MAY NEWSLETTER: Hello from Hugh, a recipe from Gill and all the latest news and events.

Find out more about what's going on at River Cottage

View this email in your browser MAY NEWSLETTER ALL THE LATEST NEWS, EVENTS AND RECIPES   May's going to be busy. As well as finishing my new BBC1 series (title tbc next time!), I am squeezing in a few great events at River Cottage and beyond. One I'm particularly looking forward to is a trip to Anglesey (my first) to visit my old chef and friend Sam Lomas, who has joined forces with the Halen Môn Sea Salt Company to launch Tide, a new Anglesey outdoor café. Should be tasty. But I don't plan to stray too far or too long from the veg patch. I am keeping a beedy, greedy eye on my asparagus bed – it's the third year of growth since I put in these new plants so at last I am allowed to cut with impunity. So far I've enjoyed them both raw and unadorned and, classically, lightly steamed with melted butter. Also tossed with wild garlic, broad bean tops and shredded spring greens on homemade nettle pasta. Next comes chargrilling with olive oil and lemon…and I won't let the season pass without piling them up soldier style, alongside my dippy egg. At River Cottage HQ the excitement is building as final preparations are being made for our annual Food Fair later this month. This year promises to be our best yet.  I  hope we'll see you there!   COME AND STAY  WE ARE NOW WELCOMING OVERNIGHT GUESTS TO THE RIVER COTTAGE FARMHOUSE For the very first time, our beautiful old farmhouse is offering overnight accommodation. Our traditional West Country 17th century longhouse has been sympathetically refurbished and restored into a stunning living space, breathing new life into one of our most beloved buildings here at River Cottage. The three rooms are available to book individually on a bed and breakfast basis or you can choose to exclusively hire the whole house. FIND OUT MORE NATURAL HOME & BEAUTY For one date only, Rebecca Sullivan, author of The Art of The Natural Home series will be sharing her extensive knowledge and will teach you how to make your own health and beauty products, plus natural cleaning supplies using ingredients from the River Cottage farm and garden. BOOK NOW SUNDAY LUNCHES - UPCOMING DATES  We have some availability on some Sunday Lunches over the next few weeks. So come and relax, explore the surroundings and enjoy a delicious three-course lunch, fresh from the River Cottage kitchen. Children are very welcome at our lunches, so why not make it a family affair and gather your loved ones? BOOK NOW SATURDAY TICKETS SOLD OUT GRAB THE LAST FEW SUNDAY ONES BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE There are just two weeks until the River Cottage Food Fair, and if you haven't got your tickets yet then hurry, we are set to sell out - Saturday already has! As well as all the big names, such as Yotam Ottolenghi and Netflix's Samin Nosrat, there are also loads of activities and things to see - including farm & foraging tours and masterclasses and children's workshops. Saturday masterclasses are sold out but there is still a handful available for the Sunday.   FIND OUT MORE AND BOOK RIVER COTTAGE OUTDOOR COOKING HANDBOOK BY GILL MELLER Last week saw the release of the latest and 17th instalment in the River Cottage Handbook series, The River Cottage Outdoor Cookery Handbook by Gill Meller. It features a selection of brilliant recipes and advice on how to become a skilled outdoor cook.  BUY NOW Join Gill for a very special dining event on Friday 17 May to celebrate the launch of the book, Gill will be hosting a special evening of outdoor cooking next week and there are a few tickets still available. Join Gill and come and feast on a variety of amazing wood-fired dishes.  GET TICKETS   SPRING & SUMMER EVENTS We have special events to celebrate the changing season throughout the year. A popular summer favourite is Wine & Dine with our partners Castlewood Wines. And back for 2019 is the Chef's Table - an intimate outdoor cookery session and feast.  