This simple vegetable side dish makes a change from boiled carrots and is delicious served with roast meats.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
300 g peeled, chopped carrot
300 g peeled, chopped swede
30 g butter
freshly ground black pepper
Method
Boil the carrot and swede in a saucepan over a medium heat until both vegetables are tender. Drain, add the butter and then cut through the diced vegetables with a knife until they are in smaller pieces but not mashed. Season with freshly ground pepper to taste and serve.
Don’t be put off by the rather long list of ingredients, the result is very tasty. I was a bit dubious about the dried apricots and was pleased to be proved wrong. I have given you Frank, my husband’s, version of Yotam Ottolenghi’s original recipe. We didn’t have preserved lemon skin so Frank substituted grated lemon zest and the juice of half a lemon.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 45 minutes
Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
2-3 banana shallots, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp ground cumin
4 whole cardamom pods, crushed to release the seeds, pods discarded
salt and black pepper
2 1/2 Tbsp harissa paste
1/2 tsp rose water
500 ml vegetable stock
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into 4 cm dice
400 g tinned, cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
7 dried apricots, thinly sliced
20 g preserved lemon skin, roughly chopped
10 g coriander leaves, roughly chopped
150 g Greek yoghurt
Method
In a large saute pan for which you have a lid, heat the oil on a medium-high flame. Add the shallots and fry for 7-8 minutes, stirring every so often, until soft and caramelised, then stir in the garlic, spices, half a teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper, and fry for 2 minutes longer.
Add the harissa, rose water and stock, bring to a boil, then add the chickpeas, apricots and lemon and leave to simmer for 20 minutes. Add the squash and simmer until the squash is tender, adding a little more water if necessary. Sprinkle with the coriander and serve with some yoghurt alongside.
Bridget, one of our professional growers, found this recipe on the Riverford Organic Farmers website. I served it garnished with parsley, the bright green contrasting well with the red of the dish – delicious.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Ingredients
1 Tbsp olive oil
50 g butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1/2 large or 1 small radicchio, finely sliced
400g risotto rice
300ml red wine
1 1/2 – 2 litres veg or chicken stock
3 Tbsp Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, grated
Pepper
Method
Heat the oil and butter in a heavy-based casserole over a medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook slowly for 5-7 minutes until soft. Add the radicchio and rice and stir. Pour in the wine. Stir for 1-2 minutes. Add the hot stock a little at a time, stirring continuously, until the stock is absorbed (about 20 minutes).
When cooked, the rice should be tender but firm in the centre. Mix in the cheese. Season with black pepper to taste.
Try these delicious ways with radicchio on our recipes page:-
Radicchio and lemon pasta
Radicchio, pear, blue cheese + walnut salad
This recipe was recommended by Ann Smith who worked alongside Mark and Bridget, our professional growers, earlier this year. Ann says you could substitute pumpkin or squash for sweet potato.
Serves 4
Preparation time 10-15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Ingredients
Oil
1 onion, chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons medium curry powder
4 teaspoons plain flour
350g sweet potato, cubed
350g cauliflower florets
850ml vegetable stock
100g green beans, trimmed
1 teaspoon garam masala
Method
Fry onion until soft, add garlic, curry powder and flour. Cook for 1 minute. Add sweet potatoes, cauliflower and stock. Bring to boil, simmer for 10-15 minutes (until sweet potatoes are almost tender). Add beans and garam masala. Cook for 3 minutes.
My husband made this delicious cake recently – it is definitely one to repeat! It’s from James Martin at BBC Food.
Serves 6-8
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30-60 minutes
Ingredients
For the pudding
140 g butter, softened at room temperature, plus extra for greasing
300 g Bramley apples, peeled, cored and chopped
50 ml water
75 g caster sugar
2 Tbsp calvados
175 g light soft brown sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
3 Tbsp golden syrup
2 free-range eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
200 g self-raising flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 Cox’s Orange Pippin apple, cored and finely sliced
For the sauce
110 g dark soft brown sugar
110 g butter
2 Tbsp calvados
175 ml double cream
Method
Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5. Grease and flour a 23 cm(9in) spring-form tin. Melt 25 g of the butter in a saucepan and add the apples, water and caster sugar. Cook over a gentle heat until steam appears from the saucepan, then cover with a lid and cook for 3-4 minutes, or until thick and fluffy. Remove the lid and beat the mixture to remove any lumps. Add the calvados and beat until well combined.
Beat 90 g of the butter and the soft brown sugar in a large mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add the golden syrup, eggs and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Fold the self-raising flour into the cake mixture. Meanwhile, add the bicarbonate of soda to the apple puree and mix well, then stir this quickly into the cake mixture. Pour into the cake tin and gently tap the sides of the tin to evenly disperse the mixture. Bake for about 40-45 minutes in total.
