Seasonal local food recipe No.283 – Courgette and spinach tian

I don’t know where the original recipe for this dish came from but it tastes good.  The quantities quoted are what I used tonight.  I served it with carrots though a salad would also be good.  It is also delicious cold.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
1 onion, finely chopped
1 Tbs olive oil
3 medium courgettes, chopped into small chunks
200 g spinach, shredded
50 g rice, cooked
100g cheddar cheese, grated
3 eggs, lightly beaten
freshly ground black pepper
3 Tbs grated parmesan cheese

Method
Heat the oil in a large pan and gently fry the onion.  Once the onion is starting to go translucent add the chopped courgette and cook until the courgette has softened.  Add the spinach and cook until wilted.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the rice, cheddar cheese, pepper and eggs.  Mix well before pouring into a greased, shallow oven proof dish.  Sprinkle the parmesan cheese over the top.  Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C/ Gas Mark 6 for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Seasonal local food recipe No.225 – Spinach with Indian cheese

This is from Quick Vegetarian Curries by Mridula Baljekar.  It is a favourite of mine when we have friends round for a curry.  If you can’t get hold of Indian paneer it is just as good made with halloumi cheese.

Serves 4

Photo: Heath Bass

Preparation time: 25-30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients
2 tbs sunflower oil
6 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 small onion, finely chopped
2.5cm cube root ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 tbs ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp paprika
1/4-1/2 tsp chilli powder
150g spinach, finely chopped
300ml water
250g paneer, cut into 1cm cubes
175g cooked potatoes cut into 2.5cm cubes (optional)
1/2 tsp garam masala

Method
Heat the oil in a pan over a low heat, add the garlic and stir fry for 1 minute, then add the onion and fry for 5-6 minutes until softened.  Add the ginger, ground coriander and cumin, cook for 1 minute then add the tomatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Add the turmeric, paprika and chilli powder and cook for 30 seconds before adding the spinach and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.  Add half the water and cook for 3 minutes or until the water dries up, tossing and turning the ingredients constantly.  Add the paneer, potatoes if using and remaining water, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5 minutes, uncovered.  Add a little more water if necessary.  Sprinkle on the garam masala and serve.

Seasonal local food recipe No.224 – Cannelloni stuffed with spinach and almonds

This is from Cordon Vert by Colin Spencer and has been a favourite for nearly 30 years!  It’s a bit fiddly but well worth the effort. If you can’t get canneloni you could use lasagne sheets or use the filling to make a lasagne.

Serves 4-6

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:
12-16 cannelloni tubes
900g leaf spinach
50 g butter
115g ground almonds
2 tbs double cream
salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g grated gruyere cheese
300 ml single cream
50g grated parmesan cheese

Method

Cook the pasta in boiling water until done.  Remove from the heat, drain then put the cooked pasta into a bowl of cold water with a little oil in it to keep it separate.  Remove the stalks from the spinach and discard.  Cook the spinach in half the butter over a low heat.  The spinach should shrink to less than half its bulk in about 5-6 minutes.  Cool and drain off the excess liquid.

Put the cooked spinach in a bowl and chop with a wooden spoon.  Add the almonds, remaining butter, double cream, gruyere cheese, season to taste and mix well.

Drain the canneloni, then taking one tube at a time put a portion of the spinach mixture in it.  Place the filled tubes in a shallow, greased ovenproof dish, pour the single cream over, sprinkle with the parmesan cheese and bake in a preheated oven gas mark 2/150°C for about 20 minutes until the canneloni is heated through and the cheese is melted.  Serve with a green salad.

Seasonal local food recipe No.222 – Hugh’s spinach, penne and cheese spouffle

This is from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s Veg Every Day book.  He puts cooked pasta into a soufflé mix to turn it into a sustaining one-pot dish – a spoufflé!  I’ve been waiting for spinach (or chard) in my veg box to try this again.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients
300ml milk
1 bay leaf
1/2 onion
a few black peppercorns
100g penne
olive oil
250g spinach, any tough stalks removed
50g butter, plus extra for greasing
50g plain flour
75g mature cheddar cheese, grated
a little freshly grated nutmeg
3 large eggs, separated, plus 1 extra egg white
salt and pepper

Method
Put the milk, bay leaf, onion and peppercorns into a small pan and bring to just below a simmer.  Turn off the heat and leave to infuse.

Cook the penne until al dente, drain well then toss in a tiny bit of olive oil to stop it sticking together.

Cook the spinach, with just the water clinging to it after washing, in a covered pan over a medium heat until wilted – just a few minutes.  Drain well.  When cool enough to handle, squeeze out the excess water and chop roughly.

