If you can’t eat corn off the cob you could try cutting the kernels off the cob and putting them in this hearty soup. The recipe can be found in River Cottage Veg Every Day by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
Serves 6
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 45 minutes if using dried beans
Ingredients
2 Tbsp rapeseed or olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
a handful of fresh oregano or marjoram, chopped
100g small dried beans, such as pinto, navy or cannellini beans, soaked overnight or 400g tin beans, drained and rinsed
1 litre vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
750g squash, such as butternut or onion, peeled, deseeded and cut into 2cm chunks
200g French beans, trimmed and cut into 2cm pieces
Kernels cut from 2 cobs corn
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté gently for about 10 minutes. Add the paprika and 1 Tbsp of the oregano. Cook for another minute.
If using dried beans, drain them after soaking and add to the pan, with the stock and bay leaf. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 45 minutes, or until the beans are completely tender (dried beans vary, and sometimes this may take over an hour).
Add the squash, stir well and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the squash is just tender. If using tinned beans, add the drained, rinsed beans, the squash, bay leaf and stock at the same time, and simmer until the squash is just tender, 10-15 minutes.
Then add the French beans and corn kernels and simmer for a further 5 minutes. To finish, season well with sea salt and freshly ground pepper. Stir in the remaining oregano, leave to settle for a couple of minutes, then serve.
This is an old favourite from Vegetarian Meals by Rosamund Richardson. It is good served with a green salad.
Serves 4-6
Preparation time: 45 minutes
Cooking time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
2 medium aubergines
olive oil
225 g pasta shapes
3 tbsp tomato puree
1 garlic clove, crushed
225 g strong cheese, grated
salt and pepper
Method
Cut the aubergines into fairly thin slices and sprinkle with salt. Let them sweat for 30 minutes, and then rinse the salt off and wipe dry. Cook the aubergine in olive oil – they absorb it well, so you will need quite a lot – until they are soft and slightly browned.
Cook the pasta ‘al dente’. Make up 300 ml of tomato sauce using the tomato puree, crushed garlic and water. Put layers in a baking dish of the tomato sauce, sliced aubergine, pasta and cheese, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go. Finish with a layer of cheese and bake at 180°C/Gas mark 4 for 25 minutes.
This classic recipe is based on the late Marcella Hazan‘s recipe for French beans with yellow peppers, tomatoes and chilli pepper. We make it with whatever colour pepper we have to hand and sometimes we include the chilli pepper and sometimes we don’t! You can also use thinly sliced runner beans.
Serves 4-6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
450g French beans
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 pepper, cut into strips
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
170g tomatoes (tinned or fresh)
chopped hot red chilli pepper (optional)
Method
Trim the beans, soak them in cold water, drain and set aside. Put the oil in a pan on medium heat and gently cook the onion until translucent. Add the pepper and roughly chopped tomatoes, stir well and simmer gently for about 20 minutes.
Add the chilli pepper (if using) and the beans, turn them over 2 or 3 times to coat them well, add 6 tbsp. of water or less if you are using fresh tomatoes and they are watery.
Cover and cook at a steady simmer until tender, 20-30 minutes depending on the youth and freshness of the beans. Add more water as needed. When the beans are done, if the pan juices are watery, uncover, turn the heat up and rapidly boil them down. Season with salt and chilli pepper to taste.
This is a deliciously simple summer dish which can be eaten hot or cold. It’s ideal for a picnic or lunch in the garden. There are many versions, this one is from Valentine Warner at BBC Food
Serves: 2
Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 20 minutes
Ingredients
200g broad beans (podded weight)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 small red onion, peeled, chopped (or spring onions)
salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 large free-range eggs
100g feta cheese, crumbled
small bunch fresh mint leaves (or parsley), chopped
Method
Cook the broad beans in a pan of boiling, salted water for 2-3 minutes, or until tender. Drain well, then refresh in cold water. When the beans are cool enough to handle, peel away the outer skins, if you want to.
Heat the oil in a small ovenproof frying pan over a low heat. Add the onion and season with a pinch of salt. Fry for 8-10 minutes, or until softened but not browned.
Meanwhile, preheat the grill to its highest setting. In a bowl, whisk the eggs until well combined and full of air, then season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
When the onions have softened, increase the heat to medium and pour in the beaten eggs. Sprinkle over the crumbled feta, mint or parsley leaves and cooked broad beans. Leave the pan on the heat for 2-3 minutes, or until the underside of the egg mixture is pale golden-brown. (NB: Do not stir the mixture.)
Transfer the pan to the grill and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, or until the top side of the egg mixture is firm and pale golden-brown. Place a large plate upside-down over the pan, then turn the pan over so that the omelette falls onto the plate. Cut it into wedges and serve with crusty white bread.
