The next dish in my Brambly Hedge menu is inspired by the bountiful harvest in AUTUMN STORY. I couldn’t decide on just one recipe, so I brought a bunch of them together into one delicious entree!
Bread is a Brambly Hedge staple, so I started with a traditional English cottage loaf (using this version of Paul Hollywood’s recipe that provides American measurements). To top the bread, I made Attainable Sustainable’s homemade ricotta cheese. This was my first time making ricotta, which was a lot of fun. It’s very similar to farmer’s cheese, which I made for my SARAH PLAIN AND TALL menu a few years ago. I highly suggest ricotta or farmer’s cheese if you’re new to making homemade cheeses. They’re super easy, and the only special tool they require is a cheesecloth.
Blackberries are all over AUTUMN STORY (including the illustration on the cover!), so for a touch of sweetness I macerated some blackberries in elderflower liqueur. Finally, I tweaked my roasted hazelnut recipe from MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN to make honey roasted hazelnuts, the perfect complement to the blackberries.
Top it off with fresh sage for a bit of herbal earthiness, and you’re ready to celebrate harvest time with the woodland creatures of Brambly Hedge.