Seasonal local veg from Cornwall in this week’s boxes

 This week everyone will have:
* onions (Camel CSA)
* leeks (St Kew Harvest)
* carrots (Camel CSA)
* savoy cabbage (Camel CSA)
* swede (Camel CSA)
* garlic (Camel CSA)
* parsley (Camel CSA)
purple sprouting broccoli (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)

Standard boxes will have extra potatoes plus:
* parsnips (Camel CSA)
* celeriac (Camel CSA)
* salad leaves (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles

Seasonal local veg from Cornwall in this week’s boxes

The last of our squash are in this week’s share of the harvest. There were just enough for a Crown Prince variety in each box, minus the one that had been nibbled by the resident mice in our potting shed.

Everyone will have:
* parsley (Camel CSA)
* onions (Camel CSA)
* carrots (Camel CSA)
* red cabbage (Camel CSA)
* squash (Camel CSA)
* parsnips (Camel CSA)
* swede (Camel CSA)
potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)

Standard boxes will have extra potatoes plus:
* leeks (Camel CSA)
* turnip bunch (Camel CSA)
* purple sprouting broccoli (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles

Try these recipe ideas from Camel CSA: -
Spicy roasted squash
Squash and apple curry

Local and seasonal – contents of this week’s veg boxes

Everyone will be having:

potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)
* onions (Camel CSA)
* celeriac (Camel CSA)
* parsnips (Camel CSA)
* carrots (Camel CSA)
* savoy cabbage (Camel CSA)
* beetroot (Camel CSA)
* turnip (Camel CSA)

Standard boxes will have extra potatoes plus:
* leeks (Camel CSA)
* squash (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles

Seasonal local food recipe No 125: Gnocchi with Tomato Sauce

A recipe from Masterchef presenter Gregg Wallace, shown in the BBC’s recent Great British Food Revival series.

Serves 4
Preparation and cooking: 30-40 minutes

Ingredients
For the gnocchi:
300g floury potatoes
50g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

For tomato sauce:
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, finley chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped1 tbsp tomato purée
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes
pinch of sugar
salt and freshly ground black pepperbasil leaves, to garnish

Method
For the gnocchi, cook the potatoes in their skins in a pan of boiling water for 10-15 minutes, or until tender (a knife should slide in without much resistance). Drain the potatoes and set aside until cool enough to handle. Peel the potatoes and pass through a potato ricer into a bowl, then measure out 250g for the gnocchi.

For the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil in a small pan and gently fry the onion and garlic for 2-3 minutes, or until softened but not coloured. Add the tomato purée and chopped tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat slightly and cook for a further 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with a pinch of sugar and some salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Meanwhile, tip the potato onto a floured work surface and knead in the flour until the mixture comes together to form a dough. Divide into four equal pieces and roll out into thick sausage shapes. Cut each sausage into 2cm/1in pieces and press with the tines of a fork to create a pattern.

Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and add the gnocchi. Cook the gnocchi for 1-2 minutes, or until they float to the top. Remove with a slotted spoon and divide among serving bowls.

Spoon over the tomato sauce and garnish with fresh basil to serve.

This week’s seasonal local veg …

Everyone will have:
potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)
* garlic (Camel CSA)
* onions (Camel CSA)
* salad bag of mixed winter leaves (Camel CSA)**
* squash (Camel CSA)
* carrots (Camel CSA)
* swede (Camel CSA)
* swiss chard (Camel CSA)

Standard boxes will have extra potatoes plus:
* celeriac (Camel CSA)
* beetroot (Camel CSA)
* sprouting broccoli and/or kale depending on amount of broccoli available (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles

** The salad bags contain mixed lettuce, red mustard, pak choi, mizuna, mibuna, baby chard and curly endive leaves.

Another box full of local seasonal veg – and fruit

This week, everyone will have:
potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)
* onions (Camel CSA)
* garlic (Camel CSA)
* sweetcorn (Camel CSA)
* fennel (Camel CSA)
* calabrese/purple sprouting broccoli (Camel CSA)
* salad leaves (Camel CSA)
* swiss chard (Camel CSA)
* turnips (Camel CSA)
* carrots (Camel CSA)
* dessert apples – ‘Lord Hindlip’ variety (Camel CSA)

Standard boxes will also have:
* sweet peppers (Camel CSA)
* aubergines (Camel CSA)
* tomatoes (Camel CSA)
* curly parsley (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles

Seasonal local food recipe No 119: Pumpkin pie

If you’ve carved out your pumpkin for Hallowe’en and you want a change from making soup with the flesh, why not try this recipe for Pumpkin pie from Sarah Raven’s Garden Cookbook. She claims it’s the best pumpkin pie she’s ever tasted.

