Cornish strawberries and home-made pickle in this week’s veg boxes

As the “hungry gap” continues, we’re getting inventive. Each standard box has a punnet of strawberries and a jar of the pickle Camel CSA members made from surplus veg last autumn.

Apart from that, we’re relying on new season salad leaves, beetroot and turnip grown in our polytunnels. Also more freshly-picked Cornish asparagus, and bean sprouts from our expert grower Mark Norman.

All the boxes will have: -
new potatoes (Growfair)
Cornish asparagus (Lower Croan, Sladesbridge)
* beetroot bunch (Camel CSA)
* turnip bunches (Camel CSA)
* salad bag (Camel CSA)
* sprouted mung beans (Mark Norman)

Standard boxes will have: -
extra new potatoes (Growfair)
strawberries (Growfair)
* Swiss chard (Camel CSA)
* homemade Camel CSA pickle – sweet apple and ginger, runner bean or sweet cucumber

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Rhubarb and more Cornish asparagus in our veg boxes

We’re in the middle of the “hungry gap“, so we’re relying heavily on other veg growers in Cornwall to fill the veg boxes. It also means there’s fewer items in the weekly boxes, but they’re still high value.

Although we planted our own rhubarb earlier this year, it isn’t ready to pick yet. And we’ve no need to grow our own asparagus as there’s plenty being produced just down the road from us.

Everyone will have: -
new potatoes ‘Rocket’ (Growfair)
cauliflower (Growfair)
rhubarb (Growfair)
Cornish asparagus (Lower Croan, Sladesbridge)
* parsley (Camel CSA)

Standard boxes will have:
extra  potatoes
* radishes (Camel CSA)
* Swiss chard (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles

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Seasonal local food recipe No. 144: Cornish asparagus with chorizo and poached egg

The British asparagus season may be delayed, but here in Cornwall it’s already begun. Camel CSA’s weekly veg boxes each have a freshly-picked bunch of this delectable vegetable from Cornish Asparagus at Lower Croan, Sladesbridge, near Wadebridge.

And we’re proud of the fact that the total food miles = barely 2!

Roger and Gill Derryman of Cornish Asparagus have produced some recipe ideas for their customers. This is the simplest one.

Serves 2

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 12 minutes

Ingredients
A bunch (approx 250g) of Cornish asparagus
1 tbsp olive oil
110g chorizo, sliced
2 eggs
Handful of chives, chopped

Preheat the oven to 210C. Put the Cornish asparagus into a roasting dish, add the olive oil and place in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

In a dry hot frying pan add the slices of chorizo. Cook on both sides for two minutes until the paprika oil oozes out of the slices. Remove from the pan and reserve the paprika oil.

Meanwhile place a pan of boiling water on the hob and bring to a fast rolling boil. When you have three minutes to go before serving, crack two eggs into the boiling water and immediately lower the heat to low-medium for two minutes. Then turn the heat off completely.

Remove the Cornish asparagus from the oven and place on a serving dish, sprinkle over the hot chorizo slices and add the poached eggs. Finally drizzle over the paprika oil from the frying pan and finish with the chives.

Simple recipes for fresh Cornish asparagus

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A Cornish asparagus treat in this week’s veg boxes

First of the season! A special treat for us all from Gill and Roger Derryman’s Cornish asparagus farm at Sladesbridge, near Wadebridge.

Everyone will have:
asparagus (Lower Croan, Sladesbridge)
new potatoes (GrowFair Cornwall)
* leeks (St Kew Harvest)
* carrots (Camel CSA)
* swiss chard (Camel CSA)

Standard boxes will have extra potatoes plus:
* salad bag
cauliflower (GrowFair Cornwall)
* parsley or parsnips (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles

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Camel CSA members carry on sowing, growing, planting

Cornish growers have experienced weather conditions ranging from drought to monsoon in a matter of days. Our own team has been alternately watering thirsty crops and wading through sticky mud.

The extended dry spell in Cornwall means we’re a little behind with some tasks. However the recent rain has enabled us to sow more peas, beans, parsnips, radishes, beetroot and carrot directly into the ground and plant out broccoli, cabbage, bunched onions, Swiss chard, lettuces, turnips and parsley.

The kohlrabi hasn’t germinated well outdoors, so we’re about to sow some in modules, along with more cabbage, Brussels sprouts, calabrese, celeriac and purple sprouting broccoli. We’ve also sown hundreds of winter squash seeds.

Salad leaves, french beans, leek seedlings, spring onions and baby beetroot are thriving in the polytunnel, though the indoor carrots aren’t doing so well.

Camel CSA’s weekly veg boxes rely heavily at this time of year on fresh supplies bought in directly from other local farmers and growers who’ve built up strong relationships with us. This mutually beneficial approach is all part of being a CSA.

