Another scrumptious dish to make with the Cornish asparagus from Lower Croan and the new potatoes from Restharrow Farm in our veg boxes this week. It’s from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall in the Guardian.
Hugh says: “New potatoes and asparagus both respond so well to roasting. Add some eggs and you’ve got a satisfying supper dish.”
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Ingredients
600-700g new potatoes, cleaned and cut into small chunks
5-6 whole garlic cloves, bashed
3 tbsp olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
About 400g asparagus
4 eggs
Chives, to serve
Method
Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Put the potatoes into a roasting dish with the garlic. Trickle over the oil, add plenty of salt and pepper, toss and roast for 30 minutes, until tender.
Meanwhile, snap the woody ends off the asparagus and cut the spears into 3-4cm lengths. When the potatoes are tender, add the spears, toss and roast for 15 minutes more, until the asparagus is tender.
Now create four little spaces among the veg for the eggs – you want to contain them as much as you can, so arrange the potato and asparagus pieces into reasonably snug bulwarks. Working quickly, so everything stays hot, break an egg into each space, then return the dish to the oven for about four minutes, until the whites are set and the yolks still runny.
Sprinkle some salt and pepper over the eggs, scatter some snipped chives over the whole dish and serve straight away (the eggs will continue to cook). If you don’t have, or don’t fancy, chives, grated parmesan is another very nice finishing touch.
“Simple and scrumptious,” says asparagus grower Julia Colgrave of Wykham Park Farm (via Guardian Cook). We’re making it with Cornish asparagus from Roger and Gill Derryman at Lower Croan near Wadebridge. All Camel CSA veg box members have got a bunch in their veg boxes this week.
Serves 2
Preparation time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes
500g English asparagus
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Parmesan cheese shavings (optional)
Salt and black pepper
Preheat the oven to 220C/450F/gas mark 8. In a large, shallow baking tin, toss the asparagus with oil, salt and pepper. Roast the asparagus for around 10 minutes, shaking the pan every 3 minutes, until it is tender and lightly browned.
Remove the pan from the oven and drizzle the vinegar over the asparagus. Give the tin a good shake to combine them well and serve with a grating of fresh parmesan shavings.
A simple and healthy side dish for spring from BBC GoodFood.
Serves 8
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking: 5 minutes
Ingredients
600g shredded spring greens, thick stalks removed
OR 400g spring greens and 250g broccoli, thicker stalks halved
For the dressing
2 garlic cloves, crushed
zest and juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
Method
Make the dressing first. Mix together the garlic, lemon juice and zest, olive oil and some seasoning. Bring a large pan of water to the boil, then add the broccoli and/or greens, and cook for about 5 mins until tender. Drain well, then toss through the dressing and serve.
I tried this out on Camel CSA’s growing team (they’re always hungry) and they gave it the thumbs up. It’s from Jane Hornby at BBC GoodFood and caught my eye because it’s had over 100 enthusiastic reviews.
Our growers suggest it would taste even better served lukewarm as a pudding with lots of Cornish clotted cream.
Serves: 16 (or eight hungry vegetable growers)
Preparation time: 20 mins
Cooking time: 1 hour (plus rhubarb cooking and cooling)
Ingredients
1 quantity Barney’s roasted rhubarb (see recipe, below Method)
250g pack butter, softened, plus extra for greasing (I used Flora)
150g pot ready-made custard, not chilled kind (I used Ambrosia)
250g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
4 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
250g golden caster sugar
icing sugar, for dusting
Method
Make the roasted rhubarb first, carefully draining off the juices before you let it cool. Butter and line a 23cm loose-bottomed or springform cake tin. Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.
Reserve 3 tbsp of the custard in a bowl. Beat the rest of the custard together with the butter, flour, baking powder, eggs, vanilla and sugar until creamy and smooth.
Spoon one-third of the mix into the tin, add some of the rhubarb, then dot with one-third more cake mix and spread it out as well as you can. Top with some more rhubarb, then spoon over the remaining cake mix, leaving it in rough mounds and dips rather than being too neat about it.
Scatter the rest of the rhubarb over the batter, then dot the remaining custard over.
Bake for 40 mins until risen and golden, then cover with foil and bake for 15-20 mins more. It’s ready when a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean, so it may take a little longer. Cool in the tin, then dredge with icing sugar when cool.
Barney’s roasted rhubarb
Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Rinse 400g rhubarb and shake off excess water. Trim the ends, then cut into little-finger-size pieces. Put in a shallow dish or a baking tray, tip over 50g caster sugar, toss together, then shuffle rhubarb so it’s in a single layer. Cover with foil, then roast for 15 mins. Remove foil. Give everything a little shake, roast for 5 mins more or until tender and the juices are syrupy.
You will need a lot of parsley for this delicious deep green soup, so don’t be put off by the quantity. If you haven’t got quite enough parsley, add some baby spinach, chard or spring cabbage leaves at the final blanching stage before you purée it. Take care not to overcook the parsley so the flavour remains fresh.
Serves: 4-6
Preparation/cooking time: 30-35 minutes
Ingredients
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil and/or butter
1 large bunch (125-150g) parsley, washed
750ml chicken or vegetable stock
300g potatoes, peeled and chopped
salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice
Method
Start by cutting off the parsley stalks and chopping them roughly. Heat the oil or butter gently in a large pan and tip in the onion and parsley stalks. Soften on a low heat for about 10 minutes without browning, then add the garlic and potato and stir for a minute or so. Pour in the stock and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until potato just cooked.
