I’ve just found this recipe in the latest West Country food lover magazine and will definitely be trying it out when we get some hot weather! I will use fresh strawberries instead of frozen.
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
500 g frozen strawberries
500 g Greek-style yoghurt
2 Tbsp runny honey
Method
Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer to a suitable container and freeze until required.
This recipe was inspired by a Marcella Hazan recipe for squid with tomatoes and peas, Tuscan style, which Frank adapted to suit the ingredients we had to hand.
Serves 2
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 tin plum tomatoes
bag of shelled Camel CSA peas or 285g frozen peas
10 peeled prawns
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper
1 bag fresh tagliatelle
Method
Heat the oil in a saucepan, add the onion and garlic and cook slowly until the onion is translucent. Add the tomatoes and cook slowly until the volume is reduced by half.
Add the peas and the prawns and cook until the prawns have turned pink. When the sauce is about 5 minutes from being ready, cook the tagliatelle in a large pan of boiling water. Drain the pasta and mix into the sauce with the chopped parsley.
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.
We’ve had cauliflower in our veg boxes every week now for… I’ve lost count! But then we are in Cornwall, the UK’s cauliflower kingdom. We’ve so many suggestions for preparing cauliflower on Camel CSA’s recipes page, it’s hard to find new ones.
Felicity Cloake of How to cook the perfect fame has the final solution: simply give the whole cauli a good roasting. As she says:”It makes a great centrepiece.” (And it’s perfectly delicious.)
Serves: 4
Preparation/cooking time: 40 minutes
Ingredients
1 large cauliflower, about 1kg
Fine salt
50g butter, softened
2 tbsp olive oil
For the sauce (optional)
2 tbsp olive oil
3 garlic cloves, crushed
4 anchovy fillets, roughly chopped (optional)
Leaves from a couple of sprigs of thyme or rosemary
1 lemon
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
For the dip (optional)
150g creme fraiche
75g feta or similar cheese, finely crumbled
1 lemon
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Method
Trim the leaves of the cauliflower, if necessary, so the top of the white part is exposed and level the base so it sits flat. Heat the oven to 240C. Bring to the boil a large pan of water with 1 tbsp fine salt per litre dissolved in it, then lower in the cauliflower, stem-side up.
Bring to the boil again and cook for eight minutes, turning once if necessary, then drain and leave to dry in a colander, florets-side down, for 10 minutes.
Beat the oil into the butter. Rub all over the cauliflower and season, then roast on a baking tray for 20 to 30 minutes until well browned, basting occasionally.
Meanwhile, if you’re making the sauce, heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan and fry the garlic and anchovies, if using, until the garlic is golden and the anchovies begin to break down. Stir in the herbs and the grated zest of the lemon, followed by the tomatoes and 2 tbsp lemon juice.
Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Season to taste, then pour into a shallow bowl and place the cauliflower in the middle.
If you’re making the dip, stir the cheese into the creme fraiche. Finely zest in the lemon, then add a scant 1 tbsp of its juice. Top with a little olive oil and serve alongside the cauliflower when it is cool enough to handle.
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.
This is one of those popular recipes passed on by a relative or family friend. Can’t remember! It has the virtue of using much less sugar, as the dates provide added sweetness. It’s really easy to make with the rhubarb in this week’s veg boxes.
Serves 8
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30-45 minutes
Ingredients
225g rhubarb
85g butter
170g self-raising flour
110g sugar + 1tsp extra
110g (about 12) stoned dates, chopped
1 large egg
4 tbsp milk
Method
Heat the oven to 190C/gas mark 5. Grease and line a 450g loaf tin.
Chop the rhubarb into 1cm dice. Rub the butter into the flour and stir in the sugar, the rhubarb and dates. Mix in the beaten egg and milk. Scrape the thick mixture into the tin, hollowing out a shallow trough along the middle. Sprinkle with the extra 1tsp sugar.
Bake for 1.5 hours. Allow to stand for five minutes before turning out of the tin to cool.
This recipe is from one of the first cookery books I ever bought – the classic Penguin Cookery Book by Bee Nilson.
Serves 4-5
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30-45 minutes
Ingredients
750 g Jerusalem artichokes, peeled and chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
25 g butter
900 ml vegetable stock
300 ml milk
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the vegetables. Cover and cook gently for about 15 minutes without browning. Shake the pan occasionally to prevent sticking.
Add the stock and seasoning and simmer until the vegetable are tender. Liquidise the mixture (I use a stick blender in the pan), add the milk and reheat. Taste for seasoning. Serve with a swirl of cream and some chopped parsley.
