Seasonal local food recipe No.364 – Asparagus frittata with soft cheese and chives

This recipe was featured in The Guardian‘s 10 best asparagus recipes. It made for a very tasty meal on Friday evening accompanied by a green salad.

Serves 2

Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
200 g asparagus, trimmed
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and cayenne pepper
nutmeg, freshly grated
3 large eggs, beaten
125g soft cream cheese
30g parmesan, finely grated
2 tsp chives, chopped
butter, for frying

Method
Thinly slice the asparagus spears on the diagonal.  Warm the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan, add the asparagus and season with salt, cayenne pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.  Cook gently over a low heat until the asparagus is tender and lightly coloured.  Tip out on to a plate, set aside and wipe out the frying pan.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, cream cheese, parmesan and chives until smooth.  Return the frying pan to a moderate heat, add a little slice of butter and heat until it is just beginning to froth.  Pour in the egg mixture, turn down the heat to low and begin bringing in the frothing edges to the liquid centre of the pan using a spatula.

Tip the cooked asparagus into the pan and disperse evenly.  Continue to gently lift the more cooked parts of the frittata, allowing the liquid egg to slip underneath them until a happy, soft and curd-like medium has evolved.  This should take around 2 minutes.  Slide the frittata on to a plate and allow to cool a little before serving.

French beans and cucumbers in our Cornish veg boxes

In all the vegetable boxes this week:-
*cucumbers
*spring onions
*salad leaves – ‘Freckles’, oak leaf lettuce, baby chard
asparagus (Tregassow Farm, Truro)
strawberries (Mitchell Fruit Garden)
Cornish early potatoes (Growfair)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra potatoes
*basil
*French beans – purple
*turnips

* = grown to organic principles

All produce grown by Camel CSA unless otherwise indicated.  Please wash all vegetables and fruit.

Try out our recipes on Camel CSA’s recipe page – more than 350 ideas for you to browse.

Fresh, crunchy carrots in Camel CSA’s veg boxes

In all the vegetable boxes this week:-
*carrots
*salad leaves – ‘Freckles’, oakleaf lettuce, chard
*spring onions
asparagus (Tregassow Farm, Truro)
strawberries (Mitchell Fruit Garden)
Cornish early potatoes (Growfair)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra potatoes
*cucumbers
*parsley
spring greens (Growfair)

* = grown to organic principles
All produce grown by Camel CSA unless otherwise indicated.  Please wash all vegetables and fruit.

Try out these ways of preparing carrots on Camel CSA’s recipe page – more than 350 vegetable recipes for you to browse:-
Baby carrots with lemon and thyme
Jamie’s best whole-baked baby carrots

Cornish early potatoes in Camel CSA’s weekly veg boxes

No more old potatoes! At long last we’ve got Cornish earlies in the veg boxes AND more of that delicious asparagus from Tregassow Farm, Truro. We also have newly-harvested baby turnips, broad beans and peas from our own polytunnels.

In all the vegetable boxes this week:-
*broad beans OR peas in the pod
*turnips
asparagus (Tregassow Farm, Truro)
rhubarb (Mitchell Fruit Garden)
spring greens (Growfair)
Cornish early potatoes (Growfair)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra potatoes
*salad bag
golden beetroot (Growfair)
cauliflower (Growfair)

* = grown to organic principles
All produce grown by Camel CSA unless otherwise indicated.  Please wash all vegetables and fruit.

Try out these ways of preparing asparagus on Camel CSA’s recipe page – more than 350 vegetable recipes for you to browse:-
Hugh’s roast new potatoes and asparagus with baked eggs
Nigel’s asparagus and lemon risotto

Seasonal local food recipe No.361 – Risotto with broad beans and mint

This fantastic risotto recipe is taken from chef David Eyre’s The Eagle Cookbook: Recipes from the Original Gastropub. We had it for our meal last night; Frank didn’t “shuck” the beans (take them out of their little grey sacs), he cooked the beans in the risotto and it still tasted great!

Serves 5-6 as a starter

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Ingredients
3kg broad beans (400g podded and shucked weight)
2 litres vegetable or chicken stock
150g unsalted butter
2 onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
300g Arborio rice
a glass of white wine
a bunch of mint, chopped
75g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method
To shuck the beans drop the podded beans into a pan of boiling salted water and leave for about 30 seconds, then drain and cool them quickly under running cold water. Take a bean in one hand and aim it at a large bowl. Squeeze gently between your forefinger and thumb. The bean will pop out of the membrane and fall into the bowl in two neat halves.

Put the stock in a pan and bring it to simmering point. Gently heat 100g of the butter in a separate pan, add the onions and garlic with a little salt and fry until tender. Do not let them brown. Turn the heat up high and pour in the rice. Stir it with a wooden spoon for about half a minute, coating it with the butter; do not let it stick to the pan.

Add the wine and let it bubble fiercely for about a minute, stirring gently all the time. Reduce the heat and start to add the hot stock in stages. When the rice is done, remove from the heat, add the rest of the butter and cover the pan until it has melted. Stir in the broad beans and mint, then add the Parmesan and some seasoning. Serve immediately.

