St Kew Harvest leeks in this week’s veg boxes

We’ve another excellent selection of veg in this week’s boxes, including leeks from Jeremy Brown at St Kew Harvest Farm Shop and first of the rhubarb from our expert grower Mark Norman’s plot in Bodmin.

All small and standard veg boxes have: -
potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)
* leeks (St Kew Harvest)
* onions (Camel CSA)
* carrots (Camel CSA)
* parsnips (Camel CSA)
* Swiss chard (Camel CSA)
* parsley (Camel CSA)

Standard boxes also have: - 
extra potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)
* rhubarb (Mark Norman, Bodmin) 
* radishes (Camel CSA)
* beetroot (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles

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Seasonal local food recipe No 77: Leeks with greens

A recipe from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s new River Cottage Everyday cookbook. ‘Soft, buttery, wilted leeks bring a lovely sweetness to any kind of lightly cooked cabbage or greens,’ he says. ‘Easy to throw together, can be made with different seasonal green throughout most of the year and works as a side dish to everything …’ It’s just got to be worth trying.

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking about 15-20 minutes

Ingredients
about 500g leeks
a knob of unsalted butter
1 savoy or other green cabbage, 2 heads of spring greens, or a few bunches of curly kale
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
Trim the leeks, slice them finely (maximum 5mm) and give them a good rinse to get rid of any grit. Heat the butter in a large frying pan or wide saucepan and add the leeks with a pinch of salt. Let them cook gently for 5-6 minutes, stirring or shaking the pan occasionally, until wilted and tender.

Meanwhile, grim and coarsely shred the cabbage, greens or kale. Cook lightly – in either a steamer or a large saucepan of salted water – for 3-4 minutes, until wilted and tender but not too soft. Remove from the heat immediately, drain well and let the excess moisture steam off for a minute or so. Then add to the pan of buttery leeks, along with some more seasoning, and stir over a low heat for about a minutes until thoroughly combined. Serve straight away.

In theory you can use any leftovers for bubble and squeak … but in practice there rarely are any.

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How our volunteers cope with Cornwall’s claggy soil

It’s a good thing I’m very fond of leeks, as I dug up 90 of them this morning for Camel Community Supported Agriculture’s weekly veg boxes. It certainly made me appreciate where my food comes from.

After all the torrential rain in Cornwall lately, the earth was distinctly claggy. My boots got heavier and heavier as the mud stuck to them, and my clothes, hands and face were splattered with streaks of soil.

I wasn’t the only one, of course. This sort of task is routine for members of Camel CSA’s volunteer picking and packing team.

While I tussled with the leeks, Mike was trimming them. He also dug and washed the Jerusalem artichokes. Anne and Cath were pulling up beetroot and fennel. Robert was sorting and labelling the boxes and rinsing the leeks. Meanwhile in the shed Trish and Henrietta were weighing and sharing out the rest of vegetables to go in the boxes.

A total of 30 boxes of fresh, seasonal food achieved in just over an hour’s work… how ever will we cope when we reach our weekly target of 90?!

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Seasonal recipe No 41 – A risotto of leeks and pancetta

This recipe from Nigel Slater’s Tender makes a beautifully creamy risotto. And it’s dead easy too – no celery or onion to chop, just the leeks to slice. A good farewell to one of our winter stalwarts which won’t be around much longer.

Enough for 2

Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: about half an hour

Ingredients
2 medium leeks
about 50g butter, plus a walnut-sized lump to finish
300g arborio rice
a glass of Noilly Prat (or white wine)
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock
6 thin rashers of pancetta (or streaky bacon)
3 tbsp grated parmesan plus more to finish

Method
Wash the leeks thoroughly, splitting them down their length and rinsing under a cold running tap, then slice them finely. Melt the butter in a wide, high-sided pan over a low heat and add the leeks. Let them soften without colouring, stirring from time to time. [A lid can help prevent burning or a piece of greaseproof paper on top - just don't let them brown.]

Stir in the rice, then pour in the Noilly Prat or wine. Let the mixture boil until the alcohol has evaporated, then tip in the first ladleful of hot stock. Continue stirring, adding stock as and when the rice has absorbed almost all of the previous ladleful, till the rice is plump, tender and yet has a little bite left in it – a process that will take about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, grill the pancetta or bacon, or cook in a non-stick frying pan, until truly crisp. Cut into pieces the size of a large postage stamp, leaving a couple of rashers whole. Fold the cut pieces into the risotto.