There are also midweek Summer Lunches & Nights throughout July & August. DISCOVER WHAT'S ON CELEBRATE WITH HUGH 20 YEARS, 20 DISHES Indulge yourself and join Hugh and the team for an amazing afternoon and evening of activities and celebration. The day begins with a 10-course lunch, which is followed by an afternoon of activities. Hugh will be at the heart of the day, ready to meet all our guests, chat, sign your books, and tell tales from the past 20 years. The finale of the day will be a spectacular 10-course sit-down dinner. BOOK NOW We're very excited to share the line up for the River Cottage Festival. We have carefully curated a selection of special guests featuring a mix of media personalities and opinion formers, chefs, cooks and some great live music. The 2019 line up includes: SPEAKERS: HUGH FEARNLEY-WHITTINGSTALL | ANITA RANI | GILES YEO | STEPH MCGOVERN | ALICE TEMPERLEY | SATISH KUMAR | PHILIP LYMBERY | TIM LANG | MARIA CHENOWETH | GEORGINA WILSON-POWELL  MUSIC: BELLE & SEBATIAN (DJ set by Richard Colburn) | HONEYFEET | STOMPIN' DAVE | THE LUCK | VELVET & STONE | GRACE GILLAN | PILGRIMS' DREAM CHEFS: JOHN WRIGHT | CLAIRE THOMSON | VALENTINE WARNER | MAUNIKA GOWARDHAN | JOHN GREGORY-SMITH | JOE TRIVELLI | STEVEN LAMB | JAMES WHETLOR | RACHEL DE THAMPLE | NAOMI DEVLIN | SUMAYYA USMANI  GET TICKETS   SPRING MENU AT RIVER COTTAGE KITCHENS The menu at our River Cottage Kitchen's changes regularly to make the most of the seasonal produce available. All three restaurants are now serving our new spring menu, so head down soon to try some of the tasty new dishes available now.  BOOK A TABLE RECIPE:  HOMEMADE BEEF BURGERS WITH BACON AND CHEESE BY GILL MELLER Beef burgers are easy to knock up and always so much better than anything you can buy. These burgers are made with skirt steak, a flavoursome open-grained cut. I like to mince the steak with some beef fat or suet to give it extra moisture and a richer, beefier flavour. A crank-handled mincer works well – you see them at car boot sales all the time. If you don't have a mincer, ask the butcher to mince the mix for you or, if push comes to shove, chop the meat and fat in a food processor. Get the fire really hot so that the bars of the grill char the burgers. This gives them character; it also helps to cook them fast and keeps them juicy. I serve them in buns with streaky bacon and Cheddar – the perfect partners in crime. TAKEN FROM OUTDOOR COOKING: THE RIVER COTTAGE HANDBOOK NO. 17 BY GILL MELLER Makes 4 400g skirt steak100g fresh beef suet or beef fat 1 tbsp chopped thyme leaves 1 heaped tsp fine sea salt Freshly ground black pepper To assemble About 150g good Cheddar Pickled cucumbers or gherkins 8 rashers of streaky bacon 4 soft burger buns, lightly toasted Mince the skirt steak and suet or fat together, place in a large bowl and season with the thyme, salt and plenty of pepper. Mix the meat and seasonings thoroughly and bind the mixture together. Divide into 4 portions and shape into burgers, each about 125g and no thicker than 2cm. Slice the cheese and pickled cucumbers thinly. When everything is ready to go, get your fire going; you want a good deep bed of really hot embers. Set a grill over the fire. Once everything is glowing super-hot, and you can hover your hand above the grill for 1 second at most, lay the burgers carefully on the grill. They should start to sizzle and smoke immediately. Cook for 2–3 minutes on each side. I like to serve the burgers just under medium but you can leave them on a minute or two longer. You need a searing heat, to ensure the burgers take on lots of colour and stay juicy. A minute or so after turning the burgers, add the bacon to the grill. (At this point you should be able to hover your hand above the grill for a maximum of 4 seconds.) Cook until crisp on both sides. When the burgers are almost done, lay the cheese slices on top and let them melt. (Move the bacon to one side if it's done.) Pop the burgers into the buns with the bacon rashers and pickled cucumbers and serve. RIVERCOTTAGE.NET VISIT THE WEBSITE FOR MORE RECIPES, EVENTS AND NEWS Copyright © 2019 River Cottage, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in on our website or joined one of our mailing lists. 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