This is a favourite winter warmer in our house and originates from the Cranks recipe book. It started out as a pie but as I’m lazy and don’t particularly like making pastry I missed it out and just baked the filling!
Serves 4
Preparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 25-30 mins
Ingredients
500g potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
450g onions, thinly sliced
3 tbs olive oil
25g butter
15g parsley, chopped
125g cheese, grated
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 tbs milk
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Boil or steam the potatoes until tender. At the same time saute the onions in the oil until really soft. Combine the potatoes and onions, add the butter, parsley, half the cheese, garlic, milk and season well. Place the mixture in a greased ovenproof dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake at gas mark 6/200°C for 25-30 minutes until golden brown on top. This is delicious served with baked beans.
Known in our house as cabbage and peanut bake, this recipe is from an old Sainsbury’s cookbook, Vegetarian Meals by Rosamond Richardson. It is a main course in its own right or could be served alongside another dish. I first tried this recipe to see how the rather odd combination of ingredients worked and it has become a winter favourite.
Serves 2
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients
1 small white cabbage chopped fairly coarsely
300ml white sauce made with 40g butter, 2tbs plain flour and 300ml milk
50g salted peanuts, chopped
100g cheddar cheese, grated
nutmeg, finely grated
salt and pepper
Method
Boil the cabbage until it is cooked but still crunchy. Thin out the white sauce with a little of the cooking water and season to taste with salt and pepper. Make layers in a greased baking dish of cabbage, sauce, grated nutmeg, peanuts and grated cheese (I usually have two layers of each ingredient), finishing with grated cheese. Bake at Gas mark 6/200°C for 15-20 minutes or until the top is a golden brown. I serve it with baked potatoes.
This a favourite dessert from celebrated Indian cook Madhur Jaffrey. It’s a little time-consuming to make but so much nicer than bought Indian sweets.
Serves 4-6
Preparation time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 60-90 minutes
Ingredients
450g grated carrots
700ml milk
8 whole green cardamom pods
5 tbs vegetable oil or ghee
5 tbs caster sugar
1-2 tbs sultanas
1 tbs shelled unsalted pistachios, lightly crushed
Method
Put the grated carrots, milk and cardamom pods into a heavy-bottomed pan and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to low and cook, stirring now and then, until there is no liquid left. Heat the oil or ghee in a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat. When hot add the carrot mixture, stir and fry until the carrots no longer have a rich, reddish colour. This can take 10-15 minutes. Add the sugar, sultanas and pistachios, stir and fry for another two minutes.
Serve warm or at room temperature. It’s good served with whipped or clotted cream.
A hearty casserole to warm you up when you come in out of the wind and rain! It’s my adaptation from Sarah Brown’s Vegetarian Kitchen using vacuum packed chestnuts instead of dried chestnuts and is a meal in a pot if you serve it with the cheese nuggets.
Serves 2-4
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
200g vacuum packed chestnuts
250g whole pickling onions or shallots
250g carrots, peeled and sliced into 1cm rings
250g sprouts, peeled
125g button mushrooms, cleaned
1 tbs oil
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1 tbs soy sauce
freshly chopped parsley
salt and pepper
for the cheese nuggets (optional)
50 fresh breadcrumbs
50g grated cheese
1 egg
salt
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp paprika
Method
Heat the oil in a flameproof casserole or large pan and gently fry the onions for a few minutes, add the carrots and mustard powder and continue frying for a few minutes. Add the soy sauce, the chestnuts and 500ml of water, bring to the boil and simmer for about 20 minutes.
While this is cooking make the cheese nuggets. Mix together the breadcrumbs and grated cheese. Beat the egg and mix with the salt, mustard and paprika then mix this into the breadcrumbs and cheese. Form the mixture into small balls the size of walnuts.
After the hot-pot has cooked for 20 minutes add the sprouts, mushrooms, parsley and cheese nuggets (if using). Season to taste and continue cooking for 15-20 minutes until the cheese nuggets are cooked and the sprouts are tender. Serve staight away.
This casserole will go further if you serve it with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable.
