This makes a lovely dish for a special occasion. It’s from chef Yotam Ottolenghi’s weekly series in the Guardian. You’ll need thick asparagus stems – like the Cornish asparagus we all had in last week’s vegetable boxes.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 18 minutes
Ingredients
2 large (24cm x 48cm) sheets filo pastry
2-3 tbsp olive oil
16 thick stemmed asparagus spears, woody stems trimmed
1 egg, whisked
30g parmesan, finely grated
1½ tsp poppy seeds
1 tsp coarse sea salt
Method
Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Put both sheets of filo on top of each other and cut widthways across the middle. Arrange the filo into one pile, then cut the pile into four squares so you end up with 16 filo pastry squares in total.
You will now need to work fast, otherwise the filo will dry out. Lay one filo square on a work surface and brush with plenty of olive oil. Place one asparagus spear at the bottom edge of each square, with the florets exposed, then roll in the pastry to wrap up securely – you’re aiming for a cigar shape with the asparagus head sticking out. Brush each asparagus parcel with egg and sprinkle over some parmesan, poppy seeds and salt. Place the parcel on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, and repeat with the remaining filo and asparagus.
Bake for 18 minutes, until the pastry is crisp and the asparagus cooked through. Serve warm or at room temperature.
The lemon juice gives this risotto a lovely fresh taste. It’s from Nigel Slater’s The Kitchen Diaries. The original recipe uses chicken stock but I am sure vegetable stock will be just as good.
Serves 2
Preparation time: 10 mins
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes
Ingredients
50 g butter
1 small onion, finely chopped
200g arborio rice
1 glass white wine or Noilly Prat
400g asparagus chopped into short lengths
1 litre hot stock
Grated rind and juice of 2 lemons
salt and pepper
3 tbs parmesan cheese, grated
Method
Melt the butter in a wide, high-sided pan over a low heat. Add the onion and let it soften in the butter, stirring occasionally, until it is translucent and silky. Stir in the rice then add the wine and let it bubble down until the liquid has pretty much disappeared. Add a ladleful of stock, turn the heat up a bit, then let the liquid almost disappear before adding the asparagus and a second ladle of stock. Continue adding the stock as it boils down to almost nothing, stirring the rice frequently. Season with salt, pepper, the lemon zest and juice to taste and continue cooking until the rice is creamy but has a little bite left in it. Stir in the cheese and eat immediately.
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.
Photo: Heath Bass
Serves 4
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.
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.
Easy, quick, tasty and cheap! A tapas idea this time, from Tapas Revolution by Omar Allibhoy (via Guardian Life & Style). I don’t keep sherry vinegar, so used balsamic instead.
Serves: 4
Preparation/cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into 1cm slices
1 large green pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
2 tbsp sherry vinegar
200ml olive oil
salt and black pepper
Method
Mix the onion, potatoes and pepper, season with the salt, pepper and vinegar.
Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat and add the vegetable mixture. Cook for about 20 minutes, turning over occasionally. The vegetables should be soft, but not too crispy.
This week’s recipe comes from chef Ami Phillips at Relish Food & Drink in Wadebridge. A couple of days ago she created platters of antipasti for the lunchtime menu using the contents of a Camel CSA veg box. Everybody wanted some!
Ami is a graduate of Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen Cornwall restaurant at Watergate Bay. Her food is heavily influenced by Italian cooking and she’s been at Relish for 15 months. She got this recipe while working at Fifteen. It can be done using any type of greens, but is a great use for chard.
Serves: 4
Preparation /cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
4 large handfuls of chard or other greens
3 large cloves of garlic
1 red chilli
olive oil
knob of butter
2-3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
sea salt
black pepper
Method
Trim and wash your chard thoroughly. Run a knife down the length of any stalks to ensure faster, more even cooking.
Blanch for 2 minutes in boiling salted water. Tougher winter greens may need longer cooking. Then refresh under cold running water, drain well and set aside.
Grate the garlic cloves, de-seed the red chilli and dice it finely, then put it all in a bowl and cover with olive oil. Heat a frying pan, melt a good chunk of butter and add the chilli and garlic mixture, stirring over a low heat so as to not add colour. Add the chard and 2-3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, Cornish sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Once everything is piping hot, serve!
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.
This is from Classic Indian Recipes by Manju Malhi. It’s a quick salad with a simple dressing of lemon juice and salt, the main flavours coming from the chilli and coriander. The recipe says to grate the radishes but I have found finely slicing them to be perfectly adequate and easier on the fingers!
Serves 2-3
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
150g radishes, topped and tailed
1 small white onion, finely chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1 green finger chilli, finely chopped
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
2 tsp lemon juice
30g coriander leaves, roughly chopped
Method
Coarsely grate or finely slice the radishes and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Serve as a fresh relish with a curry.
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.
I was first introduced to this dish when our son was at nursery school – he is now 23 and I am still cooking it! It is from the Cranks recipe book.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 30-40 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
125g millet
600ml water
75g butter or margarine
2 medium leeks sliced
1 large carrot grated
4 sticks celery thinly sliced
300ml milk
25g plain flour
3 tbs parsley, chopped
grated rind and juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper to taste
125g cheese grated
Method
Cook the millet in the measured boiling water until just tender and all the water has been absorbed. Melt 50g butter in a saucepan, add the prepared vegetables ansd saute for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. Meanwhile, melt the remaining 25g butter in a saucepan and add the flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the milk, parsley, lemon juice and rind and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 2 minutes before adding half the grated cheese. Combine the cooked millet, vegetables and cheese sauce, season to taste and transfer the mixture to an ovenproof serving dish. Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese over and bake in the oven gas mark 5/180°C for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
