Onion and Orange Marmalade – it’s time to magic up a pot

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I have three amazing sisters who I would choose as friends if they weren’t already in my world. We have completely different lives, different styles, different ways of looking at the world. However we also have a lot in common. We have the same smile; the same wicked sense of humour that sometimes operates only on our wavelength; and thankfully most of the tears that are shed between us are tears of laughter.

We share a love of food, in particular a love of decent chocolate – my youngest sister even keeps chocolate in her first aid kit. We have been known to drive to the next county for proper fat chipper chips when a collective craving hits; and the jar of Sainsbury’s onion marmalade my mother keeps in her fridge mysteriously vanishes after a visit from the girls.

I’ve been experimenting however, and my taste buds think this onion and orange marmalade improves upon the Sainsbury’s version. It is a sweet and sour relish that loves cold meats, barbeques, cheese etc and is a doddle to make. As the picnic season draws near, it is time to magic up a pot.

For 1 small pot of onion and orange marmalade you will need...

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
500g onions (prepared weight), peeled, cut in half from top to bottom and then thinly sliced into half moons

zest of an orange, (best removed using a vegetable peeler to slice off just the orange part, leaving the bitter white pith behind) finely shredded then cut into approximately 2cm lengths

160g granulated sugar

½ teaspoon fine table salt

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

100mls fresh orange juice

100mls white wine vinegar or cider vinegar

1 hot chilli (optional), left whole, but pierced through with a sharp knife

Simple ingredients...

1                  In a medium-sized heavy-based saucepan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat. Add the onions and the shredded orange zest and cook gently for about 10 minutes until the onions are translucent.

2                  Add the sugar, salt and cloves and continue cooking gently until the sugar has dissolved into the onion juices. When no sugar crystals remain, add the orange juice, white wine vinegar and chilli (if using). Turn up the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are honey-coloured and no liquid remains. This will take about 15 minutes. (The mixture will burn the instant you step away from the hob so resign yourself to being there for the duration –treat it as therapy if necessary.)

3                  If you’ve added the chilli, remove it before carefully transfer the mixture into a sterilised jar. Seal when cooled and keep in the fridge for up to three weeks.  

Best eaten in the company of exceptional sisters (and/or brothers).

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Allendale Courgette and Cheese Soup – a game of Farmers’ Market Roulette

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Some years ago, while hiking in Snowdonia in Wales, I shared a hostel kitchen with three girl guides as they prepared lunch for their troop. 

I speak Geordie... This is A bool a kyle ... apparently

The first girl guide slathered margarine on the bread...

the second girl guide filled the sandwiches with square ham and plastic cheese...

the third girl guide painstakingly nibbled away any filling that peeped over the edge of the crust, before wrapping the completed sandwiches... Bleaugh!

That memory popped into my head because my beloved was recently reunited with his scout troop - the 4th Ilford - after more years than they care to remember.  These former boy scouts assured me that their food prep was much more conscientious.

Our visit to Allendale, near Newcastle in Northumberland, coincided with the Allen Mill Farmers’ Market, run by our delightful hosts, Anne and Chris Bacon at Allen Mill.


Farmers' Market Roulette - some of the contributors

There, David Harris (aka The Cookery Coach and self-confessed “Diet Satan”) was conducting a demonstration of “Farmers’ Market Roulette”.  Farmers’ Market Roulette is when David arrives more or less empty-handed and charms the stall holders into swapping some of their produce for publicity. He then conjures a dish from the ingredients collected.

On the menu was a courgette soup with a mellow cheddar-style cheese from Birdoswald Organic Cheese. Birdoswald cheese has quite a pedigree - the recipe originally coming from Ireland in 1688.  



David Harris converting local produce into a feast!



The courgettes were grown by Bluebell Organics, who produce organic vegetables, fruit juices and chutneys.

David served the soup with a hunk of Sunday Bread from Allendale Bakery and Cafe. 

Also featuring in David’s food roulette were pork escallopes from Hallsford Farm – a rare-breeds farm producing Llanwenog Lamb (and Mutton in season), Shorthorn Beef and Saddleback Pig. The sauce for the pork contained mustard from Marilyn Avens and Geoff Cole at Cumberland Honey Mustard. I tasted the Seville – tangy with a hint of orange - and the wonderfully nutty Original Honey Mustard. Marilyn and Geoff also produce a range of relishes, vinegars and vinaigrettes, pickled fruits, and jams.

Cumberland Honey Mustard - it's hot stuff!

This is the soup David made from his Farmers’ Market bounty. (I've reduced the quantities to suit a family-sized pot)

For 3 - 4 servings you will need...

2 shallots (or 1 onion) roughly chopped

1 fat clove garlic, roughly chopped

50g streaky bacon, cut into small pieces (a kitchen scissors is great for this job)

500g courgettes, cut into large cubes

1 litre good chicken (or vegetable stock)

100g Birdoswald Organic Cheese (or any good cheddar-style cheese)

Salt and pepper to taste

1          Heat a tablespoon of oil (light olive oil or sunflower etc) in a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the shallots, garlic and bacon. Fry gently for about 2 minutes until the bacon is cooked, then add the courgettes. Cook for a further 5 minutes or so, giving the courgettes time to absorb the flavours from the other ingredients.

2          Add the stock to the saucepan. When it has come to the boil, lower the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the grated cheese. Blend to a smooth liquid – a stick blender is the perfect tool for this. Taste and add salt and pepper only if necessary.

A landscape made famous by Kevin Costner in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Take a Farmers' Market picnic to this famous spot on nearby Hadrian's Wall

Allen Mill Farmers’ Market and Car Boot Sale runs on the 3^rd Sunday of the Month, July – December, 10.30am to 3pm. Aside from the market, Allen Mill is open all week and offers a range of local North Pennines crafts and produce, micro brewery, art centre and printmaking studio with antique presses. The mill is in an area of outstanding natural beauty and archaeological importance. It is within striking distance of Hadrian’s Wall, and the medieval market town of Hexham.

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