A quick and easy tea that warms you up on a cold night! It’s from River Cottage veg every day! by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
2-3 heads of spring greens or kale or a savoy cabbage
6 tbs olive oil
1 onion, finely sliced
1/2-1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped or 2 good pinches of dried chilli flakes
2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
300g pasta shapes such as penne or fusilli
sea salt and finely ground black pepper
To serve
extra virgin olive oil
parmesan cheese
Method
Remove the core and thick stems from the greens or cabbage and shred the leaves. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a low heat, add the onion and cook gently for about 10 minutes or until soft. Add the chilli and garlic and some salt and pepper and continue to cook for about 3 minutes. At the same time cook the pasta until al dente, adding the greens to the pan about 3 minutes befrore the end of the cooking.
Drain the pasta and greens thoroughly and toss with the onion mixture in the frying pan. Check the seasoning, then serve, with extra virgin olive oil for trickling and lots of grated cheese.
It has to be said I’m not a great fan of beetroot but this recipe has become a staple in our household. It is from Jamie Oliver’s book Cook with Jamie.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
No cooking!
Ingredients
4 beetroots, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks
3 ripe pears, peeled, cored and cut into matchsticks
lemon oil dressing – the juice of half a lemon mixed with 5 tbs olive oil, seasoned and well shaken
salt and pepper
200g feta cheese
a small bunch of fresh mint, smallest leaves picked
optional: a large handful of sunflower seeds
Method
Dress the beetroot and pear matchsticks in a little of the lemon oil dressing and season with some salt and pepper. Taste to check the flavours are balanced and lovely, and add a little more lemon juice to check the sweetness of the pears and beetroots if you need to.
Divide the salad between four plates or put it on a big platter, crumble over the creamy white feta, and sprinkle with the baby mint leaves and the sunflower seeds if using them.
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.
“A recipe that is enough to convert even the most ardent sprouts-averse folk,” according to The Guardian. What a perfect use for the freshly-picked Brussels sprout stalk in Camel CSA’s vegetable boxes this week.
It’s from The Perfectly Tossed Salad by Mindy Fox. Italian Pecorino is a sharper alternative to Parmesan.
Serves 4-6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
No cooking!
Ingredients
450g brussels sprouts
5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp salt
3½ tbsp fresh lemon juice
½-1 tsp whole black peppercorns, crushed
115g pecorino cheese, grated or shaved
Method
Rinse the sprouts, then pat dry with kitchen roll. Remove any discoloured outer leaves, then cut the sprouts in half, lengthways. Very thinly slice them the sprouts crossways, transferring to a large, shallow serving bowl as you go.
Drizzle the oil over the sprouts, sprinkle with salt and toss well. Add the lemon juice and pepper and toss again. Lay the cheese on the top of the salad and serve immediately.
If you’ve never tasted Brussels sprout tops, now’s the time to start. They’re quite a gourmet veg and there’s plenty more where Camel CSA’s come from!
TV chef Silvana Franco sautées them in this quick and easy frittata on The Good Food Channel. I cheated and used the last of the Christmas stilton in place of Italian gorgonzola.
Serves: 2
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 knob butter
1 red onion, finely sliced
1 head sprout tops, or spring greens, finely shredded
2-4 cloves garlic, chopped, to taste
6 eggs
1 thick slice rustic whitebread, crust removed
2 tbsp finely chopped sage
1 tbsp olive oil
150g gorgonzola cheese
Method
Heat the butter in a 23cm non-stick frying pan. Cook the onion, greens and garlic for 5 minutes until wilted and golden.
Meanwhile, beat the eggs. Tear small pieces of bread into the eggs. Add the sage and some salt and pepper and set aside for a few minutes. Stir the wilted green into the eggs and mix well.
Return the pan to the heat and add the oil. Pour in half of the egg mixture and crumble over the cheese. Pour in the rest of the egg mixture. Cook gently for 8 minutes until the frittata is almost set.
Carefully slip out onto a plate then invert back into the pan and cook for a couple of minutes more until cooked right through and golden on each side. Allow to stand for a minute then cut into wedges and serve.
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.