Broad beans and Cornish asparagus in our veg boxes

In all the vegetable boxes this week:-
*broad beans
*salad bag (Mr Green’s Market Garden, Newquay)
asparagus (Tregassow Farm, Truro)
spring greens (Growfair)
cauliflower (Growfair)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (St Lawrence Farm, Bodmin)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra potatoes
*turnips
*radishes (Mr Green’s Market Garden)
onions (Growfair)

* = grown to organic principles
All produce grown by Camel CSA unless otherwise indicated.  Please wash all vegetables and fruit.

Try more than 350 vegetable recipes on Camel CSA’s recipe page

New season broad beans in Camel CSA’s veg boxes

Our three polytunnels help extend the vegetable-growing season in Cornwall. This week’s standard veg boxes have the first of the broad beans, soon to be followed by mangetout and peas.

In all the boxes this week:-
*Swiss chard
*herb bag
rhubarb (Mitchell Fruit Garden)
beetroot (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
onions (Restharrow)
cauliflower (Growfair Cornwall)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (St Lawrence Farm, Bodmin)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra potatoes
*broad beans
*radishes
*mixed salad leaves (golden mustard, lettuce)

* = grown to organic principles
All produce grown by Camel CSA unless otherwise indicated.  Please wash all vegetables and fruit.

Try more than 350 vegetable recipes on Camel CSA’s recipe page

Seasonal local food recipe No.359 – Vietnamese salad with tiger prawns

Frank made this delicious salad for Friday’s supper.  If you don’t eat prawns you could substitute with some fried tofu or just have the salad as is.  Frank used the radishes and bean sprouts from this week’s veg boxes for an extra bit of crunch!

Serves 4 for a starter or 2 for a main

Preparation time: 30-40 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients
8 tiger prawns, peeled and de-veined (we used frozen)
1 bunch fresh mint leaves
1 bunch fresh coriander
200g cucumber
2 shallots
100g bean sprouts
small bunch radishes, sliced
40g cashew nuts
150g pomelo or grapefruit
For the dressing:
2 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp fish sauce
4 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
2 cloves garlic
1 small red chilli (eg bird’s-eye)

Method
First make the dressing because you’ll use it to marinate your prawns.  Very finely chop or mince the garlic and chilli.  Place these in an empty jar and then add all the other dressing ingredients.  Shake well until the sugar dissolves.  Taste – you can adjust the level of spice, saltiness, sweetness or sourness according to your tastes.  Place the prawns in a dish and pour over a little of the dressing, just enough to coat.  Refrigerate while you prepare the other ingredients.

Deseed and cut the cucumber into fine matchsticks and place in a bowl.  Next, finely slice the shallots and add these.  Then prepare the pomelo/grapefruit – remove the skin from each segment so you only have the juicy centre.  Break the segments into chunks.  Add to the bowl along with the chopped mint and coriander and the beansprouts.

Finally prepare the cashew nuts.  Spread them out on a baking sheet and bake in a hot oven for about 5 minutes until they are golden.  Alternatively you could brown them under a hot grill.  Once they have cooled coarsely chop them and add them to the salad.

Next cook the prawns.  Heat a griddle pan on a high flame with a little olive oil.  Once the oil is hot place your prawns in the pan.  Cook until the prawns are pink and firm but they should not become tough – about 2 minutes each side should be enough.  Take the prawns off the heat and allow to rest while you dress and plate the salad.  Dress the salad and divide evenly between the plates before placing the prawns on top.

Radishes and purple sprouting broccoli in Camel CSA’s veg boxes from Cornwall

Spring has definitely sprung!

In all the boxes this week:-
*radishes
*sprouted mung beans
rhubarb (Camel CSA / Mark Norman, Bodmin)
leeks (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
beetroot (Restharrow)
cauliflower (Growfair)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Restharrow)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra potatoes
*purple sprouting broccoli
onions (Restharrow)
Jerusalem artichokes (Restharrow)

* = grown to organic principles
All produce grown by Camel CSA unless otherwise indicated.  Please wash all vegetables and fruit.

Try more than 350 vegetable recipes on Camel CSA’s recipe page

Radishes, rainbow chard and rhubarb in Camel CSA’s weekly veg boxes

The vibrant reds and greens of spring are in our vegetable boxes from Cornwall this week.

In all the boxes this week:-
*radishes
*sprouted mung beans
rhubarb (Mitchell Fruit Garden)
leeks (Restharrow Farm, Trebetherick)
beetroot (Restharrow)
cauliflower (Restharrow)
potatoes ‘Wilja’ (Restharrow)

Standard boxes also have:-
extra potatoes
*rainbow chard
*mixed salad leaves
*parsley

* = grown to organic principles
All produce grown by Camel CSA unless otherwise indicated.  Please wash all vegetables and fruit.

Try these ways with radishes on Camel CSA’s recipe page (more than 350 recipes for you to try):-
Warm halloumi with radish, apple and pecan salad
Radish and mint tzatziki