One of the reasons for setting up Horsmonden Farmers’ Market was our joint passion for good food!

We are all keen to feed our families with the excellent local produce available and try whenever possible to eat “within the seasons”, so that ingredients are used when they are at their very best. 

We have also found that by shopping at the Farmers’ Market, we have discovered some exciting produce which we had never cooked with before, such as teal, dabs, cobnuts, quince and much more! 

The recipes on the website will hopefully inspire you to cook with local, seasonal produce, try something new or remember something old! 

Farmers’ Market Venison Casserole 

Serves 6 

Ingredients                                                                             Stallholder 

Flavoured olive oil (rosemary or garlic would be good)            Stratta
30g butter

1kg diced venison                                                                       V J Game

1 packet streaky bacon, chopped                                               Farmer Palmer

2 onions, roughly chopped                                                          Daniel Williams

3 celery sticks, chopped                                                             Daniel Williams

30g flour

300ml stock

300ml red wine

1 tablespoon redcurrant jelly                                                       Joan’s Jams

1 Teaspoon freshly chopped thyme                                            Chun Farm

 Warm the butter and oil in a casserole and brown the venison. Add the bacon, onion and celery and cook for a few minutes. Stir in the flour before pouring over the wine and stock.  

Whilst it comes to the boil, add the redcurrant jelly, thyme and seasoning. Once boiling, cover and cook at 170 for 2.5 to 3 hours. 

Serve with a delicious crusty farmhouse loaf from Rusbridge Bakery and a mix of organic peppery salad leaves from Chun Farm.

Orchard Pudding 

2 apples

2 pears

3 large plums (if you have some in your freezer, otherwise use more apple and pear)

Juice of an orange

1 generous tablespoon of jam (not too sweet)

1 tablespoon caster sugar

150ml Madeira wine or sweet sherry

1 Madeira cake or stale white bread, crusts removed and cut into thin slices 

Line a one litre pudding basin with clingfilm, leaving enough overhanging to cover the top later. 

Peel, core and slice the apples and pears. Stone and roughly chop the plums. Simmer the fruit in the orange juice with the jam and sugar for about 10 mins until slightly softened but still holding its shape. 

Dilute the Madeira wine with about 3 tablespoons of the fruit juices and one by one dunk each slice of cake or bread into the liquid. Line the pudding basin as you would for a summer pudding then fill with the fruit. Fill the top with cake or bread to seal it and wrap with the clingfilm. 

Pop a plate on top of the pudding and weigh down with a couple of cans. Leave somewhere cool, ideally overnight. 

 Peel back the clingfilm and turn the pudding out onto a serving plate. Delicious with crème fraiche!