What a manic few months we have just! This blog includes a huge new stockist update, all Christmas info you will need, nature updates, winter recipes and much more....
After a very challenging harvest with a lot of rainfall our crops are all safely in the shed and the oilseed is drying out well on our drying floors. The drying floors are designed to blow cold air up through the oilseed drying it to the correct moisture level before the seed is pressed.
Unfortunately, the challenging weather conditions have not been on our side this year, making life very difficult for Richard to sow seed for next years crop! Thankfully we have successfully been able to get 182 acres of oilseed into the ground for next years crop which will be ready to harvest in August 2024.
On another note, we have been absolutely delighted to welcome all the wildlife onto the farm. With a few little hedgehogs calling Broglasco home for the winter. We have made a safe little hedgehog haven from sawdust, and hay to keep them warm and comfy. They are more than happy to steal the cat food. The whooper swans have also made their return for the winter making plenty of noise on their merry way (checkout of Instagram for daily updates). 
From one harvest to another, we are now well underway with this year’s carrot harvest. This year our carrots are extra large which has been causing a few little hiccups along with way. But nevertheless, we are all about silver linings. Richard has donated carrots to all the local primary schools in our area, created a little competition for the scariest monster carrots! This little competition has went down a great hit with the kids, and many prizes have now been handed out to the prize winners (which can be seen below).
We are happy to be back working with our local wholesalers, and there are plenty of Broglasco carrot stockist in the North Coast area.
Some very exciting news that we have been looking forward to sharing with you all for many months now is that we have launched with Dunnes Stores Simply Better. This is truly a momentous moment for us at Broighter Gold, and we are so delighted to be bottling our oil for the Simply Better brand. We will be stocked in 142 stores in the coming weeks, this has been a huge task, investment and an amazing little team pulled together to make this happen! We are so proud and grateful to Dunnes for this opportunity.
With Broighter Gold expanding with the Simply Better range, it has been a huge investment for us. We are currently installing a brand-new semiautomatic bottling line which will make a huge difference to our team. For the past 12 years every single bottle has been hand filled, capped, labelled, and boxed up, so this is something we are really looking forward to! There have been some slight delays along with way with the delivery of some new equipment including a new press (for cold pressing the seed into liquid gold) which is coming all the way for Germany. Our new press will now allow us to quadruple the amount of oil that we are currently pressing.
After getting 17 pallets out the door for Simply Better (wow, I know) we are now straight back into bottling our own branded oils, and most importantly getting the shelves restocked full of our gift boxes which make the most amazing pressies for Christmas. Unfortunately, this year due to taking on this new opportunity, we do not have the manpower to be able to bring you the Christmas shop that we know you love, trust me we are all as gutted about this as you are as it is something we really love to do. Although we can assure you our selves will will be fully stocked with all the Broighter Gold goodness including hampers, gift boxes and gift bags! One thing we can promise is that we will be back next year bigger and better than ever before!
Shop Opening Hours:
- Monday: 9am-1pm
- Tuesday: 9am- 5pm
- Wednesday: 9am-5pm
- Thursday: 9am-5pm
- Friday: 9am-5pm
Winter Warmer Recipe: Chicken Pot Pie
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp Broighter Gold Rosemary & Garlic Infused Oil
- 8-10 chicken thighs
- 2 Onions
- 2 Celery Sticks
- 2 Carrots
- 50g Butter
- 50g Plain Flour
- 500ml Milk
- 1 Chicken Stock Cube
- Small bunch thyme leaves
- 1 egg
- 375g puff pastry
Recipe:
- Heat 1 tbsp BG oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Once hot, brown half the chicken pieces on both sides, season and transfer to a plate or bowl. Repeat with the remaining chicken pieces.
- Reduce the heat to medium and heat the remaining oil in the pan. Fry the onions, celery and carrots for 8-10 mins, stirring occasionally until all the veg has softened. Tip into the bowl with the chicken and return the pan to a medium heat.
- Melt the butter in the pan and stir in the flour to make a paste. Cook for a couple of minutes, stirring until the paste turns golden. Add a splash of the milk, then whisk to combine. Continue slowly adding the milk, whisking continuously until you have a smooth, creamy sauce.
- Crumble the stock cube into the sauce and add 250ml water. Return to a gentle simmer, then return the chicken and veg to the pan. Stir in the mustard and thyme, and season well.
- Cover with a lid and simmer over a low heat for 15-20 mins, stirring occasionally until the chicken is tender. Heat the oven to 200C. Shred the chicken in the pan using two forks, pulling it into bite-sized pieces.
- Transfer the filling to a pie dish. Brush a little of the beaten egg around the rim of the dish. Unravel the pastry and lay it over the top of the dish, then trim the edges with kitchen scissors, leaving a little pastry overhanging the edge. Crimp this excess to seal the pie. Brush the pastry all over with some more of the beaten egg and poke a few holes in the top using a skewer (this will release any steam inside during baking). Roll out any pastry offcuts and cut out decorations for the top, if you like. Stick these to the pastry and brush with any remaining beaten egg. Bake for 35-40 mins until the pastry is golden brown and the filling is bubbling at the edge.
*Recipe from BBC Good Food
Enjoy!!
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