Alternatively, try Camel CSA’s Pumpkin and apple curry or some of the other recipes linked to from that page.

Serves 6
Preparation: about an hour
Cooking: 55 minutes

Ingredients
For the pastry:
50g butter
100g plain flour
1 egg yolk, beaten
icing sugar for dusting

For the filling:
450g pumpkin flesh, cut into chunks
100g soft brown sugar
pinch of salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1 tbsp honey
grated zest of 1 lemon and juice of ½ lemon
grated zest of 1 orange and juice of ½ orange
3 eggs, beaten

Method
To make the pastry, rub the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Add the egg yolk and just enough very cold water to gather it into a ball. Roll out the pastry and line a 20cm loose-bottomed flan tin. Chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Prick the bottom of the tart with a fork, cover with greaseproof paper and weigh this down with some rice or baking beans. Bake the pastry case blind for about 20-25 minutes. Take it out of the oven, but leave the oven on, and let it cool slightly, then remove the rice or beans and paper.

Meanwhile make the filling. Having removed its seeds, steam the pumpkin until tender. Put the pumpkin and all the remaining ingredients except the eggs into a food processor and puree until smooth. Add the eggs and blend. Pour into the pastry case and bake for 55 minutes, until a skewer comes out of the centre clean. Allow to cool and dust with icing sugar.

Camel CSA’s veg boxes just keep on growing …

Once again, apart from the potatoes and bay leaves, all of this week’s contents come from the CSA’s plot. Everyone will have:

1kg potatoes ((Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)
* sweetcorn
* florence fennel
* swiss chard
* tomatoes
* chillies
* bay leaves (Trish) (part dried but need further drying out in warm airy place before storing in airtight containers)
* aubergine
* onions
* calabrese/purple sprouting broccoli
* carrots
* salad leaves

Standard boxes will also have:
* borlotti beans
* radicchio
* leeks
* parsley

* = grown to organic principles

FRIDAY UPDATE – no borlotti beans afte all, I’m afraid, as there weren’t enough to go round

Seasonal local food recipe No 117: Radicchio and lemon pasta

A member of the chicory family sometimes known as red chicory, radicchio has distinctive pink-red leaves with white veins. Its firm, cup-shaped leaves have a strongly bitter taste. It is generally used in salads mixed with other salad leaves. In its native Italy it is often served shredded. Alternatively, tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces. But there are also a number of recipes that make use of it cooked.

Yotam Ottolenghi cooks it lightly and mixes it with walnuts, lentils and honey for a tasty dish. And Sarah Raven has this recipe for Radicchio and lemon pasta in her Garden Cookbook which she says is quick to prepare and delicious cold the next day.

Serves 4
Preparation and cooking: about 15 minutes

Ingredients
100g chopped pancetta
2-3 tbsp olive oil
½ onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
200g dried egg tagliatelle
200g radicchio
3 tbsp dry white wine
50g butter
grated zest of 1 lemon
100ml double cream
handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
grated parmesan, to serve
salt and black pepper

Method
Bring a large pan of water to the boil. Put the chopped pancetta into a wide shallow pan over a moderate heat with half the olive oil. When the fat begins to run, add the chopped onion and garlic, and then cook with the pancetta for about 3-4 minutes, until the onion has softened.

Put the pasta into the pan of salted boiling water and cook until al dente.

Slice the radicchio into thin strips and add to the onion mixture with the wine and sauté until the radicchio begins to wilt. Add the butter and lemon zest; pour in the cream and season well. Add this to the drained pasta with the remaining olive oil and the chopped flat-leaf parsley. Finish with a generous topping of parmesan.

Another veg box full of goodness from the CSA’s plot

All our own produce again, apart from the potatoes. Everyone will have:

1kg potatoes (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)
* runner/french beans (Camel CSA)
* beetroot (Camel CSA)
* leeks (Camel CSA)
* broccoli (Camel CSA)
* salad leaves (Camel CSA)
* tomatoes (Camel CSA)
* red onions (Camel CSA)
* garlic (Camel CSA)
* chillies (Camel CSA)

Standard boxes will also have:
* sweet peppers (Camel CSA)
* aubergines (Camel CSA)
* tuscan/curly kale (Camel CSA)
* turnips (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles