Seasonal local food recipe No.387 – Courgette loaf cake

Want something different to make with the glut of courgettes in your weekly veg box? This simple sponge loaf is recommended by Camel CSA expert grower Bridget Gould. It’s taken from BBC Good Food, which says: “The hidden veg keeps it moist and walnuts add crunch.”

Serves: 8

Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: one hour

Ingredients
butter, for the tin
2 large eggs
125ml vegetable oil
85g soft brown sugar
350g courgettes, coarsely grated
1 tsp vanilla extract
300g plain flour
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
85g walnuts, roughly chopped
140g sultanas

Method
Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter and line a 2lb loaf tin with baking parchment. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, oil and sugar, then add the courgettes and vanilla.

In another bowl, combine the remaining ingredients with a pinch of salt. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet mixture, then pour into the tin. Bake for 1 hr, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool, then serve, or freeze for up to 1 month.

Seasonal local food recipe No.307 – Squash, ricotta and sage pasta bake

My husband found this recipe on the BBC Good Food website.  It was tasty served with a green salad on the side.

Serves 6

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients
1 squash, weighing about 1kg, chopped into chunks
2 tbsp olive oil
200 ml tub crème fraiche
50 g finely grated parmesan cheese
250 g tub ricotta cheese
small bunch sage leaves, half chopped, half whole
12 sheets fresh lasagne

Method
Heat the oven to 220°C/Gas mark 7.  Toss the squash together with the olive oil in a roasting tin.  Roast the squash for 30 minutes until soft and golden.  While the squash is roasting, mix the crème fraiche with half the parmesan, then set aside.

When the squash is ready, leave to cool slightly, then peel the skin away from the flesh.  In a separate bowl beat the ricotta with the chopped sage and the remaining parmesan and fold through the squash with some seasoning, trying not to break it up too much.

Assemble the bake by spreading a little of the crème fraiche mix over a gratin dish.  Then lay some of the lasagne sheets over and splodge some of the ricotta and squash mix over the pasta with more crème fraiche.  Use all the ricotta mix to fill the bake, but make sure you keep some crème fraiche for the top.

Finally spread the crème fraiche over the top layer of lasagne, then scatter with the whole sage leaves.  Bake for 25 minutes until bubbling and golden, then serve cut into squares.

Seasonal local food recipe No.271 – Cauliflower ‘rice’

Cauliflower rice or couscous is in vogue at the moment as a low carb alternative.  Charlotte, the CSA publicity officer, was planning to have this with a chilli last night.  Recipe from BBC Good Food.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 3 minutes
Cooking time: 7 minutes

Ingredients
1 medium cauliflower
Good handful coriander leaves, chopped
Cumin seeds, toasted (optional)

Method
Cut the hard core and stalks from the cauliflower and pulse the rest in a food processor to make grains the size of rice.  Tip into a heatproof bowl, cover with clingfilm, then pierce and microwave for 7 minutes on high – there is no need to add any water.  Stir in the coriander.  For spicier rice, add some toasted cumin seeds.

[Gallery] It’s time to… make more autumn preserves

Camel CSA has a glut of tomatoes this year, so we got together for another chutney-making evening. Thanks to Chris for so generously allowing us to make a chaotic, steaming, sticky mess of his kitchen and to the rest of the team – Bridget, Charlotte, Danny, Jane, Penny, Robert and Trish.

Seasonal local food recipe No.168: Warm cauliflower salad

Roasted cauliflower makes a delicious crunchy winter salad in this recipe from BBC Good Food. You can use the mixed salad leaves in Camel CSA’s weekly veg boxes instead of the baby spinach.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients
1 cauliflower, broken into florets
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion , thinly sliced
3 tbsp sherry vinegar
1½ tbsp honey
3 tbsp raisins
small bunch dill , snipped
3 tbsp toasted, flaked almonds
50g baby spinach

Method
Heat oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Toss the cauliflower with the olive oil, season and roast for 15 mins. Stir in the red onion and carry on roasting for 15-20 mins more until tender.

While the cauliflower is roasting, mix the vinegar, honey and raisins with some seasoning. When the cauliflower is done, stir in the dressing, dill, almonds and spinach, and serve.

• More roasted cauliflower recipes
  Roasted curried cauliflower
  Roasted cauliflower gigli with pine nuts and currants

Seasonal local food recipe No.165: Squash & sage risotto

This autumnal twist on a traditional Italian favourite comes from Barney Desmazery, food editor of BBC Good Food. He uses butternut squash but I substituted the grey-green Crown Prince variety from Camel CSA’s weekly veg box. And still had plenty left over to make a big batch of spiced squash soup.

Serves: 4
Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes

Ingredients
1kg squash , peeled and cut into bite-size chunks
3 tbsp olive oil
bunch sage , leaves picked, half roughly chopped, half left whole
1½ l vegetable stock
50g butter
1 onion , finely chopped
300g risotto rice
1 small glass white wine
50g parmesan, finely grated

Method
Before you make the risotto, heat oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Toss the squash in 1 tbsp oil together with the chopped sage. Scatter into a shallow roasting tin and roast for 30 mins until it is brown and soft.

While the squash is roasting, prepare the risotto. Bring the stock to the boil and keep on a low simmer.In a separate pan, melt half the butter over a medium heat. Stir in the onions and sweat gently for 8-10 mins until soft but not coloured, stirring occasionally. Stir the rice into the onions until completely coated in the butter, then stir continuously until the rice is shiny and the edges of the grain start to look transparent.

Pour in the wine and simmer until totally evaporated. Add the stock, a ladleful at a time and stirring the rice over a low heat for 25-30 mins, until the rice is cooked al dente (with a slightly firm, starchy bite in the middle). The risotto should be creamy and slightly soupy. When you draw a wooden spoon through it, there should be a wake that holds for a few moments but not longer.

At the same time, gently fry the whole sage leaves in a little olive oil until crisp, then set aside on kitchen paper. When the squash is cooked, mash half of it to a rough purée and leave half whole. When the risotto is just done, stir though the purée, then add the cheese and butter and leave to rest for a few mins. Serve the risotto scattered with the whole chunks of squash and the crisp sage leaves.

Seasonal local food recipe No.162: Chinese-style kale

This incredibly simple dish from BBC Good Food comes via the Grow to Love campaign at Horticulture Wales. (Thanks to Tony Little of Canolfan Organig Cymru/Organic Centre Wales for the tip-off.)

You can use any kind of kale to make it. This year at Camel CSA we’re growing two varieties – red Russian and Tuscan (cavalo nero), which are much superior in taste and texture to common curly kale.

Serves: 2-3

Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooking: 10 minutes

Ingredients
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 large garlic clove, sliced
200g kale,chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce

Method
Heat the oil in a large wok or frying pan, then tip in the garlic and cook for a few secs. Throw in the kale and toss around the pan to coat in the garlicky oil.

Pour over 100ml boiling water and cook for 7 mins more until the kale has wilted and is cooked through. Stir in the soy and oyster sauces and heat through to serve. 

Try with… Grilled chicken, pork or beef and a bowl of aromatic steamed rice.