Heat the butter in a pan over a medium heat, stir in the flour to form a roux and cook for a few minutes.  Reheat the infused milk, then strain.  Add the milk to the roux a third at a time, beating well: you will end up with a thick bechamel sauce.  Cook, stirring for a couple of minutes.  Remove from the heat and stir in the cheese, nutmeg, chopped spinach and season to taste.  Beat in the egg yolks, then fold in the cooked penne.

In a clean bowl, whisk the egg whites to firm peaks.  Stir a spoonful into the bechamel mix to loosen it, then carefully fold in the rest.

Tip into a buttered 1.5 litre soufflé dish, place on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven gas mark 5/190°C for 25-30 minutes until well risen and golden.  Serve straight away.

Spinach and chard in our veg boxes this week

The spring sunshine is helping to bring things on. Camel CSA’s vegetable boxes also have freshly-picked salad leaves from our polytunnel and tender sprouting broccoli from Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick.

All boxes have: –
* spinach or chard leaves (Camel CSA)
* mixed salad bag (Camel CSA)
* sprouting broccoli (Camel CSA/Restharrow Farm)
onions (Restharrow)
red cabbage  (Restharrow)
cauliflower (Restharrow)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Restharrow)

Standard boxes also have: –
extra 500g potatoes
* flat-leaved parsley (Camel CSA)
* beetroot (Camel CSA)
* leeks (Camel CSA)

* = grown to organic principles
** baby leaf beet, pak choi, lettuce, rocket,  red mustard and golden mustard greens

Seasonal local food recipe No.111: Kohlrabi, potato and spinach gratin

Camel CSA’s weekly veg box members keep asking: “What’s that pale greenish-white sputnik-like vegetable in the veg boxes? And what do I do with it?”

Kohlrabi are easy to grow, not often seen in the shops and highly underrated. They have the combined taste and texture of radishes and turnips – but are milder, crisper and more juicy.

I love to eat smaller ones raw – just peel and slice them into batons or matchsticks. They can be grated as a crunchy addition to salads, made into a kohlrabi remoulade, or cubed and steamed before dressing with oil and lemon juice. Some people even stuff them! (But I think life’s too short for that.)

This recipe comes with some useful tips on cooking with kohlrabi from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall in the Guardian. He says: “If your kohlrabi still has its green leaves attached, combine them with the spinach in this tasty gratin.”

The spinach could be replaced with some of the Swiss chard we’re getting in Camel CSA’s weekly veg boxes at the moment. Oh – and I used creme fraiche instead of double cream.

If you have just one kohl rabi, you could make this for two people (or for four as a side dish) simply by dividing the amounts by three.

Serves 6

Preparation: 20 minutes
Cooking:  35 – 40 minutes

Ingredients
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 knob butter, plus a little more for greasing the dish
2 medium onions (about 600g), halved and finely sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
500g kohlrabi, peeled and cut into 3mm thick rounds
250g potatoes, peeled and cut into 3mm rounds
2 tsp thyme leaves, chopped
200ml double cream
200ml water (or chicken or vegetable stock)
1 big handful baby spinach, or spinach mixed with kohlrabi leaves
1 tbsp parsley, chopped

For the topping
60g fresh breadcrumbs
25g butter, melted
45g cheddar or hard goat’s cheese, grated

Method

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Place a medium-sized frying pan over a medium heat. Add the oil and butter, wait until it foams, then add the sliced onion and a pinch of salt, and sauté for 12 minutes, until soft and starting to take on a little colour.

Throw in the kohlrabi, potatoes and thyme, and season generously with salt and pepper. Cook, tossing the mixture occasionally, for another five minutes.

Pour over the cream and stock, simmer gently until the liquid is reduced by half, stir in the spinach and parsley, then place in a lightly buttered gratin dish, about 30cm x 20cm x 7cm in size, levelling it out with a spatula as you go. Place the gratin dish on a baking tray.

Blitz together the breadcrumbs, butter and cheese in a blender, and sprinkle over the top of the filling. Bake the gratin in a hot oven for about 35-40 minutes, until all golden and bubbling.

• Try kohl rabi, apple and walnut salad

Green leafy veg ‘may reduce diabetes risk’

The mounds of Swiss chard picked for our veg boxes this week could help prevent us developing type 2 diabetes, according to the British Medical Journal.

Researchers from Leicester University found that one and a half portions of green leafy vegetables every day could result in a significant 14 per cent risk reduction in getting the disease. You can see the BBC report on their findings here.

Green leafy veg include chard, spinach, cabbage, kale and lettuce – and are all found in abundance in Camel Community Supported Agriculture’s weekly veg boxes at different times of the year.

This week’s share of the harvest