In November, Gonalston Farm Shop (GFS) in Gonalston, Nottinghamshire were voted national UK finalists in two prestigious butchery awards namely, the categories of “Best On-Farm Butchery 2009″ announced by the National Farmers’ Retail & Markets Association (FARMA) and “Butcher’s Plus 2009″, announced by the Meat Trade Journal (MTD).

At GFS the pride of the farm shop is the full over-the-counter butchery service, which features the farm’s own beef, cherry picked from the herd, plus quality meat from other local farms. This is complimented by a grocery section, fresh fruit and veg area, delicatessen and fresh fish counter.

The team of trained butchers offer expert advice on everything from cuts to cooking tips and also produce an impressive array of award-winning sausages, burgers, kebabs and stuffed and rolled joints, incorporating local ingredients such as Southwell grown Bramley apples.

Georgina Mason, farm shop joint owner, commented, “We are incredibly proud to have been placed national finalists in these national awards. We are delighted that the team’s efforts have been recognised.”

The FARMA panel of judges commended GFS for their impressive butchery display, featuring some excellent meat from GFS’s own farm and the surrounding area. They also felt the friendly and professional service offered by the team of expert butchers and other staff was truly top class, making shopping there an enjoyable and rewarding experience. While the editor of the MTD, Ed Bedington commented: “GFS impressed our judges with its superb high class operation. Judges described the shop as oozing quality and choice, and were particularly impressed with its meat, fish and cheese counters.”

Gonalston Farm Shop offers the finest quality local and British farmhouse cheese and farm fresh meat plus a selection of delicacies from further afield in our delicatessen in Nottingham, UK. Visit our webiste for more details at www.gonalstonfarmshop.co.uk.

You can now pick up seasonal vegetable boxes from Gonalston Farm Shop.  Prepared freshly every day, made up from local vegetables and giving you a massive saving of 30%. 

The boxes cost £4.99 and consist of (seasonal variations may apply):

2kg Potatoes
1kg Carrots
400g Leeks
300g Onions
1 Cauliflower
1 Savoy Cabbage

Serves 4 as a veggie meal or 8 as an accompaniment to Turkey
 

1 clove garlic, crushed
1 small onion, chopped
15g butter
2 tsp Rapeseed oil
1 tbsp sherry
225g shelled mixed unsalted nuts, chopped
125g fresh breadcrumbs
1 tbsp chopped fresh sage
2 eggs, beaten
75g Stilton Cheese
75g cranberries, fresh or frozen
salt and black pepper  

Try this as an alternative to Christmas Pudding – quick and easy to make and lighter in texture then a traditional Christmas  pudding.

Serves 6-8

225g Pannetone, thinly sliced
250mls milk
50g sultanas
50g fresh or frozen cranberries
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
25g golden caster sugar
142mls double cream
½ tsp nutmeg
To serve – Double cream or Custard flavoured with Brandy, Cointreau or Baileys Cream Liquer and icing sugar for dusting

Award-winning Gonalston Farm Shop (GFS), Nottinghamshire welcomes the countdown to Christmas on Thursday 6^th November when the shop transforms into a Christmas gourmet’s delight.  The store will be bursting with Christmas specific products to whet the appetite.  And to get everyone into the Christmas spirit and to tantalise the taste-buds, producers and suppliers will be at the ready offering their products for all to sample including complimentary coffee and mulled wine served all day. 

This Christmas fayre starts at 11am, and to ensure even those who aren’t able to visit in the day don’t miss out, the Farm Shop will stay open until 7.00pm. As a one day only special, customers will be treated to double loyalty card points as well as great multi-buy offers on selected Christmas produce.

Customers will be able to see at first hand a selection of gift food hampers that make the ideal gift for the person who has it all or simply for those who are truly passionate about food. With speciality 3 in 1 birds, a Pheasant inside a Chicken inside a Turkey or Goose, be sure not to miss out and take the opportunity to place that all-important Christmas Poultry order. With a fine range of Christmas puddings, cakes and mince pies as well as juicy hams and pork pies, not to mention an impressive range of fine wines, speciality beers and ciders, Gonalston Farm Shop is a truly one stop shop for all Christmas foodie delights.

Cote de Boeuf can be a single rib cut from the centre of a full rib of Beef. It is grilled or fried and often served with a Bearnaise sauce and chips. It is also sometimes called a beef chop. Or it can be a traditional Beef Rib Steak Joint on the Bone made into a fabulous traditional Sunday lunch. Cooking beef on the bone helps to control the transfer of heat during cooking and helps stops meat from shrinking or toughening.

1 x 2.5 kg Rib of Beef with Bone, trimmed
vegetable oil for brushing
salt and black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 200oC Gas 6.
2. Place the joint on a rack in a large roasting dish. Brush with the vegetable oil and season.
3. Cook for 20 minutes. Turn the oven down to 170oC Gas 3 and cook for 10-12minutes (rare) 15 –18minutes(medium) – 20-22minutes (well-done) per 500g.
4. Leave to rest, covered in foil for 15 minutes, before carving.

Put a selection of blanched root vegetables such as potatoes, parsnips and carrots and add quartered red onion and red pepper under the meat rack so that the fat from the meat drops onto the vegetables as they cook.

Cote de Boeuf is great served with a Red-Wine sauce.

