recorded life span is eleven. They’re a protected species, meaning it’s against the law to disturb their roost or to harm them. To help preserve their population and make the county a safe haven for bats you can ensure hedgerows and trees remain on your land. You can also set up bat boxes as well as encouraging insect populations by planning wildflowers such as dandelions, bluebells and foxgloves. This month we take a closer look at the smallest of Britain’s bats and explore how you can help these cute little critters safe. LINCOLNSHIRE TODAY 59 © Shutterstock/Alis Photo 58-59.qxp_Layout 1 19/07/2019 10:30 Page 2Next >