Camel CSA’s chair Diana Barry recommends this River Cottage Handbook No.8 Pam Corbin recipe for wild garlic. Pam says: “It’s heady, yet sweet aroma combines beautifully with strong Cheddar to make moreishly good muffins.”
Makes 10 large muffins
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
250g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp English mustard powder or 1/2 rsp cayenne pepper (optional)
125ml milk
125ml plain yogurt
1 egg
100ml sunflower or rapeseed oil
2 level tbsp finely chopped wild garlic leaves (about 20 leaves)
100-150g strong Cheddar cheese, grated
5 cherry tomatoes, halved (optional)
Method
Preheat the oven to 200C/Gas Mark 6. Sift the first five ingredients into a medium mixing bowl, making sure they are evenly blended together.
Put the milk, yogurt, egg, oil, chopped garlic leaves and three-quarters of the cheese into a large mixing bowl. Beat together until well combined and the mture is like a very thick batter. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir very lightly, scraping son the sides, until just combined, with no clumps of dried flour lurking in the bottom of the bowl.
Place 10 muffin cases in a muffin tray with holes 2cm deep / 6.5cm diameter. Divide the mixture between the cases, filling each 3/4 full. Place half a tomato, if using, on top of each muffin and sprinkle with the remaining sheese.
Bake in the oven until well risen and golden on top.They should spring back into shape when touched lightly.
Newly-laid eggs are the perfect partner for wild garlic during its short season in Cornwall. This tasty and colourful recipe from Demuths Vegetarian Cookery School is delicious served with the red kale or purple sprouting broccoli in our weekly veg boxes.
Serves: 2
Preparation and cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients
1 medium potato peeled and diced very small
1 tbsp olive oil
4 eggs
50g ricotta
25g vegetarian-style Parmesan, grated
1 large handful of young wild garlic leaves, chopped roughly
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
In a 24cm frying pan, one without a plastic handle, heat the olive oil and gently sauté the potato, with a lid on until cooked, which takes about 10 minutes.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the eggs with 2/3rds of the ricotta and parmesan, add the wild garlic and season with salt and pepper. Add the egg mix to the potatoes and cook on a gentle heat, until almost set. You will need to run a heatproof spatula around the frittata to stop it from sticking.
Pre-heat the grill. Scatter the remaining ricotta and parmesan over the top of the frittata and grill until the top is golden. Serve at once cut into wedges. with wild garlic leaves drizzled with your favourite nut or olive oil.
Tips
Flavour frittatas with whatever is in season, spring onions and peas with chervil, steamed asparagus tips with fresh mint, sweet tomatoes with basil or wild mushrooms with tarragon.
Frank made this loaf for Sunday lunch last weekend. The recipe’s from Anna Jones in The Guardian. You might expect the loaf to be bright pink. It was before it went into the oven but oddly, once baked, it turned to a more palatable shade of yellow! Whatever the colour it tasted great.
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Makes 1 x 750g loaf
Ingredients
300g cooked beetroot, chopped
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
100ml buttermilk (or plain yoghurt let down with a splash of milk)
200g white spelt flour
200g wholemeal spelt flour
50g pumpkin seeds, plus more for sprinkling
1 tsp salt
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 220°C/gas mark 7. Put the beetroot (see the note below if you’re roasting your own), spices and buttermilk in a food processor and puree until smooth.
Put the flours, pumpkin seeds, salt, bicarbonate of soda and pepper into a large bowl and mix well. Pour the beetroot mixture into the flours and mix with a fork until well combined, then use your hands to gently bring the lot into a rough ball. Don’t knead it though, or it will make the finished loaf tough.
Scatter some flour over a baking sheet and put your ball of dough on top. Dust with a little more flour and a few more pumpkin seeds. Cut a deep cross in the bread, then bake for 30 – 40 minutes until golden and risen.
Remove from the oven and tap the bottom of the loaf. If you get a hollow sound, it’s perfect, so pop it on a wire rack to cool. This is delicious warm with salted or almond butter.
If you are roasting the beetroot yourself
Wash the beetroot well and trim off the stalks. Place the whole beetroot in a foil parcel, wrapped really tightly so the steam doesn’t escape. Cook for around an hour (depending on the size of your beetroot) until tender. Once cooked, allow to cool in the foil parcel, this will make it really easy to remove the skins. When cool enough to handle slip the skins off and discard. Extra roasted beetroot can be used in salads or alongside dips such as hummus.
