A second book from the highly regarded ethical food brand Pipers Farm from Devon, organized seasonally and including 80 carefully crafted recipes for meat, fish and vegetables that celebrate honest food made with local, sustainable ingredients.

Taking inspiration from the farm, the field, the hedgerow and the coast, Pipers Farm offers seasonal, sustainable, carefully crafted, wholesome and uncomplicated recipes that celebrate simple, honest ingredients.

Chapters are organized by season and include from broad bean, pea and sheep’s cheese toasts to New England-style lobster rolls.

Filled with common sense, timeless values around the food we grow and eat, each chapter also includes feature essays on key considerations around food and farming in the UK at present, from chalk streams to regenerative farming, how our chicken consumption can be more ethical, growing your own veg to food diversity, all of which will provide talking points for the publicity campaign around the book.

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Beetroot, Celeriac, Potato & Thyme Gratin

I first made this recipe in celebration of Will’s birthday. He’s a shy, retiring type and not one to ever want a fuss, so I organized a big surprise party with all our family and friends! I cooked this dish along with everything else over  fire on a bitterly cold day. It was the perfect molten comfort food that could be scooped and piled high, and made a superb partner for the rest of the spread. I’m not sure who turned pinker – the gratin or Will’s blushing cheeks! 

500ml (18fl oz) double cream

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

200g (7 oz) clothbound Cheddar cheese, grated

½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

1 onion, peeled and quartered

1 garlic head, cloves peeled and finely sliced

grass-fed butter, for frying and greasing

1kg (2lb 4 oz) Maris Piper potatoes, finely sliced

300g (10½ oz) beetroot, peeled and finely sliced

300g (10½ oz) celeriac, peeled and finely sliced

a handful of thyme sprigs

a few sprigs of rosemary

3–4 bay leaves

flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

Mix together the cream, mustard, cheese, nutmeg, ½ teaspoon of black pepper and a pinch of salt in a jug, then set aside.

Heat a little butter in a frying pan, then add the onion and garlic and cook for 5–6 minutes, or until soft, then set aside.

Grease a 2-litre (3½-pint) ovenproof dish with butter, then cover the base with a quarter of the potato slices. Sprinkle over a quarter of the cooked onions and garlic, then layer on a quarter of the beetroot and celeriac slices. Scatter over a few thyme and rosemary leaves, ad a bay leaf and season lightly with salt and pepper. Repeat the process, building up the layers until you have used all the vegetables and herbs. Pour over the cream mixture, then place the dish into the oven and bake for 1 hour 20 minutes, or until the top is golden and the layers are tender.

Recipe published with permission from Octopus Books.