Hillfarm rapeseed oil

When we decided to take the cross-country route from Southwold to Gunton Park in Norfolk, it certainly paid off. A quick pit stop at a farm shop between Orford and Aldeburgh found me a new and essential store cupboard ingredient for purely British dressings.

Rapeseed oil seems to be an obvious by-product of those acres and acres of yellow flowers you pass in the car in the spring months. Well, there it was, just sitting on a wooden trestle table alongside asparagus and strawberries, freshly harvested from the farm. Packaged in a nicely presented bottle with the words ‘cold-pressed’, ‘extra-virgin’ and ‘high in omega 3’, it was a by-product not to be passed by. I’ve always struggled to find purely British oil for my recipes, as imported olive oil seems to rule the shop shelves and it’s just not native to these islands. Well, this one, made by Hillfarm, has a great golden — almost saffron-like — colour, with a unique nuttiness that worked perfectly with cider vinegar and Suffolk mustard for my crab salad.