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.

Seasonal local food recipe No.208 – Stir-fried curly kale with chilli & garlic

A quick and easy way to give kale a kick from ever-reliable BBC GoodFood. Use the kale in Camel CSA’s veg boxes this week along with our homegrown garlic and chilli.

Serves: 4

Preparation: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 8 minutes

Ingredients
200g curly kale
1tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely sliced
1 red chilli pepper, deseeded and sliced

Method
Heat the oil in a large wok or frying pan, then add the kale and a couple tbsp water. Season, then stir-fry for 5-8 mins, adding the garlic and chilli for the final 2 mins. When the kale is tender and a vibrant green, remove from the heat and serve.

Seasonal local food recipe No.207 – Spicy, warming winter squash and ginger soup

“A rich winter warmer with a kick,” says the excellent West Country FoodLover magazine, which has this variation on a classic recipe. Use the Crown Prince or Uchiki Kuri squash in Camel CSA’s boxes.

Serves: 4

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes

Ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil or large knob of butter
1 onion, finely chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
5cm fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp honey (optional)
pinch of dried chilli flakes
1 small cinnamon stick
900g winter squash, like Crown Prince or Uchiki Kuri, peeled, deseeded and diced (keep peel and seeds)
900ml hot stock, with muslin bag of peel and seeds

Method
Heat the oil or butter in a large heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 3–4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and add the garlic, ginger, chilli flakes and cinnamon stick and cook for a few seconds before adding the squash. Add a little more oil/butter if needed. Add the honey (optional).

Put the seeds and peel in a thin muslin cloth and securely tie at the top. Pour in a little of the stock, increase the heat and scrape up the bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the remaining stock, and the muslin bag, and boil for about a minute. Reduce the heat to a simmer; cover with the lid and cook for about 45 minutes until the squash is soft and the flavours have developed.

Remove the cinnamon stick, and whiz with a stick blender until smooth. Add hot water if the soup is too thick. Transfer to a clean pan to heat through, and season if required. Serve with wholemeal or rye bread.

Seasonal local recipe No.206 – Root vegetable tangle

This is from Nigel Slater’s new Eat: The Little Book of Fast Food. 

Serves: 2 (light main course) or 4 (side dish)

Preparation: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
potatoes, parsnip, carrots, onion, rosemary, pumpkin seeds, olive oil

Set the oven at 200C/gas mark 6. Shave 250g potatoes, a large parsnip and 2 large carrots with a vegetable peeler. Peel and finely slice an onion into rings.

Toss the potatoes, parsnips, carrots and onion in a large mixing bowl with a heaped tablespoon of rosemary leaves, 5 tablespoons of olive oil and 2 tablespoons of pumpkin seeds, then tip on to a baking sheet. Spread out into a shallow layer. Bake for 20 minutes, till tender and lightly crisp on the edges.

Seasonal local recipe No.205 – Beetroot marmalade

At Camel CSA we love making preserves. Our expert grower Bridget Gould recommends this beetroot relish. She says: “It’s delicious with cheese so I’ve made some for Christmas presents.” The recipe comes from gardener-come-foodlover Alys Fowler via West Country FoodLover magazine.

Makes several jars (depending on size)

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 90 minutes (in two stages)

Ingredients
1kg beetroot
100ml balsamic vinegar
A handful each of fresh thyme and marjoram leaves
sea salt, to taste
zest and juice of one large orange
2 large red onions, finely diced
50g light brown sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
100g caster sugar
400ml red wine vinegar
sterilised jars with lids

Method
Preheat the oven to 160C. Wash and peel the beetroot and cut into quarters. Place in a roasting tin with the balsamic vinegar, marjoram and thyme leaves, add az pinch of sea sla and grate over the orange zest (set aside the juice for later).  Mix everything together with your hands, cover with foil and roast for 40 minutes or until you can pierce the beetroot with a knife. Set aside to cool completely.

The following day, coarsely grate the beetroot into a bowl, scraping in any juices from the roasting tin. Place the diced onions in a large, heavy-based pan wih the light brown sugar and olive oil. Set over a very low heat and stir gently until the onions soften completely and start to caramelise.

Add the sliced garlic, grated beetroot, caster sugar, orange juice and red wine vinegar. Gently simmer for 30 minutes until the liquid has reduced by about two thirds, stirring from time to time to stop it from sticking. You can tell when the relish is cooked when you can draw a spoon across the botom of the pan and it will initially stay clear before refilling wih syrupy juices.

Scoop the hot relish into sterilised jars, cover with waxed discs and put on the lids. Store in a cool, dark place for up to six months.