They include Cornish asparagus produced by the Derrymans at Lower Croan, Sladesbridge; cauliflower and spring greens from Richard Hore of Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick; leeks and spinach from Jeremy Brown of St Kew Harvest; potatoes from Johnny Brown of Benbole Farm, St Kew Highway and James Mutton of Burlerrow, St Mabyn; rhubarb and mung beans (sprouted in his linen cupboard!) from Mark Norman in Bodmin.

In the aftermath of a long, hard winter it’s become more and more difficult to source fresh, seasonal veg grown within this 10-mile radius. When forced to cast our net county-wide we buy from Growfair Cornwall. But at least we’ve kept this side of the Tamar!

Fortunately our own early salad crops are sprouting fast.

Our volunteer picking and packing team spend some time every Friday morning cutting individual lettuce leaves from the polytunnel and outdoor-grown oriental greens – including spicy mustard, mizuna and mibuna - before bagging them up for the boxes.

The other immediate jobs involve covering the second polytunnel to house the tomatoes, completing the small seeding tunnel and getting the roof and windows finished on the potting shed.

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Simple recipes for fresh, Cornish asparagus

The warm spring weather has brought on the asparagus crop in Cornwall.  We’ve been enjoying Cornish asparagus from Lower Croan, Sladesbridge in our veg boxes for the past three weeks.

There’s a lot to be said for local food that’s come straight from the farm and run up few food miles.

Camel CSA is incredibly fortunate to be situated just a few fields away from the Derrymans’ asparagus farm. So it’s always tender and freshly picked – nothing like the tough old stalks you get in supermarkets.

Most of us would agree that asparagus is best eaten either on its own with some butter or hollandaise sauce, or with just a few simple extra ingredients.

Roger and Gill Derryman never get tired of their own Cornish asparagus with bacon and parmesan.

I’m a fan of what I call simply delicious Cornish asparagus with dry-cured bacon and a free-range poached egg (from my own hens, naturally).

Garden biographer Trish Gibson, who posts a recipe every week on this website, likes it even simpler – just Cornish asparagus with egg (from her hens).

Camel CSA volunteer Henrietta Danvers, who used to run her own restaurant in London, recommends Mark Hix’s more sophisticated shaved asparagus and goat’s cheese salad.

And if you’re not sure what to do with this lovely vegetable, why not begin with the basics: How to cook British asparagus. 

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Simply delicious Cornish asparagus

One of the simplest and most delicious ways of serving Cornish asparagus. 

Steamed asparagus, fried or grilled dry-cured bacon, poached free-range egg and a sprinkling of freshly-ground black pepper. 

Maybe some steamed Cornish new potatoes.

That’s all.

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Seasonal recipe No 46: Shaved asparagus and goat’s cheese salad

This unusual recipe using raw asparagus is from Mark Hix.  It’s recommended by Camel CSA picking and packing volunteer Henrietta Danvers.  Use freshly-picked Cornish asparagus of course.

Mark writes a weekly food column in The Independent.  He says: “Raw asparagus might seem a little odd, but it’s actually delicious, and offers a vastly different eating experience to the cooked variety.”

Serves 4

Preparation: 10 minutes
Resting time: 10 minutes
Cooking: zero

Ingredients
A couple of handfuls of small salad leaves
12 or so stems of thick asparagus, woody stalks trimmed
120-150g soft goat’s cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the dressing:
juice of 1 lemon
3-4tbsp extra-virgin rapeseed oil

Method
With a sharp mandolin or with a very sharp knife, slice the asparagus as thinly as possible on the angle and place in a bowl. Mix all of the ingredients for the dressing, season well and mix with the asparagus and leave for 10 minutes. Toss the asparagus with the leaves and arrange on plates. Crumble the goat’s cheese over the salad and serve immediately.

Other ways of preparing asparagus

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More Cornish asparagus in the veg boxes

Make the most of it! There’s another bunch of Lower Croan’s newly-picked Cornish asparagus in the boxes. 

Find out more about Cornish asparagus

All the boxes have: -
Cornish asparagus (Lower Croan, Sladesbridge)
Cornish new potatoes (JH Allen & Sons, Marazion)
spring greens (West Cornwall)
*salad bag (Jeremy Brown)
*green garlic (Jeremy)

The standard boxes also have: -
*parsley (Camel CSA)
*baby beetroot (Jeremy)
as well as extra potatoes and *salad leaves

 
Next week we can look forward to mixed rocket and maybe the first crop of this season’s basil from Jeremy Brown at St Kew Harvest.

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Cornish Earlies in the veg boxes

We have some more of those small Cornish Early new potatoes to enjoy in our vegetable boxes this week. They come from the milder climes of Penwith in west Cornwall, which is always the first UK region to lift new potatoes in the spring. We’ve also got another bunch of that delicious Cornish asparagus.

In all the veg boxes we can expect: -
Cornish Early new potatoes (Penwith)
Cornish asparagus (Lower Croan, Sladesbridge)
cauliflower (West Cornwall)
* spinach (Jeremy Brown)
* salad bag (Jeremy)

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