While the cake is baking, melt the remaining 25 g of butter in a saucepan. After the cake has been been in the oven for 30 minutes, arrange the sliced apple over the top of the cake in a circle, and brush with the melted butter. Sprinkle brown sugar evenly over the cake and return to the oven. Once the cake is cooled, allow to cool slightly before turning out.
For the calvados caramel sauce, place the sugar and butter into a small pan and cook until melted and well combined. Pour in the double cream and calvados. Simmer gently for 3-5 minutes, or until the mixture thickens slightly.
To serve, cut the cake into slices and put a spoonful of ice-cream on top. Finish by drizzling over some of the sauce.
We had this dish for our tea last night, served with chapatis – delicious. The recipe is from The Telegraph Food and Drink pages. Asparagus, peas, white cabbage or carrot also work well instead of beetroot.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 5-10 minutes
Ingredients
250 g fresh beetroot, with the leaves if possible, washed
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
2 sprigs fresh curry leaves
1 fresh green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 coconut, smashed flesh peeled and grated
1 lemon
Method
Peel and coarsely grate the beetroot and finely slice the leaves, then mix them together. Heat a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the oil and then the mustard leaves. When the mustard seeds begin to crackle, add the curry leaves and the green chilli, then the red onion, grated beetroot and leaves.
Season with salt and continue to stir-fry for about five minutes. Finish with the grated coconut and a squeeze of lemon juice.
This recipe comes from Jamie Oliver‘s The return of the Naked Chef. If, like me, you don’t like prosciutto in the salad just leave it off the plate.
Serves 2
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
Mixed salad leaves
1 mozzarella
2 peaches, skinned and quartered
4 slices prosciutto
a few mint leaves, torn
olive oil and lemon dressing – whisk together the following:
5 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
Method
Put the salad leaves and mint on a flat serving dish and dress with a little of the dressing. Scatter the peach quarters and torn up mozzarella over the top. Lay the prosciutto (if using) over the top. Serve with some good bread to mop up the juices.
My husband used our bag of tomatoes to make this delicious sausage dish from Jamie Oliver last night. He finely chopped the rosemary before cooking and cut the larger tomatoes into chunks. He served the finished dish with garlic bread.
Serves: 6
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 45-60 minutes
Ingredients
2 kg ripe cherry tomatoes
2 sprigs each of fresh thyme, rosemary and bay
1 tbsp dried oregano
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
12 good-quality Cumberland or coarse Italian pork sausages
extra virgin olive oil
balsamic vinegar
sea-salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 190°C/gas mark 5. Get an appropriately sized roasting tray, large enough to take the tomatoes in one snug-fitting layer. Put in all your tomatoes, the herb sprigs, oregano, garlic and sausages. Drizzle well with extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper.
Toss together, then make sure the sausages are on top and pop the tray into the oven for half an hour. After this time, give it a shake and turn the sausages over. Put back into the oven for 15-30 minutes, depending on how golden and sticky you like your sausages.
Once it’s cooked, you’ll have an intense, tomatoey sauce. If it’s a little too thin, lift out the sausages and place the tray on the hob to cook it down to the consistency you like – I tend to make mine quite thick – then put the sausages back in.
Check the seasoning and serve either with a good-quality loaf of bread warmed through in a low oven for 10 minutes (great for mopping up the sauce!) or with mashed potato, rice or polenta, a green salad and a nice glass of wine.
We have recently returned from our holiday touring round Spain. For five nights we stayed at the Valencia home of our young Spanish friend Miryam. Every morning she prepared this simple dish for breakfast.
Serves 2
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
3 large tomatoes
sea salt
extra virgin olive oil
Method
Halve the tomatoes and grate the flesh directly into a shallow dish, discard the skin. Season to taste with sea salt and a good glug of extra virgin olive oil. Serve with freshly made toast, left over baguette is ideal.
This delicious recipe, featured in The Guardian recently, is by Rachel Roddy. I served it with feta cheese crumbled over the top.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Ingredients
250g dried chickpeas, soaked and cooked, or 400g tinned chickpeas, drained
600g chard
12 cherry tomatoes
6 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
2 garlic cloves
salt and black pepper
A handful of parsley, chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
Ricotta, feta, goat’s cheese, lamb chops, or a poached egg, to serve
Method
Wash the chard and cut the stems from the leaves, trimming tough ends and pulling away any stringy bits. Cut the stems into short lengths, then roll the leaves into cigars and chop roughly.
Bring a large pan of water to the boil, add salt. Add the stems for 1-2 minutes, then add the leaves for a few minutes more or until tender. Drain.
Warm the olive oil over a medium-low heat. Peel and crush the garlic for a milder flavour, or slice for a stronger hit. Add to the pan with the cherry tomatoes. Fry, squashing the tomatoes gently with the back of a spoon, until they are soft and the oil is tinted red. Add the chard and stir until it glistens with oil, add the chickpeas and cook for a few minutes more.
Remove from the heat, add the parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper, then let it sit for a while. Before serving, check seasoning, and pour over a little more oil.
