Seasonal local food recipe No.393 – Shakshuka

We’ve so many really ripe tomatoes in our veg boxes at the moment as well as peppers and aubergines. So why not use them to make this classic Middle Eastern breakfast dish? It’s ideal for weekend brunch or a simple evening meal.

This version comes from food writer Felicity Cloake, who recommends it for being “spicy, hearty and cheap”. She adds: “Feel free to swap the peppers for one medium aubergine, or two courgettes, or four medium boiled potatoes as desired.”

Serves: 4

Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes

Ingredients
4 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
1 red pepper, diced
1 green pepper, diced
6 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tsp sweet paprika
½ tsp cumin seeds
½-1 tsp cayenne pepper
800g tinned tomatoes (or ripe tomatoes in season)
2 tsp sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
4-8 eggs, depending on hunger
Small bunch of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Method
Heat the oil in a large lidded frying pan over a medium heat and add the onion. Cook until golden, then add the peppers. Fry until both are soft, then stir in the garlic and spices and cook for another couple of minutes.

Pour in the tomatoes and roughly mash. Stir in the sugar and lemon juice, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Taste and season, adding more cayenne if you prefer it spicier.

Make 4-8 divots in the sauce and break in the eggs. Season them lightly, turn the heat right down as low as possible, cover and cook for about 10 minutes until they’re just set. Sprinkle with coriander and serve.

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Seasonal local food recipe No. 382 – Creamy potato and wild garlic mash

Wild garlic leaves have a fresh spring flavour that can be used in many different ways. Sometimes simple is best and in this Delicious magazine recipe the wild garlic contrasts beautifully with the creamy mash.

Serves: 4-6

Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1.5kg floury potatoes, cut into chunks
50g unsalted butter
50g wild garlic leaves, sliced
generous splash of double cream
grating of nutmeg

Method
Put the potatoes in a pan of cold salted water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 20 minutes until very tender, then drain and return to the pan briefly over a low heat to dry.

Melt the butter in a small pan and fry the wild garlic for 30 seconds. Mash the potatoes with the cream, nutmeg and most of the garlicky butter. Stir through the fried wild garlic and the rest of the butter. Taste, season and serve.

Try these other ways of using wild garlic leaves on the recipes page on our website:-
Wild garlic frittata
Wild garlic and cheese muffins

Bunched new carrots in Camel CSA’s weekly veg boxes

We’ve all got a bunch of new carrots grown over winter in the polytunnel plus a jar of our own chilli and crab apple jelly.

In all our veg boxes this week:-
*new carrots (Camel CSA)
*chilli and crab apple jelly (Camel CSA)
*sprouted mung beans (Camel CSA)
leeks (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
cauliflower (Restharrow)
savoy cabbage (Restharrow)
potatoes ‘Electra’ (Burlerrow Farm, St Mabyn)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra potatoes
*coriander / chillies (Camel CSA)
beetroot (Restharrow)
red onions (Restharrow)

* = grown to organic principles. Please wash all vegetables carefully.

Try these ways of preparing new carrots on the recipes page on our website:-
Honey-glazed carrots
Baby carrots with lemon and thyme

Seasonal local food recipe No.370 – Salade frisee aux lardons

This classic French salad is absolutely yummy. The bacon and poached egg offset the slightly bitter taste of the frisee (curly green endive) leaves in our weekly veg boxes.

Serves 4

Preparation and cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
250g chopped lardons (small chunks of diced bacon)
4 eggs
4 handfuls of frisee torn in bite-size chunks
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar

Method
Whisk or shake together the oil, vinegar, mustard and sugar to make a vinaigrette. Pour it over the frisee in a large bowl, mix gently then divide between four large plates.

Fry the lardons over a medium heat until they are crisp. Drain and set aside to keep warm. Poach the eggs. Sprinkle each plate of salad with lardons and place a poached egg on top. Serve immediately.

Seasonal local food recipe No.238 – Broad bean hummus

Another way to serve broad beans which is specially good if you’re on a nut-free diet. The beans replace the usual tahini in a hummus recipe. This comes from the Recipes without… series in Guardian Food & Drink.

Serves: 4
Cooking/preparation time: 15-20 minutes

Ingredients
200g fresh broad beans, podded
110g tin chickpeas
50ml water
30ml olive oil
15ml lemon juice
¼ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp salt

Cook the beans. Drain and allow to cool, then pop them out of their skins.

Place the skinned beans in a food processor with the remaining ingredients. Blend for about three minutes until you have a smooth paste. Add more salt if needed. Serve with flatbread.

