Visit www.coolplaces.co.uk and enter to be in with a chance of winning this great prize, a days butchery course for two here on the farm in The Yorkshire Dales, learn knife skills, traditional Pork Butchery, curing and basic charcuterie.  You will also enjoy lunch with us at Town End Farm Shop in Airton near Malham/Skipton.  www.townendfarmshop.co.uk 

The founders of Rough Guides and Cool Camping have joined forces to create a brand new website www.coolplaces.co.uk “Our focus is on the authentic, independent and quirky, with each area explored personally by a local author”

Cool Places celebrates the glorious diversity of Great Britain, promoting the very best places to sleep, eat, drink, see, and shop. We particularly love the independent businesses that make the UK unique, from artisan bakers to farm shops, canoe trips to gastronomic tours, cool cafés to high-end restaurants and the tiniest B&B to the grandest boutique hotel.

Welcome to the home of Yorkshire Chorizo – Town End Farm Shop & Tearoom in Airton just 1 mile from our artisan butchery and charcuterie.  Please call in and sample our Chorizo and lots of other local goodies.

 Town End Farm Shop, Airton, Nr Malham, Skipton, BD23 4BE

01729-830902  www.townendfarmshop.co.uk

This recipe is from the recipe book Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson

You can buy Yorkshire Chorizo from Paganum the Online Farmers Market here www.paganum.co.uk

A substantial and warming soup for days when it rains and it should be summer.

Using the spicy chorizo gives it an extra kick, but it works with any of the available flavours. This soup is even better when you re-heat it as it matures nicely in the fridge just like the chorizo itself.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 whole Yorkshire Chorizo, finely diced
• 2 thick slices of Paganum bacon finely diced
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 x 410g tin chickpeas
• 1 400g tin chopped tomatoes (or good ripe fresh tomatoes)
• 1 litre chicken stock
• Salt and pepper
• 450g baby spinach leaves (chopped)

Method

1. Place the olive oil in a large saucepan on the heat and add the diced chorizo and bacon. Cook for a minute or two until the chorizo colours the oil then add the chopped onion, celery and garlic. Cook gently with the lid on until the onion is completely cooked, about 10-15 minutes.
2. Add the spinach, chickpeas, tomatoes and the chicken stock, bring back to the boil and simmer for about 40 minutes.
3. If you prefer a creamier consistency you can blitz half of the soup in a food processor at this point and then add it back to the pan.
4. Taste for seasoning, add salt and pepper if necessary.
5. Serve (great with a few parmesan shavings on top)

Thanks to Ian Smith for the recipe & photo.

After many experiments we now have an authentic tasting Chorizo, made from only the finest free range British pork and using a traditional Spanish recipe, smoked paprika, spices, real hog casings, curing salts, tender loving care and patience.

The Chorizo is cured for 3 weeks in a temperature and humidity controlled curing room to produce great tasting Yorkshire charcuterie.

Available as a fully cured, ready to eat Chorizo (cured for 3 weeks) available in Original, Garlic or Picante varieties….

After talking about Pigs & Farming in general over coffee and croissants a whole discussion evolved around rare breeds and outdoor reared British Pork.   Once I dismounted my “high horse” we started the course by looking at the anatomy of a side of pork followed by some knife skills including the different methods of using a steel and keeping those knifes sharp.

Once we had removed the shoulder and boned out, it was onto the sausage making part of the day, everyone diced and minced there shoulder and prepared to invent their very own unique sausage recipe.

The vast selection of ingredients to choose from included 6 different styles of beer, a mixture of freshly prepared breadcrumbs, spices including cumin, ground white pepper, black pepper, cayenne & paprika, herbs from coriander, parsley, chive & sage and different sugars and honey.  Finely chopped leeks or shallots and a selection of fruit from apple, cranberries, dried apricot and even Yorkshire Rhubarb to name a few.

Finally everyone had a go at filling sausages using traditional casings (sausage skins) and a lesson in sausage linking with some fantastic results.

Some of the sausage creations on the day :-

• Meantime Pilsner, sage & onion
• Meantime Pilsner, Henderson Relish, onion & chive
• Beer, leek, cranberry & coriander
• Leek & apricot
• Herby Pils, onion, leek, sage & thyme
• Yorkshire pork & rhubarb
• and a few more weird & wonderful concoctions

Lunch was of course some Malhamdale Pork Sausages and mash with a gorgeous gravy, all expertly prepared by resident chef’s Simon & Russ.  If your interested in this Butchery & Sausage Making course the next one will be in early 2012.