Meanwhile, divide the parsley into two. Roughly chop one half and put it to one side. Once the potato is cooked, add the chopped parsley and cook for just one minute longer. Take off the heat immediately and pour the soup into a large bowl to stop it cooking any further.
Blanch the remaining parsley – pour boiling water over it, leave it for barely 30 seconds, then put it into a sieve and cool under the cold tap. Add the blanched parsley to the soup then blend it to a smooth purée.
Pour the soup back into the saucepan, add a squeeze of lemon, check the seasoning and reheat it gently. If you like a creamier texture, swirl in some cream or crême fraiche before serving.
I foraged the wild garlic in Camel CSA’s standard boxes this week from woods near our veg-growing site. This invasive plant makes a delicious, if slightly pungent, pesto. I recommend you serve it warm: stir it through freshly-cooked pasta or mash, swirl it into soups and casseroles or use it as a topping on pizzas*.
Preparation / cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients
100g wild garlic leaves OR 50g wild garlic leaves and 50g parsley
50g lightly toasted pinenuts or cashews or walnuts
50g grated parmesan cheese
150ml olive or rapeseed oil
squeeze of lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Pick the leaves over. Make sure you discard any flowers, coarse stalks, stray pieces of grass, dirty or damaged leaves. Blitz the garlic leaves (plus parsley if used), lemon juice and toasted nuts in a food processor or liquidiser for a minute or two. Then gradually blend in 100ml of the olive oil. Lastly, mix in the grated cheese, salt and pepper.
This will keep up to three weeks in the fridge in a clean sterilised screwtop jar. Press the pesto down firmly to remove any air pockets. Seal the surface with the remaining olive oil to help it keep well.
* Thanks to the Red Lion, St Kew Highway for the pizza suggestion
Just made this – it’s seriously GOOD! Thanks to sisters Hemsley & Hemsley (via Guardian Cook).
H & H say: “This delicious dip is great with plenty of fresh, raw vegetables…You can also thin it out with extra oil and lemon juice, drizzle it over baked fish and roast chicken, or toss it through salads.”
Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
No cooking!
Ingredients
80g raw cashews
100ml extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
2 large handfuls of fresh parsley leaves, approx 45g
1 medium garlic clove
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
4 tbsp water
¼ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
Method
Blend all the ingredients together and serve in a bowl with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil on top. EASY!
- Parsley’s not just for scattering on a finished dish – parsley recipes from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
There are lots of variations on this quick, healthy salad which uses raw kohlrabi and a crunchy apple.
Serves 4 – as a side dish
Preparation time: 15 minutes (max)
No cooking!
Ingredients
60ml double cream or full-fat yoghurt
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard
½ tsp honey
Salt & pepper
1 kohlrabi, peeled and cut into julienne strips (keep the leaves to use another day)
1 crisp apple, cored and diced
Method
Whisk the cream in a bowl or simply place the yoghurt in it. Whisk in the lemon juice, mustard and honey. Season to tast. Then stir in the kohlrabi and apple and serve immediately.
Kohlrabi, potato and spinach gratin + tips on cooking kohl rabi
Kohlrabi, apple and walnut salad
This easy side dish brings out the sweetness of carrots or swede. It’s from BBC GoodFood’s Olive magazine. You need to cut larger carrots and swede into long, thick batons. Use new-season, thinner carrots whole.
Serves: 4
Preparation / cooking time: 25 minutes
Ingredients
400g carrots, scrubbed or peeled (cut into long, thick batons if necessary)
Or 400g swede, peeled and cut into long, thick batons
1 tbsp honey
15g butter
Method
Simmer the carrots or swede in a large wide pan until just tender, about 15 minutes. Drain off all but a few tbsp of the cooking water then add the honey and butter and season well. Turn the carrots or swede over the heat until glazed and golden.
It turns out that the latest casualty of the financial crisis in Cyprus may be halloumi cheese. Not withstanding, if you like halloumi this recipe is for you. It uses both the polytunnel-grown radishes and mixed salad in Camel CSA’s veg boxes this week. It’s adapted from a recipe at BBC GoodFood.
Serves: 4
Preparation/cooking time: around 30 minutes
Ingredients
juice of 1½ limes
½ tbsp wholegrain mustard
½ tbsp honey
1½ eating apples, cored and thinly sliced
1 pear, cored and sliced into matchsticks
1½ tbsp olive oil
2 x 250g packs halloumi cheese, each block sliced into three
150g radishes, thinly sliced
2 small carrots, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
50g pecans (or walnuts), roughly chopped
70g mixed salad leaves
Method
To make the dressing, whisk together the lime juice, mustard, honey, oil and some seasoning. Pour half into a large bowl, add the sliced apples and pears, then gently toss everything together so all the fruit is coated. Cover and set aside. The fruit will sit happily now for up to 3 hrs without browning.
When you’re ready to eat, warm a large frying pan over a medium heat. Season the slices of halloumi with pepper (it doesn’t need any salt as it’s quite a salty cheese), then fry in batches for 2-3 mins on each side until the cheese is golden brown and beginning to crisp. You can keep the halloumi warm in a low oven while you fry the rest.
At the last minute, scoop the apples and pears out of the dressing (it will have gone watery with the moisture of the fruit, so discard), and layer up on a large platter with the radishes, carrot sticks, pecans or walnuts and mixed salad leaves. Top with the halloumi slices, then drizzle over the remaining dressing.