Seasonal local food recipe No.234 – River Cafe’s Grated zucchini

A really simple way of preparing courgettes as a side dish. It’s from the classic Italian collection of recipes in River Cafe Cook Book Easy. Quite frankly, it doesn’t make much difference if you omit the standing time.

Serves: 4
Preparation/cooking time: 15 minutes  (+30 mins standing time)

Ingredients
1kg courgettes
½ a nutmeg, grated
2 tbs parsley leaves, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 tbs extra virgin oil
Salt and pepper

Method
Wash the courgettes, dry, then grate them on the large holes of a cheese grater. Place in a colander, spread out and sprinkle with salt.

Leave for half an hour to release water, then wrap in a clean towel and wring out the water. Heat the olive oil in a thick-bottomed pan, add the courgettes, nutmeg and garlic, and season. Cover and cook on a medium heat for three minutes. Add the parsley and stir to combine. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

Seasonal local food recipe No.230 – Chard baked with cream and parmesan

This tasty side dish is from the Riverford Organic Farms’ cookbook.  It can also be made with spinach.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 5-10 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes

Ingredients
200g cooked chopped chard (or spinach)
1 egg, beaten
200ml double cream
1 tbs grated parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Method
Mix together all the ingredients.  Bake in a gratin dish at 150°C/Gas Mark 2 for about 25 minutes until just set.

Seasonal local food recipe No.220 – Potato farls

In honour of St Patrick’s Day on Monday this recipe from former Riverford head chef Jane Baxter is an easy way to make potato farls (potato scones).  Apparently it is ideal for a novice or nervous baker!

Makes 8 small farls

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
500g floury potatoes, such as King Edward or Desirée
50g butter
50g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
¼ tsp baking powder
Salt and black pepper
Extra butter, for cooking

Method
Peel the potatoes, then cut them into quarters. Cover with water in a saucepan, season with a pinch of salt and cook for about 15 minutes or until they become tender. You can check this by sticking a knife into them, it should slide out again easily. Drain well, then return the potatoes to the pan.

Melt the butter in a pan and add to the potatoes. Mash until smooth. For the best results, pass the potatoes through a potato ricer or mouli – otherwise, use a standard potato masher.  Sift the flour with the baking powder into the potato mix and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust, if required. The dough should come together and away from the sides of the pan. You can add more flour if the mixture is too wet and a little milk if it is too dry.

Divide the dough into two halves. Form one piece into a ball, then roll it out on a floured surface and into a rough circle with a diameter of about 15 cm and a thickness of 5mm to 1cm. Cut the circle into quarters.

Heat a non-stick shallow frying pan over a medium heat with a little butter to grease the surface. Transfer the four pieces to the pan and cook for around 3 minutes or until golden brown. Flip over and cook the other side for another 3 minutes. Remove to a warm plate.  Repeat the process with the other half of the dough mix.

Serve with lashings of melted butter and a sprinkling of salt or as part of a cooked breakfast.

Seasonal local food recipes No.212 – Leek tian

This is the one vegetarian recipe that our student son requests when he’s home!  It’s adapted from a favourite Sainsbury’s cook book by Rosamond Richardson.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes

Ingredients
450g leeks, washed and cut into slices
100g rice, washed and cooked
1 tbsp chopped parsley
100g Cheddar cheese, grated
2 eggs, beaten
knob of butter
1/2 tsp chilli powder (optional)
2-3 tbsp parmesan, grated
salt and pepper

Method
Preheat the oven to 200 C/gas mark 6. Sweat the leeks in the butter until tender.  Mix with the rice, cheddar, chilli powder, parsley and seasoning to taste, followed by the eggs and mix well.  Put into a buttered heatproof dish, sprinkle with the parmesan and bake in the oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

I usually serve it with jacket potatoes, carrots and peas.

Seasonal local food recipe No.209 – Christmas roasted vegetables with honey and spice

This dead-simple combination of winter vegetables works well with turkey or ham. There’s time to cook it while the turkey rests. The recipe is part of the Season’s Eatings (groan!) mini-series from John Lewis.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 mini squash
4 carrots
4 parsnips
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp honey
3cm ginger root, grated
large pinch of allspice

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4. Scrub the carrots and parsnips (don’t peel) and cut lengthways into evenly sized chunks. Peel the squash and cut into thick slices, removing the seeds. Place the vegetables in a roasting tray with the garlic cloves. Drizzle with the olive oil and stir well so the vegetables are coated. There should be enough space for them to sit in a single layer or they will steam instead of roasting.

Roast the vegetables in the oven for about 30 minutes until tender. Meanwhile combine the honey, ginger and allspice. Ten minutes before the end of cooking remove the veg from the oven and pour over the glaze. Return to the oven until sticky and caramelised.