Come and get stuck into our veg plot

Make the most of this lovely spring weather.  Come and share in the push to get our vegetables in the ground.  There’s lots to do.

We need plenty of people at our volunteer growing session this Sunday 11 April to prepare some more beds and spread compost.  There’s also celery and broad beans to plant out as well as beetroot and parsnip seeds to sow.

Please join us between 10am and 1pm on Sunday.  You’ll find us on the plot behind St Kew Harvest Farm Shop.  If you can, bring tools – hoes, spades, forks, trowels, rakes, wheelbarrows. 

Help us to get veg growing again

It’s time to get growing again

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Seasonal recipe No 39 – Pasta with sprouting broccoli

A simple seasonal dish that’s quick to make and very tasty.

Serves 4

Preparation time: less than 30 minutes
Cooking time: 10 to 30 minutes

Ingredients
500g sprouting broccoli
1 medium sized fresh red chilli
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 small tin of anchovy fillets in olive oil, drained (approx 10-12 fillets)
6 tbsp olive oil
350g pasta (fusilli, orecchiette, penne rigate or conchiglie are the best shapes)
4 tbsp grated parmesan
salt and pepper

Method
Put a large pan of water on to boil with a little salt. Trim any woody stalks from the broccoli, wash and chop into 1cm sections. Cut the chilli in half lengthways and remove the seeds and pith. Chop the chilli flesh, garlic and the anchovies finely.

Drop the pasta into the boiling water and stir immediately. Cook until just tender.

In another pan warm 4 tbsp of the olive oil over a medium flame and add the chilli, garlic and anchovies. Sweat these for a minute or so and then add the broccoli, season with a little salt and pepper and continue to cook gently while the pasta cooks.When the pasta’s been cooking for about 5 minutes, transfer a small ladle of its water to the broccoli mix. When the pasta is ready, add the remaining 2 tbsp oil and the cheese to this mixture and stir over a high heat for a couple of minutes. Toss with the drained pasta and serve immediately.

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Enjoy sprouting broccoli this week

… it won’t be around for much longer!

Small boxes will have:
potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)
onions (Rest Harrow Farm, Trebetherick)
carrots (Rest Harrow Farm)
kale (Rest Harrow Farm)
white sprouting broccoli (Rest Harrow Farm)
swede (Rest Harrow Farm)

Standard boxes will have some extras of the above plus:
cauliflower (Rest Harrow Farm)
parsnips (Rest Harrow Farm)
red cabbage (Rest Harrow Farm)

Large boxes will also have:
* coriander (Jeremy Brown)
* salad leaves (Jeremy)
* spinach (Jeremy)

* = grown to organic principles

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Help us to get veg growing again

The next volunteer growing session is on Sunday 11 April.  We’ve decided to give everyone a rest this Easter Sunday.

We do need all the help we can get to plant veg at this time of year so please consider coming along for a couple of hours next Sunday between 10am and 12 noon.  

You’ll be made very welcome.  We can guarantee you unlimited fresh air, plenty of exercise and some friendly company… PLUS you’ll come away feeling you’ve achieved something worthwhile.

Expert grower Mark Norman says:

“A small gang of us created a new growing bed, spread compost, and sowed lettuce and beetroot Detroit last week.  But we really could have done with some extra assistance. 

On Sunday 11 April there’ll be broad beans and celery to plant out, and more beetroot plus parsnip to sow.  Also compost to spread and additional growing beds to prepare.  Please bring tools – hoes, spades, forks, trowels, rakes, wheelbarrows…”

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Seasonal recipe No 38 – Cauliflower with saffron, pinenuts and raisins

Henrietta recommends this recipe from Sam and Sam Clark’s Moro cookbook. They say that the white cauliflower shows off the saffron’s colour beautifully and turns this “parochial vegetable into quite a glamorous one”.

Serves 4

Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 medium cauliflower, broken into small florets (keep the smallest leaves)
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, thinly sliced
50 strands saffron, infused in 4 tbsp boiling water
3 tbsp pinenuts, lightly toasted
75g raisins, soaked in warm water
sea salt and black pepper

Method
Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the cauliflower, put the lid on and bring to the boil again. Blanch the cauliflower for a minute then drain in a colander and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy saucepan until hot but not smoking then add the onion with a pinch of salt. Stir well, reduce the heat to low and cook very slowly for about 15-20 minutes until golden in colour and sweet in smell. Be sure to stir the onions every 5 minutes so they cook evenly and do not stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat, drain the onion and keep the oil.

Set the same saucepan over a high heat and add the olive oil back to the pan. When the oil is hot, add the cauliflower and leaves. Fry until the cauliflower begins to colour, then add the onion, the saffron-infused water, the pinenuts and drained raisins. Give everything a good toss and cook for 5 more minutes until the saffron water has more or less evaporated. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

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Spicy coriander in the veg boxes this week

Small boxes will have:
potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)
onions (Rest Harrow Farm, Trebetherick)
carrots (Rest Harrow Farm)
leeks (Rest Harrow Farm)
* coriander (Jeremy Brown)
cauliflower (Rest Harrow Farm)
kale (Rest Harrow Farm)

Medium boxes will have larger quantities of some of the above plus
* radishes (Jeremy)
sprouting broccoli (Rest Harrow Farm)
swede (Rest Harrow Farm)

And large boxes will also have:
* salad leaves (Jeremy)
red cabbage (Rest Harrow Farm)

* = grown to organic principles

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