Stir in the walnut-sized lump of butter, adding the 3 tbsp of parmesan as you go. Divide between warm dishes and finish with a piece of pancetta/bacon and more grated parmesan.

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Seasonal recipe No 37 – Leek and smoked cheddar tart

This recipe by Allegra McEvedy was in yesterday’s Guardian. She says it’s ”good for three days, during which time I would keep it out of the fridge, but covered, for instant passerby snacks”.

Makes eight fat slices in a fluted tart ring with a push-up base (28cm x 3.5cm). Takes an hour.

Ingredients
1kg leeks
100g butter
bunch of fresh thyme stalks, tied with string
6 eggs
300ml double cream
1 tbsp smooth Dijon mustard
180g of smoked cheddar, grated
1 pkt (500g) shortcrust pastry – or make your own

Method
Pre-heat the oven to 170C/340F/gas 3. Roll out the pastry and line your tart case with it; always keep a little ball of pastry aside for emergency repairs after blind baking, rather than lobbing the trimmings. Stick in the freezer for about five minutes to firm up.

Trim the leeks; if they are thick then quarter them lengthways before slicing roughly 1cm thick, thinner ones can just be halved lengthways before slicing. Then wash them thoroughly – there’s nothing worse than biting on grit.

Melt the butter in a wide pan on a medium heat, then add the leeks. Turn the heat up to high, add the thyme, season and put a lid on.

Take the tart case out of the freezer and bake blind for 10-15 minutes. Once it is beginning to brown, mix the yolk of one of the eggs with a tablespoon of cream, brush this all over the base, sides and crown of the tart and put back in the oven for a couple of minutes until shiny and golden (now is the time to plug any holes with that spare ball of pastry).

Stir the leeks regularly for a further 20 minutes (keeping the lid on between stirs) or until they are well softened and all the water has come out of them. Turn the heat down if they are starting to catch.

Crack the eggs into a big mixing bowl, including the lone white, and whisk in the cream and mustard. Stir in the cheddar and then tip in the hot, softened leeks, discarding the bunch of thyme. Season well, ladle the mix carefully into the tart case and cook for about half an hour, until light golden brown on top, and the egg has set. Let it sit for 10 minutes before tucking in.

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Seasonal recipe No 30 – Leek and goat’s cheese tart

From Sarah Raven’s Garden Cookbook

Serves 6-8

Preparation: 1½ hours (including 1 hour chilling of pastry)
Cooking: 30 minutes

Ingredients
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks
285ml single cream
salt and black pepper
4 leeks, thinly sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
200g soft goats’ cheese

For the pastry:
120g butter
½ tsp salt
200g plain flour

Method
First make the pastry. Sift the flour with the salt and work the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add just enough cold water to bind it together. Roll out and use to line a 23cm flan dish. Put this in the fridge for at least an hour.

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4. Prick the base of the pastry case with a fork and bake blind (cover pastry with greaseproof paper weighed down with baking beans or rice) for 20-25 minutes. Remove the beans/rice and paper and allow to cool. Leave the oven on.

When the pastry has cooled a little, spread Dijon mustard over the base. Beat together the eggs, extra yolks, cream and seasoning. Fry the leeks in the oil gently until they’re soft and put them in the pastry case. Crumble the goats’ cheese over the leeks and pour over the egg mixture. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or until the tart is set.

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Seasonal recipe No 26 – Leek soup with parmesan

In his Kitchen Diaries Nigel Slater describes this as a “velvety soup for a clear, cold day”- seems very appropriate at the moment. He says he never throws away parmesan rinds – “no matter how dry and cracked they get, the craggy ends are full of intense, cheesy flavour”. You’ll need a couple for this recipe.

Serves 6

Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 1 hour

Ingredients
3 good-sized leeks
about 40g butter
3 medium-sized potatoes
parmesan rinds
1.5 litres light stock or water
a handful of parsley
6 tbps grated parmesan

Method
Trim the leeks, slice into thick rings and wash thoroughly. Melt the butter in a heavy-based pan, then tip in the washed leeks and let them soften slowly, covered with a lid, over a low to moderate heat. After about 20 minutes and with some occasional stirring they should be silkily tender.