This recipe is from my new book – River Cottage Light and Easy by Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall. It can be dished up as a light lunch or starter on its own or as a partner with some protein such as lentils, chickpeas, chicken or fish for something more substantial.
Serves 2, or 4 as a starter
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients
For the dressing
2 Tbs no sugar added peanut butter
Finely grated zest of 1/2 lemon
1 Tbs lemon juice
1/2 tsp runny honey
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
200g young small courgette
1 large or 2 small fennel bulbs
A little extra virgin rapeseed or olive oil
1 Tbs sunflower or pumpkin seeds or a mix of the two (optional)
A small handful of basil or mint leaves
Method
To make the dressing, put all the ingredients in a bowl, adding salt and pepper as needed, bearing in mind that the nut butter will add salt. Add 2 tablespoons water and whisk until you have a thick mixture, smooth except for any chunks of nut. It should be loose enough to fall off the spoon in thick ribbons – you can whisk in a little more cold water, if necessary, to reach this consistency.
Top and tail the courgettes, then use a veg peeler to shave them lengthways into wafer-thin ribbons. Put into a large bowl. Trim the fennel, removing any tough and fibrous outer layers, saving a few of the fronds if there are any. Slice the fennel, top to bottom, as thinly as you can, and add to the courgettes.
Trickle a little oil over the veg, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss lightly. Scatter the seeds, if using, over the veg and spoon on the dressing. Finish with roughly torn basil or mint leaves and fennel fronds if you have them, then serve.
Thanks to Charlotte for spotting this recipe. We don’t have the quantity of whitecurrants in the veg boxes so you could either make a smaller tart or make up the amount with strawberries, which have a great affinity with whitecurrants.
You will need to start this Nigel Slater recipe the day before you want to serve it. You will need a loose-bottomed tart tin about 22cm in diameter.
Serves: 8
Preparation and cooking time: 30-40 minutes
Ingredients
for the filling:
500g fromage frais
450g plain yogurt
3 lightly heaped tbsp icing sugar
the grated zest of a small orange
450g white currants
for the crust:
75g butter
300g lemon, orange or ginger biscuits
icing sugar for dusting
Method
Mix the fromage frais and yogurt. Line a colander or sieve with muslin or a new J Cloth. Pour the mixture into the sieve, place the whole thing on a shallow dish and put it in the fridge. (You may well have to take a shelf out to fit it in.) Leave overnight.
Melt the butter. Crush the biscuits to a coarse, open crumb then mix them with the melted butter. Tip them into the tart tin then smooth them in, pushing them into the corners with your fingers. Chill for 20 minutes.
To make the filling, tip the strained cream cheese mixture out of the muslin into a bowl. Stir in the sugar and zest. Smooth the filling into the chilled tart crust. Pull the currants from their stalks and pile them on top of the tart filling. Dust generously with icing sugar and leave for a few minutes before slicing.
This recipe is taken from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s book Fruit every day! I’ve had pineapple with mint sugar and it is delicious – oranges will be added to the shopping list!
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients
75g caster sugar
about 20 mint leaves
100g blackcurrants
4 oranges
Method
Start by making the mint sugar. Either put the sugar and mint into a food processor and blitz them together or, alternatively, finely chop the mint leaves then pound them together with the sugar using a pestle and mortar. Either way you should end up with a crystalline green grainy mixture with a texture a little like damp green sand. Set aside.
Slice all the peel and pith away from the oranges. Now, working over a bowl, slice out the orange segments, letting them drop into the bowl. Arrange the orange segments over individual plates. Scatter over the blackcurrants, finish with a generous sprinkling of the minty green sugar and serve.
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.
This simple recipe appeared in issue 29 of the FoodLover magazine which celebrates West Country food.
Serves 4
Cooking and preparation time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/2 cucumber
20 radishes
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp red wine vinegar
rock salt
handful of rocket leaves
Method
Heat a small frying pan, add the oil then add the mustard and fennel seeds and cook for a few minutes until they become fragrant and start to pop but don’t burn. Set aside to cool.
Slice the cucumber and the radishes into thin disks and arrange on a platter. Combine the cooled oil and seeds with the red wine vinegar and season with rock salt to taste. Drizzle the dressing over the cucumber and radish and then scatter with the rocket.
Who wants to spend ages slaving over a hot kitchen stove when the weather is good? If you use shop bought meringue nests this tasty pudding can be knocked up in no time at all.
Serves 3-4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
250 g strawberries, hulled
300 ml double cream
1/2 Tbs icing sugar
1 packet meringue nests
Method
Chop half the strawberries, place them in a blender with the icing sugar and whiz to a puree. Whip the double cream to the floppy stage. Chop the rest of the strawberries and break up the meringue nests into roughly 2.5 cm pieces. Fold together the cream, meringue pieces and most of the puree to give a marbled effect. Serve immediately with the rest of the puree poured over.