For a red-wine sauce place 5-6 diced shallots into a pan, add 1 tbsp vegetable oil and gently sauté until softened, then add 2-3 cloves garlic, cook for 1 minute and add I bay leaf, 1 sprig thyme, 500mls red wine, 300mls port and 300mls chicken stock and simmer for 20 minutes or until reduced by two thirds. Sieve, add the meat juices or a small knob of butter, whisk and serve with the cooked meat.

Top Tip - place 3 garlic cloves into a small dish and microwave them for approximately 20-30seconds. The skins will slip off really easily.

“At Gonalston Farm Shop, we feel that it is essential to reward loyalty. Our customers are our livelihood and what better way to ensure they return time and time again than by showing them how much we truly value their support” said Georgina Mason, joint owner of the business.

On Saturday 2^nd August, the Farm Shop celebrated its 5^th anniversary with a party atmosphere. Customers were treated to a guest appearance by well known and effervescent TV Celebrity Chef, Lesley Waters, who was on hand to sign her cook books and chat to our customers as well as assist in some food demonstrations staged by the shop’s suppliers.

Lesley presented the shop’s first ever paying customer Kevin Mantle, still a loyal customer 5 years down the line, with a whole turbot as well as a succulent and tender piece of Cote de Boeuf. “We wanted to thank Kevin for his loyalty and knowing how much he loves real quality food we felt it only fitting to present him with his favourite fish and the fabulous rib eye cut” said Georgina.

Customers were treated to double loyalty card points on purchases in the shop, delicious tastings as well as complimentary tea, coffee and heavenly birthday cake.

Thanks to the generosity of their customers who entered some fun competitions with a variety of prizes such as luxury food hampers, £350 was raised on the day to be shared between Rainbow’s, The East Midlands Children’s Hospice and Cancer Research UK.

With classic tractors as well as a farmyard of animals to entertain customers, the celebrations proved a great hit with young and old alike.

Hailed by leading chefs as the finest in the world, full-flavoured, deliciously sweet and tender, British Asparagus well and truly deserves its place as a ‘Super Food.’Reading like a who’s who in the nutrient stakes, Asparagus is an excellent source of vitamin K, the B vitamin folate, vitamin C, vitamin A. Asparagus is a very good source of numerous B vitamins - including vitamin B1, B2, B3 and B6 - as well as dietary fiber, manganese, copper, phosphorous, potassium and protein. Not only is Asparagus low in calories, fat, carbohydrates and sodium, it’s also cholesterol free…. It’s properties as an afrodisiac are also well documented giving it the name “nature’s Viagra”!

To ensure this marks a highlight in your foodie calendar, you will have to act fast though, the season is fleeting….starting on St George’s Day, 23rd April it runs until the 21st June each year.

Look out for Asparagus stalks that are rounded with firm thin stems. The cut ends shoudn’t be too woody, although a little woodiness can prevent the stalk from drying out. Best stored refrigerated with ends wrapped in a damp paper towel, ensure you maximise its flavour by using within a day or two of purchasing.

The great news is that Asparagus is a wonderfully quick vegetable to prepare. Lightly steaming or boiling brings out the fragrant flavour, which can be enjoyed simply covered in butter or dipped in Hollandaise sauce.

Fancy trying something a little different but equally quick then why not try:- Asparagus with Balsamic, Olive Oil and Parmesan
Steam asparagus until tender, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar or balsamic glaze, top with 24month age parmesan shavings and enjoy.
Concerned about foods miles, want to feel healthy and sexy, safe in the knowledge you are buying a seasonal vegetable, then look no further than British Asparagus and enjoy, enjoy, enjoy!

Always on the look out to get family and friends together for a celebration then look no further than St George’s Day, a wonderful opportunity to appreciate all that our beautiful country has to offer. Always celebrated on 23 April, St George’s Day, England’s national day, falls on a Wednesday this year.

St George’s Day is the time of year when people traditionally celebrated by feasting with local food and produce because as well as being patron saint of England, St George is also patron saint of farmers. So if you’re wanting to make some of England’s delicious and very traditional dishes, why not take the opportunity to visit your local Farmshop and enjoy some of the quality fine food and wine grown by local farmers and growers.

Where better to start preparing your ‘dragon-slaying’ feast than at Gonalston Farm Shop.

Offering eggs, produced by our award-winning local supplier, together with our local bacon, great taste award-winning sausages and juicy ripe tomatoes, full English breakfasts don’t come better than this!

When it comes to tradition, nothing beats a succulent joint of roast beef. Here at Gonalston Farm Shop, our beef is reared on our own lush Trent Valley pastures and is hung for a minimum of 21 days to mature and achieve optimum flavour and tenderness.

Tempted by making a Shepherd’s pie? Then rest assured that our lamb, raised by family farmers within an 8 mile radius of the shop, ensures a full flavour and minimum impact on the environment.

Also did you know that St George’s Day marks the start of the British Asparagus season. This quintessential English vegetable, with it’s delicate flavour and amazing nutritional benefits, is only available for a very short period with the season ending on the 21^st June!

Take this opportunity to use St George’s Day to celebrate our wonderful countryside and the stunning array of food it produces!

Delicatessen Nottingham

Our Deli team keep the deli counter bursting with an array of hand crafted farmhouse cheese(109 at the last count!), including local stiltons, traditional farmhouse cheddars, rich flavoured goat cheese, sheep cheese, and an outstanding selection of less obtainable artisan and continental cheeses.

Sample these together with a mouth watering range of local pates, pork pies, ploughmans and game pies, award winning hams and cooked meats. Complemented by a collection of charcuterie products from England and the continent including parma ham, salamis and an enviable medley of olives and insalatas.