While they are softening, peel the potatoes and cut them into chunks. Add them to the leeks when they are soft and let them cook for five minutes or so, before dropping in the cheese rinds and pouring in the stock or water. Season with salt and black pepper, then partially cover and leave to simmer for a good 40 minutes.

Remove and discard the undissolved cheese rinds, scraping back into the soup any cheesy goo from them as you go. Add the leaves of parsley and blitz the soup in a blender. Check the seasoning – it may need a surprisingly generous amount of salt and pepper – and bring briefly to the boil. Serve piping hot, with the grated parmesan.

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Seasonal recipe No 19 – Pasta with sweet leeks and mascarpone

Adapted from Jamie Oliver’s Naked Chef cookbook. Naturally Jamie makes his own pasta – pappardelle (broad, wavy-edged pasta) – but shop-bought tagliatelle or linguine will work just as well for this simple dish.

Serves 4

Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooking: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 small knob of butter
1 tbsp olive oil
4 medium leeks, trimmed, washed and sliced at an angle
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground pepper
200g mascarpone
455g pasta
1 handful grated parmesan cheese

Method
Put the butter and olive oil into a semi-hot, thick-bottomed pan, add the leeks and gardlic, with a -pinch of salt, and gently sweat, without colouring, for about 5-10 minutes with a lid on, until the leeks are soft and sweet. Add the mascarpone. Let this gently melt into the leeks, creating a semi-thick sauce. Taste for seasoning.

Meanwhile cook the pasta in boiling, salted water until al dente. Toss gently in the sauce (if it seems slightly thick, add a little of the cooking water from the pasta). The sauce should perfectly coat the pasta. Serve sprinkled generously with parmesan.

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Seasonal recipe No 13 – Leek, onion and potato soup

A bit of a classic from Delia Smith’s Cookery Course. And if the Indian summer continues, serve it chilled and call it Vichyssoise!

Serves 4-6

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes

Ingredients
4 large leeks
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 medium onion, chopped small
850ml light chicken or vegetable stock
275ml milk
50g butter
2 tbsp cream
1½ tbsp fresh snipped chives or parsley
salt, pepper

Method
Trim the tops and roots of the leeks, discarding the tough outer layer. Split in half lengthways, slice quite finely and wash thoroughly in two or three changes of water. Drain well.

In a large, thick-based saucepan, gently melt the butter. Add the leeks, potatoes and onion, stirring them all around so they get a good coating of butter. Season with salt and pepper, then cover and let the vegetables sweat over a very low heat for about 15 minutes. You don’t want them to brown. 

Add the stock and milk, bring to simmering point, put the lid back on and let the soup simmer very gently for a further 20 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. If the heat’s too high, the milk may boil over. Now either liquidise the lot or press through a sieve.

Return to the saucepan and reheat gently, tasting to check the seasoning. Add the chopped herbs and add a swirl of cream just before serving.

Click here to see all the recipes that Camel CSA members have recommended so far.

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Jobs for Sunday

A message for anyone planning to volunteer this weekend from Jane Mellowship, one of Camel Community Supported Agriculture’s expert growers.

“Just to let you know the jobs for this Sunday.

“There are lettuce and leeks to sow in the potting shed and out in the field we need to transplant brassicas and chard.

“A second sowing of beetroot can be made and, as long as the weather is good and a bed can be formed with the tractor, a second sowing of carrots. Other than that, weeding the onion beds and probably the peas.

“See you Sunday.”

Last Sunday a bunch of around 10 volunteers got a lot more weeding done, but had to replant a row of brassica seedlings that had been devastated by another predator.  We should probably blame the resident pheasant this time, as it left tell-tale beak marks and foot prints!

The second sowing of peas that replaced the 30-metre row eaten by slugs is now emerging safely under a protective fleece.

Many thanks to volunteers Beverley, Cath, Charlotte, Mark N, Mike H, Mike S, Jane, Jeremy B, John and Kitty.

This Sunday turn up any time between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.  Remember to bring strong shoes or wellies, waterproofs, gardening gloves, drinks and a snack.  Also tools, ideally wheelbarrows, shovels, spades, forks and rakes.  If the weather’s good you might need suncream and a hat!

Click here for directions to the site.  If you have any questions call Antonina at St Kew Harvest Farm Shop on 01208 841818.

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