These colourful, spiced sweet and sour onions add zing to a ploughman’s, a sharp finish to Mexican food and also make an ideal edible gift to make ahead and pop in a homemade hamper! 

Ingredients 

• 300ml cider vinegar
• 3 tbsp golden caster sugar
• 1 tbsp sea salt flakes
• 6 black peppercorns
• 6 coriander seeds
• 1 star anise
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 small red onions, sliced into rings

Method 

• Pour the vinegar into a pan, add the sugar, sea salt, the spices and bay leaf, and bring to a simmer. After 1 min, check that the sugar and salt have dissolved. Remove from the heat.

• Boil the kettle. Put the onion slices in a sieve or colander. Pour over the hot water from the kettle and drain well. When cool enough to handle, pack the onion rings into a 500g sterilised jar (see tip below). Pour over the warm vinegar and seal. Cool, then chill and leave to pickle for 2 hrs. Will keep for 6 months unopened, or 2 weeks in the fridge once opened.

Wash jars and lids in hot, soapy water, rinse, then place on a baking tray and put in a low oven for 10 mins or until completely dry. If you want to use rubber seals, remove the seals and cover in just-boiled water. Make sure you sterilise any funnels, ladles or spoons before you use them.

Recipe courtesy of BBC Good Food 

With Autumns arrival and Halloween fast approaching, what better way to warm up after a long walk than with a hearty bowl of pumpkin soup. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 bay leaf
• 25g/1oz unsalted butter
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium pumpkin (prepared weight about 850g/1lb 14oz) deseeded and roughly chopped
• 1 medium-sized potato roughly chopped
• 1 litre/1¾ pint vegetable or chicken stock, a little extra may be needed
• 100ml/3½fl oz double cream 
• 3 tbsp pumpkin seeds
• salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method: 

1. Put the onion, carrots, garlic bay leaf, butter and half the olive oil into a large pan. Cook over a low–medium heat for about 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender but not coloured.

2. Add the squash and potato, mix to combine and cook for a further 2–3 minutes. Pour in the stock, season well and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, half cover the pan with a lid and continue to cook for about 40 minutes until the squash is really tender when tested with the point of a knife.

3. Pick out the bay leaf and blend the soup until smooth using a stick blender.

4. Add the cream and a little more stock if the soup is on the thick side, taste for seasoning, adding more salt and pepper as required.

5. Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and add the pumpkin seeds and fry quickly until the seeds start to pop. Remove from the pan.

6. Ladle the soup into bowls and serve with a swirl of cream and the toasted pumpkin seeds.

Recipe courtesy of BBC Food 

Introducing our new collection designed in collaboration with accomplished British ceramicist, Daniel Smith.

Daniel was classically trained and is influenced by some of the greatest contemporary potters. This special use of clay results in an impossibly thin and almost translucent body that works perfectly in conjunction with canvas home’s transparency glazes, imbuing each piece with a subtlety of tone much like that of a watercolour palette.

Available in Ivory and Smoke.

Coming soon

The weather is week has been glorious and it really does feel like summer has arrived. Many of us might have taken the opportunity to get the BBQ out and enjoy some alfresco dining. Dessert is often overlooked at a BBQ but this simple easy recipes can be cooked over the warm coals once the sausages are done! 

• 4 ripe peaches
• 50g unsalted butter, softened
• 1 vanilla pod, split lengthways
• 2 tbsp soft brown sugar
• Grated zest of ½ lemon
• 4 sprigs of thyme

1. Prepare your BBQ and let it die back a bit. You want a nice bed of moderately hot embers.
2. Halve the peaches and remove the stone. Lay the peach halves, cut side up, on a double layer of foil, large enough to encase the peaches in a parcel.
3. Put the butter into a bowl. Scrape the vanilla seeds from the pod and add them to the butter, along with the sugar and lemon zest; mix well. Dot a little of this sweet vanilla butter on each peach half. Top with the sprigs of thyme and throw in the split vanilla pod for good measure. Fold the foil over the peaches to create a neat sealed parcel.
4. Set the parcel carefully down in the embers of the fire. The peaches need to be cooked in a gentle, glowing heat, so don’t let them come into contact with any super-hot embers. Bake for 20–25 minutes, rotating the parcel occasionally to ensure the peaches cook evenly.
5. Once the peaches are tender, serve them hot, with all the buttery sweet juices from the parcel, and cream if you like.

Recipe courtesy of House and Garden